"what Was Your Childhood Like?" Idk I Wasn't There

impel down

Based on this tweet

Small continuation of this role swap doctor Sanji art bc I couldn't get out of my head how funny it is that it meant that Zoro and Mihawks fight happens outside an A&E in this universe

It is not enough to get into a comfy sleeping position- one must go through several and spin like a rotisserie chicken to arrive at the position you started with.

I know people looooove to insinuate that Zoro doesn’t like Usopp because of Water 7, but I am coming to Zoro’s defense on this (not how you think!). Usopp and Luffy were both acting and reacting based on very heightened emotions. Usopp was utilizing a very common tactic— hurt before you get hurt. Not his best moment, but I think it’s understandable under the circumstances. Luffy, because he’s stubborn and also a little bratty, then countered with a classic baby brother tactic— when they go low, you go lower. The problem with this is that they aren’t just playing in the backyard. People have left their homes and families to follow Luffy. They’re fugitives. The government wants them dead. In normal circumstances, they’d fight and ignore each other and make up. But they can’t do that in this situation because it’s not a game. Zoro was trying to get the two of them to see that. Luffy may be silly. He may be lighthearted and carefree, but he is the captain on their very real pirate crew. There is no time for petty strife. If you quit, you have to mean it. If you remove someone, you also have to mean it. By the time their fight comes around, both Luffy and Usopp already regret their choices and want to just move on, but Zoro forces BOTH of them to face this discomfort and play through it so that they both understand the weight of their choices.

THAT BEING SAID!!!!!!!!! It’s not like Zoro was like “and FUCK that Longnose”… he was the first one of the Romance Dawn trio to ask Usopp to join them. He knows Usopp’s got a big heart. He knows what Usopp brings to the table, even if Usopp doesn’t. He was LIVID when he saw what Franky had done to Usopp!!! But he’s also been around. He’s a famous bounty hunter. For quite a while he was the most famous person on the crew. He’s probably seen tons of crews and watched their dynamics and understands that hierarchy exists for a reason. If you’re following someone without conviction, you’re risking your life every day for someone who can’t stand on his own morals. They can’t afford to do that. And it seems like in these ‘Zoro Hates Usopp’ arguments, they very often leave out the fact that Zoro told Luffy that if he didn’t stand by his choices, he’d leave the crew, too. He was just telling them to stand on the business they’d put out into the world, which I think is a perfectly fair stance to have. We all know that Zoro takes the words he says and the words others say very seriously. This is an extension of that. But it doesn’t mean he hates Usopp or Luffy. He just recognized that if they’re all allowed to hop on and off the crew, and if they’re not able to articulate their feelings without being mutinous, they were doomed to fail.

(I’m going to pause here to acknowledge that Zoro treated Sogeking in the same way that he’s always treated Usopp. They cut up together and he still takes care of him in his own weird way and he trusts him as a crew member. Think about how he treated Robin when he wasn’t sure about her. He didn’t do that here!! It was like “old times”. He still viewed him as a member of the crew.)

And THEN!! AND THEN!!!!! When Sanji tells everyone that he overheard Usopp’s rehearsals and that he intends to come back to the crew, Zoro still says that Usopp needs to apologize to their captain. Because he’s. You know. The captain. Mutiny is a serious action. You can’t just not acknowledge it. It needs to be faced. And Zoro is all hardass about it like “if the first thing he says isn’t an apology we’re leaving him” and then what does he do? He pretends he can’t hear him not apologizing. Usopp goes on for a while, and he pretends he can’t hear anything. And then as soon as Usopp apologizes, he smiles!!! Because he knows it means Usopp is coming home!!!!!!

And I know. I can already hear it. “Well, why didn’t he just not insist on that stuff???” Because the crew needed to figure out that behaving that way had the potential to cost them in ways that are uncomfortable! Yes, we don’t see Luffy doing the same. But I think it’s important to note that they are a crew and there’s essentially only one actual assigned role and that’s Luffy’s role as captain. Even if his decision is stupid they need to follow it. That’s the choice they’ve made. And they can be kind of loosey goosey in every regard except that one. Because if his final say means nothing, that could have catastrophic consequences for everyone. Plus, as readers, we get to see Luffy’s discomfort and remorse plenty. He weeps and tells Zoro that accepting the duel is hard and he hates it and Zoro basically tells him he has to lie in the bed he’s made for himself or he isn’t fit to be captain. And Luffy clearly felt very uncomfortable with the fact that his knee jerk reaction may have cost him his bestie/brother/playmate. He couldn’t even smile convincingly about the prospect of leaving Usopp behind. He felt a level of regret that I’m not sure we see him feel again. I think Zoro put them through their paces pretty equally. Zoro saw Luffy regret his choice and forced him to stand by it, which is his job as a captain. And he insisted that Usopp apologize for his choice, which is his job as a crew member.

Zoro’s intent wasn’t to take sides. He wasn’t operating under the belief that the captain is the only one that can be right. He was trying to get all of them to understand that exploding, quitting, and coming back without acknowledging the source of strife is not a sustainable method of communication for a crew. If they can’t hash it out and own their mistakes or mean what they say, they can’t fully trust each other. And they need a captain with a clear vision. There’s no room for wavering unless they’re ready to lose their lives.

And Usopp comes back and he’s still clinging to Zoro and climbing on him and using him as a shield, so I think they’re just fine.

Okay time for that marineford au I considered

Essentially just. The whole situation with Sengoku and Garp, where the latter point blank is pinned to the ground and begs Senny not to let him go-

Garp who is flawed and makes poor decisions. Garp who has put his job above most other things the majority of his life. Garp who lost touch with his son by these decisions, Garp who took in Ace (one of the biggest betrayals to the institution he has ever done), Garp who hid him and Luffy both away, Garp who pushed and pushed and pushed for them to become Marines because that was the only option he could fathom to keep them safe and keep his power over the situation, Garp who made bad choices with the best intentions-

Garp has lost one grandson already to the people he is meant to serve.

Garp had to watch on as Ace knelt on an execution platform, dead eyed and terrified - not of his own death, no, but of deaths of the people who showed up for him.

Garp had to watch as one grandson was nearly taken while another ran full throttle through a war ground to save the other. He accepts the hit and hits the ground in a mix of allowance and genuine pain. Luffy doesn't always know his own strength, especially when someone is between him and his goal.

Garp goes down and he prays to every deity he can think of that his boys will be safe.

Akainu moves, and Garp moves to lunge. Sengoku shoves him into the stone ground, cracking the rock and pinning him in place. And Garp? Garp is Done.

He has lost his son. He lost a grandson. He lost friends, he lost so much in name of the greater good, but is it even 'good' if all it reaps is suffering? After all the things he's done, is he even a good man?

He's made so many choices for the Marines that keep him up at night.

He refuses to continue that cycle.

He turns his head, eyes livid, and he snarls, "I will not lose them, Sengoku. Not like Rosi. If you value me at all, you will let me up."

And Sengoku... falters. He hasn't heard that name aloud in far too long, and he is taken aback. That's all Garp needs.

Akainu is closing in. Luffy is down, his tiny tank of a body finally crashing in the chaotic mess of the past few days, culminating at the worst possible time. Garp is still too far away, but he can see the moment Ace's eyes change, can see when his oldest grandchild makes his decision and moves.

So Garp moves faster.

Ace blocks Luffy with his body, anticipating the burning agony with welcoming arms if only to keep his baby brother spared the fate. Luffy is gaping up at him, and he tries a smile to the pale little face staring up to him. There is warmth at his back and it takes a moment to realize the haki signature is familiar, wraps around him in a way he hasn't felt in over a decade. Luffy is not looking at him anymore, he realizes. He turns his head.

Garp is back to back with Ace. He is staring down Akainu, a hole carved and cauterized in his gut. There is blood from his mouth, staining his chin, and yet even the magma now nestled in his abdomen holds no candle to the fire burning in his eyes. Akainu sneers at Garp, mouth opening to spit a comment on treachery and betrayal.

Garp's fist moves faster. Haki covers his flesh and knuckles, cracking across the admiral's face while his other hand holds the man by the collar to keep him in place. One, two three blows are delivered before Garp shifts, lifting and flinging the magma user towards the sea.

Ace stares. Luffy hiccups. Garp turns, staggering. Just as his knees buckle, both both lunge to him, lowering and supporting his weight. Garp clings, hands cupping their heads, pulling them close.

"I'm sorry," he chokes around the blood. "I am so sorry."

The battlefield is quiet, either literally or metaphorically, none of the three know. All they can know at the moment is grasping hands and burning eyes and aching hearts. Luffy curls as close as he can to Garp, huddled close as he can, limbs loose and throbbing. Ace is staring is disbelief.

"You boys..." Garp coughs. "Are my treasure."

"Gramps...?"

"No, Lu. Let grandpa finish..." He gives them both a squeeze. "I made... so many decisions.... ones I never should have." He turns his head, meets Ace's eyes. "Taking you in, calling you mine... that was one of the best decisions I ever made. Portgas D. Ace... you are mine. My grandson. My boy. And I am so... so fucking proud of the man you have become." He takes a shuddering breath. "Your roots do not define... who or how you grow. Whatever you become, you will be perfect. And you will be mine. And I will love you with all I have."

Ace's hiccuping sobs are quiet but jarring. Garp turns to Luffy.

"Lu... my baby, my boy." He cups the teen's cheek, thumb tracing a mirror to the scar on his face. "Since the day you were born, I knew you were destined for wonderful things. I'm sorry for the hurt I have caused. I'm sorry for the things I left unsaid. But you and your brother? You are the best things I have ever chosen. I chose you as a baby. I choose you know. I know you will shake the Seas and Heavens with your laughter, and I will laugh along with you." He pressed his forehead to Luffy's head, pulling Ace closer to cradle both boys close enough to feel their shaking breaths to his throat. He shuddered at the cloying cold that snaked up his bones.

The two boys clung hard to him, even as he began to sag. Between them both, they supported his weight, babbling pleas falling from chapped and bloodied lips.

"It has been... my greatest honor," he choked out, "to raise... the young princes of the sea." He gave them a weak smile. "May the waves carry you far," he recited weakly.

Ace choked. Luffy wailed. Both of them pressed closer, but finished the rite. "And may the winds carry your voice from the heavens."

Garp chuckled. He paid no mind to the blood that bubbled in his mouth from it. He gave them one final squeeze, a weak flex which was nothing like his normal strength.

Two grieving boys cradled the waning life of the grandfather on a war ground.

And with one sacrifice, the tides and paths laid out by Fate skewed.

Monkey D Garp gripped the rights bestowed to him by initial and forced the fates to obey.

A life for a life, an exchange of blood, and overhead, seagulls bathed in black screeched their agreement into the winds and waves and foam. A Deal was struck, the world shuddered, and with one decision, the very fabric of their reality unraveled a tapestry to weave into something new.

At the center of it all was a scarlet ribbon, an orange spark and a spiral of blue.

None on that glorified graveyard knew it then, but the blood of a vice admiral baptized a boy who would be king, purified a boy who renounced his crown, and moved to awaken a slumbering beast Seas away.

god's favourite ragdoll princess and the most miserable girl in the world

Thought process was:

1. Law deserves to get really high and just chill out for once

2. That would be the funniest possible time that Cora reveals himself to be alive

Follow up over here

M-miss nami sir...

there’s something very wrong with me, it’s called ‘I don’t want to do anything, ever’ and they said it’s chronic