One Piece Meta, Drabble, and ZoSopp Challenge

[dethorats]

For all the ire that Hancock provoked in some segments of fandom, I have to admit I think she's hilarious! The kicking of small, cute things is highly amusing to me and it's also what keyed me into this thought.

Hancock tends to behave just like a world noble.

Horrifying, esp. if she was cognizant of the fact although I doubt she is, but true. The self-entitlement, the casual rage, the kicking of things in one's path, the expected adoration/obedience...

The whole 'will' thing that has come into play more and more (XD Oda, you sly dog, we got a glimpse of this all the way back from Shanks and the sea monster) and I'm wondering if Hancock developed hers so strongly as a means of resistance during her slavery (and also if any of those fucking bastard nobles are capable of anything similar).

Anyway, I've been wondering all along why Hancock seems so familiar in her behavior and it's because of those nobles from Shabaody.

Speaking of which, as has already been pointed out in a great drabble on onepiece_300, we're probably not going to be seeing Dragon coming to Ace's rescue the same way he came to Luffy's back in Logue Town. And that whole scene with Garp when he talks about how Dragon isn't someone he respects and alludes to some issues with his mother...No WONDER Ace loves Whitebeard the way he does. As we saw with the whole Shanks/Whitebeard meeting incident, Whitebeard acts as a father to his crew and that connection seems to be what Ace was craving.

It makes me wonder more again about Luffy and how he feels about his family (excluding Ace of course since we can see where that's going).

Also...WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH EVERYBODY ELSE?! XD I get antsy when Zoro's not around for more than 5 chapters at a stretch.

Also also, SHANKS!!!!!! Seriously. Shanks. I scream everytime he pops up in the damn opening. I love Shanks. That is all.



ZoSopp Challenge #54
Prompt: Candle
Rating: G
Word Count: 458



‘Stare into the flame,’ Zoro had said. ‘It helps you to lose your sense of body and fall into a more contemplative state.’

Feh. It had been easy enough for the swordsman to say and do but staring into the heart of the candle flame only made Usopp go cross-eyed and that tended to make him dizzy. He was hyper aware of his body rather than the opposite. He could feel every itch and hunger pang and muscle cramp with an awareness he could not remember ever experiencing before. It was damn annoying. And that wasn’t the right frame of mind for meditation either.

Usopp risked a peek to his right where Zoro sat in that position that always made the sniper’s knees ache just to look at. The swordsman’s eyes had fallen shut but his breathing was too controlled and even for him to have fallen asleep. Deep, steady breaths, air from his stomach as well as his lungs, caused Zoro’s chest to slowly rise and fall but otherwise he was motionless. Silent and almost serene with the way his usual grouchy scowl had softened along with the rest of his body.

Usopp wondered what he was thinking about. What was one supposed to contemplate in meditation anyway? He had meant to ask but had forgotten to in his happy surprise over Zoro agreeing to do it with him. All he could concentrate on was how boring, uncomfortable, and kind of weird the whole activity was. There was probably a point to it but, whatever it was, he couldn’t seem to figure it out. At least the candle flames were pretty, when he wasn’t gazing into one so intently, and they smelled good. Some kind of woody scent that wasn’t pine but probably still came from a resin. And Zoro, as Usopp stole another glance, looked relaxed.

Shadows and candle light played on the swordsman’s face, moving with the small draft that played through the men’s cabin. Each shift of darkness over Zoro’s cheekbones, each soft glow that glinted off his earrings; the tableau was perfect and Usopp’s head tilted as he drank in the scene. His thoughts drifted, focusing first on painting as he considered colors and techniques and then on Zoro, on how peaceful he looked, on how he’d allowed Usopp to see this side of himself, on how he was able to get something out of meditation, on how GOOD he…

Zoro blinked, his eyes slowly fluttering open, and then he turned to face Usopp’s meditative scrutiny. One corner of the swordsman’s mouth twitched as Usopp blinked too and the faintest hint of a flush colored the sniper’s cheeks. But Zoro didn’t bother saying anything as he leaned forward to blow out the flames.


And then, because I rewatched episode 323 about 4 times and concluded I like the manga version better except for 1 scene...

Title: Gamble
Rating: PG
Characters: Zoro, Luffy, Robin, Usopp
Word Count: 759



Roronoa Zoro had never struck Nico Robin as a man who gambled with anything other than his own life. And yet his words earlier that day had been, for all their bitter truth, something of a bet. It was the kind of bet their captain made on a regular basis; one – for all the harshness of it – that ultimately depended on his trust in his nakama. Luffy had taken it, because he would always bet on his nakama no matter how much it seemed he had been betrayed, and had sat down with full faith that the right outcome would prevail. Zoro had left, which was probably wise, and it was clear from their talk that the rest of them, not even the cook who at least understood what the swordsman’s words intended, had not seen the scales on which Zoro had weighed his ultimatum. Perhaps even he didn’t, not clearly, but Robin suspected he did even if he would never admit it. He had grown since Alabasta – they all had – but it seemed to her as if Zoro had changed the most, shouldering a responsibility that the rest of their nakama, including the captain this time, still did not see.

For that she could only be grateful, to have escaped the task herself. A lifetime of tough choices had made her tired and it was reassuring to know that the man who had chosen to temper and strengthen their captain’s role was one who tended to make foolish decisions only with regards to himself. He knew their strengths and weaknesses better than Luffy did, though the captain would always be the truest judge of their hearts, and, as he had just shown, he could compel Luffy to think matters through, although perhaps in the future he would not need, Robin hoped, to resort to threats. Usopp could be a hard man to read for all of his talk and constant revelations of his fears. Yet Zoro had gambled on him and Robin believed he had been right.

……………………………………………………

Tension strained the captain’s voice, played his upbeat tone as falsely as the nervous sweat pouring down his brow. Usopp had not come. Not once in all the hours Luffy had waited, with patience none of them had ever seen before, in the Galley La offices. And the captain had given his word, accepted the terms his swordsman had set before him, and there was no more time to wait. Robin’s gaze flicked from Luffy’s distressed face to the man beside her. Zoro sat back against the rail in a familiar pose, the one he often took as he got ready for a nap. But his eyes were open and they were watching Luffy. His face did not betray him but his sword trembled, so faint that she almost didn’t see. He had lost his gamble, or so it seemed, and Zoro was not a man who took losing lightly.

Would it drive a wedge between them, a break that could not be healed? It was almost too terrible to contemplate a further rift opening in the crew but Usopp’s loss would be the kind of wound that would fester, sullen and buried, until it could not be hidden any longer. The bedrock faith on which they all depended upon each other as nakama, would it be shaken? What would come of this miserable wager? It was too soon to know and incoming cannon fire meant it was impossible to consider. And, even as their new ship turned towards the open sea, a familiar voice rang out over the din.

They could all hear it, every last one of them, but the captain and the swordsman seemed to have been struck by a sudden plague of deafness. It drove the poor doctor to tears and desperation, but Chopper had never understood. Robin smiled even as she caught cannon balls and propped up her inflated captain so he could repel more. It would happen. It had to happen. Because Luffy looked like he wanted to cry and Usopp’s voice grew thicker and thicker and because Roronoa Zoro was not a gambling man. And finally it happened, heartfelt and heart wrenching, and Robin knew she was the only one to see Zoro smile and whisper the sniper’s name, taking over another area of incoming fire even as Luffy turned and extended his impossibly long arms. Winning suited him far better than losing but Robin suspected it would be a while before Zoro bet quite so drastically with anything other than himself again.

Comments

[astrokender.livejournal.com]

Gah! Drabble Love!

Oh, that second one especially. I adored that part in the anime, where Zoro was actually shaking as he watched Luffy try to pretend everything was okay. *fangasms*

Robin's POV was a perfect vessel here to tell the story. It delighted me. :) Great job!

[dethorats]

Thanks!

I totally had a fangirl overload moment when I saw that. It's nice of the animators to toss in a little ZoLu moment for a change after all the usual ZoSan they sneak in.

[velshtein.livejournal.com]

I love Hancock so much. ♥ And Ace is breaking my heart every chapter now. ;;

[dethorats]

She's just so hilarious! And I feel kind of bad for her because Luffy's gonna break her heart. Hopefully Oda has someone else in store for her (OMG, what if it's Buggy since Alvida seems to have abandoned him?! That would be awesome!) and Ace...I just feel so bad for him. I hope those rumors that circulated a while back are completely wrong about his possible demise.

[fantsywever.livejournal.com]

The second one made sense. Zoro gambles only his own life like you said. Yet that speech of his was utterly needed at that point. I was actually a bit annoyed with Chopper for not getting it.

[dethorats]

Well...Chopper's young and hasn't had that much interaction with people yet. I can see why he didn't get it. But I do think Zoro's speech was a necessary thing...and it foreshadowed so well all the hardship that was/is to come as well so Oda didn't just toss it out for no reason/to produce yet more Water 7 angst.