so I was talking abt fics I liked on twitter today and I decided to make a fic rec list. I haven’t read any new fic in, like, four-ish years? so these are the fics which withstood the test of time to become fics I still remember and think about even now, four years later. I didn’t take any fics off of AO3, otherwise this would be much longer. most of them are angst (I have. a very specific taste) but some of them are comedy or fluff. lots of ASL, lots of zl, lots of general strawhats.
I didn’t trigger tag for any of these, because it’s been four years since I read them so it would be very easy for me to forget and/or miss something. common things to look out for, though, are torture and character death.
they’re sorted by alphabetical order of the fic title, but I listed the author’s name first, which… i’m realizing now was a weird way of doing it…. regardless! here you go. (be sure to review!! even old fics deserve love!)
Alicia Spades, A Legitimate Reason: “Luffy is tired of getting chased around. So he hands himself in. Kind of. Takes place before Skypiea.” - hilarious, iconic
SebDaryus, A Memory Forgotten: “If one person suddenly disappeared from the world, would it make much difference? [LuZo]” - left off on a horrible cliffhanger in 2009 but like. it’s still a good concept
Velkyn Karma, Asteria Nightmare: “On this island, it’s personal. The inhabitants don’t just steal your body; they feed on your dreams. Features all Straw Hats. Nakamaship; no pairings. Complete.” - ANGSTY AS HELL, REALLY GOOD, ALL TIME FAVE TBH
saltandburnit, Can’t Breathe, Don’t Want To: “"Break the surface, take a breath, feel the fear and get plunged in again.“ Luffy had almost drowned many times before. And he was always saved by someone. But this time he knew. No one was coming.” - literally so fucking upsetting, it haunts me years later. 10/10 please read this
blueh, Confusion Ensured: “It starts with a car accident. Then the voices, then the storm and then the pirates. A parallel dimension should be impossible but pirates have a strange way of breaking the laws of physics. Ace now has to share his house with someone who looks exactly like him, yet is very, very different. (Ace and Luffy fall in the modern world and meet their doubles) REWRITTEN. Dimension travel” - I helped beta most of this! the old chapters (1-4 I think?) are only like half edited, but everything after is and it’s Very Good
Clarobell, Dark Truth: “After a horrific encounter at sea, Luffy’s whole personality is changed. The straw hats struggle to help their captain recover, but how can they help him if they don’t even know what happened? After all, they slept while their captain was tortured. Chapter 18 up. The truth is revealed!” - one of the first One Piece fics I read, I don’t think it actually ever finished but like. still good
siqwithaQ, Fishtail: “By chance, Usopp happens upon a merman named Luffy, not only opening his eyes to creatures beyond humans, but giving him the inspiration he needed for an important art project. Soon, his classmate Ace also takes an interest in the merman — now, if only they could get Luffy to talk to them!” - unfinished but still really good. I loved this one so much
Zinfer, For Nakama: “Luffy saved his nakama, but at a heavy price. Now the captainless crew must find a way to get him back while he finds himself being used as a test subject to create a seastone gas.” - the scene where they threaten to cut off his arm is one of my favorite things i’ve ever read
Neko11, Forget Me Not: “”Oh, you know your ‘friends’ well, don’t you? But let me tell you one thing, Strawhat: Things like 'friends’ or 'trust’ are meaningless when I’m around. All the memories you’ve made with them, everything they know about you… it doesn’t exist anymore.” (Now it’s up to Luffy to beat a man who manipulates memories and make his friends remember him.)” - talking abt this on twitter was what inspired this post. it’s good. I love amnesia/memory alterations
Fire Tears, Grace: “It isn’t who you are that determines how you deal with a tragedy. It’s what you lose.” - the most horrible death fic i’ve ever read, if you read it to someone in prison you’d violate their 8th amendment rights. 10/10
pingo1387, Let Our Fires Melt This Frozen Heart: “AU. When Luffy vanishes without a trace one snowy evening, Ace and Sabo must leave home to find him—no matter the cost. Based on Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen."” - just overall high quality fic
Velkyn Karma, Mindshattered: “Sanji knew how difficult it was to survive the hell that was starvation. What he hadn’t expected was that he’d need to get his nakama through it, too. Features Zoro and Sanji; Nakamaship, no pairings. Complete.” - I just really like beating up Zoro idk
HeroR, Mist of Memories: “Guilt, regret, if left alone these feelings will consumed even the strongest of souls. That is the reality the Strawhats face as they go into their captain’s memories to save their precious crewmate. To free their captain’s from his guilt, they must first understand the depths of his pain and loss.” - this is the sequel to another fic (Perchance to Dream, which is Also in this list) but i’m doing this in alphabetical order so, uh. it’s rlly good tho.
Leiyoi, Nobody: “AU. When two nobodies meet, they become…? A story that begins in a land of snow. There is magic, despair, and imprisonment… but above all that, hope and the bonds of trust between two lonesome people. ZoLu.” - this has gotta be one of he weirder fics i’ve read bc the concept was p strange but it’s always stuck out to me. it’s one of the first I recommend.
pingo1387, Not In Service: “AU. Luffy’s been missing for a good while now when Zoro unexpectedly receives a call from him. ZoLu, character death, one-shot.” - I still haven’t forgiven you for this man
Azuregold, On the Misty Shore: “The doctors thought he’d come to get better. Luffy thought he’d come for adventure. And when he hears the legend of a ghostly pirate ship that haunts the waters near his new home, he thinks he might just have found it. AU-ish, no pairings.” - FIRST OP FIC I EVER READ AND STILL SO DAMN GOOD. 10/10
pingo1387, Out of the Sea and into Love: “A beached stranger with a familiar mark on his neck leads to a stay with the King. ZoLu, one-shot, Half-Merman Zoro.” - look. I like mer fic. i like pingo. idk what you want from me
HeroR, Perchance to Dream: “Is this a dream? As long as one is happy, does it really matter if one is dreaming? Can’t a dream be just as real as any reality? Especially when it returns something that was taken from you.” - this was like. really fucking good. seriously I need to reread this bc i’m forgetting most of it but what i remember of it was amazing
AlibisDragon, Red Sky: “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning. When Zoro is forced to do the unthinkable. Who will have a harder time with forgiveness? The captain he hurt? Or the swordsman himself? ZoLu Oneshot.” - I think I must’ve reread this like 20 times I still think abt it a lot
MaskedPyro, Second Chance: “What would you do if you died and were given a second chance to live? What if coming back meant you return as a child and you and the people most important to you lost all their memories along with their age? Find out what Ace, Sabo, and Luffy end up going through just to be with each other. No pairings. T for language and violence” - (this is older than sabo returning lmao) I remember like, nearly crying in lunch back in fucking middle school reading the last chap. I should reread this
siqwithaQ, Shape & Collide: “The Mugiwara crew docks at an island in the New World, where Luffy bumps into… Ace, Sabo, and Luffy? One Luffy learns how life could have been if he had set out to sea with his brothers, and another learns how it could have turned out if he hadn’t.” - also unfinished but like what’s there is still really really good
pingo1387, Smoke and Mirrors: “Luffy’s discovery of something in the forest puts the whole crew in danger.” - just a cool ass fic tbh
Era Yachi, Soul and Bones: “Brook is willing to do anything for the sake of his crew. Some days it’s simple being the Straw Hat’s musician. Some days, it wears him right down to the bone. A series of one-shots about Brook, each featuring different Straw Hats” - Brook-centric oneshots. I don’t remember all of them but the ones I do are rlly good……. this fic is part of the reason I love Brook as much as I do (and I love Brook A Lot). the Chopper one and the Sanji one still fuck me up
Taisi, Standards: “”You aren’t planning on bringing that boy in with you tomorrow night, are you? Our restaurant has certain standards.” (In which the Straw Hats set out to prove their captain meets certain standards; whether he likes it or not.) Nakamaship.” - it’s just cute idk. i’d put more Taisi fics on here but I read them all in one day and they all blended together. I recommend checking them out.
callosum, Starvation Dairy No 2: “Sanji’s worst nightmare comes true, but this time the Straw Hats won’t let their nakama bear it alone. Sanji/Everyone nakamaship. Sanji’s POV. Set post-Impel Down, in the New World. Complete!” - old as hell, big mom had never even appeared yet but god. really good Sanji content
chibikaty, The Bounty of Dead Bones Brook: “The question of “wanted dead or alive” becomes a difficult question concerning Brook.” - this is the funniest godamn fic please read it oh my god
The Otaku With Hazel Eyes, Tomorrow’s Romance Dawn: “The Straw Hats have left Drum, ready to take on Baroque Works in Alabasta. However, upon making a pit stop at a fog-covered 'mystery island’, they come across something they never expected to find, even on the Grand Line: an older Zoro! Now they must locate the rest of the future Straw Hats, as well as keep an ancient treasure out of the hands of bounty hunters. (MOVING TO AO3!)” - I fell behind on this and it’s still going but god everything i read of it was so damn good and i’ve been meaning to read the rest
pingo1387, Visit to the Gallery: “An innocent visit to an art gallery goes horribly wrong. Can the Strawhats escape or will they be trapped forever?” - real good if you also like Ib. there’s a sequel which I forgot to put on here which is also really really good
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