I've been shipping Shanks and Luffy for about five years now. It's only been until recently that the voices have taken over and commanded me to write. So far, I have written 165k+ words. I am very, very serious about this ship and I need everyone to become as demented and ravenous about them as I am.
Slow burn (Novel Length) Fics
Never Intentional - COMPLETED. Smut with too much plot. By far my most creative idea. On their way to Elbaph, the Strawhat Pirates explore a multiverse-bridging island fourteen years in the past. And a twenty-five-year-old Shanks just so happens to be exploring, too.
Patience - IN PROGRESS. Spin off of never intentional. Shanks and Luffy reunite on Elbaph. Luffy's crush on Shanks becomes a problem.
[Ramblings: 1 | 2]
Sunburn - IN PROGRESS. Spin off of never intentional, where a younger Shanks' indifference and coldness toward a young Luffy leads the rubberboy to become a Marine.
Hands to Yourself - IN PROGRESS. As a child, Luffy swore to marry Shanks, his former next-door neighbor and a demon. Due to mysterious circumstances, Luffy has forgotten the promise and Shanks. It's not until his eighteenth birthday that Shanks returns and proposes to him.
One Shots
Hopefully, I can add more to this list because I have so, so many smutty ideas for Shanks and Luffy that don't require thousands of words to get to the "good" part, but for now, it's just the one!
Accessible - A/B/O. Omega Luffy propositions Shanks, a beta. What could go wrong?
friends&lovers - Fluff and Smut. Gaban helps Shanks and Luffy get together with liquor, duh.
enjoy yourself - PWP. Pure and simple. I can't really explain but it's literally Shanks getting drunk and banging Luffy.
relocate - A/B-O PWP. More Shankslu time travel shenanigans, Shanks gets teleports into his future self’s body, and he just so happens to be sleeping with Luffy
Ever since I started shipping Shanks and Luffy, I always thought of Shanks as a hopeless romantic, with many, many faults. He is equal parts self-loathing and devoted. He is a sad old man through and through, and the object of his desires and hopes is Luffy. I couldn't really convey the emotions they evoked in me, not fully, until now, but it's melancholic and romantic all at the same time. And, I think Shanks would lose that confident, flirty facade and just be more himself without the burden of keeping the world balanced. With Luffy, he is more, and Luffy really doesn't see Shanks' diplomatic side; he doesn't know Redhaired Shanks, the Emperor. He knows Shanks, the hopeless, dotting romantic, who teases and starts playfights. The one who will hug him until he can't breathe and kiss him all over like he's some kind of stray kitten. He knows Shanks to be unapologetically himself. In short, they are in love, and also Shanks adores Luffy and Luffy adores him, but they express it very, very differently (Shanks likes quality time, meanwhile Luffy's all about physical touch, as in he's literally velcro-ed to Shanks)
And another thing! For me, and let me be personal, this is my personal taste, and I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything, but I think Shanks is best paired with Luffy. I said it! Only because I can see him being genuinely happy to just be around him and be with Luffy. Close your eyes, imagine with me. Shanks is watching the SHP interact and Luffy's being silly, fun and so, so unapologetically himself and Shanks can't help but smile. It's a soft, endearing expression because he's proud of Luffy like everything he looks at Luffy, he's just so unfathomably happy, proud, and content with himself. And, what makes it better is that Luffy's so incredibly emotionally intelligent. He knows Shanks likes the back. In romance, or being human, we inherently desire to be perceived and loved unconditionally, for our flaws and achievements, and I think Shanks and Luffy perfectly exemplify this. Sure, the age gap is a little iffy, but when it boils down to it. I think it's the most interesting ship in One Piece. Like sure, there's Luffy with Zoro, devotion, friends turned lovers, ride or die, or even Ace and Luffy, sworn brothers, dreams, ride or die, or even Sanji and Luffy. These are all amazing ships. I don't actively go out of my way to consume them, but I think about them sometimes, but nothing really hits, like Luffy with the man who inspired him and said man has also devoted himself to a deity, a deity that Luffy is the embodiment of. Shankslu is the perfect storm of devotion, heartfelt attraction, childhood crush, admiration, and the drive to be better, not just for those around you but also for yourself. I can see Luffy with so many characters, but the only one I can see him truly content and giddy to be around, whether platonic or romantic, is Shanks. In my brain, Shanks would give him all the assurances and praise he deserves, and I've never truly seen Luffy get flustered, but with Shanks, he'd experience butterflies and be nervous and happy HE'D FALL IN LOVE. I NEED TO STOP AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Ever since I started shipping Shanks and Luffy, I always thought of Shanks as a hopeless romantic, with many, many faults. He is equal parts self-loathing and devoted. He is a sad old man through and through, and the object of his desires and hopes is Luffy. I couldn't really convey the emotions they evoked in me, not fully, until now, but it's melancholic and romantic all at the same time. And, I think Shanks would lose that confident, flirty facade and just be more himself without the burden of keeping the world balanced. With Luffy, he is more, and Luffy really doesn't see Shanks' diplomatic side; he doesn't know Redhaired Shanks, the Emperor. He knows Shanks, the hopeless, dotting romantic, who teases and starts playfights. The one who will hug him until he can't breathe and kiss him all over like he's some kind of stray kitten. He knows Shanks to be unapologetically himself. In short, they are in love, and also Shanks adores Luffy and Luffy adores him, but they express it very, very differently (Shanks likes quality time, meanwhile Luffy's all about physical touch, as in he's literally velcro-ed to Shanks)
Currently in the process of daydreaming about Shankslu, as I always do, they get my brain firing that sweet, sweet oxytocin but right now, I really want to talk about how Rumiko Takahashi and Kanoko Sakurakojiruined me. Don't worry, this is really about Hand to yourself and to an extent, patience.
For context, I read Blackbird at the age of 12, and that RUINED me. If you have read the chapters of Hand to Yourself (I'm abbreviating it HTY) I posted, it's basically the same thing, except it's Shanks and Luffy because the voices inside my brain are telling me to do it. But this shoujo manga grabbed me by the throat at such a formative age and WWE-ed me. It literally rewired my brain. The main love interest is a pervert; he's freaked out, and the heroine isn't stopping it, and I was like, "This is delicious, give me twenty more." And, I recently decided to reread it, and it still bangs! So hard that I was like, I'm going to write a fic with my current hyperfixation loosely based on Blackbird! The heroine and Luffy have nothing in common, and I made up a shit ton of stuff about it, but I also want it to be similar to Ranma 1/2, with multiple love interests. It's basically a harem, but everyone knows who the main character will end up with, and it's very episodic and also funny. It's so fucking funny. I grew up with these two pieces of media, and they truly have shaped my enjoyment of romance. I love rom-coms, and I don't think we have enough of them. I wanna burst out laughing and cry while I read because the characters are doing the dumbest, most insane thing for the situation. I love situational humor. For HTY, I want Luffy to have so many love interests. I need Boa, Koby, Ace, Sabo, Katakuri, and Mihawk (to get to Shanks). And that's not to mention the other half because I also want Shanks to have love interests, too- well, exes.
Anyway, I have 3.5k on ch.3 I’m putting off patience bc I’m not in the mindset to write more than 20 characters interacting lmao, but there are gonna be sooo many character interactions in ch. 3!!! ALSO imma make Shanks so puppy dog, I can’t explain it other than this is what I think Shanks would be without the moral qualm of banging Luffy, a little pathetic, whiny, childish, and just really, really protective and caring and prideful of Luffy. But, he's going to come off as a total pervert at first because I fucking love that trope. Controversial take! Unlike Oda with Sanji, Takahashi cooked with Miroku. He's similar to Sanji in that he's a "simp," not really; he's more of a womanizer, and also hits on every single woman he sees by being iconic and asking, "Will you bear my children?" YES LORD. I WILL. Anyway, I fucking love his character, he's pervy, sure the joke gets old, but when he gets serious and nnnnnnnnnnghh, I can't make it stop, it's all over my screen! He just gropes his love interest, and I'm like staaahppp. Anyway, I really want HTY Shanks to be this. This. I'm wagging my finger at all of Miroku right now. I love him.
Another thing! I want Luffy to genuinely play hard to get. He and Shanks are going to be so endgame, but there will be so much tension, it's like, why don't they just fuck???? But overall, come here, sit down with me, listen, I need everyone, just like Luffy, to fall in love with Shanks, because at first, I need Shanks to come off as a total creep, which I hope I have done so far. Let's count, so far, he kissed Luffy without permission, groped him, licked him all over, and kidnapped him. And, I moaned while writing all of those scenes. Again, HTY is a very horny shoujo manga. You know that one meme of 'Flirting v Sexual Harassment,' that's it. That's HTY. I am so happy with it, too. It's so self-indulgent, and now that I'm talking about it, I'm realizing it's very problematic. The more I think about it, I'm like, damn, this is the exact opposite of Patience/Never intentional, where it was hot and steamy tension, and in HTY, it's just gonna be like "Devina needs to be sedated, Shanks would NOT do that." In this fic, he will. He's going to be such a pervert, but such a respectful pervert, like he wouldn't grope Luffy when he's sad. He'll do it when Luffy's happy. The lesser of two evils. AND I want to write Gaban and Rayleigh into this, and Roger! Admittedly, they aren't going to be weird about Luffy. His brothers are going to be weird, and Garp and Dadan are going to be the best worst parents. Overall, this AU is for the girls who read 17 and up manga when they were preteens and got into dubious love interests. Pervert Shanks. My heart is fluttering with delight at the mere thought. Shanks down bad for Luffy in his own creepy, pervy way, and Luffy is into it but will NEVER EVER admit it out loud because it will only egg Shanks on more. I'm moaning.
I estimated HTY to be 10 chapters. I'm a liar. It's probably going to be around 20 or more, probably more, because I'm me and I need to add angst, hurt/comfort, and pining. Brace yourself, there will be heavy angst in this because I need there to be pain before they get together together.
I really love, how Mihawk is mocking Zoro here. It's like "bite me, if you can". Zoro is so angry, but he actually can't do anything. This tension is 🤌🏻
And yes, Mihawk is basically too pretty to be ignored as a man. Zoro will have a tough fight with his own feelings
Let me be self-indulgent and talk about ships I like, so the only ships I have ever been compelled to write for have been Obi-wan/Anakin, Hawks/Endeavor, Megumi/Sukna, and now Shanks/Luffy (they are in that order coz that's the top/bottom dynamic I prefer. This is very long-winded but about Mihawk and Zoro.
Tangent. I often find that I enjoy the 'masculine' or most reserved ones being the bottom, and nothing truly breaks down a tough guy's defenses than accepting love (for example, Anakin, Endeavor, and Sukuna). Luffy's an exception to this, but I think Shanks does fit this because that's one ship I truly don't mind who bottoms or tops, but I do realize that Shanks fulfills the bottom roles whether he tops of bottoms and when I say that I mean he's overwhelmed and embraces that he is loved unconditionally by Luffy and I think that's very, very hot.
Anyway, I love devotion/obsession/admiration in my ships. I think it's arguably the best thing to explore in dynamics because it's so fun to write. This is a lead up to talking about Mihawk and Zoro, now for that ship, I really do think, it would be intense, self-destructive, but so fulfilling to just read. Beyond the sexual tension and yeah, Zoro looks good with anyone, but I really think what makes it is the potential Mihawk has to be possessive and so obsessive. In my mind, Mihawk's desire for Zoro is comparable to being at the end of Shanks' blade, after their many, many battles. Shanks has the upper hand, and if he so chooses to, he could kill Mihawk, but he never does. Shanks has mercy, no intent to harm him, no desire for bloodlust. He knows he is safe, but there's a thrill in the split second where Shanks disarms him, and feints going for the finishing blow. It never comes, but with Zoro, it's there that thrill of death is there. Back when he was training Zoro on Kuraigana, it was there, Zoro's determination and hatred for him. He felt i everytime Zoro lunged at him. And he craves more it even being around Zoro's electric, because he knows Zoro will one day fulfill his fantasy of dying. Meanwhile, Zoro's torn between admiration and envy because Mihawk is everything he wants. He's confused. Does he want to be the man or have him. Zoro's never truly experienced genuine attraction; there's a rush in fighting, sure, but that's the extent of it, and Mihawk's alluring. In combat, he pushes Zoro to the breaking point, until he's desperate and animalistic, just driven by a desire to cut and harm. Mihawk brings him to the point of agony and offers no relief, just monotone, dismissive praise or a satisfied look at Zoro's improvement. it's complete hell. He demeans Zoro with every defeat and yet Zoro comes crawling back, more determined. AND that's not to mention Perona!!! I need Zoro to have so much jealousy toward Perona because she and Mihawk are not necessarily romantic. Perona's a beautiful woman and Mihawk's attracted to her. So, naturally, they're sleeping together and Zoro's furious because he sees marks on her and she's not necessarily bragging about it, but she tells Zoro, "Duh, Mihawks a handsome man and she's here alone with him, what did you expect would happen??" I need Zoro to be conflicted about his sexuality, too. He's attracted to women (He's been socialized that way, but he truly isn't) but when he sees Perona he's jealous and he doesn't know why, so naturally he thinks he wants her, too, which he doesn't but he makes himself think that!!! And, Perona takes one look at Zoro and is like sure, why not? And now, imagine this, we have not a love triangle, but Perona caught in the middle, unaware of Mihawk and Zoro's attraction to one another, and they're sleeping with her, Zoro's leaving a possessive mark, and Mihawk is just enraptured by how daring Zoro is. They keep fighting, sleeping with Perona, until it all blows up in Zoro's face and he has to confront his feelings toward Mihawk, BUT THEY DONT SLEEP WITH EACH OTHER!!! Not during the time skip!!!! Am I plotting a Mizo slow burn?????? OMG SEND HELP
I am sooooooooooo going to write this fic
edit. Then, it's not until Luffy becomes Pirate King that Zoro goes back to challenge Mihawk. Mihawk loses and tells Zoro to kill him. Zoro can't bring himself to do it, Mihawk gets pissed off, and they end up making out, all desperate and hungry for one another. I need Mihawk to be poetic and think that it's a fate worse than death: falling in love with a pirate, who he'll seldom meet at Sea, he'll have to savor the experience!!! I can add Sanzo angst to this!! Oh this is going to be soooo JUICY!!!
ch. 19 of patience is going to be soooooo cute, i finally get to write character interactions, mainly the strawhats interacting with the redhaired pirates this is going to be SUCH a long and fun chapter and also im introducing yamato! eek! my baby boy! and, by popular demand, im doing to insert some jealous shanks (looking at yamato and zoro lovingly) i know exactly what to do to make Shanks jealous, but it's going to be soooo surface level bc i know a man like shanks doesn't get jealous, like truly jealous, and i dont want to add about five chapters to patience just to delay the smut, i want them to sleep together as much as everyone wants!!!! writing a slow burn isn't for the weak!!! Ahhhh!! After this ch. 19, I'm going to be 150k+ in, and they will have barely kissed!!! I wish I didn't have to write it and the words could magically appear
But, other than that, the smut is going to START ch.19 (kicking my feet) no one is ready, i've been writing the smut for patience way back since chapter 12, I literally have an entire tab dedicated to just them getting it on!!!!
my evidence:
Anyway onto the sauce, patience's entire smut, I'm thinking it being the complete opposite of never intentions' smut, like everything sunburn shanks thought to do to patience luffy,,, is gonna happen, HEH mwahahahah and also gonna add every headcanon about shankslu I possibly can, i miss writing shanks and lu banter, banter? banter, omg i write banter for them and bickering, they are so cute together uhm anyway, im centering the scenes around two very very extremely hornkee lines, both of which are from shanks, bc i will die on the hill that luffy is overwhelmed by having a hot sexy big man like shanks as his partner, fantasy is one thing but as soon as shanks shows desire, luffy short circuits he doesn't become docile but he gets so dumb and he fumbles over his words and actions,,, its going to take a while for luffy to be comfortable topping, and by comfortable i mean not busting a minute in, i have sooooo many ideas just for the smut, EEEKK i finally get to write it im jumping for JOY.
after getting a comment on my fic, i knda have the urge to write mihawk/zoro, but it's the day of their duel for the title of worlds best swordsman... i havent explored this ship to it's full extend, and i really wanna just peak into mihawks' brain.
overall, i think mihawk would be 100% attracted to zoro, it'd be beyond physical, he adores zoro's willingness to die, i think he'd find zoro overall extremely erotic, and if given the opportunity, he'd sleep with zoro but zoro on the otherhand, he's reserved and refuses to give into the urge of combining sex and combat, he can't do that, his promise to kuina is pure, it's for her, but he can't deny the tension he and mihawk have especially when they spare (during the time skip)
speaking of which, during the time skip, o think mihawk would have tempted zoro soooooooooooo much, he'd praise zoro but put him down at the same time and zoro would be gritting his teeth and baring it but also he wants to prove mihawk wrong, OMG but also zoro fears death as in he has so much to live for, he has his friends his dream, and mihawks drives him to that suicidal ideation we saw in wano, basically, mihawk seduces zoro not phsyically but ideologically and when theyfinally fight and zoro wins, mihawks tells him to kill him and that he'd find no greater pleasure than dying by zoro's blade BUT I WANT ZORO NOT TO BE ABLE TO DO AND INSTEAD HE RUNS FROM MIHAWK, ZORO'S AVOIDANT BC HE CAN'T KILL MIHAWK HE ADMIRES THE MAN AND HE ALSO HATES HIM AND MIHAWK FOLLOWS HIM AND THEY END UP HAVING THE MOST PENTUP, PASSIONATE AND ANGRY SEX
and when i write this fic im going to name it "dead man walking"
This is the first time, I've written a long fic, and it's my first on, talking about patience duh, i've started plenty but never gotten far, but i did write it with the intention of being reread, im sure there are glaring plot holes that i havent considered mainly, shanks' whole thing that they can't be together but him training luffy in the underworld regardless (sshhhh it's so they can fall in love and flirt and fight), but other than that, i've been hintiing that shanks and luffy are soulmates for about 5 chapters, mainly through Mu's whole covenant and that, but more importantly, ch.12 confirms that yes shanks did fall in love with luffy in the underworld so that right there already, in my head, makes the fic sooo yummy my only regret is not making luffy fall into cold water and he and shanks having to cuddle naked for warmth now that would have been the cherry on top! I might make a whole short fic based on thatidea bc i also wanted to add more romance but again, it didn't fit bc if i added the cuddling scene and a cave scene i wanted then they would have kissed and the fic wouldn't have had conflict
And to no one's surprise, another patience rambling!
If it wasn't obvious, patience is a soulmate au, but i've been very very dutiful in not saying that but i literally say it in ch.18, speaking of which i initially planned so that the reveal would happen with robin. yamato, loki talking about oden's journal, but i elected not to bc a) i didn't wanna add yamato to the bb drama, they show up next chapter and b) adding them wouldn't really add anything major and im planning something cute with them anyway! anyway! again, rambling, ihave no purpose for this, but they are soulmate! i once said that inuyasha has ruined me for romance bc when i tell you, i want epic romances and i really do hope i wrote an epic romance, i might go back an rewrite some sections just to tightens patience up but i have been really happy about how it's coming out, future me (when i forget i wrote this) will be kicking her feet reading this
I love and I mean love the idea of Shanks being a silent protector, which is what Oda has written him as. He is the world's balancer, literally waiting for Luffy, he has set up the world so that Nika/Luffy can save but he's going to say, he's above saying it, everything he does is for luffy and he's sacrified so much for nika/luffy, the dedication the duty the romance of it omg im going to start panting like a dog!!! it's so hot i can't describe it, shanks love language is acts of service but the service is him dedicating his entire life to luffy and luffy, being luffy won't know the full extent of it and shanks will never tell him everything, bc he doesn't need to, luffy knows, OMG I CAN'T FUKING IM GOING TOSCREAM, i did kinda write myslf into a corner though, i didn't want shanks to tell luffy anything and them proceed but then i realized they have to share things, and be open, and i've established thatluffy does want to know since chapter 7-8.!!!!! Im acting like i didn' t write it lol
anyway, loki, loki i love loki and the anime is airing now and omg i adore loki i wish i wrote more of him, i will actually next chapter, im going to start wrapping everything up, the main story ends at ch.20, omg two more chapters to go and we're done! and then it's sunburn i have soooo many thoughts about sunburn mainly, if people cried and wanted to hit me bc of the angst and the suspense in patience.... i still like sunburn more than patience and also im keeping the idea of shanks and luffy being soulmates in sunburn bc in my devina-shanks-verse things they are always soulmates if i ever write for another pairing like sanzo or acelu shanks and luffy will be soulmates there will be romantic tension!!! what was i saying LOKI!!! omg if loki doesn't join the crew in canon,,, im saying nothing and everything at the same time
i keep thinking about an omegaverse, and being basic, very, very basic, i want to make luffy and omega and shanks and alpha, but that doesn't feel right, alpha luffy x beta shanks feels better, but alpha x alpha shankslu feels the best.
im imagining an omegaverse where there are dominant/recessive dynamics, like for example, dominant alphas aren't affected by omega's pheromones they keep a level head, and their ruts aren't too bad, they're just more horned up than usual, it doesn't take over their life. in this scenario, both shanks and luffy are dominant alphas. i need, an absolute need here, luffy to want shanks first. he wants shanks in a way that is reminiscent of how an alpha wants to court and omega but it's luffy. and it's rare for an alpha to take such great interest in... well, an alpha!! luffy's eyeing shanks and just scenting him, literally claiming him without shanks noticing. luffy likes the way shanks smells, usually he doesn't like other alpha's scents (aside from robin and sanji, they smell nice but shanks smells amazing).
shanks doesn't notice luffy's scenting him. whenever their crews come together, he's overwhelmed by luffy's scent. keep in mind, luffy scents all of his crew, he's very possessive over them. it doesn't even occur to shanks that luffy is interested in him because why would he be??? he's a forty yo alpha, unmated, sailing around with other alphas and betas, meanwhile luffy has an omega on the crew, multiple suitors (boa mainly comes to mind and she's an omega) and luffy's young,he can have anyone he wanted, literally.
on the otherhand, luffy's trying to think of a way to approach shanks but not scare him off, he's thinking, actually thinking, bc shanks is so important to him he doesnt want to lose him and he sucks at thinking, planning anything that isn't actively doing something. luffy manages to comes up with a plan, which literally is just barging into shanks cabin and declaring his love and that they should be together,,,, shanks is SHOCKED, okay okay now for the juicy part, luffy's first true rut is with shanks, THEY BITE ONE ANOTHER
I have an Acelu fic idea. Listen it's a slow burn, friends to lovers, heavy angst, hurt/comfort and eventual romance.
Post-Marine ford, Ace lives, but when Ikainu went to strike him, Luff --at the very last second-- moved Ace, and they both took the impact. Imagine Ace and Luffy's side being burnt. Luffy took the brunt of the attack. Everything else proceeds as usual. Shanks arrived to stop the war, and Blackbeard stole Whitebeard's Devil Fruit. Ace saw all of it but couldn't do anything since he's gravely injured, and what's worse is that Luffy's on the verge of death. Law still operates on Luffy, and now Ace and they both wake up on Rusukaina.
Ace wakes up first, fueled by wanting to go back and hunt down Blackbeard again. He has learned nothing. Luffy's not a priority in his mind. He wants to avenge his father. When he tries to leave the island, Rayleigh reveals that Shanks is sailing around, and he immediately stops Ace, telling him that if he wants to defeat Blackbeard, then he's the first obstacle, because while Ace was out, Blackbeard was named as an Emperor. So, effectively, Ace is stuck on the island with Luffy and Rayleigh, a man who talks about Roger, and Ace hates Roger.
It's not helping that Marco is there, waiting for Ace to be ready, because Whitebeard's men are rallying around Ace, the last symbol of Whitebeard. There are men who want to follow Ace, now more than ever, since he was revealed to be Gol D. Roger's son. Marco tells him that Whitebeard planned to make him the successor. Ace doesn't take this well. He's convinced it's because he's Roger's son and that he didn't earn this. In Ace's mind, everything is boiling down to his bloodline.
Meanwhile, Luffy still hasn't woken up. Ace is getting restless, and he's feeling himself on the verge of doing something stupid, really stupid. Everyone is keeping him sane, Marco, Shanks, and Rayleigh. Luffy wakes up and Ace realizes that he can't lose Luffy. He genuinely loves his brother so much, and Luffy is the only person in his life who sees him not as an accessory to Roger but as his own person.
Overall, I've mainly want to focus on Ace's inner turmoil, all of his self-doubt and insecurities, and him prioritizing his revenge over his connection to Luffy, Rayleigh holding a mirror to him and Roger, Ace finding out more about his biological parents, Shanks mentoring Ace in a way by teaching him that revenge isn't everything. While all of this is happening, Luffy decides to make his love more apparent. He's sharing a bed with Ace, hugging and kissing his cheek. It's really innocent and sweet, small things, but Ace doesn't really see it as anything more than brotherly and childish,something he doesn't need. He doesn't need comfort. He wants revenge. It's not until Luffy kisses him on the lips that he panics that he forgets his hatred, but the memory of Whitebeard's death and the countless men that died for him bring him back. He sees Luffy's love as a distraction....
For my sake, too, I really, really want to have Rayleigh and Ace have lots and lots of conversations. Ace learns more about Rogue through Rayleigh, and Rayleigh has the realization that he sees Roger/Rogue in Ace/Luffy, but he keeps that to himself. And, here's where the angst really, really comes in. Luffy asks Ace to sail with him, and simultaneously, Ace is given the option, through Marco, to go avenge Whitebeard. You should know that at this point, Luffy and Ace have been affectionate. Ace didn't reject Luffy's kiss. They haven't slept together yet. It's more of a comfort, but it's super intimate. So, there Ace is, choosing between Luffy and Blackbeard, and he chooses Blackbeard.... He leaves Rusukaina without telling Luffy anything. Luffy really thought Ace would pick him.
And, that's the first half of the fic. I'm thinking I'll probably name it something real on the nose, like "ignite" anyway, the rest of it is a blur because I really want to write Shanks mentoring Ace and by mentoring I mean beating the sense into Ace. I have so many thoughts in my head, but what I really, really, absolutely want is to make everyone feel how conflicted and distraught this au makes me feel. I need to transfer all my feelings to everyone else. Imagine how painful this would be, but how cathartic it will feel when Ace goes back to Luffy. like them being intimate and earnestly embracing one another, and also Strawhat Ace!!! OMG I SHOULD CALL THIS FIC "HOME"
Luffy somehow ends up subbing for Nami at her job. He was the reason she broke her leg or something. She literally can't go back to work. So, he offers to cover her. Trust me, it works out.
He thinks it's not a big deal, I'll work a couple of shifts, pay her emotional damages, and interest. Plus, Nami's workplace takes one look at Luffy. They deem him handsome and cute enough. Little does Luffy know that Nami works at a gentlemen's club, serving drinks to men and women and chatting with them. Long story short, Luffy's a hit. He has regulars, Boa, Barto, Katakuri, Koby, and Lucci. They buy him drinks, bring him gifts, ask him on multiple dates but he says "No." He's not interested.
Meanwhile, recently divorced, now sworn forever bachelor Shanks decides, why not celebrate his divorce at a club with his friends???? Benn, Yasopp, Lucky, Limejuice, Hongo, and he all go to the club. They're talking mad shit and all collectively decide the club's not that nice. It's too fancy, and they should have gone to a sports bar. Shanks agrees and before they go to leave, Luffy recognizes and goes up to Shanks and Shanks is like oh... It's Luffy.... and for context, Luffy's in a Playboy bunny outfit bc this is self-indulgent, right? Right! Anyway, now Shanks goes behind his friend's back, becomes one of Luffy's regulars, and invites Luffy on "dates" they're not dates, they are just "hanging out" Shanks fully wants to smash and Luffy's like I like Shanks HELL YEAH I WANNA HANG OUT!!!
AND LUFFY LIVES WITH HIS BROTHERS AND SABO AND ACE ARE SO PROUD THAT LUFFY IS HOLDING DOWN A JOB!!! but then Luffy starts bringing home expensive gifts.... and then they get suspicious...
They follow Luffy to his work and are gagged that luffy's working as a host, and even more so that shanks is his regular, so naturally they go into the club with disguises and are totally normal about luffy's outfits and how adorable he looks in them... u know normal sibling type shit anyway, everyone gets a pieec of luffy, this is a harem lmaooooo, LUFFY SLEEPS WITH SABO FIRST, THEN ACE AND LASTLY SHANKS AND THEY ALL WANT HIM TO WEAR SKIMPY OUTFITS, IT ENDS IN A GANGBANG WHO SAID THAT
