One Piece Time Travel Fic Recs
Time Travel is one of my all time favorite tropes and genres -- I'll often trawl through the tag on AO3 in search of new fic, sometimes without even specifying a fandom to see if there are new fandoms I should check out just because they lend themselves well to time travel. Since I'm currently in a One Piece mood (and was recently searching for an old fic I had read), I've bookmarked a number of my favorite One Piece time travel stories to share.
Some recs in no particular order:
lightning strikes (Calling Demons from the Deep) (6560 words) by Triscribe
Series: Part 1 of Maelstrom Time Travel AU
Summary:
“Wait- wait wait wait wait, you and your friends fought Kaido the Beast and Charlotte Linlin at the same time?!”
“My allies,” Law insisted, while Drake coughed into his fist to try and hide a smirk. “And it wasn’t intentional, but stupid Strawhat needed to go get his cook back from Big Mom and she wound up following them to Wano.”
“His cook being the estranged Vinsmoke prince from Germa,” Drake added helpfully, because at this point Roci would swear the two boys were just competing to see who could put the most alarmed expression on his face.
Rec Notes: First in a great unfinished series with multiple people (allies and not) transported to the past. Each fic so far focuses on a different person or group of people that time traveled, and they can trigger memories of the future in people that they are close to that were not with them when the event occurred. The first fic focuses on Law, and I believe the second is Sabo. The series is not complete yet, but is very promising!!
the storm has come again (24404 words) by Sroloc_Elbisivni
Chapters: 5/5
Summary:
Or: turn back D. clock
After the disaster that is Egghead Island, the one who sits on the Empty Throne decides to gamble with a powerful artifact and turn back time. Two and a half years should be enough to keep this new generation of pirates from turning everything into a mess.
Too bad it was impossible to know in advance that everyone with the Will of D would be dragged along for the ride.
Rec Notes: Possibly one of my all time favorite fics, and one I am waiting to share irl because the One Piece convert I want to pass it on to hasn't caught up yet. I love a fic with multiple time travelers fucking shit up. Spoilers for the end of the Egghead Arc.
A Split Thread (11648 words) by SrirachaBunny
Rating: Mature
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy/Roronoa Zoro
Series: Part 1 of Spin a Yarn
Summary:
The Straw Hats find it a little weird that they don’t have a first mate. Whenever they ask, Luffy just laughs and says they do. Which is weirder, because none of the crew have ever met this so-called first mate.
A time-travel au, in which a captain and his first mate go back to the very beginning, and figures they can do more good apart than together. At least for now.
Rec Notes: First in a ZoLu series in which Luffy and Zoro time travel back from a Bad End to make things better. I don't always like Bad End time travel fics because I can only handle so much angst at a time, but this fic handles it nicely. Also with a pair traveling together there's kind of a built-in comfort for the traumatized time travelers.
Come Morning, Together Again (4743 words) by Applepie
Summary:
One day, Ace woke up and decided shirts were overrated. Apparently it was contagious, because Luffy soon thought the same. Sabo just hoped he didn't catch whatever it was that was going around (but he does in the end, and he couldn't be happier).
Rec Notes: One of two ASL Brothers time travel one shots I'll be sharing. I love these brothers, and sometimes I just need fics where they are all together. Sometime time travel is needed to remedy separation.
home is what you've missed (1811 words) by SoccerSarah01
Summary:
“Luffy,” Ace mumbles sleepily, “Get off of me.”
Normally, Luffy just starts whining and complaining and ends up asking for food, and normally Ace puts up a fight for approximately a minute before giving in. Sabo gleefully points out every time the time goes down; Ace flips him off every time.
Now, though, Luffy’s just burying his face deeper into Ace’s shoulder. “Ace,” Luffy whimpers, and Ace is instantly on high alert.
-
(Or: Ace wakes up twice to his brothers clinging to him like koalas, and is incredibly confused. It takes him a while to get with the program.)
Rec Notes: The other ASL brothers time travel one shot! I like that I managed to find one from the point of view of a Sabo who doesn't know what is happening and one form an Ace who doesn't know what is happening. None from a Luffy, but I can imagine that Luffy wouldn't worry about how the time travel happened anyway.
seesaw (9735 words) by Lolistar92
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy/Trafalgar D. Water Law (kind of, implied)
Summary:
Rayleigh nods. “Roger explained it after. It’s a trial for those that carry the Will of the D. A chance to face your greatest life’s regret. Change destiny.”
Law’s brows scrunch together. “This isn’t my -” he pauses, something clicking. “We switched.”
~~~~
Or, the Pirate King cannot have regrets.
Rec Notes: A great oneshot time travel fix-it fic (kind of). It's left a little ambiguous if the time travel happened for some alternate universe or if it happened at all, which is fine by me -- time travel goes well with ambiguity. The author has tagged this as Luffy/Law, but it could be read as romantic or platonic, and I enjoy their dynamic either way.
poly philtatos (the most loved by far) (24867 words) by swordsmans
Warnings: Major Character Death (kind of, he gets better)
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy/Roronoa Zoro
Summary:
He keeps moving forward at a steady pace, resisting the urge to run because how fucking embarrassing would that be, running because he missed them, and as he breaks through the treeline he shouts, “Oi, oi—what took you guys so long? It's been—”
And then he freezes, because yes, actually—something is very, very wrong.
The Sunny is anchored just off shore, close enough to see the deck but far enough away that the crew has had to take the Mini Merry to make land. Scattered across the beach in various stages of chaos—rolling around, yelling, fighting—are his crew but not his crew, so similar and yet so, so different. They look younger, fresher, and whatthefuck there, on the deck of the Sunny just peering over the railing, he catches a flash of green—his own green hair—
“Ah, fuck,” he grunts, and then immediately turns back around because no, actually, he does not want to deal with this.
Rec Notes: The first One Piece time travel fic I ever read! I think. A great ZoLu one shot (technically part of a 2 part series but the other fic doesn't have anything to do with time travel). Also of note: there are quite a few One Piece time travel fics like this, where a Straw Hat from the future (the future from the POV of the audience, not just the characters) accidentally ends up in the past and has to interact with their younger crew without spoiling anything. It's not a trope I've seen often in other fandoms, and I this is my favorite of the One Piece fics I've read that use this storytelling device. A great fic I've read maybe a dozen times, for that reason and because I love non-typical time travel scenarios.
That's it for now! If I end up posting more time travel recs later I'll link them here. I may also make a rec list soon with fics where the ASL brothers reunite, because everyone needs happy fics sometimes.
If you ended up liking any of these fics, please leave a comment for the author on AO3! I've been pretty terrible in the past at leaving comments on works I've loved, and I'm trying to be better. Be better with me! If you struggle to come up with comments (like me), you can just leaving one saying "I was recommended this fic on tumblr and loved it!" or something like "This is the xth time I've read this fic."
(Also if you know of any fics you think I'll like based on my recs, feel free to share them with me!)
origamiaround
areudirty
gummygunk
stormborns
dededos
