Why, thank you for the lovely response~! <3
See? You’re such a nice person. ^_^ That’s some very reassuring and kind words. I’m sure that is so very comforting to a lot of people! (It was to me~) I’ve had my art/ideas/ships mocked or called stupid before, so thank you.
I had some of my fanart that wasn’t explicit deleted. I was so saddened by the process that I didn’t bother to rescue some of it. ^^; In a lot of ways, I don’t want to post or build up my blog again because I just don’t want to support Tumblr. That purge was incredibly hurtful to some trans friends of mine. But, at the same time, there are so many great people on here who deserve to have comments on their amazing stuff. At least a like to show some kind of support.
When I saw your message, I couldn’t just stand by and let you think poorly of yourself. I wanted to let you know that your art and kindness means a lot to someone. For such a huge show, sometimes the fandom can feel small. I feel like we all just get a little quiet sometimes. ^^
I have quite the fun story on One Piece~ I actually got into the show over the very terrible 4Kids dub. I was in elementary school and I LOVED One Piece. It was the first show I ever loved. I loved to see a show that had a plot that kept going. Most American tv cartoons had one shot plots for every episode. But anime? (Didn’t know it was anime at the time) The plot kept going! If you missed an episode, you were so out of sorts! The first ones I came across were Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball. They were wonderful. Goku was the first character I adored~ But when Luffy popped out of that barrel in One Piece? I was head over heels. I was completely taken by his bright, happy attitude. His blunt nature. His kindness and his casual observations. Even how he could be childishly cruel when he felt like it. He was just a joy to follow on an adventure. I was always eager to see him on tv after school~ My mom and I would sing the pirate rap theme song on the way home from school. I still have it memorized. XD
We’ve always been quite poor, so we didn’t always have tv. Years went by and I lost touch with One Piece. Til I came across a random episode’s ending when we got tv again. And, amazingly enough, it was the end of Ace’s introduction. Luffy saying “He’s my brother~!” And I was in awe all over again. The episodes were sporadic and hard to catch by that point. Sometimes coming on late. Sometimes not on the same days. It was the dark days of One Piece on American tv. I lost touch with it again. And I live in a very rural/country area. I was in high school when the local book store got a manga section for the first time. It only had the first few books for One Piece and I used my birthday money to snatch them up right away~ I had forgotten some things because I very much thought the show would end after Sanji’s Baratie arc. XD I thought it was such a short manga~ I was happily surprised when I looked it up online to order more books and found out. Oh, I would snatch up new books brought out to the store whenever I had some money saved up~ It was so hard to get my hands on it back then! And, a couple of years later, I had good enough internet that I looked up episodes online. I couldn’t find a good English dub at the time(nostalgia couldn’t help how bad the 4Kids dub was. XDDD), so I tried out Japanese with subtitles. Now? I wouldn’t be able to watch One Piece any other way(though, loads of respect to the new dubbing team, of course). Luffy’s voice actress is the best. :’ ) An absolute joy to listen to~ She perfectly captures him!
The first time I looked up ships, I liked LuNami and ZoLu. Unfortunately, it was QUITE an old time in the fandom and the fanfictions weren’t the best. Nothing really drew me in. When I was watching random clips and getting back into One Piece the latest time, I found out sooo many spoilers. The one on Ace broke my heart and I couldn’t stand the idea of watching the scene. :’ ) But, what captured my heart was stumbling across a clip of Luffy as a kid. More kid Luffy adventures? Count me in!!! I saw Sabo and was like ????? But, I quickly adored him. And was also devastated when I found out he’d “died.” I just wanted more of the three boys. :’ ) And what do I find whilst looking for fun content? An AceXLuffy video boasting a showing of ALL their fanart. I remember being amused at the time thinking “I know they’re not related, but I’m not going to ship that~” I saw all the cute and funny fanart and by the end of the video I was definitely interested. I went off to fanfiction, found a random Acelu, and was blow away by @angelrider13 The Pure and the Tainted. It was everything I could have ever wanted out of a fanfic. <3 And it still breaks my heart how much their fanfiction was stolen from them. Their good time in the fandom blemished by some mean people. Why, angelrider13 even, kindly, dedicated a fic to me. It was one of the best feelings ever~
And I fell for Sabo so hard that I refused to even consider the idea that he’d be left behind or forgotten in the Ace/Luffy relationship. In fact, I was SO SURE he was alive. I’d argue it all the time. XD And, hilariously, argued him being alive quite passionately with a list of reasons on how it was just good writing that he be alive *the day before Sabo returned to the manga!* My friend spoiled me hardcore on everything and I was like “I knew it! I KNEW IT!” Oh, it was a wonderful time~ <3 And, also hilariously, I have been spoiled for every major moment in all of One Piece. And every moment STILL hit me horrendously. Which taught me that if your writing still hits hard even when someone can see it coming, then it is good writing and not just a lazy twist. A very good lesson for my writing in my career. ^__^
The very wonderful @itssygis is the one who encouraged me to post in the fandom and gave me the confidence to do more than lurk. And One Piece has a way about it that just makes so many pairings look amazing~ There are ones I don’t like, but there just so many wonderful things to see! ASL is the one for me, but Luffy with practically anyone is so good! ToT And, I tend to really like top! or switch!Luffy~ *wink* Bottom!Luffy is great, too, naturally~ I just adore the old argument between the three of them:
Ace: “I’m older, so you have to listen to me.”
Sabo: “Now I’m taller so you have to listen to me~”
Luffy: “You guys gotta listen to me!”
Ace/Sabo: “You’re not older or taller Luffy.” :/
Luffy: *thinking before unleashing a super big grin* “I’m the only one here who’s a captain!”
Ace, Second in Command: *jaw drops*
Sabo, Chief of Staff: *jaw drops*
Luffy, Strawhat Captain and future King of the Pirates: “Shishishi~”
(I also love poly ships across many fandoms. I’ve never been one for fighting or love triangles.)
I hope my babble wasn’t too much. ^^ I got a little passionate there. It is lovely and an honor to talk with you~ I look forward to your future content!
