#crocdaz

(Crocodile genderbenders DNI)

Happy birthday to Sir Crocodile, worlds shittiest trans man. let me draw him with the two transmasculine blade wielders that he places a suspicious amount of trust in, for someone who claims trust is for fools.

Here are the pookies

"Yes, captain?" As stern, adoring Daz stood in anticipation, Crocodile brushed the curve of his gleaming hook against the underside of his first mate's chin.

Crocodile felt the ripple of it through the Awareness haki he extended through the metal. He felt the soft, pliable skin beneath it. He felt the rough trace of stubble there. All through the metal, as if it were his own hand.

Crocodile's breath caught in his throat, and he felt heat sting the corners of his eyes. His hook trembled against Daz' chin, and Daz's look of curious devotion softened even further, filled with concern.

"Captain?"

Crocodile smiled, a slow, sloppy expression that rolled across his long lips.

"Just learned a new trick, is all. Funny what you can do with this stuff."

Daz understood. Without saying a word, he turned his head so that his cheek brushed the curve of the hook, and he put his hand against the other side of it. It was warm. Daz' hand was warm.

-

I need to mention this page from Chapter 593 'News' because it's such a great dazwani moment and it is, as far as I can tell, mistranslated in the official English edition of the manga (shown here). Please excuse me while I go off about this, because the correct translation is actually the basis for one of my favorite elements of the Daz/Croc dynamic.

The error is in Crocodile's first line in the panel at the bottom of the page. They've been talking about Luffy, and Crocodile refers to 'the cheeky rascal' in the third person, suggesting he means Luffy.

In every other translation of this page I've found, as well as the official subs for the version of this scene that's in the anime, it's Daz he's calling cheeky, not Luffy (if you're watching the anime, he says, 'You smart ass, are you being sarcastic to me?'). Why? Because when Daz says that wounds like Luffy's don't heal quickly, Crocodile recognizes that Daz is also suggesting that Crocodile himself might need more time to heal (physically and maybe emotionally too), hence Crocodile's protest that he's fully recovered.

Despite calling Daz a smart ass, Crocodile immediately asks him if he's coming with him to the New World and Daz says yes.

A few observations:

Daz knows that Crocodile tends to be proud and reckless and he cares about his well being.

Crocodile immediately understands what he's implying.

Crocodile is not actually offended or angry with Daz when Daz speaks boldly to him, and even seems like he kind of enjoys it.

This is wild because Crocodile famously doesn't let people get ~cheeky~ with him. The fact that he not only allows it but seems amused here suggests that he's pretty fond of Daz and doesn't see him as just another subordinate. And that Daz in turn knows this and isn't afraid to talk to him this way.

Ouuuuuuuuggggggghhhhhphhhhhhhh I love these gay bitches so much I can’t believe I haven’t drawn anything abt them before. Like I don’t think I ever had a hardcore OTP before I decided they would be good in a relationship.

Based on a scene from a fanfic that I have not written a single word of, which in itself is based on this song