#kangvcd

Some fanart (+closeups) of @okiedoketm's fic KANGVCD which is a very, very good read, one of the best fics I've read, highly recommend. :]👍

This is technically for @okiedoketm KANGVCD but it can also be seen as just general Koby joins the straw hats design

(Warning I have no idea what I’m doing when I draw, if something isn’t accurate or anatomical/shading wise correct, oops. I apologies to the people who had to study this stuff for hours, I ain't built like that)

Spoilers for KANGVCD ahead

So recently I was re-reading my all-time favourite fanfic KANGVCD (@okiedoketm) and there was this one line that stuck out to me towards the end of the Drum Island Arc.

“I recognize a soldier when I see one.”

It got me thinking. If Koby could clock Dalton as ex-military who's to say other soldiers (ahem ahem marines) wouldn’t notice that in Koby?

Maybe Smoker didn’t pay too much attention to it at first, but that little pink dude carried himself in a way that almost seemed... familiar?

Maybe when Koby barked orders on the marine ship or when he disciplined the rookie marine squadron, they had the instinct to listen, to obey his orders?

I think it would be cool if this was explored later on (and maybe even caused problems for Koby). Like, the first time Koby runs into Garp this timeline Garp recognizes his own training and movement on this punk his no-good pirate grandson has on his crew. He searches for any record of enlistment, any documentation of a pink-haired, scrawny kid from the East Blue joining the marines but nothing.

Maybe Garp will investigate, maybe he'll just look away and pretend he hadn't seen it.

Or maybe another marine notices? One who won't turn a blind eye? Who doesn't care that there's no record they know navy when they see it (and few “missing” files is easy to accept when the marines have a practice of “disappearing” unsavory members). One who when he looks into Koby’s eyes sees a traitor. A deserter. One who notifies the head office and has Koby’s bounty raised, because there is nothing worse than a marine-turned-pirate.

And then the whole world would know.

All it would do is feed into Koby’s insecurities.

He DID abandon his dream. He DID betray his friends, his mentor, himself.

And what would the crew think when they find out?

How could he explain? How could he deny? When it’s etched into every muscle in his body.

It explains why he knows so much about the Grandline, why his eyes flit around the room in trained assessment, why even zoned out he stands stiff, as if he’s waiting for orders.

Would a crew so affected by the system stand to have one of its cogs aboard the ship?

(Of course they would, they all have their secrets, but Koby wouldn't see that.)

Luffy knew though, he believed as much when Koby first told him. He had no problems with this. How could he when all Koby wanted was to follow his dream? To do good without orders or protocol to stop him (To be free). Because Luffy would never interfere in his Nakama’s dreams. He would never command or order them in the way a marine would.

Luffy may have been Koby’s captain, but Koby wasn’t his soldier.

And yet Koby in the eyes of the world (and himself) would be just that.

Koby who loves his life with the Strawhats. Who has only ever lived as a pirate in this timeline. Who has finally begun to move on, is forever marked by his past lives. He will always be a marine one way or another, he can never forget, and the world will never let him.

How nauseating it must be to forever live in your own shadow. How comforting to never change in a way that matters. How terrifying to be defined by what you no longer are.

One of my two favorite Koby fics and I’ve been working on and hoarding these for a couple months now :)

He makes me so happy, he’s trying so hard to make sure the timeline ends up okay, but to any outside point of view he’s just a psychotic teenager who will visibly give up on manners midway through a day and go apeshit.

He’s got the manners, but no one knows the exact minute he’ll drop them for the day and beat someone’s ass. It has happened on multiple occasions and Nami lives in fear for her wallet and paying for collateral.

Not being able to swim isn’t going to stop him, so Koby facilitates a dip in the ocean!! Every good series needs a beach episode, so here’s my piece for the one year “filler episode” celebration of Koby’s Awful No-Good Very Confusing Day by my dear friend, @okiedoketm

I cannot express how much my life has changed for the better by becoming a member of the community that loves this fic. Everyone is so positive and generous. One Piece helped me break through the severe art block I faced after leaving college but my friends in the KANGVCD Discord have truly motivated me to really thrive and love creating again. Thank you!!! Your kind words and amazing creations will live with me forever. ❤️

Ohmegosh this was so fun but also so harrowing to do in one day lmaooo