One Piece NoPixel
Ever since the 4.0 launch of NoPixel (a private GTA Online roleplay server), my husband and I have become OBSESSED with the Yuno Sykk storyline going on.
Considering Sykkuno has been streaming NoPixel for roughly 8hrs every day, there's no way I can fully keep up, so my insomniac husband tends to give me recaps the following day. As he's telling me the story and is trying to get me to understand the relationship ties between characters I had an epiphany: Yuno is just Luffy from One Piece.
People already joke that Sykkuno has "plot armor" and is the "main character", so his GTA character Yuno being Luffy already kind of fits. Plus, both Yuno and Luffy are ADHD/Autistic balls of chaos that are also unintentionally beams of charisma that attracts just about everyone to their side. It doesn't matter how insane the plan is, if Luffy/Yuno says it people will follow through. You also have the fun of wondering if Luffy/Yuno is just insane with godly amounts of luck that allows their plan to work out, or if they are secretly geniuses that had already calculated everything in the background and the plan worked because of that discrete planning (or if it's a happy combo of the two). Luffy and Yuno are both almost impossibly optimistic and goofy, and people INSTANTLY know to take these boys seriously the second they become serious. If Luffy/Yuno stop smiling, you KNOW shit is about to go down! Also, Luffy/Yuno is INSANELY loyal and protective of his found family. On multiple occasions, Yuno has been informed that if he were to betray the speaker that would kill their last bit of faith in humanity, because if they know ANYTHING it's that Yuno doesn't lie and doesn't betray. Much like Luffy.
OK, so Yuno Sykk is Monkey D. Luffy (If Yuno's name wasn't just Sykkuno's I wouldn't be surprised if he had included the D. initial).
I then thought about those around Yuno. While the personalities don't work one-to-one, my husband and I were able to map a lot of Yuno's friends onto Luffy's simply based on relationship ties.
First is obvious. Yuno, through the 3.0 adoption chaos, ended up the adopted grandson of cop (and eventual Police Commissioner) Sam Baas. So, Baas is Garp. The fish-name connection is just a bonus.
Next up is the inspiration to both start an illegal lifestyle and to become the best possible at it. A pseudo-father-figure and mentor. The man whose blessings and pride in Luffy/Yuno is just about everything to the boy: Lang Buddha as Yuno's Shanks.
Luffy/Yuno couldn't get as far as he does without his true ride-or-die. The man who is loyal to a fault. Who will gladly give his life to not only save his best friend and brother, but also to simply lift him higher, if that's what's requested of him. A man who will smile as he participates in mass murder, and whose homicidal tendencies are surprisingly calmed when around Luffy/Yuno: Raymond Romanov as Yuno's Roronoa Zoro
The personalities don't really match, and YMMV when it comes to this ship, but 4.0 brought about Yuno's "relationship arc". This introduced us to a woman that Yuno loves spending time with, is very protective of, and joys in making her smile. She is there to comfort Yuno, but understands that he needs to do things his way and on his own sometimes. Yuno keeps saying that they're only best friends, and that may be true. He may honestly have no romantic interest in her, despite her obvious romantic interest in him. Even so, she's His Person and he wants to be with her and protect her as much as possible. If there's one person that Luffy/Yuno cares about that you DO NOT mess with, it's her. Ladies and gents, meet Yuno's Nami: Lottie Mae
On the flipside, we have a woman who started off as an enemy, but was instantly charmed by the lengths Yuno would go to in order to help someone that had threatened him. Someone who has family who viciously protects her. Someone who is completely smitten despite Yuno not really giving as many "I want to be in a romantic relationship" vibes as he does with Lottie. Someone who clearly has a jealous streak to her. The main person people seem to ship with Luffy/Yuno behind Nami/Lottie. Our own Tsundere Queen: Gigi Costello as Yuno's Boa Hancock
Next up is a man who is a more serious leader who doesn't approve of Luffy/Yuno's shenanigans, but he also can't deny the results, so he begrudgingly gives Luffy/Yuno free rein. He still tries to talk some sense into Luffy/Yuno and his friends, and they do listen to him on occasion, but those moments are few and far between. He also can't ignore Luffy/Yuno's charisma, and, in spite of himself, he's equally drawn in to the King of Chaos. Congratulations, Tommy T. You are Yuno's Trafalgar Law.
We then have someone who is older. Someone who is a bit of a mentor, but also would gladly follow Luffy/Yuno. Someone who was once a leader himself, but has since disbanded his own crew (or, at least, left them). Someone who is incredibly protective of Luffy/Yuno, but also understands that the kid can hold his own (for the most part). Someone who can't fathom Luffy/Yuno ever betraying anyone. Someone who is a master a steering??? This one is a little bit of a stretch, but my husband believes that Tony Corleone is Yuno's Jimbe.
Finally, we have someone who is a pseudo-ally to Luffy/Yuno, almost begrudgingly. Someone whose goals differ from Luffy/Yuno's and those differing goals caused tension for a bit before the two decided to break off from each other. Someone who has a sort of 1920s gangsta vibe with his underground gambling and mob-like connections. A man whose main goal deep down is to find a family of his own. Marty Banks as Yuno's Capone Bege
My husband also thinks that Benji Ramos would be Yuno's Sanji, mostly due to the incessant flirting with little-to-no success. Also, Mickey Sinclaire as Usopp due to Mickey being a cowardly schemer and master liar. I'm still on the fence for both of those. This list was largely mapping parallels on how these characters relate to Luffy vs how they relate to Yuno. The Benji and Mickey parallels are more about their personalities pairing with One Piece characters.
I think that will have to be a different list, though.
So, NoPixel/One Piece fans, what do you think? Does this work? Would you have picked other character parallels? Are there others we didn't think of?
