fangirling

[xparrot]

One day I will write one of the serious essays percolating in my brain, of politics and patriotism and all the associated rage and confusion and despair and hope and everything else. But it is not this day. Instead you get hopelessly shallow fangirling, and this meme, which is not so shallow, because it's true that something as simple and silly as fanning can give you so much more:

If there is at least one person in your life who you consider a close friend, and who you would not have met without being part of an online fandom, post this sentence in your journal.

♥

And now, OP ch.347.

$&^@%!(* I WANT PAULIE AS NAKAMA!!
I know there are folks who don't particularly feel the Paulie-love, and I sympathize, we really haven't seen all that much of him, and there's a veritable embarassment of riches of awesome chars running around in this arc... But I can't help it, he's cool, and all hot bloody, and he loves Iceberg-san and Iceberg just as clearly loves him, and he's funny, and Luffy's already sided with him and you just know that he'll be feeling the Luffy-love by the end of this and waaaah...want him! And it's so tragic now, the betrayal - "Stop joking, you guys!!"

Am dying to know how he'd fit into the whole crew dynamic. For one thing - "Iceberg-san"?? and he uses "desu" with him too - a nakama who knows how to be respectful!? and his weird thing with women's dress might be old-fashioned values more than some anti-pervert thing...(either way, wanna see how that clashes with Sanji.)
...and he still looks like Smoker's nephew to me. Want to know if that's just coincidence...

Add to the list of names we want to hear, Luffy to actually learn Paulie's. so he can ask for him by name rather than "rope yatsu", cute as that is (...yes, everyone's shouting Paulie's name. Yes, I am fully capable of believing that Luffy has missed it every time.) (while we're at it, an official spelling would be nice. Paulie? Pauly? Pauri??)

Is it bad that Lucci in all black beating the shit out of everyone is pushing my "super-cool-evil-badguy" button something fierce?

And Zoro, you're here to shout Luffy's name, great, great, I've been missing that - now do something!!

Though am I the only one really, really missing Luffy's smile? How many chapters has it been? He kicks holy ass like this (...getting stuck in walls and stapled to floors aside...), but I miss my silly rubber boy having fun with all his friends...gonna hurt in the anime, to go that long without a Luffy laugh. He's serious for a lot of Arabasta, but you don't see him at all for much of that time...he's been in the middle of most of this action, but so serious...waah, Luffy, get your nakama back and be happy again! All of them!! Including your new shipwright whose name you'll figure out any time now!

I still love Robin, too, Nami just needs to sit her down and explain that it doesn't work like that, trying to betray them for what you so desperately need, you can't get them out of your heart so easily once they're there...and what does she want, that is worth so much? More than the true history...
...also, food for thought, Aokiji said every association Nico Robin's been part of has been annihilated, save herself. Will that apply to CP9 as well?

Okay, next chapter. Now. Please. Luffy + Zoro + Nami + Chopper + PAULIE (!!!!<3!!!) fighting together? *PURE SQUEE* (tho' WHERE THE HELL are Sanji and Usopp?? Does Franky have Usopp?? Is Sanji there too? I hope? Because otherwise he might be lying dead in an alley somewhere...what was this not-reckless thing he was doing? If he were going after Robin he should be there by now, he's not Zoro...unless he met CP9 beforehand, and hence, the alley...)

And speaking of beating up cooks, animated Groggy Ring SO ROCKS. Was a bit unhappy by the initial changes they made to the race, but they're making up for it now. Except for the part where they're worrying me, by showing to me how much I, er, enjoy watching the boys in pain. I mean, hol-y--yah. Ow. Pain. Blood. Lack of understanding how they possibly could still be alive, much less standing (albeit that doesn't last long...)
....mmmm, yum.

Also, movie 6. "Ore no nakama ni nani o shitenda!!!" [What did you do to my nakama!!!] Put that one on my "want to see" list, too. By the Star Trek law of evens it'll be good. And anyway - Luffy worry! Fighting for his crew! I am so easily pleased...

Comments

[ex-pinkocrac87.livejournal.com]

I've applied and am currently crossing my fingers bgi-time over getting the Paulie fanlisting...but I'm worried to death on how to spell it. LOL!!! Since I usually go by either K-F or null's translations...I have no idea! I personally prefer "Paulie", but we'll see. Maybe I'll make it a poll for the fanlisting, IF I GET IT. *crosses fingers again*

Dude, he is SO the new nakama.

And I agree with EVERYTHING you've said here. Especially the WHERE IS SANJI?!?!?! Mentality. I believe that Franky has Usopp, but Sanji is just...such a mystery. Waaahhh, I want my Ero Cook.

OMG...best part of the Groggy Ring episode...when they were yellng at each other...and the faces EXPLODED into anger with no warning for a few frames and then went back to normal...best Zoro/Sanji dynamics EVER.

And thank you, yes, Zoro could stand to DO SOMETHING here soon.

[shayera.livejournal.com]

Awww... I just read this too.

There's no way Paulie is not the new nakama, except that no one is probably up to thinking about new nakama right now. They will once things have calmed down, and Luffy's got his OLD nakama back! I think Luffy's inability to remember his name is cute. It took him a while to get Chopper's down too. ^_^

I miss Luffy's smile too. He hasn't smiled since chapter 331, right when Usopp woke up. :(

Robin... She does this to fulfill her wish? But wasn't her wish to find the True History, and doesn't she have to go to Raftel to find that? And isn't Luffy her best bet to do so? It could be something else, but she was prepared to die for that dream in Alabasta, so what could be more important?

But it's good that Luffy won't give up on her, although Zoro seems to have (*mrr*).

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I don't have a spelling preference, just want to know what it actually is! ...for 4-Kids to then screw it up >_> (bitter much? who, me? It was the latest volume out from Viz that annoyed me...)

but, yes! Pauley, Paulie, the way I most want his name spelled is N-A-K-A-M-A!

Sanji-kuuuuuuun, yes, he worries me. latest joke theory, Oda-sensei's been saying he'll kill a nakama, wouldn't it shock everyone to take out the love-cook by surprise? bait n' switch! ...except then he'd have all these fangirls suiciding on him. no, too tragic...

Zoro's just biding his time 'til he figures out what's going on. Probably. Fighting the guys would mean going up against a crewmate, after all (Luffy doesn't think that far ahead...)
of course will they have time to fight now, with a fire? not to mention, hello, Aqua Laguna!? This arc's insane!!

[ex-naye320.livejournal.com]

♥

AAAAHHH! Squeee~! Phew. I've been holding that in for the longest time - read this chapter on the bus, and I had no dictionary or anything so... meep. Please tell me you had a dictionary? I totally missed that they were talking about setting fire to the place. Except now that I think about it I did recognize that kanji, but I didn't put it together with what was going on. Ack! Anyway. I got enough to be a quivering little ball of happy fangirl. ^_____^

PAULIE!! Is SO the new nakama, and, yes, so hot when he's all beaten up. It's a terrible thing to enjoy characters' pain so much. ^^;;; I must be a horrible person. (Am loving Groggy Ring, and Paulie's fight here... wah!)

Um. Must eat, and read translation, and then I will be back to squee some more. (Oh, Paulie, Iceberg, both so worried about the other one... so CUTE! And now Luffy's saved Paulie's life. Aww. The name will happen any minute now, you know, and after that the "Hi, you're my next nakama! Yay!"... though Paulie's got a lot on his mind now, poor boy.)

[bluepard.livejournal.com]

All right, I give in. *waves Paulie-nakamaship flag*

I love this arc, but I can't help thinking Oda's lost it. "And now I'll SET IT ALL ON FIRE! BWAHAHA!"

[ex-naye320.livejournal.com]

I like "Paulie", personally. ^_^ And I want him to be told he's gonna be nakama, because once that happens, there's just no way out. ^____^

Poor boy, though. I don't think he's that old, so the five years he spent with Lucci and the others is a lot. He probably went out for his first drink with them at Blueno's Bar, and we know he worked with them every day for all that time - it really is a terrible blow.

You can see it too, how he just won't believe it, with "Joudan yamero yo, temera!" (Stop kidding), and then "fuzakenna", which is pretty much the same thing, and it's so desperate. He fights Lucci to protect Iceberg, but even when he's collapsed into a bleeding heap on the floor, he's still thinking about how these are his friends, and, ow, it's SO painful. So very, very painful. Boy needs a hug, and I wonder if he'll have issues with trust after this? Except Luffy's so absolutely honest, and it's so obvious that he would never betray anyone - his reaction now, he knows the others were Paulie's friends, and he's not happy about what they're doing at ALL. It's not just that they're trying to kill Iceberg, but he gets pissed that they're traitors.

Owww. I love Paulie way too much for someone who's not even guaranteed to be the new nakama.

And you! Stop making such evil jokes! It's too scary to think about... it would make a huge, huge, huge impact, yes, but I don't think Oda is into killing his readers. ^^;;

And Zoro. Uh. Um. Has been acting strange ever since this started, with his "I'll just wait here and see what happens", and... what does he know about all this that we don't?

Oh. Fire and flood and - damn. Can't wait to see this animated!

[ex-naye320.livejournal.com]

Who knows when Luffy thinks about things like new nakama? It wasn't exactly obvious that he'd jump the poor little reindeer, chase him around for half the day yelling "meat", and then deciding to switch to chasing him around yelling "nakama"... ^______^

But, uh. Yes. Enough with the two nakama who're doing their damnedest to stop being nakama, and that's just not allowed! Ow, Luffy, last page... OW! He needs a hug TOO, everyone need hugs - Chopper needs a hug!!

One good thing - Robin's not fighting them yet. Am wondering if this thing she seeks has anything to do with her parents' death? Something more private than her True History, something she has no choice but do. And again - I was thinking that every group Robin's joined has been wiped out because of CP9 showing up in some way. It would explain why she's so desperate to distance herself from Luffy... ow, Nami, talk to her!! It doesn't work that way, you do things together, that's what works...

Zoro never said he trusted her, remember? He certainly acted like he cared about her in Skypiea, but... with the rest of the crew happily taking her in, he felt he had to be the one to keep an eye on her. So this is what he was waiting for, in a way - for her to show her true colors. (Of course, I don't believe that these are her true colors, but it would be a good time to prove that now!)

...I want Luffy to smile too. ;_;

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

"And now I'll SET IT ALL ON FIRE! BWAHAHA!"

*not so quietly dies. at work. which is a horribly embarrassing place to choke to death on one's own giggles*

Paulie scores another! w00t! ^___^

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

no dictionary, I just had the translations! ^^ don't have time at work to puzzle through most of it, so, that's a boon...
(tho' don't you have a dictionary on your laptop? and if not why not!?)

and yes, Paulie looks to be a strong entry in the 'who looks the best beaten to a pulp' competition. tho' Zoro'll give him a run for his money, with the blood thing.
...yes, we are horrible people indeed. XD

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Luffy's terrible with names in general. How many peoples' names does he actually *know*, other than his nakama, Shanks and Ace? ^^; it's usually whatever-ossan or obasan or yatsu...
(Zoro, on the other hand, seems to have trouble with just one name, tho' going 300 chapters without saying "Sanji" at all is pretty impressive...)

and Zoro, yes...well, someone has to be suspicious, it can be dangerous to completely put your faith in people as Luffy does, and even if it usually works out...it's good they have Zoro's caution. Especially since it doesn't mean he's not willing to put his line on the line for her anyway - such a good protector, he is. And Robin hasn't given much reason for them to trust her...I'm hoping that will change soon!

[ex-naye320.livejournal.com]

I don't bring my baby to school! Especially not on days which are rainy and the streets are covered with ice. ^^;; No, I actually printed the chapter out in school to read on the bus hom. Of course I have a dictionary on my laptop! ^_^ And I've been walking around with a Kanji book in my backpack, but I didn't bring it today, so I had nothing to help me understand... Anyway, I've read the translations now. Yay! ^_^

Can't wait to see Paulie animated! And voiced! (By Kanna Nobutoshi! I swear, it's become an obsession with me now...)

Then we can have the competition of "who looks best in pain"... or just write fic. I look forward to writing Paulie, he's fun. But I kinda need to see how he'll fit in with the crew first, and how he'll join, and... um... IF he will join. Yeah. Which he will. But... aww. He flops really well! And he looks like he wants to get back on his feet and fight. Yay!!

[ex-naye320.livejournal.com]

...I don't think he does know any other names than those. Gold Roger! ^_^ But, yes. He sucks with names. And Oda's GOT to have something up his sleeve with the whole Zoro not saying Sanji thing. Mmm. Curious.

Zoro is a great protector! Luffy needs someone who won't be distracted by a pretty girl or money or funny tricks with hands... Zoro watches his captain's back. I'm not mad at him for being suspicious of Robin, or accepting her as an enemy, but I want them to get it sorted out now, and then Zoro could start trusting her, and that'd be cute. The two of them have a lot in common otherwise - like how they usually just sit at and watch the others be idiots, and smile about it. It's cute. ^_^

[ex-naye320.livejournal.com]

MWAH! You almost made me spit tea on my poor baby! *giggle* That's... I could see that. I worry about Oda's sanity sometimes. (Does he even have any of that...?)

Oh, and YAY for Paulie!

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I don't know about Kanna...I mean, the attitude would be right, but Paulie looks like he should have a little gruffer voice...? They need a baritone/bass who can actually sing ^^ (tho' Kanna might do baritone...) Am wondering if the anime producers are freaking out, trying to figger out the new nakama in order to cast 'em. or if Oda-sensei has slipped them any hints...
(it would be hysterically funny if you called it and it was Kanna. He can spazz with the best of them... OTOH it might be someone no one knows, like Nakai was.)
(Seki Toshihiko for Lucci? he's got the cool evil thing down, and I'd love to hear him being a dove. ^^)

ack, don't even wanna think about writing Paulie! Robin is hard enough...takes forever to get to know these guys properly... ^^;

[shayera.livejournal.com]

I know, and it seems Zoro has been having a bit of "I told you so"-feelings ever since he heard what had happened to Robin (that rooftop conversation in whatever chapter?). But that doesn't mean I like it when he asks Luffy if he is ready now to give up on her. It does make me happy that Luffy is not, though. ^_^

Considering that Zoro was the one to bet his life on Nami's trustworthiness back in Arlong Arc... Apparently he's not going to do that for Robin.

And yes, now would be a good time for Robin to change her mind about this, whatever she's doing. She's not going to find nakama like these ever again - they would stand by her in anything, if she'd only let them! I think Robin needs a hug too. :(

[shayera.livejournal.com]

But he learns people's names once they become nakama! So he'll get Paulie's down too, for that single reason. ^_^

The scary part is that none of us wants to admit that Zoro might be right about Robin. Because he's not, she's a nakama! ^^ But maybe he has to be suspicious, because no one else is...

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Hmm, actually I was understanding that a little differently...I haven't really looked at the Japanese, so might be off, but I had the impression that Zoro was literally just asking it - not saying "okay, you better not still trust her after this, right?" but rather, simply, "Can we trust her now?" This is Zoro, after all, who does whatever Luffy says, so he might have just been making sure exactly what his captain wanted at the moment. Given that Luffy was just attacking Robin's allies, he wasn't making his stance that clear... ^^;

With Nami at Arlong Park, Zoro bet his own life without question. I don't think he'd have been so quick to bet anyone else's - he certainly was concerned about Usopp's fate...

Robin *so* needs a hug. And Usopp. And Luffy. And Chopper. Minna de! I want this arc to end with nakama-cuddles!!! (hugs are about the only thing OP is lacking that I wish it had more of. but with Oda-sensei you never know...)

[ex-naye320.livejournal.com]

Yes. That would freak me out. ^^;; Mmm. I think Kanna could do gruff. ^_^ Because I agree - it should be gruff! That's why I was thinking Okiayu Ryoutaro too - his voice is deeper, I think? I really can't tell what range people are, I haven't developed that much of an ear for music. ^^;; Um. But Kanna has a really good singing voice, and he probably could do at least baritone?

I think it's really interesting that they did pick rather unknown seiyuu at the beginning. Am wondering if it was because they didn't know how popular it was going to be, or if they just had auditions and the unknowns did such a good job they couldn't resist. I mean, Nakai is perfect! (Perfect enough to get totally typecast! Bwah. And yet, his ordinary speaking voice sounds totally different from both Mugen and Zoro...) But then they got Ohtani Ikue, and they cast Yamaguchi Yuriko before they knew she was going to join the crew! I don't think Oda tipped them off that early - and I can absolutely imagine them spazzing out as they follow the latest developments. Hee.

Ooooh, and Seki Toshihiko doing Lucci would make me sooooo happy! Especially since he'd get to be evil. That I would love to hear. And he hasn't been in One Piece yet... Just hope they get someone good for Iceberg too. I've been having a bit of a problem with some of the people they cast for "older" roles, like Cobra and Calgara. (Calgara was King Bradley in FMA. O_o It is WEIRD. And wrong.)

Wai~! Water 7 will be animated right about when we're celebrating one year of OP eating our hearts and souls... I'm really looking forward to it! So many new characters, so much fun... Evil fun. Um.

But Paulie is open, unlike Robin. We haven't even had her flashback yet, and apparently we don't really know what her dream is - if we get that with Paulie, I'm sure he'll be more cooperative than Robin has been. I have a good feeling about him. ^_^

[bevinbaka.livejournal.com]

I spent most of the time it took me to read this chapter going "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" in my head. Part of it could be my coffee, but most of it's just my damnable adoration of this series. Oda's artwork just blows my mind with its consistant oddball beauty and his writing is so orgasmic for this whole arc. And I have to say, I'm diggin' on Paulie more and more, I hope he joins (don't really see how he couldn't after this).

Robin's line of thinking is interesting, yeah. I found myself wondering if perhaps the reason she's really doing this is to find this weapon and destroy it, since she and Iceberg seemed to be in agreement that it was incredibly dangerous. But now I've remembered that I don't know that they actually said what it was that Iceberg had the plans for and I've gone and gotten fan supposition mixed up with cannon in my head again. Damn brain.

Ahhhhh, where's Sanji?? I'm wondering if he went off to get Usopp and has gotten mixed up with Franky and so on. Damn if I know what that boy's thinking sometimes. .... God I love him.

Oda didn't really say he was going to kill off one of the Strawhats, did he? I thought I heard that he'd once said that no one in this series would die as long as they had a dream, villians included. Well none of the crew's dreams have come true yet so NOBODY DIES dammit. Please?

Oh movie 6 looks kickin'! Mommy wants to seeee! *cry* Iron Chef Sanji, yeah! I'd be hideously entertained and deeply disturbed if he bit a bell pepper, looked at the camera, and started laughing at some private joke. The bell pepper thing always freaked me out a little.

Have I mentioned I'm drinking coffee? Yeah.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

waah, what an unhappy thought! Robin's too cute to really be evil, the way she watches them all ;__; OTOH, Zoro's instincts are damn good, he's rarely wrong about people...(tho' I'm still not convinced he completely distrusts her; I wonder if he's not sure himself, and keeps pushing Luffy for answers because he does trust Luffy...)

[shayera.livejournal.com]

Actually, what he says is, "Luffy, can you admit that she has left the ship now?" which certainly sounds like he has admitted it himself. But you're right, he's going to go by Luffy's decision - if Luffy won't admit she's gone, he'll help Luffy get her back.

Of course Zoro wouldn't bet anyone's life but his own... Heh, I think it would be wonderful if he got into a kill or be killed situation with Robin and chooses not to kill. ^^

When this arc is over, they're going to need nakama-cuddles to get everything right again! *hopes*

[ex-naye320.livejournal.com]

Hm. I never got the impression Zoro was thinking he was right - he's just being a much needed voice of reason. The others have gotten closer to Robin than him, and he's watching their backs. Now he wants to know what they're going to do, because, uh, yes. With Luffy about to fight CP9, but wanting Robin back, it's a problem.

Arlong Park and Zoro's way of finding out if Nami's really a nakama... awww~! Idiot boy. Love him so much.

YES, HUGS! WANT HUGS! PLENTY OF HUGS FOR EVERYONE! Hugs and cuddles and them all falling asleep in a big puppy pile... but mostly just hugs. WANT! Ima kure!!

[ex-naye320.livejournal.com]

Dear, don't get fired now. ^^;; You've got to be typing away like a crazy gerbil to get all these answers posted...

Anyway! Noooo, no evil Robin! That would SUCK. Oww. No! Kotowaru. She LOVES them. You know she does! Zoro's just being all protectively paranoid for his captain who's too dumb to mistrust anyone, ever. And it's not like this was something she planned all along, since she was intent on dying in Alabasta... Meep. I need the enxt chapter now! ^^;;

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Yah, I think we're all dying to know what Robin's real wish is, since it's looking more like it's not *just* the true history, or else that there's more to that than she's saying. Maybe when we get her flashback! Finally! Gotta be sooner or later!!

Oda apparently said at a SJ event that someone was going to leave the crew. He said that a couple years ago, and then no one did, but then last year he said that Skypiea had thrown off the schedule, but someone was going to leave, and someone was going to die. The current interpretation (at least among those of us who cannot stand the idea of losing anyone) is that when he said "leave" he never said anything about them not coming back, and the nakama to die is the Merry. He also could just be playing with our heads, because as we all know too well, Oda-sensei is an EVIL EVIL man. Who we love. Because we're all masochists. (and because he's an ungodly talented genius.)

And movie 6, yesss...never seen Iron Chef, but...geeze...gotta give him credit, Sanji can make a cooking contest look hot. And I don't mean the volcano they're apparently cooking over... ^^;

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

...um, yes, I just realized I was doing that ^^; but I was doing work in between! and part of work involved emailing a couple people questions, so...umm...hopefully no one noticed ^^;;;;; (AOF - ALL ODA'S FAULT!)
anyway I'm on break now, so don't worry ^__^

and no, she can't be, she's nakama, and besides they need another girl on the ship, so she can't leave! hah!! *plugs ears and hums loudly*

[ex-naye320.livejournal.com]

Indeed! *snuggles*

Though I don't think "Oda made me do it" would be a valid excuse...

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Yah, I haven't cared for some of the older voices either. Cobra's especially is just too lifeless, and he's such a great char, too >__> (who is Calgara, anyway? ^^;;) But most of the villains have good voices...now I'm trying to think of older char voices that I liked. Gen-san's is good, Zeff's is decent...Iceberg could be played by a younger-sounding guy, tho', he doesn't look quite as old? Hmmm, who would be good for him...someone good at whining, considering how he is at first, but then needs to do intense stuff later (ahh, he better be good, I *like* Iceberg!!)
...speaking of chars I like, wonder who Aokiji will be??

--ah, & response to a comment you made further above, about CP9 being the ones responsible for annhilating all of Robin's past associations...hmmm, wonder if that's so. They didn't take down Baroque Works, at least, and they've been on W7 for 5 years...how long was Robin w/ Crocodile? does it ever say?

and why don't the Marines know about CP9? Or did Aokiji, and that's why he was trying to stop her (but he didn't know W7 was the next island...ack, so confused! the World Government seems to play its cards very close to its chest...are the CPs the 3rd power of the Grand Line?)

[ex-naye320.livejournal.com]

Calgara/Karugara is the... you need to finish watching Skypiea! ^^;; I wish I had more time to give you. *hugs* Calgara is the great warrior of the Shandria who becomes Norland's best friend, and their story made me cry when I read it, but his voice bugged me to no end. (Because, seriously - King Bradley??? I probably recognized it subconsciously and was all freaked out about it, but it's just not a very emotional voice - exactly like with Cobra. Though I dunno, maybe that's just me.)

Mmmm, Iceberg... oh! I don't remember the name of Hughes's seiyuu right now, but I think he could pull it off. The only roles I remember him from he's played "older" characters, even though neither Yamato (GB) nor Hughes were exactly ancient. ^^ But he has a lot of emotional range, and I really loved his voice. (Funny thing is that most seiyuus probably are about Aokiji and Iceberg's age - they just don't sound like it most of the time!)

Aokiji... hm. Someone like Jin's seiyuu (Gin something?) could work? Because Aokiji doesn't come across as all that loud in his emotions. Also Jin has a great voice. ^_^ Eep! So much fangirling, so little time.

I think Robin was with Crocodile for four years? Though I don't know why I think that, so it could be wrong. ^^; But if they were busy with Iceberg... I don't know. I need a flashback here! Please, Oda-sensei, we've been waiting for so long now...

Do the Marines know about CP9? Who does know? They're secret, and Iceberg only knew about 1-8, and... oh. If they are the 3rd power of the Grand Line, how come JOHNNY (or was it Yosaku?) knew about them?? In East Blue? I guess maybe he could be more than what he seemed to, or maybe Oda changed his mind since then, but... No, don't think they are. Not that they're not a forced to be reckoned with! But it's possible that the CP9 are another of these things that there are internal conflicts about, like the shichibukai? Some people might not like using them and their methods - or might just not like that they are not the ones in charge of such a powerful group. SO much going on we have no idea about!

[bevinbaka.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's sure taking a while to get to Robin's flashback, isn't it? Sigh. Oda, you sadist.

See, I'd heard that he said someone was going to leave but I didn't know about the death part. Eek. Sadistic sadistic sadistic. It's not nice to drop a bomb like that and then make us sweat it out for this long. >_<

Mmmmmm, hot cook-off. I have a thing for chefs anyway, I doubt that'll help things any.

Ah my poor brain, it plays such tricks on me. I can't help but wonder about the Paulie/Sanji dynamic (should Paulie join), seeing as they have so much in common: blonde hair, constantly smoking, facial hair, weirdness about women... They'll either get along famously or hate each other's guts. Personally, my money's on the latter, given Sanji's track record and Paulie's beef with girls in short skirts. And now, once again, Sanji's the only crew member to not be where the action is. Has he even met Paulie? I don't think he has. Hmm. 'Course it could be something Oda's done to keep him away from CP9, but since I'm sure they know he's with the crew anyway, I don't really see the point in that; it's not like the bit with Baroque Works. Or I could just be reading too much into it and his absence is instrumental purely for the reason that he's off doing something else that'll turn out to be crucial to the story. That's probably it.

[nest.livejournal.com]

I agree -- I'm getting more and more excited at the prospect of Paulie becoming nakama. Although now that Franky's role in the arc has become a bit more clear, I've been hearing people express hopes that the new nakama will be him. But Paulie seems like the more likely choice.

I wonder how exactly he'd fit into the crew, though. I could totally see friction between him and Sanji. But I think he and Zoro might get along pretty good...

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

waaaah no...people have been saying Franky'll be nakama for a while now, makes me cringe. love him as Whacky One Piece Villain #65(tm) but nakama? he's a bully, and I haven't forgiven him for doing that to Usopp!!

Paulie, I'm dying to see how Paulie would fit. Yah, I'm also pretty sure he's gonna clash with Sanji (tho' they might get along when it comes to fighting, since they're both used to fighting their nakama, Sanji with the cooks and Paulie with his...waaah...too painful to think about, never mind ^^;) So will Zoro and Paulie get along, and tagteam Sanji, or will they not get along, and Zoro & Sanji will unite against him? very curious...can't wait to see it!

(btw, glad you're enjoying the fic, thanks for the reviews! *^^*)

[nest.livejournal.com]

waaaah no...people have been saying Franky'll be nakama for a while now, makes me cringe. love him as Whacky One Piece Villain #65(tm) but nakama?

He doesn't strike me as nakama material either. He's not as sinister as other antagonists in the series, but he's not someone I'd want to spend my weekend with. ^^; And, yes, I'm also miffed about what he did to Usopp. That's the real clencher for me concerning why he wouldn't be nakama.

Not to mention I've been keeping my fingers crossed that the next crew member will be a regular guy with no devil fruit or funky cyborg powers. After all, the last two people to join have been devil fruit users, so I think it's about time for a person with relatively natural powers to join.

Paulie, I'm dying to see how Paulie would fit. Yah, I'm also pretty sure he's gonna clash with Sanji (tho' they might get along when it comes to fighting, since they're both used to fighting their nakama, Sanji with the cooks and Paulie with his...waaah...too painful to think about, never mind ^^;)

*pats* I see where you're coming from. I don't think the relationship between Paulie and Sanji would be quite as tense as Sanji and Zoro's, but I could see them disagreeing on a lot of things.

So will Zoro and Paulie get along, and tagteam Sanji, or will they not get along, and Zoro & Sanji will unite against him? very curious...can't wait to see it!

Agreed. XD It'd be kind of funny if both Zoro and Paulie gave Sanji crap all the time, though. But I do find Zoro and Sanji's (strained) friendship to be endearing, and having Paulie heavily involved might have too many fangirls thinking of a threesome. X.x Maybe he'll stay out of it all together if he knows what's good for him. Hah hah...

(btw, glad you're enjoying the fic, thanks for the reviews! *^^*)

Thanks for writing your wonderful stories for us unworthy fans! Your fics are always beautifully and flawlessly written. :D And thank you for taking the time to read and review my stuff! I find it to be quite the honor, you know.

But, speaking of fics, ff.net seems to enjoy not letting me put page-breakers when I'm trying to upload anything. Otherwise, I would've had more Hide and Seek out by now. Has that happened to you? I have no idea how to fix it...

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Yeah, they can't get too many more devil fruit eaters without picking up some "normal" people as well, or else they'll be in trouble when the ship tips over and there's more drowners than rescuers. Sanji can't fish them all out!

whoo, threesome! --er...I mean...eheh. have a bad feeling iffen Paulie's the new nakama that fic & dj-wise he's gonna wind up paired with either Zoro or Sanji no matter what the canonical interaction is. He's quite the looker, by OP standards ^^ I love Zoro & Sanji's dynamic and don't want to see it altered, but I don't see how Paulie can avoid being thrown in with them, being another non-devil-fruit fighting male of about the same age (how old is he? I'm guessing early 20s, maybe 19 like them, he doesn't look younger than that, but...) It would be rather amusing if Zoro & Sanji bonded over mutual annoyance with their shipwright, tho'...anyway, I have confidence that Oda-sensei will make it work!
(and I wanna see Paulie fall in love with Luffy, the way all nakama eventually do...some of my favorite moments of the series there ^^)

Ah, you have more fic unposted? that won't do, wanna read! There's too few people writing good OP gen! as far as page breaks go, hmm, I haven't had trouble, but it looks like ff.net might've just upgraded to fix some problems? I always use asterixes for scene breaks myself - if you upload in html format and use the html code for asterix: & #042 ; (take out the spaces) they'll appear fine (tho' you can't use 'quick edit' or they're lost).

[crocoduck.livejournal.com]

Sadly, I am too brain-dead to actually have something to comment about, other than, I've been following your writing for a while, and I feel like it's time I friended you!

Hi! I'm Ed!

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

--and I'm just oblivious and missed this 'til now, but hi! welcome to my lj! once in a while I might even get around to posting a new entry... ^^;