[Action] HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUFFY!

[gourmet_gams]

[The Sunny is docked at a spring resort island that has a village within a short walking distance. It holds enough population for an easy access TRAVERSE point to be there, but isn't so crowded that it attracts large crowds of the rougher sort of people. The entire island is on the small side, but manages several decently bustling villages with restaurants and shops due to it's infamous spas. So there are options if somehow food runs out, no one will be without options as long as someone is willing to stop partying long enough to run out for more supplies.

And the plans are set for partying, there's enough food for every known Luffy in the contacts to enjoy and then the guests too, a treasure chest cake that is sized correctly and a whole hoard of cupcakes to go with it, fireworks planned for once darkness falls, live music, and enough alcohol to start up a liquor store and then some. Tents have been set up, tables arranged, and everything is ready for the celebration of the year.

Friends, allies, family and all Luffys have been sent the information to access the TRAVERSE point, and information on the islands location for those who wish to sail there instead of relying on the TRAVERSE SYSTEM. And no detail has been missed, no potential whim unseen to. Their treasured captain's birthday has to be perfection. And nothing less than outstanding and spectacular will be tolerated by the planning committee.

A future king deserves nothing but the best.]


((OOC: OPEN POST, Come celebrate, tag around, make toplevels, whatever. Time for one hell of a pirate party.]

Comments

[yourotherleft]

Yeah, yeah, you did something and I did nothing except stay on the ship until we docked. Rub it in.

[oh, was that not a competition? Too late, he took it as one and now he's annoyed. Cook has a talent he can use, Zoro just exists. Not that Luffy would care about anything more than his existence but eh.]

I don't think any of us can top his brother being alive again. [huff] You talked to Ace, yet? I should, it's been a while.

[gourmet_gams]

Don't be an ass about it. I was working, and so were you. If something happens you're supposed to be ready. [He gets so damn mad at Zoro, but he's not going to even pretend that he's not useful. Zoro's work is more situational, but the Sunny and all who live on it expect his blades to be there if the need arises.] We both have our places here. So don't act like I'm lording it over you. Not today.

[Sanji nods at that. Luffy's world changed for the better when Ace came back.] I talk to him a couple of times weekly. He's taking lessons from me through the SmartSnail. [The lessons have been a fiasco. But he's not goimg to turn Ace down.]

[yourotherleft]

[yeah, yeah. Around here his "work" is even weirder but whatever. He won't argue.]

...lessons? Doing what? [wait no way] Are you teaching him to cook?

[gourmet_gams]

[Around 'here' throws off everything.]

He sent me a message asking for lessons. He wanted to learn how to make bentos. And we've kept going from there.

[yourotherleft]

Bentos.

[well, that's not so weird. Just something about Ace making them that brings up a mental image that makes him snort.]

Well, then. First time for everything, I guess? [draaaaank]

[gourmet_gams]

He burnt them at first. I didn't think anyone could burn rice. He's all about heat and he has little finesse. [Teaching Ace to cook has been a lesson in patience for both of them.] He's doing it for his sweetheart. Lucky bastard.

[Sanji is absolutely jealous, and he takes a drink out of his flask before continuing.] What kind of beauty do you think got caught up in his flames?

[He's jealous and ignorant. And he groans as he watches Ace play fighting with Luffy over a rack of ribs longer than either of them are tall.

How the hell is he still single when he knows that he's a superior masculine princely gentleman with standards and manners?!]

[yourotherleft]

[considering that all Zoro can do is sashimi - no cooking required! - he feels more for Ace than Sanji on that. Still.]

Sweetheart, huh? Who'da thought. [he finally stops strolling around with his bottle and flumps down next to Sanji on the bench] How do you know it's a girl?

[there's something about the way he asks, maybe the way he doesn't look Sanji's way as he says it, that suggests he's not just asking about Ace's specifics here]

1/3

[gourmet_gams]

What sweetheart could be anything but a woman? A man's loving heart reflects best when the beauty of a fair maiden compliments his strength and honor! And to compliment a man like Fire Fist Ace, she'd have to be soothing and gentle, a cool and stable force to tame the flames and keep him from burning out. That's how a man like Ace's romantic dreams would succeed best! And he's even making cute lunches for her! ♥ ♥ ♥

[Sanji's general default setting for romantic is always set to female, women come first in every aspect of everything. He's had a pedestal that he's been setting femininity on since his mother was alive, and Zeff only made that obsession with women and their status more dramatic for him.] I'll make far better lunches for whoever I end up with. My love will be as wide as the ocean, as fantastic as the stars above! I'll make them feel like they're above all others, the most loved, a princely partner like myself will serve their lover with nothing but the best food and romance!

2/3

[gourmet_gams]

[But then it hits him that he's never so much as seen Ace so much as look at a girl that wasn't directly speaking to him, and he doesn't let his eyes wander down their feminine forms. And he's got those studs in his mouth, and that...

Sounds distinctively like something a wild hearted woman would do to please a lover. Like in that romance novel he has, when the poor heroine is rejected for her prudish ways, and she still goes out of her way to try to please the cad that she desires. It doesn't sound like something that a man would do. At least a man that's interested in the fairer sex. Oh, fuck. And when he saw the post he had questions, but it's not like he connected the dots at all back then...

What if that special someone ISN'T A LADY AT ALL!? What if he's been teaching Ace to cook for a man, he doesn't know how to feel about that. And then it goes from that level of conflict and confusion to something worse.

Zoro's reaction has his attention, and he doesn't quite know know how to respond at first. But something is up, even Sanji can see that. How he won't really make eye contact has Sanji confused for a moment. Zoro doesn't act like that. And there's something in the way that he's speaking that has Sanji really taking this far more seriously than he would otherwise.

Fuck. What the hell does he do now?

His act as hyper-heterosexual is carefully cultivated and he's so scared of anything that might pull him even slightly out of the closet. He doesn't want his crewmates to judge him, and he'd normally latch on to something like that and run with it cruely. If he's mean about it, he's protecting himself and he'll seem more straight. And if he's the manliest, most straight and masculine man ever, then no one can hurt him and he's strong enough to be safe.

But Zoro seems serious and he's worth more than Sanji's messed up issues.]

3/3

[gourmet_gams]

[Sanji takes another long drink from the flask before answering. His hands are a little shaky, and he feels so nervous that he's a little nauseated. But this is important, and Zoro is fucking important. And this can't be ignored or mistreated.]

If it's a man, then it's a man. It's fine. [His voice is low, and the words are hard to get out.] I... [One more drink, this time he's just going to finish off the flask's contents entirely. He doesn't know how to handle this without using alcohol as a nice excuse if Zoro tries hurting him with this.] Everyone should experience love. A man's heart doesn't listen to his head, it chooses for him. And if-[Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.] If anyone I know has a man for a sweetheart, then I wish them well. [He's going to kick Zoro in the face if this turns into some sort of teasing game or argument. Hard.]

daww Sanji

[yourotherleft]

[honestly, Zoro was expecting much worse than that. That whole first gush about fair maidens and oceans and stars was exactly what he expected, he almost feels like he could have predicted it down to the phrasing, but the way a light flush creeps along his jawline at the thought that all that about making the best lunches totally applies to him...and, well, everyone in the crew, the cook always makes the best food for all of them, even Usopp and Brook and everyone else so how is that any different? But that's not the point.

The important bit is what follows, and even though he sits there with the bottle raised to his lips, Zoro listens intently, and not just with his ears. That, he wasn't anticipating, and it fills him with a strange sense of relief. No, he doesn't have a sweetheart, not by a long-shot. But if he did...]

Yeah. It's fine, isn't it? Doesn't matter in the end.

[there's no teasing here at all, only a long pull from the bottle, which he then sets on the ground next to his foot. Too much all at once and he might blurt out something embarrassing]

...real generous of you, cook.

Zoro is really important to him even if he wants to kick him all the time

[gourmet_gams]

[Sanji takes a deep breath, and tries to get the mental fuckery that is his mind together a little more before saying anything else.] We could die any day. Any of us. And there's no promise that we'll come back like Ace did. So if we can be happy, even for a little while, that's what matters.

[Sanji has lived with fear as a motivator for so much of his life. He's been raised by the best and worst of fathers, and both of them were unyielding in their ideas and that pushed him to a strange fetishization of heterosexuality and stereotypical alpha male behavior. So any time he's felt something that deviates from the ideas that he's grown up with, that have been pushed onto him both through pain and loving intentions, it makes him feel like a deviant.

But here, things are different. He's ended up in a situation he never thought was possible, ever. And he's already had to make adjustments for things that he never thought could be. He's seen so much that's mind blowing to him, and maybe it's okay for him to unclench a little and be supportive of his friends and kind to himself. If he ends up with a man someday, which scares him to think about a little, he'd want people to treat him like he's still a good person. Like he's still Sanji, even if his interests don't lie in the specific areas he's advertised loudly for years.

So he tilts his head, looks at Zoro without a hint of judgement in his expression, and decides to be the friend he deserves. Even if Zoro is an asshole.]

Oi. Marimo. If you've got someone like that in mind... You should go for it. I'll kick the hell out of them if they respond badly. And do the same for me if I-Fuck. [Yeah, can't say it directly yet. The words start up, but just won't come out.]

[yourotherleft]

[well, he's not wrong...

Zoro would tell himself until he's blue in the face that he is happy, that there's nothing he's denying himself, but that would be a lie. He glances over in time to catch that look from Sanji and for a moment is a bit weirded out that the shitty cook is being so magnanimous. And smart. Sure, he has it in him but Zoro isn't the guy to admit that he does. He holds for a long moment and then snorts]

Me? 'Course I don't. I'm not like you, cook, I don't go hunting for sweethearts.

[same for you if what, cook? Hmm.] ...don't need you to kick anyone, I can take care of that myself.

[gourmet_gams]

You don't get it. I didn't either, for a while... [He wishes he had brought another bottle for himself, and he leans over to see where Luffy is. There, still busy. No one they're close to is really within earshot still.] I wanted people to see me a certain way. And it kept me safe. [From what? That's the problem. He does love women, he adores them and he puts them on that high place to worship. But most of it is an act. He wants women to love him, he wants to love women, but despite his acts of silliness, worship, and perversion he's not particularly interested in actually sleeping with women. And real men love women. They want to sleep with them, touch them, do everything with them and they don't like men or want to be touched by men and they especially don't like dressing like women. Things like that are innately wrong to Sanji by how he was raised.]

I know you don't need me too. You can slice up your enemies just fine. But that's not the point. It's about something deeper than that.

If a man... [Sanji gestures nervously, fingers grasping his cigarette and moving it around.] And his chosen paramour isn't of the same interests, it could ruin him. It's the kind of secret that kills friendships, that destroys someone. If they talk... [He puts the cigarette back between his lips, and sucks it down to the filter in one go. He's stressed.] Then suddenly you're the kinda man who wears fishnets and has fake breasts and facial hair. Chasing down unsuspecting men for perversion. People will never respect someone like that. So it's about defending honor and reputation. As well as getting revenge on whoever might consider hurting a crewmate.

[yourotherleft]

[Zoro being Zoro is entirely incapable of following that train of logic, leaving him sitting there looking confused

...what? What in the hell does that have to do with anything?

[he tries to work it out in his head again...nope, still puzzled]

You think I'm going to start wanting to wear fake boobs if I start liking someone?

[gourmet_gams]

[Sanji just stares for a moment, and sighs. And god, it's a good thing that Zoro is built like a brick shithouse, because with his lack of brains he's not going to catch a lover otherwise.]

No. Now listen, carefully. I'll go slowly. [Ahem.] If you. [Gestures at Zoro.] Tell some asshole man you want to sleep with him. Like, sex. Not in bed. [Seriously considers the good old fashioned o shape with one hand, and his pointer finger with the other for demonstration purpose but decides against it.] And he doesn't want you? He will tell everyone you're an okama! [There.] Does that get the point across?

[yourotherleft]

[it does, but the conclusion just makes him frown even more deeply]

That's a pretty big leap from A to B you got there, cook. Pretty sure I gotta do a lot more than proposition some shithead to get labeled an okama. But even if I did, what's the problem with that?

[it's a sincere question. like, dude, even he appreciated Bon Kurei to a point...his okamaness wasn't what made him annoying, really]

CW: mentions of homophobia, child abuse, and Sanji being Sanji

[gourmet_gams]

[Sanji wheezes and shuts his mouth, because he doesn't want to get loud and he doesn't want to draw attention but his first instinct is to loudly deny and loudly deny and he's so upset that he's starting to look a little distressed. So he just takes a deep breath, gets his shit together mentally, and stands up.] I need a drink first. Give me a minute.

[Each step towards where the wine is being stored for the party feels like he's wading through knee deep mud, like his limbs are heavy just from how stressed out he is. And it makes a short walk that keeps him within eyeshot of Zoro seem like a marathon journey back and forth to the other side of the island. But he's got a bottle of something he particularly enjoys now and a glass to go with it, so he's ready to deal with this. He's too far into this conversation to back out now.

Once he's seated again, he pours himself a glass, and drinks the entire thing in one go. And then he pours another for sipping while they talk.] It's not about if there's a problem with being an okama or not. It's about how people treat okamas, and people like them. And what people will do if they think you're that weak or sick that way. Because they'll see it like that. It's not normal to them. [He's tilts his head, eyeing Zoro.] Zeff taught me about women. About what a man should be. And how women should be treated. There was an honor of manhood and a man's responsibility, and there was a standard. Men love women, and should treat them a certain way, and that's just how it is. There wasn't room for anything else. And... [He sets his glass down, and fumbles for another cigarette. He's going to go through a whole pack tonight easily.] He kicked the fuck out of me for messing up, for not understanding right off. And it kept up that way, you know? It's a father's responsibility to beat the lessons in until they stick, and he's got to take his own life if they don't. [He's got his cigarette and his wine now, and he's not even sure where he's going with this.] I wasn't like this around women at first. But it makes them know they're pretty and perfect, and it makes me look like I'm not wrong. [And he's so scared of being wrong.] So if that's how loved ones deal with that sort of thing, how much worse is a careless stranger going to be?

[yourotherleft]

[well then. After all that, Zoro needs a drink too - straight from the bottle, as he do]

That's fucked up, cook.

[just...a general statement. Was it really so bad? He never got that impression from the old man but they were there, what, a couple days? and he was in the kitchen the whole time while Zoro napped on Merry so...

But not knowing anything about Sanji's past, aside from vague notions of sacrifice and owing a life, and now this Vinsmoke shit that he hasn't even dared to ask about yet, only makes Zoro realize that even his loneliness as the only student training light-years ahead of anyone his age in Shimotsuki was pretty normal compared to some people.]

You're so caught up in that, you haven't stopped to look around and see that it's not like that out in the wider world. People out here who've left their home villages and tiny backwater islands have seen enough shit that they don't really care what other people do. Careless strangers don't actually give a fuck.

[he's seen enough random liaisons in shadowy back corners of taverns to know, and that was even before leaving East Blue. He takes a deep drink from the bottle with his good eye aimed right at Sanji, daring him to call him a liar.]

[gourmet_gams]

[Sanji shrugs at that. It still doesn't seem fucked up to him, even if he's lived through it. Because it's Zeff, who loves him so much and sacrificed for and who would fight for him, and who Sanji has sacrificed for and would fight for and there's just so much powerful protectiveness between them. And yet, Sanji can't imagine looking Zeff in the face, telling him that he was in love with another man, and not getting beaten for it.

And while he absolutely does not consider Judge anything but a large piece of breathing shit, there's still fear that lingers from his time with him. And he still managed to impart ideas of masculinity and power and strength and bullshit that Sanji doesn't even want to deal with right now.

He needs to just blank-slate his feelings on things, work out more on his own, but who has the fucking time to sit and sort and think?

Yeah, he's going to work through that glass of wine faster than expected.] He did the best he could. It's not like he wants to hurt me. But if something is wrong to him, the only way he knows how to deal with it is through kicking it until it's fixed. And I'm not putting him through that. [Sanji gestures at his small counterpart, who's running around in the distance.

And then Zoro drops something that makes his stomach drop, a cold feeling through him, and what if he's right? What if it's all his raising coloring his experiences, leaving him fearful of what people will think to the point of twisting his reactions to other people...

What if all of this struggle has been his own fault, and he's made his own pain?

But he's also seen enough evidence to the contrary. People talk, and in the smaller towns it can still be something that absolutely ruins a person if the rumors go too far. And small town mentalities follow into the big world they live in now. So Sanji knows that he's not wrong, either.

But does any of that matter? Who's opinion is important enough to care about? And maybe, as long as the crew doesn't care, then that's good enough for Sanji...

Shit. It's a lot to think about.] Fuck. I don't know.

[yourotherleft]

[yeah the kids on the ship sure is a thing, Zoro squints in the bitty's direction and then shrugs]

You're overthinking it. We're pirates, words are just words and who the hell cares what anyone thinks? You're not the old man, you're you. Do whatever you want and fuck the world.

[DRINKING TO THAT]

You need to unclench, cook.

[gourmet_gams]

[It's gotten really busy on board as of late. Sanji isn't complaining about the extra mouths to feed, he has no right to anyway considering that he's the one that brought the mini-him onboard, but he's also pretty sure that the small Law is plotting his demise. The brat is scary and stares with a gaze that makes Sanji feel like he's already figuring out what organs to remove.

And then Zoro has some serious advice that he really does take to heart. They're pirates, they're not supposed to care what people think, and this is good and a starting point for moving forward. This whole talk has been important to Sanji, even though he's not going to thank Zoro for it or anything. The good booze is thank you enough in advance anyway.

But...

Fuck the world.

Unclench.]

Don't say it like that, it sounds gay. [And then he blinks, he's doing it again. Gotta get past that stupid wall of fake heterosexual armor that he somehow thought convinced everyone that he was the manliest of men.] Shit. It's going to take some work.

[yourotherleft]

[WOW YEAH COOK WHAT

Zoro sits there for a long moment glowering at him past the bottle before slowly and deliberately tipping it up for a sip. Yeah you know what you did.]

If you say that again I'll kick your ass, how's that for work?

[gourmet_gams]

[Oh, that gets a firm look and a growl from Sanji, and a massive feeling of relief. Banter, bitching, and threats are way easier to deal with that the sheer amount of emotions that he's having. And while he had been set on not fighting on Luffy's birthday, it's not like anyone expects less out of the two of them anyway.

Back to what's easier to deal with than years of internalized homophobia and coming out to Zoro.]

Like you could, bastard. I'll stomp you down any day.

[yourotherleft]

Keep tellin' yourself that. You haven't beaten me yet and I'm not about to let it start now.

[he sits up rather than hunch there scowling, getting all manly and tough as he do. Hey cook let's fight, it'll be great]