Bartolomeo’s entire life had been leading up to this moment, he knew.
Every good deed, every decision, every horrible thing he had powered through, and every single waking moment of his life was to prepare him for this single event.
Do you wanna play?
HEY, HEY, HEY!
Jamsil Olympic Stadium vibrates with the pre-concert chanting of almost 50,000 fans, and Bartolomeo was shaking at the fact that he was among those thousands.
Now, Barto prided himself in his top notch fancam skills. No matter the venue or the seat, his videos were always perfect: amazing angle, no shaking, the right amount of zoom, and exquisite angles and perspectives.
But he’d already made his announcement tweet on his account of a hundred-twenty thousand followers, and so he plans to follow through no matter what!
Clenching his fists and tilting his head towards the sky, Bartolomeo could only close his eyes in attempt to hold back the tears from ruining his impeccable makeup. Today, he thinks to himself, is for me, myself and I!
No camera or lens concerns! No need to hold back my emotions or my voice! I’m here to scream my voice away and dance as much as I want to!
Gripping the L-ASL banner in his hand, he shakes his head and looks towards the stage from his optimal position he’d been able to get on the ground floor section right next to the extending stage on the right-hand side of the venue.
While not actively a solo stan or anything of the sort, Barto isn’t going to lie to himself and deny that his sunshine Luffy wasn’t his bias among the brothers. He froths at the mouth at the mere thought of seeing any of the brothers live, but Luffy — oh god, Luffy and his glorious bright smile and perfect flips and how he just jumps so quickly from amazing street dancing to the rough, sweet melodic rapping — Luffy’s attitude and duality have captivated him, and Barto will stay loyal to his ult bias, dammit!
Strange and chilling today
Watch out for the flickering lights
The song peters out, and Barto braces for the next pre-concert. He dabs the small tissue he’d kept in a small pocket at the corner of his eyes, eager to make sure a perfect appearance lest his sparkling, radiating sunshine glance upon him, but then –
AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!
Shaking and biting his lips, Barto completely fails to pocket his tissue, dropping it on the floor.
I’m not going to cry or blink, I will not miss a single second of the next three hours, oh god, oh god!
The screens darken, the sun is slowly setting, and Barto can’t help but immediately join in the incoherent screaming of the stadium as the black screens and large speakers lining the entire venue come to life.
sunnie_sets_lomeo
guys im gonna lose my fkung mnid omgogmgk gu y s u are NO. T READDDYYYY AAAAAA OMG THIS IDJDKDM
replying to sunnie_sets
s.drak_0n
im crying lomeos already losing his mind guys n idt weve even gotten past the op vid HAHA
replying to s.drak_0n
spad.acee
OOMF WHATRE U DOING WATCH THE OP VID OMGGGKFK I DIDNT KNOW U GOT TIX????
replying to spad.acee
s.drak_0n
oh honey i didnt .-, im watching sunflowers ‘cooking show’ rn eheheh
replying to s.drak_0n
spad.acee
?????? BABE SHARE THE WEALTH ?????!! PM
With his phone on do not disturb, Barto knows he’s free to tweet and leave his followers scrambling and in chaos while he lives his life. Still, he briefly had seen the first response from the user s.drak_0n, and he wears the fact that he’s in shambles at the mere opening concert video like a medal.
Reminding himself to save his voice for future screeching, Barto resorts to wildly waving his personal banner and pulsing nautibong — which he has expertly decorated to fit his own trademark style, thank you very much. The high-pitched eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee is probably not coming from the girl seated next to him, and he’s never heard Cavendish make a sound like that ever.
He’ll just blame the sound on Cavendish, then.
Before he can linger on any other thoughts, the lights turn blinding, then an instrumental starts to play. The screams are deafening, but with the silhouettes that Berto can see slowly appearing from below, their shadowy figures visible against the light, there is nothing else he can even bother to register.
Except maybe that Cavendish is most definitely screaming now, but he really can’t blame him, dammit!
The instrumental continues, and it feels poetic for the brothers to start with this song. Bartolomeo holds his breath as the lasers lining the edge of the stage fly upwards, and –
When the gates open, it’s a twisted midday night.
How did I get back yesterday?
Oh god, Bartolomeo faintly thinks to himself as he absolutely loses his sh*t, I’m going to cry, and, and collapse, and!
Bartolomeo saw the saw the familiar lens of a fansite’s camera just a few seats away from him, and he can only wonder what that fan’s video will come out as with all the incoherent screaming and blubbering going around everywhere. He knew it was a good idea to dedicate day one of their stadium tour to himself, no fansite responsibilities included, mostly because he knew his voice would be unbearable and the videos absolutely incoherent.
Kudos to that fansite, he guesses.
He feels like his eyes are going to bleed with how he refuses to even blink, but oh god, Ace is on the big screen and he’s wearing a tight sleeveless top, he has two toned hair — which Barto already knew about but seeing it in real life is just different, alright — but the large screen in the center shows sabo and his gorgeous, immovable blonde bangs — god what I’d give to see him flash that sharp smile my way oh my GOD — and the big screen closest to him, well.
It’s showing his sunshine, and Barto can’t even register the shorts he’s wearing because his smile is blinding yet captivating and he just. Can’t look away. At all. From that smile.
The strong people who live on, not letting their next breath be the last,
Have dragged motionless hearts along to where they are
Logically, he knows where exactly they are in this song. He’s listened to this song a million times, he’s listened to all their songs a billion times, really, so he knows that emperor Sabo — blonde and sparkling with his wonderful snake bites piercings shining right below his wonderful lips, clearly visible with his face on the large screen on the left — is currently singing.
Barto feels like he’s blacking out instead. He’s been trying to hold in his babbling yells to fully assimilate into the music, to sink into their voices, but then Luffy’s on the center screen –
When I open the door, it’s a twisted truth’s lie
His eternal sunshine, sun god Luffy just blinked and Barto definitely blacks out this time, because the next thing he registers is the loud chanting of the audience that he unconsciously joined.
HELLO, HEY, HERE I AM
HELLO, HEY, I AM HERE
It feels victorious, like a call, a demand for everyone to pay attention to these boys and what they’ve been able to do in just these last few years. The lyrics flash brightly on the screen in stylized fonts and the brothers’ faces show one by one of the three wide screens facing the fans.
Barto feels himself tear up again, shaking his nautibong without abandon as it blinks between red and black, but he barely has time to breath as the song ends with a quick guitar solo from the accompanying live band when the next song starts right after.
Well, there was a short pause and the screen briefly turned black, but nothing stops him from joining what must sound like unhinged screeching as a quick beat plays with a voice layered in the back saying to the beat, to the beat, move your body to the beat.
Yeah, he’s definitely sobbing this time as the sunshine Luffy, in all his shorts glory, crouches low and starts whisper-rapping into his yellow microphone.
Move your body, move your body one-two
We got different blood, very different mood
sunnie_sets_lomeo
theyve done it. theyve k!lled me. WHY would they choose this as one of their opening acts omg
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
sunnie_sets_lomeo
lmao i almost forgot but ill brb lovely crewmates !!!
sunnie_sets_lomeo
Across the Grand Line: New World Tour Setlist
1 Hello, World!
2 TO THE BEAT
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
sunnie_sets_lomeo
follow or bookmark for more setlist updates, crewmates!!
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
surfsunspad
more like to see u absolutely lose ur mind while u livetweet during breaks but okkk
replying to surfsunspad
dr.sunniesides
lmao clock him oomfie follow me for more bangers
replying to dr.sunniesides
surfsunspad
shut???
replying to dr.sunniesides and surfsunspad
sunnie_sets_lomeo
special reminder to stick to quotes when it comes to my threads pls J)))))
Hwak, everyone go crazy, follow me
I’ll make you say wow
This song, this wonderful song that Barto has been praying to see live for what he feels for years, a decade, nay, a century! And now he can finally see firefly Ace and sunshine Luffy rapping in all their excited, arm-ful, dance-y glory!
This is nice, and the music feels like its reverberating in his house, I’m losing all my words.
One of the cameras pan to Luffy doing a fun little free style on the side of the main stage as emperor Sabo sings the bridge of the song, and, well, Barto can only think to himself as a single tear streaks down his cheek that it makes complete sense to lose brain cells when he needs to accommodate head space for the current visuals and performances being served.
Dance, dance
Dance, dance
And as usual, the end of the song is punctuated by all three brothers doing their own thing on the stage.
Back when they had released this and first performed it, the metallic beat was accompanied with them either taking turns freestyling at the center of the stage, or doing their own freestyles on their own sections of a larger stage.
This is the largest stage they’ve had yet, so Barto doesn’t exactly know what to expect, but.
Firefly Ace is completely in the zone at the center of the main stage, waving around his body in the fluid way he’s known to do all while still keeping his hip-hop dance style. Emperor Sabo looked like he was about to start his own dance on the left edge but became momentarily distracted and ended up pointing and laughing at something a fan had been holding up towards him.
Sunshine Luffy, on the right edge of the main stage, has taken to doing a follow-the-leader game with the fans farther along his side of the stadium, starting an impromptu arm-waving challenge that he ends with a walking handstand — as if the fans could imitate that while in the seating area.
By the time the song ends, firefly Ace is shaking his head and rolling his eyes at his brothers, emperor Sabo is trying to hold in his laughter while walking towards firefly Ace, and sunshine Luffy’s walking on his hands back towards center stage again.
Barto grips at his head as both firefly Ace and emperor Sabo gesture wildly at sunshine Luffy while the beat of the next song starts. The youngest is laughing with the biggest smile on his face as he runs back, on his feet this time, to pick up his abandoned microphone.
God, Barto puts his hands together and stares imploringly at the brothers on stage, give me the strength to survive this night.
All my life, been sitting at the table
Watching them kids, they’re living in a fable
Looks, luck money and never left a’wishin’
But now it’s ‘bout time to raise up and petition
Emperor Sabo mutters the opening lines, barely missing his own microphone as he tries to give an exasperated look at sunshine Luffy, as if he and firefly Ace aren’t radiating fondness towards our sunshine always!
Sunshine Luffy misses his followup lines, but, Barto notes as he resists screaming into his hands, it’s not because our sunshine doesn’t have his microphone — it’s because he can’t stop giggling around it!!!
Holding back what could only be the unholy spawn of a coo and a skree, Barto’s mental state finds itself on the brink of collapse only three songs into the concert as all three brothers sing together, firefly Ace pumping his fist into the sky, emperor Sabo waving at the fans reaching out to him at the front, and sunshine Luffy hop-skipping his way around the stage.
Cause I’ve been wondering
When you’re gonna see I’m not for sale
This song is something personal, Barto vaguely recalls, how the brothers had to fight to stay as they are now, no companies or big names trying to absorb and eat up the L-ASL name for themselves!
When you’re gonna see I’m not
A part of your machine
LOUDER, firefly Ace roars at the crowd, both hands held above his head with his mic, just as the crowd roars back NOT A PART OF YOUR MACHINE!
And finally, at the center stage, just as the music pauses, sunshine Luffy reaches out and yells into the sky together with the crowd, a clear-cut I AM THE MACHINE ringing into Barto’s ears.
spad.acee
@// god ive seen what you done for others me next uwu
replying to spad.acee
dr.sunniesides
non oomf noah fence but if u didnt get tix now i wldnt hold my breath for encore tix
replying to dr.sunniesides
spad.acee
it would have been kinder for u to K1ll Me non oomfie <33333
The cheers taper off briefly and the stage lights turn off, and perhaps not Bartolomeo can actually blink, but as he huffs and puffs away the lights shine right back on and Barto feels his heart palpitate all over again as his eyes zero in on the three figures standing in the center of the main stage.
“YAAAAAAA EVERYONE!”
Sunshine Luffy’s cheerful greeting is immediately responded with the screams of the fans, the volume strong enough to leave every part of Barto vibrating — wait, the ground actually is shaking, Bartolomeo only has half his mind left to even notice how everyone has begun stomping their feet on their ground, the echoing rumble shaking the stadium and the ground even more.
“Damn,” Firefly Ace whistles, impressed, into his hand-held mic, “you guys are giving us a hell of a welcome, huh?”
Sunshine Luffy’s smile is becoming impossibly wider by the second, and emperor Sabo is laughing into his own microphone — dark blue and personalized, Barto reminds himself, to match with Ace’s deep red, and sunshine Luffy’s bright yellow!
They wait for the cheers and stomping to mellow enough, “Well, let’s properly start this concert, yeah?”
Emperor Sabo steps up, and the three brothers hold up their empty hands at the same time, getting ready to do a synchronized gesture, “One, two –
“Hey, we are L-
“A,” Firefly Ace does a two finger salute, complete with a wink.
“S,” Emperor Sabo tips an imaginary hat towards the crowd.
“L!” and Sunshine Luffy raises his arm high above his head, hand in a peace sign, and Barro thinks his soul has officially evacuated the physical realm.
They simultaneously bow, “Nice to meet you!”
Bartolomeo decides to inhale his soul back into his mortal body as firefly Ace bends down to grab a towel, Oh Jesus, passing a water bottle with a straw to sunshine Luffy.
“You guys are looking mighty energetic today!”
The screams and cheers pick up once again, and despite how close he is, Barto struggles to properly hear anything the brothers say.
“Well, what do you expect,” Firefly Ace straightens back up and Barto swears he can someone behind him sobbing about the man’s biceps and shoulders, “we just started! But if you guys are this hyper now, think you can keep it up for the rest of the concert?”
The cheers that softened over his words rise up once again, and the brothers laugh at the growing excitement.
“You guys better have enough energy later, this has to be fun for everyone, okay!”
Of course, Luffy! Anything for you, our wonderful sunshine Luffy!
“And while it’s good and all to be excited, everyone, please make sure to stay hydrated and safe, okay?”
Yes, yes, Barto sobs, almost gnawing on his banner, thank you so much for caring, our magnanimous emperor Sabo!
“Safety first and entertainment second, guys. That being said, no holding back this time! First stop for the stadium tour GO!
Your presence strengthens and fires us up just as always, and Barto has to stop himself from sobbing into his hands, lest he miss something, our strong, firefly Ace!
“It’s been some time since we last saw you guys face-to-face, huh?” A resounding cheer responds to Ace as the cameras focus on him, all the screens showing the eldest of the trio.
“We missed performing in front of y’all a whole lot too! It’s crazy that we were able to get this far from all those years ago, but now’s day one for the stadium tour, and while we started this because we worked hard for our passion and we love our music, it’d be dumb not to know that we came this far thanks to you guys, too.
“So,” Firefly Ace raises an open hand, gestures to the entire audience, “thanks to all of you here right now, and everyone watching at home right now or even later on! We got this far thanks to you guys, and we’ll work harder to keep going on! We hope you enjoy our stages, and enjoy the rest of the night!”
Barto wipes his tears, hoping to at least salvage his makeup.
Our firefly Ace, we were the ones blessed to hear the music you three wanted to share in the first place! He dabs at his cheeks, trying his best not to rub. We should be the ones thanking you for everything!
The large screen changes to emperor Sabo, and the cheers pick up in volume all over again, softening when he starts his own opening speech.
“I have to say, while I dreamt of performing here in the Olympic Stadium, I didn’t know we’d be getting here so quickly. It’s been more than half a decade but it still feels too soon, you know?
“It’s been an exciting few years, and sometimes it still feels like I’m dreaming.”
The stadium starts to aaawwwwww, and firefly Ace smacks emperor Sabo’s shoulder, “Dude, why are you making it sound like we’re retiring our something after this tour?”
Sunshine Luffy snorts as the venue immediately echoes louder with AAAWWWWWWWW, Barto feels his heart drop out of his ass, and emperor Sabo whips his hands around, “No, no wait, hold on,” and firefly Ace whispers a barely audible sap near his red microphone. Emperor Sabo, naturally, smacks the back of Ace’s head in retaliation.
“Continuing! We have some surprises for you guys in a bit and even more later! No spoilers right now, but I’m pretty excited about them, and I know you guys will like it too!”
“I mean,” Sunshine Luffy scratches at his chin, his face deep in thought, “if they’re here, that means they like our music, right? So that means they probably like most of our music, even the early stuff, like,” – and emperor Sabo immediately throws his arm over sunshine Luffy’s head as he lets out an ah, while firefly Ace starts saying gibberish into his mic to cover up sunshine Luffy’s words.
What, and Barto is definitely gnawing and drooling all over his personalized, special handmade sunshine Luffy banner this time, the f*ck. It feels like an actual record scratch has echoed in the empty hallways of his brain.
The screams are picking up once again, and Barto is sure that even Cavendish has started ruffling at his perfectly made hair. A large majority of the fans around Barto have also began to start shaking their seat-mates, and Bartolomeo knows that everyone has thought of the same thing he has.
Emperor Sabo nervously laughs into his microphone, and keeps sunshine Luffy under his arm, “We worked hard on today’s performances, and we hope you guys enjoy it a whole lot! Stay safe and try not to get too rowdy out there, but otherwise, enjoy tonight’s show, okay?”
He releases sunshine Luffy just as firefly Ace comes up to both of them and grabs the back of sunshine Luffy’s neck.
“Sorry guys,” Sunshine Luffy starts wriggling his arms towards the crowd and Barto can tell that sunshine Luffy’s either going to be berated onstage right now or in a few moments backstage, “but looks like our surprise isn’t gonna have as much oomph as we were hoping for, after all.”
He starts shaking sunshine Luffy around, who swats at the hand holding him up and starts backing away from firefly Ace as emperor Sabo shakes his head at his brothers’ antics.
Firefly Ace seems to have backed off for the moment, but Barto’s heart is already swooning over the wonderful relationship the trio share onstage for everyone to see. It’s not their first concert, and far from Barto’s first time seeing them live, but every moment he sees them in the flesh feels like a true blessing he should always be thankful for.
“A-anyway,” Sunshine Luffy lightly kicks his feet and looks away from his brothers and the faces they seem to be making at him on stage for everyone to see, “this is our first stadium performance, not to mention our first stadium tour!
“It’s really the start of something completely new now, and it’s really cool to be experiencing a lot of our firsts with a lot of support this time around! We went through a whole lot before, but everything’s always worth it if we can have this adventure with all you guys!”
Barto is swooning so hard he feels he’s going to crumple into nothingness on the ground and get trampled by the fans around him.
“So,” another blinding smile, “I hope you stick with us all the way, and hopefully we can cheer you guys on the same way you guys are always doing for us as we reach for our dreams! Let’s work hard together, alright?”
The screaming turn ear-shattering once more, and Bartolomeo thanks every possible existing higher being for allowing him to exist at the same day and age as the amazing sunshine that is sunshine Luffy all over again.
“Now, let’s get back to it, yeah?”
The lights turn off and the screen go black once again.
Bartolomeo feels sweat building on his temples, and he grips ever tighter at his nautibong and banner, drowning out Cavendish’s concerns and are those bite marks on your banner?
The screens come to life, all three showing off the ASL logo of the performers. They flash between the three colors of red, blue and yellow, before the one on the center settles on red. The A overtakes the screen as the S and L disappear.
What, what, Barto starts nibbling so hard on his lower lip this time he barely registers the possibility of bleeding, is that what I think that means!!!
The center screen pulses red with the A as an unmoving black figure, obviously Firefly Ace’s, is shown on the bottom of the screen.
Before Barto can screech even more, the large screen farthest from him stops flashing on blue, and the A and L slowly disappear as it similarly starts pulsing with the black figure of Sabo is seen at the bottom. Barto starts piecing together what it could possibly mean but then –
But then the final screen, the on the right, the one closest to Barto, comes to life as it flashes yellow, the pulsing at first overtaking there only. As the A and S disappear however, the pulsing starts flashing sparks of yellow through the extended stage as well — holy sh*t, are the extended stages made of screens as well, holy f*ck — and the yellow begins to overtake even the screens on the left and the center.
Barto absolutely loses his mind, and –
“WHAT THE f*ck, WHAT THE f*ck, WHAT THE,”
He barely registers how he’s grabbed Cavendish by the shoulders without even looking, but he notices enough that Cavendish doesn’t even complain about the manhandling.
sunnie_sets_lomeo
[CLOSED]
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
spad.acee
HELLO???? HELLO????????
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo and spad.acee
eyebeeleaf
oh my f*ckn god she f*ckn dead lmao
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
taptapbounce
eyo wait is this fr where do we get the good sh*t ™ now !!!
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo and taptapbounce
s.drak_0n
dw oomfie mans just got the shock of his life bc im preeetty sure lu just spoiled that theyre doing some of their older stuff + i think lu’s doing his solo stuff first !!
replying to s.drak_0n
taptapbounce
hey so excuse me what the f*ck
Koby has ascended.
He doesn’t know what he’d done to deserve this, getting such good seats not only on the ground, but also close to the stage.
Close to the extended stage on the right, to be specific.
The stage closest to and pulsing yellow the most.
When he had asked Helmeppo to accompany him for moral support to ask his mentor for a day off, he didn’t think he’d suddenly find his mentor giving him free tickets — “You work hard enough anyway, this is your first requested day off so why not? ‘Sides, got these for free and got no clue what to really do with ‘em.”
And now he and Helmeppo have VIP seats on the ground with an excellent and clear view of where his idol and inspiration has just appeared in a flurry of confetti, bright yellow puffer jacket with shorts and horrendous looking sneakers that shouldn’t look good but just add to the whole image of sunshine Luffy as usual.
Koby prides himself in keeping himself together and always having a sound mind, but as he turns to his friend who starts patting his shoulder and nods in support, Koby can’t help but let out his first giddy, uncontrolled screech of the concert from the first few beats, followed by Luffy’s yeah’s and uh-uh’s.
Yeah I’m saucin’
Yeah, I’m saucin’ on you
You addicted, I addicted
I’m swaggin’ on you
Normally this isn’t even Koby’s type of music. Or at least, he’s been told that he doesn’t look the type to have listened to funky song like this on repeat to the point he could replay even the stage performance in his head every night before he goes to sleep.
But as cool as all those videos are, Luffy starts tapping on his cheek as he bounces back and forth on his heels, nothing beats seeing the actual performance in real life.
Later, Helmeppo will tell Koby that his eyes were wide and unblinking, and no, he wasn’t making any sounds at that point. Apparently, he’d left his jaw hanging and looked like the personification of mesmerized if it happened upon the living embodiment of the sun.
Tap, tap, tap, tap
Tapping on me
Koby still has no goddamn clue how he was possibly lucky enough to see this live.
sunnie_sets_lomeo
Across the Grand Line: New World Tour Setlist
1 Hello, World!
2 TO THE BEAT
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
sunnie_sets_lomeo
3 Machine
4 TAP
5 SHALALA
surfsunsped
oh my god he really just went for it ! im Dieded
replying to surfsunsped
spad.acee
bro /im/ abt to pass away, all the sunnies on the tl have completely just gone feral
replying to surfsunsped and spad.acee
drakdrag
oh god were next arent we… all drakes & spades unite in solidarity as we pray for our fallen brethren, sunnies, n then prepare ourselves for our own collapse
dr.sunniesides
im ngl guys how is lomeo even updating the setlist for us rn…
replying to dr.sunniesides
surfsunsped
truly one of our strongest soldiers amen ty lomeo
As soon as Helmeppo had heard the echoing lay low, lay low, lay low, he braced himself for quite possibly the strangest song he’d ever heard in his entire life — only now he was seeing it live.
Koby, his best bud, his brother-from-another-mother, his bff, looked like he was about to collapse into a heap when Luffy started wandering towards the extended stage.
The idol had been dancing and walking around the main stage with some backup dancers during the first song, but just a few seconds into his second solo song, Luffy walked into the stretch of the extended stage on the right.
Helmeppo and Koby were given pretty good seats for free. He was surprised at first, because how in the world did Garp get these? And only surprised once again when they arrived at the venue, and he felt severely underdressed.
Even Koby dressed up. Damn.
While Helmeppo himself wasn’t that big of a fan of the idol trio nor did he really get the whole culture of following idols, he’d be hard-pressed to ever deny he didn’t enjoy their music when it come up in public or on Koby’s playlists.
So, even if this song was one of the more questionable ones and was owned by a person that Helmeppo somewhat considered confusing as well — but kind, funny, so free in his expression of joy and music — he couldn’t help but get choked up himself as the idol went down the flashing yellow bridge and slowly made his way onto the large extended stage.
I’m really good at entertainin’, yeah
They be chasin’ me like the CIA
Every step he takes seems to cause a ripple on the screens of the stage floor, yellow rays coming off around his feet as he nears the part of the stage’s right bridge closest to their seats.
A painful grip encircles his wrist as Koby starts waving one of the free banners given to them earlier when they entered the stadium, but Helmeppo barely notices when Luffy starts doing the bounce choreography practically right in front of them.
Shalala, lala, oh my, my
Shalala, lala, I’ma shine
The joy is infectious, so Helmeppo can’t be blamed if he gets caught up in the good energy and joins in on all the cheering and chanting too, right? He doesn’t know the lyrics as well as Koby. Still, he was here to show support and have fun with his best friend, so by god, he will have fun.
He thinks he understands the joke Koby makes now, when he says that somebody doesn’t got the bounce.
Ironically, Luffy ends the stage by bouncing straight into a hole in the extended stage.
eyebeeleaf
guys i think i just saw this dude that ik works for secuirty in here omg
replying to eyebeeleaf
eyebeeleaf
he was totally vibing n losing it to tap n shalala !!!
replying to eyebeeleaf
s.drak_0n
truly anyone can enjoy good music, strong security men included
replying to eyebeeleaf
spad.acee
hey buddy howd u know that the guy works in security
replying to eyebeeleaf
spad.acee
hey hey hey
replying to eyebeeleaf and spad.acee
taptapbounce
pls i tjink all drakes went offline just now bc sabos solos jus started
replying to taptapbounce
spad.acee
o,,, o rip,,,
replying to spad.acee and taptapbounce
surfsunsped
buddy. buddy, We Are Next.
replying to surfsunsped
spad.acee
DONT REMIN. D DMEEE IMS KERD
She shouldn’t be here.
Yes, we go up!
If we let ‘em down
Well, technically, she filed for leave so that she could come to both days and show the boys proper support that their all fathers should really be doing themselves, but thinking about it now, the man most likely still showed up. He adores his son and has mentally adopted the other, if not both. Even if he does deny how invested he had become ever since he helped Luffy help Sabo.
Speaking of the blonde idol,
If we get it yes, yes yes
Yes, yes, yes, yeah!
Whether or not Dragon is actually here or not, Belo Betty is not gonna wimp out of supporting her favorite kids. You’d have to pry those words out of her, but still.
If showing her support includes filming Sabo while he sits on the edge of the stage and swings his legs out while she screams her heart out, the most stupid, proud smile on her face, sue her.
She’s proud, dammit.
Can you please, don’t kill my vibe
Yes, we go up
He started off from a higher platform that slowly lowered. Now he wanders the main stage with boots and slacks that have accents of blue, a blue, long-sleeved top. Right on top of his dress shirt is short-sleeved, loose, black suit jacket.
In other words, classy as usual. Sabo never looks overdressed and Betty knows it’s the one of the very few good things that’s come from his biological parents. Her thoughts try not to linger on how good he looks despite the physical attributes of his gene donors.
He wears his everything well, and she couldn’t be more proud of how far he’s come.
Everybody now!
Ttu-ttu-ttu, ttu
Ttu-ttu, ttu-ttu, ttu
She joins in as everyone in the crowd claps to the beat of the song, the whistling tune easily catching her. Sabo hops back onto his feet and leaves the edge to lead the backup dancers that enter the stage, but Betty knows he saw her. His smile had picked up and he gave a good-natured wave in her direction, and as far as she knew no one else around her personally knew him.
Contrary to all the sobbing fans around her are claiming, anyway.
Her video’s definitely ruined by all the swinging — if her incessant yelling and cheering haven’t already botched the audio.
The song tapers off into an end and all the dancers pose. Sabo waves towards the crowd with his free hand when the lights turn down to deeper shades.
Then the next song starts up. Betty can’t even really hear what song it is, but when the drum beat kicks in she feels it reverberate around her.
Oh f*ck yeah. This is one of her favorites, despite how mellow Sabo’s songs usually are compared to his brothers’.
Mellow songs keep her from flipping people off when she’s on the road and someone does stupid sh*t in public.
UN Village hill, hey
Side by side, looking at the moon
You and me, relax and chilling, yeah
Man, she is not gonna be able to hear this song the same way ever again.
Just like Luffy, he makes his way to the extended stage. Each step ignites the ground as it pulses in blue waves, opposed to Luffy’s yellow rays earlier.
Betty bets that Ace’s will be red and do with fire. Sparks, probably.
Only I have the right to spend
This special time with you
I know that, I know that, I know
The backup dancers had all left the stage when go UP had ended, but Sabo easily fills the stage with his presence. Its rolls down the stage before he can even take another step. He serenades the audience, a smooth beat right before what will undoubtedly be something more rough when Ace’s turn on the stage come along.
Rolling, rolling, rolling hills
Along the curves
Rolling, rolling rolling hills
Betty ignores any other thoughts and goes back to screeching her head off before his second song ends.
He softly hums along to the ending tune, and the lights die out as he turns on his feet, disappearing from the stage. But, right before all goes dark, Betty swears she saw a familiar suspicious-ass figure, right over – there.
Then the screens pulse a dark red, burns peaking from below. The energy reignites, but her attention’s somewhere else.
And with the way the man is sweating — is that from the heat or nerves? — and quite obviously looking away from her general direction, she knows he saw her too.
Huh.
Maybe there are still some good fathers in the crowd, then.
The fake hood wasn’t fooling anyone, though. Her boss could be so dumb, sometimes.
sunnie_sets_lomeo
Across the Grand Line: New World Tour Setlist
1 Hello, World!
2 TO THE BEAT
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
sunnie_sets_lomeo
3 Machine
4 TAP
5 SHALALA
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
sunnie_sets_lomeo
6 go UP
7 UN Village
8 Modern Life
s.drak_0n
i came. i died. i left.
replying to s.drak_0n
s.drak_0n
i think i saw god just now @eyebeeleaf
replying to s.drak_0n
eyebeeleaf
you n me both… prayers out to spades lmao
replying to eyebeeleaf
s.drak_0n
im Yelling theyve all disappeared from tl
replying to s.drak_0n and eyebeeleaf
taptapbounce
wait mines lagging!! almost got sniped but whats going on?? is sabos set over???
replying to s.drak_0n and taptapbounce
eyebeeleaf
dont look now and save urself
replying to eyebeeleaf and taptapbounce
s.drak_0n
what oomf is tryna say is ace is up now n mans is not just sleeveless, man is Strapped Up
replying to s.drak_0n and eyebeeleaf
taptapbounce
,.,,,{€{{${|>}~>_>_!_!}§}|{}_
replying to eyebeeleaf and taptapbounce
s.drak_0n
yea that checks out
replying to s.drak_0n and taptapbounce
eyebeeleaf
honestly i blame sabo bc who else is carrying the steampunk leather strap vibes but him
When the song starts, it’s on a clapping beat that everyone instantly joins, high off Sabo’s performance. Ace is launched onto the stage from below through a hole in the center of the main stage, and he lands right on the singular drum beat among the electric guitar strumming.
Don’t wanna live as an untold story
Rather go out in a blaze of glory
Isuka isn’t one to take time off, much less ask to get off work early. She saw Koby and Helmeppo in the VIP strapping line though, so she doesn’t feel too guilty if someone mentored under the Garp is also here.
She’s heard how some people define idol music, as if they’re only a single genre in themselves.
Wanna feel pride and shame
I don’t wanna take my time
Don’t wanna waste one line
As if Ace isn’t setting himself on fire with his emotions every time he steps foot on stage.
Don’t get Isuka wrong, she likes all three of them. Luffy’s fun and upbeat with his own music, and Sabo occasionally dips himself in pop and mixes himself in with calmer, cooler songs too.
But there’s something in the way that Ace blazes when he’s on his own. It’s been some time since the brothers have last performed their own songs. After promoting their solo music as soon as it’s released, the only time fans had gotten to hear them again was during fanmeetings or solo fanconcerts.
And those don’t happen enough, honestly.
Their music as a trio is something she also adores, and she loves the variety of it all. Sometimes they’re singing about having fun, sometimes they’re singing about anarchy, and sometimes they talk about fighting for your dreams as you walk the streets of hell while everyone’s against you.
Don’t wanna live as an unsung melody
I’d rather listen to the silence tellin’ me
I can’t hear you, I won’t fear you
She didn’t even think that they’d be performing their solo music. Their concerts were usually reserved for performances of songs done by all three of them, and that was it. Isuka was expecting an exciting night that would leave her heart on overdrive even as she’d leave the venue, but this?
Wanna live better days
Never look back and say
Could have been me
Sabo was right, calling this a surprise. It’s the best surprise she’s had in a long, long time.
And if her enjoyment has anything to do with his not only his passion but also his arms, no one needs to know how she’s been swooning over the straps wrapped around his shoulders. f*ck.
It could have been me
His voice is raw as he ends the song, yelling out the me. This is the sh*t Isuka lives for. How she relates to the rawness and the feeling of all of Ace’s performances, how –
Screams and screeching resound, and Isuka has to hold herself in support of herself. It’s a simple, soft guitar strum compared to the rock music of Could Have Been Me. Still, she knows exactly which song this is, and she knows exactly what Ace is expecting when the chorus arrives.
Don’t let the lights go out
Just let it shine bright, oh
So,
f*ck! THIS! MODERN! LIFE!
Isuka also doesn’t think she’s much of a singer, but if she sings every single lyric of this song… Well, no one knows except her, so it’s fine.
Ace pumps his fist in the air with every yell from the crowd, and alright, maybe Isuka finally understands when people say they feel overwhelmed to the point of tears during these events.
The first stadium of many, the first day of more. She was able to get tickets for day 2 as well, so the idea of experiencing this same setlist again? She feels like she’s about to lose her entire goddamn mind.
Now I’m chasin’ shadows
Losin’ who I am
Who am I supposed to be?
His footsteps cause sparks of flame with every step. Despite being the brother known to remember the choreography the most, he’s obviously lost in the music. Isuka doesn’t even know if he can see the audience right now, or if they’re fueling him that much more.
As the song ends, as Ace reaches his hand high above himself as he reaches for the sky, Isuka feels her heart pound just a beat faster.
She feels alive.
No wonder people get post-concert depression. This is a high she doesn’t ever want to end.
It does, eventually. But she can’t find it in herself to be disappointed at all when the red screens turn darker.
They become a dark shade of grey, coming off in waves. The fog machines work overtime, but they add to the overall aura of the stage — whatever that is they’re going for.
Isuka’s still trying to grapple her emotions, so really, when she lets out a noise at the soft piano of a song she knows from the heart, it’s not her fault.
But when Ace starts singing, joined onstage by his brothers once more but on the extended stage this time…
I was hoping for an indication
I was seeking higher elevation
She’s not so full of herself or her physical appearance, but Isuka knows she’s going to regret what she’s doing to her own scalp later.
dr.sunniesides
hey god. hey . hey god is that u
replying to dr.sunniesides
drakdrag
god cant hear u bestie
simpspeda
hey , anyone else notice that weird eye thing that popped up in the corner of sunflowers cooking show?
replying to simpspeda
surfsunsped
huh, now that u mention it… idk whats up tho
replying to simspeda and surfsunsped
drakdrag
iirc has smth to do w their pr folk
replying to surfsunsped and drakdrag
simpspeda
what??? does that mean???? oh my god r we gonna get sniped??
replying to simpspeda and surfsunsped
drakdrag
funnily enough, no. only if someone says stupid sh*t abt the boys in the comments or smth
replying to simpspeda and drakdrag
surfsunsped
nhie been in a fandom where streaming is not only expected but found & monitored…
That fool Bartolomeo!
Looking to his side, Cavendish can only grimace at the image he had been ignoring the entire concert.
How improper, he lets a hmph out and turns his attention back to the stage. He’s been practically frothing at the mouth as soon as they stepped on stage!
Just then, the large screen on the left focuses on Sabo as he looks on in the crowd, sweat dripping down his temple, a breathtaking, rare, sweet smile appearing. The screams gain another pitch and — oh, am I swooning? The great Cavendish does not swoon!
I’m bursting like the fourth of July
So color me and blow me away
I’m broken in the prime of my life
So embrace it and leave me to stray
The soft bridge ends just as quickly as it starts, but the camera lingers as Sabo looks over the audience. His eyes sweep over the flashing lights, and Cavendish suddenly feels like stooping to Bartolomeo’s level just to aggressively rip his own handmade banner to shreds using something as improper as his teeth.
Ooooooh, that idiot, he barely spares a glance to the raving green-haired beast that has yet to take a single breath for the past five minutes, that fool went ahead and bought tickets on the other side of the damn stadium just to be closer to his sunshine!
Turning away from the large screen showing off Sabo’s heartfelt emotions, Cavendish looks at the actual Sabo on the extended left stage — while closer to him than if he were to get lower box seats, Cavendish laments how close yet far he is from his bias.
As he looks longingly at the distant figure of my dear heartthrob emperor, my drakon prince, oh, I do not swoon for anyone, but Sabo is just so -!
The screams pick up, and Cavendish didn’t even know the green fool’s voice could hit such notes. His eyes are momentarily distracted by the ringing of his ears, and they instead focus on the extended stage reaching closer to his own seat, where –
Where Luffy in all his black boots, red, loose ankle pants and black top has decided to hop down the edge of the stage and has started taking selfies with fans.
Oh, both his lightstick and banner to his chest, I’m fine.
Luffy eyes fly over all the fans, making brief eye contact with every single person he can in front of him, and all at once his eyes connect with Cavendish and he - !
That’s, fingers loosening, he barely feels as he drops his nautibong and leaves it to hang off his wrist, that’s, well, I can, uhm…!
His chest throbs, his heart aches, and Luffy flashes a close-eyed, wide-lipped, open-mouth grin.
Singing into his microphone, Luffy reaches out to the crowd in front of him, oh, I’m here too, he’s reaching out to my section, and sings,
I was always up for making changes
Walking down the street meeting strangers
Flipping through my life, turning pages
And Cavendish doesn’t really know who he was trying to fool, attempting or even bothering to have a bias amongst these three brothers, when all three glow in their own right. The brothers, as idols, have never pretended to be some kind of high-class trained act that bend to the romantic whims of their fans, and they have never catered or dared to feed into thoughts or allusions of the delusional, parasocial concept that festers the large majority of the entertainment industry.
Cavendish prides himself in easily respecting their boundaries, following the lines and not pushing the wall that the ASL brothers had readily put up for privacy, their no-nonsense attitude when it came to bending over backwards and turning yourself into something else for the security, prolonging the cycle of such a horrid thing in the industry.
But, Luffy flashes one more smile as he climbs back up on the stage, ignoring the stairs just a few steps away from him, who am I, to be strong enough to not think of meeting a stranger like Luffy and his brothers on the street.
Luffy walks back to the main stage, stopping every now and then to point and smile at signs and phones.
I’m starting to see why fans struggle to become less… ‘delusional,’ he fans himself with his one free hand, nautibong swinging around wildly, when it comes to these three.
emperorsnewcloth
hey is lomeo still alive im like lowkey concerned lmao
replying to emperorsnewcloth
dr.sunniesides
henerally idt anyone is rn?
replying to dr.sunniesides
emperorsnewcloth
henerally
replying to emperorsnewcloth and dr.sunniesides
rii.d00p
henerally
replying to emperorsnewcloth and dr.sunniesides
taptapbounce
henerally
replying to emperorsnewcloth and dr.sunniesides
surfsunsped
henerally
dr.sunniesides
EEEEYYEEEEEE HATE U GUYS SM
rii.d00p
no srsly where lomeo .-,
Ivankov does not understand how Dragon tries to hide himself in the crowd after having excused himself from being given reserved tickets in more comfortable seats wit personal space.
He is easily visible to their eyes, a tall, looming, hooded figure amongst the see of people dressed to the nines. Still, weird fits with fancy and however else one could describe as ‘concert fits,’ so Dragon fits right in, and so do they.
Dragon has gone out of his way to find a better, closer location to the stage, and Ivankov had seen Belo Betty earlier. They bet that she has already notified the rest of their team.
Still, it’s obvious that Dragon tries his best to support the children he cares so much, even if he does do it in the shadows. For example, Iva was willing to just enjoy from seats much farther from their current ones, but Dragon has clearly magic in his hands for having been able to pull this off!
And not to mention the fact that the man had gone out of his way order nautibongs for the both of them beforehand so they could easily pick it up when they reached the venue.
Honestly, how far this man will go for these kids, and how much farther he’ll go to hide that!
Ivankov is almost completely lost in their thoughts as Dragon keeps a steady hand right next to him, filming the boys on stage.
But! This is undoubtedly one of their ever favorite songs from the trio, and their ever-favorite part being –
So, what if all this could just be so easy, just like
Don’t change, let go
Be brave, be strong
But take it easy, no rush, I know you got it
Luffy-boy’s melodic rap is quickly followed by Sabo-boy’s part, but Iva is already swooning in pride! How Dragon is keeping still so well, they will never know!
But, that reservation does not apply to Ivankov, and Dragon has not made any requests of silence! Iva has freedom to sing away alongside the boys!
You got one more shot, tell me how you gon’ get it
Don’t try and you’re never gonna get it
Ivankov might be vibrating now, but Dragon hasn’t been giving them any side-eyes so they’ll consider this a win for their self-control.
But could you blame them! Could you ever truly blame them! Only one other song could make them feel this way, but they doubt that they’d be so lucky to hear both this night! This is once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hear such wonderful, hopeful words!
Say what you like
Until you reach another dream
Find yourself again, into the unknown
These boys have truly blossomed. They do not know how they were able to gain and learn so much from the mismatch of adults surrounding them as children, but perhaps they had all done a good job after all!
To watch these stars on stage, to hear his utmost favorite song, bar one other song could possibly set them off in the same manner! How lucky they are!
They carefully dab at their eyes, a wobbly smile on their face, when Sabo’s voice echoes the quiet stadium — and Ivankov let’s out the weepiest sound they’ve ever had the honor the making their entire life.
I’m feeling powerless, I’m feeling hopeless
I see the world beneath us open to the darkness
This, this is the song! Oh, what a blessing! Both, in one night, right after each other! They can’t help but let out another loud sniffling noise when Ace’s voice replaces Sabo’s, and perhaps Ivankov has ruined the audio of Dragon’s recording by now.
I see it everywhere, there’s no progress
It’s like I’m slowly giving in to all the madness
But they have no regrets at all!
sunnie_sets_lomeo
Across the Grand Line: New World Tour Setlist
1 Hello, World!
2 TO THE BEAT
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
sunnie_sets_lomeo
3 Machine
4 TAP
5 SHALALA
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
sunnie_sets_lomeo
6 go UP
7 UN Village
8 Modern Life
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
sunnie_sets_lomeo
9 Could Have been Me
10 Rise Up
11 UNKNOWN
12 Overcome
taptapbounce
HESSSS ALIIIIVE @emperorsnewcloth @rii.d00p
replying to taptapbounce and emperorsnewcloth
rii.d00p
multitasking king… passing away n updating us at the same time, bless…
spad.acee
guys we!!! Have hit double digits in the setlist!!!! start making bets, how many songs for this???
replying to spad.acee
drakdrag
25, if lucky, 28
replying to spad.acee and drakdrag
s.drak_0n
i see it i see it
replying to spad.acee
surfsunsped
im gonna go out on a limb n say 27, 27 feels safe
replying to surfsunsped
spad.acee
usually ppl go for 24-26 if they wanna play safe but u do u oomf
replying to spad.acee
eyebeeleaf
u Fools. u need to MANIFEST. THEYRE DOING 30
replying to spad.acee and eyebeeleaf
dr.sunniesides
AGREE AGREE AGREE
replying to spad.acee and eyebeeleaf
taptapbounce
U MADMAN…
And I will not justify what I did
Through the pain sweat and tears
I have learned to forgive
Ivankov feels like exploding. Setting something off. Maybe that something will be their own body, who knows!
Sing boy, sing!!! Oh how far you children have come!!
Luffy-boy is so similar yet so different from Dragon, in how endlessly patient they both are. They both work so hard for not only the people they care about, but for anyone who could ever need it!!
Who could love strangers as deeply as Dragon and his boys, Ace-boy included!
And don’t forget the power lies within
Being born ain’t a crime, you can be what you want to
Iva can barely hold the tears from bursting hearing that.
Oh, oh Ace-boy! It is true, is it true, tears are already streaming down their face, how being born has never been a crime, you wonderful child!!
The boys’ joint voices singing higher and higher fills their chest, and oh their head is going to explode! If not their head, their chest! It builds, and it builds, and it needs to burst somehow -!
The boys face the audience, Luffy-boy facing the fans behind the extended stage, Ace-boy and Sabo-boy on opposite sides of the front. Their microphones are raised above their heads, and Sabo-boy takes off his earpiece — Ace-boy and Luffy-boy’s are already off.
I’m feeling powerful, I’m feeling hopeful
I see the world beneath us change to something beautiful
The chanting of thousands sets off the explosion in their chest. Yet, god, god, it does not settle how they feel, the pressure constantly being refilled by the boys.
The faces they’re making is something indescribable. The larges screens focus on not only the idols on stage, but the thousands holding their lightsticks and singing their song. The lights are bright, brighter, lighting up the whole venue, and this is what Iva thinks the boys were dreaming of.
This is the hope and love they’ve decided to spread, and their faces now reflect their realization that everyone here wishes to pay them back tenfold.
I see it everywhere, there is progress
If we unite as one then everything is possible
The soft violin signals the end of the song, but Iva is not crying, dammit! They’re just merely appreciating the wonderful, emotional impact of these kids!
The lights shut down, the boys rejoin and stand together. Ace-boy whispers into his mic a soft thank you. Luffy-boy smiles, still wide but so much softer. Sabo-boy clutches at his chest as his eyes rove over the stretch of cheering fans.
I’m not crying dammit!! I’m just sweating feelings through my eyes!!!!
sunnie_sets_lomeo
vcr playing now, 12 songs into concert
estimated 28-31 songs for the setlist
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
rii.d00p
EXCUSSSSSMEEEEEEE
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
drakdrag
ARE U JOKINFNJF
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
emperorsnewcloth
HOLY sh*t @eyebeeleaf UR MANIFESTING MIGHT BE RIIIGHT
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo and emperorsnewcloth
eyebeeleaf
MANIFEST HARRRDERRRR
simspeda
wait guys… vcr… u kno what that means…
replying to simpspeda
dr.sunniesides
????
replying to dr.sunniesides
simpspeda
wardrobe change o.o
replying to simpspeda
dr.sunniesides
!!!!!!
s.drak_0n
guys,,, the vcr,,, does it mean. what methinks it means.?????
replying to s.drak_0n
rii.d00p
honey, bestie, darling, what does it mean. y r they doing things in twos in the vcr
replying to rii.d00p
s.drak_0n
,,,,,,,,,,,,,
replying to s.drak_0n
rii.d00p
URRRR sh*tTING ME R THEYYYY FR ITS BEEENNNN FORRVER
If you had told Zoro and Sanji that the funky straw-hat wearing kid they became friends with all those years ago would steadily rise into fame and popularity as an idol of all things, they’d believe you. Luffy was a force of nature, after all. He was back then, when he adopted them platonically, and he was now.
He could be whatever he would want to be, and it was always possible. Doubting him would be a fool’s choice.
But if you told them that before they met him and back when they’d only known him as ‘that funky straw-hat kid,’ well. That’s a different story.
It had taken a long time of friendship, some could say years, before they knew he had brothers. It had taken longer to know he’d had an interest in music, and that he’d been posting his work online.
In fact, they only knew when he debuted with his brothers officially — they never found out when he was releasing stuff solo and under a pseudonym. The casual “I can’t, performing this weekend, do ya’ll wanna see?” wasn’t a big deal if it were one of those underground performances, or musical competitions.
But a popular idol trio’s first anniversary concert?
Nami still holds it above both their heads for never figuring it out sooner — but it wasn’t like their jobs had become intrinsically part of the brothers’ occupation.
Sure, Sanji unknowingly became part of the mysterious reason why Luffy could exist within range of a kitchen. Zoro regularly taught self-defense to all three brothers once in a while, too!
But they weren’t Nami, Deuce, or Koala, trying to make sure Luffy got to personal schedules on time. Not Brook, who was the outsider’s perspective on all things music and dance for the trio. And they were nothing like Robin, who would just know how to deal with anything related to their public and online image.
Most definitely they were not Law, who made sure their living spaces were still standing.
Kudos to him, really.
For all the grief some of their friends gave them — because what do you mean you never noticed? Sanji, you listen to ‘Emperor’ Sabo every other day, and ‘Firefly’ Ace on the days you don’t! And do not get me started on ‘Strawhat’ Luffy, you - ! — at least they can say they’re more… present? Aware? Of their friends’ achievements.
So, from not knowing Luffy wasn’t homeless with siblings to showing up for their very first stadium concert, on the first day of their first stadium tour? It’s an improvement, right?
Never mind the occasional awkwardness when Sanji needs to rant whenever they release music. What was Sanji supposed to do, stop supporting them? He was a fan through and through!
Zoro listened too, probably!
(Zoro does, his workout playlists are made up of those three in different variations despite Sanji’s suspicion.)
Luffy was their closest friend of the three, yes, and Zoro listened to all three of the boys’ music equally.
Sanji, on the other hand, well. He did fall for Sabo’s and Ace’s music the most back then, so this shouldn’t even be a surprise.
You don’t know
No, she don’t know
I’m just another
My heart’s in Calico
“Cook, you’re going to hurt yourself.”
Loosening his grip from the railings of the luxury box suite they were given, Sanji mutters a f*ck off, mosshead, and tries to get back on his feet.
Excuse him if he buckles when two of his top favorite artists — it’s not weird that he knows them personally too, okay — perform a song they made together. Years ago.
And now they’re performing it live. In front of him. And he has the perfect view!
So sue him for enjoying good music!
“Sanji, are you okay?”
Chopper, one of their younger friends and the only non-young adult, tugged at his shirt.
“I’m fine, don’t worry,” he pats Chopper’s head, “you know how I get about some of their older songs.”
Underneath a love like this
Tell me what you feel in a kiss
I thought you would be okay
You thought I would be the same
Sanji groans, hiding his face in his hands as Zoro snickers next to him. Chopper lets out another sound of concern.
It was just so unfair how Ace and Sabo would just switch around the song like that!
Not to mention the gloves! The hats! Ace wasn’t even wearing a shirt under that stylized jacket! At least Sabo had the – the kindness, the thought to wear that silky dress shirt –
He had been doing such a good job keeping his fanboying to the minimum earlier, too!
You weren’t, actually, whispers his Mental Mosshead.
“Sanji, you do know you don’t have to tape down how the concert truly makes you feel, right?”
Robin chuckles from her corner of the room, laptop on as usual. The shade of her screen always makes it difficult for anyone to see her work. Still, everyone knows she’s monitoring any online streaming of the concert.
“Oh, Robin-ssi,” Sanji turns elegantly to kneel towards her, “your kindness knows no bounds!”
“Yeah, bro! You should always super enjoy yourself!”
“What he said, dude. Music should be openly enjoyed from the soul within and stuff, no shame in loving something!”
Sanji responds with an abrupt return to the railings and a, “Put a sock in it, you two!”
Everyone easily notices his light blush, not to mention, “And by the way, those refreshments better be gone before this concert ends!”
When his mind focuses back to the stage, the robotic voice echoes alongside screams as Ace and Sabo dance alongside multiple people dressed like them.
You took my heart and snuck away
All I wanted was for you to be okay
The song is being drawn to a close when Ace and Sabo direct the lights to someone among their live band. The bassist — no seriously, how did Sanji and Zoro not know with how close their friends worked with the brothers — momentarily stole the show as he ended the song with a flourish.
Ah, he sighs into his palm, I guess I missed most of the song.
“That was so cool! Hey, hey Zoro, Sanji,” Chopper shakes at both their sleeves, “do you think if I asked, they’d sing that song for us too?”
Sanji can’t help the smile that comes to his face, even as Zoro says, “Technically, they’re already performing for us.”
He makes a face at Zoro, a clear are you serious, and he just looks back with a let me finish.
“But I’m sure they’d be up for private requests from friends and family, yeah?”
Rolling his eyes, Sanji turns back to look over the darkness of the stage. It lights back up as guitar strumming is played. This time, instead of the red shading, the stage adopts the likeness of a starry night sky.
As he listens to Usopp and Chopper’s growing excitement, Sanji can’t help but smile as he hums along to the familiar song.
simpspeda
tears streaming down my face rn
replying to simpspeda
drakdrag
i think i moaned like ten times in the last three mins
replying to drakdrag
simpspeda
ayo???? bro????
replying to simpspeda and drakdrag
taptapbounce
no no i get it, shirtless AND silk? theres no winning when it comes to these two ://///
spad.acee
personally, I think ace shld be allowed to do ad libs more often, but thats just me,
replying to spad.acee
drakdrag
i agree, i agree, i strongly agree
dr.sunniesides
ik that guitar anywhere… crewmates r we ready for emotional ouchie
replying to dr.sunniesides
rii.d00p
no !!
replying to dr.sunniesides
surfsunsped
idt we were ready for anything tonight.???
Cavendish is perfectly fine right now, thank you very much. The very image of clean and proper!
So what if Bartolomeo, at one point, had looked at him, then dared to snicker and snort? As if he were in any good state himself! The man had been jumping and yelling for such a long time, and not to mention the drool and the tears! Honestly, Cavendish was in a much more presentable state than him!
If he ignores how his nails might be chipping right now, or that his hair is most likely in disarray, or how he had briefly panicked during the VCR and almost unscrewed his nautibong’s handle.
He doesn’t want to check how he might look at the moment. If he did, well. Without having to share this aloud, he didn’t want to miss a moment of the concert.
And being worried about his appearance would make his miss multiple moments, really.
Calico made him briefly wonder why he didn’t bias Ace, but it also reminded him why he ever biased Sabo in the first place. They had walked from the main stage to the extended stage using the left and right bridges. Ace took the left one.
And Sabo took the right bridge. You know, the one close to his and Bartolomeo’s seats.
Fanning himself from the previous performance, Cavendish knew he had to brace himself from a different set of emotions when he heard the guitar instrumental.
From up above I heard
The angels sing to me these words
Luffy wasn’t one to sing softly for their songs. Yet, in this single concert, he had adopted a softer tone more than once. And all for songs that hadn’t been heard in some time.
All of these weren’t even title tracks! Perhaps a few b-sides that had the honor of special music videos or choreography, but still, b-sides. This entire concert felt like a love letter to their fans.
Truly, music for music’s enjoyment.
Oh, now I’m floating so high
I blossom and die
Sabo had abandoned his jacket and hat before he rejoined Luffy on stage, but he kept the gloves and silky top. Luffy, on the other hand, was wearing a loose suit jacket with a casual shirt. As expected of the youngest, who liked keeping things simple.
It looked like they both were sticking to the extended stage, boxes having appeared so they could sit if they wanted to.
Sabo had been swaying to the song where he sat, but Luffy was standing on his box, waving his hand back and forth.
Naturally, the fans followed, and the nautibongs adopted a mellow color swirl between light blue and pastel yellow. Most lights in the venue were off, and.
Cavendish couldn’t help it. He took his phone out — got a raised eyebrow from Barto for that — and filmed the twinkling stars of the audience.
Oh hey, I’m floating up above the world now
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah
Short. Wonderful. Heart-stopping.
Truly nothing could beat feelings such as this, so easily invoked by these idols.
Yes, Cavendish knew he was impressive himself — it is true, after all!
But still, every celebrity had an idol and inspiration. Perhaps, Cavendish just happened to have three.
He’d never mention that to Bartolomeo, of course. Heaven knows how he would hold that over his head forever.
s.drak_0n
clutching my pearls as a single tear rolls down my face
replying to s.drak_0n
eyebeeleaf
stronger than me. i have been sobbing into my pillow
replying to s.drak_0n and eyebeeleaf
drakdrag
both stronger than me. signing up for therapy rn
replying to s.drak_0n and drakdrag
eyebeeleaf
the way ive been trying to get u to sign up for ages and sabolu bringing back miracles is what gets u moving????
replying to eyebeeleaf and drakdrag
s.drak_0n
miracles causing miracles fr
surfsunsped
guysssss i saw them look at the lux suites??? i think they have guests today!!!!
replying to surfsunsped
rii.d00p
or someone paid a dumb amt of money for good seats again :///
replying to rii.d00p
surfsunsped
they looked rly happy tho whenever they looked? idk im hopeful, maybe its their fam!
replying to surfsunsped
rii.d00p
ooh, maybe theyll say later?
replying to rii.d00p
surfsunsped
prolly not, they keep those kinds of things to themselves? honestly im just happy they prolly have special guests that show up for them!
At this point, she’d lost count of the amount of times she had to stop her husband from yelling every time the crowd was silent. He was insistent that his boys, his son, needed to hear just how proud his parents truly were for him.
If we’re not moving forward
What are we moving for?
Rouge considered herself a supportive mother. She was sickly, but so was Roger, and they both tried their best whenever they could. Concerts aren’t always on the list of things their doctors would recommend they go to, but Rouge was sick of not seeing her boy perform live.
It was half the reason why she had to hold Roger back from yelling his head off.
HEY!
She rolled her eyes, but laughed appreciatively still at Roger’s joining with the chanting and singing. Despite his sickness, he always was such an excitable man.
Most especially when it come to his boys.
You know it’s not too late for us to make a change
You gotta listen to your heart, what does it say?
She still remembers when Ace was young, when he had met Sabo. When he met Luffy.
When he fell for music, when he wrote his first lyrics, made his first song.
She watches Ace jump around the extended stage while Luffy makes his way through the main stage, all the fans in front of him jumping to the performance.
Rouge can only think to herself as she sees the back of her husband while he cheers for his boys, how much it took for them to get here. The anger, the fights, the tears.
The talks. The support.
She giggles at the remembrance of their friend Newgate.
Oh, the custody battles! She could reminisce about these things for days!
She’s sure Newgate and a few of his children were invited themselves to the concert. They probably had their own suite box, just like she and Roger. A private space to enjoy the concert with the perfect view, and Newgate could relax while Marco would fuss over him as usual.
Stay, we’re looking out
Looking out, looking out
Perhaps, she thinks, Roger may never forgive himself for the initial wedge he had inserted between Ace and himself. Their relationship was a bit testy for a while, but a father could never help but worry about their child.
It still took the combined effort of both her and Newgate to get through his thick skull though, that a caring father was not synonymous with a suffocating one.
All’s well ends well, she supposes, as Roger waves around his — what was it called? Nautilus? Nautilus bong bong? Well, their kids’ lightstick. It was flashing strong colors of red and orange, imitating a blazing flame. It was beautiful to see from their view! She had her own lightstick, but oh, he still hadn’t put the strap on, that man!
Thinking back to Newgate and his boys, if they had their own suite, it was quite the surprise that she and Roger had yet to –
NO MATTER HOW MUCH WE MIGHT BEND WE WILL NOT BREAK
CAUSE WE GOT WHAT IT TAKES
Ah. That would be them, indeed.
Ace looked to be having quite the time of his life, singing onstage. Unfortunately, she could not help but be distracted by the out-of-tune singing from a nearby balcony.
And Roger seems to have taken it as a challenge, because now he’s trying to raise his volume even as the song is ending.
Boys will be boys.
It takes a single eyebrow raise for Roger to stop, but darrrrllliiiing! falling from his lips as he pokes at her shoulder.
“You should know better than that, honey. You don’t want to risk your health in the middle of Ace’s performance would you? Not only him, but Luffy and Sabo would be sad if you left halfway through.”
She doesn’t even need to stare him down very long as the words seem to calm him down.
He pouts at her and she stands her ground, refusing to relent, so he pouts some more.
It’s easy to pull him out of these things, at least. The stage lights don’t turn back on completely, but the stadium lights up enough for the audience to see themselves. The screens turning on gives ample distraction for Roger to immediately turn back to the stage, waiting for the next event.
How simple, Rouge thinks, giggling into her hand.
She decides to pay attention to the screen herself rather than her husband when the noise of the crowd picks up. The screen seems to be doing a countdown of sorts, but for what, she hadn’t paid enough attention to know.
Roger seems excited, so what could it – oh! How cute!
Rouge watches as the fans on the right side of the ground level of the stadium start a wave like motion when the countdown hits 0. If she turns her head, the fans in the stands form the very right had also started the ‘wave,’ but the closer it reaches their area, the more it escapes her vision.
The ‘wave’ on the ground section was quicker to end, it seems. Still, Roger, fixates his attention on the ground’s ‘wave’ more than the one from the stands, and he joins the motion and leans back with his arms stretched above his head with a whoo!
“This, now this is fun! Rouge, do they do this for every concert? This is amazing! Will the boys see this? Everyone did great!”
She doesn’t really have it in her heart to tell him how… unsynchronized the ‘wave’ from the stands had been from the fans on the ground level.
It gets funnier to her when the screens flash the words THAT WAS AMAZING! LETS TRY FROM THE OTHER SIDE THIS TIME, but she sees the right side of the stands already restarting a new ‘wave’ before the message had even finished appearing.
Oh, what a glorious mess! Roger, ever oblivious, watches only the ground level’s ‘wave,’ joining theirs when appropriate.
“We’re doing so well! This is the biggest venue, right? The boys will be so happy to see this!”
Oh, honey…
The spotlights turn back on and point to the main stage where all three brothers are standing, and Roger perks up immediately at the sight of their boys’ return to stage.
Now, watch this, she thinks to herself, keeping an eye on both the stage and Roger. She’s trying to keep her laughter in. All three of her boys never really could keep a complete straight face when it came to things like this. Sabo, maybe.
But she’s sure he’d find their little exercise entertaining, and he could never keep real smiles off his face.
“Hey guys, what a night, right?”
The crowd explodes, echoing a mixture of yes, yeah, or just plain screams.
Roger himself seems to settle on whooping. Good, it’ll be better for his health than yelling!
Luffy steps forward, “So we heard that you guys’re practicing something, right?”
Everyone cheers again, but with more mixed responses. There’s notably fewer… positive words, but the majority at least are positive sounds, Roger’s included.
Looks like even the fans are well aware of how these ‘waves’ of theirs look like! If they’d done this before, I suppose larger venues like this will always take some time getting used to!
“Alright, think you guys can show us what you were practicing?”
The response to Ace’s question has the funniest response Rouge thinks she’s ever seen. She hasn’t exactly been to a lot of concerts, but she doesn’t think crowds pushing fifty thousand have ever united as strongly as this to yell no, not yet, please no at their idols’ faces.
Sabo’s face at the response is hilarious, but Luffy imitating the many large X arm gestures from the crowd have Rouge actively holding back her laughter.
Ace’s own expression and his startled No????? into his microphone has her releasing a snort into her hand. Roger’s own confusion at the crowd’s adamant refusal adds to the whole scene, really.
Luffy smiles wide at all the gesturing and pleading from the crowd, Ace looks thoughtful, and Sabo has quite the excited look on his face.
“Well, now you definitely gotta show us!”
taptapbounce
IM CRYIGNGJFJKFKFGUYYSYSS
rii.d00p
Well! That Was Embarrassing!
emperorsnewcloth
did. anyone see sabos face. Omg
replying to emperorsnewcloth
eyebeeleaf
DID U SEE ALL THREE OF THEIR FACES OMFMGMFMKFODOW
spad.acee
‘that! sure was a wave’ SABO STOPSTOPSTOPSOTPOPSOTOFMMD
replying to spad.acee
spad.acee
‘wow’ ACCCCEEEEE IM SOSORRYYRYYFIFK
dr.sunniesides
THE SOUND EFFECTS FROM LUFFY OMYGODDDD SHUTUPDKDK HESSSS SOOOO
surfsunsped
WHAT GOES ON CREWMATES WERE USUALLY GOOD AT THESE THINGS PLSSSS
sunnie_sets_lomeo
if my failure makes u laugh king ill be ur clown anyday
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
simpspeda
LOMEOOOO WHAT HAPPENED SNJDKSK
surfsunsped
ace going backstage and ihave to convicne myself its part of the concert and not him walking away in disappointment
replying to surfsunsped
taptapbounce
plsssss that was so embarrassing,,, ace we can do better i swear,,,,
replying to surfsunsped
taptapbounce
ok but in all seriousness its prolly part pf the concert bc sabo n lu are talking now
replying to taptapbounce
surfsunsped
a, the classic take turns changing clothes until everyone has n then they start singing again
dr.sunniesides
tears r streaming down my face. I Love Luffy What The f*ck
replying to dr.sunniesides
dr.sunniesides
genuinely if u dont like Luffy thats a red flag. what is wrong with u
Roger is, obviously, disappointed.
Ace had left the stage shortly after the mess that was the ‘wave.’ It looked like it was scripted but Roger was taking it to heart, as if he had personally offended the boys and then drove Ace backstage.
Luffy kept describing it for a while — “ppppppsssssssshhhhhhwwwwwww, it was slow but really fast, and the loop was weird, and you guys didn’t do it together!” — so Ace leaving felt like the final nail in Roger’s coffin.
The poor man was on his hand and knees! But yes, Rouge was still laughing at him.
Sabo’s deadpan response was hilarious in Rouge’s opinion! She hoped one of the Newgates had gotten a video of that, it was definitely something to share down the road!
Back to Luffy however, Ace’s abrupt leave was luckily able to disrupt his… descriptive commentary of the crowd’s failures. It was just a matter of keeping him busy so he wouldn’t get right back to it.
“Hey Lu, what do you think’s the best part of today’s show?”
Fortunately enough, Sabo and Ace always were good in distracting their brother. And luckily, Luffy always was easy to distract.
“Oh man,” hopping where he stood, he pointed out towards the crowd, “everything’s so big! I didn’t know the Olympic Stadium would be so big, and look at the people! There are soooo many people! Sometimes I think we’re doing pretty okay, and then boom! All these people!
“Sometimes too, I don’t really get it? Because we just like making music and then like, showing it? Doing it? But then I think people just really like music the way we do, so they also like the music we make! It’s like having a lot of friends who like the same things you do and then you can help each other out whenever, and if we can’t be there so easily, turns out our music can be there instead!”
Luffy’s little monologue had clearly touched the fans’ hearts, as everyone had let out a loud AWWWWW. The sound had also blocked out the sobbing noises Roger had been making, along with the incoherent yelling from the box suite next door.
Good to know that even the Newgates were all understandably suckers for Luffy, too. Rouge didn’t spend as much time with Newgate’s kids as much as she did with Newgate himself, after all.
“It’s nice, isn’t it? It’s like we made music so we wouldn’t be alone and so that we could achieve our dreams. And now, everyone who listens to us don’t have to feel alone, and since we’re all connected, we can support each other’s dreams.”
Sabo’s inclusion definitely didn’t help the aaaaw-ing sounds, as it just grew louder right after he finished talking.
“Oh yeah,” Rouge swore you see a physical light bulb over Luffy’s head, “there’s also all our close friends an’ family too! I saw a few people earlier near us, like dad and Iva-ssi! But then when I looked far, everyone else was there too! Pops and the rest, ma an’ pa, and then I could see my friends like- “
“That’s amazing, Lu!” Sabo immediately jumped in, most likely worried over the fact that Luffy had said Ivankov-ssi’s name out loud. Rouge didn’t know the complete ins and outs of the entertainment industry, but she knew that the boys were quite direct with their need for personal space. It was one of the reasons their names had been making such a big splash after all, the first idols to draw the line so clearly from the start.
Unfortunately, she also knew the industry enough that some fans would probably still go digging for this ‘Iva-ssi.’ You could act the way you wanted, but you could never change an entire industry over night. Or, well, over the course of a few years. Stalker fans had well existed years before the boys’ debut. It couldn’t be helped that each of them had their set of stalkers.
“I couldn’t see them very well, honestly,” ah, Sabo’s horrid eyesight strikes again, “but it’s hard to not recognize your friends and family!”
Rouge really holed that wasn’t an unconscious dig at the fact that she and Roger were only the biological parents of Ace, that the Newgates had bonded with Ace first and foremost, and that the close friends of Luffy were only close friends with Luffy — and that Sabo had, as he had put it before, ‘no one except Ace and Luffy, really.’
Which was utter bull.
“Right?! It’s so easy to see them once you know, it’s so cool that they’re all here to support all three of us!”
Luffy’s words left no openings for Sabo, and when Sabo did his rare, wide but shy smile, Rouge knew this Luffy’s skill of always saying the right things at the right time striking once again.
“Yeah,” was that eye contact, from that far away? “It’s really good to see all of them here for all of us.”
Roger’s sobbing was louder than the awww’s of the crowd this time.
drakdrag
@surfsunsped dude u were right!!!!
replying to drakdrag
surfsunsped
family in the stands family in the stands omg :0!!!!!!
replying to drakdrag and surfsunsped
rii.d00p
family *and close friends!!! it sounds like they invited a bunch of ppl omg!!
emperorsnewcloth
THAT’S MY BOY. LOOKIT HIM. LOOKIT. LOOK AT THISSSSS SMILE
replying to emperorsnewcloth
emperorsnewcloth
sabo… light of my life… ily… pls always be happy…
rii.d00p
there are? Tears streaming down my face? I was expecting to get emotional at some point bc like. First stadium. but? holy sh*t?
replying to rii.d00p
simpspeda
ace missing out on tear fest…
replying to rii.d00p and simpspeda
eyebeeleaf
honestly if ace were there too idk if id be able to handle it,,,
dr.sunniesides
wait why r sabolu both leaving the stage already ace hasn’t come back yet???
replying to dr.sunniesides
taptapbounce
wait wha
spad.acee
oh. OHHHH
replying to spad.acee
spad.acee
id like to thank whoever planned this. Id like to thank god as well amen
drakdrag
not the asl bros kicking their fans when theyre already down. like ok! if u surprise me one more time w older pre trio debut songs im gonna Ascend into the afterlife
Rouge and Roger aren’t familiar with a lot of their boys’ music.
Perhaps that’s a bit unsupportive of them, but they’d been told that it would be better if they didn’t force themselves to listen to genres they knew they didn’t enjoy.
That was after the brothers’ debut as a trio. When Ace moved out before then, listening to his music was some of the easiest ways for them to keep up with his state at the time. There was a lot of rebellion, the need to make your own name, leaving your own mark. It resulted with songs like Modern Life and Could Have Been Me.
Which let them know that Ace was alive and was, at the time, still angry at them. A tame anger, sure, and she could thank Luffy and Sabo for that.
When I was just a kid, I couldn’t wait till I grew up
Tried walking in your shoes, but couldn’t even tie them up
This song, however, told them his sadness. His apology. It was a sweet sounding song, but neither Rouge nor Roger liked it. There were rough patches between parents and their child, after all. An entire earthquake, if she counted the wastes of space that were Sabo’s gene donors.
But when it came to Ace, there never a need for this kind of apology. They had loved him, they love him, and they always would love him.
When I dropped out of school, you told me that my time was up
I was a rebel with a cause, just didn’t know quite what it was
“He’s just like you, you know.”
Roger chuckles, gripping her hand tighter.
“What makes you say that, love?”
“Stubborn and bull-headed,” she drapes herself over Roger’s side. “he got that from you, you know. The need to fight for his people. The ambition, the passion.”
“Ah, but you forget something!” He taps her on the nose, snickers at the face she makes at his finger. “He burns with passion, but he burns with love. And that, he got from you.”
“You could say he’s made of the best parts of us!”
“Sap.”
You showed me that I was just a diamond in the rough
You helped me to grow into the man that I’ve become
She tries to hold back the tears, but memories of when she had first heard this song come to mind and push a few past her eyes. Roger wipes them away, attentive as ever.
“Oh, love. Don’t we have such a foolish son?”
We’ve been down, we’ve been up
I hope I’ve made you proud enough
You make it look easy, even when I’m hard to love
Ace was in front of a mic stand, a long sleeved knitted sweater loosely covering his entire frame. His pants had a series of scrawls on it, varying from jolly rogers to, most inconspicuously, logos like a sideways crescent moon, a blue bird, and bread. It was nard to see, but he was wearing two hair clips, almost covered — a straw hat and a top hat.
Dadan learned how to knit when Ace was young. The Newgates liked to have a representative logo of sorts per child.
“He’s always been so easy to love.”
Rouge doesn’t need to wonder what the pink hibiscus, right above his clips, nestled in her son’s hair could mean.
spad.acee
eyes wide open. thats the sweater from sabos pic when ace cried over a ‘debut gift’
replying to spad.acee
taptapbounce
‘even when im hard to love’ ace my boy i think i speak for too many ppl when i say loving ur ass is the most natural n easy thing in the world it should be a studied phenomenon
surfsunsped
no thoughts head empty is that? whitebeard logo? Or is that Just a weird moon on his pants
replying to surfsunsped
surfsunsped
ive connected the dots
replying to surfsunsped
s.drak_0n
you didnt connect sh*t !!
replying to s.drak_0n
surfsunsped
ive connected them .!
sunnie_sets_lomeo
special reminder that speculation abt the boys’ personal lives is a big no-no among the crew :] reminiscing and pointing out things directly stated is ok but if anyone starts digging into more than what they’ve shared then its On Sight, Bitch.
Edward may have been restricted to his wheelchair, but nothing would stop him from enjoying the wonderful performances of his kids. He didn’t need to concern himself too much with these things at all when he needed to spend more time with his precious children!
Besides, Marco had easily taken care of bringing the blankets, the earmuffs, and the Newgates.
Thinking back, perhaps they were lucky that their family and company had someone like Marco to make sure all their schedules and items were arranged. Thatch had actually thought the concert was next week. The misunderstanding probably stemmed from one of Haruta’s pranks, but the point stood all the same. Marco was a miracle walking among men!
The shadow I cast is a lonely one, familiar faces, slow footsteps
Even the future we were meant to share disappeares
The previous song had grated on his nerves a bit when he learned the lyrics, but he was comforted by the thought of Ace having grown past that time in his life. He was further comforted when Thatch and Izou let him know, with great detail, what Ace had been wearing onstage.
Still, if any lingering thoughts similar to that song ever returned, Edward would just beat it back with a stick! By spoiling Ace, and Sabo, and Luffy! Again.
Ah, the custody war truly was one for the memories. They should recreate it! It would be simple, spoiling the trio would easily bring it back!
Marco looks over at Edward just as he settles on his decision, and raises a single eyebrow at him.
Ah. Edward decides to just smile as normal as he could. Always the perceptive one.
With how Marco just looks at him with a disapproving and defeated look, Edward knows he hasn’t fooled anyone. But it also meant that Marco would help! All his children could never say no to spoiling one of their siblings!
When even small dreams feel too heavy
When there’s no time to take a sip of warmth
Thinking back, Edward’s not sure if he remembers this song all too well either. It’s not as saddening as the first one — how dare the world ever have led Ace to think it would be difficult to love him! — but it did put some pressure on his heart, hearing such sad words.
Ace always had a sweet singing voice, but Edward and his children had all learned early on to not always trust the calm or the chaos of the tune. It was always the lyrics they had to watch out for with Ace. There was a difference when it came to being creative or being inspired, and Ace was good at treading the line.
Sabo and Luffy were much more difficult to differentiate between creative and inspiration, but Ace wore his heart on his sleeve more than his brothers ever did.
So, since Ace had a knack for writing lyrics straight from his heart, everyone always had to play close attention.
I will smile, when I look back at these in the end
When my scattered dreams meet me again
When your season brings me warmth
Certainly, it’ll come, my very own moment of glory
And Edward would always smile at how Ace ended with comfort and love. It was what he had deserved, that, and more. The song was probably one of his older ones, yes. But it was nice to be reminded that his boy was in a safer space than before.
It truly was so simple and easy, loving Ace!
sunnie_sets_lomeo
Across the Grand Line: New World Tour Setlist
1 Hello, World!
2 TO THE BEAT
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
sunnie_sets_lomeo
3 Machine
4 TAP
5 SHALALA
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
sunnie_sets_lomeo
6 go UP
7 UN Village
8 Modern Life
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
sunnie_sets_lomeo
9 Could Have been Me
10 Rise Up
11 UNKNOWN
12 Overcome
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
sunnie_sets_lomeo
13 Calico
14 Miracles
15 Change
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
sunnie_sets_lomeo
16 Hard to Love
17 Good Enough
18 Rose
simpspeda
ngl i feel like this concert is lasting both years and seconds
replying to simpspeda
eyebeeleaf
yea like. im experiencing it in fast forward when its done but looking back i feel like this concert has been going on for ages
replying to simpspeda and eyebeeleaf
eyebeeleaf
eye mean. im not complaining. but we /are/ halfway thru right? we might actually hit 30+ songs for setlist thats. Crazy
replying to simpspeda and eyebeeleaf
rii.d00p
dude werent u the one who said to manifest 30+ songs tho,,,
replying to simpspeda and rii.d00p
eyebeeleaf
well,, yeah,,,, but dang. actually seeing it happen is kinda wack?
replying to rii.d00p and eyebeeleaf
simpspeda
preach
If you need a lover, let me know, let me in
I could treat you better, steal you roses everyday
Betty wasn’t one to enjoy pop songs all that much, or love songs for that matter. But what was she going to do when Sabo writes them so well? And then dares to perform them after years?
Just because he was singing a ways away from where she was in the crowd didn’t mean she wasn’t going to horribly zoom in with her old phone camera. She didn’t want to bother with sneaking in a proper camera, but looking at her horribly disguised boss, he clearly went through the trouble.
Bringing her attention back to Sabo, he was wearing a similar attire to Ace’s clothes. The only difference was the color of the sweater, blue instead of orange, and an applejack cap instead of a hibiscus flower. His beanie had two pins, a cowboy hat and a straw hat. Both were quite self-explanatory.
His pants were practically identical to Ace’s, the drawings just in different placements and colors. There were an extra few, like a dragon or a koala bear. Betty’s goggles.
Whatever you want, you just need to either
Let me come inside or leave me standing in the rain
Betty refused to get teary-eyed during a cheesy, sappy love song, Sabo’s or not! This was a matter of pride!
As if she weren’t already holding back tears over the overwhelming pride she felt every time these boys performed on a stage. That didn’t count.
Was she seriously thinking all this while Sabo was singing this of all songs, no matter how sweet or heartfelt it was? Even if it made her trip on her own feet when she first heard it, worried that Sabo was suddenly experiencing teenage love, and putting it into music?
Well sh*t, now she was reminiscing too.
I might not have a fancy car, but I fancy you
So give me a chance, if you need a lover, baby
A cheesy ending for a cheesy song. Dammit.
She was downloading this song when she got back to her apartment. Seeing it live gave her too many memories, and now she’ll never think of it the same way again.
If she were lucky, maybe his next song would be cheesy and sappy again, and she could shake off her emotions and focus back on recording Sabo’s performances.
The slow, soft piano immediately made her throat hurt like some sort of pavlovian response.
Dammit, Sabo!
drakdrag
oh. This. This Is Personal
taptapbounce
wtf? im. laying in a pool of my tears?
emperorsnewcloth
donttalktootmeemedkkd
spad.acee
did he just? sing rose? on,y to catch us off guard? WITH THIS???? RIGH T AF TER??????
dr.sunniesides
guys im not joking i listen to this song when i need to cry
s.drak_0n
entire tl down. sabo has successfully wiped all life on earth out
replying to s.drak_0n
eyebeeleaf
just like the cubes in the mv
replying to eyebeeleaf
s.drak_0n
blocked & reported
Ivankov cannot be blamed for ruining Dragon’s recordings, they swear it!
How could you not cry to this song, they grab another tissue from their hidden stash, it is simply impossible! There is no chance! Aaaaah my makeup is waterproof, yes, but nothing could defeat this, and all of us know it!
The beginning notes alone had an immediate reaction from the crowd. There were gasps, choked noises, and even a few curses floating around. Iva could easily spot Belo Betty even from a distance, as her throat bobbed and bit her lip.
An attempt to keep in emotions, just as everyone else was.
Dearest, darling, my universe
Will you take me along with you?
Oh, well that didn’t help at all! As if the song and the memories of the accompanying music video weren’t bad enough, Sabo-boy just had to have improved as a singer since he last sang this blasted, gorgeous, emotional song!
Iva took a peek at the luxury box balconies, and could see — well, exactly what you would expect.
Luffy-boy’s personal group of friends were a bit more difficult to see with only a few near the railing. Still, it was easy to spot Sanji-boy and two more of his friends looking inconsolable. By the looks of Zoro-boy, there were some emotional responses inside the box suite too.
Further away, from Earth to Mars
Will you please go with me?
The Newgates looked to be in the same boat as the young ones. Izou looked to be comforting multiple people — was that Vista? And Jozu? — while Marco looked to be comforting a sobbing Thatch. Understandable, it took one whole Marco to console one emotional bread-boy.
And the box suite next to theirs — well then!
Ivankov had to double down on controlling their tears, because how dare they!
Roger and Rouge, that blasted, wonderful, lovey-dovey couple! They were dancing to the song!
Run away from the world with me, run on
Go with me to the end to see, my lover
The two were swaying oh so softly, slowly, and holding each other so delicately that Iva could actively feel their heart soar through the entire stadium.
Those two! Those two, those two who loved each other so much! Making such a sweet image! Roger was holding Rouge so kindly, so tenderly!
The soft music, the soft lighting! Iva felt bad for practically spying on the couple, but they had unintentionally brought the song to life, right behind everyone’s nose!
In the horizon awaits
Love, like the sun
Without fear, will you set with me?
And Roger — that man! How romantic! He gently holds Rouge’s face, and their swaying slows further!
The foreheads are touching! The love, the care! Iva will explode!
Break me tenderly, bide your time, ruiner
Feel the pain and the sadness with me, lover
Iva forces their eyes away from the scene dripping with love. They do not need a reminder of their fates, the sickly disposition both frequently fond themselves in. The story of this song may have ended bittersweet, but Iva did not need to apply such thoughts on Roger and Rouge. Both had proven to be stronger!
Finally looking back to the stage, Iva knows that Sabo had seen the couple as well. As if he read their mind, Sabo-boy looks directly into Iva’s eyes. The music swells and they share a knowing smile before Sabo-boy closes his eyes and loses himself to the music.
Take me in your loving arms forever
Kiss me like it’s the last time you will ever
Love wins all, love wins all, love, love, love
It is impossible to not be moved by such a performance, Ivankov knows! You would truly need to be cold to not feel what Sabo is trying to deliver at this moment, with this song! No regular person would be able to hold back their emotions from this!
As Ivankov tries to gather their thoughts, a rough a-hum catches their attention.
Dragon, that man, would even he be moved by such a performance? Well, if anyone could hide their reactions, it would be this steeled man. He – AHEM, HUM, heM.
He was trying to clear his throat, for some reason.
Ivankov smirks. It looks like even people with the strongest of walls respond to this song and its story!
The instrumental comes to an end, and the dim lights slowly darken. Ivankov looks once more to Sabo-boy, only to see him walking off the stage in the dark. They didn’t miss the scheming smile.
That boy - ! He wants to make this whole stadium cry!
s.drak_0n
look if ur saying u didnt cry ur a Big Fat Liar
dr.sunniesides
luffy, buddy, ily, but can u give us like a five min break
replying to dr.sunniesides
surfsunsped
honestly eye need him to get here faster. man doesn’t have any sappy romantic songs, i need him to fix me
taptapbounce
you just jinxed it @surfsunsped u little sh*t
replying to taptapbounce
surfsunsped
OK BUT TBF THIS SONG IS JUST ROMANTIC VIBES,,, NOTHING IS AS BAD. AS. AS THAT SONG . OK,, SO TECHNICALLY IM N O T WRONG
replying to surfsunsped
taptapbounce
ur on thin ice, buddy
Right on the bridge, leading to your heart that’s broken
Where you were lost, I had found you, so don’t leave
Hanco*ck regrets not taking front row seats! Alas, she had to remember the safety precautions she was given when she decided to come to Luffy, and his brothers,’ concert!
She had to make sure she was not seen so publicly. If the Snake Empress were to be seen here, the headlines! It would take away from all the hard work of Luffy and his brothers! She was not here to gain attention, no, now would be inappropriate, and rude, and quite frankly, demeaning!
She would not do that to Luffy, or his brothers!
Not that she cared all too much about men, but Luffy and his brothers were… more than acceptable exceptions to her prejudice. And many men were most deserving of such disdain, so she cannot blame herself for being thorough in her defenses, could she?
It’s you, you’re the one that I’ve been waiting for
So keep going, and I’ll meet you halfway there
Boa Hanco*ck sighs dreamily as she drapes herself over the rails of her box suite. She had to pay extra for such accommodations, but she would only accept the best for her and her people. And it was worth getting the box suite to the right, to have both the perfect view and to be as close as possible to where Luffy performed the most!
She did not mind having to watch Luffy’s brothers as well, but nothing would change her mind on Luffy always being different from everyone else.
She could close her eyes right at this moment, and just imagine that Luffy was serenading her specifically… no crowd and no stage, just Luffy, his guitar, and her.
Let’s do it slowly,
Latay-latay lang
His soft and loose knitted sweater, the sweet hair pins, and how his distressed jeans were practically covered by red scrawls and drawings… such a soft picture he was currently painting, perfectly showing his kindness and his care that she absolutely adored…
Latay-latay lang
Latay-latay lang
The perfect romance, the perfect moment, how sweet it would be…
”Hey, are you alright? Are you awake?”
She blushed, embarrassed to have been caught not paying perfect attention to Luffy’s song. Sandersonia, one of her precious sisters, was checking on her.
And of course she would, why would Hanco*ck look away from such a heartwarming performance? She should not have gotten lost in her daydreams when the real Luffy was right before her!
Marigold was still manning the tripod delicately, making sure that their camera had captured the full performance in perfect quality. Hanco*ck could watch the video later and slip into her sweet, serenading daydreams then, yes!
“Sister, I think we’ve lost her again.”
dr.sunniesides
them! the three! did you! See!
replying to dr.sunniesides
rii.d00p
wa
replying to rii.d00p
dr.sunniesides
the! Pins! all three had!!!! PINS!!!!!!!
replying to dr.sunniesides
rii.d00p
. PAUSE
spad.acee
ok so. ace (hard to see under hibiscus)(we love consistency uwu king) has tophat/strwhat, sabo has cowboy/strawhat, luffy has cowboy/tophat
replying to spad.acee
spad.acee
and before luffy debuted w acesab, luffy’s goto pfp would be a strawhat, so sabo = top hat ; ace = cowboy hat
replying to spad.acee
drakdrag
o so ur Smart smart huh?
replying to drakdrag
spad.acee
save a horse ride a cowboy
replying to spad.acee
drakdrag
. oh!
This was a huge difference from Ace and Sabo’s own songs, but Zoro appreciated the more casual music Luffy had landed on. It wasn’t that he disliked sappy songs in particular, but watching everyone around try their best not to burst into tears — and then fail miserably — wasn’t something he knew exactly how to… deal with…
So, this was a welcome change.
Play any song anyway, anything that’s exciting
And dance whatever I like
Luffy’s songs felt more casual. This one in particular had him bouncing around the stage, interacting with whoever he set his sights on.
“Zoro, Zoro!”
Turning around, Zoro lets himself chuckle at the image his friends were making.
Usopp and Franky looked to be doing an impromptu dance off, stopping and matching each pause I the song. Chopper was riding on Jimbei’s back, and the man was letting off a mighty laugh. Chopper was doing his own random dance, so Jumbei was bumping Chopper higher up his back every pause in the song as well.
“Well, looks like mosshead finally decides to really enjoy himself, huh?”
Zoro scoffs, turning towards Sanji.
“I’ve been enjoying the entire thing, moron. Besides, I’d rather enjoy it my way than slobber tears everywhere.”
Even if I go out of my mind and behave badly,
I have no worries at all
Why do you care about image, it’s just between us
“Does mosshead not have emotions? It’s called feeling the moment and expressing yourself, you brick wall!”
It’s obvious that they’re picking on each other again, but Zoro can’t help but play into it all the time.
“Says the leaking faucet who won’t sto- oh hey,” Luffy seems to have spotted them mid-performance, and instead of a dance break, had gone for waving his arm at them with a certain bounce.
I don’t want to think of anything
I’ll live as nobody for a moment
Zoro was about to wave back, when he noticed the crowd had misunderstood Luffy to be doing another follow-the-leader game. Everyone was waving their nauti-lightsticks back and forth, following Luffy’s pace.
Momentarily distracted by the view, he ends up snorting at the misunderstanding. Luffy noticed the crowd’s response, and after seeing that Zoro had looked back at him, started playing with the pace of his arm-waving.
He heard some muttering next to him, and glancing to his right, Sanji had hidden the lower half of his face under his arms, leaning on the railings.
“What, cook?”
Sanji just pouted more, and looked at the stage again.
Why do you feel so down?
What’s going on, say something
The mood is so cold, is this a trend?
“Nothing, idiot.”
Zoro double checked Cook’s appearance to make sure he actually was fine. He looked embarrassed or something, and looking closer, it looked like he was also blushing a bit.
Something probably happened while Zoro wasn’t paying attention. It happened a lot.
“Whatever, then.”
“Woooohooooo!”
Looking back at the stage himself, it looked like the Luffy’s solo songs were finished. He was dabbing lightly at his face with a towel, and behind him, Ace and Sabo returned onstage.
It was actually kind of cute, how they were all matching clothes.
“Soooo, what did you guys think of our surprise?” Ace chuckled at the screaming response, “You guys haven’t heard those songs in some time, huh?”
“I missed those songs too, honestly.” Sabo looked off, and then nudged Ace and Luffy. “It was a long time ago, but the songs were still from us, you know? Finding ourselves and all that jazz!”
Luffy passed his water battle to Sabo, who took his own sip. “We made it like that so we could bring every bit of us and experience it this time with everyone else! The bigger the party, better!”
“Slow down, buddy,” Ace threw his arm over Luffy, “you’re gonna hop right off the stage at this point!”
Luffy squirmed under Ace’s arm, looking to be under threat of getting noogie-d. Zoro smiled at the brothers antics — Ace never had problems with messing with Luffy’s hair. Something about younger brothers never being exempted from being messed with. A sibling ‘golden rule’ or something?
“Are you guys still having fun?” Ace laughs at the crowd’s screaming, allowing Luffy to escape. “That’s good to hear! But remember, we’re not done yet! You gotta keep the energy going a little longer, okay? We’re almost there!”
Everyone aaawwwwws in response, and Zoro catches Usopp, Franky and Chopper joining in behind him.
“The concert’s gonna end already? I was hoping it’d go a bit longer…” Chopper was climbing Franky instead if Jimbei this time, and Jimbei had joined Robin on the couch.
“Don’t worry bro, unless they say it themselves, the SUPER concert keeps going on!”
“Yeah, they just said we’re getting to the end, not that it is ending, right?”
“Don’t worry guys, we still have a couple more songs before we start worrying about tonight ending!” And the crowd roars at Sabo’s words.
Whistle. “Nice one, Usopp.”
“You know me, I never lie!”
Zoro unconsciously makes a face at that, and Sanji starts going ehhhh, well… under his breath.
“No more old song surprises this time, promise!” Ace stand with the usual co*cky confidence on stage,
“Yeah! Everything from here’s gonna be from all three of us!” More enthusiastic jumping from Luffy,
“So enjoy the rest of the night! We hope we made it something you’ll never forget!” And a wide, toothy smile from Sabo.
Huh. Sabo was wearing his snake bite piercings again.
The lights dim again. A piano instrumental plays — live always did make music sound better — and the screams echo across the venue once more.
Zoro feels a smile take over his face, which, how poetic. He remembers this one, too.
It’s been a while
I didn’t know you’d be reaching out before I would
•••
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
sunnie_sets_lomeo
13 Calico
14 Miracles
15 Change
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
sunnie_sets_lomeo
16 Hard to Love
17 Good Enough
18 Rose
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
sunnie_sets_lomeo
19 Love wins all
20 Taytayan
21 Any Song
emperorsnewcloth
back to post trio debut songs but the boys r still working hard, ripping my heart out
replying to emperorsnewcloth
s.drak0n
are you smiling. are you smiling. are you smiling. are yo-
replying to s.drak_0n
emperorsnewcloth
eye am abt to exhaust the rest of my tears. i can only lie down and think deepy abt my life now. this is it. this is what theyve done to me
simpspeda
this song is… not as bad as a lot of you make it out to be
replying to simpspeda
rii.d00p
oomf dont m ake me cancel u dont make me do this pls n o
replying to rii.d00p
simpspeda
WHAT I MEAN,,,,, is that we got through htl AND lwa, nothing can beat me down now and i smile is like. a MAJOR emotional improvement
replying to simpspeda
rii.d00p
hmmmm. you are. Correct
Half excitement and half fear
I still miss you
Sanji had genuinely gotten used to the louder songs of Luffy and his brothers that he sometimes forgot that some of their more popular songs over the years were the emotional ones.
Any songs written from the heart of one of the brothers — prayers out if it came from all three of them — always, without fail, would be a certified success. They would also be well-known tear jerkers, if not ear-worm chants. They were all so different in their styles, but when they came together… the guaranteed success was obvious. The chest pains? A fifty-fifty, really.
If their songs weren’t pulling on — or playing along with — the heart using different kinds of love and relationships, they were about setting something on fire and being confident. If they weren’t about arson and self-growth, then it was about having fun and being yourself. The brothers just knew how to make the kind of music people just naturally gravitated towards.
Today, I smile
Even if it hurts, I smile
Still, when the boys released emotional music like this and then sang like they just went through their twentieth breakup, sometimes you just have to wonder who in the world hurt them and which brother wrote the sad song this time.
Not Luffy, obviously. It was never Luffy. Always a toss-up between the older two, though.
This could only be sometimes
That I get to see you
I have to smile
It didn’t help that both brothers always sang like they were personally hurt and then went ahead and birthed the next sad song.
Luffy… was doing his usual smile and waving towards the crowd. So, nothing like the rueful smile Sabo had on as he looked off in the distance. Or the close-eyed, dramatic, microphone stand caress that Ace was going for.
Luffy would get lost in the music no matter the emotional weight it was trying to carry, so there was that.
Oh, oh
Once I let you go, my smile will disappear
Zoro snorted at the display on stage, and Sanji could only sigh. Over the dramatic solo of the synthesizer, Luffy was playing air guitar. His brothers clearly saw what he was doing, as Ace had to duck to hide his laugh, Sabo looking up and closing his eyes. Both were pretending, and failing, to act like they weren’t laughing in the middle of one of their more dramatic songs.
“Well, uh,” Usupp pipes up from behind, “were we honestly expecting anything else from Luffy..?”
A lighthearted chuckle, “This is just how Luffy is.” Ah, Robin, right as always! “ It would be much funnier if he had started break dancing I the middle of the stage.”
Sanji could actually feel Usopp physically cringe at the suggestion.
Today, I smile
Even if it hurts, I smi-
Dang, shaking his head, Sanji could only place his palm over his face. Ace couldn’t even hide his snicker anymore while singing. Well, they lasted longer than I thought they would.
I smile, I smile
Luffy was the only one unaffected, still singing his lines fully. His raised eyebrow and questioning smile seemed to set off Ace and Sabo again though. Both of them were looking behind themselves instead of the audience in front of them.
The song ends with dramatic keyboard slowly petering out, and the brothers were still in the same stance as the lights dimmed.
Well, he shifts the lollipop on his tongue in thought, hopefully the next song doesn’t need them to be as serious as this. I mean, what’re the chances, right?
Dawn has come within our cradle
I pray you never fade
Sanji can only sigh at the a cappalla start of the song. I mean, it’s less serious at least?
Someone whistles, impressed, in the background. “Hey, they were super able to do that opening! Even if they were all messing their lyrics up just a few secs ago!”
“I know, it’s a miracle that,”
“WOO!”
That would be Ace. In the middle of the instrumental opening.
Well, at least it goes with the vibe of the song? The soft beat continues, and Sabo sings his line with a roll of his eyes. Okay, it doesn’t but it got them to stop laughing at least…
The brothers take their microphones from the stand and start wandering around the main stage, but stay away from the extended stage and the bridges leading to it. This was the more fanservice-y part of the concert, if Sanji remembered correctly.
Ethereal love,
I will choose you know and everyday
This song in general had more harmonizing than their usual song. It never ceased to amaze how these three crazy brothers — and he was allowed to say that! He had seen how they lived over the years, and he still doesn’t know how Law lives with triple trouble like that on the daily — were able to get on the same wavelength so easily like that.
Every now and then a brother would laugh at a sign, take a picture with a fan, or wave at someone in the distance. They still kept up with their lines perfectly, and whenever a part of the song called for all three of their voices, they would seamlessly mix together.
This was one of their slower, but longer, songs. They were playing around with their vocals, but years of practicing their passion paid off. They’re not following the original recording strictly, and yet,
I find peace in the magic of your embrace
I find peace in your embrace
Ace dramatically draws out the note even as the violin starts its solo portion of the song. They always pull it off and make it sound better, as usual. Sanji smirks, of course, they’d deliver nothing less than that.
He smiles softly to himself and thinks, Food, to me, is what music is to them.
Sabo does a dramatic spin on the main stage, Ace taking pictures with a fan off the stage, and Sanji physically holds himself back from rolling his eyes at Luffy doing a fortnite dance in the middle of the emotional violin playing.
Sanji’s face falls into deadpan. Ah yes, the three methods of idol entertainment. Performance, fanservice, and bullsh*t.
Ethereal love,
Please don’t fade away from my everyday
This time it’s Sabo who’s pulling out all the stops in his line, and Zoro whistles next to him in appreciation.
As the song draws to a close, Luffy runs to the center of the stage, “Thanks you guys! We hope our music can help with your everyday, like you guys have helped with ours!”
The crowd roars at the heartfelt message, and sure, Sanji’s doesn’t know any of the fans out there or the lives they live. But he finds it difficult to think of Luffy and his brothers impacting anyone’s lives more than they have his or anyone else in their friend group, before Luffy even started releasing music under an alias.
Their close friends and family were their first fans before anyone else. And even if they tried, Luffy, Ace and Sabo couldn’t know just how much they’d changed the lives of their all fans.
I should send their favorites over to Law. He looks around the box suite and unconsciously smiles at the soft faces everyone directs towards the brothers onstage. They deserve all that and more.
taptapbounce
tag urself im ace still going for it but cannot stop laughing my ass off on stAGE IN FRONT OF THOUSANDS
replying to taptapbounce
surfsunsped
im luffy extrodinaire in making ppl laugh in very srs situations rip
replying to taptapbounce and surfsunsped
rii.d00p
i can vouch for that
replying to taptapbounce and rii.d00p
surfsunsped
. whats That supposed to mean
replying to taptapbounce
emperorsnewcloth
no one saying sabo, who will either expertly deliver his lines despite the distraction, or be too busy laughing and compketely forget to sing in the first place no in between
replying to emperorsnewcloth
taptapbounce
we love a man with natural duality <3
dr.sunniesides
o… o i love this song… this is a Good One…
s.drak_0n
petition to have the brothers sing a capella more often bcs????
replying to s.drak_0n
s.drak_0n
like this is just me personally but i think they should do more karaoke content & softer instrumental songs so i can hear that sh*t RAW
replying to s.drak_0n
eyebeeleaf
under normal circ*mstances id agree but noise music >>>>>> good sh*t too, sometimes u wanna bang pots n pans
replying to eyebeeleaf
s.drak_0n
consider, mayhaps; both at the same time
replying to s.drak_0n
spad.acee
isnt that just sticker nct 127
replying to spad.acee and eyebeeleaf
s.drak_0n
mark my words i WILL manifest l-asl neo era IT WILL HAPPEN…
replying to s.drak_0n and spad.acee
eyebeeleaf
. if the brothers start glowing neon green we know who to blame
replying to eyebeeleaf and s.drak_0n
spad.acee
u mean glowing *neo pearl champagne
replying to spad.acee and s.drak_0n
eyebeeleaf
whose side r you on???? czennies AND crewmates… pick a struggle, boo
replying to eyebeeleaf and s.drak_0n
spad.acee
im mentally ill my friend, that is the struggle, and the neos + asl bros are my free therapy fix
replying to spad.acee and eyebeeleaf
s.drak_0n
rt rt
Concerts were never Marco’s thing. Actually, Marco doesn’t think concerts were any of his sibling’s things, nor his father’s. Still, Newgates Co. had dabbled in most industries, including entertainment. Meanwhile, Gol Inc. had absolutely no experience with anything regarding the entertainment industry, so Pops had held that over Roger’s head during the ‘custody battle’ for all three boys years ago.
The offer to work under their name was very serious, yes, but Marco could tell that Pops could never pass up on messing with Roger.
Looking back on the details of the whole thing, it got kind of messy at one point. Everyone crossed a few invisible lines back then, but it all worked out.
So, we wanna stay
But can’t find peace while sitting still
I guess we never will
Pops had let out guffaws when the others had told him about what the boys were wearing. The fact that it wasn’t just one of them but all three brothers wearing a mix of multiple Newgates symbols meant a lot to their family. The three were always loud and rambunctious but settled into shyness when anything about the ‘custody battle’ got brought up.
Actually, Marco raises his eyebrows in deep contemplation, they get pretty shy too when anyone tries to bring up how they’re all honorary Newgates.
Marco bites his lip, holding in laughter when he sees Jiru pester Namur as the large man tries to film the performance on his phone. If I remember correctly, this is one of his favorites. If not for the promise of adventure in the lyrics…
Hey, where you gonna go?
We’re off to see the world,
We don’t need to know
“What the heck does he think he’s doing!” Haruta and Thatch howl in laughter as Ace runs towards the extended stage, having been distracted and left behind. “Oh I am never letting him forget this one!”
Sabo and Luffy were already dancing, but both were still making faces at Ace as he rushed to join them.
Marco bites his lip, keeping his smile from splitting his face. Something always came up when the brothers perform this song, Marco glances back at Namur, and he always did like filming these kinds of moments.
Haruta notices Namur and bounces over, whispering something into the man’s ear. And of course, Haruta never misses a chance. He hides his widening smile behind his hand, and Ace finally reaches his brothers. He still misses the chorus by a long shot, and Thatch laughs louder.
We might know we can’t win, but we’re dumb enough to try
We going, there’s no maybe, that’s why they call us crazy
The song reaches the chorus quick enough, but as Ace gets into the dance this time, Sabo and Luffy laugh and dash away from the center to the opposite ends of the extended stage. At this point, Marco can hear the coughing and hacking Thatch is letting loose onto his elbow.
Ace doesn’t notice the lack of his brothers for the entire chorus, and Pops’ laughter rocks him in his wheelchair. “Okay, Pops?” His smile is answer enough, so Marco looks back to the train wreck happening onstage.
Ace turns just as the chorus ends, raises his arms in a what the what? gesture towards Luffy and Sabo. Who are both still at opposite sides of the extended stage.
Luffy just laughs away from his mic, but Marco knows exactly what he sounds like at that moment. Namur has already nudged Haruta towards Vista so all the laughter didn’t mess with his personal video, but the wide smile from earlier only stretches wider. Luffy always did have that affect.
It looks like Ace has resorted to chasing Luffy down, leaving Sabo alone to sing the bridge of the song.
So go tell ‘em we won’t stop
Nothing can change us
In the corner of his eye, Marco sees Izou gape as he takes his own phone out to take a video of the colorful wave of rainbows the crowd makes. Ah, the magic of lightsticks and bluetooth.
We’re gonna go way of the map
To get ourselves back on the track
Ace seems to busy messing with Luffy to do his follow up lines so Sabo covers those lines too. He’s already running after his brothers though, and by the time they do the final dance with the backup dancers behind them, the ending chorus is half finished. There’s still the ending instrumental at least, and they finally do the full choreography together.
As the lights dim, Ace tackles both his brothers to the ground, and the fans scream.
When the lights turn back on, the dancers are gone. Luffy is the only one standing, and he’s holding Sabo’s hands, trying to drag him back up. Unfortunately, there is an Ace on top of the Sabo, so they all end up in a standstill of sorts.
Sabo lets out a YA just as Ace decides to move, launching the both of them into Luffy. Haruta’s the one choking on laughter this time as the three brothers end up in a pile on the ground again.
Marco shakes, trying to hold his own laughter in. I shouldn’t have expected any less..!
“What do they think they’re doing!” Despite the words, Izou also has a wide smile gracing his face.
By the time the boys finally get back on their feet, all the Newgates are slowly recovering from the laughing fest that rendered more than half of them on their knees. There are still giggles in the room, and Marco sends a look at Curiel, who is heaving on his knees, gripping the wall for support. Curiel waves away his concern with a hoarse whisper of I’m fine!
When Sabo gets up, he looks as professional as he could be with his two brothers snickering and nudging each other right next to him. “We’re very professional, aren’t we? More than seven years of music making, and almost five as an idol trio!”
Ace waves at the crowd with a limp hand, leans on Luffy on his other side, and makes a face at the crowd. “Sabo’s so right! We’re so good at our job, we’ve been getting all our choreo and lyrics right this whole concert, right Lu?”
Luffy nods aggressively at the crowd, not even trying to fool anyone. Sabo hides his face with his hand, and when he looks up, he has an amicable smile again. He hasn’t fooled anyone either though, his snickers were picked up by his mic.
Marco feels a tug on his elbow and looks over to Pops holding his phone out, the camera app open and a smile asking for a favor. “Film this for this old man?”
“Of course, Pops.” Marco makes sure to zoom in on the trio still messing around.
“It’s been a crazy night, but as always, all good things gotta end!”
AAAAAWWWWWWWWWs replace the previous cheers and laughter, and Ace makes an exaggerated pouting face. “Awwwwww, I know guys, I knowww!”
Sabo turns and dips backwards dramatically, wrist on his forehead. “It’s sad, but we must leave! The concert ends and we…” he wipes an invisible tear from his cheek, “we must go!”
“It’s alright, we still have tomorrow to see you guys, right!” The audience become mixed in their response to Luffy’s words, a mix of support and sadness ringing in Marco’s ears. Somehow, before any of the brothers can say anything else, the crowd settles on a chant.
WE WANT MORE! WE WANT MORE! WE WANT MORE!
Ace lets out a whistle, and Luffy laughs loud enough that his mic picks it up. “No worries guys, there’s still a couple few songs left before it’s over, and we still have tomorrow, okay?”
It stops the chanting momentarily, but Sabo’s statement doesn’t stop all of the aawwwws that are still going around.
“Hey, you guys enjoyed hearing our old stuff again today right?” Luffy waves his free hand as high as he can. “That means tomorrow’s gonna be great too, since we’re gonna be doing stuff again for day two!”
Ace’s eyes suddenly light up in mischief. While Marco easily notices with the camera zoomed in, Sabo’s not paying enough attention to see Ace’s scheming smirk. “That’s right guys!
“Tomorrow, we’ll be doing more!” Sabo finally turns, a questioning look on his face. “Since it’ll be completely different from today’s stuff!”
Sabo’s face immediately drops, and he waves his arms wildly in front of him as everyone in the audience completely loses their minds. Marco hears echoes of disbelief in the box suite too. Most notably Thatch, who’s mumbling about the brothers ‘practicing too much, if they had to practice this many songs for two completely different setlists…’
And Marco’s siblings call him a mother hen when Thatch is right there?
Well, Marco probably would have joined in on the worrying, but he already knew the setlist. Law frequently shared the brothers’ schedules with the major worrywarts others who kept track of everyone’s schedules. In other words, the only ones who kept note of schedules were Nami, Koala, and Deuce, the boys’ personal managers, and then himself, Law, Reyleigh, and Kuma, who took care of managing the ‘big guns.’
“What Ace actually means,” somehow, while Marco was lost in thought, Ace had ended up on the ground behind Sabo while Luffy poked at him. “What Ace really meant, everyone, is that since tomorrow’s a new day, we’ll be sharing more new memories and experiences!”
Luffy abandons Ace when he finally gets on his hands and knees, and decides to add, “Everyday’s gonna have new stuff all the time!” Sabo launches his hand onto his face so quickly, Marco’s pretty sure the slap sounds actually echoed around the venue without the microphone even picking it up.
The stylist is gonna have a few choice words with him later, Marco thinks, as Ace slowly gets on his feet with a sh*t-eating grin and messy clothes. The hibiscus nestled in his hair from before had fallen off, and his clips look like they’re barely hanging on. Ace, naturally, makes it worse by putting the short stem of the hibiscus in between the clips to keep it from falling off.
I… think the stylist’s given up at this point, if they hadn’t already.
“Anyway, before we do our last songs, we want to say thanks to all of you for coming!”
The sad noises come back, and Sabo continues. “This night has truly been magical! It was not only our first time here, but also our first time seeing the bluetooth for the nautibong’s in action! Thank you for all the love, all the energy, and we’ll be seeing you guys tomorrow, alright!”
The crowd yells a YES back at him. “We hope you guys enjoyed day one of Across the Grand Line: New World Stadium Tour, and we look forward to spending the rest of the tour with you guys! Many thanks to the family and friends who came to support us, the staff, stylists, dancers, and management who had to keep up with us! And a major thanks to all of you for coming!”
It takes time for the cheers to die down, but it jumps right back up when the large screens change to show Ace.
“Alright guys, before I get any more of your false hopes up, I gotta confirm with ya,” Sabo stares at Ace with the unamused look possible, “that we are having the same setlist that we had today, for tomorrow. New memories and all, but same setlist, okay?
“That being said, you guys’ energy was amazing tonight!” The cheers pickup as Ace point his microphone towards the crowd. “We sometimes get tired up here, but hearing everyone cheer for us always pumps us right back up! It’s like a funky loop of energy!
“Anyway, thanks to everyone who showed up for the support! Thanks as well for the staff who miraculously were able to deal with us, double thanks to the dancers for keeping up with our bull,” Luffy snickers and Sabo rolls his eyes, “we are all super thankful that everyone keeps it professional despite us three trying our dang best otherwise! We’ll see you guys tomorrow again!”
The cheers calm after a minute or two but escalate all over again when the screens shift to Luffy.
He waves wildly to the audience, smiling his usual, sunny smile as the screams increase in pitch at the sight. It takes even longer for the screams to die down this time — to no one’s surprise, really. Luffy tries to say something, but it takes him a few tries before anyone properly hears him.
“Woh, you guys get really loud! You guys still have all that energy after all those songs?” More screaming, of course. “You guys really powered us up the entire night!
“To everyone who worked with us, and everyone who joined us tonight, thanks a whole lot you guys! It was really, really, really fun! Everything’s always worth it when we can have fun like this at the end of the day, so thanks for always meeting us in between! Even if we practice a lot or make a lot of music, we got this far because of everyone’s help. We wouldn’t have been able to do it without everyone, so make sure to watch and have fun with us until the end, okay?”
Ace lets out his own cheer while Sabo laughs loudly, both sounds briefly caught by their mics. They both step up and join Luffy, and say together, “This has been L-
“A,” Ace does his trademark two-finger salute,
“S,” Sabo tips his… cap,
“L!” And Luffy raises his arm high.
They bow together, “Thanks for coming!”
rii.d00p
anyone else feel like they have to go out n do some adventurin when they hear this song
replying to rii.d00p
rii.d00p
like f*ck touching the grass I GOTTA TOUCH THE SEA. I GOTTA GO IN THE OCEAN. I GOTTA SWIM IN THE OCEAN. I. G O T T A GO IN THE. R E I NEE D TO S WI M IN THE S E A
replying to rii.d00p
simpspeda
valid but also oomf r u ok
replying to simpspeda
rii.d00p
EEEYYYE DON T KNOW HOW T O S WIM
replying to rii.d00p
simpspeda
????? PLEASE???? DO N O T GO IN THE OCEAN???????
surfsunsped
*points at the stage* brothers sir!!! theyre brothers, sir !!!!! they are BROTHERS sir!!!!
replying to surfsunsped
drakdrag
they come with the three in one, do not separate sign
replying to drakdrag
surfsunsped
rt
s.drak_0n
someones tryna drown themselves on the tl again so nothing new ig
taptapbounce
@lasl.off ace ily. i Adore you. my lil firefly. loml. but ur on Thin f*ckn Ice
replying to taptapbounce
spad.acee
man rly said u leave me in my lonesome. it is now my turn for revenge!!
eyebeeleaf
not ace casually giving everyone synchronized heart attacks. thank u sir! i do not know if i can trust u ever again, shout out to loml!
emperorsnewcloth
if u guys hear any high pitched screeching, sorry, thats me,
replying to emperorsnewcloth
emperorsnewcloth
sabo sabo sabo my boy sabo sabo sabo sabo sab-
spad.acee
‘tnx for staying professional despite us three trying our dang best otherwise’ ace sir im on my knees
replying to spad.acee
simpspeda
GET UP???? OOMF GET UP
replying to simpspeda
spad.acee
A RING IM OFFERING A RING ITS JUST A RING
replying to spad.acee
simpspeda
I KNOW BUT DIBS???
surfsunspeda
ppl fighting over my firefly on the tl as if we werent having dinner together last night uwu
replying to surfsunspeda
simpspeda
nurse! another patient got out again!
replying to simpspeda
surfsunspeda
YOULL NEVER CATCH ME ALIVE
dr.sunniesides
sunshine when i say i would DIE for you
replying to dr.sunniesides
sunnie_sets_lomeo
weak
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
dr.sunniesides
sir lomeo the first????
replying to dr.sunniesides
sunnie_sets_lomeo
WEAK. a TRUE Sunnie would FIGHT for him. they would LIVE to see ANOTHER DAY. they would FIGHT THE WORLD for him. they WOULD NEVER DIE for him, they would L I V E FOR MONKEY D SUNSHINE REINCARNATE LUFFY
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
dr.sunniesides
SIR YES SIR IM SORRY FOR THAT SIR I WILL LIVE FOR THE MAN SIR
eyebeeleaf
if there are 100 sunnies left in the world im among them. if there is 1 sunnie left in the world thats lomeo. if there are no sunnies left in the world lomeo’s dead.
• • •
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
sunnie_sets_lomeo
16 Hard to Love
17 Good Enough
18 Rose
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
sunnie_sets_lomeo
19 Love wins all
20 Taytayan
21 Any Song
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
sunnie_sets_lomeo
22 I Smile
23 Araw-Araw
24 Off to See the World
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
sunnie_sets_lomeo
[ENDING MENT]
25 Paradise
rii.d00p
this entire concert fr being a love letter to the fans who have been here over the years bc the solos? duos? trio debut AND first cb songs??? practically entire setlist being b sides??? ur Crazy ur Nuts
The sounds I can hear
The island that’s brighter than any dream
When I reach it with my two feet
Halfway through the concert, Koby decided that asking Helmeppo to film everything.
Well, not everything, everything. Only the performances! And the speeches. But not the VCR or the… struggle that was the wave.
Simply remembering the mess made Koby want to hide his face in embarrassment again, but at least the brothers were enjoying themselves! At least, Luffy was, and Helmeppo always said that he had tunnel vision when it came to Luffy sometimes.
Anyway, with Helmeppo filming everything, Koby was free to enjoy the concert without thinking twice. No need to worry about holding a phone, or forgetting something funny onstage, or if he just felt like watching the videos again and reminiscing.
With how many times Helmeppo gave him a certain look however, Koby feels that a large majority of the videos are just him screaming. Or crying. Or whatever other sounds seemed to have escaped him throughout the show.
Okay, so maybe I was being dramatic when I blacked out a bit when Luffy noticed our section earlier, it had taken a singular slap from Helmeppo to knock him out of that, but was I really being dramatic?
This place where we’re dreaming the same dream
It’s paradise, paradise, paradise, dise, dise
Personally, and Luffy turns over to their section again, it feels like I didn’t react enough!
When Luffy smiles at their general direction, again, Koby sees from Helmeppo hold our his arms from the corner of his eyes. As if that doesn’t make him feel more embarrassed about the earlier debacle. Still, Luffy’s looking here! I need to pay attention to now!
The brothers sing the chorus again together, harmonizing wonderfully as usual, and Koby tries not to swoon — it only happened once the entire concert, okay!
They’re wandering around their own areas, sticking to the edges and trying to interact with as many fans. Ace sticks to the centers of the main stage, extended stage, and the bridge between. Sabo’s currently on the bridge at the left side, and he — well, he just jumped off the stage, and there goes the security. Again. Koby wonders what it would be like, working for them when the brothers were so… upfront, stubborn, in their need to show their thanks for their fans.
Luffy’s already walking along the aisles of the sections on the right, multiple guards tailing him. The fan in Koby feels his heart skip a beat, he’s so, so, so close! But the security guard in him feels for the stress that must come from working for celebrities who kept breaking their own boundaries, and – huh. His guards were laughing alongside him, some even high-fiving a few fans as Luffy made his way back to the stage.
Hm.
You’re jealous, says a voice in his head that sounds suspiciously a lot like Helmeppo. You’re the one who denied Garp’s first offer for venue security but accepted the free seat tickets. At that moment, real-life Helmeppo turns and stares him down. Can’t take it back now, idiot.
Koby feels a shiver down his spine and resolutely turns back to the stage to see Ace taking selfies with fans at the barriers of the ground section. How is he even telling me off in my head!
This blue island blows air refreshingly into me
This island resembles you
With Ace wandering the barriers of the sections in the center and Luffy reading signs from onstage, Koby’s amazed that all three of them haven’t even stuttered, forgotten, or messed up a single word. Then again, where’s Sabo? He’s not on the stage or at the barriers either…
When Koby finally finds Sabo, he sends a short mental prayer towards the guards assigned to him. Somehow, Sabo found a way to the stands. Somehow, he passed through all the sections on the ground, and just went for the fans at the stands. Koby can only gape in amazement as the idol waves and smiles as he passes fans, until – oh. Oh.
I like your smile that’s brighter than the stars
This place where we’re dreaming the same dream
Sabo went up to the PWD sections of the stands, taking selfies shaking hands with fans in the zone. It’s hard to see from where he is, but the genuine happiness and gratitude Sabo’s exuding can’t be mistaken for anything else.
It’s so unbelievably sweet that Koby can actually feel himself tearing up. These boys, they care so much about people, it’s impossible to not be fans of their personalities along with their music..!
The warm song that is left in our memories
Riding on the wind, I run to you
They sing the last lyrics together perfectly, despite the distance. Luffy seems to be bouncing between fans after having gotten off the stage again. Ace is dancing around with one of the guards he’s passed by at the barriers, and the fans film them, screaming. Sabo is, well. He looks like he’s singing to one of the smaller figures in the PWD area. A personal serenade.
Koby feels something soft and warm fill his chest. The boys always found a way to do this to him. Usually, it was Luffy and his natural charm, but Ace and Sabo still inspired him in their own ways, too. Now, especially.
As the song ends, Koby can barely make out Sabo’s figure as he crouches in front of the same small figure. By the time he leaves, Ace is already starting the next song.
If I could, I’d hide these feelings
Your smile is pretty, my oh my
Oh. Well. This song was always Koby’s personal favorite among the songs the brothers titled Paradise, but the memories attached the to one they just finished made it rush to his top, overtaking the current one. But, but, if they were going to be singing this specific Paradise, all while doing what they’re already doing…
Technically, there were only two Paradise songs from the brothers to choose from. Koby’s favorite among the two was the second one a few minutes ago… and now it might be again, as Koby sees Ace wander closer to the center of the stands, and Luffy is, well, he’s.
Luffy nears Koby’s section. Not from the stage this time, but from the open aisle.
He feels Helmeppo grip his shoulder and the screams pick up the closer Luffy gets, and Koby feels like thanking his best friend for the support this time. He can’t even find it in himself to be embarrassed, because sh*t, he’s so close!
He gets closer, and closer. Just as Luffy approaches the side of Koby’s section, the chorus starts and Luffy starts doing some kind of freestyle.
Damn, oh, you got me!
You’re the only one to make me do it like this
Oh you know, Koby feels like he’s losing his grip on reality. My favorite artist of all time is just dancing and having fun right in front of me, no biggie!
It feels like his brain is both hyper-focused on Luffy but also struggling to function, because next thing he knows is Helmeppo tightening his grip on his shoulder, shaking him out of whatever funk took over him. Koby looks to see where the brothers are, and they’re all already heading back to the stage.
What the hell is this? I don’t dislike it
You’re stealing my heart and smiling innocently
Ace raps his lines smoothly followed by Luffy again, oh boy,
I am naturally impatient
But you’re the only one I could wait for
They get back on the stage at the same time from different areas, immediately facing the audience and clapping their hands together. The music stops, and Koby is just human. A human who is a fan and an avid enjoyer of good music, okay? What was he going to do, not join? Fat chance!
I want to get close to you babe,
Hands up on your hips
Damn, oh, you got me
Sabo does another one of his vocal runs onstage as the music comes back on, confetti exploding from the sides. Koby tries not to feel too distracted by the falling confetti — the song is turning quickly into a vocal runs battle when the brothers start to face-off at the center of the extended stage, and Koby can’t feel his face. He risks a glance — the confetti had personal notes of thanks on them, colors varying from red, blue, and yellow!
As the song ends, it suddenly devolves into an ad lib battle. Luffy starts it, going for an oh, my, god! but he’s quickly followed by Ace’s cheer of feel so good! The entire time, Sabo’s still doing random, but impressive, vocal runs.
I think my smile broke my face, Koby thinks. Luffy turns to the audience, gives a giggle and a thank you! into his microphone.
Koby bites his lip, heart pounding while the brothers nudge each other, heading back to the main stage. I can’t find it in myself to regret anything at all!
drakdrag
paradise AND paradise pt2??? U SPOILE ME…
replying to drakdrag
surfsunsped
back!!! to!!! BACK!!!!
rii.d00p
thhey left the stage!!! they walked around for two songs striaight!!! IM!!!!!!!
spad.acee
in the kindest way possible, WHOEVER HAS THE VID OF ACE DANCING W THE GUARD POST NOOOOOWWWWWWW . i needed a vid of it YESTERD AY.
surfsunsped
to anyone who has pics with ace: I hate you I hate you I hate you I hATE YOU I HATE YOU
replying to surfsunsped
surfsunsped
im abt to ascend to the next realm out of pure jealousy
replying to surfsunsped
taptapbounce
in that case, you mean *descend
s.drak_0n
sabo… oh sabo you have my whole heart…. you soft kind caring man… ily ily so much… o im gonna cry…
emperorsnewcloth
not to break the moment but how did he get to the stand so quickly??? And how did he get back to the stage just as fast? sabo speedster?
replying to emperorsnewcloth
eyebeeleaf
we make a lot of jokes abt his bangs giving him -50 eyesight, when in actuality, it gave him +60 speed
replying to eyebeeleaf
emperorsnewcloth
speaking of bangs… i need to know what he uses, mans hair has been Glued Down the whole time. i dont even wanna know whats under there, i just need to know the routine???
dr.sunniesides
lu has singlehandedly befriended thousands in the span of like 10 mins. only he can do that…
simpspeda
acelu dancing w guards… im fine im fine im fine…
taptapbounce
fans stronger than me, id cry in front of luffy and ask him to decide my fate
replying to taptapbounce
surfsunsped
hed probably just smile and tell u only you can truly decide who you will be or smth like that
replying to surfsunsped
surfsunsped
didnt he say ‘i don’t wanna deprive u of choosing who to be’ during live once?
replying to surfsunsped
taptapbounce
ur just ripping my heart out atp have mercy on me. ??
When the brothers reach the main stage, they try their best to get the entire venue quiet. With how heavy everyone’s breathing around him — especially Koby, but he’s not here to patronize how his bff has fun — he’s surprised the heaving isn’t echoing in the silence.
The brothers are shushing the last sounds of the venue away, and after a short countdown, they start a simple beat by clapping. Everyone joins, but Helmeppo stops himself despite how tempted he is. Sometimes the brain just wants to join these kinds of things, alright? But, he promised Koby he’d get good videos of as many things as he could get, and this sounded like it was going to be another good thing that could only happen live.
Luffy raises his microphone, and,
Hey, is this alright? Is this okay?
Is it okay for me to believe someone this much?
The instrumental kicks in and Koby’s yelling his heart out once again. Helmeppo doesn’t mind that his friend’s having the time of his life. Honestly, he’s more grateful than anything. Koby needed a good break that wasn’t laying flat on his face and putting the the same two songs on repeat when he hit breaking point.
And yeah, Helmeppo is having a great time, too. Even if he isn’t used to the concert scene, he’s pretty sure this is Koby’s first concert too. Hell of a first, though.
The brothers separate again, but only to go towards the microphone stands in their areas. All the screens are alive again — and honestly, he didn’t even know you could have interactive screens on the ground for a concert! The brothers’ steps are followed again by their representative colors of blue, red, and yellow, sparks coming off their feet among a glowing floor.
This is the first time Helmeppo’s heard this song. It sounds like its mostly playful, melodic rap, and by the time they reach the chorus again, he’s already convinced. He’s downloading this song when this concert is over.
Okay, he might be downloading the entire setlist when the concert’s over. Was that too much? Was it a natural response to attending a concert when you didn’t know more than half the songs? Not knowing and downloading later on isn’t even an excuse, the songs that he knows as well just sound… better to him, now.
What used to be ‘alright’ or ‘pretty good’ songs were now mentally making their way to his permanent playlists. Damn.
I wonder how many times I’ve made you cry?
And compared to that,
How many times I’ve been able to make you smile?
Koby looked like he was swooning. Again. Honestly, he’d lost count of how many times his friend has swooned for the past three hours. This could be a new world record, probably.
The brothers were separated now, so Helmeppo decided to focus his camera on Luffy. He was obviously Koby’s bias — if he remembered the word correctly.
It was actually kind of funny how fast-paced the singing was compared to the rest of the setlist. People around them would usually sing along to the entire song, but they seemed to struggle a bit with this one. They only really joined when the chorus hit, since it sounded like a chant.
It’s okay, it’s okay, if it’s the person you like
It’s okay, it’s okay, if it’s the path you desire
Oh shoot, Helmeppo grimaced as he fixed the focus on his phone camera, I actually ended up singing along. It’s pretty catchy, and simple too… hopefully the camera didn’t pick it up? Who am I kidding, it probably did…
Tuning back in, the song really was mostly Ace and Luffy switching between the verses while Sabo just had fun with the runs in the background. He’s not sure what the original recorded song sounded like, but Helmeppo thinks this version is a lot more fun. Then again, any song from these guys seemed to be a lot more fun performed live. Then again, that was the point of a concert, right?
The song ended again sounding like a chant, with the lyrics mostly repeating. One of the more calming and chill songs, huh? The fans had been clapping to the beat, and when the song properly ended, it turned into deafening applause.
Then the brothers started waving at the crowd, saying their goodbyes. That was the last song? It was pretty calm, though. Everyone was getting louder as they disappeared one by one backstage. Or maybe that was the point? Make it something less loud to tone it down for the end?
Helmeppo mentally shrugged at his thoughts and started fixing his and Koby’s bag since his friend hadn’t looked away from the stage yet. Probably still registering the whole thing…
“Hey Koby,” he started getting up, “I’ll go ahead, I’m gonna get some food if I find some stalls still open. You want anything?”
Him moving seemed to snap Koby out of his staring contest with the stage. “Oh, you’re leaving already?” Helmeppo just pointed at the stage, “Isn’t it done already? They said they only had a couple songs left and then they left the stage, so…”
Koby gaped for a while, then, “Right, you wouldn’t…! They’re not done yet! A lot of artists say that the concert’s over, but then they go back on stage for – !”
ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE!
Helmeppo just gapes at the chanting crowd. When he looks around, he notices that he’s the only who looks ready to leave. If people weren’t calling for an encore, they were chatting with the person next to them or rapidly typing on their phone. Absolutely no one was getting their bags or leaving.
Plopping back on his seat, he looked at Koby saying, “So, how long does it take until encore starts? And how long do they usually go for?”
Koby scratched his chin, looking around the venue and replied, “Well, depends on the artist I guess? Usually it takes like five minutes for the encore to start, and it’s around… two to five songs.” He shrugs, “Yeah, it depends on who’s performing. L-ASL usually go for two or three I think? Some others go for five!”
Maybe Helmeppo makes a face, because Koby’s rushing to add, “But if you wanna go ahead to get some food, I can meet you somewhere outside?”
He raises his hands and says, “Woah, woah, it’s alright, I’m okay with staying until the end. I’m just, surprised? I didn’t know it was common for singers to just say the concert’s over when it’s not?”
WE WANT MORE! WE WANT MORE!
Koby snorts. “Yeah, it’s funny when you put it like that. It’s just common knowledge at some point for fans to just, linger? In the venue, I guess. Everyone just kinda expects an encore, and everyone knows there’s gonna be one, and artists usually just have one.”
Helmeppo’s about to respond, but the lights dim once again. The audience goes crazy when the music starts — a simple piano sound — and Helmeppo knows he’s lost his friend’s attention when Koby snaps to the stage once again. And really, of course he would; Luffy’s the one starting the song.
Finally, we begin
It’s been a long road so far
It’s too early to say you’ve done a good job
Helmeppo sighs good-naturedly. He recognizes this song, too. When Koby had put it on repeat at one point when they were working out together, he didn’t have the heart to tell his friend that his headset was disconnected. Koby was really out of it that day. Besides, Helmeppo ended up really liking that song.
Even if it did play around ten times on loop, it was catchy and the lyrics made him feel good.
He quickly grabbed his phone, and started recording again before Luffy’s opening verse could end.
Now I admit that life is a long marathon
The difference now is that I set the course
So naturally, since he’s heard this song tons of times and downloaded it himself after the whole gym thing, Helmeppo knows which lyrics and when to chant along with the crowd. It’s that more addictive, he thinks, when he joins the crowd, when you’ve attached the song to something personal to you, I think.
No matter what I’m going my way
It’s what I’ve dreamt of every night
Don’t worry we’re just going our way
Helmeppo braces, and –
DON’T FORGET, WE CAN DO EVERYTHING!
And oh wow, if that wasn’t magical enough of a feeling, the saxophone sounds even better live, too.
Looking closely though, its’s the same skinny-tall guy that Helmeppo could’ve sworn was playing either the guitar or the keyboard earlier. Or maybe it was the synth, not the keyboard?
Lost in his thoughts about the clearly multi-talented man, he almost misses the next few lyrics. But the song feels practically ingrained in him — yes, he’s set it on repeat himself when he goes to the gym now, too. It was catchy and it got him pumping, so sue him!
DON’T BE AFRAID, DREAMS ARE EVERYWHERE
JUST GO WHERE YOU’RE GOING, THIS IS MY WAY
Hearing it live is giving him shivers this time, and he bites his lip in excitement. Is this how Koby felt the entire concert? Probably not, he glances at his friend who is positively vibrating, he also has a huge crush on one of the idols too, so he’s definitely a lot more overwhelmed than I am.
Helmeppo only notices it now as the large screen focuses on Ace for his verse, but the idols had changed clothes again. All three of them were wearing casual t-shirts and jeans, but if he looked closely – ah. The shirts were tour merchandise, made sense.
As Ace continued rapping, Helmeppo suddenly realized that he stopped filming Luffy. He had unconsciously been following Ace for the the entire verse, and Sabo for the chorus. Wait, this video is for Koby, not me!
Shaking himself out of it, he sets his phone’s camera on Luffy again. If I want to see a good video anyway, I can just look online for those fancam-things Koby mentioned that are always HD or something. Heck if I know how fans get lens like that in a stadium.
I don’t look back, I know life’s endless
I’ve been shaken, and I know it’s a change
I will never forget, I enjoy the word youth
When the chorus hits again, and he joins the chanting and singing again, Helmeppo finally understands why some people call concerts a religious experience. It feels almost crazy, with how the concert is practically over, but Helmeppo feels himself just get more excited as the song continues.
Every moment, I’m not afraid
I will keep walking
I believe in our destiny
emperorsnewcloth
havent heard sabo just vibe while acelu do their own thing for a hot sec
replying to emperorsnewcloth
emperorsnewcloth
that being said, petition for sabo to rap more often
eyebeeleaf
dang we reaching endgame with this one, folks
taptapbounce
does anyone else ever put this song on repeat and then Grind Life?
replying to taptapbounce
s.drak_0n
like, the lemons?
replying to s.drak_0n
taptapbounce
u kno what? yea dude, the lemons. Grind em. Mush Em Up. do as u will
replying to taptapbounce
s.drak_0n
:DDDDD
spad.acee
ngl ascended a lil bit… my way hits dif every single time…
rii.d00p
that sax makes me FEEEEEL things
replying to rii.d00p
simpspeda
fr just. strikes me deep in my soul. gonna hear that sax in my dreams
• • •
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
sunnie_sets_lomeo
22 I Smile
23 Araw-Araw
24 Off to See the World
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
sunnie_sets_lomeo
[ENDING MENT]
25 Paradise
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
sunnie_sets_lomeo
26 Paradise Pt2
27 Iindesuka?
replying to sunnie_sets_lomeo
sunnie_sets_lomeo
[ENCORE]
28 My Way
29 Blessings
dr.sunniesides
hey @eyebeeleaf theyre doing it. the setlist might actually hit 30
replying to dr.sunniesides
eyebeeleaf
ok tbf theyre not gonna be doing this entire setlist at every stop so,,,
Don’t worry, the way you’ve run is just a process for you
Flowers too have the process, not the moment of bloom
That’s more beautiful
Bartolomeo truly was a master of multitasking. Even Cavendish could only bask at his amazing prowess, as he was able to type on his phone single-handedly, and even at time without even looking at his screen! How else would he keep both eyes on the stage, ensuring his eyes were witnessing all that he could, all while keeping everyone updated online of the official setlist?
He was Bartolomeo, a proud Sunnie, and one of the first ever members of the Crew!
He remembers when each song was released, he knows all the details given by his idols, and he knows that as a true fan, he should never push past his idols’ boundaries! Just because the brothers, Sunshine Luffy, Firefly Ace, and Emperor Sabo, had inspired his every breathing moment did not mean he was entitled to the brothers’ own lives!
But also he will frame the close-up pictures and selfies he has with sunshine Luffy in his kitchen, his bedroom, and his living room. It will now be his family heirloom. He will treasure this moment forever.
We suffered in the past, but we cheered ourselves up again
You endure the hardships and adversities
Keep believing in yourself
This was one of his favorite songs of all time! Then again, all L-ASL songs were his favorites! They were all just too good, he could not possibly just choose one when there were so many! Whether they be just from one brother, or two, or all three! Barto may have a personal bias for anything that has to do with sunshine Luffy, but the amazing flare of firefly Ace and the glorious aura of emperor Sabo never lagged behind!
Since this was already the encore, the chances of any of the amazing brothers leaving the main stage were incredibly low, but that was alright! Bartolomeo made sure that he used a Samsung phone for that exact reason – the superior camera lens of their phones had never failed him!
These were videos that he wanted to keep for himself! So maybe he vowed to not take any videos and to fully immerse himself in the concert, and maybe he completely failed halfway through… But! He could not afford to miss such memorable moments of each brother!
Well, not each brother. Barto struggled with who to film whenever they separated and started doing their own things far from each other, but at times like that, he just always went for sunshine Luffy! He still filmed the great emperor Sabo and the glowing firefly Ace when he could, of course! He had a great quality video of emperor Sabo when he had gone to the stands, and he would treasure that video forever!
Just please stop asking how I did it, leave my business
Cause ma markings on my papers tell me that I’m really useless
But then again, I’m just getting started, there are other ways
Gotta fill up my story, this is my buffet
As always, sunshine Luffy’s rapping and singing filled him with strength!
Some of sunshine Luffy’s lyrics had to do with food, but that was to be expected of a true food appreciator! And the way he could write such inspirational lyrics – take that, all those horrible people online who dare say this man is anything close to being ‘stupid’ or ‘dumb,’ you lot know nothing of him!
All the nautibongs had been flashing a white light, making the entire venue look like the night sky. It was beautiful, but Barto focused still on the stage and the brothers. The nautibongs had been wonderfully flashing colors and creating waves of multiple colors, rippling through the crowds of fans. It would change each song, and Barto had seen multiple people point their phones to film the light show.
But Barto had to stay strong, and would only spare a few glances towards the nautibongs. He did not want to miss a moment! He would take everything in, he could not be distracted by the lights alone, after all!
The music softened, firefly Ace raised his microphone, and -!
It ain’t over, It ain’t over, It ain’t over
It was quickly followed emperor Sabo’s blessings wait for you, but Barto could not help but physically swoon at the favorite part of his favorite song! Besides, even Cavendish looked was being deeply moved by this part of the song as well! Everyone naturally loved this part of the song!
As the song ended, Barto joined the fans as sunshine Luffy led the hey! cheer.
The concert was nearing its true end. Bartolomeo had to hold in his tears from the thought, but truly, as the brothers had said, all good things must end for the next thing to begin!
Knowing them, they would have three songs in the encore, ending the concert with a total of thirty songs! They had just finished their second encore song, so the next would unfortunately, most likely, be their last.
Barto let out a large sniffle, and glared back at the face Cavendish gave him. It wasn’t like Cavendish was in any better state than he was! Well, he was, but that was besides the point!
An atmospheric sound starts from the speakers, something Barto could only describe as glowing water droplets — which makes perfect sense to him, thank you! As much as he wants to scream his heart out in recognition, he holds it in for the right moment.
The melody is followed by a violin, and emperor Sabo and firefly Ace’s lines,
My small, weak voice, can it reach anyone?
I’m deep in thought
Your precious words lead me to where I need to go
Barto joins in the call and response between sunshine Luffy and the fans, the melodic trade of thank you’s passing between the fans and him. Then, the chant -!
You give me hope
You make me smile
You have my soul
You have my heart
When the drums start after the slow and emotional chant, everyone yells for what Barto knows will be for the last song. And what a last song! It was a perfect goodbye in his eyes, he couldn’t imagine it any other way!
Barto hears Ace yell one, two, three! and the crowd roars. The fans are joined by a loud violin, leading the rest of the live band. This song was made with the thought of a violin as the centerpiece! Barto wiped at his cheeks, unsure if there were actual tears or if it were just his heart overflowing this time.
The original, album version of the song was soft and sweet. But the live band and audience truly just added the more you couldn’t get from a recording booth! The feeling that arose in Barto’s chest every time he heard the violin, when he heard his idols’ voices singing the song softly even as the instrumental and fans would swell with noise…
It was all just so beautiful to witness! And no, Barto wasn’t crying again, shut up!
You said, we’ll be, the flare
It’s time, to shoot, away
The fans join as the song reaches its chorus, a loud don’t stop and sink or swim, oh-e-oh-e-oh ringing in Barto’s ears, echoing louder than the live band. Ending the song with a final performance, shared between idols and fans…
Barto could just kiss whoever’s idea that was! A respectful kiss! Knowing the brothers, the idea came from one of them, and Barto would sooner kick himself in the nuts before making a move that they would ‘t appreciate from a fan on any of them! I am but a fan, he tries to mentally knock sense into himself, I don’t want to insult them in any way! I can always appreciate from a distance! There will be no kisses, I’m sorry for such an impulsive thought!
Just as he thinks that, sunshine Luffy delivers a close-eyed wide smile into the camera. It’s projected onto the large screen for all to see, and the fans can barely finish their chant of take a breath and start again, oh-e-oh-e-oh. The tail of it ends in screams at the closeup, and Barto wobbles.
Please don’t think I’m strange or weird, oh L-ASL! Cavendish says something about drool, but his ears, eyes and thoughts are well and truly distracted, could I instead just bow down at your feet and grace me with your presence!!
Oh-oh, ohhh, oh!
The music swells, the violin and the chants grow louder and louder by the second! When the violin bursts, something inside Barto’s chest feels like its joined the explosion of voices.
The fans continue the loud chants of oh-oh, ohhh, oh led by firefly Ace and sunshine Luffy. Meanwhile, emperor Sabo delivers the final lines, hitting the perfect high notes Bartolomeo has ever had the pleasure of hearing and seeing live!!
You give me hope, you make me smile, oh!
Okay, Barto thinks to himself, whoever is playing the violin needs to be found and given a raise! The violin goes for a higher pitch, whoever is playing that needs ALL the raises, elevating this performance and meeting the brothers’ energy so well! It’s just wonderful!
Oh-oh, ohhh, oh!
You have my soul, you have my heart!
The brothers gesture towards the live band, a spotlight focusing on the violin player. He’s tall and very skinny, circular shades covering his eyes. It’s hard not to notice him already with his height, but his shaggy afro adds to his presence. That is, if the comically large smile on his face isn’t — the man is glowing in happiness as he finishes his quick violin solo, ending the song.
Ending the concert.
The spotlights on the violin spread towards the rest of the band, and they all rise to bow towards the audience. Barto joins in on the howling and cheering, because these people very much deserved that and more!
The lights return to the stage, and the brothers take their turns bowing, the screams rising every bow. Just as they look ready to leave, a staff member comes on stage, bringing a camera.
“You guys mind if we take a commemorative picture with everyone?”
The cheers drown out the end of emperor Sabo’s statement, and sunshine Luffy laughs at the very quick response.
“Alright guys, you gotta pose, okay?” Firefly Ace starts making a kissy face at the direction of the camera before sunshine Luffy can finish. Two more staff members run on stage holding a large black piece of cloth.
The black cloth has the L-ASL logo on it, crosses marked over each letter except the first L. There are written messages in all kinds of colors scrawled all over the banner — and Barto helped arrange that small, pre-concert writing event! The boys look over it, wide smiles on their faces only growing as they look from message to message.
The staff on stage quickly grab the boys’ attention again though, doing a countdown for the picture.
And, alright, maybe this is why Bartolomeo spikes his hair like this every time he goes to a concert. Sometimes he likes to look for the vague speck that is himself on these pictures! And Cavendish does the same thing, along with probably everyone else in this crowd, so this is justified, thank you very much!
But it ends all too quickly, and the staff leave the stage. The brothers bow one last time, or, well. They bow three more times, moving from the left, center, then right of the stage. It happens so fast, when Barto blinks, they’re already gone from the stage.
The venue’s lights return to normal, and all around him, fans begin to fix their bags. Some others are still sitting, texting, or doing what Barto is. Recovering. Absorbing the fact that it’s over.
“Hey. Hey. Idiot, we need to go, half the people are already gone, dummy.”
Bartolomeo feels like he’s seeing and hearing everything through liquid, “I already got confetti for us, doofus. Will you get up!”
Then, “you’re still coming to tomorrow’s concert, idiot!” and a quick smack in the face.
“Watch it!” Bartolomeo snaps his teeth at Cavendish, who only rolls his eyes and walks away. “You -! That’s,”
And then Cavendish’s words settle, registering in his brain. Tomorrow. Tomorrow!
He’ll get to see this all again tomorrow!
Bartolomeo gets up with what he knows is probably the most ridiculous smile on his face. He turns to leave the same way Cavendish had been going, when, “Wait, wait, the CONFETTI!” He practically drops to his knees, ready to search the ground for the wonderful handwritten letters scattered across the floor.
“I SAID I ALREADY GOT SOME FOR BOTH OF US YOU ANNOYING FOOL!”
![Concerto L-ASL - Freedom_s_Fun - One Piece (Anime & Manga) [Archive of Our Own] (2024)](data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mP8/h8AAvMB+NzmkbcAAAAASUVORK5CYII=)