Sanji has found himself in the form of a shiny Vulpix, which looks more or less normal except probably with wavier, swirlier fur, in particular around the eyebrow area. "He'll start wearing his "hair" more like his human self does once he figures it out. His eyes are also blue instead of gold. Canon point: Literally the very end of the Sabaody arc. However, I know all his "lore" which can be very spoilery, so please let me know if you don't want that to come up for any reason!
♥ I. ARRIVALS ♥
A.) Stumbling and Swearing Through Tunnels Deep:
“...What the…” A dirtied shiny vulpix makes his way through the tunnels. He knows his eyes shouldn’t be able to see at all in this setting, but he’s able to glean just enough to not crash into every damn wall. Still, he steps unwittingly through a stream of mist, and blinks when the events leading up to this point become hazier. He…he has to get back to his crew. They’re…disappearing. What happened…? Something bad. Something very bad.
But it doesn’t tell Sanji where he is. Where that…that massive thing shaped like a man sent him. He remembers pain. He remembers breaking his leg. Someone precious behind him he needed to protect before a massive hand suddenly filled his vision, bizarre paw pads knocking the breath out of him and-
He swears something VERY colorful as one of his- why does he even have extra legs- catches against a stone, and he crashes to the ground. Again. Dammit. Dammit.
(A faint memory slips from him, of making landfall after about a month at sea and stumbling, his sea legs more developed than those on land. A deep voice snickering softly behind him before reaching to obnoxiously steady his shoulder-)
“Augh- cut it OUT!” shouts a very flustered vulpix in the dark tunnels below. He has quite the foul mouth on him, which is perhaps an amusing compliment to his wobbling gait and rounded, petite stature. The diglets have caused him quite a bit of trouble, evident in his dirt caked fur and all the bumps and bruises.
Sanji is finding out the hard way that fire type pokemon are weak to rock and ground-type attacks, the dirt impacting with his unsteady legs hard and seeming to drain his energy absurdly quickly. He’s fallen multiple times, the breath knocked out of him. He only gets more and more furious each time.
Another wave of rolling earth comes at him, and he bears his teeth in frustration, barely avoiding it but in the process crashing into you. “SHIT!!!! More of them- what, you wanna fight too?!”
You…might wanna move. Looks like the vulpix is trying to bite you.
♥ II. UNDER THE WEATHER ♥
A.) Rain Rain, What Are You Taking Away?:
Eventually, he does make it out of the tunnels, thank the Blue. He inhales sharply, taking in the smells of open air. He’s hit with it more keenly than he normally would, and has to remind himself that he has the nose of some sort of animal now. He’d like a look at some point, but for now…he just enjoys the crisp night air and the smell of rain soaking into the forest, wet dirt and greenery making themselves known.
It’s easy to wash all the dirt out of his fur this way too. He revels in being clean, shaking his new pelt out as he traipses between the trees…
Weird thing about suddenly having fur is that the water weighs him down. Almost absurdly so…is this what Chopper had to deal with…?
He blinks, staring into space for a moment. Chopper…?
(Anyone nearby will catch a glimpse of a memory tinged with fear and exasperation. Jumping into the roiling ocean and scooping out a very small, very annoying, very precious bundle of fur that is Tony Tony Chopper. Can reindeer even swim in normal cases? Having eaten a devil fruit sure isn’t helping- damn he’s heavy. Hang in there-)
Thoughts wash from his mind like the dirt from his matted tails. His chest tightens when he starts to realize what’s happening. It’s wrong…and losing thoughts, you’d think his head would grow lighter. Instead, the added weight seems to gather there...
-weighing him down, down-(dark, spoiler memory, cw: child abuse/neglect) (A helmet of iron encases your head, and dungeon bars are slammed in front of you. You’re only eight years old, and Father has thrown you away, too ashamed to even risk your face being seen ever again.
It’s so heavy. It’s dark. You’ll do better next time; why won’t he come back? Can’t he give you one more chance? Please, please, please…) He snarls, starting to run, the rain slicking the longer fur on his head over his eyes, making it harder to see. The trees start to look taller to him, water droplets becoming bubbles of sorts, that great big shadow-
Kuma. The thing that made everyone disappear-
His head jerks to the side, eyes wild. Where did- they can’t just be gone?! No no no no he should have moved faster, should have fought harder, Moss was so hurt and Sanji should have done something more-
A flicker of movement. He turns toward it immediately. “Zoro! Brook! You’re okay!” He runs towards it, towards you, crying out in a sort of pained relief. He’s still wobbly on his new limbs and clearly not seeing the right people here, so this vulpix is…a mess. But he seems happy to see you?? (Even if you’ve never met before…)
B.) Shelter (Don't Catch a Cold...):
(cw: mentioned starvation themes in beginning of flashback)
Rain is a weird one for him. Alone like this, damp and watching the rain fall outside the rutimentary shelter...it makes him nostalgic. His useless paws itch to make something; coffee for Nami, tea for Robin, hot cocoa for Chopper...and he can’t help thinking for a second of Zeff…but that one slips away.
(You are small and tired and cold, curled up on yourself as you watch the rain fall from the night sky. Alone. You’re going to die here. The storm will obscure visibility for possible rescuers, but… rain means fresh drinking water, at least, gathering in the shallow craters of this deserted rock. That alone will help you hold out just a little longer. But what about that old geezer on the other side-
“The hell do you think you’re doing?” grumbles a rough voice, slow with interrupted sleep. Something scratchy but warm drops over your small, too thin shoulders.
You can’t quite remember what you say back to the old chef then, but it’s not enough to chase him away. Instead he comes closer, peg-leg knocking against the wooden floors of the Baratie -not rock- with an unsteady gait. He sits with you on the creaky old donated couch, shoves a mug of hot cocoa into your hands before settling back with his own. You never know what to do with this. What to say.
So you sit and quietly watch the rain together, grounding each other in the now. You both survived. You're not there anymore.
He doesn’t comment on you scooting closer at some point, or how you faintly remember finally being able to doze off against someone warm and safe…(Art that inspired this!))
Sanji huffs, shaking his head and rolling again over the offered towel, trying to dry out as much as he can. It’s tough with the air being so humid, but being sheltered from the rain itself helps. His nose wrinkles slightly when he thinks about how to smooth out all this tangled fur. There’s a reason he’d kept his hair relatively short…
Sanji is jolted from doing as cats do by a stray memory from you. He blinks, tongue sticking out for a second before he realizes what’s going on.
“Oi,” he calls out, glassy blue eyes narrowing at you. He snags a dry towel in his teeth and tosses it at you. “Dry the hell off before I get your life story or some shit.” Or get sick. Do these monster critters get sick? He thinks so. Normal animals do after all, and he'd heard of something going around with all this stupid fog...
But no this is for his own sake, not concern or anything. Not at all.
Oceans afar he wants a smoke. That'd be fantastic, which is funny because this is a new body, one that shouldn't have come with his addiction to nicotine. Not like he has access to his smokes here. So it's down to throwing things at others to blow off stress, it seems.
(If you don’t do anything with the towel, you are likely to end up with a very fussy vulpix clumsily drying you off with it…)
♥ III. THE ARCHIVES ♥
A.) Records:
Once finally DRY and CLEAN, Sanji will absolutely be investigating the archives. He doesn’t have the studying skills as their darling perfect talented archeologist (stars he hopes Robin is safe) but he can track down texts on what he’s interested in. Even if it's a bit...precarious in this new body.
He’s already asked around at the local bakeries and berry storages (the process they have for drying fruits is fascinating) before the rain got too hazardous. Now he’s surrounded by tablets and books, pawing through and taking in the various foods mentioned, turning over and over in his head how to combine them into recipes like he’s used to…
Alternatively, you might find Sanji working with the tools scattered in the little workshop areas, working on his coordination with his new paws. Going off the constant stream of muttered swears, his progress is…questionable. The numerous tails behind him are swishing with barely restrained frustration.
He’s handling something that might be a knife actually. Relatively sharp…it slips from his tenuous two-pawed grasp, clattering to the board. The Oran berry he’d been trying to cut is still there, whole.
Mocking him.
He growls, glaring at you. He’s frustrated with himself, but you’re just the easiest target right now. “Don’t suppose you’d have a better way to do basic food prep, would you?”
OOC: Hello! If you have a different idea or want a different kind/tone of memory from Sanji's hard headed noggin, let me know here or in a PM! We can share discords through PM too if it'd be easier. A friend directed me to this rp and it looks really fun! Currently playing Explorers of Sky, wonderful game, happy to toss my current idiot into the mix!
As a note, I love making connections with backstories and themes and the like; not for comparing but just connecting the dots. So whatever you throw at ME as far as memories I will defo be down for mixing them together into some fun memory soup! <3 Let Sanji cook on a meta level at least...he's my pressure cooker now ehe.
Black Leg Sanji 🌊 One Piece (Pre-Timeskip) 🌊 New Player
Sanji has found himself in the form of a shiny Vulpix, which looks more or less normal except probably with wavier, swirlier fur, in particular around the eyebrow area. "He'll start wearing his "hair" more like his human self does once he figures it out. His eyes are also blue instead of gold.
Canon point: Literally the very end of the Sabaody arc.
However, I know all his "lore" which can be very spoilery, so please let me know if you don't want that to come up for any reason!
A.) Stumbling and Swearing Through Tunnels Deep:
B.) We're 🦆ing Under ATTACK:
A.) Rain Rain, What Are You Taking Away?:
B.) Shelter (Don't Catch a Cold...):
(cw: mentioned starvation themes in beginning of flashback)A.) Records:
B.) Let Him Cook!! Please!!!:
❥ format code credit