Chapter Text
Elevator music played as viewers eagerly waited for the stream to start. A cute animated illustration keeps them visually occupied as they hold their breaths for a bright and beamy smile to appear on their screens. They’ve waited weeks for this. After the announcement of a short hiatus from their official social media accounts, Luffy, or Straw Hat Luffy, as the internet knew him, would be taking a break from streaming and content creation for at most, a month.
To be fair, it was completely his fault though. Who in the right mind would even think that crafting a small explosive cake would be a good idea? And neither Nami, Sanji, or any of the responsible adults were even there to supervise him. He just had to pick the worst timing where the only person in their house was Zoro and Brook. Those two wouldn’t even bat an eye if Luffy were to jump from the third floor down to their inflatable pool.
But after completely recovering from the incident that almost lost him his arms, he’s now back from streaming.
“Yo yo yo! Haha! I’m back!! Did ’ya miss me?” Luffy grinned and faced the camera. His usual cheery personality is back online and chat just went wild.
strawhat3000: LUFFY !!
luffyliverlover: WELCOME BACK KING ::luffyParty::
StrawHatSandy: HI YOUTUBE ::luffyWave::
sssanji: ::luffyEyeStars::
MarimoHead: HE LIVESSSS ::zoroPog::
Luffy chuckles. “Yup! I’m back!” he exclaimed. “Had to be chained to a hospital bed for a few weeks though! My friends didn’t really want another exploding cake incident, hehe.”
HanaNami: Exploding cake incident?! ::brookSurprise::
“Hmm? Oh yeah! They didn’t explain it, did they?” Luffy relaxed back into his chair, hand on his chin. “Hngmmm, to summarise, I tried to make an exploding cake for a video! Didn’t go well though… Almost had my fingers blown up! Kidding, I’m not that stupid. But Ace and his team did get called by one of our neighbours because there was a loud explosion in the garage…”
“Mm! But nevermind that! We need to get the stream rolling!” He suddenly exclaimed as he went close up on the camera again. “And you guys will never believe who I got for today’s stream!” A wide grin plastered onto his face as he announced: “I got the Doc with me today!”
And chat went wild… again.
SORA: THE DOC’S BACK?!?! ::brookSurprise::
Orobichan: The doc? ::chopperIDK::
IIIswordstyle: AYOOOO?! ::zoroGasp::
superbigbro: why is chat going bonkers ?! ::chopperScared::
UsoppTop1Fan: Who is this doc our king is speaking ::usoppThink::
“Oh, some of you guys never met him before,” Luffy said, as he cracked his fingers. “He’s a good buddy of mine that used to appear a lot when I was a smaller content creator! He’s super camera shy though! So when I got more popular, he played less with me and eventually stopped. But we still talk a lot! I don’t think a week has gone by where I didn’t bug him on Discord or something, haha!”
Doc_CanStepOnMe: IT’S MY TIME TO SHINE!! ::luffyEyeStars::
SanjiOfficialTasteTester: he sounds really sus ::namiConcern::
ZoroKitetsu: How long have you known him? ::brookSurprise::
GEARIV: ::zoroGasp:: WHY IS EVERYONE SUSPICIOUS OF DOC
jinbeionlyfans: i mean, if you heard his voice ud def be worried ::jinbeiSad::
“Awh come on! I’ve known him for years! He’s a really good friend of mine. Doc would be really upset if he saw all of what you’re saying about him!” Luffy pouted, arms crossed and looking at the chat seriously. “Really, he’s a nice person!”
He tried his best to defend this so-called “Doc,” to the majority of his followers. Many of them came just after the Doc stopped appearing on Luffy’s content, unfortunately. But to old fans, the Doc is certainly someone they long awaited to appear again. It felt years to them since the Doc showed up in one of Luffy’s streams, or anyone’s streams in fact. Luffy also never posted any video on his Youtube about him, so naturally, most of his fans would be unaware of this mysterious Doc people seem to be very excited about.
But just as Luffy was explaining to his chat that the Doc is in fact, not a scammer who just wants Luffy’s hard earned money, a new voice in the stream was heard.
“It’s nice of you to defend me like that, Straw Hat-ya.” Followed by a soft chuckle.
Brook-inator9000: ::brookSurprise:: ::brookSurprise::
luffyliverlover: ::jinbeiShock::
Doc_CanStepOnMe: YOU’RE BACK DOCCC!! ::luffyLove::
MrDeath: Long time no see Doc! ::chopperHug::
surgeonofdeathtopglobalfan: I’VE WAITED LONG ENOUHJSOUHFSU ::luffyCrazy::
“Looks like chat’s a bit surprised to finally see you Doc!!” Luffy grinned. He started to boot up a FPS game, Valorant, the same one he and the Doc used to play a lot when Luffy was still a small content creator. They had agreed to play this specific game beforehand as some sort of remembrance to the memories they had playing together.
“Mhm,” the Doc mumbled. “But I’m shocked that they didn’t know who I was. Knowing you, I figured you must have talked a lot about me during your streams.”
Luffy chuckled. “Oh I have! Just referred to you by your other name!”
“My other what?”
“Remember? E-word? Your old username back when we used to play daily until my viewers started to complain about it?” Luffy said, smiling. “I think you said it was a name for a flower.”
The Doc hummed, trying to recall what Luffy meant by that. “Oh,” he mumbled. “You mean Epiphyllum oxypetalum?”
“Mhm! E-word! Haha!” Luffy laughed, so hard in fact, that he almost fell from his chair. “I still remember when you’d get mad that I couldn’t pronounce it right!”
The Doc sighed. “Tsch. Let’s just start playing. I still have to study after this.”
The Doc joined Luffy’s party soon after, and, as per usual, the chat erupted in screams. The Doc’s in-game name, TheSurgeonOfDeath, is apparently one of the most revered in the game. “Oh, you’ve been playing ranked without me, Doc?” Luffy pouted. “Look at you and your shiny little Radiant rank. And I’m here hardstuck as Immortal.”
The Doc sighed solemnly. “Want me to help you rank up? It’s my fault that we didn’t get to play like we used to, after all,” he told him. “I’ll make up for it now, ‘cause I don’t know when I’ll be back again to play.”
“Really?!” Luffy cried. “You’re too nice..!”
The Doc sighed. “Just get the game going already, Straw Hat-ya.”
They first played a warm up custom match, where Luffy continued to mess with the Doc with his main agent’s abilities. “Oi!” the Doc exclaimed. “Stop it!”
Luffy chuckled. “But c’mon! It’s so fun! See, the chat agrees!”
StrawHatSandy: ::luffyLaugh::
sssanji: ::luffyLaugh:: ::luffyLaugh::
candylovingchopper_x: LMFAOOOOO THE DOC’S GETTING DESTROYED
Orobin_sama: so this is the legendary e-word we keep hearing of… ::luffyLaugh::
GEARIV: ::luffyLaugh::
“Straw Hat-ya,” the Doc began, pausing to sigh. “Killing me over and over and destroying my CPU in the process is not fun...”
After a while of them playing around in custom, they finally went on their first ranked game, to which the Doc decided to play off Luffy and their team’s agents. “Doc!” Luffy exclaimed. “Pick that one! The new agent!” he said, pointing his mouse to the screen.
“Hmm,” the Doc hummed. “Don’t you think it would be more fun to let chat decide?” he asked. “Then again, they are your oh so proud followers. Whatever you say they’ll go by.”
Luffy grinned as he watched the Doc lock in this unfamiliar agent. “Let’s let them pick your agent next round. I just want to see you play this guy!” he replied before going on explaining his abilities.
“Mhm, ok, so this agent controls water! He’s like a water bender! ‘Cause in his promotional ability, he stole this ancient artefact that allows him to make waves and control the ocean. He’s so cool! So broken too. You can use his E ability to cover all the entrances to the site and manipulate where it goes however you like. It can help a lot in controlling, repositioning, and holding down the site.
“And next his Q ability. If you use it, you’ll throw a sphere that has a shield in it. The enemy can’t damage whatever’s inside the sphere, which makes it great for planting and defusing the bomb! The enemy can still break the shield though and if it's broken, they can damage the player inside it.
“His C ability, meanwhile, is this moving wall! It’s great for entering sites and clearing angles ‘cause if enemies are hit by it, they’re slowed for a little while.
“Lastly is his X, or his ultimate ability. If you use it on an area, all players, even you and your teammates, get stunned. So be careful in using it! Usopp gets stunned a lot in his games and he really complains a lot about this agent’s stuns because his ultimate stuns and slows you for like… 3 times!”
The Doc chuckled. “And I’m guessing you’re explaining this to chat since you rarely stream this game?”
Luffy gasped. “Doc..!” he cried. “How could you have known?! Are you a mind reader or something?!”
“Well, your streams aren’t exactly private…”
“Haha! True!” he exclaimed. “But wait.. Does that mean you watch my content too…?”
Doc_CanStepOnMe: THE DOC IS A FAN OF LUFFY CONFIRMED ?!?!
strawhatSEKAI: top valorant player surgeon of death watches straw hat content !!
luffysandals: ::brookSurprise::
Orobin_sama: everyone’s a fan of luffy at this point !! ::luffyLaugh:
SanjiOfficialTasteTester: STRAW HAT WORLD DOMINATION
“What I do during my free time is none of your business, Straw Hat-ya.”
MrDeath: ::zoroGasp::
SORA: i didn’t know doc is a little tsun tsun !! ::robinKnows::
jinbeionlyfans: the doc can never beat the tsundere allegations ::jinbeiDisappointed::
surgeonofdeathtopglobalfan: OUR KING CANT ADMIT HE WATCHES HIM !!
surgeonofdeathtopglobalfan: HOW CUTEEE ::chopperPleadingEyes::
Luffy laughed. “Chat sure loves teasing you, Doc!” he said.
“They never change. This is why I stopped coming to your streams,” he replied with a sigh. “Anyway, do you mind also explaining your agent’s abilities to them? Feels a bit useless for me if all you do is explain mines and not the agent they’ll be watching this whole time…"
The other gasped. “You’re right! Alright chat!! Here’s my agent’s ability: my E ability lets me throw a grenade! It’s useful for entering sites and for clearing areas! It’s also really, really explosive and even damages teammates.
“Next is my Q! It basically allows me to jump really high. It gives me an aerial advantage when it comes to entering sites!
“And then my C! It’s this cute little bot that moves on its own and once an enemy is spotted in its line of sight, it chases it and explodes in front of it! It’s really explosive and deals a ton of damage to enemies! Oh and if any of you watch Usopp’s and Franky’s Youtube channels, you can see that they made this one before! Like a moving and functioning bot!
“And lastly is my X, or my ultimate! It’s just a bazooka, haha! Does that explain everything Doc?”
The Doc hums. “Yeah,” he said. “Let’s now start ruining our enemies' days.”
They started playing the game. Whichever team wins 13 rounds first wins, unless the two teams tie on 12, then whoever gets a 2 match lead first wins.The first game was fairly easy for them. Their team was balanced and worked well with each other. The communication was great and the timing between their gunfights were impeccable. And not to mention, the map that they landed on was favourable towards snipers, which the Doc specialise in. They won 7-1, with the other team surrendering.
The next game they played, however, wasn’t so nice towards them. It was a map that a lot of players hated and was teased to be removed on the next update. It features a front way and a back way entrance for the offensive team and little room for the defence to play on. But they happened to be lucky with the agent the chat picked for the Doc. His agent is a healer which goes perfectly for Luffy’s agent, who requires an aggressive playstyle to be utilised properly. They won 13-9.
They also won the third game they played, 17-15. It was a particularly hard match as the enemy seemed to be a 5-stack team which gave them the upper hand when it came to communication between each other. They were also at a disadvantage, since their own teammates refused to talk properly to each other and were absurdly toxic. To say that Luffy and the Doc carried their team hard would be an understatement.
Both of their agents can teleport which makes rotating to other sites easier when everyone else in the team is dead. They also can utilise their other abilities to help defend while the other is teleporting away, and additionally, they can easily trade kills as they often have each other’s back for most of the gunfights in the game.
Their fourth game was a loss, however, at 11-13. They could have won that if it weren’t for the bad team composition they had. There were too many aggressive agents on their roster with only the Doc’s agent having a passive gamestyle. But the Doc himself wasn’t a passive player, thus, he couldn’t use his abilities to the fullest. Luffy meanwhile, was too eager to get as many kills as he could during the game, making him more reckless than he should have been. Nevertheless, it was a fun game. Their teammates were all cooperative and they could tell that everyone was enjoying the game.
The previous match was supposed to be their last, but Luffy didn’t want the stream to end in a loss. So, they played once more, and luckily, they won! 14-12, another close call. It was a fairly normal game. The communication wasn’t as good as they had hoped it to be but they managed to work around it. The map was also one of Luffy’s favourites, which gave their team an upper hand as Luffy knows exactly where enemies usually like to hide around, which then allowed Luffy to play as aggressively as he can. The Doc, on the other hand, also played for kills. He was just as aggressive as Luffy is, making him play more recklessly than he’s used to. Of course, this only happened because he trusts in Luffy’s familiarity and comfortability with this map. He can also play more cautiously with his agent, whose abilities are mostly useful for information gathering. Luffy’s agent, meanwhile, is the same one he used in their first game.
And after their almost 6 hour stream, Luffy finally showed a bit of exhaustion. He stretched his back and groaned. “Mm! I think that’s that for today’s stream!” he said. “Hope everyone had fun! And y’all finally got to know Doc! Haha! I’m glad everyone seemed to like him! Don’t you think so, Doc?”
“They seemed to have fun teasing and bullying me,” the Doc mumbled. “But I’m glad that the stream did as well as it did. I was certain not a lot of people would vibe with my low energy attitude.”
The other laughed. “Low energy? I think chat disagrees! Those colourful words you spouted earlier when we were losing weren’t really low energy!”
“That’s different!”
“Mhm mhm, whatever the Doc says!” he chuckled. “But since you didn’t manage to get me to Radiant, you have to play with me again… on stream!”
The Doc paused for a while, unsure if he should agree. He still needed to study to be a doctor, hence his name. And playing with Luffy takes a lot of his time and energy that he should dedicate to his personal life… but playing with Luffy is also enjoyable for him. “Hmm,” he hums once more. “I’ll think about it.
Luffy grins. Internally, he knows he’s already convinced his friend for another gaming stream, but he’ll never say that out loud. That might make the Doc take back his words. “Haha! Well, hope you agree!” he exclaimed. “See you Doc next time! And chat as well! Have a good night everyone! Let’s meet again next week! Bye bye!!”