Title:  Like Steel for Chocolate
Fandom:  One Piece
Pairing:  Sanji/Zoro, background Luffy/Usopp, surprise pairing
Categories:  angst, romance
Length:  Long [29,000 words]
Warnings: n/a


Author on LJ: maldoror_gw
Website:  for her One Piece fic, really just the LJ Memories

Author's Summary:  Sanji's cooking has reached a whole new level. It's almost uncanny. Especially when his thoughts and emotions somehow get into the mix along with the rest of the ingredients.

Review:  I understand that this plot is indebted to a book with a similar title - if so, I must find it, because this story was such an interesting approach to getting Sanji, the cook of the Strawhat Pirates, and Zoro, the soon-to-be-the-world's-greatest swordsman and first mate of the crew together.  It works in the context of the One Piece universe, too, where odd happenings are to be expected on the Grand Line.

Maldoror is, as usual, deft with her characterizations.  It's Sanji's POV, and it is a treat to watch him puzzle out his emotions, and just why the crew is acting so oddly after eating the meals he's prepared.  The other Strawhats aren't neglected, either (which is unusual in the fandom, as most authors focus only on whichever pairing they're promoting).  Of course, the fic is a few years old, so anyone post-Franky isn't there, but everyone who's present shines. 

Also, to anyone for whom this makes a difference: the make-outs are smoking hot, seriously.  There's a chapter with a meal that's an aphrodesiac, and, well, I would've recommended this fic for that chapter alone if you know what I mean (and I think you do).

Like Steel for Chocolate