.𓏲ᦃ

@gryffons 
            
                        NO WAY!    he doesn't scare me
                   at all!
                                      . he says this but despite his words you could see deep in his brown gaze a small hint of something,      not necessarily fear but..     clearly avoidance. 

*  most of the devil fruit eaters probably have a better grasp on the curse than luffy would as they've had years to train and attempt some semblance of control over it. but as luffy, at this time, doesn't have that control—  he can't shift it at will. so once the sun sets, that's when he shifts and loses control of his more human side.  an unruly sense of blood thirst and an insatiable hunger, constant thirst.  while on ship, he doesn't sleep in the night, he makes sure everyone's in the lower decks sound asleep, door locked, then sets up shop in the crows nest.  ( this is how he operates when he's only got like a smaller portion of his crew, like very beginning of his journey. nami, zoro, sanji, usopp, chopper probably. )

 *  he's not upfront to sharing this information with his crew as he's gathering them,  as one they may try to well up and abandon ship && two, that'd be another reason for devil fruit eaters to be executed on sight. 
              though the reaction to said curse is different for everyone. since luffy ate it as a child, he never had full control over the monstrous shift. 

 *  in this au,  luffy is more mature immediately in the beginning and more prone to aggressive behaviors.
               he stills holds empathy for others,
            and respect ad he sees fit but seeing as he's now cursed in two ways,  it inflicts a difference within
              how he speaks and reacts to situations.