#(if Oda won't give us a backstory for this man then I will)

[waraxarcana]

@ferromagnetiic asked: 💭 + Biological family 𝓗𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓬𝓪𝓷𝓸𝓷𝓼 — send 💭 + a topic to receive a headcanon about said topic. (Always Accepting!)

Hawkins is the sole child of a couple who were second to the bottom of Augur's caste system. His mother was a cook for a much better off family while his father was a laborer who worked to construct the capital’s various temples. Hawkins was close to neither, though he did gain his love of architecture and interior design from his father, spending many hours pouring over the blueprints of various buildings that his father worked on.

Unfortunately, his father was unceremoniously killed by a man of a higher caste who had cheated him, and his mother quickly remarried, though her new husband wanted nothing to do with Hawkins. He choose to leave home when he came of age, traveling to one of the coastal towns, and didn’t bother to remain in contact with his mother. He never even received news of her death years later, though that was likely due to her having a “shameful” emotional breakdown and taking her own life.  

[quetozcoatl]

For the fanfic game: B, F, and R!

Original ask meme here, feel free to send me a letter!

B: Any of your stories inspired by  personal experience?

One of my old RWBY fics is me angsting about my neurodivergency via the lens of Professor Ozpin. NGL, I'm considering deleting it, it's... embarassing, and not my best work.

On top of that, the backstory for one of my WoW OCs was based on, for lack of a better term, my daddy issues. It's a fucking cringe backstory and it just turned melodramatic and I'm so glad I reworked it.

But for a more light-hearted response, it's a fic I'd like to write. When I was young, one of my teeth was loose. I complained about it to my older brothers, and one of them responded with: "Oh, your new tooth is going to grow into a vampire tooth" ...or something along those lines. Knowing my younger self, she was terrified and probably cried.

I think it's a perfect concept for Klint and Barok van Zieks!

F: Share a snippet from one of  your favorite dialogue scenes  you've written and explain why  you're proud of it.

As much as I want to post a snippet from my roleplaying on WoW, I won't, because it will require a paragraph of lore-dumping, which I am prone to do at a moments notice, just read any of my AU fics.

I have a LOT of WIPs, and some of them do have dialogue I quite enjoy. However, one of them just takes the cake: it's from an AU inspired by Baldur's Gate 3 (a very good game!) and tried to work within the canon of Dungeons and Dragons. In it, Klint is a bard of eloquence, rather than a ranger. I decided to make Balmung his stuffed hell-hound that Mama van Zieks made for him and he cherishes deeply, and my favorite dialogue is Klint talking to that Balmung:

”What was I thinking, Balmung?!“ No one would hear him, he had wards specially installed to prevent that. In here, he was free to talk how loud he wanted to an inanimate object, and no one to judge him for it, either! “Acting like some sort of seductress, touching her with my bare hands!” He gives Balmung a squeeze. “I don't want to be a harlot, and, I must have frightened her terribly with these talons of mine.”

This too, which happens some lines later:

“Hells!” He snatches his head back in. “Can you believe this, Balmung?” The dog did not respond, on account of being just a stuffed animal.

R: Are there any writers (fanfic or otherwise) you consider an influence?

First off, Guillermo del Toro. He is one of my idols and I look up to his storytelling a lot. I love that he does not sacrifice color to tell dark stories, and that his works have taught me to accept that I'll write what I want! Another one is Zack Morrison who writes and draws the webcomic Paranatural, which I have kept up with since high school. They made the swap to a blend of writing and art sometime in 2021, and the descriptiveness and cleverness of the writing has made my jaw drop.

Next, Another one is Eiichiro Oda. That man can casually reference something he wrote hundreds of chapters ago, and no matter how crazy things get, it feels perfectly plausible within the world of One Piece. But unfortunately it's come at a cost due to him being a mangaka, and I must stress the importance of taking care of yourself before anything else.

These two are well-known for their diverse cast of characters, and Zack Morrison does little, but effective things to make the characters stand out even more in the mixed setting and it's genius. However, an honorable mention to Andrew Hussie and Homestuck, for popularizing the concept of using limited things in text like numbers and cases to distinguish the characters.

Now, the next is sillier: Elizabeth Hoyt and Tessa Dare. Yes, they crank out regency romance novels but they know their niche, damn it! My first romance novel was Duke of Sin by Elizabeth Hoyt, and it's helped me really come to terms with the fact that what I read is not necessarily what I want. I love the fantasies romance novels bring, but the idea of actually BEING in a romance makes me want to run away screaming!

[abysscronica]

Yo! I just saw your answer to where you think Kid’s character is going, and it has me a little worried lool. Do you think Oda won’t give him a backstory at this point? Honestly, I’ve been a little worried since Oda said we’re nearing the end 😬 I just hope Kid’s role hasn’t been scrapped 🤞

Also! If you’d be down to give your thoughts; what do you think about the whole **SPOILERS** reveal about the gum-gum fruit? I’m still kinda conflicted tbh

Not gonna lie, I'm worried too. I thought we would get a backstory during Wano, but not only it hasn't happened so far and the time for it is thinning (maybe it's over already), but also Kid's role was overall... underwhelming, if I can say that. I had the impression (could be totally wrong) that Oda attempted to give him some time to shine but always ended up kinda overlooking him to focus on other characters or issues that were more integral to the plot. It's like Kid constantly got the short end of the stick.

However there's still his past with Shanks to address, so there's hope. And I also don't want to believe that Oda won't give us his backstory at all, although I fear it might be in the form of some condensed info drop.

The question is: does Kid really have a role to play? As much as it pains me to admit it, his only purpose of serving as Luffy's rival is now obsolete, with the Gomu Gomu no Mi reveal and all.

Even if he ends up in the hodgepodge of random allies for the Strawhats, and show up for some final battle or so, we won't see much of him, since Oda hardly managed to focus on Kid during this arc. I'm afraid he might be used to be defeated by some other enemy, like Blackbeard or Shanks, just to showcase how powerful these characters are.

I know I've painted quite a pessimistic picture here, BUT! Let's not forget it's Oda we're talking about, the man always surprises me.

I think we may get a better idea on Kid's future depending on what we'll see of him in these very final chapters of Wano: if Oda decides to give us something about his character it'll be a great sign already.

SPOILER FROM THE LATEST CHAPTERS OF ONE PIECE STARTING BELOW

As for the Gomu Gomu no Mi, I'm conflicted as well. I love the design and I trust that Oda will make great use of this new fighting style Luffy has. I know it's not like Luffy was "the chosen one" or anything like it, and I know he conquered his fruit with years of great training, but... for me this new reveal is still a little problematic.

One Piece was a tale of a silly boy with a silly power that still ran unfazed towards the greatest dream of all. Knowing that his power, albeit still silly, was always godlike spoils a little the premise of the story for me.

[sofia-gothicquirks]

One Piece Wano Kuni analysis : How Oda brings small humanity touches in the plot of an epic/adventure story

So far the Wano arc has been truly fantastic. All the characters of this arc are deep and have wonderful backstories and personalities. Besides, the world building is amazing and I do feel like I am in the middle of a revolution. I am feeling oppressed by the political system of this country and I really do feel attached to all these innocent people who have to suffer because of Orochi's madness. Unlike most stories I do understand the reason why there's a revolution going on behind the scenes. Through these long chapters where you can see children being taught propaganda about how great the shogun is in the Flower Capital while people from Ebisu's town are forced to smile despite their hardships I slowly learned to care about an imaginary country that I didn't even know a year ago. That's one of Oda's strenghts. Contrary to some arcs this isn't just about "saving those who asked for help". All these characters have an actual true and personnal reason to fight linked to their backstories or personnalities : Luffy's promise to O-Tama the little girl his dead big brother swore to protect, Zoro's desire to avenge Tonoyasu, Hiyori's hate for the man who ruined her life twenty years ago .....

Actually for me this country and these characters have truly gained life. Discovering new things about the fascinating japanese culture through an arc from my favourite manga is a dream.

But Wano Kuni isn't just about worldbuiding. It's also about action. There's a revolution going on. There's this prophecy from Oden's mysterious wife. It's almost mythical. There are people who want to fight against this injustice. There are those who must keep living to give food to their starving kids but on the other side there are also people who didn't even know what the word "pain" is. In chapter 931 if I remember well Orochi said that the Wano country is like a paradise. There are all these geishas to bring happiness and music, banquets, cherryblossoms... But we, as readers, know what's going on. We know that this is just a bunch of lies. As Luffy stated in chapter 949 this country is a living hell. And if they don't fight, if they don't change the situation, these people are going to keep suffering. THAT'S WHY A REVOLUTION IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. Otherwise nothing will change. The rich will become richer and the poor will become even more poor. Twenty fucking years of a dictatorship is like a lifetime for some people can you imagine that ?

So let's talk about this revolution. The epic perfect plan to overthrown the shogun (that Luffy kinda of fucked up no surprise there), the badass preparation for the final battle, Wano Kuni's background (the story of Hiyougoru, Tonoyasu's past...) and all this plot about keeping identities a secret or having a double identity (Komurasaki the courtesan as princess Hiyori, O-Toko as Ushimitsu (even if this last one is just a theory for now)...) is great. In fact these diversity of intrigues in just one arc is great. ( to name a few of them we have the Komurasaki-Kiyoshiro plot, Udon's prison plot, Zorro's lost sword plot....).

What I really enjoy about Oda's writing style is that he doesn't only shows the bright side of the revolution with all the epic battles and perfect strategy but also the darkest sides of being a renegade. There may be traitors among your allies, you may get captured and tortured, the ennemy is ready to do everything in order to get information from you and you may even die. There will be disagreements about what to do even inside the rebel alliance because not everyone will trust each other and every person is different : everyone has different beliefs and fears. Maybe the plan won't work and the revolution will fail (you can feel the characters insecurities in chapter 938 during the Law-Shinobu disagreement). Furthermore the revolution won't wok without some great sacrifices. Speaking about that...

Please can we take a moment to mourn Tonoyasu's death ? This man deserves some respect please pay tribute to him. He had a loving daughter and people he cared about and yet with just his life he changed everything. Without him the revolution would be truly doomed. At the moment when everything was going down for the rebel alliance he saved them. His public execution was the turning point and until now (we are in chapter 951) we didn't even know the full consequences of his death. This death really impacted me. How could a man sacrifice his own life to save a future he would never be able to see? Such a little yet great and bold move from Oda. ONE LIFE. ONE SACRIFICE. And yet it changed everything. The rebels have a new plan. A new hope. The revolution can keep going.

Respect Shimotsuki Yasuie.

>RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE CHARACTERS

And now dear friends we have reached the point where the title of my analysis finally makes some sense lol. Let's talk about human relationships inside this arc and name just a few of them.

-Tsuru and Kinemon, the lost lovers

-Luffy and O-Tama or how Ace lives in his little brother

-The nine red scabbards friendship

-The interactions between the members of the strawhat crew

-Hiyori and Zoro growing relationship (or should I call it "the new ship of the One Piece fandom"?). I hope they turn to lovers. They have a really good chemestry.♡

-Hyogoro and Luffy, the master and the student

-O-Tama and Momonosuke friendship

-Komurasaki and Kiyoshiro hidden secrets

-Killer and Eustass Kidd, the partners

-Luffy's and Kidd's rivality

-Kawamatsu and Hiyori story

So we have romantic, friendly, and familiar relationships inside just one arc. It's intense. This is going to be huge.

I could analyse all the relationships between the characters of this arc but I want to especially talk about the one who impacted me the most. It's going to surprise you.

I want to talk about Nico Robin and O-Toko. The pannel from chapter 951 hit my heart really hard :

You guys remember Robin's backstory right ? The daughter of a criminal who survive a genocide and was chased for years by the government because she was the "devil child". Robin lost her mother at an early age and I think that this is the reason that she kind of become a motherly figure. She has developed strong mother instincts.

Well when you think about it Toko's story is a little similar to Robin. She is chased by an entire country despite being a child mostly because her father was a criminal and she "disrespected" the shogun. But like Robin did in that fateful day in Ohara she laughed at it (well she is kind of obliged because of the SMILES fruit too...).

Robin loved the girl from the beginning: she saw her as a bright kid with a great sense of humor and she saved her during the Orochi banquet. So I think that when she saw that this little girl was being hunted down just like her years ago she swore to give her comfort and love. This hugging scene between O-Toko and Robin warmed my heart. They are just like a mother and a daughter and I think that the two of them really needed each other.

Do you see my point ? Even in a story full of action, with plans, battles and a revolution going on Oda manages to keep writing little heartfelt scenes like this one that allows the readers to not forget that more than just being fighters people must praise their humanity. These little touches of humanity add much more than you can even imagine in an action story like One Piece because they allow us to care about the persons for whom our protagonists are fighting.

What about you guys ? What are your thoughts about the Wano Kuni arc so far ? I would love to discuss with you about that !