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asexualzoro · 2 years ago

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Hey! Just read Wish! It was so good! and now I have to ask- how would things have gone if instead of Ace, Luffy was the one who could see that Not Sabo is in fact an imposter? Like their roles here got swapped?

(shameless self promo for any followers seeing this ask: read Wish)

oh, thank you! i'm happy to hear you enjoyed it! god i miss Wish, i was just thinking abt it the other day, im thrilled youre giving me a reason to talk abt it again

that said... if the roles were swapped, and Luffy could see notSabo for what he was... hmm...

that one's difficult. on one hand, Luffy's a bit oblivious and gullible (and, at the point in which the story takes place, 14. he hasn't really been exposed to, yknow, any of the stuff that's made him a bit more hardened and responsible from being captain). if he asked about not having eyes, notSabo would probably be able to lie his way out of it easily enough. he also thinks very highly of and has a lot of faith in his older brothers, and he's always been incredibly optimistic, so i think on some level he might be willing or want to believe this is Sabo, so it might be easy enough to just accept "my older brother doesn't have eyes anymore" and roll with it.

on the other, Luffy can also be fairly intuitive, and for all his optimism, something coming to hurt and replace Ace is unforgivable. if he realized something was after Ace, he's not exactly going to try to work things out? he's very much known to see someone being a threat to people around him and shoot first, ask questions later. if notSabo makes a move to hurt Ace, he's throwing hands, regardless of whether he thinks this is Sabo or not.

so... im not sure there would be a functional difference. Luffy's simple like that, i guess. yes, his not-actually-dead brother's got some weird stuff going on, but he likes weird stuff! up until that weird stuff is a threat to the other brother, of course

this does remind me though... in the original version of Wish, when it was first being hashed out, notSabo was actually thought up as Luffy's wish, not Ace's. it then shifted to be a shared wish that both of them had made, but as the plot came more into focus, it became clear the wish needed to be Ace's alone.

if the wish were to make itself obvious and visible to Luffy, i feel that would imply it was Luffy's wish. which begs the question, "what did Luffy wish for? what does the wish hope to achieve?" i don't see Luffy wishing for himself to be replaced--he's just not that sort of person, doesn't have that sort of self-loathing, especially not at 14--and the idea of wishing for ace to be replaced would obviously never cross luffy's mind. the wish absolutely must come at a cost--the eyes it asked of ace, after all, were representative of ace's own soul, taken in two parts. in order to become real, to be given life, it needed ace's life. if Luffy wanted his brother back, notSabo would still need a life to sustain itself. what is the cost, if not Luffy or Ace? what would notSabo want?

its important to note that the wish never thought itself evil or cruel or malicious. it just wanted to make ace's wish come true. it didn't think it was doing anything wrong or horrifying, you know? it wasn't its fault ace wished sabo had lived instead--it was probably convenient, even, that the cost of its existence was covered within the wish itself.

a full role-swap, where Luffy can not only see notSabo but made the wish as well, would be interesting for a completely different reason. the cost of the wish isn't covered and i have no idea how they would pay it--assumably they'd have to exchange another life, right? another loved one? one of the nobles who killed sabo? a complete stranger?--or if they'd want to pay it. which makes for a fascinating story concept.

i very purposefully never really delved into what notSabo was or how it worked, simply because i think the mystery makes it scarier. and man, that sure does leave a big, terrifying question mark here, huh? how fun!

thanks again for your kind words and for giving me a reason to go on about Wish again! i hope this answers your question!

#ask lew #fluffypanda-20 #fake sabo au

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whirlybirdwhat · 4 years ago

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crown the king with bloody flowers - chapter 33

Hanahaki au drabble series, in which Luffy is in love with the sea.

Ao3

chapter 33 - adonis flos - shanks

Luffy - he’s so small in Shank’s arms, smaller than he was last night, partying with the Red-Haired pirates held upon their shoulders, and smaller than he was this morning, when he ran into Shanks’s knees and caused a ruckus as they were loading the ship. Shanks doesn’t know why he never noticed it before.

Maybe it’s because now, Luffy is asleep, wrapped in blankets and held in Shanks’s arms, blood on his chin and red stains on the blanket. Maybe it’s because Luffy - vivacious and unstoppable, even with a stab wound to the face - has never been this quiet. This small. This unmoving

Shanks holds him in his arms, sitting in the quiet guest bedroom on the small bed Luffy calls his own above the bar. Knickknacks of child’s toys and treasures, shells Shanks had given to him and odd trinkets the Red Hair pirates had left behind litter the room.

He’s a child - a child who loved the sea more than anything else.

(When Shanks had first met him, Luffy had been sitting by the sea, watching the pirate ship come in. Water had lapped at his ankles, and later - when introductions were over and pirates were mumbling into a fifth round of drinks - Luff had simply stared off into the horizon with a smile.

Walking by tide pools, Luffy had said, The sea’s the best! She’s free! Picking up shells, Luffy had told him Isn’t the sea pretty? Living near the shore, the horizon reflected in his gaze, Luffy didn’t have to speak for Shanks to know that he loved the sea.)

A child, that was loved back by the sea.

Until —

Luffy coughs, and water and blood and dogwood flowers drip out of his small mouth. Shanks takes the blanket and holds him closer, his own arms trembling, terrified.

— Until Luffy had eaten that damned fruit.

It was only a few hours ago but - still - it stays in Shank’s mind. The way Luffy had bitten in and started choking, not coughing out pieces of fruit but rather flowers. The way his eyes had gone wide and tears had welled up, the way Luffy had clawed at his throat and spit blood unto the floor - the way Luffy had said It hurts and had closed his eyes when Shanks whispered hanahaki.

Shanks watched his captain die in a flurry of petals. He’ll never forget it.

This moment is just the same - seared into his memory like a brand, like a warning, like a curse.

Luffy, Shanks thinks and tilts his head back to the ceiling, feeling tears wanting too well. There is no shame in crying, every pirate knows that - but here, when Luffy is in his arms and may wake at every moment, Shanks must stay strong. He brought the fruit. He tore Luffy from the sea that he loved more than anything. He’s the one who cursed him.

He has to stay strong for Luffy.

(The sea hates Devil Fruit users, the legend states, but Shanks has only ever talked to Buggy and well - he never made it seem that way. Shanks hadn’t really believed it. But this - this is the truth isn’t it? The sea hates.)

There’s another cough from Luffy, but this time - this time he starts shifting. Groaning. Shanks tilts his arms and lets Luffy roll onto his bicep rather than his chest so Luffy is looking straight up at him.

(His hands, bloody and red, still grip Shanks’s shirt. He almost never wants him to let go.)

“Hey Anchor,” Shanks says softly, quietly. “How you feeling?”

Luffy blinks blearily, brown eyes dazed and faintly pained. He adjusts his grip on Shanks’ shirt and looks around, minutely moving his head, absolutely exhausted, before responding. “‘M tired. Hurts.”

Something breaks in Shanks’ chest at that, but he tries not to show it. Luffy is strangely empathetic, even if he doesn’t care about others emotions that much and he’ll know Shanks’ sorrow -

Luffy tilts his head further into Shanks’s chest and ah - he already knows. “‘M glad you’re here. You always come back. No one really else does.”

His heart clenches. Oh, how he wants to steal this boy away - away from a bar with a woman who tries her best, away from a village that doesn’t understand, and a grandfather who cares but not enough. He wants to keep Luffy with him, wrap him up and let him see the world on the deck of ship, let him wonder, let him live but -

He can’t.

(A ship’s no place for a child who still has somewhere to call home on land.)

Shanks tilts down and presses a kiss onto Luffy’s head, soft and affectionate, his beard scratching at Luffy’s silky hair. The boy gives out a giggle at that, soft and melodious, before a coughing fit starts up again. Hacking and hacking away, flowers spilling out and sinking to the ground. Shanks rubs his back, gently, soothingly, as Luffy starts trembling before sagging in his arms.

When he looks back up at Shanks, his eyes are pained.

“Shanks?” He asks, quiet. Unnerving. “Am I going to die?”

And Shanks’ heart breaks.

Am I going to die?

No child should have to ask that, should have to bear that burden, and oh -

Shanks’ reaction is instantaneous and he crushes Luffy to his chest, finally unable to fight the tears that prick at his eyes.

“No,” he lies, he lies so badly, choking out as much conviction as he can manage. “Anchor, Luffy, no. You - I won’t let you. It’s going to be okay, you won’t die, you won’t.” Luffy shakes in his arms, and he knows, doesn’t he?

That Shanks is lying?

He doesn’t let Luffy go, only listens to his mumbled sobs as he cries with him.

“Oh, Luffy,” Shanks says, helpless. “I - we will find a way. We will - I’ll sail the entire world, I’ll find something. I-‘“ His voice cracks. He can’t get another word out. He just holds Luffy tight, tighter than he’s ever held him, before, and sobs into his pitch black hair. ‘Anchor,” he gasps, and this boy is going to die and it’ll be the death of him.

Shanks knows it.

He knows it.

He wishes he didn’t.

His mind races, trying to come up with something, anything, mind always, always, hitching on the way his captains smile was bloody when he said goodbye to Shanks for the last time, bloody red petals stuck in his teeth.

Did you do it, Shanks had asked, sobbing, clinging to his captains coat on that last day, did you achieve your dream?

Not yet, Roger had said, and that had hurt the most. Roger was a pirate. Roger was the Pirate King.

And to a pirate, losing a dream was worse than death.

Shanks doesn’t want that to happen to Luffy. Luffy, who is small in his arms and dying the same way Roger did. Luffy, who is sobbing and terrified. Luffy, who looks out to sea and says he wants to be a pirate with more determination than anyone else in the world.

Luffy can’t die. He can’t.

Shanks can’t stop his tears. He can’t stop crying.

But.

He -

(He’s got will, Rayleigh had said, when Crocus made exasperated noises about why Roger wasn’t bed-ridden in illness, He’ll stay standing as long as he’s got reason to, and adventure’s a good enough one as any.)

-He won’t let Luffy die.

He takes off his hat with a careful arm, making sure not to move Luffy to roughly, and slowly pulls the hat off his head and place’s it on his Anchor’s. It startles him out of his sobbing for just a moment, his eyes big and red-rimmed with wetness still dripping down.

“Luffy.” Shanks says, despite the tears that match Luffy’s on his face. “You - you wanna be a pirate, yeah?”

Quiet, quieter than he’s ever been, Luffy nods. “Ye-yeah.” He hiccups.

“Then listen to me. Pirates are free.” Each word feels like a vow. Like a promise. Like defiance. Shanks keeps his eyes on Luffy’s, and lets the words carry him. “We do what we want, when we want. We sing, we dance, we sail, we laugh - but most of all Luffy, we chase. Our. Dreams.” Here, he holds Luffy tighter, tipping the too-big hat on his head back enough so he can see Luffy’s entire face. “That’s what a Jolly Roger is. It’s a symbol of our conviction in chasing our dreams. And Dreams - to a pirate - that’s our life. If you have a dream, Luffy, then you’ll live. You got that?”

Luffy is staring at him, eyes wide, tears forgotten. It’s just like when he heard Shanks sing Binks sake for the first time, or when he heard about the tales of the Grand Line. It’s awe.

(Shanks thinks he’ll break if he can’t uphold the pedestal Luffy has placed him upon.)

“Do you?” Shanks prompts again, and Luffy nods.

“Yeah.”

“Then what’s your dream Luffy?”

“To be a pirate!” Luffy says, voice filled with unsteady conviction. “To sail the seas and be free!”

It’s not enough. But it’s a start.

“Then you won’t die Luffy - as long as you’re chasing your dreams, you won’t die.” Shanks voice cracks again. “You can’t die without being a pirate, right?’

C’mon, Luffy - if anyone’s got the same Will as Roger, it’s you so -

“Right!” Luffy says, rubbing at his eyes with a hand and blinking tears away even as that same hand comes to clutch at his chest. “I can’t die - not until… not until I-‘

And what he says next isn’t the dream to be a pirate, but something grander, something that spilled out of Roger’s mouth as he laughed with the entire world - something that makes Shanks burst out in glee and hold Luffy close as a few more desperate tears escape his eyes.

“That’s - that’s right. You can’t die till then. You can’t!”

(It’s not a promise. It can’t be. The Seas to much for that. But… Shanks can pretend.)

That night, Luffy sleeps with the hat on in the crook of Shanks’ arms, new found determination in his eyes even as he cries himself to sleep and sobs through the pain.

He gives the hat back, but the next week there are bandits who pick on pirates and little boys alike, missing arms and little anchors lost at sea.

The next week, Shanks has to leave.

But not before hearing Luffy make another promise.

“I’m the man who will be King of the Pirates!”

He won’t die before achieving his dream.

(Roger did.)

He won’t die before seeing Shanks again.

(Roger did.)

Shanks just has to have faith that this boy - who can smile like the sun, who loves the sea with his whole heart, who has flowers on his lips and in his chest - will live.

King or Dead.

It’s the only choice Luffy has left.

adonis flos: a red flower that is also called "blood drops" adonis flos mean 'painful, sorrowful recollections." its named for Adonis, the youth that Aphrodite loved who died in her arms, and who's blood and pain formed flowers where they dripped.

#op #one piece #whirlywhat #whirlywrites #shanks #crown the king #monkey d. luffy #hanahaki #opau #hanahaki au #luffy #red haired shanks

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more-than-a-gentleman · 4 years ago

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How Nami acts depending on who she is with at the time...

To be honest, I had this as a draft for quite some time but with the release of the new chapter I decided to post it now. So, In honor of Nami’s magnificent moment in chapter 995, this post is Nami centric.

Nami has been a really interesting character since the start. Unlike characters like Luffy, Zoro or Ussop who are almost “Monotone”, pretty much act the same the whole time, she changes the way she acts or thinks depending on who she is with at the current moment.

Another main point to mention is that when it comes to the Captian, all strawhats are the same in terms of having absolute faith in him. Whether they think that from the start or during the situation, the absolute trust must be there.

Ussop in Alabasta, Zoro in Thriller Bark, Sanji in Zou and now Nami in Wano Chapter 995. There are more and many others already posted these moments. I will do one for Chapter 1000 pretty soon.

But when it comes to the crew members between themselves, things change... some are closer than the other and so on...

So I decided to analyze Nami’s behavior with members that she was in danger with to see how she acts and what her thought process/ emotions could be... and this time two characters stand out that bring the best out of her.

1- The Captian Luffy

When she is with Luffy, she tries to be the “brains” she knows Luffy is an idiot so she always tries to think of ways to give him an advantage for him to work with.

In skypiea, first he tells her to head back to the ship because she is in the way, and she does just that without thinking twice or looking back. But then in the Ark, she fails to find a solution to give Luffy an edge on Enel, and her whole thought process is how to escape. She could’ve held her clima tact and did something with it, but while Luffy was on board Oda decided to make Nami sit back and watch even against an extremely powerful opponent Enel (cuz if they were fodder then there is no need for her to fight to begin with).

In WCI, this time she was able to provide support to Luffy by making the biscuits wet and brittle, but she did not fight. She went into kingbaum’s mouth because it was a safe place.

In summary, Nami wants to provide support to Luffy by being smart and from afar, enough to stay out of the fight. Like the others, she knows Luffy is tough therefore she doesnt worry much about him (I am not saying at all, of course she does worry, but only in extreme conditions like any other member)

2- Zoro

With Zoro, she does her best not to be involved in any way. She does not hesitate to disappear.

In Whiskey Peak, she orders Zoro to do all the fighting for her while she does nothing.

In Alabasta, once the enemy appeared, even though there was a woman, she disappeared instantly. She left them for Zoro and ran away.

In Fishman Island, after hearing about Arlong and Jimbei from Hordy. She vanished leaving Ussop and Brook with Zoro to fight. Camie even asks if it was okay and Nami didnt mind at all.

In summary, Nami does not want any part to do with Zoro’s fights.

3- Ussop

Of course... our famous duo. With Ussop, they are always scared together. They expect things from each other at the same time. When in the clear, they succeed because they are comfortable and safe, but when in danger they fail because of fear.

In Little Garden, basically that moment explains everything. They want the other to be dependable.

In skypiea, we have the most famous duo fight, where they are both scared as hell and fail miserably against Enel.

In Punk Hazard, we have two moments where when they are alone they failed against Ceasar and Ussop was disappointed to see Nami who was in Sanji’s body. Then we have when they were far away and safe, so they were calm and collected and their teamwork worked.

In summary, Nami with Ussop will be comfortable and effective if they were safe and far but weak and scared when in the frontline.

The sad thing is... like I said I had this post before ch.995 but I wish they proved me wrong now😅.

4- Chopper

With Chopper, she acts in two ways. She tries to be the mature one and tell Chopper what to do, and other times in a pinch she acts like she does with Ussop.

In Enies Lobby and Water 7, their moments are not like the others (in term of danger level) but we can see she is telling him what to do.

In Punk Hazard and Dressrosa, she was terrified and metally weak. She was in no shape to fight.

In WCI, she is back to being the mature one by explaining to Chopper what to do.

In summary, Nami will try and keep her composure when she can, but loses it when things become dangerous.

5- Brook

With Brook, we didnt see much of Nami and Brook together a lot but basically he is a mixture of Luffy and Zoro. But Brook himself acts like Nami and Chopper when they are scared.

In Zou, she asks Brook to take care of the enemy. At first, he got rid of them but when they came back she sat back and watch. And she does mention that his company is more troublesome than his worth😂.

In summary, Nami would sit back and watch but will help if he get immobilized just like she would do with Luffy, Chopper and Robin because of DF abilities.

6- Franky

With Franky, I couldnt find a moment where she acts a specific way when he is around. I am aware of the moment she calls him “Big Bro” in Wano but it is not the same like being in frontline long enough with him for her to think or act a certain way.

Now, there is a reason I left these two characters to the end. This is what I mean when characters are closer to some than others.

7- Robin

With Robin, again we dont see them in the frontline much. Since back in Skypiea, they keep splitting up and Nami and Robin never stay in the same team.

There was the Davy back fight team, but it was a game not like the others.

In Wano, we can see that they depend on each other to keep watch of each other’s back.

In summary, this is expected since they are the only two women on the crew. Nami feels confident enough while depending on Robin for support and she would do the same.

9- Sanji

Unlike with Luffy, Nami never sat back and watched during major enemies. She always looked back and didnt want to leave. She knows Sanji uses his brain unlike Luffy so she never thought of using tricks and strategies. Whenever he was hurt or about to get hurt, she will pull out her clima tact without a second thought even if she was terrified seconds ago.

Unlike with Zoro, Nami never left Sanji behind on her own, he was always the one to tell her to go ahead. She forgets that she is on the frontline and doesnt run away. When he tells her to stay in a safe place she shows up anyway.

Unlike with Ussop, Nami never gets soo scared she becomes practically useless. She depends on Sanji but not entirely. She wants to but doesnt expect much from Ussop but she can count on Sanji everytime.

Unlike with Chopper, in dire situations she doesnt need to be the mature one since Sanji gets serious when he has to. She might ask for favors but it doesnt sound like an order like she does with Chopper, since she decided for him to be the temporary Captain of the small group when Luffy isnt around.

Unlike with Brook (Luffy, Chopper, Robin), she doesnt need to worry about him falling in the sea since he doesnt have DF powers. He doesnt cause her trouble during fights.

Similar to Robin, Nami always wants to stay side by side. She knows he will have her back and she wants to support him too. It never happened since HE never let it happen, since he doesnt want her to be in danger and get injured because of him.

We have seen time and time again that Nami considers herself weak and fragile. Yes, she does head to combat when she has to but she prefers not to. She wants to stay far, she wants the others to handle business.

But when it comes to anything to do with Sanji whether he is there or not... she somehow gets courage out of nowhere, she decides to head into the frontline on her own, she will claim that she is tough and strong. She forgets about far or close enemies

In summary, when Nami is with Sanji, she doesnt have to worry about anything except for ways to support him. She is at her strongest, bravest and most confident side.

What makes this interesting is when it comes to Robin, it is a given. As the only two women in the crew, that is to be expected, but why is Sanji the only one who is different in terms of bringing out the best of Nami? Why is he treated different than the other 2 monsters? Why is he treated different than all the other guys?

A quick note: I tried my best to include all Nami’s moments with the others (preferably alone) and re-read all of them but if I missed any then I am sorry about that😅. This here is why Nami is one of my favorite characters in One Piece, that is how I always saw Nami but if I made a mistake or overlooked something again I apologize but I doubt it will change what Nami’s character is about.

I dont know what will happen in the future (obviously) but until now, this has been the case. She might break one or maybe all the things I mentioned, but after 900+ of this right here, this has to mean something....

#nami #sanji #one piece #sanami #sanji x nami #sanjixnami #sannami #vinsmoke sanji #black leg #cat burglar nami #kuroashi no sanji

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hashtagartistlife · 5 years ago

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Do you have a license for all these hot takes? ▲ Unleash the other meta conversation. Please give use Ichigo.

Or not, apparently I don't know how to read and missed that you already did one for him. Oh well.

Even though I’ve already given my Hot Take about Ichigo (see here), I figured I can take this chance to write that meta I promised re: ichiruki’s double protag status, the meaning of ichigo’s name, and what it means to be a shounen hero. This will also sort of addresses the debacle a few months ago in regard to the Only well-worded, moderately coherent and somewhat valid IH meta I have read, which is also primarily about the meaning of ichigo’s name and how that ties in with the overall theme of protection throughout the manga. (I think the basis for the IH meta – that Ichigo only ever uses the serious form of the word ‘to protect’ for ORIHIME as an individual, and that the other times he uses them are for broader swathes of things—has been debunked in the comments, but since I don’t speak Japanese I really can’t figure out the validity of either side of the argument so I’ll take it as it is. Also, when I say ‘somewhat valid meta’, what I mean is in the context of the narrative I don’t think it’s valid at all, but at least there aren’t major glaring logical fallacies in the meta itself. The bar is so, so low for IH meta. I’m not even sure we can call most of their…. text-vomit… meta at all.

Anyway. Petty and off-topic.)

So, here goes: the meta about ichigo’s name and how it correlates to the theme of protection throughout the manga, what it means to be a shounen hero, and why and how those two things tie in with ichiruki’s double protag status!

Ichigo’s name is comprised of two kanji – one obviously the kanji for the number one, the other a kanji that means ‘to protect’. We all know this. This leads to Ichigo’s name potentially having two interpretations: ‘one protector’ (or as the official eng translation put it, the one who protects), or ‘to protect one thing’ (the translation used in the scanlator’s versions + official kr translation). Both would make sense given the context of the entire story, but I tend to think the latter version is slightly more relevant (not necessarily more accurate— just more relevant), mostly because in chapter 19, straight after hearing the meaning of his name, Ichigo goes on to single out one thing (one person) that he wants to protect—his mom.

(And why does he single out his mom for this honour? Because his mom always protected him. This is relevant a little later.)

He then does go on to say that as his sisters were born and he went to the dojo and got stronger, the list of things he wanted to protect grew, so it’s absolutely valid to read his name as just meaning ‘protector’. But, despite that, it’s very clear in the text that Ichigo always has one thing (person) that he wants to protect above all no matter what. This is the ‘one’ thing that he associates his identity of ‘protector’ to. Initially, it’s his mom—because when she dies, despite the ‘growing list of people he wants to protect’ still existing, Ichigo loses his sense of identity as ‘the protector’. Sure, he still protects his sisters, but it’s duty driving him— he no longer thinks of himself as a protector. How can he, when, in his view, he’s the one who practically killed his mother? His ‘growing list of people to protect’ halts to a stop, and years later, we see him telling Rukia that he’s ‘not a good enough guy to stick his neck out for other people’. This is a lie, as we all know, but it’s important that Ichigo is espousing this rhetoric. He has stopped actively wanting to protect.

So, despite Ichigo having an innate desire to protect, I would argue it’s conditional – 1) dependent on the one person he wants to protect the most (e.g. his mom, and, as I will argue in a moment, Rukia) being alive and well, because otherwise he just falls into despair and rejects his identity as protector, and 2) initially dependent on the subject of protection being someone close to him. Ichigo, despite having progressed to ‘I will definitely protect everybody’ by the tybw arc, did not start there—it was a progression! He starts off very small and quite selfish – first, the person most important to him, his mom. Then his family. Then his friends. Then friends of friends, then acquaintances, then—and so on. This is why I said Ichigo is self-centred: everything he does is dependent first and foremost on the things and people that are most important to him. (Which is fine for a normal person! Maybe not so fine as a shounen protagonist, though that part comes later.) Ichigo doesn’t start off with some lofty ideal to protect the whole world – compare that to Rukia, who lands in the story and immediately demands him to protect everybody, regardless of distance or convenience. As dux put it in his excellent meta, this is an instinct towards protection versus a philosophy of protection. Ichigo has an instinct to protect, like most people do! But Rukia has a philosophy of protection, which most people can’t even begin to fathom or try to emulate. (This will, again, be important for a later point in this post, but for now, back to ichigo’s name.)

So basically, we have established so far that: Ichigo’s name means one who protects or protector of one thing. But whichever interpretation we go by, it’s evident in the text that Ichigo has a… tether person, of sorts, that he ties the meaning of his name and his identity of ‘protector’ to—a person he wants to protect above all. Initially it’s his mom. But after his mom dies?

It’s Rukia.

It’s blatant. Ichigo being unable to save Rukia in ch56 broken coda is DIRECTLY paralleled with him being unable to save Masaki. At the end of the arc, in having saved Rukia, Ichigo regains his identity as protector finally gets some closure re: the Masaki era of his life: ‘the rain’s finally stopped’. It’s very clear that Rukia’s importance to his identity as protector is equivalent to the importance that Masaki had on it. Rukia has now become his ‘tether’; Rukia is now the person he wants to protect above all; Rukia is the one, who, should he fail to protect her, he would fall into despair and reject his protector identity again. He WAS a little down about being unable to protect Tatsuki, Chad, and Orihime in the HM arc, but it was nothing like the abject despair he experienced at Masaki’s death + Rukia being taken away for execution, and as soon as RUKIA comes back and affirms his identity, despite the fact of his failure still existing, Ichigo perks straight back up. Basically, failures to protect people other than Rukia get Ichigo down, but it’s not enough to keep him down as long as Rukia’s still standing.

Ichigo also consistently goes apeshit over Rukia’s safety in particular. He’s not spurred into action re: going to find the Vaizards until Rukia becomes hurt. He thinks of Yammy and Ulquiorra, but his eyes don’t glaze over black until he thinks of Grimmjow, who has hurt Rukia. He refuses to split up and Rukia specifically calls him out that it’s out of concern for HER safety. As soon as he feels Rukia being cut down, he immediately throws away the mission to go save her instead. And most importantly – what’s the main criteria for Ichigo deciding on the one he wants to protect the most? It’s the person who protects HIM. Rukia is one of the only people in the text who consistently protects Ichigo, physically, mentally, and emotionally. (She is also the only person that the text refers to as having ‘saved’ Ichigo. Nobody else gets this distinction.)

Alright! So Ichigo’s instinct towards protection has a self-centred bent to it, and the person at the centre of this instinct has gone from being Masaki to Rukia. So what now from here?

A little bit of a tangent: when I first read the chapter regarding the meaning of Ichigo’s name, I was a little taken aback, because – what a selfish name for a shounen protag, for someone who’s supposed to go on to become a hero of the world. Heroes don’t get to protect just one thing, they have to protect everybody! How is Ichigo going to be a shounen protag saving the whole world, if he’s only going to protect one thing?

To answer this question, we need to have a look at what makes a typical shounen protag. Look at Naruto, whose ‘ninja way’ has rehabilitated countless people, who eventually became Hokage, so that ‘his ninja way’ officially became adopted as the whole Leaf Village’s ‘ninja way’. Look at Luffy and his crew, whose carefree attitudes and ride-or-die comradeship between their crew members is widely admired and emulated. Look at Fairy Tail, where Natsu’s guild is the ideal for what a guild should be, and many guilds have reformed in their image with their values. What makes a typical shounen protagonist, I would argue, are two main things: an indisputable, unshakeable, almost inhumanly good ideal widely recognized within the canon as the way that things should be, and the faith, power, and drive necessary to rehabilitate people to this ideal and change the world so that it becomes closer to this ideal.

Naruto is the ideal of a ninja. Luffy and his crew are the ideal of a pirate crew. Natsu’s Fairy Tail guild is the ideal of a mage guild.

Is Ichigo the ideal of what a Shinigami should be?

Not initially! Initially, he’s just a prickly little kid with a shitload of trauma and depression to boot! Initially, his instinct to protect has a self-centred bent to it! Initially, he’s not even a Shinigami at all!

This is where Rukia comes in. Rukia and her philosophy of protection is the ideal of this series – she is what all Shinigami should be. The text isn’t even subtle about this—Rukia canonically has the most beautiful sword (soul) in all of Soul Society. Realistic or not, Rukia is the ‘absolute good’ of this universe—her ideal is, theoretically, the universal ideal.

But idealism alone doesn’t make Rukia the protagonist-- Rukia lacks the faith, power and drive necessary to turn people to her way of thinking and enact change, which is the other key component of a shounen protag. This is the part that Ichigo supplies—his complete and utterly unshakeable faith in Rukia and her values, the power necessary to back those values, and the ability to spread these values far and wide so that other people start to take up these values as well. I said above that Rukia’s philosophy of protection is so far-fetched that most people can’t even begin to fathom or emulate it—but Ichigo is not ‘most people’. He’s a shounen protag, goddammit! He has the ability to take up an ‘ideal’ that for most people would be impossible, and actually enact change towards that ideal.

This is why Ichigo and Rukia are double protagonists. Not because they were designed to be matchy-matchy or because of their avalanche of matching titles or whatever else. This is why. They are literally two halves of one shounen protagonist. Kubo called them sand and rotator in the side A and B poems, and he could NOT have picked a better analogy for them. Think of a watermill (or a sand mill, as the analogy is given), which is used to grind grain. The mill by itself cannot perform its purpose any more than the water by itself can magically grind the grain. The water needs to be driven by the wheel through the right mechanisms, and the wheel needs the water to actually function. Rukia drives Ichigo, points him in the right direction with her values, and Ichigo supplies the force necessary to enact change. Rotator, and sand. One protagonist, split into two.

(As a completely unrelated aside, I don’t know what it’s like in Japan, but in Korea ‘grinding the grain’ is a euphemism for sex, and watermills are inextricably associated with illicit liaisons. They’re the eastern world’s equivalent to the western world’s stables- any raunchy business conducted outside is usually conducted in a watermill.)

This is also why Ichigo’s name wasn’t something more all-encompassing. He can ‘protect one thing’ and still be a hero – as long as the ‘one thing’ he protects is Rukia. He wants to protect Rukia above all else, to the detriment of others, even (as evidenced by him turning away from rescuing Orihime to rescue Rukia)—but Rukia tells him no, no, I refuse to be protected by you, you have to protect the whole world. This is why it HAS to be Rukia for Ichigo – anyone with less than the absolute selfless ideal that Rukia has could never make Ichigo into the hero. Rukia turns Ichigo’s head to the whole world, opens his eyes to the possibility of protecting more than those in his immediate circle, makes him selfless enough to go through with it. Rukia makes Ichigo the hero. (Big aside: I’m not using ‘hero’ and ‘protag’ interchangeably here. Ichigo is the ‘hero’ of the narrative, but BOTH ichigo and rukia are the ‘protagonists’ of the story.)

But that isn’t the end of it. I have mentioned, in the past, that Bleach is not typical shounen, that it is structured more like YA lit and should be analysed as such. ‘But Sera! You just spent like 2 A4 pages talking about why Ichigo and Rukia are Standard Shounen Protags together!’ Ah but you see, that’s only initially. INITIALLY, Ichigo and Rukia need each other to become One Whole Stock Standard Shounen Protag. Rukia lacks faith and drive, Ichigo lacks ideal. They need the other to support their flaws, initially. To be completely honest, this is an excellent way to start an unhealthy codependent relationship. The most beautiful part about Ichiruki is that they don’t go down this path at all. They start becoming a whole shounen protag individually, by adopting the other person’s strength as their own. Rukia’s ideals inspire Ichigo, and by tybw, he is as avid about protecting everybody as Rukia is. Rukia sees Ichigo’s unrelenting faith in the fact that she is a good person worth saving, and starts believing in it herself and reciprocates in kind in HM and FB arcs. This is where the YA component comes in—YA protags, unlike typical Shounen Protags, don’t start off with an unapproachable ideal and the power+faith+drive necessary to change the world with it. They GROW into it. That is what Ichigo and Rukia are doing—they are both growing throughout the whole story to fit their protagonist roles, so that eventually, they can become One Whole Independent protagonist on their own.

It’s a beautiful, perfectly balanced, ironic jigsaw puzzle: Rukia had the ideal, but didn’t have the ability to turn others to this ideal. The only person she turned to it was Ichigo, but that was enough—Ichigo turns everyone else to it as well, overcoming centuries of tradition. Ichigo had the faith and drive, but no-one to put it behind. The only person he put it behind was Rukia, and that was enough—she and her values guide his choices and actions, and he becomes heroic. Ichigo and Rukia each failed one criteria for being a shounen protag, except with each other, BUT THAT WAS ENOUGH. Affecting and changing just one person—each other—was enough to set everything in motion.

A couple other points that I couldn’t find a place to fit into the essay cohesively, but think they’re still worth a mention:

Rukia says ‘all souls should be protected’, and she enacts this by protecting Ichigo, who is a hybrid of all the different soul types present in the narrative: human, quincy, hollow, reaper. Ichigo, despite being such a mixed entity, identifies firmly as shinigami, not because the shinigami convinced him with their ironclad, lofty morals but because Rukia did.

If Ichigo’s main flaw is being self-centred and tunnel visioned + a weird sort of superiority/hero complex, then Rukia’s main flaw is probably the exact opposite - despite having this incredible ideal, her lack of faith in herself + her tendency to obey the system in all but the most dire, life-threatening situations. Even their flaws are a perfect balancing act, mitigating each other out. (Rukia’s main flaws I probably want to go into in a bit more detail some other time, since it’s not something the fandom in general has much discussion on.)

So! In summary, the tl,dr version:

Ichigo’s name means ‘protector’ or ‘to protect one thing’ (both versions have been used in official translations). The latter is more relevant, as I have explained above. This ‘one thing’ initially is his mom, but by the end of the SS arc, it has very firmly become Rukia, again evidence listed above.

This had the potential to be problematic, as it’s not very heroic of someone to want to protect just one person, to hell with everyone else. BUT the narrative sidesteps that by making Ichigo and Rukia two halves of one shounen protagonist, and making them work best when they are together.

Shounen protags require two components: an ideal, and the ability+desire to enact that ideal. Rukia had the former, Ichigo had the latter. That’s why it’s not problematic for Ichigo to want to protect just one person most— because that one person is actually the ‘ideal moral standard’ of their entire universe, and she keeps telling him to use his powers for good and not just her.

But that’s not even all. Initially, they need the other to become ‘whole’, so to speak— but they don’t stay that way. Ichigo and Rukia have an immensely positive impact on each other, and help each other grow to adopt the best traits of the other and become a hero in their own right. Again, this is why they are both protagonists— because both of them kept growing and changing, right up to the final arc.

So, even though it’s been said a million times before, it bears repeating: Bleach genuinely is a story about Ichigo and Rukia, both of whom felt a little displaced in their own worlds and had trouble making connections. They connected with each other, and only then could their immense capacity for good could start changing the world. That’s really the crux of it— that it had to be each other for these two, not anybody else. Nobody else could bring out the best in them except for the other. They would never have become this extraordinary had it not been for the other person recognising their inherent value. It absolutely had to be Rukia for Ichigo, and vice versa. It’s always going to be the Ichigo and Rukia show.

#replies #bleach #bleach meta #ichiruki #fangirl life #i dont often ask people to read my meta but everyone should read this one #i feel very strongly about this meta #masshiro--ni #q&a

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elencelebrindal · 5 years ago

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Honest Opinion - Sagittarius Sisyphus

I really hope I wrote his name right

Overall score (character, not looks): 8/10

After a not so explainable delay, I’m finally presenting to you the man of a lot of people’s dreams. Maybe not mine, but a lot nonetheless. Now, Sisyphus. What can I say about him? Honestly, a lot and not enough at the same time, mostly because I have contrasting feelings about him. As I often say, don’t get me wrong. I pretty much enjoy his character, and I wouldn’t have give him such a high score if it was the opposite, but... there’s something about him that seems too much. Namely, his deep-rooted faith in Athena and his faithfulness to her.

I know some of you might say “but op, why are you saying this, when you praised Aiolos to the stars?”, and you’d be right, but hear me out. Sisyphus is a little bit too exaggerated for my liking, to the point of his guilt about having hurt her willingly trapping him. That’s not just his personality showing, at least as I saw it, but his faith in Athena paired with the pain he thought he inflicted her made him a weigh more than a useful character. Also, the fact that only Athena managed to save him from himself... Sisyphus chose to be sealed away in the middle of a Sacred War, knowing he was a crucial Saint thanks to his power, just because he felt guilty about his goddess.

This is the “too much” I was talking about. This kind of behavior put a lot of lives at risk, and I don’t want to accept this as something a Gold Saint should do. Instead of helping, he eventually lead to El Cid’s death, and you cannot convince me otherwise. Hadn’t Sisyphus did that, he would have survived, if only a little bit more. And I’m bitter about it. His mistake brought death to other Saints, and I didn’t like it at all.

[Italian dub digression]

Let’s talk about his Italian voice actor for a second. A man that I both love and dislike as Sisyphus’ voice, because he seems both too young in some cases and absolutely perfect in others. Though, I can’t complain, he’s one of my favorites after all, and I quite like him on the Sagittarius Saint.

The voice actor is called Renato Novara, and is notably known for being the voice actor for Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece, 2nd voice), Ezio Auditore da Firenze (Assassin’s Creed II - Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood), Ted Mosby (How I Met Your Mother), Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood), Jesse Anderson, Leo, Yuma Tsukumo, Dennis McField (respectively Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, 5D’s, ZeXal and Arc V), Neito Monoma (My Hero Academia) and many many more.

If you’re curious about his performance as Sisyphus, here’s the link: La Promessa di Sisyphus

[End of the dub digression]

Now, of course it doesn’t end here. Because there is a reason why his score is so high, despite so much criticism I have against him. And it’s one particular scene. The scene where, while he’s trapped in his nightmare, Sisyphus challenges Athena and instead of the Gold Cloth he wears a Surplice.

Now that is something truly memorable, that I will always love for how painful and heartbreaking it is. Seeing Sisyphus being so hurt and guilty that he literally rejects the Gold Cloth in favor of the armor wore by the enemy... damn, it hit right in the chest (yeah, ah-ha, I know, I’m not funny). I’m kinda convinced that Sisyphus wearing a Surplice had been done as some form of compensation for not seeing Aiolos as a Specter, but hey, who am I to speak my mind.

But honestly speaking, that scene, that scene with Sisyphus crying tears of blood, so painfully guilty and conflicted with himself, to the point of shooting an arrow towards his goddess... yeah, that scene got him the score he has. Still not enough to justify a mistake that ended precious lives, but enough to make me love his anime version with only a few doubts. His fierce intervention against Hades is worthy of note as well, Sisyphus was so determined he counteracted a god’s cosmo just to try and protect Athena. That’s a feat and a half, let me tell you. Too bad that when the arrow backfired at him his entire likability went horribly downhill for me, until the Surplice scene.

However, I recognize him as a honest character, true to his words (as we see when he promises he will protect Athena to Tenma), and extremely caring. He has a good heart, Sisyphus shows it during one of El Cid’s flashbacks, and loves his friends and companions. That’s a good person, if I’ve ever seen one, even though a person with one mistake too many.

#saint seiya #saint seiya the lost canvas #saint seiya lost canvas #lost canvas #the lost canvas #I Cavalieri dello Zodiaco #il mito del re degli inferi #il mito di ade #Los Caballeros del Zodiaco #sagittarius sisyphus #sagittarius #sisyphus #my opinion #honest opinion

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neverwatchedonepiece · 6 years ago

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617: "Caesar's Defeat! The Powerful Grizzly Magnum!"

Basically Caesar: “REEEEEEEEEEEEE, SCIENCE!!!”

Only had time for one episode today but caught a snippet of the preview and it seems like posting for one episode here will fit in terms of the story arc.

Caesar is down and out, Law has done what he came to do, and Luffy has executed step one of his plan to kick ass and kidnap! Now all he needs is the fantastically badass Usopp to come through with the cuffs and step two will be on the cards!

It’s all a matter of escaping Punk Hazard with Caesar in tow, plus Law, the Strawhats, a bunch of kids and maybe some surviving Minions and the G5 and Smoker and Tashigi and Foxfire and Momonosuke and Brownbeard.

Yeah, I hope Franky has some extra bed rolls hidden away in storage because that is a lot of extra bodies on Sunny.

Sanji will be fine. He worked at Baratie. He’s used to mass catering.

Law Tries Out His Stand Up Material On Vergo

In other news, Vergo is still alive. I kind of hoped Law might have taken him out but this is One Piece and you guys have always said that Oda sees a future for most of his characters. (Even Wapol. Yes, I am still salty about Wapol.) Smoker was on the ground, breathing hard. Getting fresh air for once, instead of dat tasty tobacco.

Vergo is also still shit-talking. “You broke the gear? There’s no turning back? That’s hysterical.”

Brave for a guy who was (at that point) in two pieces with a building crumbling rapidly around him. Not to mention the noxious clouds of gas.

Then he used his hands to spring from the ground and attack Law. He was Roomed and doomed in two seconds, chopped into fractions and hung on the railings. (Approaching Nightmare Fuel territory if you think too much about it.)

Vergo totally reminds me of the Black Knight from Monty Python’s Life of Brian. If you’ve never heard of it, he’s basically this dude who keeps getting up and shit-talking his opponents even after the removal of all his limbs. It’s funny. Vergo even made a joke about it. “How will I eat breakfast tomorrow?” Yeah, he almost went full Black Knight there.

Except for the little serious turn when he threatened Law with Doflamingo’s past.

“How dare you, Law? This is an upset. But I know you’re going to regret it. Keep that in mind. You don’t know Joker’s past and that will cost you your life. Upstarts like you can’t hope to take over the world. It’s filled with those who are much stronger. Tell him, Smoker!”

First of all, why was he appealing to Smoker to back him up like a kid in a playground? The brazen cheek of it. As if. I’m glad Smoker blanked him and sparked up a fat Cuban cigar.

Secondly, what is all this about Doflamingo’s past? Why would that matter to Law? I’m trying to think what could possibly affect Law as much as Vergo says and I’m drawing a blank.The only thing that might be a bit meh is if Doflamingo was once a Marine. We already had that twist with Vergo.

At any rate, Law had had enough with Vergo running his mouth, and chopped his head into two pieces.

“Don’t worry about me. Just worry about yourself. This room will explode soon. Goodbye, Vergo the pirate.”

I ain’t bothered about Vergo. That guy is too arrogant for his own good and Law gave him a well-deserved taste of defeat. I just hope Law took Smoker with him.(It’d be hilarious if Law carried Smoker over his shoulder and they ran into Zoro carrying Tashigi over his shoulder. xD)

Speaking of Well-Deserved Tastes of Defeat...

This guy...

I love a charismatic, melodramatic, total piece of crap villain, but Oda did a great job of making me loathe Caesar here. I think Luffy lamping him square on the chops unhinged him a little. Law destroying the SAD factory and the labs as a result probably finished Caesar off. His arrogance and cruelty was off the charts! I thought Spandam was bad. Caesar makes Spanda look like a playground bully.

I loved how when he realised Law had unleashed merry hell, Caesar’s reaction was, “Damn! Who caused that? I bet it was Law. What is Vergo doing? You Strawhats RUINED MY PARADISE!”

His paradise. Wow, that sure does give you a little peek into this dude’s mind.

And it gets better.

Caesar had a last-ditch plan to defeat Luffy. He called his Minions in the Secret Room. “R-Building, can you hear me? Secret Room, come in! Open the air vents now! Let Shinokuni flow into this room.”

The Minions, understandably, were reticent to do this because they are the kind of people who, like the Strawhats, look after their own. They asked, “but wouldn’t it kill our guys?”

Caesar was like, “Well, I’m a gas man. I’m not gonna die. You’re just guinea pigs. No one would care if hundreds of you died. You are just the dregs of society! What are you doing? Hurry up. I can find replacements for you fools so easily.”

Uh oh.

The mask came off. Caesar must have been so riled that he didn’t care if everyone saw his true nature. The poor, deluded Minions still clung to their vision of Caesar as their benevolent Master, their saviour.

“Oh, the Master is trying to fool the enemies. He must have a plan to do with the gas. It would hurt him to know we suspected him.”

Hurt him? Mate, Caesar has no feelings to be hurt. He has an ego the size of Laboon. That’s not the same thing.

So, of course the Minions pulled the lever. Shinokuni flowed into the room. And I had a facepalm moment at those poor, brainwashed Minions.

Caesar Does A Moria

“Yes! About time,” Caesar shouted. “Dregs shouldn’t think. Now, become my power, Shinokuni. Look, Strawhat! Look at his amazing appearance. This is my scientific power. Through this experiment, two countries have already expressed interest in the weapon. They are both quite peaceful but when humans get serious about defending themselves, they’ll look for any way possible to kill their enemies. Everybody needs me! I’ll spread weapons all over the world and become King of the Land of Death.”

There are a couple of things to unpack here.

First of all, Caesar is completely demented. I mean, that was always obvious. But that ambition of his is twisted and terrifying. Worse, that Doflamingo gave him the traction to actually make it happen.

Secondly, he’s insane but he’s not stupid. Caesar has an eye for business and is, weirdly, able to charm people into believing his bullshit. He also knows the darker side of human nature and how to exploit it, like he has done with those peaceful islands. He is also smug in the knowledge that big shots in governments everywhere will always want him in their corner, so there will always be a place for someone like him. That was a definite Art Mirroring Life moment right there. Harsh but true, I guess. The guy who first split the atom and invented the atomic bomb was a hot commodity, right?

Third, Caesar basically did a Gekko Moria. Caesar took it a step further because he actually gleefully killed all his Minions. Moria just took the shadows back from already dead bodies. This was the logical conclusion of Caesar seeing other people as objects or commodities to be manipulated, used or destroyed as he sees fit. The way he happily killed them all was just nasty. “It’s amazing, if I do say so myself. Look at how fast it acts on their nerves. It’s almost an art!” And when they begged him to stop, “I am your saviour and I can make efficient use of you good-for-nothings. You are just crumbs. You should not stand against your Master. Die like dogs!”

Crumbs. Dogs. Guinea pigs. Caesar always uses dehumanising language on his poor Minions. And everyone else for that matter. He really is a psychotic, nasty piece of work. If this guy is working for Doflamingo, I cannot wait to see what a horrible bastard Doflamingo turns out to be. xD

Caesar’s Off The Deep End Behaviour and his treatment of his own people caused Luffy to have the veiniest, super frown I have seen on his face so far. Luffy does not like people who betray and used their own crew/soldiers/comrades.

Luffy said to Momo, “Look after Brownbeard.” Then ran in the opposite direction. Of course, I knew Luffy was just looking to gain some distance. Caesar, of course, mistook it for Luffy chickening out all of a sudden.

There was one person who knew with absolute certainty that this was not the case.

Usopp Was Awesome Here

Can I just talk for a moment about how awesome Usopp was here?

All through this arc, he’s been ridiculously brave. He volunteered to split up with Brook and Foxfire so he could work on his own to find the Sea Prism Stone cuffs for Luffy. He was creeping round the labs on his own and when he found the Secret Room, he did not run upon being confronted with a full squad of Minions. He simply used his smarts to evade capture. Because he knew there was something in there of value and Luffy needed his help.

When the Minions saw Caesar’s true nature over the DDM feed and were finally like, “OMG this guy is awful.” Usopp just walked up to them and said, “I know you’re all broken hearted here but could I sit in that control seat for a second? I wanna save my friends from the gas.”

See that? Usopp’s loyalty to his friends trumps all sense of fear.

When the Minions tried to shake Usopp by saying, “Yeah, you’ll never escape because your Captain just cut and run. He left you guys behind.“ Usopp was Not Having One Bit Of It.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa... Are you dissing our captain right in front of me? If he were the kind of person who’d betray us, this whole thing would’ve been much easier for me. I would’ve just run away with my tail between my legs. But he never, ever stops believing in us. So we have no choice but to support him. We pledged to live up to his expectations as long as we can breathe!”

There you have it. Right from the horse’s mouth. Luffy’s faith in his crew inspires them to greater heights. And in Usopp, this is bravery. Absolutely beautiful.

And when the Minions said, “But what can we do? We can’t beat such a powerful man?” (Referring to Caesar) Usopp replied, “Yes, you can. You guys should just believe in our Captain. Caesar is the type of person that Luffy hates the most. Luffy won’t forgive Caesar.”

Usopp knows Luffy pretty well.

That Grizzly Magnum was really something else. I was expecting it to take out Caesar straight awayt but I liked that it didn’t. Caesar is the kind of villain who needs to have his pride thoroughly broken and to taste bitter, bitter defeat. If not, he’ll just tank the hit, pick himself up again and it’s back to his same old tricks.

The best portrayal of that was when Caesar was wrestling with Luffy, the Shinokuni slowly turning his hands to white powder, and he screamed, “Kneel before my power!”

Luffy will never kneel to anyone. Now, I’m not sure what those pulses of power were that drove Caesar back (Conqueror’s Haki?) but Luffy’s hit finally landed and, in a perfect moment of symbolism, Caesar’s self-made crown shattered.

He is no longer the tyrannical ruler of Punk Hazard. Caesar’s reign has come to an end.

And I can’t wait to see what happens next, because Doflamingo sent one of his lackeys to help him out.

The plot chickens.

Well, you’re gonna kidnap him, so that might be a tough one to get round.

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swans-anime-ramblings · 7 years ago

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An examination of LuNa in Strong World

*note: I’ve had quite a few new followers in the past 10 days or so, hooray! But because of that, I just thought I’d give a quick FYI. I occasionally post about LuNa on my blog, so if that isn’t your jam, no worries! Just block the lunami tag so you don’t have to be subjugated to my ramblings on this specific topic 😊. I always tag accordingly, so you don’t have to worry. I hope we can still be friends!*

Let me start off by saying that I don’t consider myself a multi-fandom hardcore shipper. I definitely enjoy certain ships, but on the whole I’d say I don’t particularly care who ends up with who for most of the anime/manga I’m into. However, LuNa is a whole different story. It really is my OTP.

I’ll admit, I resisted becoming attached to LuNa. I wanted to keep an open mind, and honestly, shipping complicates things. It sets you up for monumental disappointment because there’s a chance your ship will not become canon. And if this happens (and it happens a lot), it taints your experience. I’ve never believed you should invest in a story solely for shipping, but the disappointment remains all the same.

For me, Strong World was a big factor in shipping these two. I remember smiling and thinking, “yeah...I want these two to find romance.” And so, I think it’s high time for me to go through their biggest moments in the movie and why I think they have meaning. Be warned, this gets lengthy!

1. Luffy is Nami’s emotional anchor/ support

This is one of LuNa shippers’ biggest arguments in favor of them finding romance, so I won’t explain why this is a thing, but I think there’s two major instances in the movie.

When Shiki first abducts Nami in the beginning of the movie, Luffy yells for her and his attention is focused on her while everything else is in chaos. She immediately responds by yelling his name back, but it’s too late and he’s knocked away. I think this exchange sets up the movie being about their relationship, and reinforces that their bond is strong.

The second, and perhaps more potent time, is when Nami hears of Shiki’s plan to wreck the East Blue. She’s napping inside the house when Xaio comes in excitedly because her friend’s dad came home. Shiki is leaving and he’s going to destroy the East Blue. After Nami hears this horrible news, she immediately says, “Luffy” as she gets up and goes to find him. She’s dazed, scared, and there’s a terrifying situation about to happen. Saying his name is completely reactionary because he is her rock.

2. Luffy and Nami find each other

Unlike the other Strawhats who were separated into groups, Luffy is completely on his own. It’s a convenient, purposeful way to give them some time alone when they happen to meet-up. Nami sees the Sunny and she exclaims, “Sunny-go!” And then moments later Luffy runs out of the forest, sees Sunny and also exclaims, “Sunny-go!” Luffy sees Nami and starts running towards her. Some hilarity ensues, but luckily Billy is there to save the day.

3. Luffy’s tenderness toward Nami

Normally, I wouldn’t peg Luffy as a “tender” guy. He’s usually getting into all sorts of trouble, is brutally honest, yells a lot and has a monstrous appetite. In this movie there’s a couple instances where Luffy’s boisterous nature is calmed, and here we can find Luffy focused on taking care of Nami.

After they are reunited, Luffy is cooking up some food and turns toward Nami giving her a tender smile while he tells her to eat. She refuses since it’s scorpion, but I love his moment. That smile is so irresistible.

Another good tender moment is after they’ve reunited with some of the other crew. Everyone is exhausted and Xaio’s mom invites them to come in and rest. As far as I can tell, it was an open offer, and before anyone has a chance to respond, Luffy says,“Nami. Why don’t you go and do that?” He knows she’s been through a lot, and gives her an opportunity to rest without any other interference. When the crew sleeps outside, Luffy is the one closest to do the door.

This type of quiet caring is the right type of caring. It’s natural, non-intrusive, and has such a lovely feel. Nami is an independent woman, so smothering is annoying to her. I think Luffy cares for her instinctively like this since he’s not the type to do things that are unwanted. For Nami, I feel this works best for her.

4. They’re comfortable with each other

One of things I love about the scene where Luffy and Nami are reunited is how relaxed they are talking to one another. I feel like there’s this common misconception that Nami is yelling at Luffy every waking moment of the day, but that’s simply not true. I bet they talk like this often. While Nami is changing, she’s asking Luffy where everyone is and he responds while cooking his scorpion. Honestly, this feels to me like a couple who has come home from a long day at work. After they’ve been reunited, someone starts cooking while the other gets out of their work clothes. “How was your day?” “oh just fine. It’s been busy at the office since everyone is off for vacation.”

Their comfortability with one another is shown again just a short time later when Nami is riding on Luffy’s shoulders with her hands gently sitting on top of his head. While flying, they’re casually discussing where the rest of the crew might be. I feel like if Nami were in this situation with anyone else, she’d be furious, or at least we would’ve seen her temper flare before accepting her fate.

Luffy is angry at Nami

This right here is the big one. After Luffy and the others are pulled out of Shiki’s trap, Luffy is somber because he’s lost. Ussop says, “she went with Shiki to save our hometowns” and everyone, including Luffy, heard Ussop say this. Luffy doesn’t react beyond continuing to look defeated.

When they start playing the message Nami left them, Luffy hears Nami’s words about how they (i.e him) isn’t strong enough to face Shiki. And Luffy is furious. His hands start shaking and he starts screaming. It makes him so angry that he goes and punches a rock out of frustration.

This isn’t like Luffy at all. And interestingly enough, we have something to compare it to. Robin’s departure from the Strawhat’s is over the same circumstance. Robin leaves so that the crew will not die because she believes they aren’t strong enough to face the World Government. After the failed attempt to rescue Robin, the crew explains what happened to Luffy. His response is seen below (also shutout to Luffy+Nami yelling at each other over it hahaha).

Now, he’s definitely angry but there’s one key difference. Luffy is angry at Robin for not worrying about her own safety, not because Robin doesn’t believe Luffy is strong enough. He isn’t taking her leaving personally.

But he does take it personally with Nami.

This idea of Nami “not believing Luffy is strong enough” fits in the category of things that you absolutely DO NOT say to a man you’re in a relationship with, in real life. This is a thing, and even an implication of “you’re not strong enough” can be hurtful. I’ve seen this firsthand. But for confirmation I googled “things a woman shouldn’t say to a man they’re in a relationship with” and got a bunch of listicles (some of which were weird, I grant you). However, in the ones written by men, this was close to top. Here’s a random one I found.

From Glamour Magazine:

4. “He’d kick your ass.”

Telling us that anyone--even a grizzly bear or some sort of terminator from the future--- can beat us up is equivalent to us flipping through a magazine and physically pointing out the women we think are betting looking than you. It’s ridiculous, I know, but we like to think we’re tough (true story: an ex told me her friend, a mixed martial artist,could kick my ass--- my response: “not at Jeopardy”).

And absolutely, a couple of men don’t speak for the whole of masculinity, but I think it’s safe to say a lot of men would feel this way. Luffy’s reaction tells me Nami’s words cut. He was expecting the trust he places in her to be reciprocated (to quote Warlordgab). The idea that she didn’t was too much for him and he reacted. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this angry at one of his crew members.

Luffy protects Nami’s honor

Despite Luffy being furious with Nami, he will not allow her to appear weak in front of Shiki, who makes fun of her sacrifice. “You’re an idiot,” Luffy scowls. “Nami didn’t sacrifice herself, she just came to fight as our vanguard, is all!” before the Strawhats begin shooting up the palace. What’s funny about Luffy’s statement is it’s truer than he thinks. But she was gone and could not defend herself, so he did instead.

Luffy holds a grudge

Luffy’s anger toward Nami isn’t just a gut reaction. He stays angry at her, and when I watched this movie for the first time I was surprised. You can feel his anger when he’s about to beat the crap out of Shiki. “Nami. I’m gonna beat this guy up and then we’re going home.” He can’t talk with her about his anger until later, so he doesn’t even mention it, but it’s written all over his face. Even though he’s angry, he reaffirms to Chopper and Ussop to take care of Nami. Again, I feel like this is an accurate response to how a real man would act if they were in a similar situation.

Luffy scowling while fishing would probably be funnier if the circumstances hadn’t been so serious, but it’s evident he’s been by himself stewing for a while. When Nami is better, Luffy lets Nami know EXACTLY what he thinks. “You said some really mean things! I can’t believe you didn’t have faith in me after all this time!” And it’s then, the truth is revealed.

Nami is embarrassed at her message

At the very end of Nami’s message, she quietly asks to come be saved and doesn’t want Luffy to hear it now that the situation has been resolved. Sanji says it was “a message of love,” and Nami doesn’t even deny it. She just moves on to the next thing which is..something.

I think the reason Nami is embarrassed by the message, is that it does show her care for Luffy. Nami says that she directed the message to him because “you’re denser than anyone else”. So Nami, in the middle of Shiki breathing down her neck, is worried that Luffy will be angry by the message she’s being forced to give, and tries to say something so he understands. That she DOES believe in him, and she wants him to come get her. Nami understands Luffy.

What does all of this mean?

Well, that’s a good question. Because at this point in the game, are we really seeing “romantic love” from these two? I don’t think so, despite some of their reactions normally stemming from romantic love. So what is it then?

Recently, a good friend of mine has been going through One Piece. He is extremely analytical to the detriment of him enjoying shows at times. He told me admittedly that he doesn’t care about shipping nor does he pick up on shipping cues. As he’s watched One Piece, shipping isn’t a thing I’ve ever asked him about.

He watched Strong World right after finishing Thriller Bark, and this is what he had to say while giving me his thoughts on the movie.

"Luffy and Nami have a cool relationship. It’s an unstated love that’s purely platonic but incredibly strong. It’s not brought up much but I have sensed it.”

Honestly, I was wowed by his statement. He was able to put into words something I was having a hard time categorizing. The movie makes them feel like more, but at the same time it’s not romantic. This bond, which at the time of Strong World is platonic but strong nonetheless. They care for each other deeply and they have a special relationship.

So how does it progress?

Have you ever fallen in love with your best friend? I have, and I can tell you there was a single moment when everything became crystal clear to me. Afterward, I spent hours trying to sift through my feelings. When, exactly, did my caring for him transition to love? Did I always love him and was incredibly dense? Or was it gradual, and like a flower, it had been growing for some time beneath the surface and had just sprouted?

Yes…I think that was it. The seed; our friendship. The water; our caring for one another. The earth; the time we spent together. The sun; our shared laughter.

I think this analogy best describes Luffy and Nami, too. As my friend picked up, there’s something beneath the surface, something strong and lovely. Will Oda give it a chance to bloom? I don’t know, but I hope so.

I really hope so 😊

#LuNa #lunami #luffyxnami #luffy #nami

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loofiedee · 7 years ago

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whats your favorite thing about zolu ?

INHALES SHARPLY anon you know not what you have done. you’re going to get a lot more than you asked for

Mutual trust and respect

There’s so many moments when they express their absolute faith in eachother.

My favorite is probably at the very beginning of the series when Luffy first sets out to recruit Zoro. We know he respects Zoro, he respects Zoro for his kindness and his honor and eventually once he gets to see what he can do he respects him for his ability.The entirety of chapter six is just an exchanging of trust between them and it’s really delightful to read.

And then less than 10 minutes after meeting this guy, he shows how much he trusts him-- It’s a long series of panels that I couldn’t really include here without just including two whole pages, but it’s in chapter 6, towards the end. he turns his back to an enemy with a smile on his face. Completely confident, because he’s know zoro for all of 5 minutes and he already trusts Zoro with his life. He can only trust zoro more as time goes on.

Friendship and Found Family

I don’t think this one needs explaining or examples but I’m going to give you some anyway

The entire crew is a case of found family but... I appreciate how much they love and cherish eachother. And I thought it was worth mentioning

They motivate each other. Luffy wants to be the best captain he can for his crew (and Zoro) and Zoro wants to be the best swordsman he can for his crew (and his captain)they push each other and they inspire each other.

Zoro gets how Luffy thinks, and Luffy gets how Zoro thinks. They think the same way and it works, and it makes them a great team and a great crew. They’re both big softies and big dumb/bad/smart asses and I think that’s beautiful.

My personal favorite: Luffy makes Zoro laugh.

(chapter 21(?))

Almost every time Zoro laughs in the series, it’s probably Luffy who made him laugh somehow and that really gets me ////

Devotion

“I’d die for you, but more than anything I’d live for you”

We know Zoro would die and live for Luffy. As much as I’d love to talk about all the ways he shows it and cry a little in the process, I think that’s already been talked about enough.I put a lot of focus on what Luffy does for Zoro in this list because I feel like a lot of times (even in my own hcs and writing) the focus is on Zoro.I know why. Luffy is a happy-go-lucky, hopeful, he runs through the series with a smile or a snarl on his face most of the time. The rest of the characters were given emotionally intense arcs before him, and their arcs gave them quality time with Luffy and showcased their love for him.

Luffy’s emotional development was two arcs crammed very close together and a lot of stuff all at once. He didn’t get a specific dramatic moment where he thought about Zoro and knew everything would be okay, like Zoro got for him.

The moments when Luffy shows his devotion are subtle. They’re small and quiet. They’re when Luffy offers Zoro his lunch, they’re when he protects Zoro’s dream, fighting by Zoro’s side.It’s when he charges in recklessly to protect Zoro.It’s when he accepts his death because he thinks Zoro and the rest of his crew, the people he love, are dead.It’s when he wants to die so badly he tries to beat himself to death, when he’s so lost he doesn’t want to find a way out. It’s when he thinks of his crew. He thinks of Zoro. and he can live again. It still hurts, but he has a reason to get past the pain.

This is just as much a show of devotion as Zoro risking his life for Luffy, being willing to die for him, getting on his hands and knees in front of Mihawk for him, surviving for him.

#roronoa zoro #monkey d. luffy #zolu #zoro #luffy #long post #Anonymous

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portgas-d-aroace · 2 years ago

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ik i already reblogged this but actually i wanna talk more about this (spoilers for the good place and one piece up through wci ahead!)

okay so luffy right. he's an absolute dumbass, never thinking things through and always doing reckless things that cause his crew to clean up after him. he's dumb and impulsive and that's one of the things we absolutely adore about him. but you know one thing he's not stupid at ALL about?

people.

luffy KNOWS people. he has an uncanny knack for figuring out just what a person needs from him, whether or not he actually knows anything about the person before he helps them. - he knows that he can't just take down arlong without nami asking, even knowing how much nami's hurting, because even if he does win, nami would see it as endangering her family and community. she thinks she has it handled (and she would've if arlong wasn't a cheating piece of shit!!). he waits until she ASKS him for help, and then he takes him down. - he knows that in order to save vivi's country, he needs to take down crocodile. vivi's idealistic and somewhat naive at the beginning of the alabasta arc, and thinks that she can save her country without any violence, but luffy knows that's not how it works. he helps her realize this and in the end convinces her that they need to prioritize crocodile, and that unfortunately she cannot save everyone. - he knows that robin is being forced into leaving the crew, into believing that sacrificing herself is the only way to save the straw hats. as soon as he gets confirmation that robin doesn't ACTUALLY want to leave the crew, he immediately knows what she needs, and during the confrontation at the tower of justice, he strikes right to the core of robin's issues and gets her to admit that she does in fact want to live. - he knows that sanji's hurting a LOT during the wci arc, and even when sanji spits every insulting thing possible at luffy and even makes NAMI doubt that he wants to come back to the crew, luffy never doubts sanji one bit. part of this is definitely luffy's undying faith in his crew, but he's also RIGHT that all of these people would rather die than hurt luffy, and that there must be something really really wrong if sanji's doing all this. he knows this, and he doesn't abandon his crew unless they actually Want to go.

this happens again and again and again and AGAIN with luffy. luffy's so so good with people, with giving them hope and knowing exactly what they need. he's so stupid but SO emotionally intelligent, and this is just one reason as to why i love him so much.

and as for mister jason mendoza, he is genuinely the HEART of the good place crew. all of the core six characters have issues that they work through during the whole of the series. jason's issues are his impulsiveness and desire to do what he wants regardless of the consequences. but he's also the one member that seems to figure out exactly what the other people in the group need, again and again and again. - he's eleanor's confidante from day one, being the one that she can relate most to. they're always bouncing off each other during the whole series, from high-fiving when they make stupid jokes to untimately being one of the ones to teach her how to let herself care about others again. of course this is helped by chidi and tahani too, but jason's the one that gets her from day one. - the scene that specifically stands out in my mind for chidi and jason is when chidi's overthinking (as he does) his and eleanor's relationship, thinking that he's too boring for her and they're too different. jason turns it around and asks if he deserves janet, saying that they're also really different people, and chidi immediately says that of course they can stay together, different isn't a bad thing. jason connects what he said to his doubts about his and eleanor's relationship as a sort of "gotcha", and it helps chidi a lot. jason is so GOOD at reading people and i adore him. - and of course jason and tahani. when they first get together, tahani is still really self-absorbed and only really cares about/sees her own struggles (hence her seeking therapy with janet). jason is honest when they do that group therapy session and says that tahani's hurt him by not acknowledging the fact that he's human and has feelings and wants and desires too, and he manages to get through to tahani by doing this. he's the one that does the most for breaking tahani out of her shell and making her figure out how to care again. - last but CERTAINLY not least: janet. jason makes a robot want to be human!!! janet of course starts off with the capability to develop feelings and be treated as a human, but jason's the one that actually treats her as one first. everyone else sees her as a resource, but when she gets rebooted that first time jason sees through her and realizes that she can be just as human as the rest of them. she falls for him and he falls for her and he teaches her emotions!!! i love these two a lot if you couldn't tell

luffy and jason are both described as the heart of their respective groups, and it's their emotional intelligence that links them together and makes them incredibly similar characters in this regard (and a lot of others - luffy would LOVE jason’s molotov cocktail). love these two dumbasses and their effect on the people around them <3

monkey d luffy and jason mendoza, there's something there with these idiots. there's a connection

#one piece #the good place #meta #monkey d. luffy #jason mendoza

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monkeydluffy19920 · 8 years ago

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Chapter 856 - review

New chapter brought something we all been waiting for, Sanji and Luffy back together ! (well technically it happened already in last chapter but this is where the most important things happened)

Let’s start with Bobbin who is shot. Honeslty I thought he would be capable to do more but somehow understand that Oda wanted to keep him away from Sanji and Luffy. We only get to know that there are 3 shadows Bobbin sees before collapsing. So the big question is who did it? These all again just guesses but I think there are few good culprits and the first one that crossed my mind was Capone and his gang who decide to backstab. I think @yakkionigirizoro summed up this so well here so all I can say is that it is highly possible that this theory would become true. I mean we have a gang that reminds us of mafia and secondly Capone really hasn’t been much around, weird isn’t it?

The we have Judge and others partying at BM’s castle. It seems like they have had some sort of drinking competition and they just talk trash like always. If Sanji only heard that Nami is “it” for them he’d be so pissed off.

While we discussed with @ayumiyui about this newest chapter she brought up a interesting detail, that even though Sanji’s brothers have had lots of girls around (Cosette, Puding and now those barmaids) still, Nami is the only one they seem to want. So maybe their interest in Cat Burglar will offer us a chance to see something like Sanji lashing out totally if they end up threatening Nami later. Again referring to his words back in Skypiea:

Oda is still keeping us unaware of Vinsmoke’s identity without the mask. Since it’s such a huge secret I assume we can wait up to see something “shocking” once someone makes that mask fall of but what would Judge hide? Curly eyebrows maybe? Anyways, it better be something worth waiting for ! on the other hand who cares about that insane man. Reiju is the only one awake, I wonder what she is thinking.Well she has pretty much accepted her faith to get shot by BM pirates but maybe she is planning something?

Before focusing on the main event let’s take a look to Mirror World where are important details to find as well. They have no idea where Sanji would be but luckily they have Nami with them and she finally has time to speak about that incident between Sanji and Luffy (and also with her). Whoever still dares to claim that Nami has no importance in this arc or in OP in general will be wrong. Knowing what a stubborn captain they have and what has happened Nami can give a good guess about where both of them are.

More importantly (from the shipping perspective), take a look at Nami’s expression after Jinbe’s comment. This was very well summed up by @besanji93 here so hope you don’t mind me borrowing a bit of your thoughts mate. First of all, it’s clear that Nami feels uneasy. It must be quite a burden to try not to cry meanwhile recalling such a sad story. Secondly it must be quite painful to hear Jinbei saying that it won’t be easy to bring him back. Well she knows it already but who knows, maybe she is also still afraid of the worst. Let’s not forget that she is the only one at the moment who knows that Sanji is about to get shot by Pudding (Luffy knows it as well but he is elsewhere).

By the way, while Nami is speaking there are those things floating on the background. I don’t know the right term but seeing them around in those panels is kind of interesting because aren’t those “dustballs” always appearing when there is something dramatic happening (for example when Sanji bid farewell to them) ? I wonder if that has been made to highlight Nami’s feelings bout this current situation?

Then we have Sanji and Luffy reuniting in the outskirts of the town, this scenery is so damn beautiful and sad at the same time. We see half mummifed Luffy so happy to see his cook aroun and then we have Sanji who seems to avoid the eye contact. It’s just unimaginable how he must’ve felt at the moment, the mixture of joy to see Luffy alive and keeping his promise but also all the self-hate abou driving his captain into situation like that.

Like said earlier, this arc is full of parallels and here are listed few of them - Sanji having a mask to hide his bruises --> little Sanji wearing a iron mask - Sanj bringing food for Luffy in rain --> little Sanji bringing food for Sora in rain - Luffy eating bento --> Sora eating bento in chapter - Luffy punching Sanji --> Sanji kicking Luffy in chapter 844

Sanji still tries to play it cool and name reasons why he can’t leave while still avoiding the eye contact. This leads to Luffy showing him piece of his mind. He threw quite a punch but we all agree that Sanji deserved it. It was again Luffy’s way to tell “you’re not alone, you have us” just like he said for Vivi back in Alabasta (more detailed thoughts about Luffy puncing his nakamas here)

Then it finally happens, Luffy manages to break Sanji’s walls. He is able to see something he wanted to witness already in front of that castle, a honest side of him. This is another powerful scene because Sanji has now seen more than enough. He has tried to keep his emotions stable meanwhile having a enormous mental breakdown and tried to hide all the “negative” emotions that would show his vunerability. Now he is crying from the bottom of his heart, how he would want to go with them but he simply can’t because he feels bad if he lets them just die, even though his father and brothers have caused nothing but pain.

One thing I absolutely love in Luffy is his incredibly huge and warm heart. I have a feeling that he sees so much deeper to the core than anyone would expect. If we look at Mugiwara group they all have carried so much burden in their hearts, they have made questionable life choises and even turned their back to their crew but still, Luffy has never judged them for being what they are and has stayed loyal to them.

Sanji makes no exception, no matter how hard he hurt his captain he still sees understanding in Sanji’s behavior (his expression in that panel where Sanji burst into tears says more than thousand words). Seeing him going through such a painful situation, not being able to be his true self, backstabbing his friends and even seeing his vunerable side which he never would like to show and what does he do? He comforts Sanji, with such simple words “I like you the way you are” and look at Sanji’s face, how happy he is to hear it, after all the crap he gets finally something he has been looking for ever since Pudding broke his heart, genuine love and trust.

#one piece #opspoilers #chapter 856 #manga #sanji #luffy #nami #chopper #jinbe #carrot #reiju #ichiji #niji #yonji #judge #vinsmoke family #charlotte linlin #zoro #robin #brook #speculation

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neverwatchedonepiece · 6 years ago

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531-533: "The Ryugu Palace! Taken by the Shark that they Saved!", "A Coward and a Crybaby! The Princess in the Hard Shell Tower!" and "It's an Emergency! The Ryugu Palace is Occupied!"

Pappagu’s gonna stroke out with stress. Yup. Any minute now.

Loved these episodes! The humour that took an exit stage left during Marineford (for obvious reasons) is back. Most of the humor was comedy of errors type stuff. We had Luffy accidentally bouncing on some giant mermaid tiddies. Luffy being unwittingly rude and poor Pappagu nearly having a stress embolism (look at those veins!) There was Zoro getting drunk and waking up in a jail cell. Brook, Usopp, Nami and Zoro accidentally occupying the entire palace and taking a bunch of important hostages... xD

There were some short updates on other characters too. Some have already had an impact on the plot. Caribou has kidnapped some Mermaids with intent to sell them at the Sabaody slave market. Without knowing it, he has exacted perfect revenge on the Strawhats! But how will you leave Fishman Island, Caribou. You don’t have a ship, you absolute roaster.

Others I’m guessing Oda is keeping up his sleeve for later. Robin, Franky, Sanji and Chopper are still at large. Robin is wandering the island in search of important evidence of missing history. Franky, bless his mechanical heart, is off looking for Tom-san’s family. Chopper is done treating Sanji. He has a new point: Kung Fu Point. Nice to see that Chopper has some more offensive abilities that don’t completely strip him of his intelligence. :)

That’s Some Nice Real Estate, Neptune. Would Be A Shame If Someone Occupied It.

You know what? I like Neptune. His advisors might browbeat him, but at least he’s the type of ruler who will listen to advice, even if he doesn’t take it. He has his own mind and will follow his inner sense of justice, though it might conflict with what his advisors tell him.

Luffy on the Fish Boat back to Ryugu Palace was hilarious, though. Neptune kept doing a Jason Derulo: saying his own damned name all the time in the little songs he sang to himself and Luffy was like, “Mate, your chant is dumb.” (I mean, Luffy, you’re not wrong but maybe not to the king’s face next time?) Either Neptune is chilled enough to ignore it, or he didn’t hear, Pappagu did, though, and was on hand to give Luffy a five-armed starfish spanking.

Neptune cares about his family too. The princess’ happiness is important and as she can’t get out the house much (more on that later) rescuing Megalo was a Big Deal. “Didn’t mean to save you, but I’m glad you’re okay!”

Too honest, Luffy! xD

Then Neptune told the Strawhats that one of their crewmates was already there. I knew instantly it was Zoro. Only Zoro could be that hopelessly lost that he’d accidentally infiltrate a palace with only one heavily guarded entrance and a buzzer system.

There was also a handy bit of world-building. Neptune handed Luffy a device that looked suspiciously like a pink dildo with multipurpose attachments. It was called Bubbly Coral and enables the user to form their own oxygen bubbles whenever, wherever. Useful.

They zoomed through the entrance flume and emerged into a beautiful place full of light, grand buildings, colour and dragon statues. Dat real estate.

As soon as Neptune stepped through the door, his Minister of the Right advisor (seahorse guy) got laid into him. “WTF, my lord?? You went out again on your own? You know the situation in this country??” Neptune is like Princess Jasmine All he needs is a cute Sea Tiger pet and he’s sorted. Either that, or Neptune is confident enough in his strength to face whatever’s out there.

The Minister of the Left (catfish guy) took one look at the company Neptune had brought back and was like, “Um.... my lord, there’s something you should know about those Strawhat Pirates.” They spilled the current intel: Memaids had been kidnapped, which is something human pirates are known to do, and Madame Sharley had predicted Luffy would destroy Fishman Island. Unconscious Zoro had already been taken into custody. The rest of the Strawhats were under arrest!

(I’m having doubts about this Madame Sharley, by the way. I wonder if she’s working with Hordy Jones, or is being forced to work with him? Zero basis for this prediction. Only that the timing of the prediction is pretty damned convenient...)

Then Everyone Fell Out

Suddenly, the Strawhats were surrounded by guards. I say the Strawhats. I mean Usopp, Nami and Brook because Luffy had gone AWOL (more on that later). The Mermen made a sensible, tactical decision to burst the Strawhats’ bubbles and force them to fight in the water. But they made the mistake of showing Nami how to operate the Bubbly Coral. She used a giant one to drain the room of water. (Good job, Nami. Quick thinking as usual!) Brook had a badass moment. That’s why I like him. He can go from his goofy, kind, fun-loving self to scary swordsman with a snap of his bony fingers.

Usopp was ready to throw down, which was a nice surprise. I was so hyped to see what his new weapon can do, but was blue-balled. Ah, well. Next time! :D

Oh, and Zoro let himself out of jail. xD

Or Zori, as Neptune kept calling him. Another trait to add to Neptune being a stand up guy was that he volunteered to fight Zori because he didn’t want anyone else getting hurt. A good king!

The next thing, Zoro had plowed through everyone and Usopp was freaking out about overkill! “FFS, Zoro! We were just going to intimidate them and run!”

Zoro thought, “Yes. Run. Let’s bail.”

Usopp said, “A great plan, but we don’t know where Sunny is. Plus, the coating came off when we crashed through the bubble.”

Nami also added that the Log Pose had been unstable ever since they arrived (what does that mean?)

Then a nearby DDM rang.

Accidental Criminals

This whole scene was hilarious. Honestly, I came into this arc expecting lots of heavy stuff about Fishman vs humans racism and I’m getting accidental criminal activity and comedy hostage-takings. It’s awesome.

Zoro picked up the DDM and Usopp freaked out. “Don’t pick it you, you dumbass!” It was Fukaboshi, the eldest Merprince. He asked Zoro to open the gate.

“Yeah, no can do. But I’ll tell you what you can do...”

For Zoro had spied an Opportunity. (For all everyone calls Zoro a dumbass, he can be really clever sometimes).

“We have your father and the palace hostage. We need a new coating for the Sunny. And we need the rest of our crew: a gloomy woman, a robot, a raccoon, and a dirty water imp.”

“HAHAHAH, a dirty water imp. Classic!” Brook chortled.

“Oh, and a million Berry in cash, please, Zoro,” Nami added.

The Strawhats really have taken a level in grey morality, it’s hilarious. Their reactions to Zoro’s Big Idea were even more than I’d have expected from them two years ago (except Nami. She’s always had half an eye on treasure). And they are clearly confident they can escape from Fishman Island in one piece.

Fukaboshi agreed because he had no choice. It seems he’s a stand up kinda guy too, because he delivered a message from Jimbei to Luffy (this caused a stir in the palace. Jimbei is even more godly down there than on the surface).

The message was: “Do not fight against Hordy. I will meet you at the Sea Forest.”

Do not fight against Hordy? Really? There’s history between them, right? Jimbei and Hordy, I mean. They were both Sun Pirates. Or is that Arlong and Jimbei? Yeah, I think it’s Arlong and Jimbei. But maybe Hordy was also on that crew?

Something is up here...

But I never found out what because some Big Booms happened off-panel in the direction of the Princess’ room.

Which happened to be where Luffy was, of course.

Princess Peach

So Luffy, who only came to the palace for food, got fed up within 0.5 seconds of arriving and wandered off. He came across a pair of massive, solid-looking doors. A pair of axes were embedded in them. Must admit my first thought was, “Oh cool, the princess is an angry, fighting type!”

Nope. Completely wrong.

Luffy sneaked inside because he could smell food. One thing led to another and he ended up bouncing on the giant Mermaid Princess’ giant tiddies. (If Sanji ever finds out, he will never speak to Luffy again.)

Of course, she woke up and was like, “Why is there a tiny human bouncing on my tiddies? I did not consent to this.” And she shrieked and cried, as you would if some hungry, little random was bouncing on you. I love how Luffy could not deal with her giant tears. It’s one of his rare weaknesses. Like, what, why are you crying, stop, plz, I did nothing to you.

Turns out the Princess is not a fighting type. She is actually a terrified, sweet girl who has been locked in a Hard Shell Tower for ten years because Captain Bloody Vander Decken is an annoying fucking sex-pest who will not take no for an answer!

The action briefly cut to him ranting away about how he was convinced Neptune wanted to force her into a political marriage because she was really in love with Decken. That he could not allow her to be with anyone else and he would rather see her dead than with anyone else. “Your life is either death or marriage. I will present her this lovely boomerang axe with a rose on it.” You know, because if you’re going to be decapitated, I guess it’s nice to know it’s done with love and good intentions, right? Absolutely insane. This guy is Major Incel Material.

Of course, Decken’s latest “gift” whirled into the room and Luffy stopped it. He was like, “WTF, where did this come from?”

The Guards burst in and the Princess saved Luffy’s ass by hiding him. Of course, Luffy overheard what had happened to the others. He wasn’t bothered. “Meh, that’s fine. Your lot won’t be able to control them, anyway.” Just goes to show how much faith Luffy has in his crew’s strength after those two years.

To repay Luffy, the Princess said he could eat her giant food. While he ate, she asked him questions. The most interesting was this one:

“You’re a pirate,” she said. “Does that mean you’re a bad person?”

Luffy thought about this, then answered, “Hmm... I dunno. You decide.”

(Just another incident to add to my growing: Luffy’s Grey Morality Evidence Pile.)

The Princess told Luffy Decken has a DF power called Mark Mark. It sounds pretty useful, actually, (which is bad for her). If he designates someone as his mark, he can throw a weapon and hit them every time, unless an obstacle is in the way. That’s why she’d been locked in the Tower for ten years.

Luffy was confused, as you would be if someone told you that. “He wants to marry you but wants to kill you? WTF?” and said, “Ten years? You must be bored. I’d get sick if someone locked me up for ten years.”

Then he yelled at her because she poked his cheeks while he was eating (tbh, that would make me mad too. Just because he’s little does not mean Luffy is a pet!) But she’s just a lonely girl with minimal social skills because she’s been locked up for so long and she could not handle Luffy yelling at her.

Luffy being Luffy, was honest to the point of being Super Harsh. “You might be big, but you’re a coward and a crybaby. I don’t like you! You’ve stayed hear for ten years, eh? That could make you sick. Isn’t there anywhere you wanna go? Come on, let’s go for a walk!”

Luffy gave her the Unblinking Luffy Stare.

There is no returning from that.

Once he puts an idea in someone’s head and gives them That Look, they are done for.

The whole meeting the Princess scenes reminded me of the Big Baby from Spirited Away. The one who wouldn’t go outside because Yubaba had told him all about germs and he was afraid but was still fascinated by Chihiro because he was lonely and wanted her to play. Except this situation is more complicated because Neptune is a Good Dad and only wants to protect his daughter from a pest who he is trying to arrest but cannot find. It’s for her safety. Just as well Luffy is there with a cunning plan to get her out for a walk, eh?

Nah, Luffy. Absolutely no one will realise there’s something up here... xD

Sex-Pest Shakes Hands With Roid Peddler

Meanwhile, the shady villains have teamed up! I don’t think that’s happened in One Piece yet. It’s an alliance of convenience based on a common enemy. They both hate Neptune for different reasons. Hordy’s is political. Decken’s? Because he’s a sex-pest.

Prediction? I bet Hordy will betray Decken. Evidence? None. Just wishful thinking. I want to see Decken get his pathetic ass kicked.

“And I would like to add a side order of salt and chili fries to our ransom demands.”

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