#But I feel like Luffy wins and beats the bad guy of the week

[frobin]

Which episode of One Piece is this?

[cptn-m]

One Piece chapter 1103 review

Back for the year of the dragon! I'd completely forgotten the zodiac colour spread was coming until I saw it. Franky absolutely wins this one with the hair and the decals on his shoulders. The axolotl-y looking dragon on Nami's top is also pretty cute.

This was perfect note for returning from the flashback to the present. It puts a bow on the last few emotional beats of the previous sequence. Bonney is emotionally and physically disarmed by what she's seen, becoming the child we now know her to be for a cooldown chat with Vegapunk, presumably after he was rescued from York. The sapphire necklace she gets for her birthday resembles other sun symbols used previously in the manga, such as Alabasta's flag, the middle of Kuma's church's crucifix and on the Kozuki crest. I'm guessing we'll see more and more of this imagery as the series builds up to its finale.

And we cut from this moment of wholesome vulnerability between a little girl and a guardian figure, to a much more heartbreaking kind as Bonney, even acting the grown-up again, is helpless in Saturn's clutches. It's so frustrating to imagine how she must feel, especially having learned everything we just saw, and not even being able to get a single effective hit in. It's personal for her. She has every reason to be able to find that last reserve of strength for the shonen emotional powerup, but it's just too much. But it's a very One Piece thing to leverage that kind of infuriating feeling of impotency. Unless you're Luffy (and even then) you're going to end up in this position, having to ask for help, at some point in your life. There's no shame in needing to call for help in this series.

The following exchange follows up two nit picks from the flashback sequence, once again exposing the risks of doing a week by week critique without seeing the full story. I actually really like the logic behind the Distorted Futures - wrapping it up in a child's logic and having it get limited by a more mature view of reality is a really fun view of the ability and would have been cool to see further explored. It can only be overpowered in the hands of someone drastically underpowered. The idea that the power as a whole was the result of an experiment is… eh, it doesn't actually add much in tangible terms, just ties off the loose end of no one knowing how Bonney got the fruit. And makes Saturn seem like more of a bastard in hindsight, not that he needed it. It's weird that he implies the Sapphire Scale was a side-effect of his work though. The doctors were talking about it like it was a rare but known-of disorder. Or does that just speak to the number of people Saturn has tried this one then released?

But also, the symbolic value of the bad guys literally creating a disease that makes people unable to walk in the freedom-representing sun is pretty good, so maybe we let this one slide.

And I also like that we're learning something about alternative Devil Fruit applications in the arc. I still haven't forgotten Oda's promise that Vegapunk would explain how inanimate objects could be made to eat Devil Fruits when he appeared in the story (from I think a Water Seven-era SBS) and I'm still waiting on that explanation. Come on, just a little more in that direction.

All evidence suggests it was Borsalino that fed Luffy, which is a fascinating, fascinating move for the character after so long putting his job before his feelings. Was it Saturn's cruelty that finally inspired a small act of rebellion, or was it just that this was the only opportunity he saw to strike back with some plausible deniability?

Kuma's rampage is the perfect climax to the chapter and just what the story needed after returning to the present. I would liked to have seen more of the battle damage from his encounter with Sakazuki sticking, but that's a small complaint in the grand scheme of things. From seeing the guy take more and more pain as the Marines try to gun him down, to Saturn's firing squad exploding, to the last second save of Bonney, this is a brilliant sequence. And despite his silence, we get a bit of evidence of what's happening to Kuma. This isn't some secret program or protocol put in his system by Vegapunk, Kuma truly has pushed through the mind wipe and is able to act on an extent of his own emotions and willpower. He has his Haki, and he has his anger. While I still think this battle ends in tragedy, I'm thrilled to see that punch land and see what happens next.

This is the start of a good year. Promises of Egghead's climax, the conclusion of Kuma's gripping narrative and a whole new (likely Elbaf) arc in the next 12 months makes me very excited to be on board for the ride.

My Wordpress.

[catgirl-catboy]

Never read One Peice so I am VERY curious as to how and why Thriller Bark is the "most one peice One Peice gets". Cuz it already seems pretty wacky from what crossed my dash.

Okay, first of all: Don't read One Piece. I wouldn't say because its bad, but because its time consuming.

It is a very long manga about Some Guy in a hat making friends beating up assholes and the government. Doesn't everyone fantasize about having a rando show up out of nowhere and beat up your shitty boss, leaving your life permanently altered?

That being said, most One Piece characters look fucking weird. They all look like the artist might have seen a real person at one point in his life, and then made a caricature of that. I say this with affection. The wide variety of character designs such as long horse and Octopus with 6 swords make the world feel cartoony and silly.

All of them, but the women. (and our one trans dude character, it feels wrong not to mention him.) For one piece is... very catered to the male gaze. According to One Piece, a woman's internal organs are stored in her tits. And the second most prominent female character in the series, who has been in the series for a decade, just got her second solo fight! (Partly because the author gave her a good ranged superpower so logistically she could just snap her opponents neck before the fight begins... but still!)

Thriller bark begins by an antagonist spying on and groping one of our beloved female characters in the slower. Our traditional ladies man and wet cat (who happens to be my favorite turned problematic fave) is rightfully pissed off about this, since his friend and crewmate was assaulted under his nose.

Later, the antagonist kidnaps out leading lady, causing the ladies man to go after her. Decent plotline, right? Makes sense. SIKE! The reason he was mad is because he wanted the superpower the criminal used to assault his friend but didn't get it. Presumably to also perv on people, but a slightly more charitable explanation is given years down the line.

This seemed remarkably OOC at the time, but more jokes in this style would soon follow. To the point where I dare say my dude was flanderized.

Another main problem with Thriller Bark is that the pacing was incredibly wonky. This is slightly subjective, but most One Piece fights are slightly long because the villains are tough, and Luffy has to take a certain amount of damage before he can kick ass.

This fight, it felt like the Straw Hats were winning, and the villain was pulling tricks that weren't foreshadowed and didn't make sense out of his ass. He also wasn't making the best strategic decisions during the fight, which is in character I guess, but still disappointing. The heroes are on a time limit and would have died in a few hours if the villain of the week had just chosen NOT to fight. I wish that this was like, called out?

This is a nitpick compared to the two above problems, but the arc before this, we got two new crewmates! Going in, I was hoping the arc was about them, but instead it was about our first mate, captain, a third new crewmate, and total character derailment for my favorite boy.

That being said, the Zoro moment in this arc is fantastic, to the point where I'd feel bad spoiling it. Like, if you were to ask people about their top ten one piece moments, this would get mentioned a LOT. the badassery.

We also get this ICONIC moment from Luffy and tons more like it. You wouldn't think an arc based of halloween would be so funny, but here we are.

I'd give the arc a solid C, but every individual aspect is either an 100 or a 0.

[mystical-flute]

Uncharted Waters (ch. 11)

AO3 || Ko-fi

“My Pharaoh, there was something you needed of me?” Azila asked, breezing into the throne room, her brow knitted in worry. “Are you ill? In pain?” It wasn’t like him to summon her to him outside of any sort of official priest meeting. Or perhaps he had decided that he hadn’t actually liked her standing up to him in the weeks following his predecessor’s death. Maybe this was to be a delayed execution.

Seto was standing at the window, as he always seemed to be. “Did we have any unusual deaths last night?”

Oh.

Azila swallowed thickly. “We have received word of three, my Pharaoh.”

“And you went to check yourself as I have instructed?”

“Of course. There was magic there, but it was not the shadow magic we use. Mana is trying to identify it now. I tried my healing powers, but they had no effect. Whatever is causing these deaths… it is not from Egypt.”

“What about Eturn?”

“I have a message out to an associate in Eturn. I am waiting to hear back.”

Seto cursed under his breath, resting his fist against the wall beside him. “I don’t understand why this keeps happening. What more must we do to appease the gods?”

“I wish I had an answer for you, Pharaoh.”

“So we’re back to 'Pharaoh' now? You seemed so comfortable calling me Seto the other week.”

Azila stuttered. “You were in need of a shock to your system. It is my job to make sure you are healthy and together, is it not? Unless you chose me as your Chief Physician simply because we are friends.”

“Nonsense. Your talent speaks for itself. I just fear that Egypt will crumble under whatever is causing these deaths… it will fall back on me.”

“Whatever is happening is not your fault. The people know this.”

“But how long until they stop believing it isn’t my fault?”

Azila didn’t have an answer to that.

“Pharaoh! I’ve found something!”

Mana rushed into the room, something glowing in her hand.

“What is that?” Seto asked with a frown.

“I don’t know, but it contains the same magical properties that Azila felt last night,” Mana explained, opening her hand.

A stone, glowing a greenish color, laid in her palm.

“I’ve never seen such a thing, nor have I heard of it,” Azila said softly.

“You two, work together to figure out what it is and how to stop it,” Seto said. “We cannot let our people suffer anymore.”

“We won’t let you down, Pharaoh.”

She hated working overnights.

I.D.R.A headquarters was quiet, the only sound was the new-age music coming from Aiko’s speaker to give the impression of the women being in a spa.

Which Reika was desperately beginning to wish she was in, given how chaotic the day had already been, and the phone call she was currently in with Yugi was not helping matters at all.

“No, I’m sorry, you what?”

“Joey got kidnapped and possessed by Marik and we had to duel. There was a timer and we had to beat it in order to win. But we both ended up in the water.”

Reika slammed her hand against the table harder than she’d meant to. “Yugi, what the hell? Are you okay?! Where are you now?”

“We’re fine, we’re fine. Mai’s driving us to the finals now. I’m sorry you won’t be able to make it.”

“It’s fine. I mean, who would turn down a chance to go to a spa for their birthday with their best friend?” she asked, swiveling her eyes to stare down Aiko. “At least I’m away from the Rare Hunters. That’s gotta count for something, right?”

Aiko grimaced, sipping at the water in front of her.

“Right. You should be safe there since you’re not in Domino.”

“And you could be walking right into their trap. I’m worried, Yugi. If Marik could possess your friends so easily once before, what’s stopping him from doing it while you guys are at the finals? What if he’s in the finals?”

“The knowledge that we’ve stopped him once before? And I believe in the Heart of the Cards and my friends.”

“From what I’ve seen, belief usually doesn’t stop bad guys. That’s why they keep going until someone physically crushes them.”

“Why have you seen that?”

She blanched, scrambling for an answer. “I watched a lot of TV when I was in E - school,” she replied, twirling a strand of hair around one of her fingers. “Anyway, I’ll let you go. I’m sure you guys are almost at the stadium, right?”

“Yeah, see you when we get back.”

“Hey, is that Jean-Claud -”

Whatever Joey had started to say, she didn’t get to finish hearing as she ended the call and tossed the phone down on the desk in front of her with a long groan.

“I think you need to get some air,” Aiko said as she looked over a map of the North Blue. “We’ve been stuck in here all day and you hardly paid attention to the latest intel that came in.”

“Garrison managed to topple -”

Aiko raised a brow. “Garrison? His name is Karasu, Reika. You know that.”

Reika paused. “Karasu managed to gain control of the Vroven Kingdom and deposed their corrupt queen. The residents are quite relieved, according to the report, and it’s a major North Blue trading port.”

“You also almost said you were in Eturn to Yugi on the phone.” Aiko continued to squint at her until Reika put her hands up in defeat.

“Okay, okay, I’ll grab my cloaking device out of my locker and go for a walk. Do you want me to get you anything? Burger World’s down the street.”

Aiko was already sliding money across the table. “Get me the number three with no onions and a soda. Please.”

“Yeah yeah, no problem.”

“Reika, are you alright?” Azila asked as she made her way toward the elevator to the downstairs locker room.

“It’s just been a long day, Azila. There was a rebellion that didn’t end well in the South Blue, and when I checked on the Straw Hats, I was having trouble getting a read on where they were. And then Yugi called and said his friends were kidnapped which led to him almost dying and I couldn’t do anything about any of it!”

Azila stared at her with concern. “I think your friend is right. A walk will be good for you.”

Reika exhaled slowly through her nose, stepping inside the elevator. “I know. I’m just starting to feel trapped here, that’s all.”

“Trapped? In the building?”

“No, in Domino. It’s been almost two months since I’ve been in Eturn. Who knows how many islands I’ve missed that might have information on where my parents are?” she questioned. “And as much as I love my family here, it’s just not the same without the crew.” When the elevator reached the first floor, she stepped out of it with a sigh. “Did you remember anything about that energy we read the other day?”

Azila looked down. “I remember doing research on it after a strange series of deaths in Egypt. There were several in Eturn as well.”

“Well, what is it?” Reika asked, tossing a hoodie over her shirt and tying her hair back before sliding the cloaking device in her hair and hearing it switch itself on.

“We - we failed to conclude. The deaths stopped after two weeks when we got rain. It was like Egypt was purified,” Azila paused, looking at her. “You look strange with the brown hair again.”

“Heh. I’m sure I - ”

The alarm began to chime overhead, and she rushed from the locker room to the nearest computer to track it.

“Oh, god.”

“What is wrong?”

“It ripped here. Someone from Eturn is in our building,” Reika gasped, activating the lockdown protocols for the I.D.R.A’s area of the building. The staircases would be a pain to check, but at least the elevator would be clear.

Reika grabbed her gun from the holster still strapped to her hip and began the process of checking rooms.

“Aiko, check in. Where are you?” she asked.

Something thudded from the conference room and she tensed, slowly approaching. “Hello?”

“Where am I? Who are you?”

Reika almost froze at the voice.

Aiko’s voice was muffled.

“Miss All-Sunday, I strongly suggest you let Aiko go,” she said. “And put all your hands up.”

“Who are you?”

“Aw, c’mon, don’t tell me you forgot about me already. We had such fun together at the casino…” Reika hummed, stepping into the room, her gun still drawn. “Especially the part where you threw me out a window and said all my friends were going to die.”

Miss All-Sunday stared at her, horrified as she let Aiko go. “You’re - from the Straw Hats…”

“Indeed I am.”

“Why weren’t you on the ship when it left Alabasta?”

“Why do you know I wasn’t on the ship when it left Alabasta?”

“I joined the crew. Luffy saved my life, so I joined his crew. I snuck on-board the ship after Crocodile was defeated.”

Reika stared at her, but slowly put her gun away. She wanted to say the woman was lying, but this was Luffy they were talking about. It wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for him to do such a thing.

“Hold on, I recognize you now. You’re Nico Robin, the last survivor of Ohara!” Aiko suddenly said.

She couldn’t stop the gasp that escaped her as Robin nodded confirmation.

“I am. Please, where am I?”

Reika ran her tongue over her teeth and looked at Aiko. She was from Ohara. She likely knew what the Veil was, so…

“You’re in Japan. Earth.”

“Earth…” Robin’s voice was barely a whisper. “So - so the scholars… they weren’t just spinning wild folktales when they talked about a sister world? All of those books about it were real?”

“Very real,” Aiko said, putting a hand on Robin’s shoulder. “We were in contact with the scholars of Ohara up until the Buster Call. “We tried to find you but… you were good at keeping yourself hidden from the Marines.”

“I thought I was, but today proved otherwise…” Robin shivered, and it was then Reika realized just how pale the woman looked.

“What happened? Is the crew okay?” Reika asked sharply.

Robin sighed. “We encountered a Marine Admiral.”

“An admiral?!”

“Aokiji. I’m not… completely sure what happened after the initial encounter. He froze me solid and I woke up on the Merry. That’s when I saw the light that led me here,” Robin explained.

God, could the crew even deal with an admiral right now? Luffy was strong, but Devil Fruit wielded by an admiral strong? She didn’t know. “Okay. We’ll get you back to the ship and the crew. Aiko, can you get the teleporter ready?”

Aiko nodded, rushing from the room.

“Robin, do you want to take a look at Earth?”

“I never even dared to dream about Earth,” Robin whispered.

Reika grinned, raising the blinds. “Welcome to Domino.”

“What is that?” Robin asked, pointing at the KaibaCorp blimp that was hovering over the city, and Reika was suddenly very glad she had her disguise on.

“A blimp. There’s a tournament going on right now, and that’s where the finals are taking place,” she explained. “It’s being broadcast all over the world.”

“How?”

Reika shrugged. “Our technology seems to be more advanced than in Eturn.”

Robin looked a little overwhelmed as she continued to look out the window, her eyes darting every which way. “I’ve never seen anything like this. To think that another world was hiding from us this whole time. Why were the worlds separated?”

“That’s what our organization is trying to figure out,” Reika said. “All we know for sure is that it happened around the same time as the Void Century. Before that, the Veil between worlds was open. Trade, travel, anything you can think of, was common in ancient times.”

“And then nothing.”

“Essentially. Sixty years ago, strange tablets were found in boxes around the world. They’d been buried for centuries, or passed down from holy man to holy man. Aiko’s grandfather was the one to crack the code, the International Dimensional Research Agency was founded, and here we are,” Reika said. “C’mon, let’s get you back to the Merry before Luffy loses his mind over you being gone.”

Robin frowned at her as they made their way upstairs. “Why would you join something like this? I mean, going between this place and Eturn? It must not be easy.”

“It’s not,” Reika agreed. “But my parents went missing in Eturn when I was eight. Somewhere in the Grand Line. I want to find out what happened to them. If for nothing else, for my grandfather. He deserves to know what happened to his elder son.”

“Your grandfather? The one who fell into a coma?”

She laughed softly. “They told you about that, huh?”

“Nami did. How is he doing?”

Reika hesitated for a moment. “Getting stronger every day,” she decided on, pushing the door open to the teleportation room.

“Whoa…” Robin gasped. “What is that?”

“This is one of the official Veil-points between Earth and Eturn. I just put in the coordinates to the Going Merry,” Aiko said, glancing at Reika and handing her one of the emergency transporters. “You’ll have an hour in Eturn before it drags you back.”

Reika frowned. “What do you mean an hour?”

“I told you to go for a walk, didn’t I? Go have fun with the crew. You’ll be back before the first duel starts.”

“Thank you, AIko. I owe you.”

“You can still go to Burger World when you come back here.”

“Deal.”

Aiko opened the portal and Reika stepped forward. “After you, Robin.”

Reika practically felt herself vibrating with excitement as she followed Robin through the portal, blinking as they arrived back on the Merry, in the midst of some sort of argument between Chopper and Nami, neither of whom seemed to notice the portal that had opened behind them.

“Luffy’s frozen and Robin’s gone! What are we gonna do?!” Chopper wailed.

“A-hem.”

The duo froze, slowly turning around.

“Did you guys lose someone?” Reika said, jabbing a thumb in Robin’s direction.

“REIKA!”

“ROBIN!”

Reika was almost knocked off her feet by the force of Nami’s hug. “Nami, Chopper - hi! I missed you too. What happened to Luffy?”

“He got frozen by Aokiji!” Chopper cried. “Usopp’s with him now trying to thaw him.”

“I hope I’ll get the chance to see him before I have to go,” Reika said softly.

Nami frowned. “Go? Go where? You just got back!”

“I know, I know. But things aren’t completely settled in Oxram. Aiko was kind enough to send me along with Robin when we realized she was part of the crew, but I’ve only got an hour before I have to go back.”

“But when are you gonna be back for good?” Chopper asked, his eyes wet with tears.

“Aw, Chopper, it’s okay!” she soothed with a smile. “Nami, you have a map, right? I’ll - ”

“I’M GONNA KICK THAT ICE GUY’S ASS!” Luffy suddenly shouted.

Reika chuckled. “Bring the map to the galley, Nami. I’ll figure something out. Oi! Luffy!” she called, stepping into the hallway. “Luffy? Usopp?”

“Reika’s back!” Usopp shouted.

“Reika!”

There was a terrible grunting noise, and then Luffy made his grand appearance, almost knocking the bathroom door off its hinges. Chunks of ice were still stuck to his body and hat, but he was grinning all the same.

“Luffy, you should be careful!” she gasped, not even flinching as Luffy’s rubber limbs wrapped around her torso and he flung himself at her. She found herself thudding to the ground, laughing all the same. “Hey, Usopp, get Zoro, Vivi, and Sanji and meet me in the galley, yeah?”

“Vivi stayed in Alabasta, but I’ll get the others,” Usopp replied.

She wasn’t surprised.

“Only an hour?” Luffy whined when the entire crew was gathered. “Why can’t you stay for good?”

“My grandfather’s recovery is slow. He woke up but he’s still re-learning stuff and can’t be left alone yet,” she explained, looking at the map in front of her. “In three weeks, you’ll reach an island called Water 7. It’s a major trade port with Oxram. I’ll meet you there. I promise.”

“Aiko can get you there?” Zoro asked with a frown.

Reika nodded. “With her fruit, as long as she remembers what a place looks like, she can get there. She was here, so she can get me back here.”

Luffy had that unusually serious look on his face again, glancing between the map and her. “Okay. Three weeks.”

He held out his hand, and they shook on it.

She wasn’t sure why she had said it. She’d had a return date of August, not July, but something in her soul told her she would be needed in Eturn earlier.

“I’ll have time to prepare for three beautiful ladies on the ship. Excellent!” Sanji sighed.

“I still have a boyfriend,” she laughed. “But I’d love a quick snack before I go? I’ve missed your cooking.”

Sanji zipped over to the fridge. “Of course, Reika dear!”

“Have you been keeping up with your training?” Zoro asked.

“Obviously. I’ll be training even harder now that I know we’re on an admiral’s radar.”

“Well, with my tech from Skypiea, I’ll be able to protect the crew!” Usopp declared with a grin.

“Skypiea?”

“We went to an island in the sky, Reika!” Luffy said, slamming his hands against the table as Sanji set down some sort of fruit and yogurt dip. “And I fought against God!”

Reika nearly choked on a berry. “I’m sorry, God?”

That was how Reika spent her hour in Eturn listening to the tale of Skypiea - of Sky People and Sky Fish and Octopus Balloons, and of the golden bell at the top of a beanstalk (her life was a soap opera and now there were fairy tales mixed in?). It was all making her head spin, but she knew this would be important information for the agency to learn.

Reika rose to her feet after glancing at her watch. Less than a minute left. “I’ll meet you at Water 7.”

“Three weeks.”

“Three weeks,” she echoed, feeling the yank as the portal opened, dropping her back in Domino.

Aiko was grinning at her from a nearby computer. “How was it?”

“Surprisingly informative. Get a pen and a map of Eturn. We have some geography to add.”

Burger World went forgotten that night as the duo imported the information into their database before settling down to watch the finals on the conference room screen.

“This game is insane!” Aiko shouted as the last duel of the evening concluded. “I mean, three people landed in the hospital because of cards?”

“Well, don’t come to a tournament when you’re already injured, don’t piss off a lightning god, and well, well, yeah, the third one’s bullshit,” Reika said, rubbing the back of her neck. “Mai had him on the ropes. She would have won if it wasn’t for her not being able to read the text on Ra’s card.”

“You do see how that’s worse, right? That evil shadow magic bullshit shouldn’t even be a thing,” Aiko groaned, running her fingers through her hair. “You’re sure you’re okay taking the first shift?”

“Yeah, I just want to make sure Yugi’s not going to call me. Get some sleep, Aiko. I’ll wake you up at three.”

The downside to these shifts was being alone in the early morning hours, providing there wasn’t an emergency with an undercover operative. To give herself some distraction, Reika switched on some music, and soon, soft jazz filled the surveillance room.

It was a quiet night - no frantic calls from other field agents, or important updates from Dragon. The jazz music had started to lull her to sleep, until it suddenly stopped as a call came in.

One-thirty in the morning only meant one person.

“You should be sleeping,” she greeted, rubbing at her tired eyes.

“So should you.”

“I was, until you called. What’s up?”

“If I stare at this computer anymore, my eyes are going to fall out of my head. These damned god cards…”

“Let me guess- Ra, right? The one that killed Mai?”

“Valentine is unconscious, not dead.”

“You do understand that’s only marginally better, right?”

“Tch. Whatever.”

A strange silence settled over the call.

“I get the feeling you didn’t just call me because your eyes are burning.”

(She wasn’t sure that happened to him anymore)

“We’ll be landing at Alcatraz in a few hours.”

“Alca - shit,” she slid her hand down her face. Of course she knew what Alcatraz was - the old testing grounds for KaibaCorp. She had never been there herself, but she’d heard enough rants out of Seto to know there was a high chance Alcatraz wouldn’t be standing in the next fourteen hours. “Seto, I’m so sorry I had to ditch the finals.”

“It’s fine.”

It wasn’t - she could hear it in his voice.

“Listen… when you get home, I’m yours the rest of the week. Anything you want to do.”

“You play a dangerous game, Reika.”

“But with you, it’s always so much fun.”

“Hmph. I’ll let you know later, then.”

“Get some rest, Seto. You’ve got a tournament to win, right?”

The call ended, and she ran her fingers through her hair.

Alcatraz.

She was the worst girlfriend on the planet.

[thekytchensynk]

Ain’t No Picnic (9/9)

Summary: They were just supposed to head over to the island real quick, just to see what was going on. After all, if pirates were trying to ambush and kill the Straw Hat crew, how could Coby NOT go? And how could Helmeppo let him go alone? It should be simple enough, but nothing can be taken for granted in the New World, and when things go awry, Helmeppo finds himself separated from his captain on an island chain full of pirates who probably won’t be too happy to see a Marine if their paths cross.Oh yeah. And one of those pirates is the infamous “Surgeon of Death,” Trafalgar Law… Warnings: Occasional strong language Read it on AO3 

__________

Helmeppo opened his eyes to find a curious-looking animal staring down at him, half lit by flickering firelight. He blinked groggily. The animal blinked back.

“How are you feeling?” it asked.

What an adorable voice, he thought muzzily. After taking stock for a moment, at least one thing was clear. “I don’t feel great,” he said aloud.

“Any acute pain? Your breathing sounds good, but if you feel something like a stabbing pain, let me know.”

Stabbing pain? “Not right now,” he replied as he started to wake up a little more. The stabbing had been before he fell asleep.

“Helmeppo!”

The furry creature disappeared from his vision as a familiar voice reached his ears. Despite the sleepiness still struggling to reclaim him, Helmeppo slowly propped himself up on his elbows, and took in the immediate surroundings.

He was back in that accursed open space where they’d all started at the beginning. No melee there now, thank goodness, but somehow it had definitely become night (sleep will do that, he supposed), and the bonfires here and there were doing little to push back the inky black. Just a few people remained in sight, talking in small groups, or doing things singly. Helmeppo seemed, unsurprisingly, to be in a sort of medical area. Across from him he could see a man … a bear?... a guy with his arm in a sling arguing with a guy in an oversized hat. Bear guy clearly did not want to stay on the makeshift bed he’d been given. Hat guy disagreed.

The next person, he recognized from the wanted posters and wild tales from Coby. Nico Robin lay sleeping, a careful swath of bandages encircling her middle. He was keeping some esteemed company today it seemed.

To his left, Coby stooped a good dozen paces away, speaking with the little fuzzy creature who, Helmeppo figured, had to be the Straw Hat crew’s doctor. The wanted posted said otherwise, but Coby had told Helmeppo it was the doctor and his questions of a moment ago would seem to confirm he had the right of it.

The doctor was speaking to Coby in earnest tones that Helmeppo could hear but not make out, since the doctor’s back was to him. But he heard Coby’s polite, “Understood. I will.” Then the doctor said something else, this time accompanied by one hoof shaking sternly at him. With a sheepish grin, Coby nodded and said, “I won’t. I promise. Thank you.” The two parted, and Coby headed toward Helmeppo’s makeshift sickbed, face shadowed and growing serious.

Oh. That’s right.

He sat all the way up and looked down. His leg was wrapped in bandages. The wrapping looked more or less white, not thoroughly stained red, so it seemed things could definitely be worse. Of course, he hadn’t tried standing on it yet. His shirt had been similarly replaced with at least a double measure of fabric covering the knife wounds and stabilizing his ribcage.

He experimentally tried a deep breath. Oooh. Bad decision. The surge of pain wasn’t unexpected, and didn’t rise to the level of stabbing pain that he assumed the little doctor meant, but what was unexpected was that the pain dragged everything else back, momentarily bright and clear.

The fight. That last fight.

At the time he’d been too concerned with surviving, but now, with the benefit of hindsight, he felt nauseated. How had he failed that badly? He’d talked a big game -- more than once! -- about how he was going to find his dad and beat him, big strong Marine that he thought he was. And instead he’d gotten his ass handed to him. It hadn’t even been a contest. He should be dead. Utterly dead. He’d been too weak, and got in over his head, and he should be d-

“Hey.”

Startled, Helmeppo’s head snapped up to look at Coby, who’d stopped a couple feet away. After taking in as much of a slow, steadying breath as he could and offering what had to be one of the shakiest salutes he’d performed in recent history, Helmeppo replied, “Hi, Captain.”

Coby rolled his eyes at that. But as Helmeppo put his hand on the ground and started trying to get up, he put out his own hand to stop him. “Wait, wait! Don’t get up. Dr. Chopper says you need to rest. And if he can keep the members of his crew in their sick beds, it’s probably best to listen.”

Settling back to his seat on the ground, Helmeppo glanced over toward the doctor. He looked about as threatening as a plush toy, but then again … New World.

“He said I’m not to keep you from resting when you need to, and that you’re supposed to take it easy for the next week or so,” Coby continued, glancing over toward the bear man and his hat buddy. “And see the ship’s doctor when we get back, to keep an eye on your leg, but he said it should heal cleanly if you take care of it, though there will probably be a scar.” He slowly looked back, as though he didn’t really want to look at Helmeppo, and said, “So … you okay?”

“Still breathing and in one piece,” Helmeppo said with a self-deprecating laugh. “Feels like a win today. How about you?”

“Same.” He cracked a small smile, but the solemnity quickly overtook it. “Sorry. This whole thing really did turn into a mess. After I had to-”

“Hey. It all worked out, right? So let’s leave it at that?” Helmeppo interrupted. “The mermaid’s safe, and your … those pirates are safe?” Coby nodded so he continued, “Then it was just a heck of a training mission, I guess. And we are not telling Garp about this place.”

“No? I kind of feel like we should make a report to him.”

Helmeppo sighed. “Coby, if I have to come back here again, my body will probably shut down on its own to save this place the trouble of killing me. So you can tell him whatever you want, but just make sure you’re OK with that being on your conscience.”

Another brief smile at that. “Fine. If I make a report, I don’t know what the island was called or much of anything about it. Just some island. That work?”

“I’ll take it,” Helmeppo said.

“All right. So, do you want to chat? Or you want to go back to sleep?”

Helmeppo considered. He was definitely still tired -- his body felt leaden -- but he was waking up now, to some extent. Plus, watching Coby interact with Luffy and the rest of that crew was kind of adorable to watch, even if a bit predictable -- how excitable and flustered he got. Not to mention, now that he was up, the idea of being asleep and vulnerable sounded … well, not great. Not if there were alternatives. “Think I’ll stay up a while,” he said.

Coby dropped smoothly to a sitting position and glanced first at the sleeping woman, then the bickering pair again, before saying again, “Sorry about all this.”

Exactly what he’d been trying to head off before. Ah well. “I didn’t have to come,” Helmeppo reminded him wryly.

Coby came back with, “Well, it definitely wasn’t boring.”

“You’re telling me,” Helmeppo muttered. Then, since he could just about see the question Coby was getting ready to ask, he hurried to add, “So what happened with that guy you were fighting. Was he the other twin?”

“Hm? You heard about them? Yeah, I guess.” He reached back, fidgeting with his headband, as he said, “Really all I did was keep him off Luffy and his friends most of the time. They handled the bulk of the fight. I thought the one guy had blown everyone over there up for a while, but…” He chuckled, and Helmeppo did too. The idea of trying to wipe out part of a New World pirate crew with a simple explosion -- even on this island -- sounded about like trying to stop a charging bull with a piece of paper.

“So you just fought him to a draw until you got help?”

“No. I beat him eventually. Just not in time to be much more use,” Coby said, saying it like it was something he felt ashamed of.

Which was dumb. That guy might not have been the most powerful person fighting, but he’d been central to the group’s plan. And he wasn’t weak -- not by a long shot. Too hard on himself again, Helmeppo sighed.

“Sounds like it was a whole thing. Glad it all worked out.”

Coby nodded his agreement, then asked, “How about you? Looks like things got rough for you too.”

Helmepppo knew exactly what he was asking about, but he wasn’t really in the mood to talk about it. Maybe if he just forgot about it now, he could forget about it forever. So feigning a carefree tone, he replied “Well, getting dropped into the sea the first time wasn’t too bad. But then I got cornered by a group of pirates in a cave.” He started ticking things off on his fingers one by one. “Got glared at by the Surgeon of Death -- not recommended, in case you were wondering. Another dip in the ocean to pull someone out. Another round with those pirates. Had to be saved, that time. Then back over here for the tail end of your epic fight. And for being called a castaway by some random lady pirate.”

He looked down. The bandages in place of a shirt, barefoot, missing a weapon, hat and sunglasses gone, one pant leg cut off at the knee to make way for more bandages. One hand went up to his hair and … yup. Salt-stiff and tangled. “I guess I have to give her that one,” he finished. He desperately needed a shower and like a week’s worth of sleep. He felt today’s adventure to his bones.

“Saved?” Coby frowned.

“That Law guy helped me out.” Helmeppo said. Coby’s eyes narrowed at the name, and he glanced out into the darkness. “Guess I got lucky.”

“Well, either way I’m glad,” Coby said.

Quiet fell between them. Distantly, Helmeppo could hear other lives going on around them -- people talking, laughing, shouting. The wind through the plants. The lapping of the waves. Bear guy and hat guy had stopped arguing at some point and were sharing a meal. After the wild tension of earlier, it all felt very comfortable.

“Why’d you decide to take them on alone?” Coby asked.

Briefly, Helmeppo wondered if he could ignore the question and pretend the concussion had damaged his hearing. Nah, he wouldn’t buy that. And it wasn’t exactly what he wanted to avoid. So he said, “Honestly? I thought I could beat them. They didn’t seem like big-bounty sorts. And it seemed like taking that other twin guy out was the right move.”

“Yeah,” Coby agreed. “I mean, he was throwing things off. Messing up the fight for a few people. Luffy’s shipwright can shoot missiles, but they were going all over the place, and whenever anyone tried to go find the source, they got headed off. How did you get through?”

Well, that was easy. “Because of Trafalgar Law.” He said, grinning. “It would be like if I’d showed up with … with one of the admirals. One of us is definitely going to draw the attention. Plus, I think he used his power to kind of help me along.”

“Ah.”

It was absurdly kind of Coby to sound doubtful in that one word, as though he thought they should have considered Helmeppo -- no slouch in combat broadly, but still only a lieutenant commander and only a couple years removed from abject uselessness -- a threat anywhere near on par with an infamous pirate.

And then he realized what Coby might be thinking. After all, hadn’t he wondered it himself, in reverse, at the start of this whole thing, about Coby himself being a target? Ugh. That stupid fight. The smile dropped from his face.

“Trust me, it wasn’t anything to do with me,” he said, tone going flat. “He was as surprised to see me as I was to see him.”

Some tension in Coby’s face relaxed at that. “Okay,” he said. “But if-”

Yeah, no. He was not going to do this. “I think I need to lay back down for a while,” he interrupted. Coby’s mouth snapped shut, and his eyes widened. Helmeppo’s stomach clenched at the look. But Coby just nodded and got to his feet.

“All right. Get some rest. Our ride should be back early.” He smiled, and there was nothing forced or false in the look. It felt so earnest that despite everything, Helmeppo did too. “So we can get back and you can do something about that hair.”

“Hey, it’s a trophy of my struggles,” Helmeppo retorted, laying back down.

“Sure, sure. Rest up.”

He didn’t intend to go back to sleep. He didn’t want to. But in the face of a really bad day, sometimes neither intent nor want matter very much. He thought he heard the little doctor walking past. Before the footsteps faded away, dreams swallowed him again.

The next time he woke, night remained, but most of the fires were down to embers and all but the nature sounds had faded. At first, he blinked sleepily around, trying to get his bearings. Then he saw the empty space around him, the massive flat island, and all the memories of the past day sent a jolt of adrenaline through his body. He sat up in a rush, eyes wide in the dark. The other patients were gone. Quiet lay heavy around them. How long had he been asleep this time?

“Mmm… Helmeppo?”

Coby’s voice, a little slurred and slow, came from the darkness to his left. He searched the shadows and finally saw a form standing up from the ground and walking toward him.

“Uh .. yeah. Sorry. Did I wake you?” he asked.

“No. I was keeping watch.”

There were probably questions about how well he’d been keeping watch, given the sleep in his voice, but Helmeppo felt a stab of guilt. This was exactly what he wasn’t supposed to do. He was supposed to worry about Coby, not make him worry.

Stretching and trying to blink the sleep away, Helmeppo said, “Well, I can take over if you like. Feels like I’ve been asleep all night.”

“You were hurt. You should be sleeping,” Coby said.

“And I did,” Helmeppo replied, slowly standing up. Basically every muscle protested this move, all of them sore and wound tight. As he got to his feet, he swayed a little. Putting weight on the injured leg let him know that while it might be well bandaged and expertly treated, that big gash wasn’t gone. He said, “I can-”

“Stop!” The word came out partway between a plea and an order, and froze Helmeppo in his tracks. The quiet of the island fell over the pair for several long seconds.

“The others left. We swept the area for enemies. Everything’s fine. It’s just us two until the kid comes back,” Coby continued. “Please? Just rest. You don’t have to prove anything. I’m planning to keep watch until we’re on our way back.”

Helmeppo watched his friend, barely outlined in the remaining light from the near-dead fire. He was serious about this. And Helmeppo had enough experience with him to know there was no talking him out of things if he was serious enough. Helmeppo had tried. He knew better than maybe anyone.

“In that case, want company?” he asked instead.

He could see Coby’s shoulders relax a little as he said, “Sure, if you want.”

At best estimation, they were maybe an hour from dawn, which put them about two hours from their ride home. Rather than stick around here, they formed a pair of makeshift torches that they lit in the coals of the nearest former bonfire and started walking back toward the spot where they’d be meeting the kid. Helmeppo had only the vaguest idea what direction that lay in, but Coby seemed certain of his way, so Helmeppo simply followed. They came out, a few minutes later, at a place which he supposed might be familiar. Maybe. They both wedged their torches into the scant earth near the shoreline, letting the flickering light cast broken trails of glitter across the choppy black water.

Helmeppo had been moving slow, taking each step gingerly -- the island was light on crutch-appropriate branches, and stepping on a weak spot meant wet shoes before, but he had a feeling wet bandages over an open wound would be a whole lot worse. Coby never hurried him, just kept pace, and let him get himself along, but stayed nearby just in case. Once they got to the shore, he took up a spot against one of the massive leaf stalks, while Helmeppo found a dry spot to ease himself to the ground. The quiet fell between them, as it often did, but this one felt … uncomfortable. Helmeppo stared at the light on the water, waiting for the start of the sunrise to add paleness to the sky.

“Helmeppo?”

“Hmm?”

“Was it really him?”

Helmeppo kept staring out over the water, debating whether or not to answer. At length, he relented. “Yeah.”

Quiet fell again.

“Can I ask what happened?”

He pulled his knees up and crossed his arms across the tops, resting his chin on them. Sighed. “I’d really rather not talk about it.”

“Why?”

Helmeppo tensed up. “I just don’t want to.”

He expected Coby to press the question, but instead the quiet returned, vengeful and accusatory. It felt like the surroundings themselves were judging him for shutting down so blatantly. Coby was worried, Coby was trying to be nice, and he was just being terse and rude in return. Just like before. Like he hadn’t improved in any way that mattered since … since then. Helmeppo tried to think of something, anything to say to break the silence, to make it less awkward, but with every second, he felt the weight of it more. He’d been an idiot. He should have kept his mouth shut, should have-

“You know, I was sure I was too late.”

“Hm?” Helmeppo turned his head, looking over at Coby in the half light. His friend was looking out across the ocean, face solemn.

“When I got there. After we heard that awful racket, that-” Whatever he’d been about to say, he bit off, and continued a moment later with a hint of heat, an emphasis on the name, “Trafalgar Law told me to go, you might need help there, and-”

“Wait. He sent you over?”

“Yeah. Since you two showed up at the same time, I thought maybe you’d come up with some plan. So I went with it.”

Huh. Yeah, Helmeppo definitely had no idea what was going on in that pirate’s head. But he had yet another reason to be grateful to him. “Well, he wasn’t wrong.”

Coby looked over and caught Helmeppo’s eye for the first time in the conversation -- Helmeppo’s own fault, he supposed. “What was that noise, anyway?”

“Something the Straw Hats’ sniper gave us,” Helmeppo said. “It was … you know? I’m not honestly sure. Really loud grass. In a handy pill. He said to snap it if we needed to get some distance. I can see why.”

Coby chuckled a little at that. “Sounds useful. Certainly helped me find the place.”

“Yeah. I think my ears are still ringing. I feel a little bad for the pirate who got the brunt of it. She just ran off, screaming. I think. I mean, she looked like she was screaming. I couldn’t hear it one way or the other.” He waggled his fingers in as close to a dismissive gesture as he could manage without unfolding from his current pose.

They both laughed, and for a moment everything was normal. Then Coby sobered abruptly, and the good mood drained away from Helmeppo too, replaced with dread. He hated the look on Coby’s face, even hidden as it was by the deep shadows from their small torches. Forget it, he’d take the uncomfortable silence for the next hour, or day, or week, if they could just … just forget everything here. Or at least his part in it.

But, as Helmeppo had figured, Coby wasn’t going to let that happen.

“Sorry. But it really scared me. When I got over there, and I saw him standing there, and you bleeding, and I was still so far away, I was sure there was no way I’d get there in time. I was honestly sure I’d gotten you killed.” His voice wound down to little over a whisper, that would have been lost if anything more than the nighttime nature sounds surrounded them, and he finally chanced a peek in Helmeppo’s direction.

“Yes, well, I should have been more careful.”

“It’s not like that! I just … I’m trying to figure out how to say this. I’m not really wording it right at all.”

“Hmm?”

This time it was Coby who fell silent until Helmeppo raised an eyebrow. On seeing that, Coby squinched his eyes shut -- a childish but familiar gesture -- and steeled himself before blurting out what was on his mind.

“You can’t let this get to you? OK? And-”

“It’s fine, seriou-”

“And I’m so sorry I let you face that by yourself! That I unintentionally put you in that position.”

Coby was clearly fighting to find the right words, which Helmeppo appreciated, because he wasn’t sure he was going to deal very well with the wrong ones right about now -- even from his best friend. The last day had been awful, top to bottom, and now that it was all over he just wanted to try to forget all about it and pretend he hadn’t abjectly failed when faced with a true challenge. But Coby was here just raking through it with both hands. Steeling himself against an urge to snap at his superior officer, he said, “Listen, like I said, just forget about it. It doesn’t matter.”

“It does, though.”

The plaintiveness caught Helmeppo off guard. “Why?” He asked.

“Because it’s bothering you,” Coby said.

“No, it’s not!” Helmeppo protested, but he could hear the lie in his own words.

“Ugh, why is this so weird to say? Listen. I’m not saying you’re dad’s not awful. He is. He’s really awful, and you’ve already surpassed him in every way that matters. I guess I’m saying, it’s okay to feel …” He paused, debating, before continuing with, “conflicted. Because I know you can’t just stop feeling how you feel. No one can. That’s all.”

Yeah, this was definitely not what he needed today. Bitterly, Helmeppo said, “So, what, you think I should-”

“I don’t think there’s a should,” Coby said quickly, pushing away from the leaf stalk. “It’s just, I think it’s OK to be horrified by what he did and to bring him to justice and to still be sad about it coming to that and wish things were different. You don’t have to just see him as an enemy. Because he’s not just an enemy for you.” He finally looked over at Helmeppo again, a guilty, furtive look. “Sorry. I know I should have said that a while ago.”

“What are you even talking about?”

“Back when you first told me, Helmeppo. Remember? I felt bad, later. Because it was the first time you trusted me with anything.”

A while ago? What was he talking about?

First time you trusted me with anything.

Oh.

That sparked a memory, of those first few weeks as a chore boy. Of hating every minute of it. Of rejecting everything he could about Marine life without getting himself kicked out. And each day’s list of chores just reinforced that he really was just as weak and stupid and useless as his dad had said, and that made him hate everything even more.

And this guy, this guy had continued to be so damn nice, cloyingly nice, after everything. He never seemed to get how he just made it harder. Being in the Marines was what Coby wanted, after all, while it was basically the only road Helmeppo had. The kid already knew how to wash dishes and scrub floors, things Helmeppo himself struggled with at first.

Plus, Coby had been sixteen, just coming into his own. Helmeppo, at twenty, was ostensibly an adult and found himself serving the whims of the same Marines he’d been an asshole to for so long. He’d been sure they were all laughing, watching him struggle and enjoying every moment of it. Some of them had been, of course. But a greater part of that feeling, he figured now, had been in his head. Still, at the time, it had felt so real that it was all he could feel.

And watching Coby take to the whole situation as though it were completely natural had felt like salt thrown directly in a very raw wound.

It had been maddening. Helmeppo felt like he was drowning, and as a drowning man will, he lashed out and nearly dragged others down too. But despite every attempt to get Coby to either give up the goody-two-shoes act and show his own awful side or just leave Helmeppo alone, he kept just being there. Friendly. Kind. Trying to make him keep going.

To be honest, it had worn Helmeppo down. And it had just been so difficult to pretend nothing bothered him, every day, when everything did. His entire life had been upended. He had no place anymore than felt like home. The work was awful and hard and he couldn’t do any of it right. And his father was going to-

He’d never felt more cowardly than at that moment, crying in front of some kid over his father’s well-earned upcoming punishment. But on some level, it had made him feel better. And even that took him a long time to accept. What was it Coby had told him, when he finally confessed all this? It took a moment to dredge up the words -- not even the words, just the message. He’d wondered if they’d kill his father, and Coby had said he didn’t know.

Had that been bothering him?

“Ah.” Helmeppo honestly wasn’t even sure what to say to that.

“I’m pretty sure that’s why you only read the newspaper when you think you’re alone,” Coby said, causing Helmeppo to blanche. He’d figured that out? “And I know you sneak down to check through every new batch of wanted posters. I’ve seen the look on your face when you do. Like you’re so angry at the world, until you get to the end and it’s just … you go still. So please don’t tell me it’s not bothering you. All right?”

Huh. So apparently all this time of thinking he was doing a good job of being discreet, he’d actually just been lying to himself. Just perfect. It was a really good thing that Coby couldn’t see just how red he was turning. One more reason to just forget today and-

“Helmeppo?”

Oh, right, Coby had been pouring out his thoughts and Helmeppo had been sitting here like a lump. “Sorry,” he said, struggling to find words that would assuage Coby’s worries. “It didn’t bother me, you know. What you said back then. I think that was what I needed to hear. Just someone to acknowledge that it was happening, and that there wasn’t an easy answer. As for today-”

What about today? How did he even begin to explain it all? Or even the heart of it? On the surface, it was simple. But more broadly…

“I screwed up,” he said heavily. “You shouldn’t have had to come flying to my rescue, but I stopped paying attention to the fight I was in. I noticed him, before I knew who he was, but I lost track of him during the fight. Until he cut me off when I tried to get out of there. Found him then.” He laughed, bitterly.

He chanced a look over at Coby. He was looking at Helmeppo, paying full attention, and there was something in his expression that Helmeppo was kind of glad he couldn’t see more clearly. He didn’t like seeing his friend sad. Especially not over something like this.

And like that last time, alone like this, something about Coby -- hell, maybe just him being willing to be here, and so clearly willing to listen and wanting to understand -- let Helmeppo finally break down.

“I know I said I was going to find him and bring him in. And I meant it. But it was like…” He groped for the right words. “It was like when I was there, in front of him, he looked at me like he was seeing the person I used to be, and I … I felt like it. Sure, I wasn’t exactly in great shape, but part of me didn’t even really want to try. When he looked at me, my first thought was just to get away from him. And when I couldn’t do that, I was just hoping someone would come help me, because he seemed so impossible to face. And-”

His fingers tightened on his elbows. Just talking about it was dredging the vision -- his dad big as a mountain, eyes hard and mouth in a thin line, his voice just the same -- He apparently thinks he’s a grown man. Never was willing to do what needed to be done. You never belonged on the Grand Line. You barely belonged in the East Blue.

“Helmeppo?”

“I felt trapped,” he said, startled out of reverie and into verbal motion again by Coby’s voice. “And I felt like … a fraud, you know? Like, I’ve been so full of myself, so sure that I’ve grown into a better, stronger person. But the moment I get tested, really tested, I find out I’m just the same self-important, oblivious coward that-”

“No.”

He couldn’t stop a rueful laugh. “No?”

“Listen, Helmeppo … today was a mess. You can’t just judge yourself by the worst of it. Come on. You think the you from before could have even stood up to him? Much less doing so when you were already injured? Even when I got there, you weren’t backing down or running away.”

Why did he have to sound so reasonable? “Maybe I should have,” Helmeppo said. “He even told me to, you know? Said if I dropped the weapon and begged him for mercy he’d let me leave.”

“And you didn’t,” Coby said firmly, as though that were the end of the conversation.

“It was weird for him even to say it though,” Helmeppo said. "I never would have thought he of all-”

But… wait. He’d been lying about the offer, Helmeppo was certain of that. But he’d said no, and maybe … maybe that was what had caused that hesitation at the end? The one that both he and Coby had noticed.

“Helmeppo?”

“You’re right, you know,” he said slowly. “He had me down, had me dead to rights, and he didn’t … he was just standing there and waiting. I was even thinking, why didn’t he just end it? But he didn’t. And then you came, and he lost the chance.”

“I didn’t know him,” Coby said. “Can you think why he might not press an advantage?”

“No.” Helmeppo laughed a little. “Mercy was never one of the virtues he particularly liked.”

“That’s why I wondered.”

“Maybe he … ugh. No. That’s dumb.” It couldn’t be.

“What?”

“I just wonder if he’s such a … you know, so wrapped up in his whole power and strength schtick that that was the only way to ever get through to him. Like back when he escaped. Remember? He could have killed us, or subdued one of us and tossed the other. But he tossed us both overboard. After we both stood up to him.”

He was overthinking this. He had to be. Until now, he’d never given it a second thought. He’d been sure it had happened because they had been too big a pain in the ass to control and the Marines would have been happy to add another charge to his rap sheet if he’d killed them. But would he really care about that?

“So you’re thinking he might have been impressed enough with you standing up to him that he didn’t want to h… well, kill you?”Coby mused.

“I told you it was dumb.” How many of those attacks had been aimed, not at something immediately vital, but an arm or leg?

“I don’t think it’s dumb. It kind of makes sense with what you’ve said about him.”

Well, he had not been expecting that. And now that he had, the idea felt … uncomfortable? He’d spent two years trying to convince himself the guy was just a monster. And yeah, he still was. But the idea that he was a slightly more complicated monster didn’t work well with those thoughts.

But there was some relief there as well.

Maybe I can hate him, and still miss some version of him and not be a monster myself. He thought about how his dad admitted that he had changed, in a tone that sounded so similar to approval that it had actually felt viscerally wrong to hear it come from the man’s mouth. What a mess. He’d have to thank Coby for this later. Again.

“If that’s the case, I bet in his head he’s taking credit for it all” he joked, as much to bring himself out of his own thoughts as anything. “Like threatening to kill me finally made me turn into the sort of son he might have been a little proud of, even though I managed it way too late.”

“Well, if he tries, let’s just ask if he was also responsible for all the whining you did when we got started,” Coby teased.

“He’ll never admit it, but yeah, that was definitely him too,” Helmeppo said with all the mock-seriousness he could muster.

Something crackled and crunched as Coby pushed away from where he’d been standing and walked over to sit by Helmeppo. He felt something press his left shoulder. As he looked that way, he felt a presence on the other. Coby was putting an arm around his shoulders, which was unexpected, but also kinda nice.

“You’ll get him next time,” Cody said with conviction.

“Just gotta make sure I got shoes next time.” Helmeppo said. “That was the real problem.”

“Obviously.”

“Hey Coby?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

“For what?”

Helmeppo laughed at the genuine puzzlement in Coby’s voice, but he didn’t answer. And the silence that fell between them now, as they waited for daybreak, finally felt familiar.

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 142: HHAH!! *GRUNT* *PUNCHING NOISES*

Previously on BnHA: Tamaki faced off against three villains on his own. At first he managed to keep them at bay by generating a bunch of giant kraken arms, which was badass. But then it turned out one of the villains had an eating quirk and just kept eating the damn arms like fucking Gluttony or Monkey D. Luffy or something. The other two villains worked together to beat Tamaki up, but then Tamaki neutralized one of their quirks and fucking absorbed the other one’s quirk and used it against him. Needless to say, he beat them, and it was pretty cool, although I’m not quite sure it was cool enough to warrant an entire chapter being devoted to it, but what are you gonna do. We’re moving on now anyway, so that’s that.

Today on BnHA: Tamaki passes out after winning his fight. We cut back to the rest of the heroes as they make their way down the neverending corridor. Mimic starts messing with the walls again and tries to crush Aizawa, but Fat Gum knocks him out of the way and takes the hit for him. At this point things become very jumbled, but basically FG and Kirishima end up separated from the rest of the group, and find themselves in a pit somewhere with two new villains. One of the villains is a big guy who likes punching shit, and the other is a Buddhist monk who likes to stand around and do absolutely nothing at all. The punching guy punches FG and Kiri a bunch, and Kiri has trouble withstanding it even with his quirk. FG yells at him to not give up and to maintain his will to fight no matter what. He and Kiri face the bad guys in determination and are all “we’re gonna punch ‘em some more, goddammit.”

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through chapter 175 now, so any ETAs will reflect that.)

all right kids. it’s been two weeks since I last read a chapter. I just did a quick refresher of the past dozen chapters or so, partly to remind myself of everything that was going on, and partly to remind myself of all the cool things that have happened in this arc. it kinda helped. somewhat

Tamaki’s fight didn’t really drag on that much. it was just two chapters. it felt like an eternity -- despite the fact that I actually like Tamaki a lot -- but it really wasn’t that long

and yeah, it’s been like four chapters since they started this raid, and all they’ve basically done so far is run down a few hallways. but I feel like things have to pick up soon, so we’re going to press on

BnHA got the Jump cover again! hopefully that means things are about to get exciting

ooh and there’s a color page too

basically, now that he’s finished beating these three assholes, he’s dosed them with a bit of poison to keep them in check, and now he is passing out. shit

also, “that was far more trouble than it should have been” is one of the more accurate summaries I’ve read in some time

so now we’re finally getting back to our badass 1-A boys! yesssss. I missed you lunkheads

I kinda just want the rest of the arc to be them busting through wall after wall of the labyrinth until they finally catch up to where Mirio is. then Aizawa neutralizes Overhaul’s quirk and they knock him out and rescue Eri and everything is happy and good again. and Nighteye announces that All Might is not going to die after all, and it turns out this whole time he was just misremembering an old cliffhanger episode of the canon All Might anime. and they all live happily ever after etc. etc.

(ETA: you know that anon ask about what I’d change about this arc? scratch everything I wrote in response to that. pencil this in. done and done)

but SOMETHING TELLS ME this is not going to happen

all right, so we’re back in the ol’ villain labyrinth

I’m having so much trouble spelling the word ‘labyrinth.’ I keep mixing up where the y and the i are supposed to go. stupid English language

what the fuck is this title

lol wtf

(ETA: now that I know the meaning of this title, I simultaneously have new respect for the title itself, and new exasperation towards Horikoshi for somehow still failing to see the problem with this extremely dull matchup. listen dude. no one fucking cares if “defense wins championships.” I’m just a poor soul trying to stay awake during panel after panel of blurry punching action. please never do this to us again)

Kirishima’s all “is senpai gonna be okay”, and no one fucking knows, Kiri

but no. he’s not. why on earth did you all leave him. whatever

FG is annoyed that they’re doubting Tamaki

um, no, this is the kind of stupid policy that this series has so far done its best to avoid. in fact, FG, I’ll see your point and raise you one “a true hero offers help even when it’s not asked for”, which is almost the exact opposite of what you’re saying. so WHAT IS THE TRUTH

oh my god Kirishima is immediately doing a 180 from being worried about Tamaki to being all “HE’LL BE FINE”

so am I to understand that you can get Kirishima to say or do anything just by implying that it is or isn’t manly

...actually, yeah, that checks out

so Kiri is fiercely saying that he’s still worried, but he has no choice but to believe in him

meanwhile Rock Lock, whose name was actually mentioned back in like chapter 138 but I missed it but I picked up on it when I went back to refresh my memory, is being annoyed by their enthusiasm. yet again

I feel like Rock Lock actually loves these kids now. right? they’re so fucking lovable. how can you not

(ETA: everyone gives in to class A’s charms eventually)

so now they’ve found some stairs and they’re all “let’s take these stairs”

but then they’re like “maybe we shouldn’t take these stairs”

this kind of indecisive bullshit is exactly why this arc has taken 500 chapters so far you guys. come the fuck on already

Aizawa is suspicious because wth happened to that guy who was manipulating the corridors before

well wasn’t he high af though? so maybe the quirk enhancing drug just wore off and he passed out?

Aizawa is speculating that his range might be limited and he can’t sense them all the way over here. or maybe he’s distracted by the other guys who were still fighting him earlier

I’m tired of trying to sum this all up so I’m just gonna post it

this is the room where Tamaki just finished kicking these guys’ asses. oh shit

now Irinaka’s eye is peeking out, and he’s all mad that the three of them lost to just one guy

and now for some reason we’re cutting back to where Bubble Girl and Captain Cockroach (I forget his name. but it was basically something like that) are restraining the villains who they previously stayed behind to battle

they’re questioning why the villains who were in hiding came out of the woodworks to attack them when they could have potentially gotten away if they’d just stayed put

but one of the villains says that if they’d done that, “Overhaul would have our heads”

this is why I don’t really understand villains like that last bunch who are so fucking loyal to a guy who clearly could not give less of a shit about them

and it seems like most of the current Eights are more loyal to the previous boss than to Overhaul

clearly the previous boss should have picked a 13-year-old peace-loving suburban Japanese kid to be his next heir rather than Chisaki. this is what happens when you don’t have Reborn around

anyway, even though these guys are all complaining about Overhaul, they’re all certain that the heroes aren’t going to succeed in capturing him

-- WHAT IN THE

DID A GIANT BATTERING RAM THING JUST EXPLODE OUT OF THE WALL AND SLAM INTO AIZAWA BECAUSE HOLY SHIT?!

AND NOW IT’S MAKING A HOLE IN THE WALL AND SHOVING AIZAWA INTO IT SHIIIIIT

LEAVE AIZAWA ALONE FOR ONCE, HE NEVER GETS TO DO ANYTHING IN THESE ARCS. LET HIM KICK SOME ASS

Fat Gum is tackling the giant wall hand and knocking Aizawa away from it!

so now Fat Gum has been punted through the hole in the wall instead

I’m relieved Aizawa is still with the kids, but we’re staying with FG, and I s2g if we have to spend another two chapters away from the protagonist watching characters who -- as lovable as they are -- we’d never even met before the start of this arc, I’m not gonna be super happy

-- OH MY GOD

KIRI YOU BLOCKHEAD WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE

motherfucker, he jumped in to take the hit for Aizawa too and then Fat Gum obliviously jumped in behind him and Kiri got sucked in and FG didn’t even realize

well this is just fucking great

so now some guy is emerging from the shadows ready to have fisticuffs!

and Kiri is going into Unbreakable mode again!

should you really be using your trump card right away like that. the trump card which you can only hold for a very short amount of time

um what in the

I’m not really enjoying how blurry and indistinct and difficult-to-follow these action panels have been getting as of late. it’s starting to feel like this series is finally entering a sophomore slump. get it together BnHA, c’mon

anyway, this guy looks to be punching Fat Gum really hard and possibly repeatedly. kind of like when All Might fought the Noumu at USJ

hmm

honestly it sounds like this guy was born to fight Kirishima in an epic showdown

“people oughta kill each other using just the power they got in their bodies” oh, you wacky Honorable Villains. you guys are always all over the place

FG’s turning to Kirishima, but OH SHIT

relax, I’m sure he’s fine though

ah, yes, good

this is probably gonna look really cool in the anime which will make up for this panel being something of a blurry mess right now

(ETA: just to clarify, when I originally read this chapter, I wound up with FA’s original scanlation which was significantly lower in quality. I’ve since found their version 2.0 which used cleaned-up scans which are very much improved.

here’s the original for comparison:

so yeah, the improved scans alone help to make this fight a significantly better read this time around. it’s still dull, but at least it’s readable now lol)

now FG is... trying to punch the other guy, but like. well, take a look

FG is very confused

and now another villain is there! were you there this whole time omg

okay so it must be his barrier then, right?

must... resist... urge to call him Chance the Rappa. no one else thinks it is funny. just you

but you know what. it’s my recap though. so

(ETA: honestly, this association is the only reason why he’s one of the few Eight Expendables whose names I actually recall)

so now Chance is punching FG again and it looks like it hurt him. damn

you know what I didn’t sign up for here. another fight with a tier 3 character where there is no plot advancement and where the villain’s quirk appears to just be “I punch stuff real hard.” wtf. goddammit BnHA, I’m rooting for you so get your shit in order already

so now the barrier villain is referring back to the title and clearing all of that up

actually, Kiri is spear and shield all in one. just saying. boy knows how to throw a damn good punch. who do you think was smashing through all your labyrinth walls earlier

so now Kiri is climbing back to his feet and thinking that the dude’s punches hurt him even in his Unbreakable mode

now there’s a single flashback panel of Bakugou, and my god. I’ll take it. where are you, son. how’ve you been. how’s my other son. I’ve been stuck in a villain labyrinth with side characters for the past half dozen chapters. I hope you’re off having a nice time somewhere

Kirishima is looking like he’s about to get all When The Going Gets Tough THE TOUGH GET GOING

oh! what’s this??

is this... flashback Kiri???

are you telling me he’s not a natural bright flaming redhead. what the hell. next you’re gonna tell me Mina’s not a natural pink and that Deku’s been dying his hair green since childhood

although in Kirishima’s case, he did look up to that Crimson Riot guy seemingly in the same way Deku, Shouto, and Kacchan admired All Might, didn’t he? so maybe it’s got something to do with that

FG is shouting at him not to let up his Unbreakable mode, and that if his spirit breaks that’s when he’ll really lose

and the last page is just Kiri and FG looking gritty and determined. but Kiri’s in his Ben Grimm mode so it looks weird lol

look, I’m hella down for some Kiri flashbacks. I just don’t want this fight to take longer than one and a half chapters. that’s it. that’s my limit. starting a timer... now

BONUS:

I think maybe this bonus page is supposed to go with chapter 143, but eh. it works here too

so Rappa’s quirk is explained in another omake, and basically it’s something that allows him to rotate his shoulders really fast so he can punch a lot. to think, he could have been the next Michael Phelps, but instead he wound up being a third-rate villain in the most boring arc. such a waste

Tengai’s whole character just makes no sense to me whatsoever. why are you a villain. you’re so boring. nothing in your personality or backstory offers up any type of explanation for why you would be working for a murderous crime syndicate. it’s a complete mystery, but not in a cool way, more of a “none of this adds up in the slightest” type of way. just because you never open your eyes when you talk doesn’t make you cool you asshole

[sphelon8565]

Greetings today dear citizens of the internet, tumblr and elsewhere!

I’m Pretty much back!

11/30/2018

today’s another episode for me to post preview  works in  doodling concepts of character profiles of my yet to written fiction Battle Rehime.

To check my previous posts here’s the links:

Battle Rehime 001

Battle Rehime 002

Yeah it's been a long time I haven't post in weeks, some of these drawings are done around  the end of 2017 without further ado, I’ll be featuring the ff characters:

Kilik (Soul Calibur), Magneto, Sinestro, Ezreal, Griffith (BERSERK), Monkey D. Luffy and Jam Kuradoberi (Guilty Gear)

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Kilik

One of the early important figures in the Soul Calibur series...**In addition to Battle Rehime, he’s in the quest for searching the curse sword lerking around the world, in order to track down it’s wear abouts, he’s however had to deal lot’s of enemies getting in his way, teaming up with Luffy and the StrawHat Pirates, tagging along the likes of Domon Kashu, Zidane and Vaane Fanel. He may will be trained by Master Asia at some point after...

“Listen to the beat of my soul!’

“This rod, Kali-Yuga, shall bring you doom!”

“Here, I’ll show you the way of the Ling-Sheng Su, Jam & Domon!”

“erg...that straw hat sure had a good appetite, after all...!” **pertaining to Luffy

“Alright Zed, you’re not gonna do anymore harm!” (said after protecting an unconcious Ahri)

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Magneto

To understand Magneto, he has a strong hatred to human kind and is infamous for battling against the X-men on multiple occassions. To stir things up, he’s pretty much an every enemy to those whoever stands in his way, unless they make some certain pledges, just to attain his agenda. This is why he’ll be getting along with the likes of Golbez, Sinestro, Black Adam and anyone against humanity. He’ll likely get along with Haman Karn, Char and the rest of the other villains on certain conditions...**To be expanded soon

“Mutant kind will prevail!”

“Foolish boy, you are a mere puppet to human kind” ~said well battling against Squall Leonheart.

“How dare you meddle with my plans! Begone you scoundrel knight!”

“I dare you to interfere with my mind, you newtype scum!” ~To any newtype

“Perhaps I shall crush you swiftly along with your mobilesuit, Kamille Bidan”

“I am sadden that you are opposing mutant kind dear young girl...

you will soon regret what Munroe (Storm) has meddle to you,” Said during a battle against Janna, The Storm’s Fury.

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Sinestro

**In the Battle Rehime world, he’ll be connected to alot of important figures and also once tutored some of the good guys. With a strong connection to the universe, he’s as just as lethal as Dr.Doom’s agenda, making him sooner one of the strong key figures in an upcoming war against the heroes to meet his own goals.

Also plan on making Richard Riders (A.K.A. Nova), one of his past students replacing the said Hal Jordan to expand something dramatic tensions going on between them..**Hal Jordan is pretty much dead......in this fanfiction story...

“I am sensing fear inside you little girl, you won’t prevail if you don’t conquer it”

“If you want to restore your earth’s form of order then you must instill “fear” beneath these worms!

“I’m telling you...fear is the key to victory in defiance of discord and tyranny! & if we prevail, then the throne shall belong to us...!”

“Pathethic, Tranquil of the Gales, for a girl fill with winding hopes, you still feel fear trembling down to your feet! & it’s all because you don’t understand your surroundings!” **Said after defeating Janna in an intense battle.

“You won’t be able to defeat me Richard Rider!”

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Griffith

“I haven’t come up with a dialogue yet for this character, but in the early chapters of my fiction, he is already trying to recruit allies for his own band. (Pretty much took place after the infamous Eclipse that sacrificed all those he knew in his life) Starting with Lanaya of Dota 2....

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Ezreal

**Here in Battle Rehime, he’s good friends with Booster Gold! tagging along to explore and discover what elses beneath the world they’re living with. and no worries Lux X Ezreal fans out there, these two will cross paths in some way or another....

“Hey May (Guilty Gear)! hope I could go out for an adventure anytime!” 

“Gold, I’m sensing something bad going on...”

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Monkey D. Luffy

Monkey D. Luffy, the one day who dreams to become King of the Pirates, so where could the Grandline be? With friends along in order to achieve his dreams, he has yet to face the world whatever multiple tensions are going on between the ideologies of mankind. 

**He pretty much befriends anyone....even the bad guys....

“I’m Sorry Tifa, I was just dragged by their pranks...!” said after a hilarious incident that pisses Tifa Lockhart off...

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Troll Warlord

Here in Battle Rehime, Troll Warlord is on a self-journey to challenge the previous champion of a league tournament held every year all around. While he is known for making ruckus to anyone, much the dismal and pity of others....the heroes just let him be their ally due to important complicated reasons...thanks to Lux, Tidus and Rizzrack for convincing the good guys that he’s really not that of a bad guy...after all, even Bruce Wayne find something useful with this guy...

He, However in this crossover fanfiction verse, had a funny friendly relationship between the good guys for thinking them all as a nuisance (especially Janna, whom he often hates of all the company) and would like to kill em all after the war. but it’ll likely won’t happen especially with sympathetic and open-mind beings around.

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Jam Kuradoberi

**In this crossover verse, she is in search for more rare ingredients, that would sell good for her restaurant. Luckily for her, she tags along with the Strawhat Pirates, making good friends (and a good friendly rivalry) with Tifa Lockhart, and befriends a lot whoever she cross paths with. **

“If I win..... you WORK UNDER ME!”

“Hello Rubberboy, you like my cook don’t you?”

“Hey! Your Ki looks strong...you make me enjoy fighting you!

stay tune for another post!

11/30/2018

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