#but you're not going to come in here based on the tidbits of knowledge you get about my life and my history through the lens

[robogalaxies]

☎️ - The Unneeded But Happily Researched Crumbs Of Everything We Know About The Commissioner

“If anything happens… I’ll deny I ever knew you.”

The Commissioner is, as we all know, a mystery, and I hope it stays that way, but I put it upon myself to wrangle every little tidbit of information we have on him outside of giving cases! I do this solely because of three things:

I have nothing better to do

I find myself strangely endeared to his character (i.e. I do a gay little "favorite character" clap every time I hear him mentioned)

I want to share all my random knowledge with you all because I go digging for it in every S&M media there is

I'll be dividing this up into 4 sections for ease of access: comics lore, games lore (HtR, Telltale, TTIV), cartoon lore, and misc. lore. Some things MAY be assumptions based on other characters' reactions to what he MIGHT be saying or say about him, sure, but I will source all information on where to find it & provide images when they can be easily provided!~ If anything new comes up or I have forgotten something, I'll update. Until then... hope you love both hyperlinks and "at least I laughed at it" style commentary! ☎️

Comics Lore

The introduction of The Commissioner, as with everyone else! Small tidbits of his quite understated character outside of being The Phone are here, obviously, including:

the Commissioner's one and only speech bubble! (Bad Day on The Moon)

the beginnings of the implied "I love you" statements towards Sam & Max with an "XOXO" on a postcard (Bad Day on The Moon)

he shows SOME disdain towards Sam & Max's attitudes towards achieving their goals, being the one specifically to tell them to go on a road trip (On the Road #1, "Prisoners of The Casbah")

Games Lore

Hit the Road

The Commissioner is barely a character in this game (big surprise, right?) and you do not get much information on him minus the bare minimum of "he is Sam & Max's boss," so there's not much to be said here. In fact, I don't know why I mentioned it. Great game, though, go play it! Now! I'll wait until you get back :)

Save The World

Welcome back! There're only minor silly tidbits here, but they're needed for this comprehensive list. Everything is worth mentioning about a character with nothing to his name but "The Commissioner." I mean, you're reading this post, right?

wears bifocals! 👓 ("The Mole, The Mob, and The Meatball")

was once in contact with & worked with Harry Moleman, as he sent him to be the mole for the Toy Mafia. Crossover of the century... I wonder if he knows how far poor Harry has fallen ("The Mole, The Mob, and The Meatball")

Takes Sam & Max out for dinner sometimes, apparently, if they do well enough on their cases! Squirrel Garden sounds disgusting, but I'd be jazzed too if they also had the free breadsticks ("The Mole, The Mob, and The Meatball")

likely just a quick jab, so I don't really know why I'm putting it here other than humor, but Max apparently doesn't trust him! I hope that gets solved; Commissioner is sorta signing his meager paychecks ("Bright Side of The Moon")

Beyond Time and Space

The middle child of the Telltale trilogy, this game has barely anything in terms of tidbits given that he really only assigns the beginning cases in 1 out of 5 episodes, and even then, that doesn't give a single thing away. Despite this, there's gotta be one or two tidbits we should learn, right? Sure!

is aware of Sam's insistence on answering the phone & seemingly asks straight up why he didn't answer (What's Up, Beelzebub?)

Can confirm an "I love you" towards Max... d'aww! (What's Up, Beelzebub?)

The Devil's Playhouse

The Commissioner barely shows up or is referenced in this game, mainly due to the story existing outside of the common framing of "assigning cases," but we learn two small yet revealing tidbits:

British Columbian! 🇨🇦 (The City That Dares Not Sleep)

Has provided books on cultural and racial sensitivity for Sam & Max because they kept "reducing people to obvious stereotypes." (The City That Dares Not Sleep)

This Time, It's Virtual!

The phone exists yet again... but in your VR HEADSET! Some fairly funny Commissioner lore in this one even if you, like almost everyone I've seen in this fandom, dislike or even hate this game:

His family is in hiding, and I'm assuming Witness Protection?! Must come with the territory (phone call after completing first three Freelance Training segments in-game)

Can confirm an "I love you" of some sort said to Sam ... d'aww! (phone call after completing first three Freelance Training segments in-game)

Signs off even official, legal wanted posters with "The Commissioner," asking people to seek the help of Freelance Police & associates himself as PART of the Freelance Police!

signs your certificate at the end of the game, which mentions the Illuminati in conjunction with his name for some reason! What kind of policing are we running here....??

Cartoon Lore

Truly, the 90s cartoon is where most Commissioner lore lies if we take into consideration all of these happen within the same universe, which we likely shouldn't. This being said, the cartoon provides us with the only picture we have of the guy (see post photo above the cut). Alongside this, we also get a LOT more information than any other media:

before we even start the information in the ACTUAL cartoon, Sam & Max say within the show's initial Bible believe he's out to kill them, in some way, saying they're the "troubled, ungrateful sons he never had." That's so sweet ... in a way. As well, there's a very small section dedicated to the Commissioner as a character, though not much is said that we don't already know (Sam & Max Cartoon Series Bible)

has Geek's number, or at least a number to the Sub-Basment of Solitude, as he calls it more than once over the course of the series, which makes me wonder how well he may or may not know Geek! Like a grandniece or something (episodes 1, "The Thing That Wouldn't Stop It" & 3b, "They Came from Down There")

cried over the story of Sam & Max having to get rid of John, their beloved alligator son... must be a shared parental instinct (episode 6a, "That Darn Gator")

apparently sends sticker books in case briefings on a semi-regular basis, as Sam comments that he "loves when the Commissioner does that" as if it has happened before - how whimsical! (episode 6b, "We Drop at Dawn")

confirms the Commissioner as a legitimate police commissioner alongside being Sam & Max's boss (episode 6b, "We Drop at Dawn")

seemingly very fussy if not given his private bathroom and honor bar. Fancy stuff, Commissioner, & he apparently allows Sam and Max up there! Or not, they just sorta bust in. Whatever! Sharing is caring (episode 6b, "We Drop at Dawn")

the Commissioner has a DAUGHTER! and somehow, Sam & Max got invited to her WEDDING! I think she's beautiful and I hope she doesn't resent her special day getting ruined (episode 11a, "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang")

that iconic, signed, chest only photo given with the solemn, loving, promise of "If anything ever happens, I'll deny I ever knew you," followed by Max crying that it's "It's just... so him." - what a loving, tender and slightly bordering on oddly familial relationship he has with Sam and Max... stop, I'll start crying! (episode 13, "The Final Episode")

Misc. Lore

These are lore tidbits that are present in mediums either outside of the media itself, belong in a game that is not technically part of the larger S&M canon, or has to do with out of media context, but should be included anyway because why not!

gifts Sam & Max a new floaty pen from a different United State every Christmas ... but not really anything else! (Poker Night 2)

Sam & Max discuss the Commissioner's power in response to doubt about his existence, claiming "Don’t you know he’s everywhere? He knows we’re talking about him right now!" - which is sort of scary, but I'll let it slide because it implies that the Commissioner's surveillance is of a much higher caliber than we initially thought and that is BANGER (in-character interview for Telltale, found here on Steve Purcell's Sam & Max FB page)

He's affectionate yet surly & I'm sure all those "I love you" statements contribute to that! D'aww... (Skunkape Origin Video)

Voiced by a member of Bay Area Sound, Julian Kwasneski, in the Telltale trilogy! Talked about and even has a LINE recited in this specific developer commentary! We love a mysterious boss who sounds like an adult in Peanuts.

God bless the guy, he had a rash! Does this matter? No. Will it ever matter? Likely not, as it was from the sadly cancelled Sam & Max: Freelance Police trailer. Sighs. At this point, you can tell I'm just adding whatever mentions we get of the guy. Makes me giggle, though.

Conclusion...?

In the end, the Commissioner is a mystery, and always WILL be a mystery. Hell, I sort of never want to know as it will ruin every single thing I have worked so hard to archive, but it is fun to comb through the different canons! Of course, it is likely any of this can be tossed out or considered non-canon in the blink of an eye because Sam & Max always loves to give a middle finger to character details if they don't affect the main plot & likely a lot of these are mere gags. The Commissioner is phone, and always will be only phone. However, it's always in my best interest to try to find ANYTHING to push back the curtain even the tiniest inch, and I hope my efforts were worth it. Now, to sign off, just press that phone! You got it, you got it! ☎️

[mmx-code-crimpphire]

Headcanon - Delta Nano Development Part 2 - Code Expansion

Okay, so you know about the code expansion explanation in the last headcanon I wrote that was based around how Robot Masters were experiencing things, including Rock, Night Man, and especially Blues?

Well I did also say that Blues' Independence development was a big part in the development for X's free will AI. That is way more advanced than Blues', not for the fact that it can just evolve faster. That wouldn't be possible without the data collected on code expansion on Robot Master's experiences themselves, and studying what the properties of the Roboenza can do on Robotics itself and developing the technology to prevent any viruses from corrupting X's data.

NEW CHAPTER ON AO3!!

Reading @oofitsbethi's "Fallen Savior" fanfic, I thought that was definitely an interesting concept, and it definitely made the most sense. Since, to my knowledge, I do not think X's AI was ever explained in canon, and I hardly ever think of stuff like this on a dime. I usually ask other friends for help on stuff unless I know everything about the lore itself and how it works in canon. What I can do to change it slightly but still make it work.

I had my fair share of doing stuff like that in the Transformers fandom (albeit, I was still a beginner writer back in the day- any of you guys remember what fanfic I wrote, whaddup), so I had plenty to work with, and there was a lot to go off of in terms of terminology and mechanics, technology, hardware and software wise in terms of how machines and the Cybertronians themselves worked.

Here, for the Megaman fandom, from my understanding, we get the basics of how the Robot Masters work and what they do, and that's it. We get a few tidbits here and there for actual mechanics, but that's about it. We barely get an understanding of how X's AI even works. And it's based on variations of how it does, based on what version of the X series you're looking at.

All of those variations make sense if we put them all together and make it a less cohesive and complicated AI on what it can do. Since it's supposed to be forming what leads to X's potential. Same thing for his free will and how fast the code expands internally and doing whatever the fuck he wants.

Of course, some explanations of this coding needs specifics as well, such as the expanding code preventing viral infections as mentioned previously.

This is an explanation of more than just the "magic" element to Delta Nano, now, isn't it? Well, I don't blame you, since it does touch upon the technicalities of technology and the energies behind certain powers.

Now, I'll also go into a brief tangent that Delta Nano isn't equipped with chips officially. Hoooo nononono. They are installed into the Reploid's system once they're tweaked to their liking, and it's been tested multiple times. Axl and Lumine's cases are exceptions to this rule- sort of.

See, they have crystals they still use, the first four being prototypes, so they're unstable, and the other four are perfected, so they're controlled better by their owner aka Lumine. It doesn't have to be strictly connected to crystals, per say, but they do have the option to use crystals, and it's usually used up to four or less. Mostly one or two, since most reploids who want to use it don't know if they'll feel well controlled to use up to four, which is an understandable reason. It’s a breeze for both Axl and Lumine, but that doesn’t mean it’s a breeze for any other Reploid.

Would X want to have Delta Nano, is the next question. And to answer said question, no he wouldn’t necessarily want it. Now, his armors do come with them overtime, though they still aren’t utilized within his regular everyday armor. As he doesn’t use his armors very much to begin with, except with the moment for them to be presented and that's pretty much it. The exception being the Blue Jay Armor, but we'll also have to get into that another time.

He doesn’t feel he needs them. Except, he didn't realize he had it all this time, except it’s not brought out to its full potential. The Blue Jay armor harbored his Blue Jay wings he obtained, and his own code expanded to keep them after realizing he could, especially after Zero had acquired his own wings, them being Phoenix wings.

What about Zero's dark powers, you also may be asking? Well, that just staves off from the evil energy and maverick virus he master carries. Along with the experiences and memories he gained since being found after gaining amnesia. I'll probably make a part two to that as well. Maybe.

But that's all I'll input unless I make more development on Delta Nano again.

[flatstarcarcosa]

Hi there! I don't want to be rude or anything but as someone who had a very real family member pass on due to cancer I just wanted to say that using something that is such a horrible thing to experience in real life as background lore for a self insert is in bad taste. Please consider that in the future before being so casual about it again as it can be very hurtful to those who have truly dealt with it. <3

..........

anon, i am placing my hand on your shoulder but please know i am also giving you a firm warning squeeze while doing so because hooooooooooooooooooooooly goddamn shit.

my actual mom actually did have ovarian cancer, and thanks to misogyny and ableism in medicine, did in fact almost fucking die before anyone caught it.

when the doctors found it they weren't even fucking looking for it, they were in the general area for a completely different reason and just happened to stumble upon an assload of fucking cancer cells.

so my early childhood memories involve a bunch of No Good Really Bad Things happening that i did not fully understand at the time since i was like, six, when it all started.

there is also an actual assload of cancers in my family history, and it's highly likely i am genetically predisposed to issues with my entire renal system and that my current bladder/kidney issues could one day get fucking worse, but i'll probably never know for sure because that kind of genetic testing is fucking expensive as hell and not usually covered under insurance.

and like. while i do not think my problems are because holy shit i have cancer, based on how long i've had them, it's still not fucking great when you're exhibiting a lot of the same symptoms people in your family did before they found out they had cancer.

it's also not fucking great to have a lot of the same symptoms people in your family had before they found out they had some sort of really horrible, no good, incurable problems with their kidneys and shit, too.

like.

jesus christ. jesus fucking goddamn christ do we really have to go back to like Internet and Social Media 101: You Do Not Know Everything About The Person Posting Just Based On What They Post or something????

like. this is so fucking presumptuous and goddamn fucking rude of you to come into the ask box of someone that's disabled/chronically ill and tell them how something they wrote about for what's like, obviously A Coping Mechanism related to their fucking health and illnesses, is Offensive Actuawwy, but only offensive based on the sheer amount of projection you're fucking dumping onto them.

holy goddamn shit.

[my-my-my]

Loved your answers to the meta hcs on Aizen. Any chance that you can include more? Thanks!!

Sure! I feel like many of these are hcs several others also share, so it may not necessarily be new, but these are things I think about when it comes to him. He's a complex character imo, and there are so many tidbits I like to overanalyze haha!

I also apologize because this isn't very meta - but more of a word dump about how there are little references that add to Aizen's complexity (even if it's from me overanalyzing everything lmao).

This is incredibly long, so thank you to those who take the time to read this! I really appreciated how responsive people were to my last meta post, it means a lot.

I apologize for not replying to comments (I can't on this account), but it truly means a lot that people also feel similarly about Aizen!

👓 NAME 👓

I'm not fluent in Japanese AT ALL, like super basic, rudimentary skills, but I'd like to think Kubo put thought into the names of his characters.

Let's breakdown his last name: Aizen (藍染). I think many common assumptions is that his name is tied to the god of lust and wisdom (Aizen-myoo) but the kanji is completely different from that mythical figure (愛染明王).

The kanji in our Aizen, represents indigo dye. It also shares the same kanji as a Japanese-native psychoactive mushroom (Psilocybe subcaerulipes [藍染芝生茸]).

I find indigo an interesting colour. I always saw it as leaning towards blue, but other times I've seen it lean towards violet. In a sense, it blends between the two - you can interpret this as how Aizen blended between being a wonderful captain, to a murderous traitor of Soul Society. Or going even further, an excellent and skilled shinigami, to an even more powerful, dangerous transcendent being.

Indigo dye, purple, deep violets, etc. are family of colours perceived as royalty in historical Western kingdoms - what did Aizen want to do? Become the Soul King.

Aizen's own reiatsu is depicted as being a violet colour.

In Japan, the shades of indigo have a different meaning: benevolence/virtue (again, this is where you can interpret indigo as more blue or more purple). He saw killing Tosen, attempting to kill Hinamori, etc. as "benevolent" acts (even if his perceptions are deeply skewed). He was also known to be a virtuous captain before his betrayal. Here is a link to traditional Japanese colour theory.

This is more of a stretch, because the likely reason the psychoactive mushroom has the name "Aizen" in Japanese is because it bruises into an "indigo" like colour, but again - psychoactive mushrooms cause hallucinatory effects. When you're tripping, your senses are deeply affected.

There's something to be said about tripping on shrooms. From personal experience, you want someone you trust, to be sober and watch over you, you want to be around people you trust, etc. This is from the concept of "set and setting" - your emotions are deeply affected by shrooms. The hallucinatory properties of kyoka suigetsu deeply affected many people's emotional responses. Aizen, who would be the "sober" one, is untrustworthy and pushed people further into his hypnosis until he undid it, leaving many mentally scarred for a time being (Hinamori). This is also a massive risk when taking psychoactive drugs.

Another way to see interpret his name is that it could be a reflection of his family's status. Many cultures, historically, had names based on family's main occupation. Indigo dye could be interpreted into many facets: were his family merchants? Were they silk weavers? Indigo is a very difficult colour to create, so it would be expensive - it could be a fair assumption that Aizen grew up comfortably, but still very, very far off from the nobles.

This could explain how Aizen understood the meaning for birthdays - as even Hitsugaya pointed out, being in Rukongai 1, birthdays were not important. Again with Aizen, you can interpret him as being knowledgeable about everything, or it could reflect that he grew up in an environment where birthdays were celebrated, making him "better off" than those in all of Rukongai.

You can interpret that the association of his family having some mercantile occupation, giving him insight as to how the noble families operated, and him growing his disgust towards them. "These people rule over Soul Society? They're complete idiots." or something of that effect haha!

On the other hand, there are similarities between Aizen, the god Aizen-myoo, and divinity.

Within the Japanese Monarchy, there are 3 items tied to it and the royalty's associated godhood: Kusanagi (sword); the Yata no Kagami (mirror); Yasakani no Magatama (jewel). KS represents both the sword and mirror - the hogyoku represents the jewel. Aizen held both at one point in the story, but were "destroyed" - thus stopping him from reaching the royal palace ("godhood").

The hogyoku was revealed to be a "wish-granting" item, which is very similar to the "hoju" in Japanese Buddhist mythology. There are certain gods and goddesses associated with this jewel: Kannon (who is the figure in Urahara's sword/bankai); Jizo Bosatsu (Mayuri's Ashisogi Jizo) and Aizen-myoo. It could be that Kubo wanted Mayuri to also be involved/have a connection to the hogyoku too!

Both Aizen and Aizen-myoo open their third eye, associated with beings of a higher consciousness, spiritual awareness, and enlightenment.

Aizen and Aizen-myoo can be seen as foils in their depiction, aside from having similar sounding names. Aizen-myoo's skin is flushed red, while his hair is wild and unkept - which is tied to passion, rage and lust - raw emotion. Aizen Sousuke is the opposite, his skin is stark white (devoid of passion), his hair is slicked back (composed). He's controlled in his emotions until Urahara seals him in bright red seals. His hair also becomes wild!

Another thing about Aizen-Myoo: he is the patron god for many occupations, one of those are trades relating to fabric-dyeing, going back to the indigo aspect :).

So Sousuke/Sosuke, as Kubo wrote it is: 惣右介

The 惣 represents:

A historical term for rural, self-governance (and what did Aizen want to do again…). Specifically referring to the "Muromachi period". Interestingly to note, this period is where Zen Buddhism flourished, especially in the arts (like calligraphy!!).

右 represents "right-hand side" (as in "turn right at the corner") 介 for being "concerned with one's self".

Sousuke/Sosuke is a popular Japanese name, which adds another layer to Aizen's deception. His name is very common, almost like he's an NPC - he's so innocuous in the world of Sereitei. Mild-mannered, disciplined, refined, he doesn't stand out too much, but enough to be recognized for his work ethic.

At the same time, I'm not taking too much stock into this interpretation of his meaning :). For example, Kisuke (喜助) also has the same suffix in romaji (-ke), but different kanji associated with it (介 vs 助).

🪞 🌸 🌊 🌙 KYOKA SUIGETSU 🌙 🌊 🌸 🪞

I'm not doing a breakdown on the idiom kyoka suigetsu represents (as there are countless, and better explained posts breaking that down better than I can). What instead I'm bringing, is how kyoka suigetsu is a tool to show how ambitious and focused Aizen is. This section is very much thanks to this Reddit post and additional "research" I wanted to know more about lol!.

One of the most prominent books on swordfighting, strategy and warfare in Japan is "A Hereditary Book on the Art of War" written by Yagyu Munenori in 1632. This book is split into three arches: 1) The Killing Swords; 2) Life-giving Sword; 3) No Sword.

In this book, Munenori breaks down the same idiom kyoka suigetsu represents, but ties it to sword fighting.

Munenori takes the idiom "moon in the water" but equates it as the moon's ability to instantaneously cast its reflection on the water's surface, and how a warrior must do the same.

A warrior must be able to "see" far ahead, like the moon, and "cast his reflection" (killing strike, his ambition) on where he wants to go, just like the moon reflecting on the water. His ambition will guide his "body, hands, and feet", thus without ambition, your physical strength is useless.

To be able to utilize their ambition and physical strength effecitvely, the warrior must be focused and disciplined. Aizen (prior to his loss against Ichigo and Urahara), exhibited a lot of Zen values/attitudes, even in his fighting.

Munenori also discusses that the warrior, who is able to mimic "the moon reflecting on to the water", must be unreadable, mysterious, to his opponent - the opponent should be confused on when to strike (the warrior's "inscrutable sword").

What Munenori states as "body, hands, and feet" is just knowing/being able to read your opponents

"Sickness" isn't the literal physical ailment of being sick, but in the Zen meaning of "being free of fixations".

Zen teachings explain that true freedom comes from "freeing the mind of fixations without losing concentration, attention, or control". Aizen's own focus is an great example of that - his ability to make near perfect illusions is not a testament to kyoka suigetsu, but of his own mind.

Aizen was constantly focused on the "present", while being very aware on what he needed to go "further ahead". His ability to continuously wield his strength/reaitsu, with his high intelligence and tactical mind, made him probably one of the strongest enemies Soul Society ever faced. We can argue that Aizen's "fixation" on being the Soul King led to his downfall.

Combining this, kyoka suigetsu is powerful because Aizen is the one wielding it. Even Gin said so himself, it's not KS that's powerful, but Aizen - his focus, his ambition, intelligence, etc. make him fearsome. Applying Munenori's tactics to Aizen's own sword fighting ability, also adds an additional appreciation of Aizen's immense strength.

🤫 APPEARANCE 🤫

This is a shorter section lol, but Aizen having glasses as part of his attire is a very deliberate choice imo. It's pretty much the same reason the protagonist of Persona 5 wore them:

it creates an "unassuming" appearance; Aizen appears as a non-threatening, and ✨intellectual✨

Without his glasses, he has a intense, even menacing stare. I'm sure the students at the Soul Academy were curious to see what he looked without them, but they would probably be very intimidated if they saw him without his glasses.

Shaggy, almost unkept hair, gives a sense of approachability.

I think Aizen was very aware about how he looks/is meticulous about his apperance. His disguise as "Lieutenant/Captain Aizen" had to be very believable - he was deliberate in how he presented himself.

Even in a modern AU setting, I can see Aizen having a wardrobe that leans towards timeless, classic pieces, and pieces that avoid him standing out. He is an observer, and he also likes to take people by surprise. Maybe the nice, cashemere sweater he's wearing, costs $500 haha! Something like that.

It's not that he cares what other people think of him, but he has goals he wants to achieve, and showing is "true" self, will not yield him that reward. He's aware that he can further his agenda by playing into the hands of how the public treats and reacts to him.

👩‍🔬 🧑‍🔬 👨‍🔬 SCIENTISTS 👨‍🔬 🧑‍🔬 👩‍🔬

Aizen, Urahara and Mayuri are the three (in)famous scientists in Sereitei. I would also argue Shutara Senjumaru of the Royal Guard also deserves a spot for that, so I'm going to include her in this as well.

We see that Mayuri and his sword, if you were to "categorize" what science he fell under, it would be "toxicology" which is more chemistry and biology driven. Mayuri is focused on poisons, their effects, and his tolerance/immunity to them. Urahara on the other hand, would be biological engineering. He also invented the hogyoku, as well as the untraceable gigai, and many other tools. His bankai is also representative of anatomical dissections, which is pretty prominent in many applications of biological engineering.

Shutara would be associated with materials science since she created the Shinigami uniform, which has built-in defense properties. She also created the Shutara scale to detect hollows and their frequency (again, dealing with the material, physical world).

Aizen on the other hand? Neuropsychology. His powers and skill are focused on the person's brain/mind and soul. He's skilled at reading people and observing them - to the point in strategizing and using their emotions for his own plans. I mean, there's even a whole subset of how psychology can be used in warfare...

WOW. This was massive. Thanks again for those who read this!!

[op-sheepy]

One Piece Manga spoilers ahead...

Got a message from someone expressing disappointment that the recent OP manga chapters dashes their headcanons that the Heart Pirates are medically trained... or at least competent enough at it... I can see how the latest chapters could somehow change this perception which is a totally valid interpretation. (Likely to be canon too though it could all be interpreted some other way with our favorite headcanons intact.. :D)

Of course, bringing my attention to this could only mean that they wanted to be convinced otherwise. Using my favorite fandom tools of some recontextualization, selective interpretation, and some basic relevant medical tidbits (my friend preferred calling it me 'bulsh*tting' my headcanons into the realm of possibility, which fair) I did manage to convince them (it helps that they really wanted it to be true lol) and they've convinced me to share here. Remember to take the following with a grain of salt and to not take anything mentioned that's medically related seriously or as an absolute fact that would automatically reflect in real life. I mean, it's a manga and we're definitely stretching things here... Anyways, here goes...

Let me start off with this panel:

Now it's been years since I've had any use for BLS but still the first thing that struck me when I saw this was, 'That is not how one does chest compressions...'

You can do a quick search for proper hand placement for CPR and it will tell you that the heel of one hand is at the center of the chest with the other hand on top of the first hand, fingers interlocked. Now, I'm not really that good at making out details from manga panels but the hand placement does not look correct at all.

My first instinct was to make another WIP fic where their captain drills them and they review this (which I did do lol). And then made my assumptions if I go with the premise that the crew is doing their best to their knowledge.

This would bring up the following points:

As mentioned, the hands do not look correct for chest compressions.

Water is spouting from Luffy's mouth like a fountain suggesting that the pressure being exerted on the chest is pushing the water out.

The purpose of chest compressions in CPR is not to expel water but to emulate the heart beating and maintain circulation. (so the Oxygen can get to your brain continuously)

The incorrect hand placement would then suggest that Bolero Hat guy is not trying to maintain circulation but instead trying to expel the liquid from the lungs. Sort of like a lung massage. This is somewhat confirmed in a succeeding panel with them with someone trying to affirm whether they've gotten rid of all the water.

Basically, they are clearing the airway. Which they would only do if they've established that Luffy's circulation is fine and that the obstruction is the immediate issue that needs to be addressed.

Now, during drowning, generally, aspirated water should end up in the stomach because of laryngospasm (vocal cords spasming). For some reason, maybe force of will (because he did look like he was still screaming while he was drowning) or his strange anatomy (because he is rubber), the water somehow ended up in his lungs. We assume this because Luffy with water in his stomach looks like this:

Not as relevant but we can also assume that his rubber powers affect the displacement of liquids within the different membranes inside his body.. because otherwise, the next image wouldn't be possible (Bolero hat guy would have had better luck performing some modified thoracentesis with a spigot)

If you're still following my rambling, what we've pretty much established is that whatever the Hearts were doing it wasn't necessarily the chest compressions done in CPR or rather, it has maybe passed that (also note the lack of defibrillator use which should be available in that submarine).

Right after clearing his lungs of water, they move on to the next thing they need to address which is his lack of consciousness ('Open your eyes, man!') because from the image above the 'sh---h' sound coming from Luffy suggests that he is already breathing.

For alteration of consciousness, the treatment would depend on the underlying cause. Here the presumption was the lack of Oxygen (or whatever gas is being breathed in One Piece).

This is pretty much the scene that shows them seemingly not knowing what to do but given the circumstances, I thought it was understandable. Also, Luffy's physiology is pretty unique. I doubt squeezing the lungs would have been viable as a method of removing the fluid (it would have been postural drainage, some modified Heimlich, or straight up inserting a tube) had he not been made of stretchy rubber. Any further intervention without the accompanying knowledge could be more detrimental. Here is a picture of our other resident genius doctor saying as much regarding administering medication he doesn't know enough about.

Since no return to consciousness was imminent and there was no doctor to make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment, the team is left to determine the next step by themselves. (Look at them looking for their captain who happens to be their doctor...)

'I don't know what more to do for him,' suggests that they've already performed all necessary procedures based on the circumstance and Luffy's unique anatomy.

If we dissect the scene further, their panicked suggestions could only come from people who have some passing medical knowledge.

Someone suggests giving him some pills and someone quickly rebuffs by suggesting giving him an injection instead. Between the oral route and intravenous injection for drug administration after drowning, the latter should be the preference (to maintain the airway and because of possible injury to any part of the airway). But they probably have prior experience on the difficulty of getting a normal needle through Luffy's rubber skin.

It also suggests that they have a specific medication in mind to give him as they are arguing route.

Someone notes that Luffy is pale. As we are assuming that they've established the lack of a possible cardiac arrest, they should be looking into addressing any other possible underlying cause. It could be blood loss, poor peripheral circulation, anemia, hypoglycemia, hypotension, etc.

Ultimately, though, the team was successful in reviving him. Given that Luffy pretty much recovers from eating excessive amounts of food, he'll be fine and will probably be rejoining the battle good as new. The same could not be said for the Polar Tang's food supply.

TL;DR: The Hearts did a good enough job. Their captain would still drill them but he'd still be proud. And now they really need to win that battle because they'll be out of food.

[vulpixelates]

I know this is a week or so late, but this D&D campaign world you're building sounds fascinating and I wish to know more.

Awe, thanks! ^_^ I’m having a lot of fun putting it all together. Since I posted the previous tidbit, I’ve fleshed out (most of) the countries a bit more. 

For reference, here’s a private post of the shitty world map and a more detailed (but also shitty) map of Ehden. 

Also, I have been using the website donjon for pretty much all of my maps and names. It has generators for almost everything you can think of and has been an invaluable resource. I’d be completely lost without it. 

Also also, I’ve done all of this in like… three weeks? At most? So bare with me, it’s all pretty rough and I’m mostly making shit up as I go

Ehden

Where the campaign will take place, starting on the island of Sirisea and in a city called Aris, which is known as the City of Spires and is very beautiful and pretty cool despite having a really corrupt government

Experiencing a Pax Romana of sorts, with a resurgence of culture and art before the fall (which will probably be part of the campaign)

The Empress, Nadine (TOTALLY NOT NADIA FROM THE ARCANA, NOPE, NO SIMILARITIES WHATSOEVER*), rules from a city called Negriene, which is known as the Great Crossroads because it rests on a giant road system that essentially connects to anywhere you can get to in the world by land. “All roads lead to Rome Negriene”

Has a very diverse population (fantasy-racially and IRL-ethnically; a lot of people flock here from around the world, given how prosperous it is right now, and bring their culture with them to add to the existing one), but was build on the backbone of a lot of ancient elven sites, especially Negriene  

Tiriande

A smallish magocracy, run by a high council of magic-users that all hate each other’s guts and are constantly having conflicts with each other

Faloress

A small island nation, one of the only fully functioning democracies in the world (some cities have democratic councils and such that rule them, but this is the only entire country devoted to democracy)

The capital, Baluk, is known for having a really big statue of a unicorn; it is majestic

The finest horses in the world come from breeders in Faloress

Donosea

A human-run theocracy, covered mostly by jungles

Kind of a shit show, if we’re being honest (which nobody with any power in this entire country is)

The names of almost all of the major cities there end in -minster because I thought it was kind of funny

Ellormen

I don’t have much planned out for this country tbh, I just had the idea of Valiene, which is a really pretty coastal city that has the world’s largest library

I imagine that it looks a lot like Dubrovnik, Croatia

Kharbhazar

Land of the dwarves, kind of stereotypically so because my knowledge of dwarves is limited, primarily, to Tolkien-stype dwarves

Almost entirely mountains

Kheledzir is both the name of the biggest mountain and the network of cities that exist underneath it

Londolond

Land of the elves

Kind of boring, compared to a lot of the other countries; it has been relatively stable for a long time

The forests are filled with a few different druid tribes

Linde

Like I said in my original post, it is kind of a fun place if you like dying

It has these two lords that basically shout insults at each other from castles only a few miles apart, and start wars based on their respective and equally ridiculous claims to the island

The two groups have been at war as long as anyone can remember

It is a really lame war and both groups are trash

Argeriand

I save the worst for last; Argeriand fucking sucks

It is basically the North Pole, stretching all across the top of the world, but it only has one city, Onntun, which holds almost all ~200 people of the conutry’s population

Nobody outside of the country really even knows that Onntun exists, except for rare rumors that sometimes float around northern Ehden

All of the people there suck because they are literally possessed

The city is on some sort of ancient evil hell-site that poisons the minds of and possesses people with demons and evil spirits

I haven’t worked out the details, but I am certain that it is an awful place to be