#marineford first and foremost

[where-does-the-heart-lie]

Are there any scenes in the one piece anime that made/make you cry irl? I don't usually cry when I watch stuff, but there are a couple scenes that hit me really hard.

Thanks for the ask!

[beanghostprincess]

The thing that gets me about shanks is that he is so weirdly averting stuff that makes him happy? Why avoiding luffy at all cost? Why seeing places he loves and just being “ahhh such a place” but never going back? And I know he accepted that but fr I would try contact buggy at least once? He just let the world go on its own but I don’t get why.

Imo, he's not avoiding Luffy at all costs, per se. He is more like-- Waiting until it's the right time to do so? Because yes, right after Wano would've been a great moment but he refused to see him. But I think that's more of a pirate thing to see how far Luffy can go. Meeting with Luffy would be admitting that he is already the great pirate he promised Shanks he'd be, and even if he is, he can be so much more, still. And Shanks doesn't want to be the cause of the end of his journey. He wants Luffy to keep fighting and going forward to accomplish his dream. And even if it wouldn't directly stop, one of the reasons he keeps going is because of him. Shanks is one of his motivations. And I think that's sort of meant to be the end of his journey and he still has stuff to do before that. Although you can add a bit of layers there and go "He is scared af to meet Luffy again" the same way Yasopp is about meeting Usopp.

The places thing-- Shanks is used to leaving places he loves because he is aware that that's how pirate life is. With Roger they traveled all around the world and he couldn't get too attached. He had to keep walking forward. And also, with Buggy, for example. Or Uta. Getting too attached to something/someone makes losing them even harder. Shanks thinks about the past quite a lot but the guy just keeps going forward and not looking back. Abandonment issues or something. But then again, that's just how pirate life works.

And Buggy-- I mean. I think he just respects Buggy's decision. There are a lot of interpretations when it comes to their relationship but I personally think he watched Buggy go and let him do it because if that's what he needed, so be it. He misses him and wants to get in touch with him again, yes, but it's not like he can force him in any way, either. Shanks is respectful of others' choices and dreams, first and foremost, so I think he'd put Buggy's decision to leave before his need to have him close. When they're meant to meet again (like they did in Marineford) they will.

Also Shanks avoids feelings and emotional responsibility like the fucking plague, bold of you to assume he is going to call Buggy and go "I miss youuuuu" no. He is going to think he misses him and smile and say he is completely fine being without him when it's a huge lie. Same thing about leaving Uta behind. Or Luffy. This man is lucky he has bigger stuff to worry about than his relationships.

[sabo-has-my-heart]

My Life For Yours

An Ace fic based on This Post. Also, it’s the perfect time to post it because..... IT’S ACE’S BIRTHDAY!!! btw, no romantic pairing in this! It’s all platonic love.

Warnings: sickness, mentions of death, Marineford spoilers, 

Word Count: 1970

           A figure sat in the back of the large bar, obscured by the low light and the yellow hat as they watched the pirates laugh and enjoy themselves. They smiled as she watched one pirate in particular, he was the center of attention as he laughed and joked along with his new crew. He looked happier than she’d seen him in quite some time. He often looked angry or sad, he burned with hatred, but the smile on his face was so different. Soon enough, a man with blond hair walked up to her, giving her a friendly smile.

           “You’ve been staring for a while, yoi. Perhaps you’d like to join us?” he asked, offering his hand. She gave a small smile but shook her head, she’d love to join them, but she couldn’t. He couldn’t know she was ever there.

            “I appreciate the offer, but no. I only came here to make sure he was doing alright, making friends and getting along. I… should probably get going.” she said softly before getting up, making her way along the shadowed edges of the room to the back door before disappearing into the cold night. 

            She wished she had more time, more time to talk to him, to explain things. More time to tell him the truth of everything, more time to apologize. Just… more time to spend with him, laughing like they had in the old days. But she didn’t and now, sitting here in Impel Down, her body temporarily male and quickly putting her marine clothes on her brother, she hoped that what little she could give him would be enough. This is why she’d joined the marines in the first place, to protect her brothers. Ace had never seen it that way, never let her explain, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was saving him. 

            “Are you sure you want to do this?” a young man whispered from behind her.

            “He’s my brother, he’d do the same for me. Besides, we both know that it’s better me than him. This way… this way a good man doesn’t have to die.” she said softly, feeling the tears gathering in her eyes. 

            “Just you.” he said, giving her a mournful look. He was her closest friend, he’d been by her side since she’d joined the marines, he was loyal to her first and foremost.

            “We both know why it has to be like this. I know it hurts, I… if there was another way, if things were different, then maybe… but they’re not. So this is the best option I have at the moment.” she said, picking up her brother and handing him to her friend. She looked almost exactly like Ace now, once strawberry blond hair now dyed black, dark contacts hiding her hazel eyes, thankfully she shared Ace’s freckles, something that would have been much, much harder to imitate. She looked weaker, maybe, but it didn’t matter, it would be enough to fool anyone who didn’t know her well enough. Her friend helped place her in the shackles before throwing Ace over his shoulder. With a deep breath, her friend gave her one last sad smile before leaving, leaving her in the darkness of the lowest level of Impel Down, leaving her to be executed in her brother’s place.

            Ace didn’t wake up until he was back on Whitebeard’s ship, until her friend had made sure Ace was safely delivered into the arms of those who would protect him. He’d explained that Ace would likely have to go into hiding, or perhaps take on a new identity, in either case, the world had to believe that Fire Fist Ace was dead, less her death be in vain. Now, sitting here with his hat in his hands, he wondered why she did it. She’d betrayed him years ago, so why? His grip on his hat tightened, crumpling it together until a crinkling sound drew his attention. Straightening his hat out, he turned it over, finding a letter caught inside it, ‘To Ace, From Ann’ written across the envelope. Opening it, he found pages and pages of explanation within. Eyes darting across the pages, shock and surprise ran to his very core. As well as something else… regret, as he read about her reasons behind joining the marines, her decision to save him, and their father’s illness… her illness. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he jumped up and charged out of the infirmary, looking for Pops, Marco, anyone who could explain things to him.

            “Ace, good to see you awake, yoi.” Marco said as soon as he noticed Ace running around frantically.

            “Marco! Where’s Pops? I need to talk to him.” Ace damn near shouted, watching as Marco gave a disheartened sigh, looking at the floor.

            “Gone, he wanted to make sure people believe it’s you on that platform. The man who dropped you off, he said a few things to Pops, he left after that, said he was going alone.” Marco said sadly, making Ace’s heart clench. Not just Ann, but Pops too? No, he couldn’t lose both of them!

            “What day is it? When is the execution taking place?” he demanded, still panicked. Marco just jerked his head in a ‘follow me’ motion, leading Ace to where they were streaming the public execution. 

            “T-today? It’s today?” Ace choked out, watching Marco nod solemnly.

            “We have to stop them! Save them, anything!” he shouted, drawing the attention of the others as Marco just shook his head. "Captain’s orders, we’re to stay here and not interfere. Most we can do is retrieve the body, but Pops promised to do his best to get out alive.” Marco said. He didn’t want to say it, but he doubted their beloved captain would make it out of this. He was old, sick, and on his own. Marco paused before looking back at Ace.

            “If it’s not you, then who’s up on that platform?” Marco asked finally, Ace was trembling now.

            “My twin sister, Portgas D. Ann.” he said softly, the tears coming down faster now.

            Of course nothing could have prepared him, nothing could have prepared either of them, for their little brother falling from the sky mid battle. It hadn’t been an easy battle so far, with the few pirates that Whitebeard had taken with him. Honestly, Whitebeard only wanted to put on a good enough show to convince the marines that he wanted to save ‘Ace’. But Luffy changed everything. Luffy always changed everything. The boy was convinced from a distance that it was Ace atop the platform, fighting his hardest to get to his ‘older brother’. Did ‘Ace’ look terrible? Sure, but no more than what was to be expected from Impel Down, right? It wasn’t until he stood on the platform in front of her that he understood, a look of understanding crossing his features as her eyes widened, realizing that he recognized her. She tried to plead with him with her eyes, he knew it was her, nobody could know! Not if Ace was to live in peace!

            “I don’t understand, what are you doing here? I thought they were-”

            “Luffy you idiot! I told you to get out of here! You’re supposed to listen to your older brother!” she growled, struggling against the shackles. Luffy’s head tilted to the side, older brother? Suddenly it clicked. The dyed hair, the dark eyes, the male body, she was taking Ace’s place, but why?

            “I wanted to save… you, but… why did you…you’re not…” Luffy looked at her sadly as he went to remove the cuffs, only to be stopped by Sengoku.

            “Later, Luffy. Please, just run.” she pleaded, her little brother only shaking his head. Things only seemed to get harder once she was freed, trying to make people believe she was still Ace and was ‘too weak’ to use the devil fruit’s powers. She was a great fighter, she had to be, she didn’t have a devil fruit like her brothers, but masquerading as Ace was difficult when everyone expected her to be made of fire. Still, they seemed none the wiser as she and Luffy made their way towards Whitebeard. Had she not been busy trying to get Luffy out alive, she might have been disappointed in the marines lack of ability to capture someone who was sick and dying! Turning around, she was now facing Akainu, a man she despised. She’d hated him long before this, hated his policies, his attitude, he was just as evil as the pirates he sought to kill in her eyes. She didn’t necessarily want to fight him, but between ‘being Ace’ and keeping Luffy safe, she had to and she had to do it without Ace’s devil fruit. But then again, Ace wasn’t as skilled with haki, her flowing movements blocking or avoiding the man’s magma. It was still hot, she could still feel the heat radiating off of him, sweat dripping down her temple. But at least with her training she wouldn’t suffer the horrific burns that his magma would normally have created. Luffy watched on in awe, his ‘brother’s’ movements elegant and fluid, almost like water in human form as she fought Akainu. She’d worry about revealing herself but she was too busy focusing on Akainu. It was Whitebeard who finally took Akainu off her hands, tossing the magma man damn near to the other side of Marineford, picking up both siblings before taking quick, easy strides back towards the ships. 

            “Let the world watch on and know that Whitebeard has succeeded in rescuing Fire Fist Ace, should you attempt to come after him, you will be met only with a swift end!” he bellowed, the ship slowly starting to set sail away. 

            She was female again by the time they reached Whitebeard’s crew, Ace rushing over to her and Luffy, pulling them into a tight hug.

            “Thank god you’re okay! What the hell were you thinking? You call me reckless and pull a stunt like that? Did you think I wanted you to exchange your life for mine?” he rambled off, tears starting to soak into the shirt she’d been given.

“I-”

“Of course I wouldn’t have been happy! I’m supposed to live life without regrets, don’t you think I’d regret what had happened to you?” he asked, cutting her off. She lifted her hand, about to say something else, only for him to continue his tirade about how worried he was, how sorry he was, and how stupid he thought she’d been. Sighing, she grabbed her twin, pulling him into a tight hug.

            “I’m sorry, but I thought it would be better if I took your place, I’m not going to live long anyways. I asked an expert… he said I have less time than… This way, at least one of us would live on.” she whispered, Ace just shaking his head as he enjoyed being reunited with his sister. He’d never admit it, but her logic made sense, he probably would have made the same decision.

            “There may be a way to cure you, actually.” Marco said from behind Ace, drawing their attention.

            “I’ve already looked into it, a man named Crocus-”

            “Isn’t a devil fruit user.” Marco said, cutting her off, making her eye twitch in irritation. Was anyone actually going to let her finish her sentences? “There’s a kid, new pirate, Trafalgar Law, he’s a talented doctor. I’m sure with a little money and promise of minor favors, he could at least give it a shot.” the phoenix added, the group smiling as she nodded. Ace pulled her in for yet another tight hug, a small smile on his lips.

            “We’ll cure you. I’ll make sure of it. I won’t let you die, you’re my sister. You’re too special to die like this.” he whispered.

[shanksxbuggy]

What would be the perfect shuggy ending for you and what ending is the most possible for them? If shanks dies before they make up I will die (I know he will die)

For a perfect shuggy ending their individual character arcs would have to feel emotionally resolved. First and foremost I want to see what Uta is doing in the present day, and I want to see her reunite with Shanks and have them be father and daughter again. With Shanks’ depression over their separation and his promise that she’ll always be his daughter no matter what, I can’t imagine a happy ending for him without reconciliation between them.

I’d like Buggy to feel accomplished in his own genuine achievements and form true bonds with Crocodile and Mihawk (wishful thinking).

I suppose a perfect happy ending would be where I get to see Buggy meeting Uta too. Also, Buggy and Shanks vacationing in Wano and meeting up with Momo and Hiyori.

Shanks and Buggy will definitely meet again before one of them kicks it. But it might not be until the very last battle they actually meet again. I don’t think either of them are really looking to make up with each other, Buggy made his decision back at Loguetown and Shanks respected it all these years. Now they’re both going after the One Piece in their own separate ways. They are more likely to bump into each other as rivals after the same goal, and it might end up being a comedic moment like in Marineford.

I have my share of theories/analyses on Shanks and Buggy that I keep in the drafts because they sound too insane.

Shanks has the same role as Ace where he basically exists for Luffy’s character growth. If Ace was the ideal big brother, Shanks is the ideal adult role model for Luffy.

For now Luffy still has this ‘safety net’ of chasing Shanks who is waiting for him. But for Luffy to truly grow up into an adult, he has to learn the uncertainty of living without that safety net to look forward to. That’s why Shanks either has to die or go someplace Luffy can’t reach so they never meet again. It’s a very classic trope in coming-of-age stories where kids grow up when they finally stop clinging onto the adults they relied on and let them go.

I’ve gotten this idea in my head that if Shanks doesn’t die, he will go to the moon.

Look, I don’t know why, but the moon is surely important. And I feel like Shanks is connected to the moon somehow.

Actually years ago when I thought about an ending, I thought Shanks would stay on Laughtale for whatever reason. Because he always seemed like the final hurdle and gatekeeper of that island. Shanks would say goodbye to Luffy, only it’s him watching Luffy sail away just like Luffy watched Shanks sail away in the beginning. Maybe Buggy can stay on Laughtale too because why not, you know he can’t keep up the Cross Guild facade forever so he’s gotta find some other fate.

But truly I don’t have a most likely ending in mind for them because I think the One Piece treasure and the ending is going to be something most people don’t expect.

If anyone has their ideas for a shuggy ending feel free to share. I could use better ideas than my ‘Shanks goes to the moon’ idea.

[iris-nonsense]

why are you even reading one piece if all you do is complain about it? like after 600+ chapters if you still don’t like how oda writes just move on it’s not for you and that’s okay!!!!!! it’s clearly not bad writing if it’s a well beloved franchise that’s been going strong for 25+ years and has millions of fans across the world, it’s just not your speed and that’s okay!!!!!!

Anon i don't know why you're here but since i have some free time i will answer you in good faith.

First and foremost i started reading one piece being fully aware of the fact that it wasn't for me. I never particularly liked it when i was a kid, i never enjoyed the character design and looking at some panels i never found them pleasing. But, as you said, it's been ongoing for more than i've been alive and it's widely loved and i wanted to understand why, and to do that i have to read it even if it's not for me.

Now i don't think that the entirety of one piece is bad, on the contrary i enjoyed most of my reading till enies lobby. Some parts weren't as good as the others (like drum was too long imo) but overall i had a great time. Honestly i will put Skypiea and arlong's park between my favourite shonen arcs of all time, because they're just THAT good.

My main problem with oda's storytelling after enies lobby is how he seems to drag the story on just because he can. We all know that one piece's story is built on some core mysteries, but, instead of answering them organically by giving some more information when the opportunity arises, oda style seems to be telling "you would like to know" to the reader and then move on (looking at you Rayleigh) which is one frustrating and two not good writing.

When it comes to the artsyle i already said that it's not for me, but oda showed again and again that he's good at constructing a panel. He knows what to do and how to do it masterfully, so when i got to marineford and every single double page is bad (and this is not an opinion those panels are bad) i get angry because i know that he can do better than that, because it looks like he didn't try and like he had no supervision on it, which from what i understand is exactly how it went. At some point the editor had no more say in how oda did things and it shows.

Getting to luffy's flashback (which from the look of it those are the posts that made you send this ask) i think that it's bad. There's no other way to put it, that flashback is bad writing. It completely discard everything previously established about luffy's past, his island and his childhood, and it goes against everything we knew till this point, all of this just to write in a new character to replace ace (because, let's be real, that's the only reason sabo was never mentioned before this). And this is bad writing, and it's not even subtle. You can see what oda is trying to do from a mile away, the execution is incredibly clumsy and it doesn't matter if people like it, that doesn't make it good.

I think that i've been pretty fair with oda and one piece so far, i praise it when it deserves it and i criticize it when it's bad. Last night i didn't have anything positive to say about it because that flashback is bad, but i hope that it will get better going on. I know that my posts can come off as too harsh but i like to complain, in particular when it's something silly that doesn't affect my life like a manga.

So yeah one piece is not for me but i will read it and blog about it anyway because i can. If you don't want to see my negative comments anon that's fair, and you should just block me or block the tag "iris reads un pezzo", it's the one that i use for my comments on the manga and it's there for a reason.

In the end i hope you had a fantastic day anon! See you around :)

[ezzydantes]

Family Was Always Important

Summary: Garp has made his way back to Windmill Village after Y/N's death saving Ace and Luffy. It's not just Dadan he has to face...

Warnings: au (couldn't let my boy die like that). Talk of death, dark thoughts, possible suicide. Mostly angst. Not exactly Canon and will conflict with Odasama's writings. Also Taking some liberties on mythology. If you know it and see the obvious conflicting things... ignore. Enjoy!

Garp made port into Windmill Village. He was only able to track down one of his grandsons and it was the one he dreaded meeting most. He had no counterattack to the capabilities of the Flame Flame fruit and after Marineford... if he died by Ace's hands then so be it. He'd fight as hard as he could but the man deserved his vengence on him. Garp had contributed to your death and left the children you and Ace had motherless... not to mention he knew he had a bounty on him from your exposed family who had been enamored into the pirate world these last 800 years.

You had older siblings and cousins gunning for his head. The foremost being the leader of your clan and the eldest of your sisters... Hecate... Catey for short. She was the lover of Shanks and had raised you, Ace, Luffy, and Sabo before joining him on the sea.

The bartender Makino came outside of the local bar and tried to intercept him immediately amongst the complaints of the citizens. "Something must be done!" They have drank the whole town dry every day!"

"Garp..." Makino said in a whisper but the pair was already making their way out. Dadan appeared first... her eyes shocked but then glaring at the Vice Admiral as she tries to push her cohort inside. "Ace... NO!"

"Fuck that Dadan!" He shouted as he stumbled out. He straightend himself up as he glared down the old man he had fought with over the years. "You fucking let her die!" Ace roared, "She was the sweetest person to us!"

Ace punched his grandfather down without using his devil fruit powers. "You fucking knew she was strong enough to save me and Luffy..." he cried as he began punching the life out of the elder man, "You KNEW who she was and what she meant to us!"

Dadan, even in her weeping mess, was able to pull the grieving man off. "Ace! Beating him to death won't bring her back!"

"Don't you think I know that?" He slurred as he fell to his knees. "She was my whole world... her smile was my sunrise... her laugh... it was like a warm breeze... Hell I even miss how cold her stare was when she was pissed at me..."

The former Commander of the Second Division of Whitebeard's crew curled into himself with his arms wrapped around his head. "Y/N!"

"You were there! And you let her die? You called her your granddaughter and yet you picked the Marines over her! What about the twins? What about that baby girl she just had?" Dadan cried as she threw a few punches as well at Garp. The elder man hung his head and cried silently as Dadan continued her verbal assault.

"They'll never know their mother! And the world has suffered for it! She was a fucking goddess! The World Government be damned! Those beings weren't meant to leave our world and you KNOW it!" The bandit woman cried, "They were the ones who created order and kept the World in check... we were free when they ruled the world."

"I should have died.... I should have died with her...", Ace sobbed aloud, "I still can..."

Garp and Dadan looked to one another before both jumping onto Ace to prevent him from hurting himself. Flames be damned. "Y/n would kill you herself before allowing you to do that!" Garp shouted as he pulled Ace's arms behind him while Dadan pushed his head down.

"Enough!" A familiar voice shouted. All three froze as the citizens of Windmill Village began to bow but were quickly told to stand up. "I am no Queen and I'm definitely NOT one of those bastards who have the nerve to pretend to be gods..", Catey laughed as she helped an elder person up.

Her piercing gaze snapped over to three entangled within themselves. "Garp... Dadan... give me a moment with my kid brother... would you?"

The Vice Admiral and the Mountain Bandit quickly got off the younger man. Dadan pull A e up to stand properly as she backed away from him. "Lady Cate..." the elder woman bowed.

"Again... not royalty and I don't expect such from you, Dadan", the ravenette smiled as she placed her hand on the bandits shoulder. She looked to Garp, "I'll have words with you later" her tone sharper and colder to the older man.

"Walk with me, Ace", Catey gently stated as she began to make her way towards the outskirts of town. The young man simply nodded and followed.

There was a pregnant silence that could be sliced with a dull knife between the pair as they trekked further and further out of the village.

"Why are you not with Luffy or the children?" Catey's voice startled him after so long of walking in silence.

"What?" He quietly questioned as he finally looked up at her disappointed face.

"You're not alone in your grief... why are you not with your brother or the children y/n and you share?" She again asked. Her tone was more serious this time.

Ace hung his head and looked away, "How can I face them when I failed y/n so? She and Luffy went through Hell and back to save me.... I wasn't worthy to be saved... not by her and not by Luffy..."

"Unfortunately you don't get to make that decision on your own. I told you all growing up that you were all worth something to someone and to treat your lives as a precious gift... not to squander it in your own self pity..." Catey lifted his face to meet hers, "Every single soul in this world has the ability to define and change Fate as it should be."

"So you're Gol D. Roger's son... y/n is part of a forgotten and banished race deemed less than human... Luffy is the son of Monkey D. Dragon... Sabo is the son of spoiled aristocracy... these titles and backgrounds do not define you. What defines you is that you are the husband of y/n and the father of Lu, Bo, and Asa Rouge...", she smiled as she cupped his face and brought his forehead to hers.

"Asa Rouge?" Ace's voice broke as he began to sob uncontrollably. Catey wrapped her arms around him and held him close as he cried. "She knew you'd love it...", she chuckled, "and she's beautiful by the way... I forsee her having your freckles and being a spitting image of y/n.."

"You've seen her?" He shot up from her embrace, "where are my kids?"

"There's my kid brother... they are safe with an associate of ours. We were never forgotten on Amazon Lily and they treat us as gods and goddesses... Luffy is currently being treated there under the care of Trafalgar D. Law... a skilled surgeon who took him on by my request. I separated you two so you could get your bearings... but I didn't expect you to lose yourself like this. I'm glad i asked Jinbe to look after him", Catey caressed his face, "All is not lost my little prince."

"Why do you call me that? And why did you always call Luffy 'Rex'? " Ace was wiping his eyes and snorting snot out of his nose causing Catry to giggle at his manly antics.

"You're married into royalty and the son of the former King of the Pirates... and Luffy WILL be King of the Pirates", she smiled, "Rex means King in one of many languages we spoke on Atlantis."

"Why didn't you come to Marineford... I know y/n prayed to you...", he softly questioned as he held her hand to his face.

"I came as soon as she did... but Akainu had already mortally wounded her... we are immortal if we live peaceful lives but we CAN die... and I couldn't save her... but best believe I kicked his ass to kingdom come... would have killed him too I'd Shanks hadn't shown up", Catey responded wistfully, "Which brings me to another matter... what are you willing to do to get her back?"

Ace stared at her as if she had grown a second head. "Anything.... wherever she is, is where I'll go..."

"Good answer... shall I tell you how we get her back? It's a long journey and the babies have to come with..." Catey smiled, "We'll be on our way to the North Blue."

"You know better than anyone else in this world what I'll do for my family, Sis", he grinned.

"First we check on Luffy... he needs your reassurance.. then we pick up the kids from Amazon Lily.. from there we go to the North Blue... to some ancestral lands of my people... and from there you and y/n plot your course...", Catey explained but was engulfed in Ace's warm embrace.

"Thank you... for always being there and loving us", he began to cry again.

"Always..."

[zonaenthusiast]

One Piece 100 Days Challenge!

Day 31: A fight that you can’t wait for?

I don’t have one, I have THREE, and I’m going to copy what I’ve said to @lchispasl​.

First and foremost, Zoro vs Mihawk. I’m being biased but I’m so excited to see them fight, specially because they now have /sort of/ a bond after the timeskip so it will be very interesting when the time comes.

Luffy vs Kurohige is another one, I think it will be the final fight of the story and it will mean a lot, not just in general after all that piece of shit has done, but to Luffy in particular because of Ace.

And talking about Ace, this is just my theory but I’m pretty sure that we will have Sabo vs Akainu and, if I’m right, I can’t wait for this one. Considering who Sabo is and who Akainu is, and also the fact that Sabo could not be there for Ace during Marineford, it’s just poetic justice. I really, really hope I’m right.

[chaos0pikachu]

here's the thing about the manga/Oda's writing in general; Oda is really good at bombastic emotion. It's become something of a running joke in general OP fandom of "who has the saddest backstory" in One Piece b/c so many chars and situations the Strawhats find themselves in has roots in like deep tragedy.

There's the Strawhats themselves: Robin, Brooke, Chopper, Sanji, Nami. Then secondary chars like: Law, Oden, Rebecca, Kyros, Ace. This has become such a prominent trend in One Piece that fans - especially on r/onepiece lol - are almost positive Zoro is hiding some sort of deep dark tragic past b/c his backstory is so benign in comparison to a majority of the characters at this point. Yeah Kuina dying is tragic, but in comparison to Oden being boiled alive or Robin's entire island being blown the fuck up by the government makes it look like Zoro had it almost easy lol

But this is what Oda is good at, these big moments of huge emotion. It can be tied to the general escalation of the series in terms of power as well, given how long the series has been running. After the devastation of a backstory like Robin, or Brooke's it's hard to be like "oh yeah and this guy? Well his dad got sick from cold and died and he's sad about it".

But this is one factor I think the Zolu of it all gets a bit lost in the sauce of the series for some fans.

Zolu is subtle.

Oda doesn't do a lot of subtle writing, the emotions, the fights, the characters, the stakes, everything is BIG. The Merry doesn't go out with a whimper she goes out with a viking funeral. Ussop can't just leave the crew, he has to fight Luffy for it. Luffy can't just defend Hatchi he has to punch a Celestial Dragon over it. Ace can't just die he has to die after the most agonizingly long marathon to the execution block (I don't vibe with impel down/marineford lol)

But Zoro and Luffy don't have a lot of "loud" moments outside of Thriller Bark (which IS their moment sorry I refuse to accept otherwise regarding this unless it's about sanlu) and maybe them reuniting in Wano.

A lot of their "moments" what makes them foundational is a lot of subtle moments. I've often felt like fandom doesn't give Luffy enough credit in regards to his emotional intelligence, Luffy is dumb but he's not stupid. There's a reason he's not only able to connect with people, but also able to change them.

Luffy and Zoro's moments are Luffy seeing Zoro eat dirty riceballs and deciding "yes, this is my first crewmate" that his dream is so large, so seemingly unattainable - like Luffy's own - is all the better. It's Zoro steadfast belief in Luffy and loyalty to the point of carrying his cage over his shoulder while bleeding out. It's crying and declaring that he won't lose again and being the first crew member - from what I recall - to declare Luffy king of the pirates. It's Luffy accepting that vow. It's Luffy wanting to go after Nami and even though Zoro disagrees - as he does when Robin and Sanji leave later, Zoro first and foremost takes people as they are and respects their decisions if they wanted to leave let them leave, but Luffy sees beyond that which is a pro and a con like with Ussop and why he needs Zoro to temper that - and Zoro following Luffy to the realization Nami needed help actually and he's all in.

It's Luffy trusting Zoro to take care of the crew while he fights Crocodile even though the rest of them wanted to stay behind, it's Zoro listening to Luffy in that bar on Jaya and not retaliating against Bellarmy, it's Luffy being shocked Zoro went down against Enel because Zoro takes care of the crew if Luffy can't. It's Zoro listening to Luffy and saving Smoker in Alabasta even tho Zoro didn't want to and tells Smoker as much, to thank his Captain not him.

It's Luffy saying the weight of being a Captain is heavy, and Zoro telling him he has to bare that weight or else who will. It's Zoro and Luffy on the sea train at the helm working together to fight a freaking hurricane, it's Luffy's innate trust in Zoro where all he has to say is "Zoro, cut it, it's in our way" and Zoro will do just that without blinking. It's Zoro telling Luffy that he can't let Ussop come back without an apology because it would undermine Luffy as Captain even though Luffy and the rest of the crew want Ussop back more than anything. And Luffy listens. Luffy the one who can't listen or follow a single plan almost always takes Zoro's advice.

It's Zoro throwing away his swords, his ambition, for Luffy's life, taking away all of Luffy's pain and surviving and never saying a single thing about it (and probably never will). It's Zoro being the first to be sent away on Sabaody, and Zoro bowing his head to his direct enemy because following his Captain's orders - getting stronger for Luffy and for the crew - is more important than his individual pride.

It's Luffy seeing Zoro before Bon Clay transforms back into himself. It's Zoro getting jealous of Luffy saying Sanji is worth a 1000 men and leading the rest of the Strawhats to Wano. It's Luffy's happy smile, the fact that the first crewmate he reunites with is Zoro, and that they take care of Otama together. A moment only they share that becomes the reason why they start a fight during the raid because the beast pirates spilled the red bean soup!

It's Zoro jumping after Luffy to join him on the rooftop to fight against Kaido, Zoro being consistently worried about Luffy during the battle, Zoro telling Kaido he'll follow Luffy into hell if that's where Kaido will send him, it's Luffy trusting Zoro enough to literally watch over his unconscious body during the fight.

Because if it's not Zoro who else could it be?

Zoro and Luffy have a lot of moments, they're just not the bombastic moments that other characters get with Luffy or otherwise - they're not Robin's I want to live, or Nami's Luffy help me or Sanji's I want to go back to the Sunny or Ussop vs Luffy. They tend to be smaller moments, interwoven into the overall fabric of the story. They're some of Oda's more subtle writing and that's one reason why I think people missed them until more recently - trust they're more popular now than they were 7 years ago I've been here I've been suffering.

With OPLA the show just brought all that history to the forefront, the show also emphasizes more interpersonal interaction with the crew. Luffy never talked to the Strawhats about seeing Ace die and he never will in the manga bet, Oda just won't write something like that. But in OPLA he probably would because the writing allows for it because of the medium change - not that they'll ever get there but ya know.

anyway zolu makes me feral and will make you feral too if you open your third eye or just binge the entire series

now that I’ve read/watched a significant amount of one piece…………. ppl who said “they put too much of an emphasis on zoro and luffy’s relationship” can stay mad bc they must have been looking at the source material with their eyes closed. zoro was jealous about luffy in the LA bc zoro is jealous about luffy in the manga (I’m worth 2000 men right, why did luffy choose usopp and not me, getting mad the second luffy compliments/thinks another guy is cool). la luffy told zoro he needs him/zoro could never fail him bc animanga luffy depends a ridiculous amount on zoro as his first mate and cherishes him (blushing at the sight of him and constantly telling him how much he missed him, ‘how could this happen with you here?’, trusting him wholeheartedly). la zoro promised to be by luffy’s side at least until they find the one piece, or die trying, bc animanga zoro has legitimately said he’d go to hell for luffy and has tried to die for luffy. the la just had them actually communicating their feelings to each other rather than 1000+ episodes of them understanding with a single glance

[fleet-admiral-hiba]

NEW MARINEFORD HAS FALLEN

A/n: Charlotte y/n has destroyed the pillar of the Marines. Rumors has it something shady had been going on inside its walls. But that can't be confirmed, cause all that's left is rubbles. There is no confirmed number,but it's said that the victim's numbers are going up....

The smoke was still flowing through the air. Shouting could be heard throughout the island. Marines and civilians were all working to save what could be saved. But there was little they could do. Everything they held dear was destroyed.

Men were working hard to save those who still could be saved. But there was a man that still was missing. Under all that rubble was the face of the force, unconscious and gravely injured, but he was still alive, just like them.

"Faster dammit. He's still alive, I know it" shouted one of the vice Admirals still present. They would not give up now, not after what happened.

Hours passed before every injured man was safely moved to a new place. The ashes flew in the air. Silence.

Far away from the carnage, others were furiously working on saving those that could still be saved. Every base was swamped with people, but they pulled through.

It was in one of this, the Guardian Of Steel, were the remaining vice Admirals and admirals were talking and planning. Tsuru, Sengoku, Garp, Borsalino and so on. They were all there, thinking about the consequences and the effect this aggression will bring to them and to the world.

"We are in a hard place, gentlemen. We need to regroup and develop a plan of action. We lost a lot of good people in the explosion, and a lot of equipment. Sakazuki is... injured, and he won't be able to step up to his position any time soon. For this reason, Sengoku will be temporarily in charge of everything. I know that this has left a sour taste in our mouth, but as we are at the moment,there's little we could do. As of now, our priority is to rebuild and heal"

Tsuru said after the initial shock wore off. And she was right. They all knew that, if they had to go toe to toe with an empress of the sea, they would have lost. More importantly now that they are especially vulnerable.

"Tsuru is right. Our priority now is rebuilding. Alert every base of this new change in hierarchy. Bring in workers and new personel. We have to save what can be saved. And that is our dignity. We may have lost our base, our home, but we have not lost our devotion to the cause. They will pay, but not now. We will work hard to reestablish our presence in the world, stronger than before. We will clean our name for everyone to see. This is all, you are dismissed"

Sullen faces nodded, and slowly left the room. Only four remained. Tense was the air surrounding them.

"Borsalino, how's Sakazuki doing? The doctor left in a hurry before and we couldn't get an update", asked a somber Garp. He may not like the man, but he was still a colleague first and foremost, and a damn good marine secondly.

" They were still operating when I spoke to them. I don't know". A heavy sigh left his thin lips. He was worried, true, but he had hope.

Suddenly, a knock interrupted the tense silence. Everyone was holding their breath. Doctor Samton came in, stoic as ever, and delivered his sentence.

"I apologize for my sudden departure,but we were working against time. The operation was a success and the patient will recover. Although... He sustained a number of injuries that no mere mortal would have survived. A cracked skull, a compressed vertebra in the neck, five misplaced vertebrae in his spine,four broken ribs and two cracked ones, a broken leg and a sprained ankle. And the bruises that the explosion left are rather visible,but they are no major threat. There was no internal damage so that was and is a good news. Again, no mere mortal would have survived something like this, but he is no mere human"

Relief flooded the room, and finally they could breath again. He would survive, that was the important part.

"Can we see him doctor?" Asked standing up. Although he would have liked to simply be there, he knew that it may have not been possible. "Just for a few minutes. He won't be awake for a few days, as we have him sedated. We will gradually wake him up in the next few days, to allow his body the time it needs to recover"

The quarter made their way to the medical wing, expecting the worst. The view wasn't pleasant. It was hard to see someone you cared about covered in gaze, and hooked to a ventilator,but it was necessary.

"Borsalino, may I speak with you for a moment, please?", And after a quick squeeze, the yellow suited man went out. Following the doctor to a more private place, they sat down to talk. "I know this is hard for you, but I want to assure you of something. He will recover and that's a fact. But I thought of a more unorthodox method. We all know he won't take well to the medical leave. But he is in no condition, neither physically nor mentally to sustain the amount of work he has. I would like for you to take an indefinite leave and be his caretaker. I know I'm asking a lot, but he will need someone to speak to, to convey what he's feeling, because the recovery process will be brutal. And I mean this in the most candid way. It will take years before he goes back to his former self "

Pensive, he thought about the implications of this offer. He knew that his man wasn't going to follow the rules, but they were in a critical situation. Still, he was thinking about retirement and maybe, now was the moment the were waiting for. Or at least, he could work less. Not like he didn't have two wonderful children,who were more than capable of taking their places.

"I will think about it. Thank you Doctor, for all you've done."

He had time to reflect on this option, but now his man was his priority.

[megashadowdragon]

[kaizokuou-ni-naru]

The Voyage So Far: Paramount War (Part Two)

east blue (1 | 2) || alabasta (1 | 2) || skypiea || water 7 || enies lobby || thriller bark || paramount war (1 | 2) || fishman island || punk hazard || dressrosa (1 | 2) || whole cake island || wano (1 | 2)

ace’s execution is, in a way, the exception that proves the rule when it comes to one piece’s themes of blood and family. ace is set up to die for the crimes of a father he never knew and never wanted, and he does die here, but in the end he dies for the family he did choose, in the form of luffy, rather than the one he didn’t. 

god do i wish we knew more about ms portgas d. rouge. with ace’s storyline pretty much wrapped it looks unlikely that we’re going to be learning more about her than what we got, which in my opinion is an absolute tragedy, because what little we do know about her is amazing and she’s an absolute badass. oda give us more female ds please.

whitebeard’s power is so cool. it might be one of the visually coolest devil fruits we’ve ever seen, in my opinion. he he causes earthquakes and tsunamis while far past his prime; he pulls the sky apart with his bare hands. this whole arc is world-shaking, and whitebeard’s power is perfectly appropriate for it. 

doflamingo’s speech on justice and rightness is one of the most well-remembered quotes from this whole saga, and rightly so. i’ve always found it fascinating, myself, because he’s right. he dead-on hits how the one piece world works- the world government and the marines rule the world not because of any inherent actual goodness or justice or right, but because they won a war a very long time ago. 

in a way, this reminds me of blackbeard’s line of “people’s dreams never die” from jaya. i like how oda isn’t afraid of letting his villains be right about the themes of the story, sometimes even having better awareness of them than the protagonists. 

man, if i had to pick a single favorite spread out of the whole manga, it might be luffy’s marineford entrance. it’s so epic, and so completely unexpected for everyone else there. absolutely nobody was expecting strawhat luffy to drop out of the sky with a posse including two former warlords. it just makes me grin!! so much!! 

it also gets followed up by a solid two pages of just people’s reactions, from smoker’s “what the HELL is he doing with CROCODILE” to moria’s immediate incoherent rage, and i just love that the world and cast of one piece is so well-established and built up that we know exactly how all of those people know luffy and why they react the way they do. 

going back to what i mentioned in the last post about marineford being luffy’s conflict of interest arc, i’d say it’s also the only time where he isn’t the future king first and foremost. in this arc, before anything else, he’s a little brother.

there are a lot of what-if moments in marineford. moments where you kind of have to ask “what if this specific thing hadn’t happened, had gone differently?” would things have turned out differently? squard’s betrayal is one of them. does this change the outcome? would whitebeard have been able to survive if not for this injury? there’s no way to know. marineford is a lot of little tragedies, and they just pile up and up.

marineford has just so many incredibly striking spreads. all of the momentous moments (and there’s a lot of them, in this arc) are done full justice. this is such an image heavy post just because marineford is such an incredibly visually strong arc. 

conqueror’s haki is so cool and i love the way it’s set up and built up throughout this saga, with luffy’s constant inadvertent uses of it, from duval’s bull to marigold and sandersonia to the wolves in impel down, all leading up to this moment. 

i’ve heard people complain about conqueror’s as kind of a deus ex machina, but i honestly love it, it’s very cool and honestly i think it just seems to fit luffy as a power. if there was ever gonna be a character who turned willpower into a weapon, it would be monkey d. luffy. 

i’m gonna take this chance to talk about garp, because this sequence of panels is heavily implied to be garp’s thoughts just before luffy punches him down, and it hurts. garp is a flawed person who makes some bad choices, and there’s no arguing that, but i think it’s very obvious he really, really cares about his grandsons, even if he never could understand them as people and that they never would have been happy as marines. and that’s just tragic, really. 

the moment ace gets freed and the brief span of time where he and luffy can fight together feel so triumphant, and i think it’s one of the reasons the final tragedy of marineford hits so hard and feels so cruel, because luffy succeeds, here. he saves ace. he gives absolutely everything he had and makes it, and saves ace. the ultimate failure isn’t his. there was nothing more he could have done. 

the first time i was reading one piece, i hit this page (which is also the last in the volume) and had to put the book away, take the bus downtown, wander around for a few hours, and buy myself some candy and some new books before i started feeling okay again.

the thing about ace’s death, i think, is that it’s a tragedy, but it also feels so completely essential to the story going forwards and luffy’s character growth specifically that it’s really, really hard to imagine one piece without it. there are a lot of (really excellent!) fix-fics out there for marineford, and although those are often really good and their authors super talented, i think it’s really hard for them to ever hit the same way canon does with regards to this. 

i always think of this scene specifically in contrast to zoro and mihawk’s fight, back on baratie. zoro and mihawk are both people who believe in honor in battle, true victory or death, and that’s reflected in their fight, in zoro’s refusal to turn and run even in the face of imminent death, and mihawk’s respect for that resolve. whitebeard, too, is an honorable man. he refuses to turn to run, even when facing certain death. 

the blackbeard pirates, however, are not. 

i do enjoy how, just like roger’s, ace’s execution backfires tremendously on the marines. this was entirely a predictable outcome, too! this exact thing happened twenty years ago! the marines don’t learn. they don’t change. they’re so assured of their own rightness and power that they make stupid mistakes like holding a massive public execution after the last one blew up in their faces. 

(this is why they need coby so badly, for the record, and why it’s important that he still decides to become a marine after witnessing their corruption firsthand in shells town. the marines are long overdue for a reformation, one that orients them towards real justice.)

i really, really enjoy crocodile in this saga. mostly because he hasn’t been redeemed at all, he’s still pretty much the exact same kinda awful person he was in alabasta, he’s just on luffy’s side this time, and it lets us see him in a better light, when he gets angry at whitebeard for nearly dying or when he helps luffy and jinbe escape to keep the marines from getting their way. few of one piece’s characters are truly so one-dimensional as they can seem, and i really appreciate that. 

i really really love all the interactions between luffy, ace and sabo as kids. they’re so fun and bounce off of each other so well. even though we only see them together for a brief time, they really feel like siblings. (which of course only makes later events hurt so much more.

i’ve always been a little fascinated by the fact that it takes us this long to get luffy’s full backstory. it’s almost a fakeout, because we get part of his backstory in the very first chapter, and we’re kind of led to believe that’s all there is. it’s not until ace’s introduction nearly two hundred chapters in that we’re given any indication there’s more.

but at the same time, it makes sense. marineford is luffy’s focus arc, as arlong park to nami or thriller bark to brook. he hasn’t had a focal arc that’s really about him before this, while all his other crewmates have. it makes sense that this would be when he finally gets his flashback. 

i think it’s cool that dragon and the revolutionaries show up at the grey terminal fire, because it’s one of the only looks we’ve gotten so far into what their actual regular operations are like. and, of course, they’re saving people. i really like this about the revolutionaries, that helping people in trouble is basically their modus operandi, when pretty much everyone else in one piece’s world mostly does saving on an incidental basis if at all. 

i think a lot about how the last line of sabo’s letter to ace is also both of their last words to the strawhats. 

death in one piece always feels much realer and more impactful to me than in most other series, and i think this is part of the reason why: in one piece, we are always shown the mourning. nami at bellemere’s grave, carrot grieving pedro, ace and whitebeard’s funeral. 

there are fewer deaths, comparatively, than most other series, but they’re given so much room to echo. we’re still feeling the impacts of ace’s life and death in the most recent chapters of wano. it ties into the theme of inherited will and all the way back to hiriluk’s final speech, of men not being dead so long as they’re remembered. 

the picture of luffy at marineford always kind of strikes me. he looks so young and so solemn, and yet much more himself than he did when we last saw him losing his mind on amazon lily. i really like it. 

sometimes i just think about the sheer depth of trust and love the strawhats must have in each other to separate for two years, far longer than they were ever together, to solely dedicate themselves to improving for the sake of crew and captain. none of them even hesitate, and none of them ever doubt that the crew will be reformed at the end of it.

after all, luffy keeps his promises. 

[theclearblue]

I think this perception is even in the fandom where "Haha silly guy in flip flops punches real big and that's how everything is solved!" And I get that it's a very classic shonen trope and Luffy DOES punch a lot of bad guys really hard, but most of the time those big punches aren't the climaxes of the arc, and sometimes can even make things worse for everyone!

Punching Usopp in Water 7 didn't fix any of the internal strife within the crew, and punching the celestial dragon in Saoboady WAS very very deserved, but he did endanger the crew when he did that, realizing they aren't strong enough for what lies ahead. Oda clearly prefers to use character moments as the climax and resolution of an arc, and they end up being much more memorable:

And when a big punch IS the resolution of an arc, it's in service to character:

Fishman Island is an arc dedicated to showing how the strawhats have grown, and his new punch that's inspired by Ace also shows how he's processed his grief that broke him at Marineford. One Piece to me will always be about characters and their development first and foremost, the action has always come second to that.

I sometimes forget about how bad the misconceptions about One Piece are like my friend just said to me "Yeah I imagine every arc in One Piece just resolves with a big punch" and I was like Huh 😃

[forcefulkitten]

I just found your page thanks to the awesome Zoro fiction you wrote. It truly is great stuff.

But then I saw your post apologizing for being in a funk and not writing. I don't know you, but know that no one of good heart will be disappointed in you for taking time for yourself. For all that is good take time to get back on your feet. Whether it's days, weeks, months, more, less, you look after you first and foremost. We will be here when you're ready.

Having new posts from my favorite writers is always a pleasant surprise, never the expectation. We want you to have as much fun writing them as we do reading them. Please take care and know that nobody is disappointed in you.

All that said, as far as One Piece fics, it's what I'm on Tumblr for. I cast a steadfast yes vote your way for when you are feeling up to it and not a moment sooner. I'm also curious to hear your thoughts/favorite characters. I'm only on Marineford myself but I love to discuss and hear people's opinions.

Take care.

i’m truly so happy that you’ve enjoyed Delayed Realization! it was a lovely experience writing a fic featuring Zoro. i’ve been hesitant to join the One Piece fandom in fear of not being able to do the characters any justice and your feedback put that fear at ease. thank you ♡

it’s crazy that we as people are compassionate and understanding with others and then sometimes fail to treat ourselves with the same gentleness. people reminded me “take care of yourself first”, “we’ll be here when you’re back”, and i always appreciated the message but my mind wouldn’t accept it. i spent a lot of time disappointed with myself for not being able to properly produce any content. if anybody else were dealing with similar things though, the same kind words you and others told me— is what i relayed to them. it truly sucks having to wait and deal with the artists block but you’re absolutely right, having new posts from our favorite writers are always a splendid surprise, not an expectation. no matter how many times we are reminded of this, it warms my heart to know that across different fandom communities, everyone pushes you to take care of yourself first.

the Marine Ford arc is such a whirlpool of emotions, you’re at an important pillar in One Piece. i don’t know how to describe how much i love One Piece. Eiichiro Oda did a phenomenal job with world building and character complexity. the way details and backstories are tied in together is done flawlessly and always leaves my jaw on the ground. truthfully i can name characters that i dislike quicker than all of the characters i’m fond of. One Piece does an awfully good job at making you feel empathetic towards characters you initially despised. if i had to pick my top 2 favorite characters overall, it would have to be: Luffy because of his fearlessness and Zoro for his undying loyalty. i like so many characters in one piece for their own individuality. who are your favorite characters?

take care lovely, and thank you for sending this in. you made my morning!

[opbackgrounds]

Alright, friends, you know the drill by now. Here’s Part III of Sarcasticles’ overblown thoughts on sexism in One Piece. If you haven’t already, go read Part I and Part II before proceeding. 

I promise after this I’ll be done. By hook or by crook, we’re getting through the point of the original question. To the Anon who originally sent the ask, sorry it took this long to get here, I hope it’s helpful.

Also, I allude to some very, very minor Wano spoilers, so if you’re sensitive to that sort of thing here’s your warning. 

Characterization? I Don’t Know Her

What makes a good character?

I’ve spent an awful lot of time talking about character designs, when, funnily enough, it’s one of the aspects I pay the least attention to when it comes to deciding if I like how an author portrays their characters. I personally don’t care for fanservice, never have and never will. But unless it’s particularly egregious, I tend to ignore it because there are other factors I think are more important. 

The secret sauce for building characters is hard to define, because a good writer can take a concept that has no right being any good and turn it into something incredible (Oda does this all the time) where bad writers will seemingly slot all the right information in the right holes and still have their characters come out of the developmental oven flat and under cooked. 

One of the biggest buzzwords floating around these days is agency. Is a character active in their own story, or are they jerked around by the needs of the plot? Is their voice heard? Is their voice unique, or do they blend in with the background?

This is particularly important, because the term Strong Female Protagonist has been warped into shorthand for “girl who fights a lot and looks pretty doing it”. You can have a girl strong enough to lift mountains and still have her be a shit character. You can write a girl who’s main motivation is to get married and have babies with phenomenal depth. What matters is execution. 

The Petition to Call A Group of Rescue Arcs a ‘Damsel’

Both Nami and Robin had to be rescued, their main arcs bearing similarities that are impossible to ignore. But these aren’t copies of one another as much as variations on a theme, and with the existence of Marineford and Whole Cake Island I think anyone would be hard-pressed to say that One Piece’s rescue arcs are a girl’s thing. At this point it’s a feature, not a bug. 

Which makes sense given how fundamental the idea freedom is to the series. Hell, the first thing Luffy does after becoming a pirate is free Coby from Alvida’s tyrannical reign. Then he frees Zoro from an unjust authority that would have killed him had Luffy not intervened.

Notice a pattern here? 

One Piece is written like Pachelbel Canon, in that a very simple core of ideas are repeated over and over with layers of complexity and nuance added over time, examining the same themes from every possible angle. 

And when you look at the Four Big Rescue Arcs -- Nami, Robin, Ace, Sanji -- you’ll see that it’s Ace who’s given the least agency throughout his arc. Nami chose to hijack the Going Merry, repeatedly chose to push away the Straw Hats until she reached her breaking point, at which she chose to ask for help, with Luffy only intervening once she does. 

Robin is a little less obvious, but during the post-Water 7 party chapters, Aokiji makes the interesting observation that Robin could have escaped CP9, but chose not to

Remember that before Robin’s backstory was shown, Luffy specifically said he didn’t care if she wanted to die or not, so long as she was with the Straw Hats when she made her decision. No one bullied her into “I wanna live”. It was a choice she made of her own volition after realizing the depths the Straw Hats would go on her behalf.

I know there are people who disagree with me, but Nami and Robin are well-written characters. I’ve expounded enough on my reasoning both here and on my main that I don’t want to spend the time belaboring the point. What I do want is to note that Luffy wouldn’t be able to attain his dreams without them. Nami keeps them on course while also severing as a sort of moral compass for the crew -- remember she was the one who insisted on saving the giant kids at Punk Hazard -- while Robin’s ability to read the poneglyphs is what’s going to get the crew to Raftel.

Robin admittedly doesn’t have the same presence within the Straw Hat Pirates as Nami, but I would hardly call that sexism. Since Water 7/Enies Lobby she’s been pretty content to go with whatever Luffy says, and the fact that she’s literally quieter than anyone else in the crew means she doesn’t get as much focus. I think there could be more scenes with her using her specific skill set, like her investigations in Wano and the forensic anthropology scene in the pre-Jaya chapters, but I’m okay with her being a supporting character. 

The East Blue Crew have consistently gotten the most focus of any of the Straw Hats. They are the core of the crew, something Oda admits in a roundabout way in the Color Walk where they all appear together for the first time in a color spread

With the main cast as large as it is, not everyone is going to have the same amount of focus or development. Robin is given a unique voice within the story because she doesn’t overreact the way literally everyone else does. Through her silence, she stands out. I find there to be very meaningful character development when she feels comfortable enough with the Straw Hats to start calling them by name in Thriller Bark, relaxed enough with her friends to comitt her first facefaults in a series lousy with them in both Dressrosa and Wano.

In an ideal world, Oda would better rotate through his cast, much like how Brook was the unsung MVP on Whole Cake Island (where Nami was also excellent in a supporting role) but I don’t think people realize how hard it is to juggle almost a dozen different people in a story that’s bloated exponentially over time. To his credit, Oda has handled his expanding crew better than most writers. 

I also find it hard to judge this aspect of the series because the manga’s not done yet. I don’t know how Robin and Nami will be used in the future. I mean, Robin never got a chapter title declaring her “The Seventh” which I find suspicious, so Oda could very well have events in store that completely turn our perceptions upside down. It’s impossible to say.

I will acknowledge that the lack of big fights is somewhat disappointing, but neither Robin nor Nami’s dreams revolve around them getting stronger. Robin doesn’t need to use her power to make people explode from the inside out, Nami doesn’t need to fry end-game bosses with her lightning stick. That’s simply not their narrative purpose. With the exception of Tashigi, I’ve found that the female characters advertised as fighters have lived up to their billing. Hancock came out of Marineford unscathed. Carrot’s sulong form was awesome, in the old-fashioned sense of the word. The whole climax of Whole Cake Island revolved around surviving Big Mom’s wrath. Not beating her, not fighting her, it took all the Straw Hats had to just survive. Once again you’re left with a number’s game where where there just aren’t enough female characters to even pretend things are balanced.

All said, I think if you’re going to complain about the lack of Robin fights then I think you also have to complain about the lack of Brook fights, and that’s just not something you hear about, especially after Whole Cake Island. You can’t have it both ways. Either there needs to be more even distribution of major fights throughout the entire crew, or you have to acknowledge that a character’s worth isn’t dependent on their fighting prowess. 

One Piece is a battle manga, and I do think that it’s fair to criticize when a character isn’t allowed to fight when they’re perfectly capable of kicking ass. But it’s also an adventure story, and that opens up entirely new space for a character to occupy, and that’s where I think Nami and Robin (but especially Nami) really shine

That Moment You Realize Humor Isn’t A Universal Language

I’ve spent so much time defending Oda’s designs and characters that it might seem like I’m perfectly okay with everything that’s portrayed in the manga. To be clear, I’m not. If the messages and comments I’ve gotten over the past several days have taught me anything, it’s that many fans share the same sticking points I do, namely in regards to some of the gags. 

I again want to be careful here, because I’m hardly an expert on Japanese culture and it’s really hard to tell if Oda writes his jokes because he thinks they’re funny, or if he thinks his audience will find them funny. I’m again going to default to somewhere in the middle, because if Oda truly found the perviness distasteful he probably wouldn’t have included it, and I’ve read enough SBS to know the guy likes his dick jokes. 

First and foremost, one must address the culture gap. Japan ranks last among G7 nations on gender equality, In 2004 two-thirds of Tokyo women in their 20-30s reported to being groped while on public transport. There are numerous barriers that make it difficult for a woman to succeed either in the workplace or politics. 

From what I can gather, some of these trends are reversing, albeit slowly and with great resistance. Contrary to what many people seem to believe culture is not always value neutral. And I say that as an American, recognizing there are plenty of things about my culture and country that are really fucked up. 

But who gets to decide who’s right and who’s wrong?

When inside that kind of environment, that kind of culture, it’s a lot easier to understand how a character like Sanji can exist. It’s easy to understand why Momo shoving his face into Nami and Robin’s boobs might be played for laughs. It’s not an excuse, but an explanation. And with Sanji failing more often than not, being the butt of his own joke as he slowly turns into a parody of what he once was, one could almost say Oda is pointing those types of people and saying, “Look how pathetic this guy is. Now go laugh as he gets a nosebleed so bad he needs multiple blood transfusions in order to not die.”

I say almost, because Sanji is never condemned for his actions, nor does he learn from them. Instead you have this character who’s supposed to be one of the kindest characters in the series decide to immediately go peep on a woman’s bath house after gaining the power of invisibility. 

Stay classy, Oda.

As distasteful as I find it, I don’t find fanservice to be an inherently evil thing that must be eradicated at all costs, and with Oda doing things like putting his entire cast, male and female, into skintight leathers you can hardly say that he’s excluding the men. 

Everyone will have their line in the sand, and mine goes back to agency. When Nami did her Happiness Punch way back in Alabasta, that was of her own volition. When Nami and Robin dress in clothes that show everything but the nipple, that’s something they chose and feel comfortable in. 

But when Smoker and Tashigi swapped bodies at Punk Hazard, Tashigi specifically asked Smoker not to strip, and he did anyway, opening her coat and removing her bra. This is especially egregious as Tashigi is one of the very few women in the series who is always shown wearing very conservative clothing. Oda specifically showed Tashigi getting upset at Smoker’s actions, and Smoker repeatedly refusing to listen to her.   

That’s where I draw my line. 

Some Final Thoughts I Couldn’t Fit Anywhere Else 

Thought The First--Oda has an interesting habit of turning his most despicable, scummy pieces of flaming human garbage into the butt of the joke. Villains like Crocodile and Doflamingo are certainly evil, but it’s the idealized, cool type of evil that makes you almost admire them. There aren’t very many real-world Crocodiles, but just about everyone knows a Spandam, or an Absalom, or a Vander Decken. These kinds of villains aren’t scary because of their physical prowess, but their unyielding obsessions and the power they’re able to wring from the system, and -- surprise, surprise -- all three are either actively trying to be creepy sex pests or coded as such with the visual language of the comic.   

And Oda turns them into a mockery. 

While there are some who feel like not treating serious issues like sexual assault seriously are doing a disservice to people who have endured similar experiences I think there’s merit to turning them into a laughingstock. As someone much smarter than me said once, if an opinion cannot withstand mockery it’s revealed to be ridiculous, and these scummy-scum villains are certainly ridiculous.

Thought The Second--It’s hard to say how much sexism is a thing in-universe. Kuina is the only one who is explicitly told her dreams were impossible because of her gender, but with the recent reveal confirming that her family came from Wano, which in turn is based on Feudal Japan, it’s hard to say how widespread these beliefs are. Tashigi brought it up again at Loguetown and Bellemere specifically told her girls that they lived in an era where “girls needed to be strong, too”, but otherwise it’s not a topic that’s been explored in any depth

Thought The Third--The in-universe fetishization of mermaids has some implications that I think are unintended but worth discussing. Shirahoshi has a reputation of being one of the most beautiful women in the world despite not leaving her tower for over 10 years (she’s 16). Mermaids whose tails have split are worth less on the slave market than those whose are intact. Even Zoro erased Kokoro from his memory after meeting the more attractive Caime. It’s one of those odd things that when combined with the more obvious racism themes could have some unfortunate implications, and I think could have been avoided had Oda show a little more restraint with some of his jokes. Unintended consequences are still consequences. 

Thought The Forth--There are many other instances throughout the series that people bring up with talking about sexism in One Piece. I feel like a lot of these can be explained away individually -- for example, both Belo Betty and Rebecca’s stripperific outfits were inspired by other media, the painting Liberty of the People and Red Sonja respectively; Lola chasing after an obviously abusive man makes a whole lot more sense when you meet Big Mom; Hancock’s love sickness could be seen as an emotionally stunted woman experiencing her first crush, etc., etc -- it’s when they’re all put together that they begin to read as “Problematic”. 

It would be impossible to go over all these individually, but I tend to fall on the side of leniency. In the end, everyone has to make their own decisions based on their own values. I’m hardly unbiased, and my enjoyment for the series will undoubtedly make me look the other way when another might call the exact same incident The Worst Thing Ever. The thing is, opinions are like assholes, everyone has one and most are convinced that theirs don’t stink. I include myself in that statement. In the end it’s a comic for kids. It’s supposed to be fun. 

Thought The Last--I have spent entirely too much of my time writing this up, but in the end I guess I have to go back to what I said when I talked about my thoughts on Sanji: Everyone has their own personal line of acceptable bullshit, and for me Oda does more good than bad. Sanji specifically gets very little leniency from me because I don’t like a lot of the gross behavior Oda passes over as a joke. But the female characters themselves, generally speaking? They’re fine. There are other mangaka that have more equal male to female ratios or have women play more active roles in the story, but Oda does a lot better than most other shonen titles I’ve read. 

It’s okay to be critical of media you enjoy. It’s okay to complain. But remember that One Piece is a very long series, and there are some fans who have been a round for literally decades. I myself started reading weekly around the time Duval was introduced, way back in 2008. Every time a new batch of fans comes in the same old arguments get stirred to the top of the pot: Sanji is a creep, Oda can’t draw women, why doesn’t Robin ever get to fight?

It can be exhausting to go through the same hoops time and time again. So if you’re someone who is being critical and feel like no one is listening, or that a bunch of fans are going out of their way to defend Oda, that could be one of the reasons why. They’re tired of having a series they enjoy be shit on. 

There are other fans who legitimately don’t think that Oda’s done anything wrong, that jokes are just jokes. If you happen to fall in that category, remember that not everyone feels that way. Art reflects life, which in turn reflects art. One Piece is a few million copies away from outselling Batman. To say it isn’t influential to young readers, both in Japan and abroad, is beyond asinine. 

I thank everyone who’s taken the time to read this so far. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how civil the discussion and my inbox as stayed. Even if I didn’t respond to your message, I promise that I did read it. 

I wrote as much as I did because I know this is a topic a lot of people care about, and also so I hopefully don’t have to write about it again. A lot of hours has gone into this project, and it’s been exhausting, but in a good way, if that makes any sense. I’m ready to put it to rest. 

I was joking with some friends that I think I’ve hit just about every hot topic issue now, so hopefully I can go back to fun questions like speculating if Wapol can eat a person and poop out a devil fruit. 

Until then, Sarcasticles, out         

[whisplion]

I don't have anything for Esuka day but I thought I’d share a little about my headcanon for her in the fic I hope will actually get done.

She is involved in Marineford and gets severe burns on her forearms. Because of the stunt she pulls she has to escape and goes with Luffy, Jinbei, along with a dying Ace. As the fic revolves around mostly Sabo and Ace in the revolutionary army. She does get tangled up with them. Her own morales are put to the test. I am not sure if Ace will have a romantic interest in this with her or another suitor. I am kind of letting the story take it’s own direction my only official ship is Saboala. It’s all about the strong bonds here first and foremost as the fic is about healing and found family!

[seraphiixa]

Muse’s backstory.  @umbrx​ asked: )) :grabbyhands:

2. Has their living situation changed from when they were born?

     Lyra’s living situation has not changed one bit. She followed in the footsteps of the Calimeras family tradition of serving the Navy. She was born to join the Navy, quite literally, and ultimately ended up doing so. Her family was middle income growing up, and she remains in the middle income bracket, neither destitute nor wealthy. 

4. Did they have any childhood enemies? Any friends? Enemies that became friends?

      Lyra’s childhood enemies took many forms. First and foremost, she and all her siblings were sworn enemies of pirates everywhere. They DARED any pirate to step foot on Heraklion Island! Just try it!

      On a more serious note, Lyra’s actual enemies only included her oldest brothers, who teased and bullied her relentlessly. 

     She didn’t have many childhood friends. She spent most of her time with her brothers and sisters at home, training. She went to school briefly, but found that many of the other children, like herself, were more eager to get home and train to become Marines than make friends on the schoolyard. Primary schooling conducted through correspondence courses are very common on Heraklion.

6. How many siblings did they have? What was their relationship like? 

     Lyra comes from a huge family. Her father (68) retired as a Rear Admiral and her mother (66) separated from the Navy when she became pregnant with their first child. Lyra has three older brothers (Orion, 47, Asterios, 44, Hektor, 40), all retired from the Navy and living back on Heraklion with their families, and two younger sisters, one of whom is a housewife and loving mother of three (Phaedra, 33), and one of whom is still in the Navy, a Sergeant Major (Nefele, 27) working as an administrator at an outpost in South Blue. 

     Lyra’s relationship with her oldest brother, Orion, is tense. He viciously and mercilessly bullied her throughout their childhood, physically and emotionally abusing her, just one of his many charming qualities as an overall bastard. Asterios stood aside and did nothing, while Hektor always picked her up afterwards and tried to soothe her crying. As children, Lyra was closest with Hektor, but both went their separate ways when it was time to serve the Navy. By the time Phaedra and Nefele were born, Lyra was much too interested in training to pay attention to her little sisters. 

     All in all, the Calimeras family is not a very loving family, and the siblings are not close with each other, nor are they close with their parents. Coincidentally enough, the last time Orion, Hektor, and Lyra were all together was on the battlefield at Marineford during the Paramount War, but none of the Calimeras officers actually saw each other. Orion was in the very front with his war hammer, and Lyra and Hektor were on opposite ends of the swordsmen corps, led by Vice Admiral Momonga. Lyra did not even learn that her brothers were there until the after-action reports were released, weeks later. It has been roughly sixteen years since Orion, Asterios, Hektor, Lyra, Phaedra, and Nefele were all in the same room together.

13. Are there any moments of their past they keep secret?

     Lyra keeps the circumstances of her divorce and pregnancy a secret. She also does not advertise the existence of her daughter. If you were to ask her why, she would tell you that it is simply no one’s business. In all reality, Lyra has never fully processed what happened, and feels lingering shame, guilt, and embarrassment.