#post Wano musings

[basedkikuenjoyer]

End Transmission

I swear it always comes back to this damn clown. Crocodile's response is so funny to me and Buggy's expression is so good but the scene as a whole. Vegapunk's transmission concludes here. He's left the world in a panic. Buggy though continues to make the best of opportunities through sheer charisma. Don't forget where we left off last time, this may be a tense relationship but he's somehow worked himself into solidifying the Emperor title. I get the vibe at least CrocHawk are fuming here because they're realizing they have to play ball with Buggy on some level because he's the one with the men's loyalty. That's an important note for this chapter, the power of charisma vs. Vegapunk muddying his own message.

Let that one sit a moment because it won't really play much in the rest of the chapter, but like we often say with Egghead it is an interesting scene to frame the rest with. While Vegapunk's message and the impact of it remind me so much of David Bowie's Five Years, the little lead-in line made another rock music reference worth paying attention to. "The Times They are A-Changin." We couldn't use it as the chapter title because that, in full English, was already one which was confirmed as a reference. 572. Whitebeard giving the final order. Our lead in to the death of Luffy's brother Ace.

We'll talk narrative structure in a minute. Because I want to keep smoking this Whitebeard pack while I have it open. "I failed to make him King." That line, the flashback, the sacrifice...I see why we have that callback. Emeth here ends up being a pretty cool combination of Whitebeard back then and Izo's sacrifice late in Wano on top of the obvious internal parallel with Kuma. Especially when you mix it with seeing Koby's reflections on early chapters this chapter really felt like it was hitting that deep DNA of the series.

And of course, that makes the title interesting this time. "The Time is at Hand." I feel like I'm supposed to be making that connection right now. And honestly? All I've talked about this whole time could work just fine if Luffy simply gets taunted after this like Ace does. For all the pomp and circumstance. All the big ideas of Grand Fleets and mystery interlopers, that could tie it off here too. Are we ready to "untie the knot?" Are these scattered contexts about to make sense and reweave time?

It's not like I can ignore the confluence here. The bulk of the Gorosei are banished. Nami's lament about Atlas & Edison imply Lilith is the Last (goo-, evi-...allied) Punk Standing. Er...laying. You know I just thought "Last Punk Standing" sounded cool okay? The broadcast is donezo. Robonosuke's done his thing. Even cinching up Caribou and the Blackbeard bits. All this happens as the ships come together and the gang is drifting away.

Just saying, feels like the broadcast did sorta serve as this third discrete segment where Egghead takes on a different tone. And now that's settled. We'll have this break and honestly? Next few chapters feel like a total wild card.

[gildedmuse]

This is me calling Law out.

He is purposefully making his moves look sexy as possible, and that's the kind of bullshit we need to be calling out.

[writesailingdreams]

Had a rambling post on how to rearrange events in the New World if you delete Punk Hazard.

It's strange how the post-timeskip arcs are somehow the most concise (in terms of actual point) but bloated with content.

For example, Punk Hazard sets up the goal of defeating Kaido. That runs through Punk Hazard, Dressrosa, Zou and Wano. It also includes Law's backstory, Dolfamingo's backstory, Sabo's return, themes of memory and being forgotten, the samurai of Wano and the Kozuki Clan, the Road Ponegylphs*, and more history about Roger's journey.

So, yeah. There's a lot of stuff that is brought up. But it's all crammed under the same goal. There's no break really.

Look at it this way:

In the first half of the Grandline, we have Help Save Vivi's Kingdom followed by Find a City of Gold. Those are very different arcs, both of which were two of the longest arcs at the time. (Skypiea still comes in fourth or fifth longest I think?). This is followed by Get a Shipwright, which, uh, has a lot of other stuff happening and really turns more into Fighting the Government.

Which, you know, makes me realize that in some of the arcs usually considered the best of the story so far, whatever impetus starts the Straw Hats onto whatever island they're on or whatever the goal is, that's not where in ends. Water 7 starts with fixing the Merry and finding a shipwright. That is not how things go. Sabaody starts with going to Fishman Island. That's not how things go. Impel Down starts with Luffy wanting to save Ace. That's now how things go.

That twist around, even an ultimately triumphant one like in Water 7/Enies Lobby, hasn't really happened, far as I can recall. I think Egghead might be the closest, but I'd have to have the full arc complete to make a judgment.

This does make me want to re-read the post-timeskip arcs because I'm just not as familiar with the details or the story structure. (What are you doing narratively? What are you setting up? Where are you going? How are you telling this story? What do you add? What are you enhancing?)

I dunno, this got rambling too, but sometimes it feels like we went from Save the Island to Stop the Scientist to Save the Island to Help the Island to Get Sanji Back to Save the Island to Help the Scientist. Can I have something different? Or at least, can there be some switch around? I think the biggest surprise so far as been the mystery angle of Egghead (yay) and Gear 5.

*this is one of the few parts that is relevant to Whole Cake Island

[c0mplex-heroes]

elemental wielding open starter: kimiko open to one piece muses/verses only

Ever since finding her mother's brooch, Kimiko had made it a mission to master using it. The brooch gave her the power to wield and manipulate all four of the worlds natural elements... fire, wind, water and earth.

Today for her training Kimiko had decided to try fire. Coating her forearms in armament haki, Kimiko gently coaxed out some fire. Drawing and swishing circles in the air, it was going well.

Until she accidentally started a small fire.

"Oh crap! No no no!" In a panic, she began stomping at it. The sorceress was so caught up in putting it out, she didn't notice someone arriving behind her.

[general-cyno]

I've been musing about it for a while, thanks to some posts I've read recently too, and honestly... one of the (many) fascinating aspects of zolu to me is the way they share parallels/connections and or similarities to important figures in OP's world. spoilers for the most recent arcs and reveals ahead!

perhaps the most blatant and one of my personal favorites, are luffy and zoro's similarities to roger and rayleigh. as OP's mc and someone who's on the road to become the pirate king, luffy's own similarities to roger have come up a lot throughout the story and they've been acknowledged or pointed out by other characters like shanks, rayleigh himself and yamato, for example. from the goofy parts of their personalities, to the strength of their wills, and their dreams, luffy and roger's parallels are consistent in OP,

and as seen in rayleigh's brief memory of their first meeting, the straw hat luffy received from shanks was originally worn by roger back when he was young.

albeit the circumstances are a little different - with them stumbling upon each other by chance vs luffy going out of his way to meet zoro after learning of his name and reputation - this first meeting is still reminiscent of zoro and luffy's, with both ray and zoro initially rejecting roger and luffy's invitations to join them in their journey.

as for rayleigh and zoro, there's also a bunch of parallels between the two!

due to his previous time as a bounty hunter in the east blue, zoro made quite a name for himself and as OP progresses, his renown as the pirate hunter and the straw hats' swordsman is only second to luffy's. he was also the 2nd straw hat to get a bounty, and he's usually right behind luffy whenever their bounties go up. similarly, rayleigh was (and still is) considered a legend second to roger himself, strong enough that garp still views him as a powerful foe the marines can't easily defeat and managed to scare blackbeard away from amazon lily without an actual fight, despite the latter's strength.

there's other stuff too: the eye scars, both zoro and ray being greatly skilled swordsmen, their love for booze, being users of all three types of haki and even their epithets! from what I've read from other OP fans in discussion threads and through some internet search, rayleigh's title of "dark king" in jp is actually the name or word for pluto (the god of the underworld, roman mythology's equivalent to hades) in said language. in comparison, "enma", the name of zoro's most recently acquired sword and the "king of hell" title that he claimed after defeating king in wano, are a direct reference to the buddhist deity of the same name in jp mythology, also known as yama - a god of the underworld in charge of judging souls.

from the most recent flashbacks of the god valley incident, too, you can see the physical resemblance between these duos:

(as a bit of a side note, I think it was nice that rayleigh not only took it upon himself to mentor luffy, he was also the one who protected zoro from kizaru in sabaody and after the timeskip, during the straw hats' reunion in the archipelago and as they bid their farewells, zoro went out of his way to thank him for everything too.)

all in all, considering how close roger and rayleigh were (to the point roger called him "partner"), their strength, reputation and their overall journey with the roger pirates crew - the fact that luffy and zoro share more than a few clear similarities/parallels to them is really good imo, and it speaks both of the importance of their relationship and of the kind of figures they're bound to become, or are already becoming, in OP's world and ongoing history.

although it'd be sweet to have zoro and luffy directly refer to each other as partners as well (which kid and killer, another captain/first mate duo, have done too) I'm not sure it'll happen, if only for the sake of keeping the relationships between luffy and the crew balanced, so to say. still, like I said, knowing how close luffy and zoro are and that they share parallels with other captains/first mates, I think that says a lot about them regardless and the importance they hold for each other and the story as a whole.

another interesting resemblance between zolu and characters who are connected to one another involves, of course, shanks and mihawk - both of which are not only acquainted with each other, as rivals and friends of sorts, but also served as luffy and zoro's mentors/guides at different points of their lives and presently stand as their eventual foes to face in order to reach their goals of becoming the pirate king and world's greatest swordsman.

aaand last but not least, because it's yet another favorite of mine: joy boy/nika and shimotsuki ryuma. I sort of talked about it in another post, and I find it pretty cool. nika and ryuma come from different eras and don't exactly have much to do with one another but luffy's DF awakening and defeating kaido led to "joy boy" (since luffy refused to take credit for it directly by name) being hailed as a hero to wano that's comparable and only rivaled by ryuma, who in the past defended the country and was considered a legendary swordsman, whose sword shusui (that zoro wielded for a while) is a national treasure even.

since the hito hito no mi: model nika is a mythical zoan and vegapunk's speculated that devil fruits come into existence as manifestations of hope and wishes (or a potential for human evolution someone's desired), among other things, nika's existence as an actual god is kind of a subject of current debate in the fandom BUT. the fact remains that whether real or myth, he's still mentioned in old texts and his story has been shared among those enslaved by the WG, as a call for hope and freedom. in addition, even though he was human, ryuma also became revered as a savior figure and a sword god by the folks of wano.

so when you have luffy embodying the sun god of joy and liberation,

and it turns out zoro is none other than a descendant of the shimotsuki (frost moon) family, who resembles the former daimyo of ringo and the god of the blade ryuma,

well. those are some crazy parallels luffy and zoro share outside of their equally kinda crazy and meaningful relationship, as individuals and crew.

[baby-xemnas]

this is not ship hate but ill muse a lil abt l@wlu whom i dont ship so if you do, you probably won't like this (also talking abt law and SH's)

saw art that i didnt hate cuz they both felt IC to how i see them and law looked so calm and casual it made me think how their rship is canonically like YEA law is absolutely indebted to luffy and YEA he grew to respect him a lot beyond initial interest he had in luffys potential.

and ofc i LOVE when ppl fall in love with luffy when they spend time with him they are fond of him but law keeping reserved because yea sure they are some type of comrades BUT it makes me sooooo 😊😊😊 that law doesnt go beyond that

and its not a ohh but hes bad at making friends ohhh he doesnt know how. naw.

fucking bomb decision by oda to allow law to keep his distance despite him spending a lot of time with mugiwaras (and i know some fans disagree but i wont go into all the opinions i dont vibe with or ill be here til morning) because YEAH he HAS a crew he has a family - and what im trying to say here is that SURE meaningful bonds can be built in a short period of time SURE, no denying that

HOWEVER

while it would be SO easy to write him getting attached to strawhats and emphasizing those strong bonds - he did that with vivi didnt he, he did that with many characters mugiwaras save -> but! but but but but but - Heart Pirates WIN so much in value when Law is clearly acting like

"Naw man i got my family, you guys are chill and all, and im grateful to you strawhat, but id like to be back right now immediately.i miss my wife tails i miss her a lot. "

like THAT is sooooo precious to me and im so glad that oda made the conscious choice of characterizing law as somebody who keeps to himself, not jumping the shark on making him grow super close to strawhats

and it is not for any sad and shut in reason, it is not a flaw but a feature - in fact it keeps and builds up further on feeling of law as a complete character and not a luffy accessory number god knows what.

ofc i bitched plenty in my time that law shouldn't have been in wano for that reason that it's none of his business BUT it was to indirectly help mink nation so im turning it into an otp moment (plus theres lawbepo and just excellent bepo moments even if they dont go anywhere im still enjoying being serviced as a fan so im not hating on wano existing as much as before)

ps: still wont read PH/dressrosa - bepoless ass law, who needs him. even law doesnt need bepoless law - i dont think this opinion in particular would change in any way if i have read them since im stressing how important laws family - his crew is to him - and that was showcased post that arc.

[seaoftheworst]

@kaizokugaris sent: plots please ! / any character

⤏ send me “plots please”

… and I’ll respond with  3  (or more)  interesting  plots / relationships / connections  I can think of for our muses!   There is  no pressure  for us to write any of them,   but it’s a great starting point for you to get a sense of how I think our muses might interact and what sorts of plots I’m most interested in happening between them  -so don’t be shy!

you said any so I am gonna give you everyone I can think of something for, under the cut to not clog the dash and avoid spoiling those not caught up with the manga/anime

Alber (King)

interactions after the events of Wano

the two having an interesting sorta friendship after Zoro leaves Wano, keeping in contact via Den-den, with Alber giving tips on handling the Seraphim once he learns of them

AU where Alber joins the crew as either a temporary passenger or actual member

Buggy

expanded interactions from Orange Town

run in set in Logue Town

Buggy having to go get Mihawk for a Warlord meeting during the time skip and the two running into each other

Dracule Mihawk

random two year training interactions

possible interaction that explains how Zoro lost that eye

did he escort Zoro? is that why Zoro got to Sabaody first?

Izou

Izou thanking Zoro for watching out for Kiku I refuse to accept Izou dying right after he reunited with his sister

Drinking together when the party after Kidou is defeated happens

Izou def knew Ushimaru, so the fun realization that Izou can drop that technically Zoro is in line to inherit the position of Daimyo of Ringo

Jinbe

Straw Hat crew bonding

I can see Zoro feeling Jinbe is sus at first and wanting to interrogate him

Jinbe can apparently out drink Zoro, them putting that to the test

Koby

Dealing with Luffy's shenanigans in Shells Town

A longer talk during the Post-enies Lobby

Koby having to go to Mihawk's island for something during the timeskip and interactions that could ensue

Marco

Marco giving Zoro tips on what to expect as the second in command to an Emperor

Marco having with them in Wano a little longer

Zoro talking to Marco about the whole throwing him onto the rooftop thing (he gave no warning before yeeting poor Zoro)

Monkey D Garp

Garp talking with Zoro alone on Water Seven

Monkey D Luffy

Luffy and Zoro having more adventures before the incident with the bird so they have time to grow their friendship before running into Buggy

Downtime between islands

Training together

Sabo

Post-Dressrosa talks lasting longer

Sabo and Zoro exchanging denden numbers so Sabo can ask him how Luffy is doing

Basically penpals of sorts bonding over their worry/adoration of Luffy

Silvers Rayleigh

Zoro arrived first, so interactions after Zoro got the Sabaody before anyone else arrived

Tony Tony Chopper

I love their bond, gimme soft interactions

Trafalgar D Law

talking at any point from punk hazard to wano

the trip to Wano, someone needs to point out how weird it is that a devil fruit user has a submarine

practicing sword fighting to ensure that Law's arm healed right after Dressrosa

Vinsmoke Ichiji

Zoro meeting Sanji's brothers would be interesting...

AU where Zoro went to Whole Cake, too?

Vinsmoke Niji

Zoro meeting Sanji's brothers would be interesting...

AU where Zoro went to Whole Cake, too?

Vinsmoke Sanji

Zoro and Sanji need to talk about Thriller Bark....

I love their dynamic, how they bicker but have one another's back

Zoro and Sanji need to talk about the Raid and why Sanji asked Zoro to kill him if he was no longer himself

Vinsmoke Yonji

Zoro meeting Sanji's brothers would be interesting...

AU where Zoro went to Whole Cake, too?

Green Himbos Unite

X Drake

Talking post raid, now that Kaidou is gone maybe Drake can shed a little light on why he was a 'traitor'

Zoro finding out about Drake's friendship with Koby

[quinloki]

How about 22 for the self-ship prompts, for the ship of your choice? 💙

22 is: Write about a member of your ship giving the other a special gift.

I have a few ideas, I might do them all in short form (warnings for angst, canon compliance, AU, sappy shit idk what all I’ll do xD - sfw though!)

Gifting Eustass Kid

I put the last few finishing touches on the scrapbook and made a face. It was the best gift you had been able to come up with for Kid, but maybe it too personal.

Getting my hands on a snail that took pictures had been a trial and a half. Pretending to take up photography just to disguise my plans hadn’t been nearly as bad, and as a side effect I’d gotten pretty good at snapping pictures. Even managed to soften the flash so I could take day time images sneakily.

I’m the end I had a scrap book of photos from the last year. Celebrations, conquests, and even a few somber moments had been caught on film. Accented and documented with dates and quotes, and the best doodles I could manage.

It was personal. Intimate on a level I wasn’t sure was okay, but at this point I had put my whole ass soul into it, I might as well deliver it.

Wrapping it some cloth and tying it up I went in search of the Captain. Luck was on my side, at least with the delivery, since Kid was alone in his workshop.

I knocked and heard the customary grunt that wasn’t the noise he usually makes when he prefers to be left alone. Stepping in I hang by the door for a moment until Kid waves me over.

“What’s up?” He asks. “And stay back, I’m welding.”

“I brought you a gift.” I say, trying not to sound nervous. “A birthday gift.”

I can sense the change in his body language, but he keeps welding.

“Let me finish this.”

“Of course.”

It only takes him a minute to finish and he sets the torch up after turning it off and turns toward me. Lifting his goggles up I get to see the cheeky smile and the glint in his eyes.

“Well, you’re not wearing it this year.” He muses looking over me before settling on the package in my hands. “That it?”

“Yeah.” I hand it over and take a step back. I haven’t felt nervous around Kid in a couple years, but this is different than our usual little dance. It’s not like we weren’t intimate emotionally, but even then it had been in the small hours of the day.

He unties it and unwraps it. There’s a small twitch across his brow, but I can’t tell if it’s disappointment or confusion. The cover was leather with inlaid words. I couldn’t do it myself, but Wire was really good at it and he helped.

House was good at book binding, and Hop had helped me make the paper. Heat made the ink for me, and well, by the end of it almost the entire crew had helped, even if it was just distracting Kid before he caught me working on it over the last year.

His eyes never leave it as he slowly turns each page. I’ve only ever seen him so focused on his gadgets like that before.

“It’s… I … er, kind of sap-.”

“You made this?”

“The… the crew helped. I don’t know how to tan leather, or bind books or make paper and ink, but I took the pictures and such.”

“But you made it.” He asserts. “Decided on all the images and words, told everyone else what to do?”

“Y-yeah, that’s fair to say.”

“For me.”

I almost laugh. “I ain’t doing all that for anyone else, so yeah.”

“… Fuck.” Kid almost chokes on the word, and before I can ask him what’s wrong he’s set the gift aside and hauls me into a hug.

“Haaa… I was worried it wasn’t going to be well received.” I admit, feeling my face heat up.

Kid holds me in place easily, and I return the hug as best I can. I don’t know if he’s crying or blushing or what, but I know that at least half the reason he’s hugging me is to hide his face. Part of me wants to tease him, but this doesn’t seem like the time for it.

“… Happy birthday, Captain.”

Gifting Sir Crocodile - warning there’s some post Wano spoilers, so proceed at your own risk.

“What’s this?” He raises one eyebrow, regarding the humbly wrapped box I had set in front of him with some akin to disdain.

“A gift.” I answer with a smile. He’s not truly put off, I can tell, especially after all this time.

“I explicitly stated I had no desire to celebrate my birthday.” He’s trying to look irritated but I can see the smile tugging at his lips.

“This is hardly a celebration.” I insist, coming around to his side of the desk, leaning on the arm rest of the chair and giving him a smile. “I could just tell Buggy today is your birthday. I’m sure someone as flashy as him-.”

“Point made.” He grumbles, true displeasure on his face for a moment before he sighs. “Very well, I accept.”

I smile as sweetly as I can. “Well, don’t keep me waiting, open it.”

“Demanding for such a small thing.” He teases, reaching out for the package, and opening it. An emotion flickers across his face, and it’s confusion more than anything else. “My dear, it’s beautiful, but I have several cigar humidors.”

The oak box had a cherry wood finish on the outside, decorated in bananawanis and quill feathers. White and yellow gold filigree decorated it, and dark crimson, nearly black stain had the phrase “Desert Flower” on the top. Against the cherry wood stain it was almost impossible to read.

“It’s not for cigars.” I explain with a smile. “Open it up.”

When he lifts the lid it reveals a velvet lined interior, and a strong smoky scent wafts up into the air. It’s filled with tea leaves.

“It’s a tea box. It’s designed to be mostly air tight, hence the lining. And the oak doesn’t have a strong scent, especially dried, so it doesn’t interfere with the tea’s scent. It’ll absorb them though, so as you come to enjoy more types of tea we’ll have to get you more.” I explain.

“But this is the first one you enjoyed.” I grin. “I think this is the tea that saved my life.”

“… You’re not entirely wrong, desert flower.” He admits. The expression on his face is much softer, and his arm sneaks around my waist as he pulls me in, stealing a kiss that tastes like his cigars.

At this point, it’s a flavor and scent I quite love.

“Thank you.” He says softly.

At that moment the doors burst open and Buggy walks in with a massive cake and an unamused Mihawk with him.

“You didn’t tell us it was your birthday!” Buggy huffs, pushing the cart into the room. “I can’t plan a proper celebration when I find out on the day of it!”

Crocodile growls and looks at me.

“This is not my fault.” I assert.

[naviculariis]

Theorizing things bc Basil is on the mind. But so is Vasille. One could say he's Basil's better looking twin.

Their final fight. Pre-Wano, but post-Janoshima Arc.

So, we know how Basil's devil fruit works. Voodoo dolls, essentially- which he can create many of, but they belong to members of his crew, or just random civilians that happen to be in the area.

But there's a limit to that power, right? He can only create a certain amount before he isn't able to any longer, and starts to take on those injuries himself.

Vasille, at that point, has grown stronger. From six bodies to nine in play at once.

And as Basil unintentionally kills off these people as they take the injuries meant for him-

Vasille picks them up one after another. Fallen crew members, specifically.

And uses them against Basil.

I feel like the fight would end in either a draw, or Vasille still losing bc Basil is still important in Wano-

But how horrific it muse have been to have ones' own Devil Fruit used against them in such an odd, roundabout way. To see the members Basil had sacrificed as essential canon fodder suddenly picked up, their bodies lifeless, bloodied, haggard- and seeing them puppeteered by this fucker across the way. This little shit, who you get mistaken for. This

This NOBODY.

But Vasille is holding his own. And that... Oh, that's a dangerous feat; he didn't used to be so strong.

[misfitsandmusings]

⭐️ Half-hearted “theory”/wishful thinking and musing on Law, Doflamingo, Rosinante, and the “man marked by flames”. ⭐️

POTENTIAL SPOILER WARNING for the end of Wano (but not really bc my Wano knowledge as a whole is lacking. But I mention one scene at the end of it and give a vibe nod to Egghead/current events without any details. Read more-ing it from here because it’s a longish post in general and somewhat crack in nature.

I’ve been screaming with @clownquixote and have screamed at @climatact about this before but since I’m feeling unapologetically myself in my ridiculousness today I’m going to share a far-fetched “it would never happen but I self indulgently WANT it to happen so let me find this little stretch of a thread to tug on” hope/theory. (On the AMAZINGLY UNLIKELY chance that this happens I’m putting it out there right now and if it defies all the odds and comes true I demand of the universe the equivalent of Law’s bounty in… idk, something dumb like chocolate mints or bread bc as much as I love Law this chick cannot relate to the bread hate.)

But anyway- after all Law has been through in his life and series as a whole, even though YES I know his death was important to his story and character growth, I think he deserves and I would not be mad to see a plot twist in which Rosinante lived. I feel like Sabo’s reappearance came out of left field when it happened and has been widely accepted so I don’t think it’s THAT much of a stretch and if it can happen once it can happen again. The stretch of a thread I’m picking at in my self-indulgent desire to see this happen? The tiny and (I think) thus far unexplained references to the man marked by flames? When Kid says something about that mystery figure being his objective there’s a single panel -that I of course do not have saved. Will find and rb later- where it shifts to Law and he has this vaguely interested/curious look on his face. And yes, Law is curious by nature and that could and probably doesn’t mean anything.

And you would think with a cool tagline like that it would be some really important, powerful, badass character in the making but. What if it’s actually just a clumsy clown of a character prone to setting himself on fire?

I’m thinking a lot on this today because I was revisiting Law & Rosinante backstory episodes in preparation for writing kid!Law for the first time (yay!) but I jumped to episode 700 and decided to watch the entire thing instead of jumping to the actual flashbacks of Law’s childhood. The first few minutes are Law vs. Doflamingo with the latter ranting about the hidden secret use of the Ope Ope no Mi and him stating that if he’d had access to its abilities then, he would have been able to get his hands on whatever he knows is hidden at Mariejois. I have long suspected we (the fandom and poor Law) aren’t done with Creepy Mingo yet, and I won’t really get into current arc stuff because I’ve mentally checked out on it in light of some of the recent events so I’m not well-informed enough to pick it apart just yet. But I do think that bit of info, Doflamingo, and Law are going to come into play again in regards to that conversation some 300+ episodes ago. Since I didn’t claim this would be a fully fleshed out theory I don’t have much more to offer plausibility/possibility-wise yet but I am JUST SAYING Law has been through so much, Doflamingo will end up back in the fray, and I could 100% see a Rosinante that survived and has been laying low on the sidelines for his own various reasons showing up to interfere with his brother and save Law or at least finally give him some much needed light/good news/happiness in his life.

So the tl;dr highlights that I noncommittally hope but don’t really expect will happen (I’m cashing in if I’m right though okay): Doflamingo essential to whatever’s going down, Law still has some stuff to go through and will get roped into this presumably against his will, Rosinante survived and is the “man marked by flames” and will show up to help and/or protect Law. I make no apologies for wishful thinking or for not coming with receipts/all the lore knowledge I need to further explore it yet. I just wanted to get it on the record and scream about how much I want good things for Law.

Okay thanks for reading my silly rambly nonsense that I hope will come true if you did. 🙃 you can pick it apart if you want but keep in mind I make no secret my overall lore knowledge is not the best, or you can scream about it with me if you like it too.

UPDATE: I FOUND IT. (Ch. 1056. I feel like I brought receipts now even though this really established nothing. But like, why that face, Law? It seems INTERESTING. Where’d your thoughts go? Foreshadowing? Does he know something? Do flames just make him think of someone setting their clumsy self on fire all the time? Sus enough for me.)

[basedkikuenjoyer]

Kuma the Pooh, Kuma the Pooh

Chubby little Kuma all stuffed with trau-ma. So Kuma just paw-paw blasted his way up the ol favorites list, but not as much as Ginny. Who I'm definitely guessing is Bonney's mom. TCB Scans had a t/n that her song matches the cadence of Winnie the Pooh's iconic theme song. Which is...amazing. All this stuff about Bonney & Kuma is definitely hitting a degree harder so soon after losing my own father, and that's a fun tie. His old coworker I needed to reach out to so that group would know, I always remember her having this awesome Winnie the Pooh collection in her office. Speaking of, have you ever seen the Russian version?

Is Soviet Piglet a capitalist pig? Because those pants are max drip. Rabbit being kinda a loser nerd is also a plus, screw him. While I'm on it, how the hell did a kangaroo get in the mix? Did Christopher Robin's dad have an illegal kangaroo he'd take around to box hill folk at county fairs? What the fuck am I even on about? Well you see...

Nah, just screwing around. Kuma is so good here though. Selflessness, spelling it out directly with Saturn, it's all the stuff we've been on about all Egghead. I love the example of saving 500 and still kicking himself for not being able to do more. But as much as Kuma puts those themes on display...Ginny.

I've seen plenty of people independently talking about how Rocks had a very similar vibe to the Straw Hats if they started fracturing and Ginny's straight up playing the type of role I've made the argument is an opening. Yes, Nami's a thief. The rest of it. Wiretapping, masking your movements with decoys, strategic leaks, playing your enemies against each other. Whoever it may be, I do feel like that Quartermaster role is the last one that would really make sense. Where she truly shines, and where this gets weird,

But there's another element too. Telling the story of who slipped away amidst the chaos of a big, historical happening cloaked in mystery. How Ginny didn't need a huge, defining moment to quietly choose to stay with Kuma instead of big bro Iva. I'm really curious where the rest of this goes. I'm sure it's going to be absolutely depressing after ending on such a happy note.

[gildedmuse]

This is me calling Law out.

He is purposefully making his moves look sexy as possible, and that's the kind of bullshit we need to be calling out.

[enruiinas]

𝐅𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐎𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓: for read/watch progress and AU/verse plotting purposes. I love AUs & verses in general and am always happy to use a fandom we're both familiar with as a starting point, whether it's borrowing the whole setting, elements we enjoyed or both recognize from a fandom, etc. This is a long post so I'll read-more after "currently reading/watching" - a full list of fandoms I'm familiar with or enjoy is available below the cut.

bold - fandoms i'm familiar enough to base an AU on, pull elements from, etc. italicized - fandoms i'm fairly confident on my grasp of. can base an AU on or pull elements from, but might need a tiny bit of time to revisit some things. ★ - muses from this fandom will likely feature on or will soon be tested on the multimuse i'm working on in the background.

𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆/𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆:

★ ONE PIECE. (manga re-read): ch. 339/????. I am technically "caught up" through the end of Wano and peep on spoilers for the ongoing arc, but as I speed-read the entire thing in a month last year, I'm not always super confident in my grasp on the second half of the series because I was so ready to be caught up. Wano grasp is particularly abysmal but I'm okay with exploring ongoing Egghead stuff with Law in interactions. [Potential muses: Baby 5, Mihawk, Usopp] ★ FAIRY TAIL. (manga first-time read): ch. 285/545.

★ POKEMON (mostly Kanto/Johto stuff though). I grew up on Pokémon and love lol things Kanto/Johto but haven’t watched, played, or read anything since Ruby and Sapphire were current content. I’m starting from scratch and working my way up again, beginning with Pokemon Adventures (manga) and Pokémon Origins + an original Kanto rewatch on Netflix.

𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋 𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐅𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐎𝐌𝐒 𝐈 𝐄𝐍𝐉𝐎𝐘:

Anime / Manga:

★ ONE PIECE. see above. ★ FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST: BROTHERHOOD. I haven't watched FMA (2003) in years, but it's on my list to revisit. [Potential muses: Winry Rockbell] ★ DEMON SLAYER. Have dabbled in Demon Slayer muses and plan to bring them back after a rewatch to spark my muse again. [Potential muses: TBD pending revisit.] ★ FAIRY TAIL. Reading for the first time. Current progress: ch. 285/545. Potential muses (once I've completed my read only): Cana Alberona, Loke, Gray Fullbuster, Levy McGarden. CHARLOTTE. Anime. This is one I would love to explore AU plots based on. It's short (13 episodes?) and I would probably revisit before jumping into anything but highly recommend if you're looking for a short anime to watch sometimes. ★ NORAGAMI. I slacked off following the manga there for a bit at the end and would need to revisit, but might add muses after a re-read. [Potential muses: TBD pending revisit.] ★ TOILET-BOUND HANAKO-KUN. Need to revisit, but I loved what I'd read so far and would likely end up adding muses. ★ BUNGOU STRAY DOGS.

★ ANGEL BEATS.

Movies:

LABYRINTH. 1986 - the David Bowie movie. always a fave. ★ DISNEY MOVIES. Pretty much any, but my favorites are Hercules*, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Emperor's New Groove, Lilo & Stitch... HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE. (Also reading the book trilogy at the moment, currently on 2/3. Potential muses: Sophie Hatter, Lettie Hatter, Martha Hatter.) SPIRITED AWAY. BARBIE (2023).

Books:

A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES. I loooove ACTOAR but it's admittedly been a while. I want to reread soon! (mun confession: after getting @climatact I realized the full extent to which Law is accidentally/unintentionally Rhys-coded. Oops.) ARTEMIS FOWL My all-time favorite book series. I re-read this at least once a year. I doubt I'll add muses, but I'm definitely familiar enough with it I feel like I could muse almost anyone. PRIDE & PREJUDICE. Won't add muses, but enjoy a lot of themes & character tropes/archetypes here. THE LAST UNICORN. [finished 2/19/2024.]

TV Shows:

★ Once Upon a Time. Other than the last season, probably my favorite TV show, but I'm due for a rewatch. [Potential muses: not sure yet but there will be some.]

Video Games:

LEGEND OF ZELDA: OCARINA OF TIME. STARDEW VALLEY.

* - I love Greek mythology (or any polytheistic belief system) in general. There are probably plenty of things i'd need to read up on but I am always up for Greek mythology or fairy tale (Disney-fied or original versions) inspired verses/themes.

𝐅𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐎𝐌𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃/𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇:

Inuyasha

Pokemon (Anime? Manga? Games? Where do I wanna start?)

ATLA

Yu-Gi-Oh

Kaoru Hana Wa Rin To Saku.

[fallensnowfan]

Musings on absences in One Piece, mainly focused on Wano and Post-Wano.

During the current arc, the island the crew is on is parallel to Wano on the map we saw during the arc’s epilogue. They have moved neither forward nor backward on the Grand Line, making no real progress towards Pirate King. Which is driven home by the final Poneglyph that will help them reach Laugh Tale NOT being on the island. The story and Luffy himself are stagnant.

During past arcs, Zoro bowed his head to Mihawk for the sake of gaining strength, putting his promise to Luffy on hold. While Sanji has struggled with his familial Vinsmoke connections and his need to grow stronger, both threatening to replace his promise to Luffy. During their battles against King and Queen on Onigashima, Zoro and Sanji are able to break out of their own stagnancy and each renew their promises to make Luffy Pirate King, though without compromising any parts of their pasts this time(namely Kuina and Zeff.) And heck, the crew member who helped Kiku realize her stagnancy last arc is literally a motionless statue on Egghead last we saw him.

Cut to Egghead, in spite of how much he’s grown, Luffy has been goofing off more than usual this arc, that goal of Pirate King no longer feeling like it’s the main driving force for his adventure.

With how Wano had a tremendous red herring for a new member getting on board, there seeming to not have been a new recruit kinda makes the current crew feel incomplete. Even more so with the SHs having a member from the other country Luffy declared his territory, being Jinbei and Fishman Island, though not someone from Wano.

What better character to give Luffy and the story a push towards renewing the missing drive to become Pirate King than one who’s own story is full of absences?

The Wano character who was the last of the time travel group we met, wasn’t with the samurai gang while they snuck into Yasu’s castle, is currently missing an arm, and who no showed the Ryokugyu fight? Of course I’m talking about Kiku, the character who guided Luffy, the Straw Hats, and the story exactly where they needed to be, anytime she was with them during the arc. Things falling into chaos during back half of Onigashima lines up too closely with Kiku not being available to keep things on track, which leads me to believe the timing of both lining up so closely was almost certainly was an intentional decision by Oda.

From where I stand, her being the final member makes a lot of sense as a perfect potential path the story could take, one where all of those absences and missing pieces being restored could happen when the time is right. Also would perfectly thematically tie together a country stuck in the past(Wano,) and an island moving too quickly toward the future(Egghead,) before the last big push to Laugh Tale. Those are just my thoughts however, only Oda knows where the story is going for sure.

[us-smash-archive]

@luminescentlight​

  The life of a pirate was always unpredictable but one thing to be expected was there would be surprise attacks on the ship, even if those attacks were rare ones. There were still some people that thought that trying to take on the moby dick was a good idea though Ace himself didn’t have much room to judge there considering how he was when he first joined the crew. However, there was much more to worry about with a small child like Aiko on board when there was a surprise attack. That’s why Aiko had been put into his arms while everyone else was fighting off the crew, the fire user taking a backseat approach to this as he only used his devil fruit when other pirates got too close to him and Aiko. Not using his full power of course but just enough to blow them back and into the water, Keeping Aiko firmly in his grip to silently reassure her that it would be alright.  What happened afterwards is what got Ace more mad, watching Aiko biting both Thatch and Marco when they tried to take her back from him and he had to carefully pry her little teeth off of them, hearing the small growls coming from her. Normally he would think that she was just startled from this being the first fight that she had been exposed to but considering that she bit both Marco and Thatch there was only one other explanation as to why she had this reaction.  “Neither of you slowly exposed Aiko to your devil fruits did you?”

[komoorebii]

Nice to see that a few people are around! Soo, ♡ and/or ↻ for a small starter with either Tsunagoro or Kiku because I am the process of adding her!