#save the island to get the scientist to stop the dictator to make mink friends to get sanji back to save the island to help vegapunk

[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