#since egghead mention

[melonteee]

Did you think you were going to hate zoro when you first started? I feel like he comes across as (and is marketed as) the typical Shonen badass side character who does badass things with badass swords and has no real qualities besides Big Slash. But he's actually a silly little dumbass who doesn't know North from up and loves his little reindeer buddy.

I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA HATE HIMMMMMMMMM but not as much as SANJI?? LMAOO but fr I thought Zoro was just gonna be the most BORING guy EVER to me. Mr Macho Masc Man Crush Male Fantasy guy who EVERY dudebro jerks off too.

In some ways, Zoro IS that, but I was so DELIGHTED to find out he was SO much MORE than that. I am still convinced Oda is showing Zoro's bottling of emotions as a negative thing, and something Zoro NEEDS to eventually heal from by looking inwards, so he has me on the edge of my seat and he makes me SO happy because it feels like...Oda sometimes questions the idea of Zoro's very stubborn masculinity on what masculinity really is when there are emotional men like Luffy, Usopp, Sanji and Franky on the crew. The more I look at One Piece, the more I KNOW Oda does NOT see emotions as a negative trait or a weakness, while ZORO seems to think something like crying is annoying, weak or 'unmanly.'

His recent line about Vegapunk seemed to prove that enough, even if Zoro doesn't actually mean it, it feels like he thinks he needs to be an emotionless machine to be strong. Once again, Oda clearly doesn't believe emotions or tenderness makes someone a 'weak' person or a 'weak' man, so I am SO excited to see where Oda goes with Zoro!

[mugiwara-lucy]

Back in 2020; Oda revealed his top three moments in the series and so with it being the start of the year; I wanna reveal my Top 3 One Piece Arcs!

In no particular order; Whole Cake Island, Sabaody and Marineford:

[crezz-star]

⚔👒🗡

So I actually have a little idea about that ⚔️👒🗡️ ot3 (EGGHEAD ARC SPOILERS)

Seraphim!Zoro was the first human clone prototype Vegapunk did but he was just, dumped in some cell like a prisoner for any random testing. Until the marines attacked egghead and his cell was opened and he saw Luffy and Zoro fighting alongside one another. Seeing Luffy, he felt something stir within him. something familiar and pleasant. Excitement and delight. So when Zoro and Luffy defeated Lucci and they has a short respite, that's when 'Prototype' popped up and started to follow Luffy like a lost puppy and everyone got spooked for a minute thinking its one of the warlord pacifistas but Luffy saw he looks like Zoro. 'Prototype' is what Seraphim!Zoro was called by the vegapunk crew. Zoro's dna was used and his fighting data back at east blue was also used. Vegapunk tried to imbue him with an artificial devil fruit but his DNA keeps strongly rejecting it. So 'Prototype' is considered a failure by vegapunk but still uses him as a test subject. 'Prototype' was still being given updates in battle memory as they follow Zoro's improvement as a pirate and as time passes. Not to mention, Moria once lent a helping had to vegapunk who also studied and analyzed every move the Ryuma zombie made and fed that info to 'prototype' so his skills are also a no joke. Not to mention,

the Seraphim!Mihawk trains with Seraphim!Zoro. Which was only one of the reasons they kept prototype around.

Vega punk also made an imitation of Shusui that 'prototype' uses.

So prototype is very much like a quiet puppy. Feral when in battle but keeps to himself and is calm when not in battle. another reason Vegapunk deemed him a failure for not being aggressive like the successful new pacifista seraphims.

Vegapunk told Luffy not to worry about 'prototype' and that he's a failure and he will get rid of him but Luffy got mad and almost punched the vegapunk that said it. Luffy then saying, " DON'T TREAT HIM LIKE SOME ITEM. THAT'S ZORO'S CLONE. " covering 'prototype' protectively.

Vegapunk not really having a care for his failed experiemnts, just, told luffy he can have him.

So seraphim!zoro joins the crew. His name being give to him by Zoro - after Luffy's endless coercion LOL- Shiro. since his hair is white. The crew even scolding him to think of a proper name, that shiro makes it sound like Zoro is just naming a dog. But luffy likes it so they go with that.

Once Shiro joins joins the crew, Shiro eventually develops his personality to be closer to Zoro although, more quiet and stoic than Zoro.

Shiro also has sense of direction, but only because vegapunk made sure the seraphim intellect is high to create detailed tactics for war and battle.

[shankss-magnificent-ass]

Imagine meeting Rob Lucci again on Egghead Island

Warning: Contains spoilers! If you aren't caught up in the Egghead arc and don't want spoilers, don't read.

Rob: [tied up and unconscious on the floor of Vegapunk's lab]

You: [glaring at him from the other side of the room]

Stussy: Oh my, that's quite a scary look. It's almost like you know him.

You: I do know him, or at least I thought I did... A little over two years ago I lived on Water 7 where I worked for an engineering firm, and had a life, and a boyfriend.

Stussy: {looks shocked and points at Rob] Was he your boyfriend?

You: Yup, but I got transferred here shortly before he tried to kill Iceberg, who is my adoptive father. We used to exchange letters, and then one day they just stopped, and then three weeks later I got a letter from Iceberg that explained everything.

Stussy: That must have come as quite a shock.

Kaku: [wakes up] what the? [looks around, before cringing away when he notices you] oh dear.

You: [glares] Is that all you have to say to me?

Kaku: Listen, it was just a job, it wasn't personal.

You: Really? Because trying to murder members of my family feels really personal to me, buddy.

Kaku: [Nods to Robin] Technically, she shot Iceberg.

Robin: I shot him the first time, and I didn't feel I had another choice because you were threatening my friends and I didn't know what to do.

You: The second time was Blueno, and then you and Rob beat Paulie, and then left both Iceburg and Paulie tied up inside a burning building!

Kaku: we did do that, didn't we...

You: not to mention Rob played with my feelings by pretending to be a loving boyfriend.

Kaku: I swear that wasn't pretended Lucci really does love~

Rob: That's enough, Kaku.

You: You can talk! Why am I surprised, everything was a lie, wasn't it?

Rob: .... not everything [looks up at you, clearly pouting that he's being admonished]

You: I don't believe you.

Rob: ... can we discuss this in private, please?

You: no, we can't, I do not want to be alone with the World Noble's attack dog.

Rob: I'm a cat.

You: Excuse me?

Rob: I am a Zoan-type devil fruit user, the Neko Neko no Mi, Model: Leopard, specifically.

You: I don't care, because then you're just plain bad at being a cat.

Rob: Bad at being a cat!

You: yes, because if you knew a damn thing about cats, then you'd know you don't ever actually own a cat, you just live with one. They don't listen, they don't obey, and they most certainly don't respect you. So, I suppose, you were good at being a cat when it came to me, but bad when it comes to the world nobles.

Rob: That's not true...

You: save it, I don't want to hear your excuses.

Rob: [Takes a deep breath] They're not excuses, it's true I got close to you in the first place because of Iceberg, but I grew genuine feelings for you once I got to know you. I know I hurt you, it's why I stopped writing you after what happened in Water 7.

Nami: And because his ego was bruised because our captain whooped his ass.

Kaku: He was also in a coma for like a week afterward.

Rob: I figured by then you would have already had word from Water 7 of what happened, so I didn't want to rub salt into the wounds by trying to stay in your life, and that a clean cut was best for you.

You: [remembering that Iceberg had said he wouldn't be upset with you if you elected to stay with Rob] ... Where is Hattori?

Rob: what?

You: Where is Hattori?

Rob: He flew away when Stussy attacked.

You: I'll go get him...

Rob: [smirks[ thank you, I'm sure he'll be happy to see you again. Although he might not recognize you, you've glowed up since your Water 7 days. [winks]

You: [rolls your eyes] I know single life suits me, so save your smooth talk tough guy, it doesn't work on me [lying].

Rob: uh huh

You: [feels your cheeks heat up as your heart flutters, and you avoid eye contact with Lucci] Whatever, I'll go look for your bloody bird.

Rob: [eagerly watches the door slide shut behind you] It's still there

Stussy: What's still there?

Rob: I believe most people call it, "a spark between us'.

Nami: [dramatically gags]

Kaku: Dude, they always liked Hattori more than you, don't go getting a head of yourself.

Rob: [kicks him] zip it.

Stussy: [sighs] men are so stupid.

Robin: [nods in agreement]

Shaka: [judges in silence]

List of Up-and-coming works || Master list || Twitter| Kofi || Patreon

[frudoo]

Mister Asylum Pt. 2

Simon learns something about himself.

Warnings: Gross imagery, self-deprecating thoughts, one mention of medical abuse of power.

1 | 2 | 3

“Lights out, Mr. Riley.”

The squawking voice of the bitter nurse, ironically named ‘Sunny’, makes Simon’s eye twitch, fists clenched by his sides as he treks his way into the scarcely decorated room. There are no windows, no lights aside from the fluorescent overhead that gets switched off the second he thunks down onto the rickety bed. A couple of motivational posters hang high on the walls, held up by sticky tack and pure spite, at this point. The cheery words mock him, contort into vicious reminders of how useless he is in this place, in this world.

There’s not even a clock on any of the four taunting walls surrounding him and his roommate. His roommate, who talks to himself more often than not, only getting out of bed to get his vitals checked or slurping down the scrambled eggs he sneaks into his pockets at breakfast. Simon actually misses the smell of gunpowder and blood—anything is better than the vile stench of rotten food and day-old feces. The sorry fucker can’t even be bothered to flush the toilet. He’s nicknamed the gremlin ‘Egghead’ since he’s unsure of his real name. Not that he’d care regardless.

It’s no use complaining, either, no matter how many times Simon tries. He’s always dismissed with an annoyed frown and a wave of whatever nurse’s hand he’s decided to bitch and moan to. If he persists, they just threaten to give him an ungodly dose of Benadryl to keep him doped-up and compliant. Fuck, prison would be paradise compared to this place.

Simon huffs and pulls his mask over his eyes rather than his nose and mouth, turning on his side to finally try his hand at sleeping. He hasn’t caught a wink in the past two days he’s been here, and whatever little teaser of a nap he manages to fall into gets destroyed by the nightmares he’s plagued by. He’s lost count of how many times nurses have been sent to his room to try and calm him down to no avail—he just has to ride the terrifying wave the way he always does. It’s his own personal form of torture.

He’s nearly halfway asleep in a record time of fifteen short minutes when he hears rustling beside him. Simon stirs but ultimately ignores it, sniffing and allowing his body to relax once again. He probably just imagined it. No threats in this place. He’s safe.

He’s on the brink of blissful slumber when he feels it again. This time, he knows it’s not a figment of his imagination—that much is proven by the weight that settles on his waist. The unmistakable odor behind him proves his suspicions as his roommate cuddles up behind him like it’s his birthright, a pleased sigh escaping his filthy mouth.

“I jus’ wanna know when ya plan ta kill me,” he rasps, and Simon nearly loses it.

Fucking hell. Enough is enough. Simon elbows the freaky little greaseball in the stomach and skyrockets out of the bed, storming into the hallway where the night shift nurses are making their rounds. He spots the one who forced him back into his room and strides over to her, furiously pulling the mask back over his mouth and nose.

“No’ stayin’ in there w’him,” Simon growls, staring down the much shorter woman whose glare is equally as sharp.

“And what do you expect me to do about it?” Sunny cocks an eyebrow, arms crossed and one hip popped to the side to show she’s not intimidated.

“Dunno, but I ain’t goin’ back,” he squints, large foot tapping against the linoleum floor impatiently, looking much more like an angsty teenager than a battle-ruined soldier. “Can I switch rooms?”

“This isn’t a hotel, Mr. Riley,” the older woman exhales heavily and pinches the bridge of her nose before her eyes meet his again. “But I’ll see what I can do. For now, you’re gonna go back in that room and sit on the bed. Understood?”

Simon groans in disapproval but nods, moping his way back into the torture chamber where Egghead has made himself at home on his bed, sprawled out like a damn prostitute. The freaky bastard’s not even sleeping, just staring up at the ceiling with a cavernous grin on his oily face, acknowledging Simon’s presence with a squeal. The lieutenant actually flinches, reaching behind him habitually as if to retrieve a knife, despite having nothing but his pajamas on his person.

“M’ready,” Egghead giggles, lifting his arms and plopping them down again childishly. “How ya gonna do it?”

Simon peeks down the hall, hoping to find Sunny making her way towards him with that wonderful news so he doesn’t have to respond to this madman. No such luck, to his dismay. When he turns his head back, Egghead is standing right in front of him, jaundiced eyes wide and bloodshot.

“Answer me!” He shrieks, his grubby hands grabbing onto Simon’s shirt and tugging him so close that the taller man can see the plaque on his teeth.

Utterly repulsed, Simon shoves the fun-sized ogre back, fully intent on beating him to a pulp for ever daring to touch him in the first place. Egghead hits the edge of the bed with a grunt, palms rested on the mattress behind him to brace himself. The soldier raises a clenched fist, wild brown eyes locked on his target, but he can’t bring himself to plummet his knuckles onto the smaller man’s face. There’s no fear in the poor bloke’s expression, something more akin to relief, and it makes Simon question everything about himself.

Had he been on the field, Simon wouldn’t have hesitated to dig a knife into the enemy’s neck. But here, in the quiet of the hospital where he can hear the whimpers coming from the pitiful throat before him, where there’s no pressure on him to keep his team alive, he finds himself incapable of the violence he’s always known to resort to. If it wasn’t for the rapid fluttering beneath his chest, he wouldn’t be sure he even still had a heart. The feeling is foreign and it scares the hell out of him.

“M’not gonna kill you,” Simon grumbles, smoothing his rough palms over the mess of overgrown hair on the top of his head. “Stand up, mate.”

Egghead whines dramatically before following orders, using the heel of his palms to push himself back onto his feet. He trails back over to his own bed where he starts reciting his usual bedtime story to himself, like nothing had happened. Simon settles for kicking the wall to release his frustrations, not even flinching at the shooting pain that resonates through his foot. The rubber slipper that the hospital provided snaps in half, rendered useless in his rage. Funny, he thinks, that he can relate to such an inferior object.

“Mr. Riley, if you’re finished damaging property, I’d like to speak to you,” Sunny’s unimpressed voice rings out from behind him, and he turns around hopefully.

“Sorry,” he mutters, nodding for her to continue.

“There’s a room on the floor above us that the director herself has offered up. No roommates. You will still be on our schedule, but the nurses will be different. And, Simon?”

“Hm?”

“Just because we’re making this one exception does not mean you will be treated specially. It is simply a different floor. You will proceed treatments like normal,” her voice is firm as ever but holds a depth of sympathy that wasn’t there previously.

“Understood, ma’am,” he fiddles with the hem of his cotton tee, avoiding her steely gaze. “Thank you.”

“Grab your belongings, I’ll escort you.”

𝝑𝝔

Taglist: @thesevi0lentdelights @rejectedbytheempty @whitetiger846

[laboratory-for-peace]

A Timeline of Events

Since One Piece events (especially those related to the world's past) tend to get very complicated when many characters and happenings are involved, I decided to specifically make a Vegapunk and MADS focused timeline.

With Egghead having just ended and having provided a lot of interesting information around these characters and the scientific past of the One Piece World, I thought it'd be useful to have it all in one place.

This timeline also includes some events relating to some other groups that are directly and/or vaguely connected to the group, such as the Rocks Pirates, the broader Egghead Family, Vinsmoke Family, and some mentions of the Beast Pirates and Franky/Tom's Workers. If you're interested in these groups, this might be useful to you!

[percyaugod]

Unnamed Rise AU Part 2: Eternal Prison

Edit: It has now been named The Prisoner and the Pretender AU. : D

Leo was bored asking how long has he been stuck there anyway. The technodrome says forty-three seconds. Leo is unamused and gives a flat "Ha Ha. No really."

The technodrome doesn't say anything and Leo is left reeling. "What, how!?"

"Time dilation. Time moves faster here than back in your dimension. If it makes you feel any better you aren't aging. This place was designed to be an eternal prison. Not very eternal if the Krang die of old age."

Leo crossed his arms muttering bitterly about how well that worked out.

The technodrome holds Donnie above all others, and it is partially because of being connected, but it's mostly because Donnie is just Donnie. Donnie is the first to look at the technodrome and see something truly amazing. It holds him in such high regard because he holds it so high. Which is why it doesn't want to disappoint him and lose that.

Not to mention how much of himself he was willing to give to it so it could think for itself for the first time. No more just sitting around waiting for commands. Being used like a tool by those that don't appreciate it, don't deserve it.

Leo keeps the technodrome talking so he can hear his brother's voice, though he'd never admit it to even himself. He's just gathering data, nothing else. Yet he's probably just doing stuff to aggravate the technodrome like messing with the stuff it uses to make nutrients so Leo doesn't wither away.

It tastes awful, he's just trying to make it pizza-flavoured. Or preferably anything other than what he imagines Dad's chair tastes like. He knows chemistry, he can do this!

The technodrome begs to differ. He knows Earth chemistry. These chemicals are literally alien to him.

The technodrome keeps moving so it's harder for Krang One to find them. Which is extra difficult while trying to look like just a piece of nonfunctional rubble floating there.

Leo would definitely try to sneak outside. If nothing else he's bored and wouldn't completely trust the Krang spaceship. He still hasn't decided whether it sounding and acting like Donnie is worse or better. At least it'll be harder to forget the egghead.

The technodrome only lets him out to get supplies because even broken it's still far too big to enter. Supplies are hard to come by though, and who knows how long Leo will be in here until his brothers can save him. It keeps watch of all exits in case he tries something.

Leo is definitely curious about the technodrome, especially its connection to Donnie. How exactly did it get a copy of his brother on its systems, and what is it going to do to the original?

He wouldn't just ask it directly though. Donnie can't lie, but who knows about the technodrome. He asked in roundabout ways about other tech and functions to gather more info before making his way slowly to how piloting it works.

Leo tells stories to the technodrome who listens since at least he isn't trying anything. It's when he tries to exaggerate something and the technodrome corrects him that he realizes the technodrome remembers this stuff too because Donnie remembered it. So now Leo has the technodrome tell him stories to help him remember. It's odd hearing some of the same events but from Donnie's point of view.

Leo has a lot of trouble sleeping, especially in a prison dimension. He says something completely wrong and falls asleep to a "Donnie" rant.

Leo asks the technodrome what it knows about neuroscience since it could help him take care of his brothers in the future as team medic (you can rip medic Leo out of my cold dead hands) and he's pretty sure the ship mentioned tapping into someone's brain or nerves to receive instructions.

He's really going to have to look Donnie over when he gets back because that can't be good.

The technodrome constantly brings up Leo having the portal closed on it. Is this what Draxum feels like dealing with him? Good.

[stussygf]

Did Zoro save Robin again?

This post will contain spoilers from Egghead, so please read with caution if you haven't read the manga!

On Twitter, there was speculation that Zoro was likely the one who rescued Robin. Given how things panned out in Chapter 1078, 1089, and 1090, it is possible (or not).

Chapter 1078

The Straw Hats are separated into smaller groups. All groups except for Robin and Jinbe’s, are currently facing a Seraphim. The group breakdown is as follows:

• Luffy, Zoro: Fighting S-Bear and S-Hawk

• Sanji, Nami, Brook: Fighting S-Shark

• Franky, Usopp: Folding to S-Snake

• Robin, Chopper: Heading to a sealed lab

• Jinbe, Stussy: Looking for Vegapunk

The chapter then leads to the panel below.

Side Note: Although this panel has already been animated in Episode 1111, I found Lucci's comment, "It will have the benefit of rattling the stronger targets," intriguing. Sanji saving Nami proved that, but it would be nice if Zoro could do the same with Robin. We've seen Zoro's reactions before.

As mentioned, the only groups not dealing with a Seraphim are Robin and Jinbe's. Lucci mentions S-Hawk is now targeting weaker opponents, which is why I believe he is heading towards Robin's group. I'm not trying to diss Robin's group, but in comparison to Jinbe and Stussy, who both use Haki...it's not looking good.

Chapter 1089-1090

Skipping forward to Chapter 1089, we now see this panel of the Straw Hats.

And this panel from Chapter 1090.

I was hoping we'd receive some clarification as to how Robin became severely injured. Chopper and Atlas are in far better condition than Robin.

So far,

• Kaku mentions that he was up against two Seraphims. We know for sure that S-Hawk was one of them since S-Bear and S-Shark were already occupied by Luffy and Sanji.

• Zoro is looking for S-Hawk to prevent him from attacking the others.

• (I believe) S-Hawk did not target Jinbe and Stussy. Their injuries seemed less severe in comparison to the others, but who knows.

• Considering the severity of Robin's injuries, it is likely that she was attacked by one of the Seraphims that Kaku fought with. Both Robin and Kaku have similar conditions.

• All the Seraphims were captured.

Currently, there is no proof that Zoro saved Robin, but based on these events, it is possible. The story may have gone differently to how I'm assuming it went. I’m just confused as to why such a significant portion of events were left unanswered, if it wasn’t intentional. Until then, it is just speculation, but this post is to express its likelihood. I suggest not taking this post too seriously, as it could end up being wrong.

Credit to @oto11252923 on twitter, their speculation made me curious! Also, thank you for taking the time to read this! :)

[beaulesbian]

Egghead is such an interesting arc that's bringing so many characters from previous arcs into the play here back together.

Where Wano arc was like 'who are these new samurai-like characters?' And 'who are these completely new henchmen of the big villains?' And 'You get another 10 to 100 new important characters, and let's give them all backstories and aspirations.' (And basically all previous arcs were like that as well, except for a few connecting threads or hints between important stories and characters)

But a lot of Egghead has a sense comforting nostalgia because of characters we've known (of) before, being brought up to re-connect with Strawhats, or the story itself, in new yet familiar ways.

(And I know I say nostalgia, even though it's only been half a year of reading OP for me, but still!)

Vegapunk? Oh yeah, he's been mentioned during Enies Lobby when Koby was telling Luffy about the cool inventions the Marines have now, and later Franky was thrown at his homeland island during the TimeSkip.

Kuma? The warlord guy to whom Zoro offered his life instead of Luffy's on Thriller Bark? The same dude who sent all Strawhats all across the world when they weren't strong enough? Even Dragon and Ivankov are there from time to time. Robin and her past gets brought up again!

Jewelry Bonney? Sabaody arc too. Same with Kizaru & Sentomaru and other Marine guys. Kid & Law's crews too.

On other parts of the seas is Buggy plotting a new alliance with Mihawk and Crocodile. Yes, they don't like each other, but they do, but they don't. It's complicated.

Vivi is there for a hot second, and Alabasta still has an important unfinished tale to tell.

Shanks, too? Shanks, too.

Wait, Rob Lucci is back too? The guy that Luffy defeated during Enies Lobby? He's an even bigger leopard cat and Kaku's an even weirder giraffe. Yes, they got stronger too, just like all Strawhats.

More spies? Yes. More clones? Yes.

And now Giants of Elbaf are there? Dorry and Brogy! It's been so long since the Little Garden arc! One of the very first arcs on the Grand Line! But they all remember that time with so much nostalgia and fondness to see each other again!

And because of Vegapunk, the whole world is about to be connected to witness something together. From Luffy's village to Dressrosa to Elbaf. It's really more visible now how this whole arc was created for all these familiar faces to come back together (as well as diving more into some of theirs characters/backstories, including the Five Elders), to share the moment of the Egghead Incident, whatever that still may be.

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece Chapter 1125 - Initial Thoughts

A week break gone and now we're back again

It always takes so long but we return to One Piece. Elbaf is on the horizon, and while questions float over Vegapunk there may still yet be a little more before we reach the land of giants.

Let's see what we have

Spoilers for the Chapter, Support the Official Release too!

Yamato's latest pit stop is the still-rebuilding Oden castle

Minatomo the carpenter has gone missing, so I guess that's the next step - probably missing his student who happens to actually be very skilled at carpentry

The WG continue to wrap things up on Egghead, ready to load the Seraphim and leave, we don't know what they intended for the Mark IIIs and the Weaponized Sea Beasts though

Lucci and Kaku board with angered faces, claiming Stussy was KIA

Unusual for Lucci to lie about that though isn't it?

Saturn though wraps up the benefits of the operation, citing that getting York and the Mother Flame is a win, but there was one critical hiccup

The Vice Admirals are in audience with him, and apologize for failing to capture Bonney and the Straw Hats even with a Grand Buster Call

They ask to make chase to Elbaf, but are turned down

The true hiccup was Vegapunk's message getting out

He also mentions that the awakening of Emeth was ironic

We get a flashback 200 years ago, turns out Emeth being studied on was by Saturn's permission! He wanted the tech for military might

Man literally left a 200 year chekhov's gun on the table

As Saturn mulls about Emeth, Vice Admiral Doberman makes a foolish mistake, and asks if that means Vegapunk's message was true

And thus he gets eyeshotted, though he seems to just be KO'd, since they call a medic

Something's happening in the Labophase though

York sees a ton of clouds in the lab, and realises that a plan has been undertaken

Edison's not dead! But York is trying to rectify that

But it's a feint, and as York fires to the side the top half of the egg floats away

Punk Records has been swiped from the clutches of the WG

Back at Marejois and naturally, the Celestial Dragons are not taking the low food supplies well

Sadly that means lots of killing and blaming

Akainu catching a stray for not capturing Kuma, but it seems that most of the Dragons were unaware of Vegapunk's reveal

Figarland Garling approaches the remaining Gorosei in their usual place

He has new orders: York is under his command now, because he's the new Minister of War

Saturn fucked up and now he just got demoted! That really ruins the planet motif

Oh but what of Saturn? He screams in agony on his ship

Looks like Imu has no use for him, and the black haze that seemed to restore them from damage now suffocates him

The Vice Admirals just look in horror, unknown to what's causing this

The seemingly impervious Saturn retches and grows thinner, almost hollowed out

Imu tells him their motives; Joy Boy was allowed to escape, so they are responsible

Black smoke and flames erupt from the ship, and what remains of Jaygarcia Saturn is just bones

Back at the now floating Punk Records, it seems the satellites are all alive, chatting among each other

Shaka notes they intended to get the whole Fabriostratum, but they're glad to get Punk Records out of York's hands

Pythagoras notes that she can still link up with Punk Records, but it'll only to be to fulfill its original intention

Shaka predicts it'll still take 500 years to achieve its true objective

But everyone thinks they're dead so there's limited pursuit, but that also means no funds

Edison has a new body, a frankenbody of spare parts

His own head, Atlas and Pythagoras' arm, and Shaka's torso and legs

Shaka also jabs at Edison for always admiring his height

Atlas however wants York's spare parts thrown out, which the rest of the group agree on

It is very fortunate Sanji never found this room of spare body parts

Edison also has another connection up his sleeve, and calls Weatheria!

Over to the Revolutionary Army and they are gathering the intel from Vegapunk's message

They also conclude that whoever gets the One Piece gets access to the power to destroy the world too

Belo Betty seems like she is ready to oppose the pirates, and in turn Luffy and Robin

Sabo doesn't comment, only noting that it explains why the first Celestrial Dragons took up home on the Red Line

Oh! Tequila Wolf wasn't the only one...Vodka Wolf, Rum Wolf and Bourbon Wolf

We know there's a Vodka kingdom since that's where Kaido came from, wonder if that's a connection

Dragon mulls on the coast, noting how many will take Vegapunk's message to scramble for higher land

Looks like Dragon's got a boot up the ass, to speed up his plan

Well this is interesting

The power structure has changed, Figarland Garling is our new Gorosei, Saturn is no more. A brutal death to a seemingly unkillable being at the hands of Imu, but the interesting part is what it tells and what it implies. Saturn was a person, and it seems that Imu was able to keep him alive for so long, at least 200 years. Does that mean there were other Gorosei back in the day? And does the Gyuki transformation transfer over to Garling? Will he be empowered with a new shape? The World Government may still have York and the Mother Flame, but the loss of Punk Records is huge! I guess that's what Lilith meant by them not being dead, I guess they all still can connect to one satellite and share the body. The frankenbody is unusual, though I wonder if they'll come back in a different shape next time, following refinement for convenience given how weird their proportions are right now. Interesting not to hear the Stella talk either, I guess he could still be the brain jar but maybe he is the sole casualty?

The Celestial Dragons starving may've killed a Gorosei but it will lead to more violence and blaming, not gonna be good for the current climate, which is probably why Imu anticipates war. Imu is definitely paying attention to Luffy now, calling them Joy Boy, but Saturn did in a way cause all his own undoing, from Emeth, Kuma and Vegapunk himself, he underestimated everyone because they were insects to him and they all outwitted him, an ant bite can still kill a man.

The Revolutionary Army look to gear up for something big. They have been making smaller strides in general but maybe now Oda's gonna put them to work. I do kinda hope though that they don't directly oppose Luffy like Koby intends to, Sabo that is your brother and all the RA have friendly ties to Robin. Everyone is like 'this power is dangerous and can destroy the world' but nobody's reminding themselves that Luffy ain't about destroying the world. Like, maybe just help pave the way? The Grand Fleet need to be kicked into gear to help with that too.

All in all a lot to consume and chew on with this chapter, especially compared to the linear brevity of the last. I doubt we'll go to Elbaf next chapter though, we have the dangling thread of Kuma and Bonney still to deal with, and of course whatever game-changing thing is about to happen on the other sides of the world.

Oda and his round numbers man, he loves them round numbers.

[megashadowdragon]

sanjis promise to kuma

Back in chapter 485, Sanji interrupted Zoro and Kuma as they were about to make a deal in exchange for letting Luffy go free. In this moment, Sanji swore that one day, he would be the one to cause the most trouble for the Navy and the World Government.

Ever since Bonney commented on Vegapunk turning Kuma in to a cyborg in chapter 1062, I have been wondering if this promise will come full circle in this arc. Oda has been slowly building on the parallels between Sanji and Kuma. But why?

Chapter 485 was titled for Zoro, and it led to the 'nothing happened' moment. Given how iconic and significant that has become, don't you think it's also significant that it's here that Sanji stepped in?

Could it be that Oda is preparing to give Sanji a moment that will parallel Zoro's 'nothing happened'? Is this how Sanji will fulfil the promise that he made to Kuma at Thriller Bark? Will his words to Zoro from Wano come around again?

Sanji has often before gone on solo missions and risked his own life in order to sabotage the enemy's plans. In Little Garden and Alabasta, he tricked Crocodile; and at Enies Lobby, he stole the cuff keys from Jabra, and sabotaged the Buster Call.

Now that Kuma has arrived at Egghead, and another Buster Call as been initiated, it seems like the perfect time for Sanji's promise from Thriller Bark to come full circle. But what role will he play? And how will it explain his parallels to Kuma?

Speaking of the parallels between Sanji and Kuma, this is a good time to mention 'the power of love.' What does Oda mean by this? And how does it connect to Kuma being able to maintain a fragment of his humanity?

This may explain why Kuma's instinct to protect his daughter was able to override or delay the process of his humanity being erased. I believe it also explains the significance of Sanji's parallels to Kuma, and how he will fulfil his promise from Thriller Bark.

The significance of the parallels between Sanji may be leading toward Sanji taking the risk of losing his humanity again. But how will we get to that? Before we get that far, how will Oda set it up?

When I was planning this thread, I wondered what moments from the past that Oda might parallel here. To start with, I believe Sanji will steal Kizaru's, just as he stole the keys from Jabra back at Enies Lobby.

Once Sanji has stolen Kizaru's intercept Transponder Snail, he will be able to listen in on and discover the enemy's plans. Sanji could even speak directly with the other Gorosei. Just as he did with Crocodile in Little Garden and Alabasta.

niji and the other vinsmokes had the ability to mimic other people's voices ( shown in wci) so sanji could mimic kizaru or saint saturns voice to obtain this info like how he pretended to be mr3

Just as Sanji sabotaged Enel's Ark Maxim in Skypiea, Sanji may also sabotage and destroy the Mother Flame power station. The parallels would even extend to Sanji addressed "God," and the theme of "a light."

Could Oda be building up to Sanji putting himself in front of a blast from the Mother Flame in oder to destroy it manually and prevent it from being fired again? It would continue the parallel of Sanji taking a direct hit from Enel after sabotaging the Ark Maxim.

How could Sanji survive such a thing? This would be where his genetic augmentations and altered Lineage Factors come back in to it. The enhanced durability and regeneration in particular would be relevant here. 'A step into the realm of Godhood.'

It's worth remembering that it was the discovery of Lineage Factors that led the World Government to arresting Vegapunk in the first place. They felt threatened by it. We've surely not yet seen the maximum potential of the Lineage Factor augmentations.

Speaking of the full potential of Sanji's power, I have spoken before about how I believe this progression and the attack names will be themed around the life cycle of a star.

I believe that this is how Sanji will fulfil his promise to Kuma from Thriller Bark, and become the one who causes the most trouble for the World Government. Sanji will risk his life and his humanity to destroy the Mother Flame power station, and sabotage the "Great Cleasing."

The key to Sanji's survival will likely be his genetic augmentations, but the key to him not losing his humanity in the effort is in the "Primal Desires." and the "Undying power of love."

[blacklegsanjiii]

ooh angsty reveal idea for warlord!Sanji!!! mb the warlords are all somehow captured (idk how but lets imagine) and theyre boutta be executed for betraying the world gov and when Sanji hears he freaks and insists they go help. strawhats agree cause of jinbei asking plus knowing boa and mihawk. are vry suprised when Sanji interrupts the execution by diving flaming-feet-first into the podium screaming to not touch his parents

ofc they rescue the warlords and coup de burst the hell outta there and all of the crew are furiosly interrogating sanji + warlords on what the hell just happened. after all the initial chaos is over warlords ask what sanjis been up 2 since they last heard. with every new self sactificial act theyre sideeying him a little more. he did not mention any of this

side note but even if sanji wasnt raised by kuma surely he at least hung around him a bit. prbly is upset at finding out his whole backstory during egghead and wants to help

First Kuma: yeah they were around each other but it's definitely not the Kuma Bonney called "Daddy" until Egghead. But when Sanji and Jinbei find out they help, as does the crew. Of course. Sanji and Jinbei are both upset so they give him the denden numbers for the other parents and send them off.

Secondly:

OMFG YES! Sanji gets up first thing in the morning and the newscoo is waiting for him to buy the paper. He does and sees the headline that four former warlords are going to be executed so the first thing he does is ring Perona on her transponder and ask if she wants to help. Then he goes and wakes Jinbei up with and shows him the headline once they're in the galley with coffee. Perona of course agreed to help so now it's just a matter of convincing the crew and getting to the execution sight. Neither of which should be too hard but then again, this is going to be like Ace's execution.

So when the crew is let in for breakfast Jinbei asks Luffy who agrees. They helped save Ace after all so he can return the favor. Luffy even calls up Ace and when they approach the meeting spot Ace and some White Beard commanders are there and so is Perona, who promptly gives Zoro shit.

"So what's the plan?" Vista asks.

"We grab them and go." Luffy says simply and Marco groans because Ace nods in agreement with his baby brother.

"Is he always like this?" Perona asks Sanji.

"Yeah, you should have heard him on the way to Dressrosa." Sanji answers and Perona sighs.

"Any better ideas?" She asks and when no answer is given they go make their way there. The warlords are brought onto the execution platform and seem a little to calm to be on their way to death. Suddenly Sanji is gone and Perona is flying with her ghosts spearing through marines. Luffy and Ace rocket forward as Luffy cheers and Ace yells at him to wait.

And then Sanji is kicking a marine off the platform with his fire feet as Sengoku and Kizaru look at him. Crocodile looks smugly up at them as Doffy is laughing his ass off and yelling about "the kid showing up" and now Sanji is fighting two admirals in front of all his parents.

And once the warlords are free? Mihawk grabs the first sword he sees and goes to help Sanji while yelling at Doflamingo to string the marines up. Crocodile and Boa are excellent distractions. Very excellent as they draw attention away from Mihawk and Sanji. Bitch Boy Akainu is upset as he tries to join the fray but Luffy and Ace have a particular grudge with him that they're happy to take care of now.

"When the hell did you learn to set yourself on fire?!" Mihawk demands.

"Enies Lobby!" Sanji calls back.

"We will be having a proper conversation about this later!" Mihawk warns him over their fighting with admirals.

"Can we focus on this first, please?" Sanji yells as he dodges Sengoku.

"If we must." Mihawk answers.

Once they do get on the Sunny Jinbei tells all the warlords to hold on because the ship can fly for about a minute.

"Oh fucking hell. First our kid and now the fucking ship?" Crocodile demands as the warlords grab hold of whatever part of the ship is closest as the coup de burst happens. Once they're sailing away and a good distance Chopper says he wants to look over all the devil fruit users, Jinbei, Sanji, and Zoro. Boa asks why Mihawk doesn't need a check up and Chopper just looks at Mihawk and then at Boa and says he can't get sick from seastone and unless he's like Sanji he should be fine. Jinbei is nodding solemnly and Sanji is so fucking pale, like thanks for ratting him at you fucking assholes; or it might be the blood loss because he is bleeding from the head and has cuts from Kizaru all over.

"I guess there's no better time for that talk than now." Mihawk says to Sanji. "Set your legs on fire again, I don't think the others caught that bit."

"I saw them in Dressrosa, it's not my fault they put us all separately." Doflamingo laughs.

"You should have called and told us, that seems important enough!" Boa points at Jinbei.

"We were escaping Tottoland and on our way to Wano. Sanji and Luffy were both very injured." Jinbei argues.

"What was going on with that anyway?" Perona asks Sanji. "Because I didn't even get to see you at Thriller Bark and I had to spend two years with that idiot." She points at Zoro.

"Oi!" Zoro yells.

"Do you know how directionally challenged he is? Did you kick him in the head too many times? How is he the first mate?" Perona demands.

"Hell if I know, I'm the cook!" Sanji defends themself.

"I like how they didn't object to kicking Roronoa in the head too many times." Crocodile says to Mihawk.

"I'm still more intrigued by Sanji setting themself on fire." Mihawk says.

"My poor baby! You should go first, look at all this blood!" Boa wails as she grabs Sanji.

"Would you believe me if I said it wasn't the worst?" Sanji asks as he tries to shove her off.

"Oo, tell me more." Perona grins as she floats beside them.

"Now you've done it. Out with it, I haven't seen you since Alabasta." Crocodile gestures with his hook.

"Nevermind this is the worst I've been injured!" Sanji yells as Boa squeezes them tighter.

"Didn't you break your back on Drum island?" Usopp asks.

"Yeah, he has plate holding his spine together which is why Chopper was so upset that God guy shot him with lightning like five times." Nami says.

"Oh! In Wano that bird guy sent you through like four buildings!" Luffy says.

"Didn't you snap your leg in Wano as well?" Robin asks as Mihawk sighs and Doffy laughs.

"Oh my gosh, you're so dumb. No wonder you made such a bad zombie." Perona huffs as Mihawk pinches the bridge of his nose.

"Do you regret getting them off a rock yet?" Doflamingo laughs.

"I'm wondering how I let Zeff talk me into being a parent and then parenting with you four." Mihawk answers.

"Shouldn't have brought them to Warlord meetings then." Boa says sticking her tongue out and squeezing Sanji tighter.

"Truly this is all your fault." Crocodile agrees and Doffy nods while laughing.

"Boa, please don't break Sanji's back...again, apparently." Jinbei says while rubbing his face. Boa sticks her tongue out at him as she follows Chopper to the infirmary with their child.

"How did he even break his back?" Mihawk asks.

"He kicked me and Nami out of the way of an avalanche." Luffy shrugs.

"I wanna hear about the lightning." Doffy smiles.

"Um, some guy on a sky island was going to use it on me and Usopp." Nami says weakly.

"Didn't Cook-bro also have a building fall on him while you were in his body?" Franky asks Nami who pales considerably as Mihawk lets out a long sigh.

[whoishotteranimepolls]

Actually wild for me that people not liking the one piece art style is something that's come up often enough that you've mentioned it like twice considering I personally love the (mainly manga (and not the digitally colored version), i haven't seen a lot of the anime although the animation in wano and egghead is gorgeous) art style a lot. For some reason I am always shocked to learn people have different opinions from me despite that being basically a daily occurrence

The messages I get complaining about one piece very wildly but mostly it's about the art style specifically about how the females are drawn and how it's misogynistic. My view is no one in One Piece is drawn with a realistic body type male or female. Well with a few exceptions like Luffy and his brothers but that's about it. But when it comes to female characters and how poorly they can be written in anime, especially Shonen anime One Piece has some of the best written female characters I have ever seen so that definitely makes up for the unrealistic proportions. Now, when I say best written, I don't mean just in anime. I mean in fiction in general. But I still get messages like this

Or like this at least two to three times a week

Really why did you send this? Were you expecting a response like I'm sorry it's popular it's just statistics. I've been on Tumblr since 2012 and I've been following the fandom statistics page. I think since then and I've never seen One Piece out of the top five on the anime and manga page and it's consistently in the top 20 overall so it's popular. It's going to get a lot of requests. I'm sorry get over it quit sending me the stuff. It's not going to change things. In fact, it just makes me want to stop doing this blog

I personally don't like Naruto ironically due to how it handled its female characters but I still make polls for it when requested. I even allow the curse polls and the memes that have gotten completely out of control. Please quit sending me these stupid messages. That's not what the ask box is for

[phoebepheebsphibs]

Double-Mutated Mikey

Chapter 34: Victimology

Continued from the short story written by @boots-with-the-fur-club

Prev || Next

Raph goes to the fifth floor -- the same one he found Mikey in the first time. He knows the likelihood that they would place him there again is slim, but he might as well check it, right?

The floor is practically deserted. Every cage empty. And it looks like maintenance hasn't been here since the rescue mission, either... The walls and floor are scratched up and torn apart from the mutants who'd been released. Hair and fur and feathers are scattered about the hallways. There are dried blood splatters on the wall.

In the lab room itself, there are shattered jars and bottles, cabinets broken open, pills and spills and overturned torils. Tarps are shredded, food bowls are crushed, and everything is basically destroyed.

Raph sights Mikey's old cage... it's alone, in a corner, dirty and dusty and covered in dark stains. What those stains are from, he's not sure. But he's sure he doesn't want to know...

He leaves the fifth floor and checks the one below, descending the stairs as quietly as he can. But it doesn't seem to matter. The building is oddly... empty today, considering all the effort they've put into recapturing Mikey. There's barely any guards, no scientists that they've come across... something's fishy. As Raph goes from room to room on the fourth floor, he ends up running into Leo.

"Raph!" the slider gasps when he opens a door to see his older brother standing on the other side. "Geez, dude! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry," he sighs, rubbing the back of his head. "I checked the fifth floor and all floors above. Found nuthin'."

"Same here," Leo sighs. "I've checked almost every single room on this floor, and they're all empty!"

"All of them?" Raph asks, concerned. "But, these look like... bullpens, or holding rooms. There's water and food troughs in here! And from the smell, something was kept inside pretty recently. How can they all be empty??"

"I don't know, but I don't like it," Leo groans, scratching at one of the smaller scabs on his neck. "Something doesn't sit well with me on this..."

"What were the floors below like?" Raph asks.

"Labs, mostly. One looked like an engineering station for making gizmos. Y'know, like Donnie's room. But most of them... there were labs for studying chemistry, biology, genetics... I even saw an operating room on one floor."

"An oper--" Raph stops dead in his tracks and swallows. "Oh. Mikey mentioned that once... didn't he?"

"I think so," Leo nods, clutching his stomach. "But I didn't expect... like, an actual surgery room."

Raph growls.

"I might actually do some serious damage to this place after we leave..." he says, gritting his teeth. "And I'm really fightin' back the urge to show these eggheads a thing or two..."

"Same here," Leo hisses. "Let's find Donnie, first. He should still be on this floor..."

"Which room?"

"We found a space called the 'Observation Room' when we first got here. It had a bunch of security feeds in it, so Dee thought maybe he could see where they'd taken Mikey. Lemme check on him --"

Leo lifts his wrist and taps a small hidden mic.

"Dee, you still on the fourth floor?"

Silence.

"Dee? Earth to Don-tron?? Hello? Is this thing working --"

"I'm here, Leo. I'm still in the... in the room."

"You okay, Donnie?" Raph chimes in, not liking the tone of voice his younger brother uses.

"...No. You'd better come in here. I found... I found some stuff."

Leo and Raph rush to the Observation Room, the door still wide open. Donnie sits in the dark, one hand clenched in a fist and the other pressed against his mouth, as if to keep in the bile he seems to be choking on.

"Donnie? What's up?" Leo asks, walking in cautiously. "You sounded... w-what did you find?"

"...I found recordings," Donnie mutters. "These camera feeds only surveil the room adjacent to this one. The 'Interaction Room'. Mikey told us that.... they made him fight other mutants."

"I remember that," Raph notes. "He told me a nightmare he had about it..."

"Yeah, well, I found the videos of those fights. And... and I think I get it now. I think I get why Mikey has been acting the way he has. Everything he went through, all the fear and the scars and... I see why."

"What do you mean?" Leo asks, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Mikey didn't tell us anything. He barely scratched the surface of what he had to do in there. He... he's killed things, Leo. Mikey killed things."

Leo swallows and turns to look at the screens.

"How many videos... how much have you watched...?"

"There is an entire week's worth of recordings here. After the first day, I started skimming and going through the highlights. I... I don't know why, maybe I j-just -- maybe I wanted to know how badly he might have been hurt, or.... it doesn't matter. But, the more I watched, the worse it got."

Donnie points to the screen, showing a video of Mikey fighting against a mutant that is released into the room via secret panels. Leo leans closer to see. Raph fidgets behind them, but eventually also leans in.

"Raph, knowing your love for all things fuzzy and small, you might not want to watch this," Donnie advises.

Raph doesn't listen. He watches with horror as Mikey slaughters the creature.

"...I shoulda just stayed curious," Raph gags, moving away from the desk and looking for a trash bin.

"I can't believe... Mikey did this?" Leo exhales, face pale and eyes darting between monitors.

"...Yes," Donnie growls, his knuckles clenching so tightly they turn white. "And I'm going to kill every single TCRI employee here."

"C-calm down," Raph retches, clutching a bucket he found in the corner close to his chest. "I don't think the lobby secretaries knew about this, so they probably don't d-deserve... Besides, that's not who we are! Right, Leo? .......Leo?"

Leonardo glares at the screen. At the video feed of Mikey nearly passing out from exertion, staring down at the body scattered before him, and the blood staining his hands. He watches as his baby brother weeps and loses a part of himself that he treasured. He watches as the guards and scientists grab him by the arms and drag him away.

Leo's hands curl into fists.

"...We need to stop them. We need to find Mikey."

Leo turns to Raphael, his expression hard as stone.

"I can't let them do that to Mikey again, Raph. No matter what, we're ending this today."

"Even at the risk of breaking our moral code?" Raphael asks warily.

"I didn't say that," Leo sighs. "I... I don't know. I've got a lot of hate against these guys right now, dude. They tried to kill Mikey. They tried to kill what he stood for and what he believed in, they tried to erase who he was and replace him with... with a..."

"A monster," Raph finishes. "Yeah. I know."

"And I wasn't there for him," Leo says, breaking down. "I couldn't stop that from happening, I didn't save him in time, and now -- now he --"

Leo gasps for air as he slowly realizes what Donnie meant. I get it now. I think I get why Mikey has been acting the way he has. Everything he went through, all the fear and the scars and... I see why.

Leo sees why Mikey kept asking if they would love him if he were a monster. Why his 'Instinct' told him to hate humans and not trust them. He sees why Mikey was always asking if he 'did good'. Why he was always so compliant and obedient, even when he knew it would hurt him somehow. Why Mikey was so scared to see them leave for missions, and why he was so ready to protect them against an entire horde. Why he attacked him in the night when he couldn't tell who it was. Why he woke up crying or afraid he was somewhere else. Leo sees why Mikey was so afraid to tell them he couldn't remember them, so afraid to let them down or to disappoint. Why Mikey was terrified that he wasn't the same brother they lost.

Leo gets it all now. And the knowledge hits him like a train, knocking him off his feet and on his hands and knees.

Raph is by his side in an instant.

"I have to make things right," Leo gasps. "I have to..."

"I know," Raph assures him. "I know. We ALL do. But, do you really think getting revenge would be right? Would it be what Mikey wanted? Before, and now?"

Leo stares at Raph, trying to find an argument that will work.

Dang it. He's right.

Leo exhales and gets back up.

"No. I know, I know... but we have to do something to stop them."

"And we will. I know we will. But first, we have to find Mikey!"

Leo wipes his face and nods.

"Right. Donnie, let's go."

Donnie doesn't get up. He scoots in closer to the screen, peering at something.

"Hmmm..."

"Donnie? What now?"

"I found the last recorded session Mikey had in the Interaction Room," Dee states, setting up the video. "It's of the A.L.P.H.A. device."

.

.

.

April is about to go insane from all the searching she's been doing. If she looks at one more file about a random blood test or scan, or a scientist's psych eval, or the minutes to a faculty meeting, she's gonna scream.

And yet, she plugs the USB into another server and starts scrolling. A few of the files look pretty recent...

MI:M.I.C. device parameters... STATEN RELO... A.L.P.H.A. Program Update...

Bingo! That's what she's been looking for! April just has to open up the file and send it to Donnie so he can translate the programming and --

Wait, what was that file about Staten Island? What does 'RELO' stand for?

April double clicks the file. A document opens, showing a map of New York circling Staten Island, along with a schematic of a brand new building. The document is labeled "Staten Island: RELOCATION".

"Oh no..."

April presses the button on her wrist and opens the comms to Casey Jr.

"Casey? Yo, Case!"

"I'm here, April. And it looks like I'm the ONLY ONE here, too! I don't know what happened, but Honeycutt isn't here! No one is, I think the whole building may be deserted--"

"I know, that's why I'm calling!" April says, panic rising in her voice. "I just found a notice that was sent out to everyone here -- they moved out!"

"Moved out?!" Casey shouts in distress, causing April to move her comms away. "Where?! Why?!"

"I don't know, but we have to warn the guys!" April gasps. "I'm pretty sure this is a trap!"

.

.

.

Donnie double clicks the play button.

It's a camera feed of a man in a lab coat walking into the room, with a strange machine being lowered from the ceiling. A helmet is loosely connected to it. A glass wall descends as well, splitting the room in half.

"Hey, Raph, come look at this," Leo ushers. "See that big hunk of metal? Does it look familiar to you?"

Raphael peers at the video screen for a moment before snapping his fingers.

"Oh! The art therapy! Mikey drew that spooky drawing of a guy with a giant monster machine thing... But... I thought he was drawing himself...?"

"Guess not," Leo mutters, glaring at the screen. Mikey may not have been drawing himself, but Leo is sure that he was still drawing what he saw as a monster.

The man sits directly beneath the machine and presses a button on the chair arm.

"Bring him in."

Mikey is dragged inside and shoved behind the glass wall. The machine is turned on, several pink lights activating and a soft hum fills the audio.

"What is that big metal thing, Donnie?" Leo asks hesitantly.

"I'm... not sure," his twin responds. "But judging by the fact it has headgear, I'd assume it has some cerebral function."

"Cerebral?"

"It might do something with the brain," Donnie translates.

"Begin the A.L.P.H.A. procedure," the man on tape states.

"Yes sir, Dr. Chaplin," an unseen attendant from the observation room responds.

The helmet is lowered onto Dr. Chaplin. Leo notices that once the headset is connected to the scientist, Mikey's demeanor shifts. He sits straight up, rather than cowering. He is still, patiently watching the man behind the glass. He looks like he's... waiting for something.

"Open it up. Let one in," Dr. Chaplin orders.

A panel on the wall opens, letting a mutant possum into the room with Mikey. Mikey doesn't react. He keeps his gaze transfixed.

The machine's bright pink lights start to flicker in sync, blinking at Mikey, as if to transmit some secret code. Dr. Chaplin leans forward in his chair, hands folded under his chin.

"Alright, Mikey... I want you to kill it."

Mikey turns to look at the creature. His face contorts into a snarl, his teeth grow, his spikes raise. The possum growls back. It jumps at Mikey. Mikey simply swings his tail and skewers the creature in midair. He flicks his tail, and the opossum's limp body is thrown into the corner. Donnie gags at the sight, pressing his hands against his mouth as he forces himself to continue watching. Dr. Chaplin nods with a smile.

"Very good, very good. That was quick! But I should expect nothing less from you. Alright, send in two this time."

"TWO?!" Leo yells angrily. "They're gonna make him fight TWO?!"

"Why not, they already made him fight three at once before."

"EXCUSE ME, WHAT?!"

Donnie shushes him as the playback continues. Two more mutant creatures -- a feral cat and a fish with legs -- are pushed into the room.

Dr. Chaplin nods to Mikey, who has gone back to being catatonic. The pink lights blink.

"Do it."

Mikey growls once more, turning his attention to the mutant creatures. A fight ensues. The cat lunges at Mikey, who dodges quickly and pounces off the wall. He lands behind the fish, grabbing it by the head before quickly twisting.

The tree boys quickly look away, but they still hear the horrible crunching snap sound it makes.

Leo peeks back nervously, watching as Mikey and the cat mutant clash again, Mikey grabbing at the creature's throat and slicing it open with his claws. The poor thing wriggles and writhes before eventually... it stops moving.

Dr. Chaplin applauds.

"Wonderful! Send in three -- no, four this time."

"WHAT?!" Raph bellows, almost lunging at the screen, forgetting that it's a recording and not happening live. "Get him out of there! Why doesn't Mikey try to escape or something?!"

Four more monsters are brought into the room; a bat, a beaver, a star-nosed mole, and a lizard. Dr. Chaplin says nothing this time, but focuses his gaze on Mikey. The pink lights blink. Mikey seems to take the hint, recognizing the unspoken command -- and begins to attack the creatures.

The lizard charges first, swift and speedily. Mikey grabs it by the tail and flings it at the beaver. The bat dives, swooping at his head. Mikey ducks, locks his gaze on the flying thing, and flicks his tail in its direction. Several spines release, projectiles flying at the mutant like arrows shot from a bow. The bat is struck in the chest, a perfect hit, and crashes onto the ground.

"I didn't know he could do that," Raph says in a hushed voice.

Mikey growls at the others before going after them, attacking without provocation.

"This... this is all wrong," Donnie whispers hoarsely.

"I know," Leo gags. "This is obscene."

"No -- I mean yes, animal cruelty and all that, but I mean that his fighting style is wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"Mikey's typical fighting style is more defensive than offensive. But based on what I've seen -- when Mikey is forced to fight -- he usually lets his alternate persona do the fighting for him."

"Do you mean Instinct?" Raph asks.

"Yes. But Instinct has the mutants attack him first so he can evaluate them. He waits for them to initiate so he can determine if they're a threat."

"Yeah, and?" Leo asks. "So?"

"Mikey is attacking unprompted. He doesn't even wait until the mutants are ready, he just... goes in for the kill. And his style is too... merciless. He's quick, efficient, but cruel. That's not Mikey at all."

"Then, what are you saying?" Leo asks.

"...I think the A.L.P.H.A. device was designed to make Mikey do... whatever these guys wanted. It's made to control Mikey telepathically."

Leo gapes, slowly turning back to the screen. In the time it took Donnie to explain, Mikey had already dispatched the mutants in various and violent ways. Two guards have come into the room at the prompting of Dr. Chaplin, who assured them that Mikey would not harm them. Though, as the two men are carrying out the carcases, Dr. Chaplin seems to get a new idea... bringing a hand to his chin, as a sly smile crosses his face.

He looks at Mikey. The lights blink. He's given a new telepathic command.

Mikey turns to the two guards and starts growling again. The intercom activates.

"D-Dr. Chaplin, what are you--"

"It's alright, I want to see what happens," Dr. Chaplin says.

Mikey crouches low, his tail barbing and spiking. The two human guards look nervous as they realize what is about to happen.

Mikey pounces at them. He lands atop one guard's chest and knocks him to the ground. The guard shouts in terror as he flails, trying to grab his weapon. Mikey's tail wraps around his free arm, the spines cutting into his flesh. The man screams. The second guard yells, thrusting his cattle prod at Mikey and shocking him in the chest. Mikey howls and reels back, clutching at the singeing skin. He growls, climbs the wall, and pounces again, landing on the unharmed guard's shoulders and biting at his neck. The man screams, swinging his cattle prod at the turtle mutant. Mikey is struck once, but keeps going. His tail swipes the man's leg, and he goes down. Mikey grabs his head and slams it against the floor, knocking him unconscious.

Leo lets out a sigh of relief. After what happened with the fish mutant, Leo was afraid he would snap the human's neck.

The second guard limps towards Mikey, who dodges his grab and leaps onto his back. His tail and spines smooth out, and Mikey's body becomes flexible like a snake as he wraps his torso and tail around the guard's neck, pressing a hand against the back of the guard's head and pushing him away. His legs grab the man's right arm, his free hand clutches the left, holding him in place as Mikey chokes him out.

"That's enough, Mikey," Dr. Chaplin says with a smile. "You can let go now."

Mikey obeys instantly, releasing the man and climbing off of him as the guard gasps and sputters.

"Take your associate and go," Chaplin orders the guard, who also obeys instantly, crying and whimpering as he leaves dragging away the unconscious partner.

Chaplin stands, watching Mikey as he sits till in the room, awaiting further instruction.

"...Lift the glass."

"I'm sorry sir, what?" The intercom crackles.

"Lift the glass. Raise the barrier. I want to test one last thing..."

"What's he doing now?" Raph whimpers nervously.

"I... I don't know," Donnie mumbles.

The trio watch as Dr. Chaplin steps away from the ebony throne and strolls over to Mikey as the glass barrier is lifted between them. He rolls up his sleeves as he looks the child over.

"You will not resist," Dr. Chaplin orders. "You will not move. Is that understood?"

Dr. Chaplin reaches down and cups Mikey's chin in his hand. He watches for a reaction. When Mikey does not give him one, he slaps him across the face.

Leo jumps at the hard clapping sound the impact makes. Raph grabs his sai and grips them so hard they almost snap in his hands.

Dr. Chaplin strikes again, and again, and again. He hits Mikey, punching him so hard in the face that he is thrown backwards. Mikey doesn't move, doesn't cry out, doesn't do anything. He lays on the floor, limp, a large bruise starting to form on his cheek. Dr. Chaplin approaches him, and kicks him hard in the chest. And again. And again. And again. Mikey doesn't move. He barely even flinches.

Leo's breathing gets faster and faster, the heat in his face almost sets his mask on fire.

He doesn't see Chaplin. He barely registers Mikey.

He sees someone trapped alone with a monster, being pummeled to death, and accepting it with no fight.

He sees a Krang and a 'wretched little pest'.

Dr. Chaplin exhausts himself. Once he's satisfied with the results, he smiles, rolling down his sleeves.

"Alright, that's good enough, I think. He's proven he'll follow orders. Turn it off."

The lights in the giant ebony mechanism go out, and Mikey starts to stir.

"The machine works to perfection," Dr. Chaplin says, pulling his sleeves down as he looms over Mikey. His knuckles are worn and a little bloody from beating him senseless. "Well done, Mikey. You did very good."

Donnie's bō smashes against into screens, destroying every single monitor.

"AGH!" Raph shouts, grabbing Leo by the shoulders and pulling him back to save him from the glass shards. "What the heck?!"

"I'm sorry," Donnie growls. "My bō staff just suddenly went flying. I don't know how that happened. Probably a glitch."

He grips the staff tight, causing it to bend and snap under his fury.

"A glitch that I am going to eradicate..."

Donnie storms out of the room, followed by Leo and Raph.

"Wait, Donnie, where are you going?" Leo asks.

"To get Mikey," he snarls. "According to my tracker, he should be in the other room..."

Donnie flings the doors open to the Interaction Room. It's empty, aside from one thing --

Dr. Chaplin, on his ebony throne, legs crossed nonchalantly as he sits back with a smile.

"Well, hello. It's about time you three showed up."

Prev || Next

[strogelen21]

ONE PIECE - CHAPTER 1123 SPOILERS

She's very sleepy.

EDIT: The panel from the chapter I based it from:

Also, we're actually going to Elbaf. To think that it's been so long since it was first mentioned. Like, actual decades since then.

And Vegapunk erasing his and the other Stellas' memories and leaving only the most important detail as soon as they discovered York's betrayal and the Mother Flame being stolen is some serious 5-D chess move.

The Egghead Island Arc was relatively short, but it sure did provide some huge lore drops for an arc set before Elbaf.

Bonus Image:

I just really wanted to draw both of them.

His shoes are there, I swear.

[purplehairedwonder]

Chapter 1086: Connecting the Dots

It’s been a few chapters since my last write-up, but I couldn’t resist the lore of this chapter.

First things first: the cover page is absolutely adorable.

I especially love Luffy’s and Chopper’s reflections in the puddle. So cute.

Okay, onto the chapter itself. Reverie comes to an end with most attendees none of the wiser of the malicious goings on right under their noses.

We see various parties getting away from Mariejois by stowing away. This panel hit me particularly hard:

Sabo is visibly broken up about witnessing Cobra’s death, which is at odds with his reaction back in chapter 1083:

Honestly, it’s a relief to see that Sabo was affected by Cobra’s death since he seems so cold talking about the death of someone both the Revs and audiences knew to be a good man. 

Speaking of Sabo, the Gorosei’s discussion about him is quite interesting.

They use the phrase “checkered fate,” which we’ve seen used repeatedly to describe those who carry the D, including

and

It also feels related to the flashback in 1085:

Sabo seems to be influenced by the Will of D. as much as any of the Ds that surround him.

Meanwhile, Imu orders the destruction of Lulusia using a Vegapunk invention called Mother Flame. 

This is interesting because we saw in the MADS cover story how Vegapunk was focused on peaceful inventions. He talks about creating an energy source that will be accessible to everyone--thus eliminating conflicts over natural resources.

Perhaps Mother Flame is the result of that research. 

Many of us theorized that Uranus was used to wipe out Lulusia, but Dragon argues that if the WG had an Ancient Weapon, why wait until now to use it?

What if, like the mecha that is defunct in Egghead, Uranus needed a power source? And Vegapunk’s research into energy allowed them to finally power up the Ancient Weapon?

That would also fit the parallels between Vegapunk and Einstein, as Einstein’s work laid the foundation for the creation of nuclear weapons despite his pacifist tendencies.

So, Imu orders the destruction of Lulusia because it’s nearby, and the other Gorosei are... fine with it. They even try to justify it.

It’s cold and cruel.

We also get names and see the planet theme continuing with Jupiter, Venus, Mercury, Mars, and Saturn from left to right. Interesting that they are also called “Warrior Gods.”

Imu is also focused on retrieving Vivi, who we now know is a D.

What does Imu want with Vivi specifically? Mysteries to chew on!

Meanwhile, MORE SEPAPHIM.

Finally, the Doffyphim! Crocophim looks almost sad, which is interesting.

So, we’ve seen Seraphim for all the original Warlords, right? So, are we getting them for any of the others? Blackbeard? Law? Buggy? Weevil? Honestly, I’ll be very surprised if we don’t see a Law Seraphim since Law’s not allowed to have nice things and the importance of the Ope Ope no Mi is directly referenced in this chapter.

We get a bit more insight into Imu thanks to Iva:

Which ties back to Cobra saying he recognized the name. Now we have a family name: Nerona. My first thought was Nero, who was Emperor of Rome at the time of the Great Fire of Rome, which destroyed a large portion of the city. (Remember, Vegapunk’s potential energy source was called Mother Flame.)

Iva’s line about “the world we know today was created 800 years ago” brings me back to this panel from earlier in the chapter:

Particularly Mars’ comment in the middle about “The world moves at the will of the creator.” This seems to imply that Imu was one of the founders of the World Government--making him a creator of the world as we know it today.

Of course, that leads to the question of how he could be alive for 800 years. Iva’s out there like

connecting all the dots like the rest of us.

It’s long been theorized that there had to be someone in the series who had the Perpetual Youth Surgery performed on them, and Imu seems to be the best candidate. 

There have actually been multiple mentions of the immortality operation recently, as if to remind us that Law’s fruit can do that. Remember what Blackbeard said after defeating Law? 

So yes, the fact that Law got away from this encounter matters because a) he’s a D., and b) his fruit is coming into play again.

So, theory time. I know a lot of people worry about Law using the Perpetual Youth Surgery on Luffy, but I don’t think that will happen; among many reasons, Luffy wouldn’t want it, even if Law offered. 

However, if Imu has had that surgery and is now immortal, there needs to be a way to defeat him. What better way than the current user of the Ope Ope no Mi reversing the operation and making him mortal again?

Okay, this has gone way longer than I planned, so final thing:

So, this is interesting considering what we learned about Shanks from Film Red and its accompanying media. Shanks, we’re led to believe, is a Figarland, so this is likely a relative--father? Grandfather? Uncle? (Also, the hair that looks like a crescent moon? Amazing.)

Moreover, he is the former king of God Valley, which is where Roger’s crew found baby Shanks in a chest and adopted him. That God Valley flashback is going to be mind-blowing, isn’t it?

It’s also noteworthy that Figarland says, “Anyone who protects scum is lower than the scum they protect” while Shanks has a notoriously weak fleet because he protects them.

Finally, RIP Mjosgard. It’s sad that he was able to better himself and ended up executed as a result of those morals.