#the entire dressrosa arc was so completely good | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

legionofdiversity · 4 months ago

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I feel it’s also worth noting here that while Law’s plan was absolutely ruined by outside forces, Luffy did completely and utterly disregard all of it. The arc starts with the Luffy specific team leaving without finishing talking about the plan. And then Luffy, the biggest hitter on their team, immediately goes off to do a side quest. I fully understand why he did it and don’t fault him but he entirely disregarded the plan.

It was even a good plan for Luffy, Law literally put him on the team where he had to destroy shit, that’s all he had to do and he immediately didn’t. It’s also worth noting that his going into the coliseum is what leads to him seeing Bellamy again, a huge reason Law gets as fucked up as he does in the final fight, cause Bellamy is a friend who needs to be protected, not an enemy to be defeated anymore. The coliseum stuff isn’t even why they get all the gladiators as allies in the end, that’s Usopp saving everyone. So, people say Luffy messes up Law’s plan because Luffy completely disregards it and instead fucks around for like 30 episodes while not doing the one thing that was asked of him.

I’ve seen people critique Law for not factoring in Luffy’s Luffy-ness into his plans but he kind of does. He put Luffy on the run around and break shit team and Luffy couldn’t even manage to do that, Luffy gets immediately contained in an elaborately decorated prison.

Luffy isn’t the main reason Law’s plan failed but he never once did a single thing according to it and he does it in the most public and loud way possible so I see why people say Luffy ruined it. We see Doflamingo foil one of Law’s plans in a, like, two episode sequence but we watch Luffy not destroy the factory for basically the whole first act of the arc, both of those things equally mess up Law’s plan but boy does one take way longer. I know the SMILE factory is harder to find and destroy than they initially think it will be but Luffy doesn’t know any of that cause he didn’t even try.

Law’s getting Doflamingo to step down as a warlord plan was ruined by Doflamingo but if the SMILE factory gets destroyed, Kaido’s going to murder him either way so while Luffy isn’t the end-all-be-all thing that ruins Law’s plan, we do spend unending episodes (or chapters if you read it instead) watching Luffy do nothing to help while Law gets his absolute ass handed to him to accomplish his goals. Even when Luffy saves Law, he’s still not doing his damn job and Law has made it clear to us, the audience, that he’d rather die and have the factory destroyed than himself saved which is a shit view, no doubt, but is still Luffy blatantly disregarding his plan.

As someone who recently watched Dressrosa for the first time, it’s really stark, watching Luffy fight all these ridiculous people in a coliseum while Law almost dies an island away. While Luffy ruining Law’s plans might not be the actual text of Dressrosa, it’s almost the entire visual of it for half the arc: Law fleeing from Doflamingo to try to buy time for Luffy and them to destroy the factory immediately cutting to Luffy who, instead of destroying the factory, is arguing with an old man about his drill head. Even though as an audience, we immediately know Luffy isn’t going to follow a plan, it’s real stark to watch Law bleeding and dying for his plan while Luffy casually fights side characters.

Luffy didn’t ruin Law’s plans but we get to watch him painfully not do a single thing for them while watching Law almost fucking die like ten times. Is it an accurate interpretation? No, not really. Is it still, like, 25% of dressrosa’s insane run time? Yes, yes it absolutely is.

I wanna be clear I’m not shitting on Luffy here, it’s Luffy being Luffy and we all expect Luffy to not listen and get distracted by dumb shit or important shit that takes 20 times longer cause Luffy still gets involved in dumb shit but I feel that the visual language here is just as important as the text and I see it get disregarded cause Doflamingo foiled one of Law’s plans offscreen. Manga and anime are mainly visual mediums and I got to visually watch Luffy play pretend and not do the thing his friend asked him to do while his friend almost died ten different times. Even if the text says, “oh, Luffy would have failed at destroying the factory anyways cause of X” 1. It’s Luffy, he does impossible things all the time and 2. A few speaking parts saying that doesn’t negate the overall visual message I’m being given.

I’m not saying the plan would have worked if Luffy hadn’t run off on his own, a lot of it got fucked up in a lot of other ways, but I am saying I got to watch a bunch of other characters get attacked and almost die for a plan Luffy completely disregards so he can comedically run away from Cabbage for multiple episodes. It’s a really important part of the visual storytelling of Dressrosa and it shouldn’t be disregarded. Saying Luffy ruined Law’s plan feel like overexaggeration when I step back and look at the big picture but, emotionally, it also feels like what I watched for the past 10 hours so I fully understand people who say it.

why do ppl say that Luffy ruined Law's plan for Dressrosa? that plan was thwarted before they even set foot on the island bcs Law didn't know Doflamingo had the freakin World Government at his beck and call

the Straw Hats' chaotic nature was actually the reason they were able to destroy the factory and defeat Doflamingo with the help of the new allies they gathered on their side quests

so Luffy didn't ruin shit, Law's plan was flawed from the get go

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animebw · 2 years ago

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My One Piece Arc Ranking

So now that I’m all caught up on One Piece, it’s time to partake in that most honored of traditions: ranking all the arcs from worst to best! Because it’s fun, and it’ll be handy to collect my thoughts on these 1000+ chapters all in once place. For convenience’s sake, I’ll be stitching a lot of the smaller “arcs” together or tacking them on to the bigger arcs they lead into/serve as cooldown from. So if you’re wondering where the Sabaody reunion is, well, it’s part of Fishman Island. Same with the Paramount War aftermath, and Jaya being part of Skypiea. Just so I don’t have to rank complete, fully fleshed out arcs against “well, here’s what happened after the big battle on this island and we’re calling that an arc too.”

Got it? Good. Here is my definitive ranking of all 21 (by my standards) arcs of this ridiculously long journey!

21: Fishman Island

Yeah, you all knew this was coming. Even if it wasn’t coupled with the massive disappointment of the first post-timeskip arc being such a letdown, Fishman Island would still be the absolute nadir of One Piece. The location that’s way less interesting than a mermaid kingdom has any right to be, the plot is even draggier than usual, Shirahoshi’s character feels misguided from the ground up, and what should be the arc’s saving grace- a powerful statement on racism and the destructive toll it takes on a society- is ruined by a garbage villain made even more garbage by cowardly writing that can’t even commit to its commentary. Most damning of all, though, I can’t think of a single good thing to say in its defense. Even my other least favorite arcs still have some things going for them. But Fishman Island is just a slog from start to finish with no saving grace to ease the pain. What an utter waste.

20: Punk Hazard

In retrospect, it probably wasn’t a good sign that the first two post-timeskip arcs both ended up at the very bottom of this list. Punk Hazard isn’t as egregiously offensive as Fishman Island, but my god does it get boring fast. Law’s alliance with the Straw Hats and the cool fire-and-ice-mythical-creature-wonderland setting are the only parts I really remember; the rest is just a dull trudge through one obligatory fight after another with a villain who really isn’t interesting or funny enough to warrant spending so much time on him. I’m sorry, Caeser is just a discount Buggy and we all know it. Not to mention the body swap gag leading to some really gross jokes at Nami and Tashigi’s expense, and that one astronomically stupid bit where Zoro condescends to Tashigi for no reason because I guess we still can’t just let shonen action ladies be action ladies without punishing them for it. Thank god Dressrosa came right after this, or I might’ve given up on the post-timeskip era entirely.

19: Amazon Lily

How does one ruin a perfectly fine side story in the space of a single chapter? By taking an interesting, compelling character like Boa Hancock and turning her into the dumbest, most condescending version of herself. There was no reason to make Hancock fall in love with Luffy. There was no reason to take a character defined by the trauma of her slavery and her difficult journey to recovery and reduce her to instantly going ga-ga for the dude who saves her from herself. Were it not for Sanji, this would be the single worst instance of character assassination in all of One Piece, and that’s mainly just due to Hancock not being in the story nearly as much so it only hurts for so long. But man, whatever good feelings I had towards Amazon Lily were well and truly buried by this terrible ending.

18: Thriller Bark

I will say this in Thriller Bark’s defense: the gothic haunted house aesthetic is killer, and the final battle with a giant Luffy zombie- plus Kuma’s unexpected reappearance- end it on a strong enough note to wash most of the bad taste out of your mouth by the time it’s over. That alone is enough to give it the edge over the other three arcs below it. And that’s a very impressive feat, because holy fuck does the middle of Thriller Bark suck. The one-two punch of Sanji’s full degradation into Pervert Shithead and the introduction of another fountain of pervert jokes to double my agony in Brook marked the first time where I was really and truly angry with One Piece. And in retrospect, that probably marked the end of this manga’s chances of ending up in my favorite’s list. The sins of Thriller Bark, and the failures of future arcs to repair them, inflicted such lasting wounds on One Piece that it could never fully recover, no matter how great some later arcs ended up being. If only we could all be like Zoro and pretend that nothing happened.

17: Little Garden

Rejoice, folks: we’re out of the shit heap and into the actually good parts of One Piece! And we begin with an arc who’s main crime is mostly just not having that much going on. Little Garden is a short, sweet little adventure with a couple cool action beats and an absolutely killer opening shot of the two giants clashing for the first time. Other than that, though, there’s not much to talk about. And that’s fine; not every stop on this journey needs to be huge and meaningful. Arguably, One Piece would be better off it it allowed itself to take more pit stops like Little Garden, small pockets of the worst that allow you to decompress from the bigger stuff and appreciate just how much imagination there is to offer in Oda’s wild brain. So even though there’s not much to it, it’s still entertaining enough to rank it far above the doldrums that came before.

16: East Blue Part 1

And so we come to the beginning, the first few arcs that started us on this grand adventure in the first place. Romance Dawn, Orange Town, and Syrup Village may pale in comparison to the grand, emotional storytelling to come, so simple and unassuming that you’d never guess just how gigantic this story would eventually become. But looking back on them now, part of me really misses the days when One Piece was this simple. When it was just about a bunch of people exploring a small pocket of their world, slowly coming together as they worked through their problems and found solace in a new family. Every journey begins with a single step, and as small as that step seems in retrospect, there’s no denying we left some damn meaningful footprints along the way.

15: Zou

Much like Little Garden, Zou’s main failing is mainly just being too short and side-tracky to stand that well on its own. Unlike Little Garden, though, Zou doesn’t leave you at a loss of things to talk about. In fact, this may well be some of the densest information bomb-dropping this manga’s ever pulled off. Explosive revelation after explosive revelation, huge secrets of the world’s very nature and Roger’s quest that will reverberate all the way through Wano, new goals set as we stare down the final stretch of the Grand Line... by the end of Zou, it feels like we’ve truly crossed the threshold into One Piece’s endgame. From here on out, it’s nothing but full speed ahead to Laugh Tale, the last mysteries finally on the verge of being solved one step at a time. So while Zou itself may not last for very long, its aftershocks are set to define the trajectory of this manga from here on out, all the way to the end of the line. And that gives this small breather between gigantic arcs enough staying power to hold its own.

14: Drum Kingdom

The best way I can describe Drum King’s strength is that it’s the platonic ideal of a Good One Piece Arc. It introduces us to a cool new location with fun side characters, gives us a new Straw Hat with compelling emotional baggage to work through before they can join the team, a suitably loathsome bad guy who’s crimes pose a commentary on some societal ill, and brings it all home for a great finale that wraps up all loose ends while still dropping seeds for future adventures. It may not have One Piece’s best examples of anything it does, but it pulls off everything basically flawlessly, and it makes for an incredibly satisfying self-contained adventure. Plus, it gives us badass old lady Kureha and the bundle of joy that is Chopper, how can you not love that?

13: Whole Cake Island

Oh, Sanji. Dear, sweet Sanji. If only your incredible characterization in this arc was a sign that Oda was finally letting your worst tendencies go and letting you be lovable again. Alas, twas not to be. But it sure made for a damn great arc while it lasted. Whole Cake Island still suffers from cramped post-timeskip paneling, and Pudding’s development didn’t work for me, but it will always hold a special place in my heart for letting Sanji be an actual good character again for the first time in forever. Plus, the parallels between Big Mom and the Vinsmokes gave us some incredibly powerful commentary on abusive families, Big Mom herself is an excellent bad guy, Luffy’s fight with Katakuri kicked ass, and the Nightmare Candyland aesthetic is still the coolest island design that One Piece has ever come up with. With so much good stuff going on, I can easily overlook its weaker elements.

12: Skypiea

Of all One Piece’s arcs, there are none I’ve softened on more over time than Skypiea. When I first read it, the endless fighting that made up its midsection definitely took me out of the experience. But the more I think back on it, the more its considerable strengths tend to stand out. The unique and imaginative visual design of an island jungle in a sea of sky. The fantastic lore and worldbuilding that make One Piece’s world feel so much richer. The backstory of the Shandians that paints a powerful picture of a people struggling with the role of religion in their lives. And, of course, it all builds to what’s still one of the greatest climaxes of any One Piece arc. Even all these years later, the image of Luffy scaling a colossal beanstalk through a hail of stormclouds to punch god in his stupid face remains one of this manga’s most enduring moments of sheer awesome. It may not be the most consistent arc, but its highlights are just that damn high.

11: Wano

Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. “Wano, this low on the list? Has The Anime Binge-Watcher lost her mind?” Look, the problem with Wano is the same thing that makes it so impressive in the first place: length. This is the longest, biggest, most bloated, most overstuffed arc in all of One Piece, and there is just entirely too much going on to care about it all. There’s too many characters to get invested in, too many moving parts to keep track of, and too many different threads to juggle without your attention slipping from at least a few of them. Yes, it’s an incredible culmination of basically the entire manga up until this point, and the stuff that’s good- Gear 5, Kaido, Luffy’s renewed sense of heroism, the Roger/Oden backstory, literally everything about Yamato- is so fucking good that it doesn’t surprise me why this arc has become the new gold standard for so many One Piece fans. But with all the far less interesting stuff surrounding those highlights like packing peanuts, I can only rank Wano so high against OP’s more fully engrossing experiences

10: Baratie

There was a time, long, long ago, when Sanji was my favorite member of the Straw Hats. I know that might seem hard to believe now, after all the hundreds of chapters I spent complaining about him. Sometimes, I can scarcely believe it myself. But then I remember how fantastic Sanji’s introductory arc was, and it’s not hard to believe at all. Baratie was the moment that One Piece really started to work for me, delivering what’s still the best Straw Hat introductory arc with an incredible backstory, an exciting ship-on-ship smackdown, and a character who had not yet been poisoned by terrible writing, who was still every bit as hilarious, heartbreaking, and human as he should’ve always remained. I love the Sanji we met on this seafaring restaurant, and when I think of how that Sanji was stolen from us, it makes me all the angrier. But at least Baratie still stands as a shining beacon of early One Piece, a reminder of why this grand adventure earned so many fans in the first place.

9: Welcome to the Grand Line!

For this section, I’ve lumped together Rogue Town, the encounter with Laboon, and Whiskey Peak under the same banner. Why? Because collectively, the final stops of East Blue and the first ever stops of the Grand Line mark the moment where it truly becomes clear just how insane One Piece is going to get. Between the huge worldbuilding and lore implications of Roguetown, the sheer spectacle of Laboon, and the jaw-dropping power escalation that caps off our brief stop in Whiskey Peak, the transition from One Piece’s prologue to its true form is one of the most audacious gauntlet throws I’ve ever seen in anime or manga. I spent these arcs with my brain being blown out of my skull on a near constant basis from the sheer scale of the story opening up before. Suddenly, I realized just how gigantic this fun nautical voyage was going to be, just how small a picture those first hundred chapters had really captured of the true scale of this voyage. Yes, turning into such an epic journey brought its own share of flaws that I’ve discussed elsewhere, and there are definitely moments I miss the days before One Piece was blown so wide open. But I cannot deny just how fucking effective these arcs are at hyping you up for this manga to expand beyond your wildest dreams.

8: Long Ring Long Land

Is Long Ring Long Land very consequential in the grand scheme of things? Nope. Is it full of grand, meaningful storytelling? Not even a little bit. So why is it so high on this list? Because it is far and away the funniest that One Piece has ever been. Everything about this ridiculous island and the Davy Back Fight left me howling with laughter chapter after chapter, god-tier face after god-tier face, inspired gag after inspired gag. This. Arc. Is. So. Much. Fucking. Fun. I go back and forth with One Piece humor over time, but never before has it landed so consistently- and so outrageously- as Long Ring Long Land. And for that, it more than earns itself a spot in my top 10.

7: Impel Down

What’s better than a prison break arc? A prison break arc where the hero has to forge an alliance with all his former, now-imprisoned enemies so they can all break in/out together. Turning the likes of Buggy the Clown, Bon Clay, and Crocodile into Luffy’s allies for the grand storming of Impel Down was an absolute masterstroke, and it makes this arc one of the most deliriously entertaining stretches of the entire manga. Everyone’s banter is just so fucking good together, from Buggy’s rebirth into Antihero Usopp to Bon Clay making good on their heroic turn in Alabasta. And the constantly escalating rush of plunging down a prison inspired by Dante’s Inferno, more and more threats piling up every second, keeps the foot on the gas pedal from start to finish. It would be so easy for this arc to just feel like movie trailers before the feature presentation of Marineford, but it more than holds its own as one of One Piece’s most exhilarating thrill rides. All hail Emperor Buggy, long may his light bless us!

6: Dressrosa

I’ve made my issues with post-timeskip One Piece pretty apparent by now. At this point, the story’s gotten so big and cluttered that it’s unable to fully embody the charm of this manga’s early days. That said, I’m far from thinking the post-timeskip era is irredeemable. Because when everything about it clicks just right? Then you get the absolute masterpiece of an arc that is Dressrosa. A gigantic, sprawling tale that lasts over a hundred chapters and yet never once feels like it’s dragging its feet, the story of the Straw Hats’ final confrontation with Don Quixote Doflamingo is the culmination of everything this era of One Piece is capable of, and it is incredible. Staggeringly huge battles with countless entertaining parts, interlocking arcs that play off each other in fascinating ways, space for so many different ideas to breathe and share space, and incredible character focuses for everyone at the arc’s core. And as if that weren’t enough, it all plays out under the shadow of One Piece’s best antagonist by far. Doflamingo has been built up for so long, and seeing him finally take center stage only cemented just what a brilliant villain he’s been. If only Rebecca’s arc hadn’t been so frustratingly handled, this might’ve even made my top 5.

5: Alabasta

Sadly, though, Dressrosa will have to cede those honors to the other big desert city arc. Because as awesome as Dofy’s downfall was to behold, I still can’t help but carry a torch for the first of One Piece’s truly giant arcs. Alabasta was the moment it that the promise of those first steps into the Grand Line was fulfilled, the first time we got to see Oda’s skill at playing the long game and delivering on payoff for story threads set up many arcs in the past. And maybe it’s just my nostalgia talking, but god dammit, seeing that long-form storytelling come to fruition for the first time was a magical experience that could never be truly repeated. Alabasta was epic like nothing before it had been, a majestic culmination of a hundred chapters of build-up that made each small step of the journey to reach that point matter like you never could’ve imagined. It was the platonic ideal of the grand fantasy adventure One Piece was becoming, before it became too weighed down with its own size to make such beautiful planting and payoff feel so commonplace. And lest we forget, it also gave us Vivi Motherfucking Nefertari. She may not have been on the Straw Hats’ crew for long, but the princess of Alabasta will forever be this series’ biggest, most beautiful beating heart.

4: Sabaody

Sometimes, there are Oh Shit moments. Sometimes, there are Oh Shit moments. And sometimes, there’s Sabaody Archipelago, where everything goes so catastrophically wrong that it feels like you’ve been dragged into an active war zone by the time it’s all over. This whole arc is just Luffy delivering the most satisfying “Fuck you” punch of his entire career, only to suffer consequences far beyond anything he- or we- were prepared for in daring to challenge the top of the food chain. It’s a shocking, upsetting whirlwind of despair as the Straw Hats are torn apart and scattered to the four winds, leaving nothing behind but the knowledge of just how unprepared they actually were against the full might of the world’s evil. It rips open the status quo as thoroughly as those first tentative steps into the Grand Line and kicks off one of One Piece’s finest stretches as the story begins its madcap rush toward Marineford one dizzying moment after another. This is the beginning of the end for the pre-timeskip era, and it’s exactly as earthshaking as such a monumental turning point deserves to be.

3: Marineford

But every incredible spark deserves an equally incredible explosion for it to set off. And if Sabaody was the perfect ignition point for One Piece’s darkest hour, then seeing that ignition fully realized in the Paramount War was nothing short of insane. What else is there to say about a fight that opens with the earth itself being split in half and only escalating from there? All the most powerful and influential figures on a global scale converging for an all-out brawl that literally and figuratively cracks the world’s foundations so badly they can never fully recover? Marineford was the culmination of everything One Piece had been building towards since its beginning, the payoff to end all payoffs, a nuclear explosion of an arc that firmly turns the page on this chapter of the world’s history. It was epic, it was tragic, it was shocking, it was mind-boggling, and it. Was. Beautiful. As much fun as Wano was, the shock and awe of watching the world turn upside-down- not to mention Ace’s tragic fate- are something it never even came close to. Marineford is in a class all its own, and I’ll still be talking about how much it rocked my shit for many years to come.

2: Arlong Park

And yet, as incredible as the spectacle of Marineford was, I once again find myself drawn back to a smaller, simpler time. A time when a reckless ruffian cried for help for the first time, and the boy she’d been deceiving placed the literal symbol of his dream upon her, carrying with it a promise stronger than any words could deliver. No matter how much time passes, no matter how huge One Piece gets, no matter how much its early days fade on the horizon, Arlong Park will never lose its luster. It was the first moment One Piece made me cry, but more than that, the story of Nami’s redemption and official introduction to the Straw Hat crew was the moment that I stopped liking One Piece and started loving it. It’s the moment where I realized that this staggeringly long manga, this story I never dreamed I’d have the endurance to tackle, had its claws in me so deeply that I was going to stick with it through hell or highwater. This arc is why I’m still here, two years and a thousand chapters later, waiting to see what crazy roads this adventure will lead us down next. It is, without question, the moment that made One Piece, One Piece. And even all this time later, it still stands tall as one of the single greatest tales in this entire epic saga.

1: Water Seven/Enies Lobby

But if you were to ask me where One Piece truly reaches its peak? Where everything comes together for an arc that takes all the best parts of other arcs and synthesizes them into a single triumphant masterpiece? That, ladies and gentlemen, would be none other than the unmatched brilliance of Water Seven. Marrying the intimate character drama of Arlong Park, the long-term planting and payoff brilliance of Alabasta, the gorgeous aesthetic cohesion of Thriller Bark, the fascinating worldbuilding of Skypiea, the darkest-hour shock and awe paradigm shift of the Marineford saga, and the staggering scale of the post-timeskip era, Water Seven is the pinnacle of everything that makes One Piece great. God, how many top 10 One Piece moments come from this arc alone? Robin’s backstory! Usopp’s crisis of faith! Sniper King! Rob Lucci! “Shoot down that flag!” “I want to live!” Saying goodbye to the Going Merry! It’s epic, it’s astounding, it’s heartbreaking in unexpected ways, it’s courageous in its convictions, and it delivers on all the pain, all the majesty, all the hype, and all the impact you could possibly ask for.

When I think back on what makes One Piece matter to me, it’s this arc, more than anything, that forms the shape my thoughts take. It’s all the incredible details, all the bold and devastating story turns, all building up to that one perfect moment that Luffy declares war on a broken world for the sake of the people he loves. That is the spirit of One Piece, shining brighter here than it ever has before or since. That is why this manga, for all its ups and downs, has been worth sticking with for over a thousand chapters and counting. I don’t know if Oda will ever top this arc; honestly, I kind of suspect he’s just not capable of pulling off something this perfect in the post-timeskip era. But even if this is the best things will ever be, at least it will forever stand as the crown jewel of one of the biggest stories on the face of the earth. Water Seven is an unqualified masterpiece, and even once this whole grand adventure is finally over, I suspect I’ll still hold it up as the single greatest arc in all of One Piece.

#anime #the anime binge-watcher #tabw #one piece #one piece manga

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imasimpforshanks · 4 years ago

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Heyyyyyy hiiiiii hope your having an awesome day drinking that water getting hydrated 😗. I was wondering if you could do a Law Angst alphabet please. But only if you feel up to it and have time. If you don’t feel free to ignore or do it later here now have a cookie 🍪 because your awesome 😊

Angst Alphabet - Trafalgar Law

a/n: HI HI!!! thank you for your kind words!! I hope you are looking after yourself <333 here is the law angst! Please enjoy 🥰

A-Accident (would they blame themselves if you died in an accident?)

He would only blame himself if any of his actions led to the accident that caused your death (we’ve seen him blame himself for that very reason about Rosinantes death). If his actions weren’t directly correlated to your death in any way then he would not blame himself, though he would kick himself for not being able to help you in time. Other than that, Law is painfully aware of the harsh reality that is life.

B-Break up (How would they break up with you?)

Law would break up with you in a seemingly emotionless way. He’d mask his true feelings, while telling you a whole bunch of excuses why the two of you could no longer be together. He doesn’t believe any of them, but he’s got to do what he’s got to do.

C-Crying (how would they make you cry?)

I feel like I’ve used this one in a few other character alphabets but it really applies to Law too. He would cause you to stress and panic so much over his health and wellbeing. He’s a literal doctor. He should know to take better care of himself, but he just doesn’t seem to care about himself the same way you do. So it isn’t until you’re crying in front of him, spilling your heart out about how concerned you are for his safety that he realizes his health is important to more than just himself.

D-Death (how would they react to your death?)

My god, if Law was to lose another person that he loved, he literally would never want to let himself get close to anyone ever again. Your death would be it for Law. He’d basically be on the verge of giving up himself. What other reason does he have to go on.

E-Emotion (what is one emotion they would try to hide the most and how would they do it?)

He tries to hide every emotion. Law doesn’t like to be too open, out of fear of people using it against him or it simply being too much of a sign of weakness. So, very rarely does he let his emotions show. He also tries to divert attention away from himself in hopes that people won’t focus on him or his emotions for too long.

F-Fight (do you two ever fight? How big are the fights? What do you fight about? Etc.)

This was covered in his fluff alphabet! But here it is again:

Your fights tend to be pretty short lived resulting in forgiveness and apologies from both sides relatively quickly. He really doesn’t like to stay mad at you for too long – he’d much rather have you two on the same page.

Most fights are caused by stress and concerns of health and safety, so Law does a lot of eye rolling and using his title as a ‘doctor’ as justification that he knows what he’s doing so you just need to chill – but like I said these fights are very short lived.

G-Guilt (what is the biggest thing they feel guilty about?)

Law will never forgive himself for Rosinantes death. He will forever feel responsible for his death – it was all his fault. If only he hadn’t given that note to Vergo, then Rosinante would still be alive. He died because of Law’s incompetence (at least that’s what he tells himself).

H-Heartbreak (what would cause them pain in the relationship? How would they deal during a break-up?)

During a break-up Law would act pretty normal. He wouldn’t behave any differently until he’s left alone. Only then would he let himself go and truly feel that heartbreak.

I-Injured (how would they react if you are badly injured?)

Thanks to the doctor in him, Law is able to remain calm. He can keep his composure until he administers whatever treatment necessary. That’s not to say he isn’t worried though. He’s just capable of focusing on the injury right in front of him.

Only once he is certain that you are stable does he (or potentially his crew) go and hunt down the cause of your beating.

J-Jealousy (what do they do if they are jealous?)

When Law does get jealous (which is rarely), he gets quiet. His fists clench a little more, and his frown deepens. He also speaks less than usual (which is already pretty hard to beat). He only gives you short snippy replies until he eventually gets over it.

K-Kill (would they kill for revenge?)

Law would kill for revenge, yes. He literally wanted to kill Doflamingo as revenge for Rosinante. However, it was in Law’s plan that Kaido would be the one to kill Doflamingo (after they fought) – so I believe that is how he’d kill for revenge as well. He would devise a fool proof plan (okay maybe not fool proof, bc if the straw hats are involved who knows what could go wrong).

In short, yes. Law would kill for revenge.

L-Loss (what is their greatest loss?)

This poor man has suffered so much loss in his life that it’s actually really difficult to choose which would be his greatest loss. He lost his entire family as a young boy while also having a shortened lifespan himself. Losing his family, and the realization that he only had a few more years to live, really made him lose his will to live a good remainder of his life. Young Law literally became a pirate.

However, he did meet Rosinante (Corazon) and he gave him another reason to live. Furthermore, Rosinante actively sought out a cure for Law so that he could continue to live a long life. Basically, Rosinante became a father figure/older brother to Law. So, losing him – another ¬person he loved so dearly – would have been beyond devastating.

M-Mistake (what is the worst mistake they ever made with you?)

There was one day where he spent the entire day ignoring you. It was completely unintentional. His mind was swarming with plans and all this other information that has just come in. He got so immersed in it that he didn’t talk to you or tell you what was going on for a whole day.

N-Nightmares (how often do they have them? What are they about? How do they deal with it?)

Nightmares are one of the many reasons Law hardly ever sleeps. He’s haunted by his family’s and Rosinantes deaths. His nightmares get particularly bad around the same time each year (that is, around the time of year that they died). He wakes up trembling and on the verge of tears (but he never lets them fall). Instead of even trying to go back to sleep, he’ll make himself a nice hot cup of coffee and immerse himself in a book or work of some kind – anything to avoid going back to sleep and risking a re-run of that horrible nightmare.

O-Outrage (how and why would they get mad at you?)

Sometimes his exhaustion catches up to him and other times its all the stress building up that finally he snaps and all the emotions are too overwhelming that he just directs it to the nearest outlet, which just so happens to be you.

P-Past (what has happened in your relationship that changed the way you saw each other?)

You walked in on him absolutely breaking down over Rosinante. One evening Law retreated to his room while you and the rest of the crew were eating and drinking. He didn’t think you had noticed him leave, but soon you were following after him. You opened the door and found him breaking down in the middle of the room. You completely forgot that it was the anniversary of Rosinantes death. It was the first time you had seen him this distraught and it broke your heart.

It really cemented into your brain that no matter how tough he may look, he still suffers (probably more so than anyone). But, you were also grateful that you were able to see him like that, as it allowed him to start relying on you a little more.

Q-Quality (what is their most dangerous/toxic quality?)

His inability to openly express his emotions. Sure, now he will share with you how he is feeling, but that is with you and ONLY you. He still insists on keeping everything else bottle away from the rest of the world which is a really unhealthy way to deal with things. It’s not that you dislike being there for him, in fact, you appreciate how trusting he is with you. It’s just, what if there comes a time where you aren’t around and he’s in desperate need of someone to confide in?

R-Rejection (how would they react to you rejecting their confession (or the other way around)).

Law would wait until he was 100% certain you returned his feelings to confess to you. So, if you were to reject his confession he would be really confused for a while. He’d let it go because well, everyone has their own reasons – its not his place to tell you how you feel. All he can do is tell you how he feels and then the rest is up to you.

S-Scars (battle or self-inflicted)

He has no self-inflicted scars, and to my knowledge he has no battle scars either. But, his arm did get cut off and then reattached during the Dressrosa arc, so it actually is likely that there is a remaining scar from that (although I’m not certain).

T-Trust (have they ever broken your trust?)

Nope not at all. In fact, the only instance in which he would possibly break your trust, or lie to you, about is when he went to Punk Hazard and sent his crew to Zou. Some would assume that he wouldn’t tell you his plan out of fear of your safety, but that��s not true. He had to tell you. You taught him to be open and honest, and to trust. So that’s exactly what he did.

U-Urge (how badly do they want to see you after you guys separated?)

Law has gotten so comfortable around you that whenever you aren’t there, he gets unbearably anxious. Your presence is soothing, even if he can’t see you, even if he can only hear your voice echoing throughout the Polar Tang, it’s enough to put his mind at ease. So, if you are separated for a while… oh boy does he want to see you badly.

V-Vicious (what do they do when they lash out on you?)

He tends to yell at you. He tells you to “piss off” and that “you’re only being a nuisance right now”, despite you only wanting to help him.

W-Weak (what makes them feel weak how do they try to avoid it?)

Not being able to control things makes Law feel really weak. Weak may not be the right word, but it definitely makes him feel unprepared. He doesn’t like when things are out of his control and he can’t account for things. Which is usually why he always does extensive research and preparation before constructing a well thought out plan.

X-X-ray (what do they hate and show it most obviously?)

Well, I mean other than his obvious hatred of bread, Law also really hates when he works extremely hard on formulating a plan only for it to be completely thrown out of the window by a reckless straw hat wearing captain and his entire crew. (and somehow everything still ends up working out!!! That is the part that frustrates Law the most HAHAH).

Y-Yearn (what is one thing that they want but can’t have?)

One of the only things he’s ever really wanted was for Doflamingo to be taken down. He’s been partially successful in that sense, seeing as Doflamingo is in prison now. However, he wants more than that. He wants Doflamingo to suffer the same way he has.

Z-Zero (what do they do/say in your dying moments?)

It may seem a little out of character but… I believe Law would be borderline desperate/inconsolable. There would be a lot of clinging on to you, begging you not to leave him like everyone else he’s ever loved. He can’t handle another person leaving him, it’s too much. It’s far too much.

He wouldn’t cry (just yet), but his voice would tremble, and his hands would be shaking. His mind would be racing with all sorts of theories and possible ways he could save you. How could he possibly prevent the inevitable?

#one piece #one piece x reader #one piece headcanons #one piece imagines #trafalgar law #trafalgar d law x reader #trafalgar d. water law #angst alphabet #one piece alphabet

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kaizokuou-ni-naru · 4 years ago

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The Voyage So Far: East Blue (Part Two)

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

this is one of my favorite little character beats in east blue. sanji and zeff have an entire conversation and then zeff mentions, “by the way, that kid can’t swim” and sanji is like “WHY THE FUCK DIDN’T YOU TELL ME SOONER!!” and is in the water in like three seconds flat.

and, of course, zeff’s fond expression once sanji isn’t around to see.

we don’t see sanji smile like this too often- and when we do, it’s most often related to food in some way (like when he feeds gin, or in his wci flashback when sora says his food is good). it does things to my heart.

kind of reiterating myself from the last post, here, but usopp really does do a lot of cool things well before his water 7/enies lobby character development, just not as many when compared to his crewmates. which is his problem, really- he can’t stop comparing himself to them long enough to recognize he’s pretty cool by any reasonable metric, he just happens to be on a ship with nine of the most badass people on the planet and so his metric is completely skewed.

anyways he shoots a fucking bomb into arlong’s face and that’s completely sick as hell.

zoro left alone in arlong park is so funny. he got nearly cut in half like two days ago, and instead of just leaving like a normal person when nami gives him the chance, he chooses to wipe the floor with all the fishmen around and then hang out on arlong’s throne. also, that shirt isn’t his. he stole it. presumably off one of the guys whose asses he just kicked.

there’s really something to be said about nami’s expressions in arlong park. she’s clearly acting to an extent in most of her scenes prior to her breakdown, but at the same time, god, it really doesn’t look like it. nami in this arc is a really great example of reread value- on a reread, all her coldness and cruelty becomes barely-restrained pain and desperation.

i really, really love one piece’s sibling relationships. and there might be a little bit of bias here, because i’m a big sister myself, but i love how varied they are, how real they feel, both adopted and biological. nami and nojiko don’t agree on everything, and they come into conflict more than once, but at the same time it’s plain they love each other so so much.

bellemere is up there as one of my favorite flashback characters, together with corazon and roger. i love her a lot.

i’m not even doing a thorough reread for this post, just skimming through volumes and picking out moments, and genzo telling nami that she’s fought well and there’s nothing more she can do still made me cry.

nami has been fighting on her own for eight years, with the lives of her entire village and her only remaining family resting on her shoulders, with them unable to do anything but watch as she runs herself into the ground for them. this is where they decide they’d rather all die than have to see her start all over from scratch for them.

arlong park is an amazingly written arc, and it pummels my heart in a new and different way every time.

i really like that zoro, sanji and usopp all follow luffy’s lead in how he chooses to handle the arlong park situation. luffy waits for nami to ask for help, and as soon as she finally does, it cuts around to show that it’s not just luffy there- all four of them were just waiting for her word. it’s the first time the crew is entirely united for a common goal, and it feels really good.

i really am never gonna shut up about usopp’s character development, huh.

i really like the way the scene of him getting up the nerve to face down chuu is constructed- him rehearsing excuses and explanations cut together with memories of his crewmates (and on the next page, later the cocoyashi villagers as well), moments of theirs that he obviously admires. the one that hits me the hardest is him thinking of nami, in the moment she stabbed herself to save his life. that’s how he gets up his courage- from his admiration and respect for his crewmates’ bravery.

i think about this moment a lot. it’s one of my favorite luffy moments, and also one of the ones i think is most representative of him as a character. he’s such a delightful, laid-back person most of the time, but he loves the people he’s decided are his so much, and god help you if you hurt them.

i think about this a lot, too.

luffy is dumb as rocks in a lot of ways, but he’s pretty damn intuitive when it comes to people. he handles nami’s situation in exactly the right way, by waiting for her to ask for help instead of just barging unasked into the war she’s been fighting alone for years, and he handles this exactly right, too- by destroying what’s effectively her prison cell in a permanent, visible way, where she can see and know that she’ll never have to sit at that desk ever, ever again.

i just- i love luffy, so much.

i talked about oda’s use of negative space to emphasize heavy, impactful moments in the last post, and this is maybe the best example of it yet in the story. look at this panel: the future pirate king, the stand where the last one died, and absolutely nothing else but empty space and luffy’s words: this is where the great pirate era began.

the theming of beginnings and endings in loguetown is so, so good, and it could almost be summed up with this panel alone. it’s at once the ending of the story’s east blue prologue and a new beginning- the beginning of the crew’s infamous reputations, of the quest for the one piece proper, of the entire wider story that opens up with the entry into the grand line. the end of roger’s era, and the start of luffy’s.

i love the atmosphere of loguetown so dearly. the thunder strike at the last moment, maybe a rescue and maybe sheer luck; the raging storm, the vow over the barrel, the declaration of dreams. i’ve said this before- there’s something so romantic about it, in the old-fashioned arthurian sense one piece uses the word.

and we’re off for the grand line!

#the voyage so far #one piece #opmeta #long post #arc: baratie #arc: arlong park #arc: loguetown #not japanese

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goingsunnies-moved · 4 years ago

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a day or two ago i posted sth quick about how much i love this particular flashback,, and a few ppl asked me to elaborate so here you go!! (@iamastrawhatpirate @queerhummingbird )

a few of the reasons why law's backstory is, in my opinion, the best in one piece

i mean..

first, you've got the character focus and increasingly complex objective.

with most backstories (not just from one piece but in general), the main focus is a singular character. there can be multiple others involved, but it generally seeks to deepen the motivations and inner-workings of one, maybe two individuals.

law's flashback, however, doesn't.

yes, it is still about him. he is the central character, and it explores him specifically. but it's also about doffy, and ties together many of his multilayered motivations. and rosi, with his conflicted sense of morality and stubborn compassion. and it provides not only a welcome window to the inner workings of the entire donquixote family, but to the future of dressrosa as a nation. it's more than just an explanation for why law is the way he is, it's relevant and integral to every part of the arc surrounding it (thematically, development-wise, in terms of histories, motivations, and environments...)

it's not so much an isolated piece of narrative to explore an individual, as a continuation of the dressrosan story and a naturally functioning part of the one piece world.

second, the narrative construction.

the entire flashback was what,, seven chapters?? and yet it told a complete, well-realised, raw story that made me cry my eyes out and fall in love with this series even more. donquixote rosinante was introduced at the beginning of those seven chapters, during those seven chapters experienced a profound and incredible character arc, and within those seven chapters died. he had real emotions and dynamic development and this fandom loves him with our whole heart- and all it took was seven chapters, where he wasn't even the central character.

if that isn't a perfect testament to oda's character building, i really don't know what is.

on top of that, the storytelling is effective - the bits-and-pieces style of exposition makes perfect sense and is executed really thoroughly and meticulously. and as we progress into the developing plotlines and personal emotional developments (specifically between law and rosinante), i'm quite impressed with oda's ability to express such emotion and character building in such short time. there's not much else to be said about the story structure here- it's just Really Good.

third, the crushing emotional execution.

oh boy, yall knew this one was coming.

one piece excels in the realm of emotional realization. in terms of flashbacks, famously so. i don't think i'm pointing out anything surprising when i say that law's backstory was really, really sad, seeing as that's a characteristic of every flashback in this series. but there are sequences here that far surpassed my expectations in terms of raw emotion, and character depth.

law's backstory is, in my opinion, the saddest in one piece:

"see, law? there's no need to despair. there will always be a merciful hand of salvation."

that is the line that echoes through his head as he stands over the bleeding corpses of his family. as a ten-year-old.

holy fuck.

the details of his expression, the sequence of events that occur directly before and after the realization that his parents are dead, the promise of an escape slowly draining through his fingertips. the crushing dread. guys, i was absolutely sobbing, and it wasn't even the most emotional scene in this flashback.

for me, the worst part is that the nun who spoke that line to law was right - but the minute he finally got that second chance, that salvation, doflamimgo shot it to death in front of him. for just a minute there, fate was kind. before it simply wasn't.

and the way oda chose to execute that scene was goddamn powerful. every expression, every word of dialogue or aspect of environment contributed to a picture that, once again, had me absolutely in tears. i mean, corazon's last words to him.... there's no way i could really do the scene justice, but i'll say that the second he stopped being silent (in other words, the second even he knew that rosinante was dead), i was ugly crying my damn eyes out.

also quick side note, law callously mentioning that he hid in a pile of dead bodies to get out of flevance is, uh,

really fucking sad.

fourth (not nessecarily an argument for why law's backstory is The Best but i wanted to express it anyways), this flashback has some really interesting thematic tie-ins with the rest of dressrosa.

(or in fact the rest of the story).

there are quite a few themes explored over the course of the one piece series: justice and the way it is perceived, corruption and abuse of power, obviously the value of friendship. but one that is slightly more subtle and in my opinion underrated, would be the idea of superficial paradise.

from the outside in, dressrosa seems like such a happy nation. fairies, passion, living trinkets- the citizens love it, and it couldn't seem more prosperous! but underneath the surface, the foundation of the entire country was built on lies; on the blood and sweat of enslaved toys, and the merciless environment of the colosseum and poorer districts. it's just hidden under heaps of full coffers and a power-hungry king.

of course, this is a recurring story theme. dressrosa isn't the only example- there are several others over the course of the series, but the one that i'm trying to get at here is flevance.

the world govornment and even some of the royal family knew that they were dooming the lives of every single citizen in their actions. yet they continued to do so anyways. they continued to let their people live on in blissful ignorance and their money to accumulate, while underneath the surface it grew worse with every passing day.

in the scenario of dressrosa, it is simply doflamingo who assumes the role of the world govornment, exploiting his people through superficial paradise until every drop of wealth and power is bled dry. and when he realizes that the truth might come out, he too makes the decision to murder every single citizen. flevance, amber lead, dressrosa, and doflamingo- they are all further explorations of the world government's cruel agenda, and unforgiving legacy.

#one piece #trafalgar d. water law #donquixote rosinante #corazon #donquixote doflamingo #dressrosa #opmeta #looong post #look it just gives me the big sad #i mean oda rly just refuses to give this man a break huh #anyways if you've actually read this far then ily #and have a nice day!!#mn

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curiouslylazy · 4 years ago

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On Law and the Immortality Surgery

[there are mild spoilers in this post for anime only viewers so read at your discretion]

Am I the only person who thinks that Law won’t be using the immortality surgery? On twitter and youtube any time I see Law dying brought up, almost everyone is quick to jump on the idea that he’ll be using the immortality surgery and lose his life in a sacrifice. They keep hammering in that Oda wouldn’t introduce this power if he didn’t intend to use it. While that is a route Oda can choose to go, I’m not ready to put all my money on it yet. For this theory to deserve the level of support it seems to have I think we need to gain more information and clear up some misconceptions first.

First we need to establish exactly what the immortality surgery does:

Does it give the recipient the remaining life force of the user and thus only elongate their life for X amount of years?

Does it give them an infinite lifespan so long as they are not killed by an outside force?

Does it give true immortality where the recipient will never age or die from any circumstances?

Is it a oneshot deal where the user can heal a mortal wound/cure an incurable illness/revive a recently deceased person at the expense of their life?

We honestly don’t have enough information to conclusively answer any of those questions yet.

Law says the ability grants eternal life at the expense of the surgeon’s own life. But as this is a translation we can’t determine the full accuracy of that statement. Furthermore Oda can change or add abilities at his pleasure. The implication at this moment however is that this isn’t just a oneshot deal. Dofflamingo probably wouldn’t waste time and resources on one day maybe needing a quick fix for an injury/illness. And nothing in Law’s explanation makes it seem like it’s a one time only get out of death card. Yet a lot of theories on Law using the immortality surgery seem to imply that it’ll work as a one time fix for some big injury. And if the people aren’t working off that assumption, they seem to think that immortality is the appropriate response to a deadly injury. That the recipient will have to contend with eternity just to turn the tides in one battle. Unless the recipient can later end their life at their will, I don’t see that happening.

Now let’s get into the potential beneficiaries for the immortality surgery. The most popular option is of course Luffy. The basic setup is Luffy will become mortally injured and Law will give up his life to save Luffy because Law owes Luffy for taking down Dofflamingo. I honestly don’t see this happening for many reasons.

Luffy states quite clearly that he is the only one who will decide where he dies. Law doesn’t get to make that choice. Furthermore Law doesn’t owe Luffy any debts. Law saved Luffy at Marineford first. Luffy is the one who cleared his balance at Dressrosa.

Luffy becoming immortal would be horrible for the story. From a plot standpoint it would decrease the tension severely for Luffy fights—and being a shounen protagonist already does that quite a bit, no need to double down. From a character standpoint, that would be the worst thing you could ever do to Luffy. Do you really want the person who said it’s worse to be alone than to get hurt to live forever as he watches all of his friends die?

As for other possible recipients of the immortality surgery, I don’t see any other “good guy” receiving it for the same reasons as Luffy. Law has even less of a connection or supposed debt to them than he would have to Luffy. I certainly don’t see him using it on a villain. Even under threat of lives close to him. He would not only be giving up his own life but also creating too much of a threat for his friends to deal with later—negating the whole purpose of a sacrificial move.

Next let’s discuss Law. A common sentiment I see thrown around is that he doesn’t have a purpose or drive anymore after Doflamingo’s defeat so his character is in a prime spot for dying. This is completely false.

Law wants to learn about the Will of D. He is actively searching for Poneglyphs for that purpose. Of course this doesn’t mean he’s safe from dying. A character dying before they meet their goal is excellent setup for a tragedy. And Law certainly has many death flags. He may in fact die saving Luffy, but even that doesn’t have to involve the immortality surgery necessarily.

Finally let’s talk about the narrative purpose of this ability existing. People keep saying that Oda wouldn’t bring up this ability if he didn’t intend for Law to use it. That Oda always callbacks to things he’s established before. While Oda is indeed the king of callbacks and payoff, I don’t think that has to be the case here. The immortality surgery existing has an established purpose in the story. It serves as the catalyst for Rosinante’s death and Law hating Dofflamingo. Yes the role of it is contained, but it set off the entire Dressrosa arc. I don’t think it needs to do more than that. It’s not wasted potential or a plot hole if Oda doesn’t bring it up again.

The one route of the immortality surgery being used that I find actually plausible is if it can do the reverse and take away immortality. I’ve seen it suggested for both Kaido and Imu that Law might need to take away their “immortality”/“invulnerability” so Luffy can finally defeat them. If that is something that can be done at all, I think that way of using the ability is the one that makes the most sense. I don’t think it’ll be needed for Kaido considering current events, but Imu is set up to be much more of a threat I think. But even then I don’t personally find the idea appealing. It would take away from the impact of Luffy’s victory if he only achieved it because Law needed to take away the character’s immortality. Luffy is meant to win against impossible odds. He doesn’t need his enemies brought down to his level. Luffy doesn’t need to kill his enemies anyway so there’s no need to take away their ability to not die.

Of course I can be completely wrong and the immortality surgery can be very important later on. I trust Oda to tell a satisfying story so I’m sure whichever route he picks will make sense and be enjoyable. These are just my thoughts on why I feel it’s a bit premature to think the surgery will definitely play a role. I’d love to hear from others and get their takes! Let me know if I’m not alone in my opinions or let me know if you disagree completely!!

#one piece #trafalgar d. water law #trafalgar law #monkey d. luffy #long post

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physicalturian · 4 years ago

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Why don’t you listen to me? Law x GN! Reader - Part 4

Spoilers for : Punk Hazard and Dressrosa arcs [No gender used for the reader, no physical description, everyone is +18] Words : 4801 Archive of our own Bad flirting, fluff, embarrassment, angst No warnings, if you feel like I should put some, send me a DM or an ask!

… Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

“… some point you’ll have to kick them out of here Chopper, you can’t just let them-“

“But Torao is scary!! And I am sure all of his crewmates are just as scary, no way- nope, I don’t want to die Robin. You do it! Yeah… Imma head out, okay?” Then echoed the muffled sound of hooves hitting the wooden parquet, slowly at first then scurried. Then there was a heavy sigh followed by a short laugh, quickly after, hands pulled off the blanket from my form, and Law’s along with it. I gasped at the cold air hitting my face and took a bit of time to understand that I had been covered up to my head with the blanket.

“Time to wake up, I think Chopper is getting impatient and he needs his infirmary.” The gentle voice of the long-haired fruit user reached my ear and I slowly opened my eye, ready to answer when I felt the hold on myself tighten.

“He can come by in 10 mins, we’ll be out by then Robin-ya.” Satisfied by Law’s answer, she hummed, maybe too happily then gave us one last glance before leaving and closing the door behind her. When she was out of sight, Law groaned loudly before running his hand over his face. I stood there, in a position completely different from when I had gone to sleep. Instead of him on me, I was the one on him, at least my head was resting very close to his side and I had one leg throw over his. I was pretty quick to change that and sat up rapidly.

“Sorry, I got a bit too comfortable there.” A short laugh escaped his lips, I looked at him tiredly, but curiously too. His hair was a mess, more than usual but it looked good. I let my eyes wander about his form, I was only now realizing that he had some lighter spot on his skin.

I remembered from his past that as a child he had gone through a lot, and if my memory wasn’t bad it was due to that that his skin had some discoloration. A sigh reached my ear, I looked away as the man put his coat on to cover the small amount of skin I could see. “I wasn’t complaining, but Robin-ya is right, we should go.” What was he not complaining about? I squinted my eyes, thinking, it made him laugh since he stood up and simply said, “You, sleeping.”

My mouth shape in an O, I snorted and shook my head, “It wasn’t half-bad. I’ll admit, you are a great source of heat, I’ll give you a nine out of ten,” I hummed as I stood up and brought everything back on the infirmary bed, Law was standing by the door, unmoving.

“Nine?” He asked.

“Well, I would give you a ten if not-“ His face turned sour, and his gaze turned to the ground. I don’t know what he expected me to say, but I continued, hoping to lighten his mood. “If not for the heat, it’s great, don’t get me wrong but it’s very, very hot, like a furnace. I’m sure you don’t even need blankets usually.” His expression changed to something close to relief as a small smile drew itself on his lips, but only for a short time.

“And you move a lot, yet you don’t hear me complaining, do you?”

“Hey, I’m just giving feedback here pal, I know I could never be as great as Bepo in term of pillow-quality.” I said with my hands raised in defense, but I was joking.

A snort blew threw his nose and he opened the door, signaling me to follow him out of the infirmary. I kind of liked it when I made him laugh, I’m sure he found a lot of things funny, but having him show it was something that brought me great joy. He was kind of cute like that. I didn’t have time to reflect or daydream that Chopper came in rushing.

“Did you do anything? Did you- is everything still in place? You better not have broken anything or I’ll-“

I frowned in confusion, how would we have done that? We were sleeping, what was he thinking we had done? The reindeer stopped mid-sentence when he met Law’s gaze and apologized before scurrying off to his room. His panic was appeased when he saw that everything was exactly as he left them. Except perhaps for the bed, that was a bit messy. I never was great to make it proper looking, I never knew how military people did it so well… Or perhaps I was too lazy.

“Does your infirmary often get,” I made a gesture with my hand, meaning messy, chaotic.

The Doctor shrugged, “Sometimes, they’re not fans of needles but- I meant, you and Law you… Nami said-“

“What she says is never to be trusted. She likes the chaos.” Law said over my shoulder, I thought he’d have left but he was probably curious as of why the reindeer was in utter frenzy when he came rushing in.

“We just slept together though, so what could-“ I stopped talking when the words left my mouth. Some things made more sense when said out loud, but that never meant they were better said out loud either. Like saying you slept with your captain. It sounded wrong.

I threw a glance at my grumpy captain, my cheeks heating up. I said in realization, “Slept together.” Then huffed, “She- I swear to fuck, this crew is-“

“What do you mean?” he asked, still confused. I didn’t know if he was playing with me or if he was genuinely at loss.

So, I exhaled half-nervously half-tiredly, “She’s saying we fucked. Like, slept together in that sense of the term.” A glimmer of understanding struck his face and for a brief moment, he seemed flustered. But I could have been wrong, I did not have time to question him more that he shook his head.

“I can’t even believe everyone believes that, we weren’t even noisy or anything. It doesn’t make sense-“ A smug smile drew itself on my captain’s face.

“Does that mean you’re usually loud when you-”

“Both of you!! Out! It’s gross, you’re gross! I’ll tell Zoro you’re being weird!” Chopper said as he pushed me out of the doorway before slamming the door.

I took it as an opportunity to ignore what Law had said, I don’t know why he said that but I was not going to have a conversation about that either. I decided to play it casual. We were still a few days from Dressrosa, which meant we had some time left to polish the plan until we arrived. It seemed the Straw Hat had no ability to focus on Law’s words, they did not seem to care much about the plan either. It annoyed my Captain to no extent; I could see it was getting on his nerves and eventually he blew up and yelled at them.

It was a rare sight to see the Surgeon of Death lose his composure, the only time he would be anything but laid-back would be when he’d be taunting his enemies. Seeing him angry was very new and I was finding it to be an enjoyable sight. Perhaps it was because it made him more humane, or perhaps I just liked seeing his face contorted with something other than boredom. When he would lose his temper and just vent on the poor Straw Hat Captain, I would nudge his side and look at the map laid out on the deck, to silently tell him to continue. Sometimes it’d work, but most of the time he’d let it all out and the only response he’d get was a laugh from Luffy.

I found myself enjoying the Straw Hat crew more than I expected, along the three people from Wano that boarded the ship. They were a rowdy bunch, for sure, and I would sometimes sneak off to find some quiet in random rooms of the ship, but on the whole they were great company with great stories to tell. It was interesting to hear their adventure, it made me realize we did not follow the same roads on the sea but it was just as perilous as our voyage.

A few hours before arriving at Dressrosa, the plan was to call Joker, to tell him we had his partner, Caesar. The whole thing went down as you’d expect, the Straw Hats were not serious, Luffy was easily tempted with simple things. It forced Law to be on the call with Joker, he was filled with hatred, I could hear it in his voice and it sent chills running down my spine. Those chills persisted at the answers from Joker, he seemed to be relaxed on the other hand and yet his tone was serious and threatening. When Law hung up, he reminded everyone that giving them Caesar was but a distraction.

The more we talked about what we should do once we arrive, the more I felt things would not go according to the plan. We knew full well this entire crew was made of free-spirited people, and while most of them knew how to follow orders, they would prioritize following their Captain no matter the circumstances. And he had close to no impulse control, which meant if you lost track of him it would be too late, things would go awry. Or as I liked to put it, from what I gathered, “Where Luffy goes, fuckery follows.”

That was what frightened Law the most. He did not use those words exactly, he’d said “If he sneaks out of our sight, we’re screwed.” But the idea was there. I could not reassure him, and deep down we both knew everything will go shit, but I trusted Law, I knew he’d come up with something. He was smart and was able to come up with a plan in the heat of the moment, which saved us numerous times in our own adventure. Hence why I said, a few hours before we arrived on the island, that I’d say by his side, it’s not like I had chemistry with the other of the crew. Nor was I used to their fighting style.

But the answer was not one I had expected.

“You’re not coming. You’re not stepping off of this ship.” He said off-handedly.

We were in the corridor on our way to the library for some relaxing time, away from all the noise. He did not stop when I did, so I gripped his arm tightly. He grunted and turned around, giving me a pissed-off look.

I held my head high and spoke clearly, “Bold of you to assume I’d listen to that shitty command.” He held my gaze, I hated the way he was looking at me. I did not deserve such angry look from him, I was not known for taking pointless orders and his made no sense.

“You’re only here because it was too late for you to go to Zo.” He explained, pulling his arm away from my grasp.

“And since I’m here, I’m coming to fight. The more the merrier, right-“

He interrupted me with another frustrated sigh, his low voice reaching my ears, “I’ve given you an order, as your Captain-“

“As my Captain, what? I’m not one to just throw hands at nothing, but this makes no sense. You know full well I can be useful on the battlefield, as a member of your crew, you should trust me.”

He turned around and said, “My crew is smart enough to follow my order, if you’re not planning on doing that, then leave.”

What he said did not sit right with me, I don’t know why he said that but it hurt. I don’t know why I let it get to me, nor did I know why I reacted like that but as he walked away, I hurried to meet his pace and pushed his back with all my force.

He stumbled forward, catching himself with his hand on the wall. He grunted my name in a warning tone, as he turned around.

“That shit fucking hurts Law, take it the fuck back.” I said with as much calm I could muster.

There was like a knot in my throat, my chest was tight and I could feel my body getting warm and yet I shuddered when he looked at me with this look. This look that meant he was not going to take it back, that he meant what he said, that I was acting stupid. I stared back at him then smiled. My head dipped forward as I tried my best to calm down.

“Alright. So, if I step out of this ship, I’m not part of the crew anymore?” His expression did not falter. He did not move.

“Why don’t you want me on this? What-“ I paused and swallowed, feeling my throat tighten once more but I acted cool. “What can, I don’t know, a child that has no control over his devil fruit, bring more than I can? Uh?” He gritted his teeth and look to the side, not answering. I thought he respected my power, I thought it was enough. I already felt off joining their crew so late, but having him lose all trust in me the moment the rest of the team was not there, made my heart clench.

“Let’s start over, because you’re not an asshole, right?” I chuckled lowly and joined his side once more, ignoring the chilly feeling I felt next to him.

I reiterated my sentence, “That’s why I’ll stay close by, ready for your new plan.” I casted a glance at my Captain and he seemed annoyed, his eyes focused in front of him as his hand tightened on the hilt of his sword. He muttered my name once more, it seemed to be said in a more tender manner than earlier but then I met his gaze, he was even more annoyed.

“When your Captain gives you an order, you follow it. If you don’t want to follow my order, you can serve under someone else.”

“Serve under someone else. Serve under someone else.” I repeated his words in pure bafflement, how could he say that? How could he tell me that I could leave, as if it was just some sort of side hustle?

“This is not some sort of deal, I joined your crew because you were the ones that welcomed me-“ I pushed his chest firmly, once. “As a family,” again. “It’s not about serving anyone, it’s just-“ this time I hit my fist against his chest, he was not moving. “It’s a fucking adventure!-“

“This is not a kid’s game, it’s a life-threatening situation. And if you can’t understand that we’re pirates, not adventurers, then-“ I pushed him more strongly this time.

“I get it. Fuck you. I never saw this as a kid’s game, for someone who’s smart you can’t seem to grasp what I’m saying and it’s exhausting.” I think I heard him mumbled something, but he acted like he hadn’t said anything.

“I’ll spell it out more clearly,” Taking a deep breath, I stared at the ground a moment then met his gaze, “You’re a fucking asshole for asking me to either follow your orders blindly or leave the crew, knowing full well I loved this crew like my family- but you know what? Maybe I was stupid and it was all pretend, was it?” Tell me no. Tell me we were all a big family, tell me I was enough. Tell me I fight good, and that you want me on this mission, tell me… tell me you love me… I was desperate.

He looked away. This was more sombre than I thought it’d be but I understood.

“Right. Right, well.” I nodded.

It could mean a lot of things to just look away. But what I gathered was that being honest with me was too much to ask for. “We’ll be arriving soon. I’ll go get ready to join on the mission.” I moved away from him when he turned to face me with a shocked expression, saying my name in surprise.

“What? Did you think I’d just stay here? Because of your shitty ultimatum?” I asked with an exhausted smile. He did not reply, only staring. He was in genuine shock, not that it showed too much on his face, but I could see it was agape.

Without an answer from him, I shrugged and made my way to the deck. Inside my head were so many thoughts. I was convinced he had a reason to do that, but he gave me an ultimatum I could not fathom. And while this new-found family was great, inside I was thinking that if I was on the battlefield, I could watch over him. If not as a crewmember, then as an ally at least. Never would I have stayed on this ship, but never would I have thought he’d give me such dilemma. Now I was a simple pirate, on a ship on my way to a fight that was not even mine, but I knew Law was about to get reckless, I just knew it. He was too involved in this situation, his pride is at stake, Cora’s pride was at stake. But maybe, at some point, his life will be at stake too, and I will be there to avoid such things.

I wanted to find a dark room and cry. Even after that shitty ultimatum, I felt a pull. I wanted to stay with him, I still liked him, just because of that I took the only option that allowed me to watch over him.

“How fucking stupid is that.” I mumbled dryly to myself.

“What is?” The cook’s voice echoed right next to me. Without realizing it, I had made my way to the kitchen. Startled, I let out a soundless gasp and moved out of the way, telling him it was nothing.

“It’s not nothing, you look like you’re about to cry.”

“But I’m not, stop insisting.”

He hummed and puffed out some smoke before suggesting me a nice warm meal; which I did not refuse.

Making my way to the table, I watched him wander about the kitchen as he cooked. It did not take him long to make something that could even warm up the Marine’s hearts. When I took a bite, I felt my chest lighten as I ate up, the cook was observing me with a small smile. I did not pay attention as I gobbled it down, switching with water from time to time to avoid choking.

When I was done, he asked me once more what was troubling my mind. This time I chuckled dryly and shrugged, “I got kicked out of my crew, I guess?” He quirked a brow and asked for details, so I summarized it to something short, “Me wants to fight, Captain says no. I ask why not? He says, orders you stay on ship, you shouldn’t even be here in the first place. I say, but there’s a kid taken in consideration in the whole plan, you know?”

Sanji nodded, telling me to continue.

There was a small smile on his lips that ticked me off, I don’t know what was fun about this situation but I continued. “Then he basically said, that if I left the ship, I could leave the crew because I couldn’t follow orders.”

Crushing his cigarette in the ashtray, the blond man hummed and leaned on his fist. “Did he say it like that?”

Shaking my head, I quoted both times he told me off and what followed. It still hurt to think about it, but I’m sure it’d fade soon. Maybe the Straw Hats would want me? Maybe I could join their crew. Looking at the man across from me, I saw the widening smile on his lips as he lit up another cigarette.

“And you’re asking me what I think-“

“No, I didn’t ask you anything, but you’re curious so go off.”

His eyes widened before continuing, “I think once this is all over and you’re both safe and sound, you should ask him again if you’re really kicked out of the crew-“

“I’m not doing that, he said what he said.” I spat, still hurt.

Taping a finger on his chest, the cook added, “Or maybe, what he didn’t say.” I made a face at the blonde’s words, confused by his cryptic words. “There’s a lot he didn’t exactly say, so think what you will. But Robin-chan is right, you’re both idiots for sure.” He shrugged before rolling his sleeves once more and saying he’d have to prepare one last meal before we go fight. I stayed in the dining room, lost in thoughts while Sanji moved gracefully across the floor, I did not know his past or anything at all about the man except his famous reputation of fighting with only his legs; And yet from his movements I could tell he was very familiar with kitchens, in a professional way. Not all ships had the luck of having a real, good, cook aboard but theirs was almost god-sent.

While daydreaming, my gaze lost in the direction of the blond, I was repeating Law’s words in my head. I tried to tell myself to stop and come up with a reasonable explanation, one was that he actually cared and wanted me safe but it sounded stupid. He was not emotional enough to be like that, and even if he did, he would have told me straight up. I pressed my palms to my cheeks and scolded myself, focus, focus, forget what he said, you don’t have time to overthink. Stay focus and everything will be fine, you’re still friends so it’s good. Yeah, mm, yep friends.

“Sanji! I’m hungry!! Oh-“ I stood up when I heard Luffy’s voice enter the dining room, and he stared at me with his big wide eyes in awe. Then turned towards Sanji and tried to snatch something, anything, from the burning pan, only to have his hand slapped away. Many times.

“Hey, you should check up on your Captain, he looks even more stuck up than usual.” A short snort blew through my nose at the swordsman’s words. It looks like they were all arriving to eat whatever the cook was making.

“Well, have you seen his sword nearby? Maybe it’s up his ass?” I asked jokingly, patting his shoulder as I walked past him. A throaty laugh escaped his lips, he did not reply.

I was tempted to not check up on him, out of pure spite. But I thought, no you’re mature, let’s see what’s up with him, and I did. He was sitting on the stairs on the deck, his sword between his legs, hands on the handle and forehead resting against the hands.

“Law. What’s going on with you?” He lifted his head, a red mark on his forehead from pressing it against his hands.

“Nothing.” He replied before turning his gaze away from me.

It sent something coursing through my vein, I wanted to react just like I did before and push him down, asking him to look at me instead of avoiding my gaze.

“Alright, you don’t want to talk. Do you need company then?” Yeah, that’s a good question, a good reply, polite and all that.

“No, you can go.”

I scoffed, “Cute, earlier it’s ‘don’t you dare leave this ship’ and now it’s ‘you can go’,” I started, moving closer to him to crouch in front of him to get of glimpse of his eyes, “But funny enough, you’re not looking at me while saying any of those things.” I regretted saying all those things the moment they left my mouth, but I was bitter, I was still angry and hurt by his words. Now I was acting without thinking.

“Don’t.” He said in a warning tone, still looking away from me.

Nodding, I stood up once more, “Got it. Then at least act like you’re fine, the Straw Hats are worried.” I explained.

The next words that I heard shook me, “Are you?” he breathed, finally meeting my eyes.

There was fear, determination, finality in his gaze. I hated it. It’s as if he was going to take Doflamingo down, no matter the cost, even if the price was his own life.

“To be honest, I am mortified,” I confessed, trying to look as composed as I could. “But even though you’re a bitch, I’m not letting you go out there alone. From what you’re telling me, you’re ready to go down with Doflamingo-“

“If it’s what needs to be done I don’t care-“ Telling him to shut up, I continued,

“But I care! I told everyone I’d watch over your ass, and I’m going to.” I said a bit too quickly, gripping the handle of his sword tightly before pulling it from his hands and crouching in front of him, frowning.

“I don’t care that you’re ready to sacrifice yourself, because I’ll be there to stop it.” He was surprised for a second, then his brows were furrowed once more. I wanted to go back to our ship where everything was easier, but I knew this was only the beginning of something greater.

He sighed, “You better not mess with the plan-“

“Oh, I’m sorry, is this some sort of command? Because you made it very clear that I was not good enough for your crew.” I said with a spiteful grin, it earned me another baffled look from Law that changed back just as fast,

“I didn’t say-“

I interrupted him, “Cora’s will is important, but I find your life a bit more important. I’m sure you’ll excuse me for that.”

We stared at each other for a moment, battling one another without word. I was trying to understand him, why he was acting so off but just staring at him would not help. If anything, it made the pull I felt towards him only stronger.

“It’s dangerous.” He stated, I could almost describe it as a desperate attempt to keep me here but I could not be sure.

“Hence why I’m coming with you.” I stood up and handed him his sword back, “You’ll need this,” I said, he grabbed my wrist and I stopped dead in my track, confused. He kept surprising me today, from being a complete asshole to a seemingly nice guy when he said, “Be careful.” Then people joined us on the deck and his demeanor changed completely, he let go of my hand and was back to the leader-like attitude as he repeated the plan to everyone.

Once again, their focus was nowhere close to be on Law but was probably back in the kitchen from their recent feast the cook made. Some people were going to stay on the ship, others were told to go by teams in different places across the ‘country’. I was to stay near Luffy for when everything would go down, maybe to evacuate civilians that were in Luffy’s radius. I was told he made quite the damaged during fights, even more so since he trained with a man named Rayleigh.

“I don’t have a bounty; Do I need to disguise myself?” I asked, giving them a once-over and holding back from laughing at Law who had a fake mustache but still had his familiar coat and sword. Chuckling, Robin handed me a cap, that I put on reluctantly, making sure my hair was out of the way.

“It looks good on you, don’t worry!” She said enthusiastically.

“I’m sure I could even rock the mustache, got any spare one?” I said jokingly. People laughed and gathered by the side off the ship as Nami moored the ship on the shore. We were as well hidden as we could with such a big ship, but I’m sure our submarine would have been a lot more efficient if stealth was the key. The Straw Hat captain, however, could not begin to understand the idea of discretion and jumped off the ship, yelling that they had arrived. It’s with difficulty that we quieted him down, and as Law reiterated them to be discrete and calm down, Luffy ignored him completely and took off.

Observing everyone carefully, I saw Law approach Nami and hand her part of Bepo’s vivre card, telling her its use. It made everyone panic, asking what could go wrong, the black-haired man only shrugged in response telling them “Who knows.”

[Part 5]

#law x reader #trafalgar one piece #trafalgardwaterlaw #trafalgar law #one piece trafalgar law #trafalgar law x reader #one piece #fanfiction #writing #reader #law x gn reader #gn reader x law #op x reader #AO3 #physicalturian #AO3 writer #writings #why don't you listen to me #wdyltm

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deadite-central · 4 months ago

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Honestly I’m kind of surprised I managed to fit punk hazard in just two posts, but considering how much I like this arc this isn’t the last time I’ll be talking about it lmao

While overall Punk Hazard is a pretty lighthearted arc, there are two things that make parts of it genuinely hard to get through. The first one being the reveal of what’s actually happening with the children. We already know that Caesar is a terrible person, but when you read that these children have been conditioned to get addicted to drugs, it’s shocking, and Oda doesn’t shy away from portraying just how terrifying and fucked up this situation is. This storyline is an incredibly heavy one, and I think that the way Chopper is written during it genuinely made me like him even more

On the other side of things, we find out at least a little bit more about what Law is doing here, as well get more of Caesar being. Caesar. We hear the name Joker for the first time and oh will that lead to great reveals later. A really good set up for everyone involved

Remember how I said that Law keeps being mysterious? Yeah that doesn’t last too long. We for now find out that he’s trying to overthrow Kaido and for that he needs an alliance with Luffy. Obviously, that’s not all that there is to it, but we’ll find that out in Dressrosa. The alliance itself IMMEDIATELY turns into one of the biggest comedic highlights in all of One Piece to me and many others, as Law’s mysterious aura completely disappears because no matter how serious he tries to be, he has now become one of Luffy’s friends, whether he likes it or not

I’ve mentioned before that I really really like Caesar as a character, and everything surrounding his broadcast to the underworld is a testament to that, because again, what he’s doing is absolutely despicable, but also, he’s so incredibly funny it’s a joy whenever he does anything. Like. He named his weapon of mass destruction Smiley. It looks like an axolotl. He cries when he sees him, what more could you want from a villain, not every single one has to be serio

And on the topic of villains, cause I got a lot to say! The build up to Doflamingo’s reintroduction is great, and the way he takes up almost two whole pages is just good panelling. Oda’s clearly started leaning more into his menacing side in post timeskip, and as much as I love the silly rendition of Doffy that we see pre timeskip, for everything in Dressrosa to hit as well as it does he has to be terrifying. And he is. Vergo certainly isn’t the most important character ever, and once Law gets his heart back he gets rid of him with no problem, but I did enjoy him for the short time he was there and he sets up the fact that while Law knows Doflamingo, he doesn’t know as much about him as he thinks

And finally: Monet. I said in my last Punk Hazard post that I believe she shares the main antagonist of the arc status along with Caesar. She’s just as much of a threat as him, and she’s even closer with the main villain of the saga than him. And that’s the thing. Monet is our first true look at a member of the Donquixote family. She is also the first of many to fully be ready to sacrifice herself for Doflamingo’s sake. The man saved her and her sister and took them in, of course she cares about him. The self sacrificial mindsets of the Donquixote Family is something I’m going to touch upon more during Dressrosa, but Monet shows that the straw hats aren’t the only ones who truly devoted themselves to their captain, with the difference that their crew is built upon mutual love and care, while the Donquixote Pirates, no matter how much Doflamingo cares about them, and he certainly does, will always take second place behind his own self, again, more about that during Dressrosa. Monet herself is such a good character, and I think that one day maybe I’ll make an entire post dedicated to her, her death is also the second thing that makes it hard to get through this arc for me

A lot more shenanigans happen, leaving the arc off on a more positive note, but not before Doflamingo himself arrives on Punk Hazard to clean up the whole mess, and we get one of the best hooks for the next arc: Law giving him an ultimatum, either he forfeits his warlord status or he’s never getting Caesar back, and considering the fact the the SMILE trade with Kaido is what’s keeping him on the man’s good side, oh is this a great way to leave the reader questioning for what’s to come

Especially since Doffy’s first reaction to this will be to absolutely wreck the shit out of Smoker and his men, poor guys

#one piece #op reading corner #punk hazard #trafalgar law #caesar clown #monet one piece #donquixote doflamingo #also there’s this one panel when Doffy starts going to Punk Hazard #genuinely terrifying shit #Oda you outdone yourself

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zerochanges · 3 years ago

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My 2021 Media Binge Reviews

2021 was a weird year for me personally; full of a lot of downs, and yeah that’s pretty much it, there weren’t really any ups to speak of, just downs, it just kept going down and down–in fact I think it hasn’t stopped yet, I’m still falling, please god, make it stop, things get worse every day. ah-hum Excuse me, ignore that. My year honestly isn’t probably all that different from a lot of others’; it was the same old, same old: work sucked and drained my life, my health declined, a family member died, and covid just kept trucking. To say this year burned me out would be an understatement. I won’t really elaborate too much more than that, it’s all just useless self gratifying prattling anyways, whatever, who cares, but because of how hard my year was it sent me down a couple new rabbit holes and also really kept me from engaging in my usual hobbies.

Usually at the end of every year I list off my favorite video games and anime but damn man, I really didn’t play that many games this year, and shit, I can’t even remember when x anime aired and if it was from y season or even if it was from this year. It all just runs the same and blurs together now in some gelatinous apathetic blob known as time. But I did do stuff this year! I did find comfort in this living hell known as reality. So I thought as an experiment it would be interesting to discuss and go over the media I binged this year instead of just listing and ranking random shit that came out between the months of January and December. If it catches on, maybe I’ll try to do it again next year, I'm not sure, but making a media year-in review seems like it’s popular nowadays. Right? I see a lot of really long, annoying, and impossible to follow threads on social media dedicated to that at least. Well whatever, who even cares anymore.

By the way if you are wondering why all this is happening a week into the new year, my own health declined once again, literally on New Year’s Eve, yup, ended that year just right. Well, being overdramatic, but damn, I got sick during New Years, so I’m a week late.

One Piece

One Piece was my rock this year. It got me through the worst that 2021 brought me and marathoning episodes well into the night just to wake up and watch more episodes in the morning was all I could do in order to keep living. It was nostalgic and comforting since it’s been going since I was a kid, but also all new and exciting since it will never end and there is so much content to digest that there’s always something to discover.

Now, One Piece fans will laugh at me for sticking with the Funimation redub of the series, but I have grown very fond of it over the years and found it best suits my watching habits. I try to just sit down and complete entire story arcs of this behemoth and then take a break from the series when I need a break. It just makes it more digestible and easier to sit through, I cannot even imagine trying to follow it every week anymore. The English dub is still stupid behind but this watch method of mine makes that less of an issue since I still haven’t caught up with the dub anyways.

That might change though in the near future as I progressed a considerable amount this time. I watched over some 220+ episodes this year, picking up at Thriller Bark where I last remembered watching it and going all the way through Punk Hazard, finally getting past the time skip, it felt so good. I plan to pick up Dressrosa now too, since the dub is in Zou and I know I can watch all 100-something episodes of that arc in peace with no fear of waiting for the next volume.

This chunk of One Piece I watched this year was especially fantastic and highly beloved in the fandom, and it’s easy to see why. Impel Down, Marineford, Post War, all these arcs are masterfully done and set in motion such unforgettable moments in the series. And here I was at my lowest pigging out on these episodes nonstop, life was good then. Updating my current personal list of favorite story arcs for One Piece I think it is now:

Arlong Park

Impel Down

Post War

Loguetown

Thriller Bark

Robotech

One of the better things to come out of this year is the end to the long (and at the time) seemingly never ending dispute between Harmony Gold and Macross, and I am hopeful that we will be seeing more Macross in the near future. For now, we have the first ever blu-ray release of Robotech, and I’m a slut so I bought it and began my rewatch of this 80’s classic largely because of that.

Robotech is controversial because of the terrible things Harmony Gold has done but now with this hopefully behind us we can appreciate it a bit more. For many it was a landmark experience and a gateway into anime and a damn fine attempt at localizing material that never had any chance over in these necks of the woods. Robotech is legitimately fairly fascinating and well crafted for what it was. The writing is sharp, and even the voice acting holds up surprisingly well–and it is some of the earliest known roles for a bunch of now prolific voice actors in the anime dubbing community like Wendee Lee and Tony Oliver who seems even more famous and beloved now than back in his heyday of the early 2000s. I remember hearing him in so many dubs then and he never seemed to get much attention so it’s funny how much the American Lupin fandom has claimed him the definitive English Lupin. Getting off track there, my bad, just been thinking about how much people’s perception for celebrities (do anime voice actors count?) change the longer you live.

Super Dimension Century Orguss

This is a show I wanted to watch for a very long time. For about 6 years to be exact. When Discotek originally released Orguss on DVD back in 2015 I was beyond excited to get it but one thing led to another and I just sort of lost track of time. It didn’t help that this DVD set in particular never really seemed to go on sale that much and was on the more expensive end. Because of that I decided to wait for an eventual BD release from them since it is a fairly common business tactic from Discotek. When they finally got around to rereleasing the series on blu-ray this year I was all in!

I got to tell you guys, Orguss is weird. Like really, really weird! I never experienced a show like this before, it’s honestly really hard to even explain it! I don’t even know where to start with this thing! The main character is a complete asshole and total pervert. Somebody like Kei would never be in a TV show today, especially as the main protagonist. At best maybe a funny side character but not the main guy. Kei is a total horndog, he cheats on girls, he can’t keep it in his pants, his main fling in the show is with a girl who has a fiancé already, and did I mention he caused the end of the world?

The show starts with my dude for whatever reason breaking military order and deciding “Screw it! I’ll detonate this extremely complicated and very dangerous weapon of mass destruction that needs exact calculations to work” and causes a calamity that implodes like every Alternate Reality into one. I don’t know, does this count as an isekai? To Kei this is like being flung into some parallel universe but it is actually his own Earth! Just that every other parallel universe Earth is also now conjoined in it. Honestly it sounds like some DC crisis superhero comic cross-over event instead of an anime. I have no goddamn idea how Big West thought this should be the follow-up to the highly acclaimed and profitable Macross and I can totally see why it was considered a flop during its time for falling to live up to Macross. It’s like going from Star Wars straight into David Lynch’s Dune. We are firmly in psycho weird ass anime territory with this one, and goddamn I freaking love it. Orguss is wonderful. Also, the opening theme song is iconic.

Neon Genesis Evangelion

I only ever watched Eva once, back when I was in High School. Back then I remember thinking it was okay but also that it just kind of really bummed me out and it probably wasn’t for me. I more or less kind of wrote it off as overrated as very intelligent and worldly teenagers often do and moved on with my life. Over the years I became more interested in the series that served as major inspirations to Eva, this was not because of Eva though and I often didn’t realize they even were its inspirations until much later after people brought it up. For me that meant having to defend the likes of Devilman and Space Runaway Ideon from Eva fans that saw them as only stepping stones of Evangelion. To this day, I find this debate annoying and honestly detrimental to the enjoyment of some series–but honestly my biggest regret is that I never went back to revisit Eva because of it.

As an adult, I definitely ‘get’ Eva much more now. Shinji chanting “I mustn’t run away, I mustn’t run away” is me every morning in my parked car sitting outside of work on the verge of a mental breakdown as I force myself to go inside and pray to whatever god in the universe that might listen that I won’t die of covid today in this hellscape I unfortunately have to call my home. Shinji as a protagonist is something I can relate to a lot more in my mid-30s than I ever could have as a teenager. The series honestly feels less like a head trip to adult me and more like a deep dive into somebody’s depressive episode and how to cope with a world that is constantly collapsing around you. In this regard it’s one of Anno’s sharpest works which is another thing I respect. Despite my prior disinterest in Eva I always found Anno to be extremely talented and loved many of his works, from Shin Godzilla to Kare Kano to Gunbuster, all seminal works with great direction, atmosphere, and writing–and now as an adult revisiting Eva I can say the same of it as well.

I love how Shinji as a character has a pretty classic tired-and-true character arc throughout most of the TV series as he grows, socializes more, and comes out of his shell–only to be abused so badly at the eleventh hour by his father forcing him to almost kill a friend and regressing back into an even worse state than he started the series in. It’s poignant, my boy was shot down the second he was starting to fly again, that’s toxic people for you. Shinji’s rage, paranoia, and sense of betrayal upon having to fight Kaworu is honestly the high point of the entire series to me. “You betrayed me! Just like my Father!” It’s at this point the young man has completely lost his marbles, and I love it.

The final two episodes of the series are rough, and for many leave a lot to be desired but I think it’s my preferred ending. The End of Evangelion films are fine, and I like some parts of them better, it certainly gives Asuka closure and not to mention way more to do! But overall, I actually think the original TV series ending as-is was thematically more poignant and just more interesting.

Coming back full circle to where I started, it seems like I don’t need to come up to bat for Devilman anymore; it having its own resurgence with Masaaki Yuasa’s very excellent Devilman Crybaby reaching new generations. I still think I’m more of an Ideon guy though at the end of the day. Ideon’s tenuous relationship to Eva really has brought it nothing but hardships honestly. So many people expect a show like Eva when they watch Ideon but Ideon is far more cut from the same cloth of the original 1979 Mobile Suit Gundam than it is of Neon Genesis Evangelion. The front half especially of Ideon is far more inline with the episodic early portions of Gundam granted on a cosmic scale and with some mysticism thrown in but it’s the back half of Ideon where it gets downright Lovecraftian. Sadly most Eva fans never get that far. Also Ideon can kick Unit 1’s ass any day of the week, fight me. Ideon destroyed entire planets, and eventually galaxies, and maybe even the universe itself. The ideon wins every time!

I ended up spending some stupid money on this because of the classic dub being taken hostage in a special edition set, but I don’t regret it. This was how I wanted to watch Eva again and goddammit I had a great time watching it again. I definitely can see why a modernized dub was needed, and I definitely see the merit and quality put into it, but I just couldn’t accept the large amount of recasting despite the new actors all being incredible talent that I love in other works. To me, recasting Spike Spencer is like recasting Sean Schemmel as Goku, it’s just not something you should do. Apparently somebody else out there agreed since he has reprised the role again post redub.

Twin Peaks

Oh boy! Here we go again! This was my biggest obsession of the year! Twin Peaks! A few years back I tried to get into Twin Peaks and I am pretty sure I got somewhere in the middle of season 2, before the murder was solved (I never had that spoiled for me thank god) but just didn’t finish it. This year, I finally came back, I just had to really cross this one off my list. It felt great! This is such a remarkably quirky and iconic series and it had such a huge influence on Japanese nerd culture, and hell after reading a lot of essays and watching the show Twin Peaks probably even changed the landscape of American television forever. But the Japanese nerd end is definitely where my interest lies. Watching the show I had glimpses of Suda and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, and of course survival horror games, Silent Hill and Deadly Premonition being the biggest most obvious instances. It was almost like Twin Peaks was some primordial ooze that birthed all these great and wonderful things that I grew up with and obsess over so finally coming full circle to Twin Peaks, I obsessed over it all the more.

At its core is just such a wonderful and fun show and the main character Dale Cooper easily is at the heart of it giving great sage wisdom that I find myself now trying to live by and just having a general quirky zest for life that feels refreshing and wonderful. Coop is just a joy, and I wish more modern TV shows would ape this too, we need protagonists that are just wonderful people that are excellent to everyone. When you start the series you have no idea what this guy is about, he seems cool but there isn’t really anything to go on, hell back when it originally aired in 1990 there were even some people who were initially confused at who the main character was supposed to be after the pilot aired. But then a couple episodes in, Coop is talking about Tibet, solving crimes by playing baseball, and having strange cryptic dreams that he believes whole heartily will solve the mystery. It’s a wonderful progression as you slowly learn more about Cooper and slowly become more entrenched and in love with this small town and the many people that live here.

For me the original first two seasons are peak Twin Peaks, it’s the show at its best. I know a lot of people think the second season starts to go downhill a bit after the creators were forced to solve the murder of Laura Palmer, something that David Lynch was adamant about never wanting to do since it was a plot device to steer the entire show. And I agree that at first the second season can be a bit rocky, post Laura Palmer murder, but it picks up and gets great again if you ask me. It’s everything after Season 2 that falls off a bit.

To me, the film Fire Walk With Me, is both a masterpiece and the worst entry in the series. It’s beautifully shot, has some incredible lore, great moments, lines I quote constantly, but not the right tone. The darker subject material, that being a prequel that gives you an in-depth look at the rape and murder of Laura Palmer, is … how to say it lightly, a downer. This movie made me downright depressed when I watched it. It’s wonderful but this is one that hurts. It hurts a lot to sit through. There’s no levity in the whole film once it starts covering Laura’s last week alive, and there is no quirkiness the series had. It’s violent, upsetting, and beautiful. I can see why the film was initially misunderstood and hated when it came out.

The Return (aka Season 3) almost feels like a combination of the two, it is a darker, harsher, more cruel Twin Peaks, some 25 years later, but it is still Twin Peaks. The humor and tone return to level out the violence and harder to watch aspects that the series gained with Fire Walk With Me. It’s a strange season but it is great to see a series become un-canceled even after 25 years. This season initially was hard for me to follow and I wasn’t into it as much as the first two seasons, and still now I think those are my favorite, but The Return is something that grows on me, especially more as I analyze it and try to understand the deeper meta narrative behind it. I wasn’t sure if I would ever … return to The Return but I think in future rewatches I will. As a finale it’s not exactly what people want, the unconventional ending can easily leave you feeling confused, and maybe upset. But the more you examine it, the more you look at it outside of the context presented in the show, the more you can see what it is doing is something special.

Overall, there is nothing really like Twin Peaks (except Deadly Premonition, that nails it) and it’s something that needs to be experienced. It was one of the best TV experiences I have had in a really long time, and obsessing over it, and later the works of David Lynch, have kept me going long after I finished the final episode. That said, my God, I don’t think I will ever forget some scenes from the show. To not spoil anything, let's just say “It is Happening Again” is forever a scene that will stay with me. It was quite possibly the most beautiful thing I have ever experienced in television.

On another note, the blu-ray set I bought had these wonderful menus that played clips of the show, all curated around themes or commonly used motifs in the show and I absolutely adored the amount of effort that went into giving each disc its own. When I reached The Return I was gutted to find that these discs did not do that. This isn’t uncommon, I’m no stranger to companies reprinting older discs with just a different label on top of them so I am sure they simply grabbed already authored discs for logistical reasons and used them but losing those wonderful menus made the transition to The Return all the more jarring. Man, those original discs had so much personality and were made with so much love for the show, and The Return discs are so bare bones, and so depressing. Don’t get obsessed and over analyze media kids, or else you become a 30-something that talks about DVD menus.

David Lynch films

I am going to start off by saying I know David Lynch directed more films, I don't have them all, but I have give-or-take almost all of his feature films on blu-ray that are easily purchasable. I know Inland Empire is long OOP and DVD only in the US, and I don’t want to mess around with importing European BDs and there’s a few other oddities like that, but so far, what I got this year, I am happy with. I haven’t seen every film here yet too, but burning through Lynch’s filmography is something I am enjoying at my own pace and I just wanted to mention that I am doing that.

Obviously, like I said above, my love for Twin Peaks was so much that it made me branch out into all other David Lynch material. I have grown rather fond of the man, he is a true artist and I greatly respect him. I enjoy his work, his outlook on life, and just listening to him. My YouTube history at one point was just video after video of interviews and keynote speeches from Lynch on movies, art, meditation, and just anything else. Lynch is such a fascinating individual, he makes some of the hardest, most violent, thought provoking horror I have ever seen but in real life is the kindest, most gentlest, charismatic, charming little old man. He’s too adorable in a lot of ways. You can truly tell every work of Lynch is 100% sincere, he puts himself into everything and wears it all out on his sleeve to create something beautiful. There’s no corporate world BS or just doing a job because you need a job, the man is an auteur, you can identify David in every one of his movies. That’s him. That’s so him. His work is himself.

Out of everything I have seen so far, I think my favorite of his films are probably Blue Velvet and Lost Highway. For Blue Velvet it’s easy to see, it is almost in many ways prototype to Twin Peaks, maybe that’s my dumb Twin Peaks fan way of interpreting the film but I can’t unsee it. It’s a fascinating movie and probably the most conventional and easy to digest film from Lynch. You can’t help but get a certain Twin Peaks vibes in how the film presents a good vs evil dichotomy, and Dennis Hopper is hopping mad in the film as Frank Booth, which is legit just Killer Bob from Twin Peaks. Lost Highway I love for the elements of identity and how people aren’t who they seem to be. The mystery is unsettling, and the villain, if you can call him that, once again steals the movie as a truly haunting performance from Robert Blake, who turned out to be an actual murderer in real life too, so yeah, go figure. Lost Highway is a real head trip though about reality and what we think is reality, and how we all shape our own identities, sometimes to even hide ourselves from none other than us.

#New Years #David Lynch #neon genesis evangelion #One Piece #Robotech #Super Dimension Century Orguss #Twin Peaks

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thankskenpenders · 4 years ago

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I keep hearing about how people hate the zombots arc but I usually see like 50 positive comments for every negative one in the forums I frequent. I guess maybe some people just travel in different circles I guess.

It really does depend on where you look. In my social circles the worst you’ll hear is very mild criticisms like “it was a little too long” or “Amy acted slightly too much like Sally for my personal tastes.” If you look at the replies to the IDW crew on Twitter it’s easy to find comments calling it one of the best arcs in the history of the American Sonic comics, or at the very least people sharing how much they love individual scenes or panels

Longer arcs like that might not be to everyone’s tastes, and I get that. (Meanwhile, I’m the kind of person who thinks that one of the best arcs in One Piece is Dressrosa, the first arc to cross the 100 chapter mark.) But I think that having the saga last like 20 issues allowed it to have way more dramatic impact and way more interesting character work than if it had been over in one or two volumes. It was this huge catastrophe that affected the entire world, including all of the heroes and the normal folks with no superpowers. Yeah, obviously Sonic’s always gonna save the day in the end, but the fact that the good guys went through so much before turning things around really made that victory feel like a big deal. The fact that they never gave up hope and they kept working to help people meant a lot more when they had to keep that going for so long. I’ve said all this before, and I definitely stand by this opinion now that the whole saga is complete

It was a risky move for Ian to jump into such a sprawling story so early in the new series, but I think it paid off, and we got a really unique and excellent piece of Sonic storytelling out of it

#anon #ask

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21spidermiles · 4 years ago

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i wish baby 5 had gotten more development during the dressrosa arc. yaknow. the type of development that wasnt basically used as a stepping stone for another character’s development. like, i understand that oda needed to give the members of the strawhat grand fleet a chance to show their character and all that, but it really undermined the arc of an otherwise really interesting character

like? the whole idea beyond her character is so heartbreaking?? like, she developed codependency as a way to cope with her abandonment issues and provide meaning to her life??? yet, oda choses to ‘resolve’ this by.... having another man tell her to not do that anymore? right after trying to kill her?? and then proposing??? like jeez and i thought i was a tsundere smh.

like, it completely defeats the propose of her defining her OWN sense of self by having it spurred on by almost entirely another party. regardless of the intention of his actions, it makes passive in her own narrative. she doesn’t get her own opportunity to explore what she wants to do with her life - instead, she is still revolving her life around another person’s happiness? this doesn’t resolve her codependency issues, it just shifts them onto an individual who isn’t as much of a dick as the donquixote family. which, uh. isnt saying that much.

even from the perspective of developing sai, having him propose to baby 5 doesn’t really serve any purpose aside from furthering the plot - i.e giving chinjao a reason to pick a fight with him/lao g turning on baby 5. it just feels really contrived imo. like, even in the cover story she plays a really minor role, when that could have been a good opportunity to give her character some form of resolution? i really, REALLY wanna be happy for my wife, but like. it bugs me???

anyway, im still holding onto the hope that during the huge climax of the story she’ll reappear with the rest of the fleet to play a role, but considering odas track record with the gals... :/ OH WELL that’s why we have fanfiction amirite

#this is a thinly veiled attempt at asking people to send me fanfic recs abt her #or headcanons #or literally anything i love her so much #i am starved for baby 5 content #one piece #baby 5 #i would die for baby 5 #my slightly-above-room-temperature takes on op

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opbackgrounds · 5 years ago

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

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

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

Characterization? I Don’t Know Her

What makes a good character?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Notice a pattern here?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

That Moment You Realize Humor Isn’t A Universal Language

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stay classy, Oda.

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

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

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

That’s where I draw my line.

Some Final Thoughts I Couldn’t Fit Anywhere Else

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

And Oda turns them into a mockery.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until then, Sarcasticles, out

#sexism #one piece #long post #sarc talks

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