You know I wasn't going to post about this, but the more I think about it the more it drives me up the walls
So when Luffy and co release Crocodile from jail, it's specifically under the threat that if Crocodile tries anything funny, well, Iva-chan has a trick up their sleeve to put Crocodile back in-line.
So what the fuck was that actually about? What is Crocodile's secret weakness?
I'm specifically looking at the way this is phrased in the manga, because the anime's added dialogue kinda messes with what's implied here. But what Iva specifically says is that Ivankov in particular holds the key to one of Crocodile's weaknesses, but they'll stay quiet about it as long as Crocodile behaves himself
("Vataashi wa koitsu no yowami wo hitotsu nigitteru", a very clunky but literal translation could be "One of his weaknesses is within my grasp". The way Viz translated the line is a bit different so I'm not bothering with getting a cap of the panel, you wouldn't be able to tell how these lines were phrased in Japanese based on Viz's translations anyways)
(The dialogue Toei added was Crocodile furiously shouting at Iva-chan, telling them to not say anything and Iva-chan reminding Croc to watch his tone or else they'll reveal Croc's past to everyone. A lot of people don't remember this was in-fact added by Toei, hence I wanted to clarify/remind what happened in this scene originally)
And now. Obviously.
When Oda went out of his way to introduce a brand new character whose entire personality is being queer and their power is giving people magic HRT. And then like five chapters later re-introduces Crocodile. And tells us that these two have Secret Beef. And never proceeds to fucking tell us what the hell that was about.
Yes, the natural conclusion one would come to would be that Crocodile is stealth trans. That is basic, good storytelling. You (re)introduce two characters, tell us they have beef, one has a very specific ability; you're supposed to connect these dots in your mind. So that now, if Oda revealed to us tomorrow that Crocodile was canonically trans, it would not surprise anyone because it's already been set-up in the story, by this very scene. It's a logical conclusion.
But. I'm becoming more and more convinced that Iva-chan's blackmail might actually not be about Crocodile being trans.
Like the general fandom assumption for the past 15 years has been that Crocodile's stealth trans, but we actually don't know he's stealth.
He could be openly trans, and between that being a borderline requirement for Crocodad to be real (since he would've been a Shichibukai for years before Luffy was even born) and the possibility that his earring could specifically be a gay earring, like. Yeah. Crocodile could be openly trans. If Crocodile's perfectly happy to let the whole world know he's gay, then him being trans shouldn't have to be a secret either. We the readers could just be unaware of it because it wasn't relevant information to us, and his transition would be old ass news in-universe and not worth bringing up.
And thus, if Crocodile isn't stealth, then Iva-chan can't blackmail him by threatening to out him, becaus he can't be outted.
Now for a while I did considder that Iva-chan could've been actually threatening to detransition Crocodile if he tried anything funny. Surely he would hate that, so much so that he might not have wanted to even hear Ivankov suggest it.
But thinking about it. Unless Iva-chan can use Armanent Haki or get Crocodile moisturized, they shouldn't be able to hit Crocodile actually. Like Croc's Logia makes him impossible to hit unless he specifically allowed himself to be touched. So even if Iva-chan tried to surprise attack Crocodile with Estrogen, Croc should just turn to sand automatically, the attack should not land.
Meaning Iva-chan shouldn't be able to detransition Crocodile against his will, at least not without Haki and we don't know if they can use it, so that can't be Crocodile's weakness either.
And so we have to ask the question. What the fuck is that weakness then that Ivankov mentioned?
All we really know is that Crocodile doesn't want this weakness to be brought up, it's a secret. And for all we know Iva-chan might be the only person in the world who knows about it.
And I just. Like.
There is one weakness, kind of a universal one that many people could have, one that has been brought up time-and-time again post-timeskip, one that has become more and more relevant in the story, especially now at the begining of the Final Saga.
A secret weakness.
If pregnancy is what cracked Crocodile's egg and he transitioned immidiately/soon after giving birth, then it's entirely plausible Iva-chan could know Crocodile had a secret child. And surely he'd want nothing more than for his child to be safe, not end up in trouble because of him.
And Ivankov most certainly could put that child in danger, especially now that Crocodile was officially no longer on the World Government's side, there'd be no protection for the baby. All Ivankov had to do was leak the information out, that Sir Crocodile had a child, and anybody who had beef with him could get their revenge by attempting to find the child.
Like I'm just saying. This could line up nicely, actually
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My (unofficial) PJO season 2 episode 5 script part 4/4 (part 1 | part 2 | part 3)
The last part! Thank you for reading I just couldn't get the vision for this episode out of my mind and had to write it down.
Images of script and copied text (bc I'm lazy and don't want to write out alt text) under the cut, just in case I didn't tag enough spoiler warning or people aren't interested <3
Annabeth Tries to Swim Home
CUT TO: INT. DARK VICTORIAN HOUSE – NIGHT.
Continuation of first scene/flashback. CYCLOPS is grinning at YOUNG ANNABETH menacingly. Behind him, the fire rages, and LUKE, THALIA, and GROVER are tied up in the corner. Annabeth’s attention is taken up by the large monster speaking to her.
CYCLOPS: (in her father’s voice) Annabeth. How nice of you to join us. Now, Annie, don’t you worry.
Annabeth draws her knife. As he speaks, the Cyclops approaches her.
CYCLOPS (CONT): I love you, Annabeth. You can stay here with me. Don’t worry. You can stay forever.
He reaches out for her. Annabeth stabs him in the foot, keeping hold of her knife as he reaches forward and grabs the door in shock. She runs around him towards her friends.
The Cyclops rips the door of its hinges and throws it across the room with a roar.
Annabeth reaches the older kids.
THALIA: Annabeth! Thank the gods you’re okay.
YOUNG ANNABETH: (determined) Hold still.
Annabeth cuts the ropes around Thalia’s arms and legs. Thalia takes up her sword and stands defensively in front of the others.
THALIA: Cut them free, Annabeth. I’ll hold him off.
Annabeth turns to Luke and Grover as the Cyclops roars behind her. She saws at their ropes as Thalia goads and fights the monster.
THALIA (CONT): Come on, ugly! Can’t you take me?
She slices at him with her sword. Now free, Luke can barely stand, Grover supporting him. They all turn to watch Thalia defending them against the monster.
Suddenly, the Cyclops roars, and Thalia’s sword can be seen buried in his eye. As he rears back, she pulls it out, turning to her friends.
THALIA (CONT): Come on. We have to go.
Annabeth leads the way through the house, back the way she came through the servants kitchen into the orangery. They escape through a side door, standing in the storm.
Sirens and howls can be heard, the sounds of the monsters they have been running from closer than before.
THUNDER rumbles as they look around desperately in the dark. Grover sniffs.
GROVER: Come on. This way.
They walk away from the house. The Cyclops roars again from within.
CUT TO: EXT. POLYPHEMUS’ ISLAND – DAY.
SHEEP hooves/underbellies walk across the screen as POLYPHEMUS calls them. Under one of them hangs PERCY.
ANNABETH: (invisible) Just don’t let go!
Polyphemus drags aside the boulder sealing the cave. He addresses each sheep as they pass.
POLYPHEMUS: (patting each sheep) Hasenpfeffer! Einstein! Widget! Widget? Heavier, huh?
WIDGET stops in front of him, Percy clinging to her wool.
POLYPHEMUS (CONT): Soon you will be big enough to eat! Go on, Widget!
WIDGET enters the cave, followed by the rest of the flock.
ANNABETH: (invisible, from outside) Hey, ugly!
POLYPHEMUS: (looking around wildly) Who said that?
ANNABETH: Nobody!
POLYPHEMUS: Nobody! I remember you!
ANNABETH: You’re too stupid to remember. But Nobody remembers you!
Polyphemus throws a boulder, aiming for the invisible Annabeth.
ANNABETH (CONT): Your aim hasn’t improved!
POLYPHEMUS: Come here! Let me kill you!
ANNABETH: You can’t kill Nobody! And you’ll have to come find me!
Polyphemus yells, running down the hill to find Annabeth. Percy drops off Widget, glancing back outside at the island and the Cyclops before moving further into the cave.
CONT: INT. POLYPHEMUS’ CAVE – DAY.
Percy moves through cavernous hallways, turning a corner into a dead-end room of sheep memorabilia. He backs out, going back the other way and turning right instead of left.
He turns corners through a set of “rooms,” something that might be a bedroom, a room full of bones, and another room full of sheep memorabilia. He turns a corner and trips, catching himself against the cave walls with his hands.
Righting himself, Percy looks around, breathing heavily. He looks back and forth, choosing a hallway and running into another room, full of wool and smelling of sheep. He covers his nose as he looks around the room, faced with three separate doorways.
Percy makes a choice, going through the left opening. Down the hallway, he finds a room with a spinning wheel and loom. GROVER and CLARISSE are inside, trying to undo Clarisse’s ropes.
CLARISSE: It’s no good. You’ve been working at it for hours!
They spot Percy.
CLARISSE (CONT): You’re supposed to be blown up!
PERCY: Yeah, good to see you too--
GROVER: (hugging Percy) You came!
PERCY: Yeah, of course, dude. Now, Clarisse, hold still.
Percy takes Riptide out of his pocket and cuts Clarisse’s ropes.
CLARISSE: (rubbing her wrist) Where’s Annabeth?
PERCY: You’re welcome. She’s outside.
CLARISSE: Great, come on.
PERCY: Wait. Was... It was just you in your lifeboat?
CLARISSE: Yeah. Everybody else... I didn’t even know you guys made it.
Percy looks down at his sword.
PERCY: Okay.
GROVER: Come on, guys. We need to go help Annabeth.
They move back through the cave, Grover guiding them. As they come back into the first room Percy ran through, they hear a loud crash.
Annabeth screams.
POLYPHEMUS: I got Nobody!
Percy, Grover, and Clarisse move to the doorway, peeking through to the main room. Polyphemus is standing at the doorway, holding his arm up. He shakes his fist, and ANNABETH’S CAP flutters to the ground, revealing Annabeth, hanging upside down from his hand.
FADE OUT. THE END
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