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symbologic · 4 months

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Luffy vs. Zoro at Whiskey Peak

Unpopular opinion maybe, but the Luffy vs. Zoro clash in Whiskey Peak made sense for their characters. You could even argue that it was bound to happen, given their personalities.

Luffy likes the people who feed him. In the the face of their suffering, no matter who's responsible, he's too angry to concern himself with the reasons behind it. Zoro, on the other hand, prefers to handle things independently without saying much about it, especially if it means his crew gets to enjoy themselves a little longer

So it's not really surprising that Luffy would be blindsided by finding their hosts cut up by his swordsman, and that this would send him flying into a fit of rage. If he's never paused to listen to context or backstories before now, why would he start here? And of course, Zoro is not the type to back down from a challenge. He will match Luffy's energy and respond in kind

"But if Luffy were a good captain, he would have stopped to listen to Zoro's side of the story." Vivi tells him he's a bad captain two arcs later, precisely because of this kind of behavior. It clearly leaves an impression on Luffy, and we see he's grown into a better leader by the time he reaches Amazon Lily. (Almost as if Oda set all this development up on purpose with Whiskey Peak. HMM...)

"But Luffy refused to believe that Nami had killed Usopp in Arlong Park." This argument is like comparing apples to oranges. Nami did not actually do the murder that Johnny and Yosaku claim they saw, nor is she capable of killing people in cold blood. Of course Luffy isn't going to believe Nami killed Usopp based on hearsay. But in Whiskey Peak, Zoro did cut those bounty hunters. Luffy sees the evidence for himself, and he knows the carnage Zoro is capable of inflicting once he puts his mind to it. There is no denying what happened. Nothing other than Zoro saying "someone else did this" (or Nami knocking the soul out of him) was going to stop Luffy from going ballistic

"Why would Luffy fight so hard to recruit Zoro into his crew, firmly believing that he wasn't a bad person, only to later attack him because he believed Zoro was capable of harming 'innocent' people?" Because the fight was never about whether their hosts were "innocent" or not, not really. Their fight was about what Zoro did (assaulting the ones who fed them), and how those actions made Luffy feel (mad as hell, because these people FED THEM) For Luffy, context did not actually matter at that moment in time because, for him, "they fed me" unequivocally means "they're my friend", full stop This is even shown again in Mocktown! Both when Luffy unquestioningly eats an apple from Doc Q, and when Bellamy buys Luffy a drink in Mocktown. In the first case, Luffy only lived because he was lucky. And in the second case, he assumes Bellamy is a good person despite all evidence to the contrary, only to have his face brutally smashed into the bartop by Bellamy. Luffy is shockingly bad at reading people who try to feed him.

Luffy has interpersonal conflicts with all the core members from East Blue at different times. The fight with Zoro is the only one instigated by Luffy. But surprisingly, their fight highlights their similarities instead of their differences. They still fight equally and work together against BW agents who try to interfere with their fight.

I think that's what Oda wanted to showcase with this scene.

In short, Luffy's initial anger stemmed from his protectiveness towards those who have fed him, while Zoro's actions were driven by his dedication to the crew and subsequent refusal to back down from Luffy's challenge. It was a clash resulting from miscommunication and misunderstanding, something that is not typically a problem for them — until it suddenly becomes one When all is said and done, they're both quick to forgive and forget. This, too, is fitting for both their characters. From that point onward, Zoro continues to demonstrate that Luffy's trust is not misplaced. And Luffy never, ever doubts Zoro again after this

#I see a lot of ppl claim Luffy vs. Zoro was due to pressure from editors #but nobody can cite sources for this #I think it's much more likely that Oda genuinely wanted to show them fighting #to set up a gradual path of growth for Luffy in Act I #and also to highlight how Luffy and Zoro are on the same wavelength; even when they're trying to kill each other #plus that fight was funny as hell idc what anyone else says #also it's totally fine to dislike this scene b/c of the tonal whiplash #or b/c you don't like tropes based off of miscommunication #but anyone who says Luffy was ooc in this scene #or that this chapter only happened because luffy doesn't trust zoro #and that luffy would've been 100% fine if NAMI had killed the bounty hunters b/c he would've just ~trusted~ her #is wrong! lmao #one piece #monkey d. luffy #roronoa zoro #whiskey peak #meta #my meta #text posts #long post #zolu #kinda sorta

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beaulesbian · 2 months

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Every once in a while I think again about the end of Thriller Bark and feel completely insane and ill about Zoro's sacrifice, FOR LUFFY, specifically (you know, the character Kuma's threat was directed at). It wasn't even that long into traveling together, a few months maybe, yet Zoro was ready to give up everything in that moment - in the chapter with Kuma appearing being titled The End of the Dream ! - to protect his crew and Luffy, so he could continue in his journey.

Since Luffy and Zoro met, they always understand how words and promises were imporant to them - with Luffy punching Helmeppo in ch. 3 for lying to Zoro. Zoro learnt how serious Luffy was about his dream, and soon he realized he backed up his words with actions as well - untiying Zoro and giving him his swords back - his biggest treasures. It meant that Zoro could be honest and honor-bound in the same way to Luffy, to gain this mutual respect and trust between them since day 1. To wield his swords to protect both Luffy and later their whole crew, and to step in a way between Luffy and danger.

He was being actually more upset that Sanji got up from the previous Kuma's attack and interrupted their fight - Zoro was trying to keep the whole crew safe by this exchange for Luffy's head - if Sanji was offering his life for Luffy half dead and without much strength left to fight for himself (he started the offering of his own life already believing he woudn't survive, with a "you should find a new cook"), then this very specific sacrifice would be meaningless to the crew (- if this arc was taking place post WCI, then it would turn out very differently, with the strength of Sanji believing in Luffy, but it wasn't his moment during this scene) - it would hurt them more than help them, because as much as Zoro was prepared to die as well, he was prepared to keep fighting until the last breath.

Zoro was thinking he might die - Kuma's words were pretty certain he WOULD die - but he still had the willingness and strength to take on the deal for Luffy, for his captain and his crew. ("if i die here, it just means I wasn't worth much to begin with" this line he says times and times again during the overall story, like in Rogue Town throwing Kitetsu and waiting if it would cut off his arm, up until standing against King in Wano "it's my power that was lacking", and all the other times he was questioning his worth - it's something he tempts the fates he doesn't believe in, to actually harm him, to take his strength away if he doesn't deserve to survive. and it's him saying he knows and accepts his own weaknesses - of not being strong enough (in comparison to Sanji in this example), and always fights through them.)

He threw away his swords, including Wado Ichimonji - literally throwing aside his and Kuina's dream, to compell Kuma into a duel (with the anime playing 'The Very Very Very Strongest' when Zoro bowed down and pleaded Kuma, offering him his head instead of Luffy's) so Kuma wouldn't go after the crew and specifically Luffy later - no matter the outcome if Zoro would surive or not.

And then, he was actually strong enough to survive taking his captain's fatigue, agony and pain! Possibly being the only one who could survive taking Luffy's pain.

Zoro could have back out when Kuma offered him the 'taste' of the pain, with the realization of the scale of the hurt with the very possibility of dying from it. But that wouldn't be Zoro now, would it? He accepted and took all of Luffy's pain so his captain wouldn't have to suffer or die, and when they found him afterwards, he still kept standing, tense with the fatigue but alive! (again, with anime adding the music of 'Luffy's Fierce Attack' to underline the importance between these two).

He was training for this since the beginning - to become stronger to shoulder the pain of his crew if necessary. (And not only that - he was preparing for that so another Kuina incident didn't have to happen). He was the first one to fight one of the Warlords before anything really began: his fight with Mihawk at Baratie really set the tone and his own goals to overcome - a glimpse to see on how much different levels the Warlords actually were in comparison to Zoro, Luffy and the others, and if they were supposed to beat them so Luffy could become the Pirate King, that always meant to be ready and to get even stronger than them.

(small spoiler for egghead, ch. 1102: seeing Kuma (a Warlord at that time) remembering this Thriller Bark event later, during Egghead arc, and thinking that even he might have passed out from the pain, makes it all the more meaningful that it was Zoro who took the pain and withstood it - establishing how high was the strength of his willpower, already before timeskip.)

There could be so many other nuances and details from these last few chapters of this arc, and even what this deal meant for the following arcs! Zoro was still in pain on Sabaody, and because of that the crew wasn't as strong as it could have been (not to say they would have a chance anyway, knowing what all was in the motion).

The next is the tragedy and beauty of LUFFY never finding out about this. Half of the crew knew: Sanji, Brook and Robin knew the details, but would never tell Luffy - and that shows their loyalty to both Luffy and Zoro (and Zoro's decision). Luffy woke up and first thing he did was to jump up and down, excited not to be weighted down by his injuries, and only seeing his swordsman being down with injuries so severe he was out more days afterwards, knowing that something else attacked them (him = Zoro), after he was passed out from the fight against Moria, brought down his mood (even if it's not much noticable, but the change into subtle worry is there in the few next chapters).

"I can't explain it either!" - meaning he was thinking about it too, possibly how weird it was for him to move normally after such long fight. We don't really ever hear/see Luffy thinking about something, except when it's mentioned how he came up with a solution or idea, telling us there's more to Luffy than just being straightforward in his goals and speech. With Luffy being sometimes very emotionally intelligent when he wants to be, he could have figured it out from all these other people in the room asking similar questions and deducing. Even Usopp was putting two and two togehter. We might never find out if Luffy actuallly knows or not. Luffy probably wouldn't ask Zoro directly, especially if Zoro wouldn't tell first and didn't want to talk about it

- because for Zoro, nothing happened! Nothing, that would compromise his and Luffy's first promise. For Zoro to become the Strongest he couldn't back down from the duel with Kuma (just like before with his duel with Mihawk at Baratie. When he's faced with something he swore to overcome, he can't back down or evade. Even back then Luffy understood that as he held back Johnny and Yosaku, but Sanji was perplexed how far Zoro (and Luffy) would go to reach their dreams). When Sanji was asking him in front of Kuma "What about your dream?" Zoro was still thinking about his dream- it was just that the context has changed, it changed into a journey. His dream is the most important thing, but it wouldn't mean much, if, when on his way to accomplish that, he would betray his other words and promises.

#I will never get over how this very important “nothing” happened!#the first draft of this was just a shitpost with one block of text. but it seems im incapable of not adding more and more on top of it #one piece #roronoa zoro #gif:op meta #monkey d luffy #monkey d. luffy #thriller bark #zolu #luzo #kuma #bartholomew kuma #mine #gif:op manga #one piece meta #gif:zolu #one piece analysis #everytime i go into the thiller bark tag and see posts blocked bc of the other ship. i take 10points of damage ://#can we talk about how this was zoro's deal for luffy? can we? i know theres posts about it. i made few too. but theres still not enough....#for how this moment was big. for how kuma had a memory of it even in egghead. and zoro was the only present one there (after the ursa shock #insane and ill about it yeahh never gonna shut up about zolu thriller bark #luffy one piece #zoro one piece #long post

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panda-puma · 7 months

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Coming from an exclusively manga reader, what is it about the One Piece anime that makes it such a bad adaptation?

Hello! ^^ Sorry for taking a while to answer.

I explained some of it in this other ask: here to the post

But there's a lot more changes in the Anime that really matter in how a character is portrayed. I'll explain the 3 i can think of right now without thinking too much (and without any particular order). I'd love to get into more detail for each one, but tumblr posts have limits on images, so i'd have to do a post for each one ^^u

(Also, again: you can like the Anime. As I said before, I've watched the entire Anime 3 times this last year. But you can enjoy something and still know it's flawed. Very flawed, even.)

(SPOILERS AHEAD for Sabaody, Post-Alabasta and Separation Arc).

Let's start with Sabaody, when Kuma is poofing everyone. Specifically Franky-Nami-Chopper-Robin's poof. (Chapter 513 in the Manga, Episode 405 in the Anime) In the Manga (6 pages):

All the action is very fast. Franky tries to attack Kuma and gets poofed right away, without even noticing that Luffy punched Kuma and got rejected. Nami is terrified of what's happening and asks Luffy for help before being poofed. Robin is mostly worried about Luffy and his mental state, trying to maintain him out of harm, and she runs when she has to, because she is used to running and surviving. Luffy is running and punching non stop, getting up instantly when he falls down, not losing a single second to try to save everyone... Until there's no one else to save.

Now let's look at the Anime: First, Franky gets to attack Kuma fully before Luffy even gets close to them. Luffy attacks twice and gets rejected. Franky worries about Luffy, distracting himself from Kuma and that's why he gets poofed.

Then we get Nami, with a bit of slow motion to intensify the feeling.

But then Luffy stops fighting to catch his breath, looking at the floor.

We get a flashback of Nami asking for help, something that happened right before the intermission. But this is not the way to repeat this information. Don't make Luffy stop to catch his breath. It is the opposite of his whole personality.

He then reacts to the flashback and starts running towards Kuma to punch him, but Kuma teleports and Luffy falls. Again: long recovery time for Luffy because he fell to the floor. Chopper gets poofed and then Luffy just... stops. He looks while Kuma gets closer and closer to Robin, and begs. After that he starts running towards Robin to help. I get that they want to get more screen time, but why changing his personality? Why would Luffy beg an enemy to stop when he can still do something about it?

And then we get the same scene as with Nami: Robin is helplessly waiting for Kuma to poof her. Not running away, just frozen in fear. Why?

They literally treated Nami and Robin as if they were the same person. They changed Robin's personality just for drama.

Is it intense? Yes. But you can not do that sacrificing characters personalities and traits. That is not a good adaptation.

--- Going way back to Post Alabasta: Chopper and trusting Robin.

In the Manga (Chapter 218), from the moment Luffy says Robin is a good person, he believes it and proceeds to trust Robin.

The only one not convinced is Zoro (who doesn't fully trust her until Water 7), because he is very protective of the crew.

And then we directly start the Jaya Arc.

In the Anime (episode 130-131), in Episode 130 they kind of made a good adaptation of Chapter 218. But then in Episode 131 (which is filler, but of course not everyone knows it), mixed with all the nonsense they did, they also made Chopper not trust Robin, not caring for Luffy's words.

This just goes against everything Chopper and Luffy's relationship is. It's just annoying.

Also we don't start Jaya Arc until episode 144. 13 Episodes of fillers, of nothing relevant, but as I said... anime watcher don't normally know what is filler and what isn't. And these episodes show changes in the characters personalities and One Piece story that are terrible.

---

Jumping to Post-War Arc and Cover Stories (Straw Hat's Separation Serial)

And lastly (because I can't put more images in this post xD) I'll be centering specifically on Sanji's Separation Arc part, even tho all of them are very changed.

In the Manga, (Chapter 523 and Covers of Chapter 543 and 544) we see Sanji running away, insisting that he doesn't have a maiden's heart like them, then being captured and dressed against his will.

Why did he let them dress him? Because he didn't fight back when they captured him. He just can't attack them, as they have maiden's hearts, which means they are women.

And then, when he receives notice of what happened to Luffy, he takes off everything they put on him and begs Ivankov for more information and/or a ship (Chapter 593). When he receives the secret message from Luffy (3D2Y) (Chapter 594-595) he changes his objective: stealing the 99 Vital Recipes of the 99 New Kama Karate Masters that are in the Island.

Emphasis on STEALING. Why? Because Sanji won't attack them or harm them, as they have hearts of maidens. He would never attack a woman, no matter how unattractive or ugly she is for him.

He is never shown attacking them in the manga.

What does the Anime do with all of this? (Episodes: 419, 454, 510-514)

These episodes are a train wreck.

We start with Sanji following and flirting with a random woman. Then he notices "it's not a lady" and starts trying to escape.

We also have a random new character called Caroline, who is the substitute Queen of Kamabakka. Sanji challenges her to a duel so she gives him a boat to leave.

To fight, Sanji gets dressed in the "traditional battle outfit" of the island, and he even tho he fights to kill at first, he is too worried of not having his panties seen to fight properly.

And in the end he "loses sight of who he really is" and ends up dressing like the girls voluntarily.

Then Ivankov comes back with news (in his woman form) and Sanji tries to fight his attraction to her "knowing what she really is" and that he likes real women. Again... the anime decides to make Sanji very transphobic. I'm not saying he doesn't have faults, but not to this degree of making no sense as a character.

Anyway, when he changes his objective from escaping the island to learning the 99 recipes, he... fights for them. He also fights with all his might.

This is not the first time Sanji's character is completely destroyed in the Anime. It also won't be the last one.

And this is just another tiny list of the things the Anime changes that make the characters literally other people to me.

Sadly i can't fit more things in this post, like the Long Ring Long Island Arc, where Luffy accepts Foxy's Davy Back Fight twice because "it was fun". Or Zoro being bullied by a random lady in Water 7 to be a baby sitter...

It may not be important to someone else, but for me this type of things are crucial to the characters ^^U and if you change all the "little things", you lose what really makes them who they are

Thank you for reading so much and I hope it made sense! :Du (sorry for the broken english, not my native language)

#ask #one piece manga #one piece anime #comparison #one piece #very long post #sanji #black leg sanji #nami #nico robin #tony tony chopper #chopper #luffy #monkey d. luffy #strawhats

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kilannad · 1 year

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As the Stars Burn On Chapter 17

Ao3. Masterlist.

Wake up?

Her mother’s body was cold. She clutched a Golden Key in her hands, the blue symbol glowing and glowing, but no one came. She was alone.

Father hadn’t come in for hours. The doctor left yesterday. She was alone.

She kept pushing the magic into the Key. She could open the Gate, she knew she could. Mother had shown her how. No one came. She was alone.

Her mother’s body was cold. Father was gone.

She pushed more magic into the Key. It glowed, lighting up like the thousand stars in the sky. No one came.

Lucy’s mother was dead. Her father had left. Her friend wouldn’t come.

She

was

☉

The wind howled outside, the morning dark and heavy, sky bulbous with clouds. The Merry shook with every cresting wave, bobbing at her mooring as her crew took no notice of the weather, too busy inside. Some of them were, at least.

“They won't wake up.”

“Chopper, are they okay?”

“I-I don't know-”

“What do you mean you don't know?! This is your job-”

“Enough.” Zoro's voice echoed in the tight space of the women's quarters, and everyone fell silent. His jaw was clenched tight, teeth audibly grinding. Small and curled around Gajeel's head, Pantherlily spoke up.

“Zoro is right. We need to all calm down.” Chopper took big gulps of air, eyes glistening as he darted from sleeping form to sleeping form. Usopp and Nami pressed themselves against the wall, clutching each other tightly. The five of them were the only ones awake; the other six had been brought in and laid out in the women's room—Lucy and Robin on the bed, Sanji on the couch, Gajeel and Laxus on the ground—so that Chopper could examine them all at once. Lily kept his tail wrapped over Gajeel's throat, the heavy beating of his heart the only thing keeping the panic at bay. They would be fine, he knew. They were all strong; the crew just needed to figure out what caused this and they'd be okay. “Take your time Chopper. We trust you to know what to do.”

“R-right.” Chopper nodded, eyes focusing as he began taking blood pressure and a myriad of other things Lily didn't understand.

“Who was on watch last night?” Zoro asked.

“I took third,” Usopp announced. He gulped, legs openly shaking. “There was no one, just some wind.”

“Lucy had second,” Nami added. “She came in and went to bed a few hours ago.”

“And I had first,” Lily finished. “Same as Usopp, I saw and heard nothing strange.”

“So what, a sickness?” Nami asked. “A distance-based Devil Fruit? What could cause those six to stay out but not us five?”

“Can't be strength-based,” Lily guessed. “Zoro and I were unaffected.”

“Can't be because they were asleep,” Nami added. “Sanji was already in the kitchen when I found him; he must have been awake when it happened. And we're fine.”

“I'd say metabolism-based,” Chopper muttered distractedly. “But Robin and Sanji don't fit the pattern.”

Lily swallowed, ears pressing down. They could form a hundred and one ven-diagrams comparing aspects of their friends, but Luffy, Lucy, Robin, Sanji, Laxus, and Gajeel shared nothing among all six.

“Besides the sleeping, what's wrong?” Zoro asked. Lily was grateful for his even temper; if he hadn't been around to take control and get them all moving, chaos likely would've reigned after Sanji was first found and the crew realized half their numbers weren't waking up.

For a long moment, they all stared at Chopper where he was looking at his notepad. “It...It doesn't make sense.”

“What doesn't?” Nami demanded.

“They're okay,” Chopper started, which immediately loosened some of the tension. “Physically, at least.”

“What does that mean?” Usopp asked.

“Their heart rates are high and they're deeper in REM than anyone I've ever seen, but they're not hurt. It's their cortisol and adrenaline I'm worried about.”

Lily frowns, considering the information. “Are they...dreaming?”

Chopper bit his lip, staring helplessly down at their sleeping friends. “I think...” He sniffled, looking up at them all with huge watering eyes. “I think they're having nightmares. And they can't wake up.”

☉

There were flames all around her, the entire island echoing with canon fire and screams. Robin sobbed, reaching out, desperate to get to her mother. Olvia lay bleeding on the ground, panting up and scowling with burning hatred towards Aokiji. He didn't seem to care, the cold, giant corpse of Saul towering above them all. The ice kept Robin still, her feet numb with cold where she was stuck to the ground. Eight years old and she couldn't do anything; eight years old and everyone was already dead.

The Tree of Knowledge was a pile of cinders, the books lost in the inferno. Clover was dead, body already cold. He was just one of many; Luffy was bloody and burned, chest gaping open; Laxus had been barbequed by his own magic overload, nothing but a crisp corpse. Each one of her friends, dead and gone all around her. And all Robin could do was watch as her mother joined them.

Again.

And again.

☉

“Nightmares?” Lily asked. “You think sleep magic is involved?”

“Not sure about the magic part,” Nami muttered. “But we've heard of weirder. There has to be a Devil Fruit user right? We find them, kick their ass, then the crew wakes up.”

“In theory,” Chopper agreed. “Devil Fruit is the only explanation that I have.”

“What happens if we don't wake them up?” Usopp whispered. “There's no telling if the user is on the island—even then the place is huge and we don't know it well. What happens if...”

“Doesn't matter,” Zoro countered. “If we need to find whoever did this to wake the others up, then that's what we'll do.”

“Zoro's right,” Lily agreed. He'd done a few jobs with Gajeel where sleep magic had been used and it often had consequences. “But how long do we have before...before.”

“It's just a little sleep,” Zoro muttered. “The damn cook is probably in some brothel.”

“No,” Chopper cut in. “No, with these levels of cortisol, their heartbeats are starting to get faster. Too much adrenaline is bad for the body.”

“What happens if they have too much for too long?” Nami asked. “Muscle spasms?”

“To start. But after that...” Chopper swallowed hard. “If we can't get them awake in four or so hours, I don't think they'll make it.”

☉

Sanji curled into a ball, pressing his back against the wall. The metal of his mask was digging into his face, the cold seeping deeply into his bones. He tugged at his roots, desperate to make it stop, to make everything stop. Somewhere, he could hear his brothers laughing as someone else wept. Reiju's footsteps echoed in the dungeons as she left him there, alone and forgotten. All he wanted was to disappear, to never be seen again.

“What a waste,” Judge spat. Sanji didn't see the kick coming, the pain in his ribs was sudden and burning. He cried out, stone digging into his bruises, old and new, as he landed hard on his side. “You're weak. Useless. You killed your mother with your failures.”

“No,” Sanji croaked. No, never that. Sora was beautiful and lively and brave. She was everything a son could ever want in a mother; Sanji would never hurt her. Never.

“Yes,” Judge repeated. He stomped forward and no matter how hard he tried, Sanji couldn't move away. He was too hurt, too weak for it. “Yes. You killed her. You're nothing but a defective soldier, too stupid to follow orders, too weak to kill.”

Sanji wanted to deny it. It was a lie, it had to be a lie. Mother was alive and strong and she'd turn the corner any second and take Sanji far away from here, like her whispered promises. They'd disappear and never see Judge again.

It was a lie.

With every spat word, with every harsh hit, with every weakness spelled out and laid bare in that cold, dark cell, Sanji doubted it a little more.

☉

“Hours?” Usopp whispered, then, louder; “Hours? No way. Luffy and the others are stronger than that.”

“T-there's some wiggle room,” Chopper stuttered, huffing big breaths. “Luffy's Devil Fruit might buy him some time and I still don't understand the full limits of a slayer's body, but the longer they're in there, the more stress they're put through.”

“I heard once,” Nami breathed, “That you could die of fear. I thought it was a myth.”

Outside, thunder boomed and Lily jumped with the sound. The sky opened up into a torrent, the rain creating a cacophony against the deck. He curled himself closer around Gajeel, drawing strength from the warmth of his body. Back home, whenever Magnolia had a thunderstorm, Gajeel would play his guitar to drown it out. While his singing certainly left some things to be desired, Lily had discovered that in his calmer moments, Gajeel was actually decent with instruments. It was an old habit now, and one that Lily looked on fondly. The abrupt lack of it made his fur stand on end, heart in his throat.

Underneath his tail, Gajeel's heartbeat sped up into a heavy, drumming beat.

“So we start searching,” Lily said. “Chopper stays here to watch over them and do what he can. The rest of us will split up and start moving through the area. There's no forest on the island, just the town and some rocklands.”

“And the mountain,” Nami pointed out. She frowned, pulling out raincoats where they were kept in a sturdy chest. “Lily, can you fly in rain?”

Thunder echoed with a crack, the ship starting to teeter in the pushing waves. He swallowed down the fear, nodding shakily. For Gajeel, he could do it.

“Okay,” Nami decided. “Lily will check the mountain from the air. I'll take the city. Zoro and Usopp, you two split up and start searching the rocks.”

Usopp gulped, legs shaking, but didn't complain. As they all started heading for the deck, Lily could just make out him murmuring under his breath, “I do what I can, and that's enough. I am the Sniper of the Straw Hat Pirates.”

The group split up quickly, a silent countdown echoing through the ship. Half the members were down, the weather was a thick tempest, and somewhere there might be a Devil Fruit user. Summoning his wings, already soaked and shaking from cold and fear, Lily worried that the enemy might have been someone in G-8, or even at sea. He dared not say it—if they couldn't find the ones responsible, then they had no hope.

☉

Luffy ran through the trash heaps of Gray Terminal. He couldn't breathe, lungs tight and rough, throat scratchy from all the smoke. The sky, distant and smog-filled, was lit an ugly orange from all the flames. He'd gotten separated from his crew and he couldn't find his brothers. There was something important happening, he knew, but he couldn't remember what.

He had to find Sabo. Luffy knew it, but he couldn't remember why.

The fire climbed higher, as tall as Gramps and Dadan, and then even taller.

☉

Usopp skittered over slick rocks, the craggy landscape having turned death trap. He knew, mentally, that it was midmorning and the sun was likely high in the sky; it meant nothing to him now. The storm clouds were thick enough to support Skypiea, blocking all but the grayest, weakest light. The ocean was a furious black maelstrom far to his right. With his goggles useless in the rain, Usopp was left squinting his way forward, scanning the horizon for any suspicious figures.

The black-sand beach had faded into a mess of overlapping stones, sharp drop-offs, and petrified air bubbles. Everything was tilted sideways, like a landslide waiting to happen, and Usopp had to scramble on all fours sometimes to keep himself going.

As dark and cold as it was, he didn't slow down. The strange, frozen visage of his crewmates kept flashing in his mind each time he blinked, Chopper's prognosis haunting each step. Luffy was never meant to lay still; quiet and tightly wound. And if Laxus was taken down, then Usopp didn't know what he could do to help. He didn't understand what had made those six fall victim and not the rest of the crew. He was the weakest, so why was it left up to him to help the others?

Usopp crested over a teetering stack of stones, scanning the shadowed landscape. Something moved to his left, and he whipped around. It sent the stones beneath him skittering, leaving him to fall to the next layer of hard rocks. He landed poorly, his ribs groaning with the hit; it likely saved his life.

A bang echoed in the air, to most likely lost in the storm; for Usopp, he'd always know the sound of a sniper firing. Above his head, where he'd been standing only moments before, he saw the sharp trail of wind that followed a well-made bullet.

Slowly, careful to keep his body hidden, he peaked his head around the corner.

He yanked back quickly, a bullet bouncing off the sharp stone, leaving a deep groove. Usopp pressed himself down, staying very still as he scanned his surroundings. He was on a slight cropping of rocks that floated over a dip in the island; he could probably slide down and disappear into the maze of stones. Zoro was somewhere around here, so Usopp could get him to help. Better to finish this quickly and help the others.

A small pebble falls down as he shifts, bouncing twice before coming to a stop. It wasn't any bigger than the beans he used to use as ammo back on Syrup. For some reason, it reminded him of all the times he'd announced himself as the Great Captain Usopp; he wasn't though. He wasn't a captain, not really—he wouldn't even call himself great. He was a sniper.

“Not just a sniper,” he whispered to himself. He pulled out his old slingshot, the upgrade not yet complete. It was a familiar rough wood beneath his finger, melded over long years to his hands. He was low on ammo, having been experimenting over the last two days, but he had enough. “I am the sniper of the Straw Hat Pirates,” he told himself. “And we don't lose.”

He fumbled around in his bag, pulling out an older bandana and placing it on the handle of his fake hammer. He held it up over his cover, and near instantly a bullet shot through it. Usopp flinched, then grinned. No way to hide the direction a bullet came from.

Slowly, to minimize movement and sound, Usopp slid down and skittered to another large stack of rocks. He poked his head out, breathing a sigh when he didn't immediately die. Pulling down his goggles, he kept a hand over them to guard against the raging storm. It didn't take him long to find his enemy.

About seventy yards away, wearing grays and blacks that made him nearly invisible, a thin man was tucked between several jagged stones slightly up an incline. It was the greatest sniper nest you could hope for given the territory; only a sliver of his forehead was visible, the rest of his face hidden behind the large scope and long barrel of his rifle. From Usopp's position, none of his simple pellets would work and he had no explosives on him. It left him with only one option.

Usopp pulled out an oblong ball, made of Gajeel's black iron. They'd been using it to test weight stressors, but it'd work for his purposes. He loaded it, holding a second, different star in his hand.

One breath, two, slowing his heart down the way he always did. He ran through the steps he had to take in his head, and plotted out the trajectory. The wind was blowing strong to the west, the water would slow down the shot.

In one movement, swifter than the lightning that cracked the sky, Usopp sat up, pulled back his slingshot, and fired the first star. He didn't wait to see it land, trusting that his aim was true; the next moment he was firing again.

The first, heavier iron star slammed into the side of the gun, jerking it to the right. The sniper tried to correct immediately, impressively so, but it was already too late. The second shot—a piercing star—slipped through the extra space and buried itself firmly in the enemy's forehead. For a long, drawn-out moment, Usopp just sat there, wet and cold, hands perfectly still even as his knees quaked. Then the sky rumbled and he remembered that he had friends waiting for him.

☉

Chopper finished setting up the last saline line, fretting over the drip as Lucy stayed perfectly still. Her eyes were moving beneath her lids, her breathing deep. Perfectly asleep.

Her heart rate was 145.

Too high, Chopper thought. All of them were too high.

He went to turn away, wondering if there was something in one of his books, but a light caught his eye. Something was glowing underneath Lucy's pillow.

He leaned forward, avoiding stepping on Gajeel's hair, and peeked under. Her Key ring was gently tucked away, one of the Keys—the one that opened the mermaid, he thought—was glowing brightly. Figuring it couldn't hurt, Chopper pulled it out and tucked it under Lucy's hand. She curled her fingers, and for a long second, he thought that maybe she might be waking up. He held his breath, but she continued to sleep, the Key still glowing but no one coming through. Chopper didn't know if it was possible for one of her Spirits to come through on their own, but he'd ask after she woke up.

Because she would. She had to.

☉

Nami paused at a street corner, panting desperately through the rain. The locals apparently thought weather like this was a sign from their god or some such and stayed inside whenever a storm broke. It meant despite being early afternoon, the streets were empty of all life. She hadn't found anything suspicious and no one would open their doors to her. She was at a thorough dead end.

Above her, Lily came spiraling down. She knew instantly that he was at as much of a loss as her; his ears were pressed against his head, his fur sticky against his skin, his nose wrinkled up. Nami knew he was actually an incredibly capable fighter and adult, but she couldn't help holding out her arms for him. He looked so pitiful and it was as much for her comfort as his. He gently landed in her arms and let her press him against her chest; the storm was so loud they had to talk into each other's ears, and it would let up for another few hours.

“I saw nothing up in the mountain,” Lily reported. “What about you?”

“Locals are all stuck inside and won't talk. No one is on the street. I think we should head back to the ship; maybe Zoro or Usopp found something.”

☉

Zoro pressed deeper around the island, scanning rocks and little caverns. A few moles go skittering away from him, but no humans. Not at first, at least. He doesn't stop though; not with his crewmates depending on him. He didn't know who decided to target them, or how this Devil Fruit worked, but he'd be damned if he let them go unpunished.

Eventually, pushing through the rain and wind, Zoro could make out the faintest flicker of light. He drew Wado, stepping lightly closer until he could just make out the form of a stout man sitting with his back to Zoro, poking a fire into blazing. The stranger was tucked between a larger, thinly formed rock outcropping that pierced upward, creating a delicate lean-to that guarded him against the worst of the rain. Zoro didn't bother hiding his steps, a small stone going clacking down the path. The man didn't turn.

“Finally, Jurou. What took you so long? Can't be that hard to check if they're asleep.”

“Pretty hard,” Zoro drawled, “When we're not all asleep.”

The man spun, falling off his seat and scrambling for a short sword laid against a pack a few feet away. Zoro stepped on his hand before it could touch the hilt, leveling Wado at his neck. He wasn't an attractive man by any means, shaking with wide eyes and sweat beading down his fat neck. He was paled skin, with black hair and limpid blue eyes.

“Jurou, you said?” Zoro considered. The bounty hunters of East Blue weren't always well connected—usually not, honestly—but rumors spread even between seas. “I suppose that makes you Shiro. The Obi brothers.”

“Y-you're Roronoa. The Oni. You used to be one of us, so you should understand what it's like to go for a bounty.”

“Oh, I get it,” Zoro agreed blandly. He flipped Wado in his hand, coming down with a pommel strike against Shiro's temple. He fell unconscious easily. “I get that you came after the wrong bounties.”

Zoro left the packs, though he made sure the sword was away from the rain. Hiking Shiro on his shoulders like a sack of potatoes, he began heading for the Merry again. From rumors, Zoro knew Jurou was a sniper, which meant Shiro must be the Devil Fruit user. If knocking him out didn't wake up the crew, then they'd need Shiro alive.

☉

Usopp was glad he stumbled onto Zoro while he was returning. Who knew how long the swordsman might have wandered without Usopp to guide him back to Merry. Nami and Lily had just returned, and they all piled back down into the women's room. Chopper was still hovering over the rest of the crew, and his heart fell when Usopp realized they were all still asleep.

So much for knocking out the fruit user solving their problem.

“Who's this?” Chopper demanded.

“Obi Shiro. He and his brother are a bounty-hunting duo.”

“The brother?” Lily asked.

“Dead,” Usopp announced. Lily and Zoro both raised their brows but nodded in understanding. Usopp was glad they didn't ask for details. He knew, vaguely, that it was possible some of the people he shot wouldn't get back up. But this time it had been very apparent and he was still riding the adrenaline. It wasn't a story he wanted to tell anytime soon.

“I thought if you knocked out a Devil Fruit user their abilities stopped?” Nami asked.

“Not always,” Chopper explained. He trotted over to where Zoro had abruptly dropped the bounty hunter, holding a small vial in his hands. “It depends on the fruit and the user.” He removed the lid from the vial, causing Lily to rear away and cover his nose. Even Usopp could smell the salts from his position across the room.

Shiro sputtered awake, groggy and disoriented. He'd barely realized he was flanked—Zoro on one side, a grown Lily on the other—eyes going wide, before Lily had drawn his sword, the black blade growing and leveling itself at Shiro's neck. He began sweating significantly more.

“I suggest,” Lily growled, “You tell us how to wake up our friends.”

Shiro's eyes darted to behind them, a small grin flitting across his face when he saw the six unconscious bodies. It fell when Wado poked him sharply in the side.

“O-okay! Put the blades away.”

“Talk first,” Zoro ordered. Lily dragged his sword across Shiro's body lightly, causing him to flinch away.

“I don't know how to wake them up!”

“What?!” Chopper shifted into his human point, grabbing Shiro and slamming him against the wall. “Do you know how much stress their bodies are put under?! Are you saying you do this to people and don't know how to reverse it?”

“I-I ate the dream-dream fruit,” Shiro hurried to explain. “Anyone in a specific zone gets sucked into their worse memory turned nightmare. If they can face it, they wake up. Most never do.”

“You're joking,” Nami hissed. “How do you turn in their bounties if they're comatose?”

“The marines don't care,” Shiro spat. “As long as they're peaceful.”

“If it's about fear,” Lily considered, “Why weren't we affected?”

“I don't know,” Shiro admitted. “Maybe you guys don't get afraid?”

The crew turned to face Usopp, who glared at them all but admitted with a groan, “Well, that can't be it.”

“So they have to face their fears to wake up,” Nami summarized. “Is there a way to help them?”

Shiro hesitated, pressing his lips together. Lily drew a thin line of blood, growling low in his chest.

“Okay okay! Keep the sword away! Look, there...might be a way. But I've never done it and it could just as easily kill all of you.”

“What?” Zoro demanded.

“In theory, I can transfer someone else into their dreams—you might be able to interact and help them wake up that way. But if they don't...”

“Then we're dead,” Zoro finished. “Fine. Chopper and Lily; you two stay awake and watch him; he does anything, kill him.”

“Understood,” Lily agreed. “Bring them back, Zoro.”

Usopp gulped heavily, considering. “So, uh, we each go after two of them? Or is it all of us in one.”

“No idea,” Shiro said. He eyed Lily's blade, held up above him in such a way that if Lily fell unconscious, it would go through Shiro's heart. “You guys are seriously nuts if you're wanting to try this.”

“If we weren't nuts we wouldn't be Straw Hats,” Nami pointed out, sitting down while dragging Usopp along. Zoro likewise settled next to Luffy. “Now do it.”

#as the stars burn on #fairy tail fanfic #one piece fanfic #laxus x lucy x gajeel #lucy heartfilia #laxus dreyar #gajeel redfox

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spitfire-of-the-sea · 2 years

Text

Random thoughts on One Piece/The New Era (with bits of Ace mixed in)

This will contain spoilers (but no details), so for those who are not at the current chapters and want to avoid spoilers, please don't read this - I don't want to be responsible for ruining your fun. =)

ANYHOW.

I've been mulling over some things when reading One Piece lately, and I still love it - have loved it since I was a 15-year-old girl in highschool, and now I'm 33 and about to finish my PhD and you know what? It's still one of the series/books I've read that made a strong impression on me.

So what I'm saying might come from an old 33 year old... ;) Perhaps it's my wounded pride. I don't know.

Lately I feel a bit like One Piece goes in the direction of "eliminating" the old era by Luffy defeating enemies (which is FINE, it's what he's supposed to do), but also by kind of kicking out older characters and I'm not super sure how I feel about this.

It started with the death of Whitebeard - which, okay. EPIC. Done really well. Until the end there was no sign that he was by any means weak, even old and sick. It signaled the end of the old era, of which Whitebeard was basically the biggest remnant, the guy that stood on par with Gol D. Roger. Then Ace... and for obvious reasons, I am not fine with that. His death was 100% so Luffy could remain the main protagonist and there was no real competition for Pirate King, because, let's me honest... nobody ever thought any of the other Supernovas would beat him to it. But from the narrative that Oda set up, Ace was a true contestant - he was stronger than Luffy, pulled people to him in much the same way and made allies easily, he was Gol D. Rogers son, he had conqueror's Haki (manifested already when he was a child!), etc. etc. However, he never WANTED to become Pirate King. I personally think he could have been left to live after being severly wounded and having to recover for a long time, and pretty much simply taken over Whitebeards role. So we'd have Ace as a figure connecting the old and the new generation, defending the remaining WB territories with no interest in being Pirate King, but only in his family. Which in itself is a good statement. (And his near-death and Luffy's CAUSE of his near-death would have been motivation enough, if you ask me.) ANYHOW. After this, all the youngsters go on to become stronger. And for some reason, without any explanation... the WB Pirates are destroyed and disbanded. Teach, with his crew of... what...7??? 8??? Managed to tear apart the remaining Whitebeard Pirates and take over their territory. And this happened when there was still Marco, Vista, Izou, all the other commanders... with no apparent loss or problem for Teach. (Who also managed to murder Thatch apparently without effort, but, okay, let's say Thatch trusted him and was surprised.) Which irks me, because it paints as the WBP as the weakest of all the Yonko crews, and at the same time Oda keeps showing how strong they were. Challening the WHOLE MARINE. Fighting on parr with the Admirals, with Hawkeye, etc. How does that add up?

So basically, the WBP as the first crew of "the old era" falls; and then we learn that fake-son-of-WB is hunting down the remaining ones to kill them. And he succeeds...??? And no WBP commander steps in...?

But not enough with this, now in the newest chapters we also loose Izou. And we do so in 2 pannels, without a proper farewell, without proper grief. His sister doesn't get a single panel for her reaction and instead rather goes to the bath...? I know it's an important statement made there, and I value it! But could there not have been an additional comment on her brother...?

Marco stepping aside for Sanji and Zoro, for the new generation, all of this...

I GET it. It makes sense. But I feel like there's no value placed into experience at this point - strength in itself is not enough, if you don't also have some experience to go with it. And my god, 40-50 years of age is not OLD. So I don't quite understand why specifically the Whitebeard Pirates get this treatment, while all others anyways survive, bounce back with no problem, and etc.

I have the dreaded feeling that Marco will be used to demonstrate Blackbeards new strength, or he will sacrifice himself like Izou did... And that isn't fine with me. I mean, now, that Oda kept torturing him with losing his brothers one after the other without being able to save them - even if he was RIGHT THERE!!! - I can't believe he'll let him live. *sigh*

Sorry, it's a long and confused rant. Baseline is:

just because a character is 40+ he is not "old" and from "the last era"

Ace didn't need to die and could easily have taken over the position of Kid/Law (more on that in a separate rant ;))

Whyyyyy the WBP???

On another note:

What

the

fuck

happened to Big Mom's crew??? Are they chilling on the beach??? Eating candy??? Are they now fodder for the Admiral??? They literally were not seen for so long and were supposed to be super strong, and then the waterfall defeated them or what? This seriously confuses me.

#one piece #one piece rant #whitebeard pirates #whitebeard crew #one piece wano

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