"And I Think It's Gonna Be A Long, Long Time"

WHAT THE FUCK WAS KINGER DOING ON HIS ADVENTURE LMAOOO

How one clip in the new season 3 trailer significantly changes Animaniacs canon

As I was replaying the new Animaniacs trailer for the 100th time in my head, I realized there's one clip that has big ramifications on how I previously viewed Animaniacs canon. How can one clip change canon before the episode's even out? I know it sounds clickbaity, but I think it's warranted. The clip in question is this:

Now, to most fans of Animaniacs, this might not look out of the ordinary at all. After all, this is far from the first time they've seen the tower depicted this way- for decades, in fan fiction and fan art, this is exactly how it's been described and shown when it comes to stories about the Warners being locked in the tower. To my knowledge, though, through all Animaniacs animated media, this is the first time it's ever been officially shown like this.*

*It was shown somewhat close to this in reboot episode 1, but that was after no one had been living in it for 22 years.

What do I mean by "like this"? Previously in the show, whenever we got a look at the interior of the tower, it's always looked something along the lines of this:

It's fully furnished, packed to the brim with all the fun activities the Warners could ever need. It has rollercoasters, basketball hoops, a TV, and, importantly, a kitchen, bathroom, and comfy beds. (We'll assume Yakko chooses to sleep in a ball pit.) It's a veritable wonderland that any kid would be overjoyed to play in. I always assumed it was shown this way to soften the blow for kids who thought too much about the Warners' backstory- sure, they were locked in a tower for 60 years, but it couldn't have been that bad. Look at all the fun stuff they have in there!

When reading and writing tower-related angst, where the tower is depicted as a barren prison, I had always done it with the understanding that it wasn't really like that. Sure, we played it up for angst, but in reality, in canon, the Warners were more or less fine in there. They played games, rode roller coasters, had a good time. I was even gonna make an entire analysis post about what the Warners' time in the tower was really like. Anything else would be just a bit too dark, wouldn't it?

But no. It really was like that. According to the clip in the trailer, when the Warners are locked in the tower, they get all their fun stuff taken away. It really does become empty, barren, and dark. There's no rollercoasters. There's no TV. There's not a kitchen, a bathroom, or a warm bed to sleep in. There don't appear to be any windows, except maybe one prison-barred window at the top. It doesn't even look like they get rations of food. When they're locked in the tower, they sit in shadowy darkness, with absolutely nothing to entertain themselves except each other.

For

sixty

years.

And that's canon.

compilation of all my animainiacs doodles since the reboot dropped!

bonney normally speaks very coarsely- she usually uses omae as her ‘you’ pronoun, which is uncommonly rude and aggressive for women and is normally only used by men. however, when she addresses luffy-as-nika for the first time directly, to say “i’ve been searching for you,” she switches over to anta for ‘you’, which is still informal but far less confrontational.

and then when luffy is just completely not getting it in the next line (“huh? we’ve been together this whole time!”) bonney instantly snaps back to using omae again for her subsequent lines. respect gained -> lost speedrun INSTANT

Mori and Abuse

I’m making this because the BSD fandom has 2 modes for interpreting Mori and it’s either evil evil child abuser or spineless bastard and I HATE both of them.

Mori is an abuser, yes, but the way he abuses characters is very atypical, and not at all what most people expect. His abuse is almost all psychological, the only character we can say for sure has been physically abused by him is Yosano, and we’re only shown one instance of that.

For simplicity, I’ll be referring to his abuse of Dazai, Chuuya, Koyo and Yosano, but I believe it could be said that Kyuusaku and potentially the Akutagawa’s have suffered because of him.

To understand why Mori has abused certain characters, we must understand a bit about him as a person. This is potentially why Mori’s actions are so wildly skewed by the fandom, because no one wants to observe him too closely (but that’s a whole other post). Simply put, Mori is a military man. He does anything and everything to achieve the “optimal solution”, he has a plan and if he has to get his hands dirty to reach his goal, he will. Emotions and attachments go out the window for him, most of the time at least, because he would sacrifice anything, and anyone, to achieve his goal. Most of the time at least. That’s why he used Yosano, because what’s the life of one girl to the safety of his nation? That’s why he manufactured Oda’s and his orphans deaths, because the prize outweighed the cost.

Mori is logical and reserved, so we must observe all his actions with the lens that he has a reason for what he does, because he (almost) always has a reason.

I’ll start by referring to Mori’s abuse of Dazai, because he’s a bit of a special case and also the one that the fandom overall gets the most wrong. Mori’s abuse of Dazai is usually twisted to be sexual or physical, when there is absolutely no evidence of that. People like to bring up Dazai’s abuse of Akutagawa, or that one throwaway line from The Day I Picked Up Dazai as evidence, but neither of those hold up in my opinion.

Firstly, just because Dazai’s abuse of Akutagawa was partly physical, doesn’t mean he himself underwent physical abuse. Just like Mori, Dazai always has reasons for what he does, and his reason for what he did to Akutagawa was tailored to Akutagawa and his ability, therefore not something that Mori would have done to Dazai. Not to excuse Dazai’s abuse of Akutagawa, of course, but the fact of the matter is that Dazai’s abuse was a test of Akutagawa, and a punishment because Akutagawa didn’t adhere to Dazai’s standards. This abuse is the result of Mori’s own abuse, yes, but it’s not as straightforward as “Mori hit Dazai, ergo Dazai hit Akutagawa”.

The line from TDIPUD is also poor evidence, as all it is is Oda telling Dazai that what he’s doing won’t hurt and Dazai responding that Mori says the same about the needles he gives him. The fact that this is taken as abuse is really weird to me, why is that the assumption here? Mori is a doctor, there are multiple reasons for him to be giving Dazai needles. And the fact that Mori says it’s not going to hurt just sounds like the typical “doctor giving a kid a shot” exchange.

Dazai hates pain, so obviously Mori would lie and say that it isn’t going to hurt. Mori cares for Dazai’s well-being, which is what makes Dazai a bit of an outlier, as Mori shows care for him before he’s found a reason to justify that care. This is evidenced by their exchange in the beginning of Dazai, Chuuya: Fifteen, which is very important as it gives us an insight into Mori’s perspective during that time, where he panics because he hasn’t achieved the “optimal solution” by keeping Dazai alive, but then justifies that action by deciding Dazai is too good an asset to throw away.

And here-in lies the actual abuse that Dazai went through, not being hit or shamed or any of that, but emotional coercion, a slow cultivation of the parts of Dazai that Mori saw as useful, and a creation of the mindset we see Dazai use. This is most prominent with how Mori plants ideas into Dazai’s head. This is referenced in Chapter one of Fifteen as well, establishing that Mori has taken somewhat of an instructor role to Dazai, but that’s something Dazai rebels against.

This exchange is a perfect example of that conditioning, instead of giving Dazai information directly, Mori gets Dazai to deduce his answers using information he already has, something we see Dazai does very often in the current plot. But the main example of this conditioning comes in the form of Dazai’s plan to use the Sheep against Chuuya, a plan that comes DIRECTLY from Mori.

Mori makes sure that Dazai is in the room as he baits Chuuya, uses the weakness of the Sheep against him, and then breaks down EXACTLY what has happened for Dazai. “Just some food for thought” my ass.

Then when discussing his plan with Rimbaud, Dazai brings up a theory taught to him by Mori. 15!Dazai is such a little parrot, it’s all “Mori says, Mori says, Mori says”, just word-vomiting all the thoughts Mori puts in his head, there is a CLEAR influence here.

Just like Mori, Dazai uses the Sheep against Chuuya. Mori shows Dazai how to control people, how to make them listen and how to make them obey. The reason Dazai treats people like pawns, the reason he KNOWS how to manipulate people is because Mori taught him.

Just like so many of the characters, the fandom forgets that when Mori met Dazai, he was a child. He was a broken child who needed a guiding hand and the hand he got was Mori’s. Morí crafted the Dazai that we see, shaped the way that he thinks, THAT was his abuse.

Chuuya as well is a special case. Like Mori, he is a leader, and that is a quality Mori admires in him. In turn, Chuuya looks up to Mori, sees him as an inspiration for what it means to be a leader. This is another example of Mori’s manipulative abuse. To Chuuya, Mori makes himself out to be a saviour, someone who will teach him how to be better, how to protect the people he thinks he has failed. Mori takes Chuuya at his weakest point and gives him a new chance.

And with that, Chuuya is loyal to the mafia and Mori has Soukoku. Never mind that Mori was the brains behind Dazai’s plan that got Chuuya into the mafia in the first place, by getting Dazai to do his dirty work, Mori gets to appear to Chuuya with a halo and wings (I could also talk about Mori’s involvement with Stormbringer and how that locked Chuuya into the mafia, but that’s another tangent).

Mori has done the same with Koyo. She’s loyal to him, but clearly does not LIKE him, so where does that loyalty come from? It is because he has freed her. Koyo suffered under the rule of the Old Boss, she had no freedom, the man who cared for her was executed, she was restrained within the mafia. And then Mori takes over and she ends up an executive. Suddenly she’s got POWER, she can change things, under Mori she’s given the ability to change things and take charge. He sees a girl in chains and loosens them, not enough for her to escape, but enough that she can move. And having been chained up for so long, that feels like freedom. Koyo is loyal to Mori because he’s better than the alternative, because if she can’t be free, at least she can move.

I left Yosano for last, because again, she’s a wild card. Unlike all the other people Mori has coerced, Yosano’s abuse took place during a time where every second was precious. There was no time to do it delicately, the way Mori handled everything else, it was war, win or lose. Mori’s tactics were a lot more brutal, Yosano wants the soldiers to live, so Mori shoots the one she cares about so either she WATCHES her friend die, or she can save him. Unlike with Dazai, with Chuuya, with Koyo, Mori isn’t Yosano’s saviour, he’s her captor, he gives her a choice, but its one where neither option is made to look kind. He makes it clear, she heals them, or they die, whether it’s at his hands, or the hands of the enemy, and he knows she would never let them die.

Mori works through coercion and manipulation, he shapes the way people think of him carefully, moulding his appearance in the eyes of others. To Dazai he’s just an old man that Dazai has under his thumb, who tries and fails to manipulate him. But that’s not the truth. To Chuuya he’s a benevolent leader, someone so gracious as to grant him a place in the mafia. But that’s not the truth. To Koyo he’s the safest option, not someone she wants to follow, but someone she will follow, because at least she’s free. But that’s not the truth. To Yosano he’s evil, cruel and harsh and he takes lives as easily as he breathes with no remorse, he’s the God to her Angel of Death. But thats not the truth. To the audience, he’s a monster, a filthy pervert who is nothing more than a pedophile. Is that the truth?

Mori is like a spider, ensnaring people in his web with carefully constructed lies and appearances, his abuse is not physical or sexual, it’s a psychological coercion, careful at times and brutal at others, his abuse is a targeted attack of an individual’s weaknesses, and a cultivation of the parts he sees as useful.

Every person is his tool, and he likes his blades sharp.

@1seaweedbrain1 for you <3

Luffy vs. Usopp: Luffy's Turmoil

The fight between Luffy and Usopp in Water 7 is one of many iconic moments in One Piece and the fact that it's been analyzed to hell and back is a testament to that. However, what is usually discussed about it are Usopp's actions and why he reacted to Luffy telling him they have to get a new ship the way he did. But rarely do I see people talk about Luffy's side of things and why he snapped at Usopp so hard Sanji had to kick him. And that's a shame. So I decided to do just that. This is an analysis of Luffy's POV of the whole ordeal.

When Luffy hears that the Merry is beyond repair from the shipwrights, he reacts with anger and denial - just like Usopp later that day, although not as aggressive as he is willing to listen to the shipwrights' explanation. He clearly cares about the Merry; that is his nakama and they are telling him to abandon her? No way! He would never do that! (see: Nami, Robin, Sanji.) He actually raises the same points in objection as Usopp later.

But then Iceburg reminds him that he's the captain and would be putting the rest of his nakama in danger if he doesn't pull himself together.

And Luffy takes that to heart for Iceburg is right.

So, after taking out his pent up feelings on the Franky Family, he makes the hard decision as the captain, because as much as the Merry is their nakama, unlike the rest of the crew, she is not a living being (he doesn't know about the Klabautermann at this point but the point stands even if he knew). But he is still grieving for her! His nakama is at the end of her life and there's nothing he can do about it. So when it's time to tell Usopp the sad news, he deals with it like ripping off a band aid. He goes straight to the point, no feelings, just the cold hard truth. Because thats how he deals with delivering sad news that deeply affect him as well (as seen in Wano when he tells Tama about Ace's death) because he is grieving and it's hard for him, too. Luffy doesn't like complicated things and dealing with his own grief is complicated. So he simplifies it. To appear calm and steady, because he is the captain and must show his resolve - no weakness allowed, he delivers the news with a smile.

But he overdoes it. Luffy is hurting so he wants to move on from this painful topic as soon as possible. Unfortunately, that is not the way to go about it. Usopp's already been in distress after losing the money and getting beaten up and now Luffy's telling him they are abandoning the Merry like it's no big deal. Usopp can only interpret Luffy's actions as cold-hearted. But that can't be, this is Luffy we're talking about! He cares about his nakama, right? So Usopp demands an explanation. But Luffy is hurting and just wants to move on so please Usopp just stop questioning his decision he is the captain and has the final word!

And so they shout; unable to listen to the other over their own feelings.

Until it culminates in Luffy finally shouting the painful truth that he's been avoiding this entire time. Their nakama is at the end of her life and there is nothing that can be done. A catharsis.

Luffy visibly calms down after that. But only for a little bit. Usually, this would be the end of the misunderstanding and thus the end of the argument and both parties would go on to support each other in their shared grief. But that would require both parties to get their catharsis. While Luffy got his catharsis by finally confronting the harrowing truth of the Merry's impending demise which reflects his deep fear of loneliness and losing loved ones, Usopp's true deepest anxieties lie somewhere else - the feeling of his own inadequacy and the fear of being abandoned for not being enough which he projects on the state of the Merry. And so the argument continues.

Usopp starts questioning Luffy's judgment (calling him dumb for trusting some strange guys and doubting the shipwrights' integrity) his captaincy, and, most importantly, he starts questioning whether Luffy even cares for the Merry, whether he actually cares about his nakama. And that hurts. We as the audience know the extent to which Luffy is willing to go for his nakama. We know how deeply and freely Luffy loves. And his nakama know it, too. That's one of the reasons they stand by him. Or at least they should know that. Usopp is too blinded by his own fears and insecurities that, in that moment, he forgets this undeniable truth. He accuses Luffy of turning his back on an injured comrade, of only pretending to care. Usopp's words hit like a gut punch. Luffy snaps.

"Don't think you're the only one taking this hard! Everyone on this ship feels the same way!"

That includes Luffy as well. If Luffy wasn't dealing with his own pain, I'm sure he would have noticed the hidden meaning behind Usopp's hurtful words or at least realized that Usopp was just lashing out and doesn't actually mean what he is saying, that he is actually crying out in pain, wallowing in his own anxiety, because Luffy is an excellent judge of character. But at this moment, his judgment is clouded. How dare Usopp accuse him of such a horrible thing! Usopp is his nakama and should know that Luffy does care! How dare he! And just like Usopp, in his anger that stems from hurt, Luffy (almost) says something so hurtful that Sanji rightfully kicks him. But it's too late. It doesn't matter that Luffy didn't actually mean it and apologizes after realizing what he said. The damage's been done. Usopp's fears have been confirmed. And so he leaves and challenges Luffy to a duel. If Luffy were to refuse or fight him half-heartedly, it would only add insult to Usopp's injury by hurting even the little pride Usopp has. So Luffy accepts and fights with his whole chest.

It is a hollow victory.

In one single day, he learns one of his nakama is too badly damaged to accompany them on their journey any longer, pushes another nakama away in his grief and anger, and Robin is still nowhere to be found. Luffy is the captain and it's his duty to be the steady rock for his crew in tumultuous times. But when he is torn between dealing with his emotions and being a captain that his crew can rely on, Luffy is on the verge of breaking.

However, Zoro says it best:

And so, Luffy hides his tears under the brim of his hat.

i’ve been watching through the anime with my girlfriend and i’ve started collecting frames that make me go hey nika

(pt 2)

What is Buggy's Endgame? A Post-1082 Analysis

Since the release of chapter 1082, we’ve gotten more insight into Buggy’s character than ever before, especially regarding his dreams and thoughts on past events. So, given our new information, I thought I’d revisit Orange Town Arc to see if 1082 re-contextualizes anything. What’s in the cards for Buggy as a character? What direction does Oda plan on taking him in?

To give you my answer, let me begin in a bit of a random place: the relationship between Shanks and Buggy. 

From the moment Oda first introduced their relationship in chapter 19, Shanks and Buggy already solidified themselves as character foils. Their first panel together is literally a fight over whether the North or South Pole is colder, which is pretty on the nose if you ask me (sorry… I had to). Their red-blue color contrast is also pretty self-explanatory; although green is technically red’s complement, red and blue are often used as visual “opposites.”

Beyond all that surface level stuff, though, what makes these two foils of each other are their opposing values. As a pirate, Shanks wants to “make time to see the world." He has no sense of urgency and no inherent desire to conquer the world — at least, not right away. Buggy, of course, calls this a “soft way of thinking.” Unlike Shanks, he views treasure as the sole purpose of being a pirate. And not just any treasure, but material wealth, gold and jewels which "make its possessor a king."

Shanks and Buggy’s contrasting viewpoints also embody the underlying themes of Orange Town Arc. One man's trash is another man's treasure, and Oda takes great care to emphasize this point, from Chouchou to the mayor.

Luffy's hat ends up taking center stage in Orange Town, however, which I think is a great decision. The straw hat is what tethers Luffy and Buggy to Shanks. It's a weighted symbol, one that helped shape both of their characters — albeit in antithetical ways. Thus, when it’s used as a tool to explore their relationships, it works really well.

Take Luffy, for example. In his youth, Shanks was a pillar of support, friendship, and sacrifice; the straw hat is his treasure because it reminds him of Shanks, but also because it symbolizes what Shanks gave up for him. He owes his life to Shanks, but he uses that gratitude to fuel his own ambition, and to hopefully reunite with Shanks one day as a great pirate.

Shanks allowed him to go after his dream. Luffy knows this well.

Now look at Buggy. He sees the straw hat as worthless, and it’s clear why he does: it’s a painful reminder of the dream that Buggy gave up on, a representation of everything he lacks in comparison to Shanks. And to add insult to injury, Shanks gave that straw hat away to what Buggy sees as an insignificant kid. Of course that would hurt. Seeing Shanks give up Roger’s legacy so easily, abandoning his potential to become Pirate King, when that’s all Buggy ever wanted in life… I mean, wow. It's an amazing role reversal. Buggy gave up on his dream for Shanks, but Shanks gave that dream to Luffy instead.

I think 1082’s context adds some much-needed character depth, and explains a lot of Buggy's rationale. We know Buggy does not value sacrifice or friendship like Luffy does, nor is he the type to go out on a limb for someone. He’s greedy, manipulative when it suits his interests… I could go on forever. So to see that Buggy once sacrificed his own dreams for the sake of Shanks’ — only to have it backfire — makes so much sense. Of course he became a bitter, cynical, and selfish adult. One of the people he believed in most broke his unwavering trust, and he never healed from that experience. (Not to mention that this happened directly after Roger's execution. His faith was already shaken, and it was just one heartbreak after the next.)

The impact of that betrayal only feeds into his greedier tendencies; Buggy is a character who keeps things close to his chest, figuratively and literally. He learned to fear trust, and it shows. All of his adult relationships (Alvida, Galdino, Crocodile, Mihawk) are strictly rooted in business and mutual, self-serving interests. Nothing more.

Just take a look at Buggy and Luffy's reactions to the Bara Bara no Mi story. Buggy can only focus on the things he lost, instead of what he had: a friend who was willing to jump overboard for him in a heartbeat. But Luffy, a character who values the people he loves, obviously has a different perspective. He concludes, “So Shanks saved your life?” Where Luffy sees hidden treasure, Buggy sees nothing but loss.

So why am I bringing this all up? Well, I don’t find it surprising at all that two of Buggy’s most prominent arcs — Orange Town and Impel Down — emphasize his struggle between selfishness and altruism. The internal conflict is played off as a joke in Impel Down, but Buggy has always been simultaneously comedic and complex. He actually parallels Luffy in that sense, but that's another meta for another day.

The position Oda has placed Buggy in is rife with potential. He's now closer than ever to the things which would fulfill his materialistic nature: the One Piece, Captain John’s treasure, and the title of Pirate King. Yet, at the very same time, he's closer to one of his most honest connections in life: Shanks. If there was ever a time for a character to be forced to make a fateful choice, I’d say it’s right about now. People have been wondering why Oda made Buggy a final contender for the One Piece. Why has he “failed upwards” for so long? Comedy aside, I think the answer is a lot simpler than we’re all making it out to be: Buggy’s story just isn’t over yet. 

Oda still has something he wishes to impart to readers, and he clearly believes it will be told best through Buggy’s character. Based on what we know about Buggy — his greed, his guilty conscience, his past with Shanks — I think that story will lead his character to some very interesting places.

Do I think Buggy is going to have a change of heart? Maybe, maybe not. In that regard, he’s already been in a gray area since Impel Down. I wouldn’t be surprised if he accidentally ends up allying himself with Luffy again during One Piece’s conclusion. But with the Cross Guild putting bounties on marines, a (potential) three-emperor interest in going after Blackbeard, and an open-ended Shanks-Buggy plot thread about going to Laugh Tale... Well, there's a lot of places this could go. Would Buggy be willing to give up the greatest treasure in dire circumstances? For Shanks? For the world? Will he become king, and then lose it all? Will he make a sacrifice that parallels Shanks' when they were kids? Who knows!

What do you guys think? Is Buggy going to play a larger role in One Piece’s third act? What is your ideal conclusion for his character in the story? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

The (Laugh?) Sad Tale of Joy Boy

(Spoilers ahead, don’t read if you haven’t caught up with the manga)

This analysis came about from me remembering the ending of Wind Waker and the line from Amphibia’s true colors: “That’s the thing about friends isn’t it? The more you love ‘em the more it hurts when they go”

I don’t think a lot of people have caught on to the truly heartbreaking irony in the title of Joy Boy. That, despite his cheery name, his story did NOT have a happy ending.

We already know that the 20 kings (and Imu, most likely) won 800 years ago and destroyed most of what Joy Boy and his allies and friends accomplished.

This not only means that the many races of the world were doomed to persecution and racism by humans but it also means that the technology of the world was regressed to the point that they can only begin to catch up after 800 years (and largely because the man responsible is said to be 500 years ahead of his time) and the people don’t even know what they have lost.

Think about it, in the Jaya arc Robin examines a skull from the fallen galleon and deduces that they medically relieved him of a tumor by making a hole in the skull, without anesthesia. It’s a forgotten practice by the present time, but it still proves that medicine had to evolve to resort to less gruesome methods. And in the East Blue they mentioned that scurvy was only recently fully understood. None of these things are an issue for us because of current medical knowledge.

Of course not every technological advancement is good and some of them have actually caused horrific results both in the One piece world and real life. But people have an unfortunate tendency to take for granted the good things science has given us.

Back to the original topic though, if the Ancient Kingdom had won the One piece world would be unrecognizable to the one we’ve come to known. We don’t know how much for the better, but the 20 kings were very much afraid that such a world could have existed and of a man who‘s implied to have had a pretty innocent dream

When someone who doesn’t make sense to the rest of the world appears there’s two things that can happen with them. Either the world destroys them and who they are at their core, or the world is forced to change to make sense of them.

Joy Boy was definitely one such person in the past like Luffy is in the present. But unlike Luffy, when met with the violent nature of the world, he couldn’t beat it because of some cruel twist of fate. (Or perhaps betrayal? I think Imu knew the first Joy Boy or they wouldn’t keep the frozen straw hat).

Even if (when) Luffy wins and fulfills the original Joy Boy’s dream, the original Joy Boy didn’t, no matter how hard he tried.

But the 20 king were still unable to destroy who Joy Boy was at his core: a dreamer. The very reason that he had friends who loved him. And because of that, Joy Boy had to dream even further than thought posible and imagine that someone else would appear in the future who was like him. Surprise, surprise, that came true.

But he still died without fulfilling his promise. And he and his friends, like all people eventually do one way or another, had to part ways.

But no matter how much Joy Boy may think he failed his friends, they love him no matter what and believe in him. And go on to make sure Joy Boy’s dream of a new person like him appearing comes true. (And adopt the name D. as one of their methods?)

Even so, Joy Boy himself lost and his loss is felt by all who knew him because he is no longer there. Which isn’t the same as the memory of a person. Luffy may be the heir of Joy Boy, but he isn’t Nika (or whatever his real name was).

Imagine if Brook didn’t have the Revive fruit. Laboon would have kept waiting for someone who wouldn’t come back; and even if Luffy gave him a new reason to keep waiting, it still would be a very different person than the perverted-dad (skull?) joke telling-musical gentleman that Laboon knew, wouldn’t it? In this regard Brook is luckier than Joy Boy was.

That always was one of the most horrible things about the World Government, thinking people are expendable. They are not. Galley-La couldn’t make a new Going Merry even if they had the original blueprints because the crew that sailed her would notice small things that are not there anymore.

Although his memory and dreams for a new Dawn in the world are very much alive, the fact he lost so long ago after giving it his all cannot be undone. Similarly the 800 years of abuse the Government, the Celestial Dragons and Imu have inflicted cannot be undone either and many people who dreamed to see themselves free did not live to see it happen.

Is it any wonder then that a piece of the Rio Poneglyph, one of the only means of the Ancient Kingdom to communicate and perhaps the most crucial historical document in the One Piece world, is an apology letter from Joy Boy?

His dream will come true after all in such a way that will be mind-boggling to the point of it being funny, no matter what the world has thrown his way, which may be why Roger laughed.

What I mean to say is that I’m sure Joy Boy’s story will be extraordinarily tragic and yet triumphant somehow. And in line with who Luffy is, he’s not unbreakable.

But he’s not finished yet.

Bsd 101