🕊️ Please Take A Moment To Read Nadin’s Story

Something about Zoro being one of the most misunderstood and mischaracterized characters in One Piece is funny (not haha funny, funny sad) to me because?? That’s literally how his introduction starts?? With people misunderstanding him and thinking he’s some big, monstrous demon who kills with cause and cannot be trusted or tamed.

Meanwhile the actual Zoro is a driven guy who is often both literally and figuratively directionless in life and found his goals in life through good people (first Kuina and then Luffy). He's tied up in the Marine base not due to those actual crimes he commuted (well not inherently anyway) but because he ‘disrespected’ a Captain's son and stood up for a little girl. He accepts the challenge they present to him and because Zoro himself is a guy that puts his money where his mouth is he assumes the Marines will uphold their end of the deal and let him go (note the actual shock when Koby tells him the truth)

He joins Luffy's crew but also outright says he’s not gonna let his goal take second place to Luffy or anyone else's for that matter, he bears the weight of two people's dreams, his heart isn’t going to be swayed by some pirate.

Speaking of Kuina, her impact and influence on Zoro's life isn’t talked about enough for my liking. She was Zoro's first friend, his first rival, his first goal. He looked up to her so much and his reaction to her passing cracks my heart in half every time because you can seem him just..go numb. Kuina, dead? Kuina, the strongest person he knows, gone? Kuina, who swore to him just yesterday they’d race to the top of the world together, doesn’t exist anymore. His blank face only cracking within the privacy of his sensei before he begs. He begs on his knees, tears streaming down his face please please please let me take Kuina's sword with me. Let me take our dream to a high neither of us could imagine. I won’t let her name die here.

On top of gaining the Wado Ichimonji that day Zoro also gained…fear. Not of death, well at the very least not his own, he gained his fear of not being enough. Kuina kicked his ass every way a person could and still died, what could someone like him do? So he trains…and trains…and trains some more. Overly, obsessively, constantly telling himself he’s not enough, he’s weak, he can’t protect anyone like this and everyone's death would be on him.

As for Zoro being cold and stoic that’s just…not completely true? He’s not stone, he can be excited or sad or angry just as much as most characters he just sucks at showing it canonically (Kuina thinks he hates her before their final fight after all). Sure he’s not as forthcoming about it as some of the other Strawhats but Zoro's more of an action guy anyway, he'll show his love with his protection and unwavering faith.

In conclusion, Zoro is a ridiculously stubborn, incredibly loyal, mildly emotionally constipated, do what you say/say what you mean kinda guy.

(Also that whole ‘Zoro would kill the whole crew if Luffy asked him to’ thing? Top ten stupidest things I’ve ever heard from the fandom and that’s saying a lot. He’s loyal not brainless and heartless guys if Luffy asked him to do that, he would never but I digress, Zoro would square the fuck up with him so fast. DPMO.)

Imagine being Collun & you're like 1 & barely gaining consciousness & you're starting to realize that while all the other kids get to ride piggy back on their dad's back yours is so tiny he rides on your back so he can like burp you after you drink a bottle & he can barely even hold up the bottle for you, but he's still your daddy & you still cry for him when you're scared & he's just this little guy who means everything to you, but like also you accidentally sat on him once & he would've suffocated to death if your mommy hadn't been there to move you.

What a fucking trip man. Gaban definitely tried to give him a piggy back ride multiple times despite Ripley telling him it's not a good idea. Now he has back pain, but it's completely worth it.

Absolutely adore how two chapters after we learn Elbaf is a blood purist society and one of a Celestial Dragon deriding the 'lower world' for its filthiness, Scopper's first moment of page time has him explicitly saying "fuck you actually, the world is a big, beautiful place. Love who you want and enjoy the amazing people and experiences that come from mixing cultures who by the way will always find ways to thrive in spite of the hardships they face".

A detail that I always found curious in bsd is how in fifteen Dazai needs to consciously activate his ability, but in the current time of the story he doesn't. At first I just thought Dazai had trained his own ability to the point where he could keep it active all the time, but Dazai's ability doesn't really seem very important to his work in the mafia, because we only see him using No Longer Human a few times during the light novels that take place during the time he was in the Port Mafia, so I don't believe this was something trained by Dazai, but rather the effect that All Men Are Equal has on him.

We know that Fukuzawa's ability is a suppression ability that influences the abilities of ADA members, allowing the agents themselves to adjust and control their powers, so it makes sense that joining after the ADA, Dazai made No Longer Human always be activated, so he couldn't be affected by abilities attacks even if he was caught by surprise.

The fact that the agents themselves can adjust their abilities with the help of All Men Are Equall made me think about the other ADA members, and how they are affected by Fukuzawa's ability. In Yosano's flashback, it's never said that she can only heal people with fatal wounds, and when Yosano refuses to heal Tachihara's brother (who Mori says is not seriously injured) she says that she doesn't want to heal him, not that she can't, so I believe that after everything Yosano went through in the war and with Mori, she herself chose to only be able to heal people who were almost dying, so she doesn't feel like she was reducing the value of the lives of those she heals, and so that others detectives of the agency understand the value that their lives and wounds have, and don't end up like the soldiers in war.

In Kenji's fight against Tetchou, we have a flashback of a conversation between Kunikida and Atsushi, and Kunikida says that Kenji's ability is driven by his anger, the angrier he gets, the more powerful he will be, however, his hunger can calm him, and I wonder if that might have something to do with Fukuzawa's skill. Kenji is a very calm person, and Kunikida says that this prevents his monstrous strength from coming out, so creating a way to calm him down so that his ability doesn't go out of control may have been Kenji's own choice when he joined the agency.

Kunikida only using his ability in his notebook of ideals may also have been his own choice. We know how connected to his ideals Kunikida is, and he says that all of his future and ideals are written in that notebook, so it makes sense that he would want his ability, an important part of his life, to be in his notebook too. On the other hand, All Men Are Equal could be the reason why Kunikida can only create objects the size of his notebook, but I can't see a specific reason for this choice.

I don't see many ways in which Fukuzawa's ability can affect Tanizaki's Light Snow, other than limiting the area in which he can use his ability. We know that Tanizaki can be very aggressive if provoked, so the fact that his ability can only be used at a short or medium range may be to prevent him from doing more damage than necessary when angered.

I believe all of these assumptions make a lot of sense, based on what we've seen of the influence of Fukuzawa's ability on Atsushi (forbiding him from fully transforming into a tiger, and from losing his mind while using his ability) and Kyouka (allowing her to control Demon Snow without her phone), and I really hope this topic is explored at some point during the manga.

remembered this line from Beast and now I have to kill myself

The parallels between the Thunder siblings and the Tsugikuni twins run deep. Starting with Kaigaku and Michikatsu's memories, it's evident that there is no strict rule about demons retaining their memories after transformation. I believe it mainly concerns their corruption. When demons' memories are taken away, a fundamental part of them is erased, which makes it easier for Muzan to reshape their relationships and identities to serve him. In the case of these two, remembering is essential; Muzan needs them to hold onto their worst qualities and instincts. Hatred and jealousy are powerful, binding emotions that drive both of them. Muzan's strategy is to keep them as their worst versions, which is why I believe these two kept their memories despite being transformed. this similarity is also the undeniable reason why Kokushibo was Kaigaku's path into demonhood.

As for the other two, aside from Tanjiro, I think Zenitsu is the closest to Yoriichi among the Kamaboko squad. They’re both really hard on themselves. Even though they’re clearly talented, strong, and heroic, they can’t seem to accept it. Zenitsu sees himself as a coward who doesn’t amount to much, while Yoriichi feels like a failure. But both have a lot of kindness, bravery, and care for others.

Both also fight their turned demon siblings, and the saddest part is that they both "die" when they "kill" their brothers. Yoriichi's heart stops at that moment, and Zenitsu falls to his death without trying to stop himself, and almost crosses to the other side. It's as if the act itself was so painful. They understood they had to end their siblings' lives, but despite any anger, disappointment, or pity they felt, there was no triumph in their actions, only heartbreak.

fishman island

Sabo Week Day 6:

Reunion/Smile

maybe i’m too much of a staunch “atsushi is kind of a dick” purist but i actually don’t think him witnessing dazai’s abuse will actually change all that much in terms of the direct relationships between these characters and how they act towards each other.

part of it is i think sskk’s ultimate arc is moving past the spectre of dazai haunting them, and part of it is like. akutagawa is (was..?) an abuser too. it would make no sense for atsushi to flip on dazai for akutagawa because it’s either he believes redemption is real and dazai has changed (which like, he objectively has, regardless of whether he handled his relationship with akutagawa well) and akutagawa can change too, or abuse forever tarnishes your moral character and then atsushi must hate both these guys (which he clearly doesn’t).

ultimately bsd has a complex relationship with abuse that’s often uncomfortable to acknowledge, like the fact that akutagawa has abused two women on screen and hasn’t actually made proper amends either, and the fact that bsd both acknowledges that the mafia is a cruel organisation based in child abuse and exploitation that largely operates by grooming children into violence, and also posits that the mafia is kind of a necessary entity for the safety of the city. child abuse in bsd is interpersonal, yes, but it’s also a larger system of exploitation of ability users, largely for combat, and practically every character participates in that system to a degree.

even the agency has child members, and while for some it can be argued that the agency saved them from bad situations, kenji, for example, seemingly lived a normal peaceful life until he was recruited to be a child soldier.

ultimately i don’t think the wish fulfilment scene where atsushi explicitly rags on dazai for treating akutagawa badly will ever happen, especially considering this isn’t news for him and atsushi hasn’t been sympathetic to akutagawa about it before. i’m not saying it’s not going to be called out, but i don’t think the #dazaiisoverparty is happening guys hold your horses

SPOILERS FOR ONE PIECE CH. 1138

Vibes for this chapter:

Now that my hands have stopped shaking, here are my main take aways. This is gonna be a super long word vomit, so just be prepared:

Shamrock is aware of Shanks (they might have met) and seems disappointed that Shanks likes chilling with ✨the commoners✨

If Shamrock’s sword has the Cerberus-Cerberus Fruit, that means that the theory of Blackbeard having it is debunked

The Shiki-looking figure made a reappearance when Luffy was talking about Shank’s family and seems to be approaching the castle, so we might meet them soon

THE MURAL AND HARLEY

I wonder if there will be a specific character that made the mural, who we’ll be introduced to later. Ripley’s line about “a child’s dream” stood out to me

Due to the “Three Worlds” that Robin reads about, I’m assuming that it’s basically confirmed that there have been 3 holders of the Nika fruit, that coincided with the 3 world-changing events (the first Nika, Joyboy, and now Luffy)

There are 3 demon-like figures, one for each world. I assume they represent the foe that each Nika rose up against, but are they different? Are they the same? Are they all Imu? Only Oda can tell

And here’s everything I took note of on the mural:

The First World

The forbidden sun — power source? Devil Fruits???

Seems like it caused the separation of the earth and the sky/heavens

Lots of factory imagery

Who were the slavers?

The figures (the slaves) carry sun/starburst things. Are these the forbidden sun? Devil fruits? They seem to be throwing them toward the Second World part of the mural, where “embers of war” are mentioned

BIG SNAKE, SERPENT OF HELL, WHO ARE YOU???

The Second World

“The God of the Forest sent forth demons” — is this about devil fruits? Fruits grow on trees (duh) and then obviously demons = devils. And later, it talks about the Sea becoming enraged

Mentions of people belonging to the Half-Moon and the Moon. What is the difference? Is this referencing the Lunarians?

“Humanity killed the Sun, and then ascended to divinity” — they killed Nika or Joyboy? Seems to be about the Celestial Dragons

“The God of the Sea became enraged” — about the rising of the sea levels?

bruh, the boats look like Enel’s ship. If Enel comes back, I’ll lose my mind

The Third World

Where we are now. The final arc. What we should expect. The future.

References the Void Century and how the Elders and Imu remember what happened and what might happen (“the day of promise”)

“They will surely meet again” Who? The reunion of everything that was separated in the First and Second Worlds? The reunion of all the gods that were mentioned?

The mural is amazing and there are so many details throughout, but especially in this section

Obviously there’s Nika/Joyboy (Luffy) leading an army against a figure that’s probably Imu

Under Imu, there’s a boat with figures in white uniforms — Marines/the World Gov

In Nika’s army, there are figures that represent: giants, minks, lunarians, mermaids and fishmen, samurai/ninja/people from Wano, a robot (Emet?), dwarves/tontatta, Sea Kings/Laboon (the whale), and a ship with a flag that looks like the Alabasta kingdom’s flag (@sabo-torao’s post brought my attention to that, shoutout to them)

There are so many details that I probably missed and so many things that Oda probably hasn’t explored yet, but will and I’m so excited

But TLDR: Oda cooked, Lore Piece is real, this chapter was fantastic, and the final war arc is gonna blow my mind