1piececonfessions

[1piececonfessions]

Obsessed with the fact that Shanks based his entire identity on being a redhead.

Oh, sorry, you're Red Haired Shanks of the Red Haired Pirates, that sail on the Red Force. Really? And why is that?

[1piececonfessions]

I like Shuggy because Buggy sucks and is an asshole and I think Shanks is kinda into that

I think Mihawk has better things to do and would want someone with better taste in pants regardless

[1piececonfessions]

(SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 1156)

The color spread is one more comparison between the right and left hands of the Pirate King and the wings of the future Pirate King, with Zoro juxtaposed with Rayleigh, and Sanji with Gaban. I think it's interesting that out of all the Straw Hats, Nami is the only other character that was drawn large, and positioned next to Rayleigh, Roger's first mate. This, along with the beginning of the chapter, serves as a nice reminder that despite how similar people think they are, Luffy and Roger are still fundamentally different people. Luffy's crew has a different dynamic than the Roger Pirates, and Luffy and Roger behave very differently with the Kuja Pirates, for example

Also, Nami has "belle" ("beautiful" in French) on her cap and Luffy has what appears to be the word "nereida" on his armband. The nereida are sea nymphs from Greek mythology that accompany Poseidon and are said to be very beautiful. Maybe to tie the color spread to the chapter of the beautiful Kuja Pirates roaming the seas?

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In Japanese, Gloriosa says

寝ても醒めてもこの姿もうウンザリだよ!!

Whether I'm asleep or awake, I'm fed up with looking like this!!

It might be unrelated, but 寝ても醒めても (netemo sametemo) is the name of an album and song from Fayray, a Japanese singer-songwriter. Given that the Kuja are referred to as idols in this chapter, this might be a little joke

Also, I think it's funny that that woman asking for permission to have a heart attack is actually saying

ああ心が破産申請中

Aah, my heart is filling for bankruptcy

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When the narration says Shakky is the "star" of the times, the term is 花形 (hanagata), which means star (as in actor or idol), but also floral pattern, which also works as a play on the fact that the Amazon Lily women are named after flowers

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Just an aside, but I really hope we eventually learn what the fuck is up with that giant egg the Roger Pirates are carrying around

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(chapters 1156 and 498)

Either the Amazon Lily women just age differently, or Oda has no idea how aging works, because those are completely different bone structures lol I know his art style changed a lot, but Shakky's jawline and eye shape are very obviously different

(Though I like the consistency of her shirts having those little wing shaped collars)

This chapter also makes it so Hancock's beauty isn't actually all that unusual for an Amazon Lily empress, apparently

The last chapter ended with Rocks carrying out his plan of taking over Hachinosu 44 years ago, and later in the chapter it's stated that it's been several months since then, so I'm assuming this part takes place around that same time

(chapters 498 and 1156)

Shakky quit being a pirate 40 years ago pre-timeskip, so 42 years ago present time. If Gloriosa quit the Kuja Pirates soon after this flashback, since she's already feeling the symptoms of... *sigh* love sickness, then Shakky was only an empress for about 2 years before quitting herself. Boa Hancock only becomes an empress 13 years ago, so Tritoma was an empress for 29 years before dying of... *sigh* love sickness

(chapter 522)

Though we haven't seen Shakky with the Roger Pirates in any of the flashbacks (and the Roger Pirates don't disband for another 17 years after she leaves the Kuja), and Gloriosa joined up with Rocks instead of Roger, and both of them lived, so the problem with... *sigh* love sickness, seems to be staying in Amazon Lily, and not the act of being parted from their loved ones. Or perhaps a lack of acknowledging their feelings? Hancock seems fine so far

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It's kind of sad to see these younger versions of Garp and Roger, because it feels like seeing the future Luffy and Ace will never get to have, you know? Also, that generation's father figure merry-go-round is very funny, because Whitebeard took in Rocks' and Roger's sons, Garp took in Roger's son before that, Shanks was idolized by Garp's grandson, Rocks was idolized by Harald's son, it's like these people are allergic to being present for their own biological offspring and just take in someone else's lol

Garp's attacks have a celestial theme to them, in the astronomical sense, while Roger's attacks also have a celestial theme to them, but in a spiritual sense, which is kind of poetic as far as rivals go

Garp uses Galaxy Impact in chapter 1080, with the kanji 拳骨 (genkotsu), which means fist, and 衝突 (shoutotsu), which means collision or impact, and the furigana ギャラクシーインパクト (gyarakushii inpakuto). In this chapter he uses Meteor Fist, with the kanji 拳骨 (genkotsu) and 隕石 (inseki), which means meteorite, and the furigana ゲンコツメテオ (genkotsu meteo)

Roger uses Divine Departure in chapter 966, with the kanji 神避 (kamusari) with the first kanji meaning god(s) and the second being the kanji of the verb 避ける (sakeru) which means to avoid, evade or shirk (responsibilities). In this chapter he uses Rampaging Spirit, with the kanji 荒御魂 (aramitama). According to the Wikipedia page on mitama, which are spirits of deities or souls of dead people, an aramitama is "the dynamic or rough and violent side of a spirit"

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In the beginning of the chapter and on the chapter title, "idol" is written only in katakana, but here it's written as 高嶺の花 (takaneno hana), which means prize beyond one's reach, unattainable object or woman who is out of one's league, with the furigana アイドル (aidoru). The kanji 高嶺の花 literally means flower on a high peak, so one more pun regarding the Amazon Lily women and flowers

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The narration says that the Kuja were an indispendible part of the story of the times, but I'm thinking about why exactly we're seeing them in the middle of a flashback that's supposedly about Loki killing Harald lol We took a detour to talk about Rocks, so this new detour about the Kuja should be because Gloriosa later joins him, I think? We know she left Amazon Lily because of the... *sigh* love sickness, but not why she decided to join up with Rocks

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So Harald is aware of Loki's bad behavior when he's gone, and it never occurs to him to question why exactly his son does that. And also not question what it says about an adult that they were willing to let a child drown because of "bad behavior". Loki is about 19 years old here, or a little over 6 human years old. How can you ask him to hang in there and also say that almost letting him drown is fine because it was your six year old's decision to go out to sea in the first place

How can they be angry that he doesn't want their help when they've offered him nothing but cruelty and disdain since he was born? When that sailor had literally just said right in his face that he was pondering letting him die? Would an adult be required to be grateful for that kind of pitiful "mercy"?

Ida is missing a bit of the point here, which is the blatant hatred from the whole island directed at this young child because of a curse put on him by his own mother, but I also think she kind of nails the core of the issue, which is that Loki is desperately, desperately lonely. From the image of his baby hands grabbing nothing but air, to crying and trying to reach for his mother, to a father that left him with people that hated him and shunned him, to trying to kill himself when he was five years old, there has not been a single person on his side from the moment he was born

Of course he's gonna reject any kindness Ida shows him, why would he trust it? Besides, after a lifetime of cruelty, kindness must be really painful, especially coming from a mother who clearly loves her son

(chapters 1156 and 1)

Loki's loneliness actually remins me of Luffy, who was also a desperately lonely child. Luffy said he would rather be hurt than alone, and Loki would rather be dead than stay in this country where he isn't wanted by anyone. Loki says he's gonna be like Rocks, and he's gonna have freedom, which is also something that the Red Hair Pirates told Luffy about being a pirate, that it means being free

How can Harald listen to him say "aren't you relieved that I'm leaving" and "I hate you too" and not care about what's really happening to his child?

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That top leftmost bubble says

ぎゃはははそう考えるのは自由 だが!!

Gyahahaha you're free to think that!!

I think it's interesting that Rocks also gets these associations with freedom (自由 jiyuu) the same as Luffy. It makes him look like less of a villain than he seemed to at first, especially since his aim seems to be taking down the Celestial Dragons, even if it's for selfish reasons

Kyo's name is written as 凶 (kyou), which means bad luck or misfortune. I think his glasses work doubly, first as a nod to his name (which has a radical that looks like an X), and second because X eyes are a silly way to draw a dead person and he's a hit man. Like Shiki, Kyo is a 極道 (gokudou), which means scoundrel, or member of an organized crime like the yakuza, which is probably where their rivalry comes from (also emphasized by their epithets of Golden Lion and Silver Axe)

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So there are a few possibilities for the fruits that Rocks is interested in:

The one most likely in Elbaf could be the one Loki supposedly ate (we know he ate a devil fruit, since he's weak against seastone, but not if it was the royal treasure one specifically), or it could be the Gomu Gomu Fruit, since there are a lot of Nika associations in Elbaf and the fruit could have been the Elbaf royal treasure fruit before Shanks found it and took it to East Blue

One of the fruits could also be the Yami Yami Fruit that Teach ate, since we know he wants to follow Rocks' Will and he has wanted this specific fruit for a long time (if Rocks knows about Imu's powers, it could be a way to fight darkness with darkness)

(chapter 1096)

We know that either the Marines or the World Government took some treasure from Hachinosu, which would possibly be the reason why the Rocks Pirates were at God Valley. It could be the two devil fruits that were the prize for the Celestial Dragons' "game", so maybe one or both of them are the ones Rocks wants? They were Kuma's Paw Paw Fruit and Kaido's Azure Dragon Fruit

Given Rocks' association with freedom and his fight against the World Government, I imagine the fruits he was after could also be associated with freedom and liberation

(chapters 542, 1096 and 1044)

Teach's attack in Impel Down is Liberation, with the kanji 解放 (kaihou) but with the furigana リベレイション (ribereishon), Iva said Kuma had hands of liberation, or 解放の手 (kaihouno te), and Nika of course is the Warrior of Liberation, or 解放の戦士 (kaihouno senshi)

Rocks said the fruit's power will only be unlocked if Harald eats it. I wonder if he means Harald specifically, or if he means someone with Ancient Giant blood. Because maybe the fruit that Rocks wants could be the fruit that Loki ate, because Loki also has Ancient Giant blood, plus whatever he has going on with his unusual eyes. Also, in this case it wouldn't necessarily make sense for the Elbaf fruit to be the Gomu Gomu one, unless Rocks believed an Ancient Giant would make for the ultimate Nika

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(chapters 1156 and 1154)

The Galleila that Captain John mentions is the same one that Jarul talked about, written as 大槌戦団 with the furigana ガレイラ (gareira). I have a theory I talked about from chapter 1154 (here) about the Galleila Band being the ones who built Pluton, and it could explain why Rocks is looking for them, maybe to find out where it is/how to use it

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For a band of people who can barely stand each other, it must be strange to see Rocks being so loyal to Harald, who has repeatedly rejected being a part of Rocks' plan and crew, and it again reminds me of Luffy and how ride or die he is for his friends

So Rocks needs Harald because there is a devil fruit in Elbaf he wants, and he thinks Harald needs to be the one to eat it. Plus he needs Harald to control and order the Galleila Band if they're ever found, since he is the current ruler of Elbaf. If the Galleila Band really were the ones who built Pluton, I wonder if the Elbaf fruit is also related to the Ancient Weapons (could Uranus actually be a devil fruit user?)

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Once again Elbaf is positioned as the key to winning. In chapter 1146, Gunko says that "a vast war will ensue and drag the entire world into it, and which side the giants pledge their allegiance to will have a profound effect on the outcome of the war". And Rocks now says that Elbaf is the key to taking down Marijoa. It seems too grand to just be because they are a nation of giant warriors, there must be something more to it

Rocks once again talks about freedom here, when he says

運命の日におれに付いて来るかどうかはお前らの自由

You're free to choose if you want to follow me on that fateful day

He also talks about a day of fate 運命の日 (unmeino hi), like Shanks was called a child of fate 運命の子 (unmeino ko), and I wonder if those two destinies are related somehow

He says he's gonna show them the "peak of the world", which he probably means metaphorically (if they defeat Marijoa, they will be the new rulers of the world) and literally (Marijoa is atop the Red Line which few people ever see)

I wonder if, like Roger said about himself in chapter 968, Rocks was also too early with his plans, and that's why it ended up failing

<- chapter 1155 analysis

[1piececonfessions]

i love monkey :D

[1piececonfessions]

Alright I'm calling the shot, this is the hill I'm dying on: Catarina Foxy. These two are siblings.

There's the obvious appearance-wise, the mouths and noses in particular, but there's also consistent fox theming that didn't show up for Devon until much later in the series, there's the fact that they were both born in the South Blue two years apart, that Foxy introduces the Davy Back Fight to the narrative, which connects to Devon through Xebec's whole inherited will deal with Blackbeard. Foxy also spends a fair portion of his time fighting Luffy "transforming" into other people.

Haven't seen anyone bring this up yet so I gotta say it now.

[1piececonfessions]

One piece has cat/dog divorced yaoi

[1piececonfessions]

I was talking to a guy who thought Oda is getting carried away by nepotism. "Halfway into the story, we discover Sanji is a Vinsmoke from the former rulers of the North Blue, Zoro is a descendant of Shitmotsuki Ryuma, Black Beard, Luffy, Ace, Shanks, etc, etc" He was arguing that everyone had to be special through inheritance somehow. And I was about to reply, but then he said: "In the end, only Chopper will be the son of no one important, or will Oda also reveal in the future that he's the son of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?" And I've been speechless ever since….

[1piececonfessions]

[1piececonfessions]

What I like about Ripley and Gaban is that they break the trend of tiny woman/huge man (Toki and Oden, Otohime and Neptune, Ida and Harald) that always made me cringe a little in sympathy

I know that size kink is pretty common, but also consider: ouch.

[1piececonfessions]

(SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 1155)

It's pretty heartbreaking that Loki is so sure Harald wouldn't come back just because he's injured, though it's a reasonable assumption for him to make, seeing as he's had bruises from the first time Harald ever saw him and it hadn't stopped him from traveling so far. In Japanese, he says

それに親父がおれのケガくらいでいちいち帰ってくるか!!

That いちいち (ichiichi) means every single or each and every (time/thing). So Loki is not only saying that Harald wouldn't come back just because he's hurt, but also like "you expect him to come back every single time I'm hurt?" which just reinforces the idea that he's always hurt and he never expects anyone to care about it

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(chapters 1155 and 1149)

First things first, Gunko looks exactly the same 56 years ago, so there is definitely some level of immortality being granted to her. She also already has her face covered here, when she didn't seem to in that flash of memory she had before being possessed, so I wonder if it's also related to how Imu controls her

Onto Rocks, though, I think it's interesting that he's shown there with a gun, isn't it? Especially when we were just told about his incredible swordsmanship. Not that people can't use both, of course, but they also mostly tend to stick to one type of weapon (Kiku with her sword and Izo with his guns, for example). Also, the fact that he apparently managed to not only get in to the "very core of the Holy Land", but then back out again seems impossible enough that I can only imagine it's a way to show how impressive Rocks is, especially considering he seems to have done all of that by himself

Although, even if Cobra died, Sabo did manage to escape an attack from all five plus Imu and also from Marijoa (as did Wapol and Vivi). At the time, Sabo had help from the chaos that was happening because of the Revolutionary Army and the attempted kidnapping of Shirahoshi, and Rocks during the flashback ends up benefiting from the chaos that Harald was causing and that came from his own kidnapping of the five kings

It raises some questions too: did Rocks already know about Imu's existence here? If so, was he looking for them, or something else? Rocks threatened Imu to their face and told them he would be back "here". The Holy Land? The Flower Room? In front of Imu? Was he looking for the treasure that Doflamingo told Law about? Especially since Doflamingo says the very existence of the treasure would shake the world and at the end of this chapter the narration says that the Rocks Pirates also managed to shake the world (in terror)

(chapter 761)

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(chapters 1155 and 306)

The narration says Rocks calls himself a 崇拝者 (suuhaisha), which means worshipper or admirer, of Davy Jones. I wonder if that's just because of the way he recruits his crew, or if it has something to do with the legend of Davy Jones itself

[Hilariously, a pirate that was "cursed" by a devil (ate a devil's fruit, possibly?) and lives on the seafloor sounds like Vander Decken]

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So Rocks became a pirate only after attacking Marijoa, then stealing a ship and their heavenly tribute. And this all happens after he is described as a worshipper of Davy Jones, so maybe he became a pirate because of his admiration. Since everything that sinks to the bottom of the ocean is said to belong to Davy Jones, maybe that inspired Rocks to want everything on top of it to belong to him, making him king of the world

(chapters 1155 and 306)

So there are a lot of things connecting Rocks to Hachinosu so far:

Davy Back Fight is said to have originated there

Rocks used the Davy Back Fight to gather his crew

Rocks Pirates were formed there

Former crew of the Rocks Pirates Ochoku occupied it

Taken over by Rocks' son Blackbeard during the Rocky Port Incident

He was also willing to part with half the treasure there as long as he kept the island and the criminals. I wonder if it has something to do with whatever the government or the marines ended up stealing from them that led to Rocks chasing them to God Valley (maybe those Devil Fruits?) in chapter 1096 during Kuma's flashback

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Regardless of if it was Rocks telling Harald that Loki fell or the doctors saying his injuries are those of a fall, just the wounds that Rocks gave him wouldn't really make it seem like he fell from a cliff, but unfortunately he did fall, right? He had just jumped from the Sun Realm to the Underworld, so of couse he has wounds that look like a fall

This scene actually says a lot about Harald and Loki. Harald obviously loves and cares about his son, but he is also obviously oblivious to Loki's day to day life. Even if Loki only rampaged with his Underworld animals on the villages when Harald was absent, it seems really unlikely that he wouldn't have heard about it before, either by people telling him or by seeing the damage they did. It could just be that the other giants are keeping it from him, but if you add that to the years of wounds that go by unnoticed, it really paints a picture of a father who just has a very superficial awareness of his son

The fact that Harald clearly loves him (he did cut his trip short because he learned Loki was injured) only makes it all the sadder, because that love isn't reaching Loki (since he had never come back before, Loki probably never even thought of calling for him as a possibility). It still isn't reaching him now, because Loki is absolutely certain his father wouldn't care, because he never seemed to before

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When Rocks asks Harald if he would "rather be ground beneath the world government's heel", in Japanese he uses the word 支配 (shihai), which means dominance or control, and is the word Imu uses when they possess Gunko's body. It's also part of the name of their attack/contract Domi Reversi 黒���支配, which means something like Black Dominion Reversion with the furigana ドミ.リバーシ (domi.ribaashi)

(chapters 1149 and 1150)

While it's still unclear how much Rocks knows about Imu, the fact that he has seen them makes it seem like when he's talking about the World Government, he's actually really talking about them and Harald accepting being under Imu's dominance. This also might work as foreshadowing to Harald ending up being put under a contract, like the one the other giants are under in the present

Speaking of Domi Reversi, Rocks says that a person's 本質 (honshitsu), which means true nature or essence, doesn't change, and while he's talking about the giants being naturally violent and warrior-like, we also know that that's not exactly true, right? We've seen giants like Saul and Ida reject that, we've seen how violence is more of a cultural identity that was compounded by Elbaf's isolationist tendencies and kind of fed onto itself, and how the injection of an outsider's point of view was able to change all of that

(chapters 1146 and 1150)

Rocks (and Sommers) are projecting their idea of what a "true" Elbaf giant should be and trying to force them into that mold. Imu then does an extreme version of this by literally taking their common sense away and giving them the idea that they should rampage and dominate. So if people's true nature really doesn't change, then what all of the giants that have been Reversi'd need is a chance to break free of the contract that's binding them

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Shiki is a 極道 (gokudou), which means scoundrel, or member of an organized crime like the yakuza. Don Marlon is a ギャング (gyangu), which means gangster. They're both in the same profession, I guess the difference is mostly the inspiration? Italian mob vs Japanese yakuza

Stussy is a 強盗 (goutou), which means robber, unlike Nami, who is called a 泥棒 (dorobou), or thief. A thief takes your stuff without you realizing, while a robber is more like the "give me all your money (or science, in this case)" while pointing a gun at you

Ochoku is a 教祖 (kyouso), which means guru or founder of a religious sect. This is something he did before taking over Hachinosu. I wonder if it's a religion of Davy Jones, since apparently Davy Jones has worshippers like Rocks

Ganzui says that the criminal underworld helped the pirates mine the gold in Hachinosu. In Japanese, he calls them 闇の組織 (yamino soshiki), which means something like Dark Organization. I wonder if they're the same people whose emperors attended Sanji and Pudding's wedding (chapter 860)

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I've seen people speculate that this partnership between Rocks and the government served as the basis for the future Warlords system. I think it makes sense, and it's ironic that even this first example failed in a way, as Rocks had no plans of fulfilling his agreement completely. I guess the benefits of getting a portion of treasure plus having to deal with less pirates was enough of a bonus to consider it again

When he says "I'm gonna rule over Hachinosu", he again uses the word 支配 (shihai), for dominance. I don't think it's a coincidence, especially after the direct threat he made to Imu and his future plans of being King of the World. He wants to put himself on the same level and in direct opposition to the main power of the world. He's also the one who turns Hachinosu into the "pirate's paradise", again opposing the heavenly paradise of the Holy Land atop the Red Line

I think it's interesting that he makes this meta commentary about his plan as the "prologue" of his life, like chapters in a book. It's kind of sad, because we already know how his story ends, and after he dies the government erases him so completely almost nobody remembers his name

When he says he's gonna "bring the Holy Land to its knees", in Japanese he uses the word 陥落 (kanraku), which means yielding or being brought to your knees, but also falling (of a city, empire, etc), and sinking or collapsing. So I think we could interpret it in a metaphorical sense, i.e. that he will destroy the Celestial Dragons, or in a more literal sense of collapsing the Holy Land. The latter aligns with the theories surrounding the idea of the Red Line as Jörmungandr, the giant sea serpent of Norse mythology that encircles the world by biting its tail like an ouroboros. One of the signs of Ragnarök is Jörmungandr releasing its tail or, in this case, the destruction of the portion of the Red Line where Marijoa is

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(chapters 1155 and 761)

On that right bubble, Rocks says

永遠に続く権力などこの世にゃねェんだ!!! There's no such thing as eternal power in this world

権力 (kenryoku) means political power or authority, and 永遠 (eien) means eternity or immortality. Eien is the word Law uses to describe the "gift of eternal life" from the operation that the user of the Ope Ope Fruit can do on someone, the one that Iva later speculates could have been done on Imu

Rocks is saying that no power in this world lasts forever, that change is inevitable and someone sooner or later will manage to do what he dreams of. Rocks as the bringer of chaos and change works as a contrast to Imu and their stillness, frozen in time and working to freeze the whole world along with them. This idea of people trying to shake (I'm trying so hard not to say rock lol) the world currently being controled by an immortal (frozen, still) hidden power reminds me of the title of chapter 1146, Motion in Stillness, which is also the chapter where Gunko talks about the war that was supposed to end the world and that will start again soon

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I wonder what about Rocks' speech made Loki feel like he had been saved. Rocks said that even if making an enemy out of the whole world is too much, someone sooner or later will do it, and that no authority in this world is eternal. I think maybe it was the idea that there was a whole world out there to be conquered, that there was more to life than his suffering in Elbaf, that he didn't have to stay there forever (there is no such thing as an eternal power holding you back). And actually, Harald said something like that last chapter, when he brough allies with aid when Elbaf was starving

(chapter 1154)

For the giants who have lived their whole lives isolated, it can seem that the world is no bigger than Elbaf. And for Loki, whose experience in life has been nothing but suffering, who had centuries of it looming in his future (since he "can't even die"), the idea that there was... more, would probably feel like salvation. And again it's so sad that he could have learned this from his father, if Harald had been more present in his life. It's also a little ironic that Loki is unknowingly mimicking his father here, having his worldview changed by meeting an outsider's point of view

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Four years later means that the Rocks Pirates took over Hachinosu 44 years ago, the same year Kaido joined them

The first time Rocks was in Elbaf was 48 years ago, and Big Mom wasn't there. I wonder if she hadn't joined yet or if she knew she wouldn't be welcomed and didn't go with them

Also, it seems like there were at least three former Rocks Pirates members whose corpses were revived by Moria in Thriller Bark. There was Captain John and Gil Bastar, and someone who looks like Ganzui but with elephant legs

(chapters 1096 and 450)

Did Moria go looking for them specifically? Were they even buried in the same place, I wonder

<- chapter 1154 analysis

[1piececonfessions]

gnash your teeth,

protect each other

[1piececonfessions]

i love how for most of the straw hats, their stories about how they joined the crew are pretty normal, a lot of them are very sweet and emotional. And then you get to franky, and it's because robin did cbt (cock and ball torture) on him

[1piececonfessions]

Rewatched dressrosa and I have thoughts about Baby 5's arc that I want to ramble about even though no one cares.

We see both in the past and present that the family is actually quite protective of and even kind to Baby 5. Doffy frequently kills men who try to take advantage of or hurt her and as a child she seems overall quite happy. Doffy was basically a parental figure to her and she really did see them as her family. However, even though they showed her a lot of affection they never tried to help her break her toxic mindset and desperation for being needed because as long as she was like that she would be loyal to them and if she became more stable she might try and leave.

When she falls in love with Sai and tries to kill herself for him he is horrified by her actions. She's his enemy and everyone points out that her killing herself would be benifical to him but he can't stand to see the way she treats herself. He's not in love with her and he barely knows her but he asks her why no one in her life has ever told her that the way she's living is wrong. Lao G calls her convienent and she is forced to face the fact that the love the family showed her was always conditional to her obediance. Sai isn't in love with her but after seeing how Lao G treats her he accepts her marriage proposal and seems to have genuine interest in getting to know her. He lets her cling to him and even sleep next to him after the battle. Considering that they did get married and in SBS his favorite food is bento made by his wife its seems he probably fell in love with her eventually. Sai's pretty gruff and not great with affection but he doesn't hesitate to say what he means and shut down Baby 5's bullshit.

Baby 5 was at oldest 8 years old but likely younger when she joined the family and just like with Law Doffy saw a desperate broken kid and decided to both use them and love them in his own messed up way. Doffy saw himself in Law but I can't help but wonder if he saw some of Cora in Baby 5. Baby 5 did a lot of awful things while in the family but she was also just a much of a victim as Law was except she didnt have a Cora-san to drag her out. It makes me happy that she got to get out and live a happy life.

Just my thoughts.

[1piececonfessions]

Never getting over the fact that the vessel of the Sun God was in born in the East Blue on fucking Dawn Island. What.

[1piececonfessions]

(SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 1154)

The title for this chapter has a little bit of wordplay. In Japanese, a negative form of the verb to die (死ね) and a negative form of the verb to be/do (しね) can both be pronounced as shine. So the title 死ねもしねェ reads shinemoshinee

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(chapters 1154 and 1023)

This is probably unrelated, but the narration mentions the 災害 (saigai), or calamities, that befall Elbaf at the same time as Loki is born, and it reminded me of Queen calling himself, King and Jack the calamities (same word, 災害) that protect Kaido. Also, King is called the Wildfire or 火災 (kasai), which is also one of the calamities that afflicts Elbaf

It also makes me think about the causes of these calamities. Is it just really bad luck on Loki's part, that these natural disasters just happened on the same year he was born? Like I mentioned before, Estrid tends to speak twisted versions of the truth through her esoteric nonsense, and she emphatically, repeatedly curses Loki's existence and ties his "curse" to the misfortune of Elbaf. Coincidentally or not, the calamities ended after she died and stopped talking about curses. The kingdom related both her death and the disasters to Loki's curse, but we already saw that Loki was only shown to be cursed by Estrid

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Once again we have a focus on history, tradition and customs, regardless of if that history was good or not. In that bottom bubble, the giant says

そんなもの建前だ!! That's just the public position!!

建前 (tatemae) means a public stance or official motive, as opposed to 本音 (honne), which means someone's true feelings or real opinions. 建前 doesn't exactly mean a lie, it's more like the polite position you take in order to keep up appearances and good relations

What that giant is saying is that the idea that Elbaf warriors always fought with pride and honor is just a facade to make them look better, when their actual history is one of pillaging and raiding. They're the words of a desperate man in times of extreme crisis trying to justify the actions he wants to take but knows are considered bad

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(chapters 1154 and 287)

The giant calls Hajrudin 生け贄 (ikenie), which means a sacrifice, victim or scapegoat. They know Hajrudin has nothing to do with anything, hell maybe they even know Loki has nothing to do with anything, there's a reason their faces were shadowed when they started talking about the rumors of his curse and the narrator stresses that their hearts grew sick. Also, calling Hajrudin a sacrifice reminds me of the Shandians trying to appease the gods (they also called Musse ikenie). It's another connection between Elbaf and Jaya, both places where people were stuck in their custums and culture, falling back on believing disease and natural disasters can be mitigated by human (or giant) sacrifices

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Someone please correct me if I'm wrong here, but the Japanese text says

悪災の全てを[ロキの呪い]と吹聴し She made it widely known/spread the rumors that all of the evil disasters were because of Loki's curse

I couldn't actually find the term 悪災 (akusai) in any of the dictionaries I use, though 悪 means evil and 災 is usually associated with disasters or calamities, so "kingdom's ills" isn't wrong. What I did find, though, is that the term 悪妻 (also pronounced akusai) means a bad or undesirable wife

I could just be reading too much into this, but it would also make sense for Estrid to blame her "failings" as a wife on Loki's curse, since the only reason Harald married her in the first place was because the others dictated he needed a son with a "pure" bloodline like hers. And we saw last chapter that she didn't even want him to find out about Loki's existence, and how vehemently she rejected Loki after she found him to not be up to her standards of perfection

So she conveniently blames both the country's current misfortunes (悪災) and her failure to give Harald a "perfect" son (悪妻) on Loki's curse

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The thing is, Harald wasn't a bad king. His insistence on fostering diplomatic relations with other countries was in fact what saved Elbaf from famine. His dedication to push for peace and trade helped the country prosper and you can see why he became "the most beloved king in Elbaf's history". But a good king isn't necessarily a good father. I think that, at his core, Harald is a self-centered person (you could make a case that kings and royals are, by nurture, meant to be self-centered, but that's another discussion). He actually reminds me a lot of Oden. They both came from isolated countries, both of them were violent and selfish in their youth and they both had their eyes opened thanks to their relationships with outsiders. And they were both, in their way, neglectful to their families

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(chapters 1154 and 1153)

Harald tried to make a 願い (negai), which means a request, plea or appeal, that wasn't granted. I'm assuming it has to do with his troubles in the previous chapter. Though how exactly someone the size of an ancient giant, with some very distinctive horns, would manage to "slip inside" is beyond me. Also, if he was making appeals I'm assuming he couldn't have been discrete about who he was

But, since Shanks met him in Marijoa sometime between 24 and 14 years ago, he must have found some way to get what he wanted later, or at least a way to try without having to sneak in

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So Galleila is written with the furigana ガレイラ (gareira) and the kanji 大槌戦団. 大 means large or great, 槌 means hammer, 戦 means war or battle, and 団 means group or company (like traveling company). Now, the Galley-La Company in Water 7 was only established less than 10 years ago, but maybe the Galleila giants spent time in Water 7 teaching humans about boatbuilding, and left enough of a mark on the shipwrights there that Iceburg decided to name his company in their honor

This is a group that disappeared long enough ago that even to a long-living race like the giants they were regarded as myths. Jarul says the group was captured, even with more than 100 members, including ancient giants

(chapters 1154 and 1115)

Jarul mentions an enemy of the giants and a history that was sunk under the sea, all of this in the distant past. There's a good chance this all correlates with Vegapunk's message, where he claimed the ocean's levels rose 200 meters during the Void Century. If the giants, who venerate Nika, were on the same side of the war as Joyboy, the previous user of the Nika fruit, then it makes sense that their enemy at the time would be the 20 nations that later formed the World Government

(chapters 193 and 399)

So, theory time! If someone were to build the "most terrible weapon of the ancient world" as a counter to another ancient weapon getting into the wrong hands, and leave its blueprints in the hands of Water 7 shipwrights specifically, wouldn't it make sense for it to be a group of giant hammer-wielding warrior shipwrights? If this Galleila group was from the Void Century, and they were the original architects of Pluton, it makes sense that Iceburg would have known the name and chosen it for his company as another form of quiet rebellion against the government that killed his mentor Tom

(chapter 648)

Also, I wonder if the Galleila group were the people the sea kings were talking about. Especially because they say 時代が代わった, translated to "it is a differente age now", or more accurately "times have changed/time has moved on"

(chapters 1154 and 660)

Now, Jarul doesn't necessarily say that the frozen army of giants is the Galleila group, but if this army is the same one that Nami and Chopper saw on Punk Hazard, where you can see giants and possibly ancient giants, then it could make sense for it to be the same group. Especially if you consider that that island was used as a government facility, where the World Government could keep (and study) the enemies that they captured

Though to be fair, the frozen army could also be about Oars and his "nation of villains", since we don't know if Moria found only Oars frozen in this land of ice. It's possible, though it feels less likely in my opinion

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(chapters 1154 and 1153)

It would be easy to say that Hajrudin got to have Harald's love because he was the son of Harald's true beloved, but to me they were both neglected. Those words that Hajrudin uses to defend his father and call out Loki, they aren't Harald's words, they're Ida's. They're almost a direct quote of the things she told Harald and, supposedly, also taught her son. It reminds me of Usopp and his mother, who also taught her son to be proud of his father and his heritage, since Yasopp obviously wasn't there to have inspired Usopp. To me, it's their mothers' love for their fathers that shines through in how these boys see their dads

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These guards will take any excuse to harass any child, regardless of who they are. Hajrudin gets a hard time for being a bastard, but when Loki imitates them, he's going too far. Nevermind that these are the same guards who have probably watched as he's been mistreated and abused in the castle since he was a newborn and the only thing they took from seeing all of that is to spread the rumors about Loki's curse even more (who else would have told the villagers about the horse of fortune, about Loki's curse, who else would have connected Estrid's death to the curse after listening to all of her rants?)

And the saddest part is that all of those rumors had a twisted kind of truth to them, didn't they? Loki was cursed from birth (by his mother), his mother died because of his curse (I'm assuming from stress related to all that hatred), the horse of fortune died because of him (not explicitly, of course, but living in a castle where he was constantly abused by the "family" that gave the king that horse, would you blame him for lashing out where he could?), he does bring his animals to terrorize the villages (who blamed him for every disaster, who call him cursed, the villages that get all of the love and care and attention that his father doesn't show him)

Seeing all of the attention that Hajrudin gets, even though he's a bastard, even though Loki is a prince (the only thing nobody can take from him, the one thing he knows Harald needs him for), Hajrudin who still has a mother, whose mother loves him even when Hajrudin isn't a prince, isn't "necessary", isn't important. Seeing people care that Hajrudin was hurt, when Loki spent how many years with visible wounds and no comfort?

Loki, who is used to mothers looking at him with nothing but anger and hatred

He did a lot of bad things, and hopefully will make amends for some of it, but I think we can all see where he came from, right? If the world already hates you for existing, regardless of what you do, then you might as well earn it. At least you can tell yourself they're hating your actions, not you as a person

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(chapters 1154 and 795)

Loki's suicide attempt reminded me of Kaido when he jumped off the sky island. Kaido was also famously known for being strong and, in that chapter, as someone incapable of being killed, even by himself

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So Harald came across Rocks at the Reverie, and between the sneaking in and the admiral murder he managed to make enough of an impression on Rocks for him to go looking for Harald. And Whitebeard, Shiki and Stussy were already with Rocks 48 years ago, even before they formed the Rocks Pirates (since he's still introduced as the future captain). I wonder if he's there to talk about Harald's request that got ignored. I wonder what he was even doing at the Reverie, if he snuck in too

I've seen people speculating if maybe he was a king, and that's why Blackbeard wants to make Hachinosu a recognized country and be a king too (a birthright that was denied to him?). My guess is that Rocks wanted something in Marijoa, and as Blackbeard has inherited his Will, then he might be after the same thing (after all, being a recognized country could get him an invitation to the next Reverie, if he's playing that kind of long game)

(chapter 761)

I wonder if their interest has anything to do with the treasure that Doflamingo mentioned existed in Marijoa. He actually calls it 国宝 (kokuhou) which means a national treasure. I also wonder if this is all also related to the Rocks Pirates attacking God Valley ten years later (38 years ago), where the World Nobles would be away from Marijoa and easier to get to

Also, Teach being Rocks' son mirrors him pretty sharply with Ace. Both of them are sons of great and infamous pirates (both of whom, incidentally, were at God Valley), neither of them have their fathers' names (Ace's was on purpose, I wonder if Teach's was too), both supposedly have D lineage from both sides of the family (assuming Marshall D. is Teach's mother's name), both were adopted as sons by Whitebeard. And yet, they are also diametrically opposed too. Ace very firmly and soundly rejects his heritage and his connection with Roger, and emphatically does not inherit his Will. Teach, on the other hand, seems pretty intent on inheriting Rocks' Will. Ace loved Whitebeard like a father, and Teach not only betrayed him but made a mockery of their association at Marineford

(chapter 965)

Whitebeard must have known who Teach's father was, right? Or at least very much suspected. I don't imagine it would have made a difference, it would've been the same case of "we're all children of the sea", I suppose

<- chapter 1153 analysis

[1piececonfessions]

Wanted to expand more on my silly one piece/pokemon crossover :>

[1piececonfessions]

how the seraphim were handled pisses me off so bad. their existence is devastating and then their situation really isnt treated with the gravity that other characters in similar situations are given. and thats both narratively and in characters reactions. im guessing its bc oda has plans for them in the final war but how the strawhats react to them is in my opinion, widely out of character. you're telling me the woman who refused to leave the experimented on children during punk hazard, a man who grew up around other children made to be weapons, and one of the men that the seraphim are made from.....saw these enslaved children made to be weapons and just left them there??? accepted that vegapunk, the smartest man in the world, had no way to un- mind control them, and then never really mentioned them again???