#Aokiji stole the show in this one

[victorie552onepiecespeedrun]

Reading One Piece pt 186: Everyone Crashes Barbeque Party

Chapter 433

Thoughts:

- Fpos/cs: “Someone’s in the hole” True, and they appear to be unconscious

- “You’re my grandson! That’s why I won’t capture you! That’s what I’ll write on my report! Stay as long as you want!” “Let’s just write they got away.” Grandpa Garp really is something else :D

- “I’m leaving” “Ok, bye” :D

- YOU HURT YOUR GRANDPA’S FEELINGS LUFFY :D

- Yeah, they’re very much related, Nami

- Ok, so there’s only Coby and Helmeppo now. Luffy went to talk with them but Zoro didn’t. You could interact with people sometimes, Zoro

- Straw Hats really went and took a break :) They need it

- Some of marines warships can cross the Calm Belt, huh (Luffy asked Coby how they got to the Grand Line if not by Reverse Mountain)

- Kairouseki again. It’s like a magic stone I swear. Stops DF users, makes ships invisible to monsters, what next

- Also, Nami is totally spying at them

- Dr. Vegapunk? Will it be relevant?

- They’re happy :D

- “Luffy-san! Do you know what the latter half of this Grand Line is called? People know the last part of the sea that goes beyond the Red Line by the name:…” ?

- “…The “New World”” !!!

- I heard it before! So that’s what that means!

- “A sea where people who will begin the next generation gather! Whoever conquers this sea will become the Pirate King! Luffy! Let’s meet again over there!” !!! This is great!

- “…and I will be Admiral!” you go Coby, dream big!

- Aww, he got embarrassed :D

- Luffy believes in him of course

- “Are you still a crybaby, Coby?” Yes, he is

- “Luffy, did you just… create another great enemy?” “Coby’s a man of his word. I know it.” They seem pretty happy about it. They’re weird guys like that

- Feeding time! And Sogeking is here!

- Ok, is it a chapter where Usopp Situation is finally resolved or what

- (I can’t believe Galley-ga Company has swimming pool just for its employees. Talk about perks)

- Ok, literary everyone crashed on Straw Hats barbeque party right now. Frankies, Galley-ga, Iceberg, giants, horses, Franky, you name it

- “IT’S A FEAST!”

- I love post-adventure parties, they’re the best

- !!!!

- Aokiji is here! What does he wants from Robin

- “Why didn’t you run away?” “I changed” she did, she’s not alone anymore

- “The giant who fought for Ohara 20 years ago… Saul… we were… very good friends.” Oh?

- “It was my duty to observe what you do with your life…” I wanted to be proud of you right now, Aokiji, but I just realized that if you were taking care of Robin, you could secretly take her in, not leave her for 20 years to fend for herself

- Oh, it’s an confession

- “I decided that I could no longer leave a ticking bomb like you roam free” SHE WAS 8!!! NOT YOU TOO, AOKIJI

- “One who hasn’t found a place to harbour herself… and is still wandering around even after 20 years” and whose fault is that? Ok, let bygones be bygones, I’m letting it go

- “Most of all… I thought you just wanted to die… I… I intended to but everything about Ohara to an end this time.” …alright, at least you’re honest

- “Of course I never expected CP9 to fall…” haha

- “…Did you finally find a place to harbour herself?” “…Yes”

- “Then live your life to the fullest… Ohara… hasn’t fallen yet.”

- And he vanishes. That was emotional

- (I like Aokiji, flaws and all)

- (we do see Aokiji one last time. He stole food from the feast :D Bicycle away, Admiral)

- PLOT TIME

- We’re in Holyland! Government got an emergency on their hands

- Grand Line! Apparently Shanks contacted Whitebeard! That’s good!

- WHITEBEARD

Another chapter filled with wonders :D

rOP 185  rOP 187

[mysticaltigersorceress]

(Cute) Harbingers of Chaos

A/n: So this is my piece for @some-piece‘s AU challenge!! My choice of characters was: Silvers Rayleigh, Shanks, Wire, Kuzan (Aokiji), and Shachi. I’m going to do a (college) library AU. All fluff and fun, no warnings!! this turned out long than i meant lol, but most is under the cut.  feel free to add to the masterlist basi uwu

Word Count: 1.8k (i know, i thought it was gonna be shorter, but then, well, whoops lol)

Notes: Shachi x Reader (vaguely lol), gender neutral reader, and 2nd person pov

Summary: Reader works in college library, chaos caused by adorableness, Bepo is a massive pupper lol, plans went askew

AO3: Find it here on archive uwu

When you began your shift at the New World University Library, things started off as per usual. Armed with mints in your pocket and a single earbud in your ear, you started on your to do list, first of which was shelving books. Making your rounds through the library, you gave a few smiles and half waves to some of the students you recognized, but soon enough, you were lost in the music and books. Things were going quite smoothly too, that is, until a tall ginger in a whale hat dragged you out of your world, literally. 

He yanked you around the corner of the shelf with a crazed look on his face and frantically looked around before crouching down and grabbing you by both shoulders.

“You work here, right? Have you seen a tall guy in a white hat? Super scrawny, possibly high and definitely needs to lay off the coffee?”

“Sorry, what? I- no. Could you–” A loud BOOOOF cut you off, and all the blood drained from Whale-hat’s face. He released you and rocketed away faster than a bar of soap in the bath, cursing about flightless wanna-be posh birds. Not quite knowing what else to do, you sprinted after him. 

Students were fleeing the plaza at the center of the library, while just as many flocked in with their phones to film whatever was happening. Whale-hat was shoving his way through the throng and you dived after him, apologizing to the disgruntled students as you went.

Whale-hat broke free of the crowd before you, and the people cut off your escape before you could follow. You could hear someone yelling about wasted food, a bunch of incoherent shouting, and a frick ton of barking for somewhere any animals besides service dogs were not supposed to be. You weren’t exactly sure what was happening, but it smelled of trouble, and you could get in a LOT of trouble if this didn’t get resolved quickly!

“COMING THROUGH!” You held your arms around your face and bulldozed through the last students in your way, breaking out into the open– 

Something big and heavy to slammed you to the ground, gave you a few licks and ran across you. 

“POLAR BEAR!” One shadow jumped over you, quick as a whip.

“THAT'S A DOG IDIOT!” Another shadow soared overhead. “STOP CHASING HIM, HE THINKS THIS IS A GAME!”

“Oh my god, are you okay? I’m so fucking sorry about this!” Whale-hat paused his pursuit just long enough to help you up and make sure you could see straight. “PENG YOU IDIOT, YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO KEEP HIM OUTSIDE!”

“LET’S SEE YOU TRY TO CONTROL AN EXCITED DOG WHO WEIGHS AS MUCH AS YOU!!!”

Whale-hat ran off after you assured him you were fine, and you took in the scene before you. (Properly this time, no giant dogs to obstruct the view). 

The dog in question (definitely able to be confused for a polar bear by size alone) was bounding joyously throughout the plaza, making new friends who would give him pets before he noticed the meat-kid and scamper excitedly away again. Behind Meat-kid were Whale-hat and his friend, trying desperately to call over the dog.

“IS THAT YOUR SHITTY DOG!?” A blonde guy yelled from across the plaza, remnants of a meal scattered around his feet. “IT JUST ATE ALL OF OUR DAMN FOOD!” Why had they decided to have a picnic in the library? And why was the dog close enough to raid their picnic?

“COME HERE POLAR BEAR!” The meat-kid got close enough he dived for the dog. You thought he would actually catch the dog, but the dog dodged at the last second, leaving a student available for meat-kid to tackle instead. You barely held back a snort at the sight of limbs flailing askew and they disappeared from view.

You scowled to compose yourself and took a deep breath; this had gone on long enough. Crossing the plaza, you snatched part of the lost meal and whistled and made some kissy noises. “Here boy! Come here! Want some food?” You patted your leg excitedly and crouched down, trying to lure the fluff monster over.

By some miracle, he heard you over all the noise and bounded over to you, graciously gobbling up the treat and basking while you showered him in rubs and praise (and took a hold of his collar). Whale-hat and his friend wheezed as they ran up to you, gasping out apologies and thanks as they reattached the leash and tied it to their belt. Was– was that a great idea?

“YOUR POLAR BEAR STOLE MY MEAT!” The meat-kid bounced back over to them, hunger and indignation emblazoned across his face. (Talk about the living embodiment of hangry.)

“That's a dog Strawhat-ya." From behind Strawhat came a tall lanky man with bags the size of hammocks under his eyes, freshly soaked in coffee and wearing a white fuzzy cap. 

White hat. Tall. Probably needs to lay off the coffee. "Is that–" 

"LAW! There you are!" Whale-hat laughed and interrupted you, "We were just taking Bepo out for a walk! And we brought you some–"

Law pulled something out of his pocket and chucked it in the opposite direction. Bepo bolted away faster than a squirrel in a nut factory, dragging poor Whale-hat’s friend behind him. You watched alarmed as the dog/human sled combo created a scene which reminded you of bowling pins in a bowling alley. Law then held out his hand expectantly; Whale-hat swallowed hard and reached into his pocket to pull out his wallet and a pack of... salted licorice? He handed the candy and a few bills over, and the lanky zombie disappeared with Strawhat bouncing after him.

What on earth was happening? 

"Oi, shithead! What are you gonna do about my ruined food!? Poor Nami-san and Robin-chan are gonna starve because of you and your shitty mutt!" The blonde growled at Whale-hat, glaring him down in a way that might have been scary, had he not been several inches shorter than the one he was yelling at.

"A, that's not my dog, and B, if Bepo wanted to eat it, then it probably tastes like shit anyway!"

They both started arguing loudly over each other, and you buried your face in your hands. This certainly wasn’t how you wanted today to go. But now, it was time to get this mess straightened out.

"Alrighty boys, listen here,” you growled, “I will look over you," you pointed harshly at the blondie, "having food in the library and I will look over you," you poked Whale-hat in the chest, "having a dog in the library if you both get this mess cleaned up. NOW."

Both their eyes went wide and they lowered their heads and apologized before scampering away to clean up the spilled food. That’s odd, you never thought you were that intimidat– 

“Sorry for the trouble,” an arm wrapped around your shoulder and you found yourself looking at the face of a very cute girl with orange hair, “I’ll make sure those idiots make it up to you.” She winked then strutted away.

You blinked as she disappeared. What the hell just happened? Could this day get any weirder? You shook your head and went to monitor the boys as they cleaned up. Several minutes of cleaning (and attempted flirting on the blonde’s part) later, the floor was clean, and you left them to pick up where you left off in your regular librarian duties.

Days later, you hadn’t run into any of them again, (though you think you might’ve seen Law passed out in the medical section), and it was all starting to feel like a weird fever dream. 

That is, until you received a text from an unknown number while you were at work in the library. 

This you? (Accompanied by a gif of you, being tackled by a big white furry smudge.) 

It looked hilarious, but you were torn between laughing and wanting to cry. Was this all over the internet now? Were you a meme?

You could just say no, wrong number… But what were the chances some random stranger had a gif of the incident and then texted you?

Maybe. Who’s asking?

The typing symbol appeared and disappeared several times, but after a few minutes it didn’t appear. Well that was anticlimactic.

“Uh, hi. Sorry, I just wanted to check if the number Nami gave me was right, or if she was just trolling me.” A voice came from behind you and there he was: Whale-hat! Wait, who the heck was Nami, and how had she gotten your number to pass along?

“Who gave you my number?” 

“The girl with the orange hair from the other day?” He frowned. “You didn’t give her your number?” 

“Not that I recall…” 

“Oh.” His eyes kept meeting yours then darting away again and he shuffled on the spot. You decided to have a little mercy on him.

“I never caught your name,” you extended your hand and introduced yourself properly.

“Ah, shit! I’m Shachi. Sorry about what happened the other day. We didn’t expect Bepo to cause such a mess.” He scratched the back of his neck and gave you an apologetic bow.

“It’s not your fault those students thought having a picnic in the library was a good idea,” you chuckled. “By the way, is your friend okay? The one who got dragged away?”

“Oh, Penguin’s fine! A couple of bruises and stuff, but he’ll live.”

“So, where did you get that gif?”

“Oh, you haven’t seen?” He pulled his phone out of his pocket, “Someone got a good video of the whole thing and it’s already got about half a million hits! I can send the link if you…” He trailed off remembering this might not be something you wanted to be famous for. 

“Right, um…” Shachi blushed and shoved his phone back in his pocket. “I actually was here more than just to apologize and show you embarrassing gifs of yourself.” He tucked his hands behind his back and glanced around. “I mean, it can be part of the apology but I was going to ask if I could get you coffee or something sometime but if you don’t want to that’s fine. Nami was threatening me that I need to be a gentleman– BUT NOT TO ASK YOU OUT, I wanted to do that anyway before this whole fiasco happened, but then you know, this happened, and I–”

“You’re asking me on a date?” you felt the corner of your mouth twitch up.

“I– yes?” He smiled nervously at you. 

You couldn’t help a small giggle. This felt waaayyyy too much like a scene from a bad fanfic, but it still made your heart go uwu. 

“Okay. I have to get back to work, but text me later and we work out a time.” You waved and pushed your cart away. A wide grin split his face in two, and he waved back before running giddily away. 

~~~

“I told you the Bepo plan was a sure fire way to get a date!”

*THWACK*

“That wasn’t how the Bepo plan was supposed to go! You owe me big time!”

[neverwatchedonepiece]

479-480: “The Scaffold at Last! the Way to Ace Has Opened!” and “Each On Different Paths! Luffy Vs. Garp!”

Right there with you, Luffy! Never thought I’d be so glad to see a scaffold. xD

Another two solid episodes, with a daring rescue courtesy of Mr 3 at the end! @supramp9000 asked me for a prediction to what he was doing, sneaking away and I GOT IT!

Sort of. I mentioned Mr 3 moulding wax inside a lock to create a key copy. I thought he was going to open a gate somewhere and let all the escaping pirates out (because who would guess Hancock’s key would snap?). Never thought he’d mould a skeleton key while falling. Oda and those damned curve balls. Always ruining my predictions.

Also, I want to watch more episodes a week (I haven’t done the math but if I don’t pick up the pace, Luffy will find the One Piece before I’m caught up). The last entry took me three hours to put together and, to be honest, it was way too long. Folk would have sprained fingers scrolling down on the app, so I’m going to try and shorten the entries a bit. I was too obsessed with trying to catch every little detail (so I could say, “Ha, I predicted it!”) but if I miss something, I miss something. That’s why you guys are here. :)

Conqueror’s Haki Fallout and Perceptions

Now I know Luffy didn’t execute a Shanks-scale mass fainting, the hype from 478 is not as strong. In a way, that’s better because it means Luffy has room to improve (which makes his development more interesting to watch, story-wise).

The reactions to it were interesting too.

Akainu and Ivankov both noticed Luffy’s use of it was unconscious. The law of shounen dictates he must train to now use it consciously. I’m in the middle of Boku no Hero Academia right now and it’s interesting that Luffy’s situation is the opposite to Midoriya’s. Luffy has all the natural talent and has to work to consciously use it, while Midoriya is very conscious of figuring out how to handle the unnatural power he’s been given and has to work to use it unconsciously. I’m guessing shounen heros fall into one of these two categories. But where would you place Gon from HxH? Is he both? (I’m a sucker for shounen anime. It’s an addiction. halp!)

Kizaru was surprised Luffy had so much power. As soon as he realised this, he ordered his soldiers to take out Strawhat nao, damn it! Does this show an increased level of respect? Will Kizaru stop shit-talking Luffy?

True to form, Aokiji didn’t say much at all (what is this man’s game?) Whitebeard didn’t say much either but you could tell he was surprised - and maybe pleased?

Whitebeard’s Legacy

It’s hard watching Whitebeard, who is the loveliest pirate ever to sail, suffering so much, though he would hate me for saying so because his Sea Dad Pride is strong.

Luffy’s haki seems to be a turning point. Once he saw that, he ordered his men to back up Luffy “with all your strength!” and said to himself, ”You have the middle initial D. Show me how the world will be in years to come.” Oda reinforced this by having Ivankov notice and say to Luffy, “The strongest pirate in the world his putting his hopes in you.”

After the haki, Whitebeard has faith in Luffy. I’d hesitate to say he’s passing the torch because if Ace does get out of this, Whitebeard cannot have placed his hopes in two people. He’d back Ace for Pirate King out of loyalty to his son. Luffy ain’t a son. But still... maybe this is a sign of Whitebeard’s respect for a new, Shanks-style rival who will take the Old Ways into the New Era.

Love how Jimbei disobeyed and defended Whitebeard. That fishman’s loyalty is unbreakable. Yes, he is there to defend Luffy, but his ultimate loyalty is to Ace and Whitebeard.

Help From Everyone

Now I’m neck deep in Boku no Hero Academia, I can make more parallels. Luffy does resemble Midoriya in a way. He accepts and is grateful for help if it gets him where he needs to go. I think Luffy, though, being on the grey side, would accept it from (almost) anyone. Maybe Midoriya is more honourable. Can’t make that judgement yet, as I’m only 29 episodes in.

The help list for 479 includes:

Crocodile and Daz Bones: cannot believe Daz Bones deflected Mihawk’s swipes. Even though he had to be bailed out by Crocodile, that was impressive. He’s stronger than I thought.

Boa Hancock: I love how cleverly she’s balancing helping out Luffy and retaining her status as a Shichibukai. More than any of the others, she has an entire nation relying on her, whom she has to protect. If she discards her status, a Buster Call might descend on her island. She’s found a way to protect Luffy and her people. Nice. Also, random observation: I know she can’t do this in battle because it would reveal her motives, but can Hancock turn the Kumas to stone?

Inazuma and Ivankov: Ivankov’s hair is like Mary Poppins’ bag except instead of hatstands, he pulls out revolutionaries. That moment when Inazuma cut a ribbon of concrete and made a path for Luffy was awesome. With Ivankov guarding the path below, Luffy had a clear run.

Grandpa Garp

Except Grandpa Garp stood in the way. Cannot lie, this was a tense moment. I wondered whether Garp would go full Lawful Good and actually fight his adorable, rubbery grandson. If he had, he would have lost character points from me. I mean, if he had, I would have understood why, but still... he’s Garp. Don’t think I’m hypocritical, though. If Luffy had killed Garp, he would have lost points too.

At it was, Garp did put on the show. He did try to steel his resolve. “I’ve been fighting pirates since before you were born! If you wanna pass through here, you’re gonna have to kill me first - because of the path you have chosen to live!”

That was the cliffhanger point, so I was left in suspense for a while. Must have killed manga readers who were caught up at that point. I can only imagine the mess of speculation on the forums.

Then, in 480, came the flashbacks. It was basically Garp’s Monkey Training Camp and Garp’s Gorilla Training Camp, wherein Garp worried if Luffy hated him because he was an intimidating Grandpa. Nah, Garp. Luffy has never hated you. You could see the fear in his eyes at the thought of having to kill or hurt you to reach Ace. Plus, you swiped food from the Marines to give him a post-training feast and carried him on your back when he was too sleepy to walk. Luffy knows you love him.

And he’ll definitely know now that you looked him in the eye and could not go through with your threat, choosing to take that punch rather than harm a hair on Luffy’s head. Sengoku noticed too. I hope he doesn’t blame Garp for it. (But in a way, I kind of hope he does. I’m holding out for a Monkey D. Family Revolutionary Reunion!)

And then... finally...

Luffy reached the scaffold and Sengoku lifted a finger! There was a point when Luffy grabbed onto the platform where I thought, Sengoku, if you kick him off I will flip a fucking table... But no! He actually revealed his power. Or a bit of it, anyway. I have no clue how it works. He stole rivets from the scaffold to aid his transformation into a bonafide massive gold Buddha. Enel would have been very interested in Sengoku, haha.

Funnily enough, Kizaru was the one who really hampered Luffy’s rescue effort. He sniped the key from a distance (that guy is hyper competent) and Luffy was left floundering for a moment.

Then Mr 3 stepped up. That was a masterpiece twist. I was not expecting him to appear, so I legit cheered. I liked how Oda gave him a motivation to help Luffy. Mr 3 is doing it for Bon-chan, whose friendship with Luffy never wavered and who never ran in the face of adversity. Now I come to think of it, Mr 3 and Bon-chan must have been pretty good friends, as Luffy and Mr 3 were the ones who were really left mourning on the ship post-Impel Down. Good for you, Galdino. Be inspired by Bon-chan. He’d love it if he knew.

There was a large KABOOM at the very moment of rescue. Then a moment of tension, obscured by fire and a smoke.

That moment when Ace, Luffy and Mr 3 emerged from a pillar of fire was worth the watch. Will Ace cut loose and fight his way out? How will the Whitebeards escape? I don’t think for one minute that Sengoku will let them walk away.

I KNOW, RIGHT?? ^_^

[victorie552onepiecespeedrun]

Reading One Piece pt 345: 16 Rings for New Era

Chapter 594

Thoughts:

- Cover: Sengoku and Garp are having lunch :)

- FIVE STARS

- they just keep being old

- oh, but they have many things to discuss. Two Warlords bailed on them, third is “dead”. Blackbeard is a frontrunner for the Emperor – apparently only other Emperors can stop him now (yikes). The balance of Three Great Powers is UNbalanced. And there’s always that “D” thing, not that they explain it

- GARP RESIGNED!!!??? Damn it

- AND SENGOKU WANTS TO RETIRE TOO YEEEESSSS

- they will teach recruits tho, Navy won’t let them go just like that. Whatever, I’m satisfied. It’s better they resign now, before Luffy will Really start causing trouble

- …wait, then who will lead the Navy now

- Sengoku is recommending Aokiji, YES PLEASE

- oh hey, Marineford is being rebuild :D

- “Did you hear? Straw Hat had caused another disturbance.” I HEARD now give me details

- 16 Rings Incident? A message? Ok

- by the way, it’s Aokiji and Smoker

- Smoker wants to go to G5. I tells me nothing. It’s in New World. At least we know we’ll see Smoker again :D

- Navy hospital

- COBY HAS HAKI

- the voices Coby heard on the battlefield? People dying. Now that I think about it, that’s the same power Aisa and Enel had (in Skypiea Arc), they just called it Mantra

- Helmeppo is jealous :D (Coby is generally unnerved)

-  …ok, we’re finally learning what Luffy did

- he was with Jimbei and Rayleigh. He went to Marineford and stole a warship. Circled Mirineford once on it

- apparently it was a water burial ceremony (Luffyyyy ;_;)

- “After that, Monkey D. Luffy brazenly entered the plaza and rang the ox bell 16 times!” 16 times? Why?

- “Then he threw a bouquet onto the shattered ruins of the plaza and observed a moment of silence.” Luffy…

- “The press happily took pictures of him and reported on it.” Are you blaming them? This is PEAK journalism. And that photo is amazing

- “It seems this is his way of mourning”

- “The custom is to ring twice! He rang it 16 times! This is a direct challenge to our authority!” okay, but dude, his other way of coping could be killing you all. You lucked out, guys

- now we’re checking on Kid

- oh, 16 rings means that a New Era has begun …wow, I’m in awe

- O_O

- WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK KID

- he’s crucifying people. I’m… I’ll just leave it here

- Capone (another supernova) is currently being kidnapped by aliens, but that’s a sidenote

- with Luffy and others! Finally!

- that was a message :D to Straw Hats, of course

- did Straw Hats understand?

- “I got it, I got it!” “Understood” “Alright, Luffy.” Looks like they did :D  

- …with one exception. Zoro…

- what the heck happened to Franky

- (what was the message again. I know it was a time-skip thing but , AGAIN, DETAILS)

- and now all supernovas in New World are showing off how strong and scary they are

- “Every hardened warrior who sets foot in the New World even once describes the first half of the Grand Line the same way.” Oh?

“That part of the sea was paradise” D: …are we talking about the same place here.  

rOP 344  rOP 346

[neverwatchedonepiece]

473-474: “The Encircling Walls Activated! the Whitebeard Pirates Backed into a Corner!” and “Execution Order Issued! Break Through the Encircling Walls!”

Outrageous, Doflamingo? I think the word you are looking for is awesome.

I’m glad I watched two episodes this time. 473 seemed to be a prep episode and the dramatic payoff was delivered in 474. Like Whitebeard, I’m having a bad feeling about three (potential) foreshadowing moments in 474. I hope I’m wrong, but Oda has been hammering home the message for a while now and it conforms with a well-worn trope. 474 wasn’t all doom and gloom, though. There was an amazing revival and a scene that genuinely made me say “Wow...” out loud.

You just can’t rely on tech, Sengoku.

For most of 473, the Marine’s Advanced Wall Tech fell victim to Aokiji doing his job a little too well. Sengoku ordered the raising of the Encircling Walls. Except, Aokiji’s vast sheet of ice made it difficult for the mechanism raising the wall to work. Sengoku spent 473 sweatdropping at the fact Whitebeard was charging straight at the scaffold. He had faith that the tech would work, however, and the Marines gradually stole away inside, leaving Kumas and Pirates on the battlefield.

While charging after Luffy, Ivankov noticed this (as only a season Revolutionary Army commander could, I suppose). Jimbei acknowledged it, but what could they do about it?

Sengoku continued to sweatdrop. “Are they ready yet?” he kept asking, as the distant dot that was a raging Whitebeard grew larger. But the ice would not budge. The gears were not grinding, though Sengoku’s certainly were.

Enter Vice-Admiral John Giant, who decided to act as hype fodder for Whitebeard buy Sengoku time and have a swing at Whitebeard. I loved the guy’s name and I loved this whole sequence. John Giant and Whitebeard clashed blades. Whitebeard told him to move it, then pulled off a literal power move. He grabbed the fabric of reality with his bare hands, tore it and the earth literally shifted.  Then he air-crack punched John Giant so hard he was sent screaming back towards Sengoku. The only reason the scaffold wasn’t destroyed was because the Admirals deflected the human missile. 

Courtesy of Whitebeard, Marineford is ruined, the land is tilting at a very strange angle, many ships were sunk and Luffy almost fell into a chasm, only to be saved by Jimbei. Again. xD

(What would happen if Luffy fell into a hole like that? Would he bounce? I’m still uncertain why he wasn’t able to stretch out his arms to full capacity to pull himself back out. Is he tired?)

Amidst the chaos, Doflamingo laughed maniacally, as you would if you were a few ants short of a picnic.

I loved how the Admirals bickered among themselves when John Giant fell victim to Whitebeard hype:

Aokiji: “The walls aren’t ready yet. That’s what’s causing this mess.” Akainu: “Your ice is blocking them!” Kizaru: “Can’t you just melt it?”

Or... you could have Sengoku order full power directed to the walls, which did the job in the end. Well, sort of. The vast, steel walls reinforced to counter Whitebeard’s power, and kitted out with hundreds of cannons looked pretty impenetrable. Then Sengoku turned to Akainu and said, “Do it.”

I thought, oh, that’s an interesting order. Another scheme cooked up between the two Absolute Justice Friends. Akainu’s trick was awesome, I have to admit. When the Fiery Fists of Justice rained down from above, the anime team went mad with red-tinged frames, flashes of white and images of pirates being punched to oblivion, boiled by lava-melted ice, caught by cannon fire or predatory kumas. The Whitebeard Pirates and Allies did look on the ropes and I did worry for a moment.

Thank goodness Little Oars Jr was slumped over the final panel, leaking blood into the mechanism, eh?

Trapped!

It was round about this time in episode 474 that the Ominous Foreshadowing moments appeared.

The action briefly cut to The Rest of the World Via Sabaody. Turns out the other Rookie crews had gathered clandestinely to watch the war (it sounds so weird saying that, like they’re watching a World Cup match and people aren’t dying). I liked seeing the reactions of some of the captains. Bonney seemed to be devastated by the news Whitebeard sold out his allies. Trafalgar Law didn’t believe a word. Apoo was aware of World Government propaganda and knew why the feed had been cut. I can’t remember what Kidd said. But Hawkins drawing the Death card is ominous. 

I don’t know anything about tarot, so I had to google it. Apparently, cards have different meanings if they’re upside down or not. Hawkin’s card is not upside down, so it could mean:

- the ending of a major phase or aspect of your life that may bring about the beginning of something far more valuable and important

- a time of significant transformation, change and transition

- elements of a sudden and unexpected change. You may feel as though you are caught in the path of sweeping change and cannot escape its effects. Though the immediate thought is toward the negative, an end need not mean failure.

At first, I thought, how does this apply to Luffy? But then I realised it might be more appropriate to apply it to the future of Piracy as a whole. Doflamingo is obsessed with the New Era and how dreams are obsolete. Blackbeard thinks that’s a load of old shite, but both he and his crew are obsessed with fate and being caught paths of sweeping change, unable to escape their effects. Everyone needs to move on after this and where the future will take pirates, no one knows, but I’m guessing there will be major changes afoot. Maybe some of the hot shit new rookies will take up the mantle and drive it forward. Who knows?

This made it more obvious that change is afoot.

That moment was sad. I wanted to reach through the screen and punch Akainu for bombing the Moby Dick. I’m still not over Merry and seeing a ship that was symbolic of the absolute pinnacle of piracy: of freedom, comradeship, power and discovery actually made me die inside a little. Not to mention the very symbol of Whitebeard snapped off in the flames and was trampled on the ground. That is a big giveaway. 

Whitebeard looked back, his eyes reflecting the firelight and said, “I’m sorry...” to his grand, old faithful ship and... Ugh. 

I wonder what the little ship spirit said back?

I have the funniest feeling the Death card could also be interpreted literally. Like, Whitebeard is going to die, which I don’t really want but all the flags are there. He’s old, not what he used to be, he’s just been stabbed through the chest, his Jolly Roger is in flames, trampled on the ground and his ship - the symbol of his glory - is a smoldering wreck at the bottom of the sea.

But then again...

Oars is Alive: Death or Glory!

The fact that Oars is alive gives me hope that all the death foreshadowing this episode might amount to nothing. I was wrong about Oars (nice time to take a nap btw, Oars, ffs).

I did like when Marco said to Squard, “Oars is still fighting” even though he was flat out, basically hinting, “Get out there, stop crying and make it up to Whitebeard.” Oars resolve was also symbolic in a way. His path and the literal blood he shed was the only way forward. When Luffy made his last forward charge down the only narrow opening left, the anime team even backlit Oars’ body to resemble a fiery light at the end of the tunnel. Death or glory!

 Ace is still not having a great time. He couldn’t watch as Luffy was blasted away by cannon fire and sunk into the water in front of his. Only Jimbei’s timely response saved Luffy from drowning. (Jimbei for Man of the Match, honestly. I wonder how many times he’s saved Luffy so far?)

It fell to Jimbei again when Luffy realised he had no hope of charging straight into cannon fire with as much aforethought an angry rhinoceros. 

That moment when Luffy appeared in front of the Admirals in a pillar of water, swinging a chunk of mast genuinely made me say, “Wow...” aloud. I bet the screenshot above was taken from the manga. It looks like it should have been. A lot of care’s gone into it. It looks great.

Again, the Admirals’ reactions were interesting.

Akainu: You're standing tall, Dragon's son. I praise you just for your tenacity.

Kizaru: What makes you think you can beat us?

Aokiji: You’ve not leveled up enough to have a crack at us yet, son.

Well, Luffy’s gonna try! That frozen mast shattered into pieces by a Stamp Gatling might give him enough cover to pull off a miracle.

Looking forward to the next one now. Now Luffy’s at the scaffold, it’s getting good.

After rehearsing for weeks in Akainu’s bedroom, Sengoku finally lets the Admirals show off their dance routine.