Do you take pride in your hurt? Does it make you seem large and tragic? Maybe you’re playing a part on a great stage with only yourself as the audience.
↳ 2/27; happy birthday steinbeck!
Actually, while having a retrospective on Egghead, I realized there isn't enough Sentomaru appreciation.
The entire arc he spends sacrificing himself for the safety of others. And boy does he sacrifice. Zero shits given about his "faith" to the Marines and the WG. No hesitation in betraying them if it means helping his father figure and the innocent civilians of the island. Goes against a BUSTER CALL and is willing to stay behind if it means others get to escape. Does everything he can to save innocent lives to the point of going against his mentor figure. And all of his efforts go to waste due to the sheer tragedy of the situation, as he has to watch the escapee ships get shot down. He instantly sides with the Strawhats even if it means he'll be declared a criminal. Quits the corrupt system of the Marines and in return he looses everything. And yet he tries to keep going even in his mourning and manages to survive. Genuinely the unsung hero of the arc.
I give Stella a lot of criticism about a lot of things, as much as I love him as a character, but "leaving his son behind to potentially die on a Buster Call'd island while he attempts to escape with some pirates" is one I often forget. Justice for 'maru.
Regarding the mark mentioned by Kiringham, I am convinced that this is the tattoo we see on Sommers' arm. The pattern looks a lot like the Summoning circle, and since this mark is what allows someone to use this circle, it makes sense for this tattoo to be the mark.
Gunko's angry reaction to Kiringham's statement that only people with this mark can pass through the "abyss", and that's why they would have to take the children with them by ship, makes me wonder if she has some kind of bad story with that. If she really isn't a World Noble, could it be that whoever had the ability to give these marks to someone (probably Imu), didn't want to give this mark to her at first, perhaps because they didn't consider her worthy of it? So she would be the only one of the Holy Knights who had to travel by ship. Thus, Gunko, who we have already seen to be a very defensive person when she punished Loki for refusing such a "wonderful" offer as joining the World Nobles, would have taken Kiringham's speech as insulting her in some way, even though Kiringham doesn't seem to think so.
I also saw some people talking about how Shanks could have let his arm get eaten when he saved Luffy to lose that mark, so no one could summon him, since we see that the person doesn't need to agree for the summon to work. I find this theory quite interesting, mainly because Shanks was already a year old when he was found by the Roger pirates, so it is likely that this mark had already been placed on him. Maybe it was because of this mark that Roger found out about Shanks' biological family? It is possible that Roger discovered this mark along with the rest of the Void Century story, and, knowing that he was going to die, decided to tell Shanks the truth so that he could find his "family" and decide for himself what he would do with his life.
The Holy Knights get more and more interesting with each chapter! Honestly, I'm loving them as antagonists!
I have more questions about Gunko every time she appears because so many things about her don't seem to add up. She is the only Holy Knight who has not received the title of World Noble or had her family name introduced (she also does not have a Saint in her name, but neither does Shamrock). She's also the only "celestial dragon" we've seen who has the power of a devil fruit (and we know from Hancock's story that they despise devil fruits), her uniform is very different from the others, and her eyes having different colors seems like it's going to be important in some way. Her powers are very similar to Imu's aesthetically, so I don't think it's a coincidence that she is the one who summons the "abyss" (the pentagram "portal"). Also, her name means "army child", which may imply that she was recruited (perhaps as a child) and trained to be part of the Holy Knights.
Kiringham being introduced in his hybrid form immediately catched my attention. Does his normal appearance reveal some kind of secret about him? He's the only Holy Knight introduced so far who wears the same bubble on his head as the other World Nobles, and the one he wears even appears to have something to help him breathe, so it's possible he has some sort of respiratory illness, or was only recently recruited, so he may have never actually left the Holy Land, which would explain why he was so nervous about being late even though he was already dressed and transformed. Personally, I feel like he could be quite young? As I said, he seems to be very nervous and curious about Elbaph, which probably means he has never been outside of Mary Geoise, and the bubble could be to prevent him from being corrupted by the air from the “filthy world”, also, the way he talks reminds me a bit of a teenager, but that could just be the translation I read.
Having a Holy Knight from one of the Gorosei's family is really exciting, and I hope this helps us answer some questions about the elders. Sommers also seems to be the oldest of the four, and it's the first to take responsability after finding out that Shamrock needs to go back to Mary Geoise, so he probably has been a Holy Knight for a very long period before the current time. He's also the first person we see actually concerned about the food thing in the Holy Land (which is kind of crazy, but okay).
And I don't even need to start talking about the whole Shamrock situation.
Also, the fact that Sommers so casually asked if Shamrock and Gunko were visiting Harald's grave is pretty weird. Like, we know what World Nobles are like, why would they care about Harald? He wasn't even affiliated with the government (and they wouldn't care about him either if that were the case), so why would they travel such a great distance just to see his grave? Why is this a possibility?? Was Harald also a Holy Knight? That's the only way I can see it being reasonable. We can see from their interactions in this chapter that the Holy Knights seem to get along pretty well, so two of them visiting the grave of a deceased colleague would make sense. This could explain why they tried to recruit Loki specifically and not another insanely powerful individual, since he would be the son of a former member, and we know how much they care about bloodlines.
one piece new chapter not as big as last two but huge to me cus this old man just stirred up a new theory i wont let go of
hey thats an interesting tattoo is it the mark to traverse the abyss as this new kirin character says?
Ah could it be that Shanks got his arm bitten off on purpose to remove a mark that can call him or bring Imu and their knights anywhere?
Cutting a tether to his celestial dragon family and betting any power he has left on the new generation of piracy. An additional reason he hadn't left for the One Piece until now and why he didn't go with Roger, being a liability that can hand a secret over to Imu. Idk anything is possible!!
I feel very conflicted with my opinions on Dazai. He is not my favourite character, he never was. But I feel a weird sympathy for him at times when he is seen as a total villan?
He is not evil. I don't know how people mischaracterize Dazai as evil.
With the recent chapter 122, there are a lot of people who hate Dazai and want him to die for what he did to Akutagawa. For a second, I felt like that too. I can't see children being abused, not that anyone wants to see it, but I feel very emotional whenever I see hurt children. My first instinct was to hate Dazai too.
But Dazai isn't a responsible adult. Dazai himself was a 16 year old, trying to find meaning in life, guiding a 14 year old into the dark side. This isn't an older, experienced, manipulative man who knows what he is doing but a teenager who thinks he knows everything. Dazai himself ran away from home and was suicidal already at the age of 14, just the same lonely child as Akutagawa. But he found "meaning" in the Port Mafia, or at least trying to. When he gave his word to Akutagawa that he'll "certainly" find meaning in life, I don't think it's manipulation, Dazai himself believes in it. An adult putting you in a dangerous climate is very different than when your cousin tells you to smoke because "it's cool, dude"
I am NOT defending Dazai's abuse of Akutagawa, as I said before, I am not some Dazai superfan (which, Dazai being portrayed as completely innocent also irks me!). I want there to be balance in the conversation surrounding it.
Dazai AND Akutagawa were children, they were both trying to find reasons to live. They grew up in the Port Mafia. We have seen how cruel and unhinged Dazai can be during his time in the PM. We have seen Akutagawa, and his constant internal battle with good and evil. These two are not some heartless creatures, both of them are changing for the better. Dazai found proper guidance in Oda, and taking his words, he became a better mentor to Atsushi. Akutagawa was left in the PM alone, so he grew stone cold and ruthless until he saw the light again, because of Atsushi (in recent chapters his eyes are literally lighter)
Does Dazai feel bad for what he did to Akutagawa? No, at least not now or we don't know what he is feeling, I don't trust anything that comes out of his mouth. But he doesn't HAVE to feel bad. That's what morally grey characters are. If Dazai immediately repented for what he did, it won't be realistic or true to his personality. Yes, he is in the ADA, but he is NOT some great person just because he chose to leave PM, even he himself knows that! That's why he felt so shocked when Atsushi called him a good person. Dazai knows he is not a good person and that's why he doesn't repent for what he did to Akutagawa. We don't accept our mistakes easily, not when we thought of them as means to an end. Dazai truly believed what he did to Akutagawa was a pro and not a con. If he will change that perspective now, is more about his own character arc.
Akutagawa was just a kid, influenced by Dazai. He wanted to impress him, like we do to our parents. Like we fight tooth and nails to defend our parents mistakes and sometimes even abuse. He isn't ready to accept what Dazai did to him was wrong. But when he saw how Dazai treats Atsushi, I am pretty sure he felt like dying. Because imagine your parent treating their step children better than you, that's how I see Aku's jealousy to be like. Dazai was his mentor first, why is he praising and coddling this random guy who just came into his life? But Akutagawa doesn't hate Atsushi in particular, he hates the treatment he gets from Dazai. I think considering what's happening in recent chapters, just like how Atsushi overcame his conflicting feelings towards the headmaster, Akutagawa will do the same with Dazai.
Akutagawa carried the cycle of abuse, doing the same thing Dazai did to him to Kyouka, another 14 year old (she trained since she was even younger). But unlike Dazai, when Kyouka is finally free from PM, Akutagawa doesn't want her to come back to him, he stops abusing her, Dazai still is awful and manipulative with Akutagawa at times. He feels happy for Kyouka, because HE wanted someone to rescue him too. Of all the abused children, Akutagawa was the one who never got rescued. Akutagawa was abusive to Kyouka, it can't be erased because of his own tragic past, he also hit Higuchi and seem to answer everything with violence. This is why the cycle of abuse is so painful, Akutagawa was taught to be this way and he CHOSE to stay this way, until he made the bet to stop killing people with Atsushi. I don't think Akutagawa will ever go back to his own ways after this arc is over. You can't undo your past, you have to move on, keep walking, keep living and trying to do better next time.
I want Dazai to get some good old karma! I want him to face the consequences for what he did to Akutagawa. I want Atsushi to have conflicting feelings towards Dazai but I don't want him to hate Dazai. Atsushi understands people on a deeper level, he's going to try and change people no matter of their pasts. Akutagawa and Dazai aren't going to be on good terms ever, that can't happen. I want Dazai to stop treating Akutagawa like shit and I want Akutagawa to stop wanting validation from Dazai.
Now the final verdit from me, is Dazai evil? No. Is Dazai a good person? No. Can Dazai change? Yes. Did Atsushi have a huge impact on both Dazai and Akutagawa? Yes. Is Akutagawa already changing? Yes. Can Dazai be vile? Yes. Can Dazai be soft? Yes. Does Dazai deserve to die? No.
Morally grey characters cannot be good or evil. They are grey. Let them be grey. We shouldn't erase their bad sides and we can't act like they didn't do good. BOTH Dazai and Akutagawa are morally grey characters. They are just different types of grey. Akutagawa is speed running to the light and Dazai is stuck in the middle of the grey. People have the ability to change for the better or worse, no matter who they are.
No matter what Dazai did in the PM, I can't hold a child to the upmost standards. There's a reason why Juveniles have a seperate court. Juveniles shouldn't get death penalty. Dazai committed heinous crimes as a child. But he is NOT the only child who did this. Everyone in PM has committed several crimes. It's a fictional story after all. Because of that I can't HATE Dazai. I believe all children deserve to be saved, to be given a second chance. Dazai went to the ADA and started to use his dark sides for the good. I can't call him evil for his past, when he was a suicidal kid, mentally ill, having a god knows what tragic backstory. Yes Dazai was smarter than an average teenager, but if you have read "The Day I picked up Dazai", you know despite all that; he was just a kid.
A kid abusing another kid cannot be any less tragic. There is not one childhood loss. It's TWO childhoods lost.
(ps: I was scared to post this lol 😭😭😭😭)
A Future Beyond War Starts With You 💙
My name is Naser. War took everything from me—
my mother, my sister, my home, and the life I once knew.
In a single moment, my world was shattered,
leaving behind only memories and the weight of loss.
But even in the darkest moments,
I refuse to give up. ✊
Because I still have something worth fighting for—
my three younger brothers.
🔹 One dreams of becoming a doctor 🩺—to heal others so they don’t have to suffer like we did.
🔹 Another wants to be an engineer 🏗️—to rebuild what war has destroyed.
🔹 And the youngest? He just wants to be a kid again 🧸—
to wake up in a safe home 🏠,
to laugh, to play, to feel peace.
🏡 We need a home. We need education. We need hope.
Right now, we are not just fighting for survival—
we are fighting for the chance to live, to grow, to dream again.
We are fighting for a future where my brothers
can become the doctor, the engineer,
and the child who gets to have a childhood.
💙 This is where you come in.
I’m not asking for much—just a chance.
A chance to rebuild.
A chance to give my brothers a future beyond war.
Your support—whether through a donation or simply sharing our story—can make all the difference.
Even the smallest act of kindness can create ripples of change. ✨
🙏 Will you help us rebuild?
Together, we can prove that war doesn’t get the final word—
hope does.
Thank you for standing with us. 💙✨
They're gonna be ok right? They're just little guys, they'll be fine, Right????? :)))))
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