(no subject)

[between_time_and_42]

I guess being sick is good for something, because since I only had enough energy yesterday to lie in bed, I ended up getting really close to finishing the Marineford arc in One Piece. (Apparently I still have 20 more episodes to go, but I think that's considered the "post-Marineford" arc, since the war has officially ended by this point.) Which means that at last, I got to see Ace's death. It's so weird that this thing I've known about for years, which I found out about shortly after Ace was introduced in the story since I was dumb and looked up things about him online, has finally happened in the story. I've had so much time to emotionally prepare myself and yet, even though I was ready... I wasn't ready. Mostly because I wasn't expecting how it would happen. All this time, I thought he was going to be executed and Luffy would have failed to get to him in time, and in fact there were a few moments where the execution almost took place and I held my breath thinking "this is it..." But the way it actually happened was so much worse, because they were so CLOSE. Luffy saved Ace, they started fighting together, they took off running with the Whitebeard Pirates... But then Akainu just had to start taunting Whitebeard, and Ace just HAD to take a moment to stop and respond, which led to Akainu making his move towards Luffy, which led to Ace jumping in front of him and taking the blow meant for Luffy. THEY WERE SO CLOSE TO GETTING OUT OF THERE ALIVE!!! I wasn't expecting it to be such a brutal death, either- dude punched a hole right through Ace!! And the fact that Luffy was holding Ace in his arms as he died, and got his blood all over his hands... and how Ace was crying as he thanked his friends/family for caring about and loving him... and then he SMILED as he died... and then how Luffy's crying gradually turned into screaming and then he basically loses touch with reality, holy SHIT that HURT. God. And where I left off, Luffy is still unconscious as his wounds are being treated, so I can't even imagine how he's going to react once he wakes up and has to process everything that just happened. And everything that just happened is a LOT. Luffy has spent several days fighting with one single goal in mind- get to wherever Ace is and rescue him. I think it's safe to characterize what he's gone through as hell, being shot and burned and poisoned and relying on Iva's energy hormones to keep him going when he could hardly even stand up anymore, and I'm sure that in his mind, he was looking forward to the moment when he and Ace were finally safe and they could just relax and recuperate and everything that happened at Impel Down and Marineford would feel like a bad, distant memory. But now they'll never get that chance to be together again. Thank God Luffy's not a normal human being, because that would have killed anyone else, I'm sure.

I really want to keep watching now, so I'll finish this up with a few super brief thoughts focusing on different characters:

-I feel like Buggy has been portrayed really inconsistently throughout this arc- first he wants to fight Whitebeard, then he's afraid- but there were two moments that I really liked. First, when Luffy grabbed him to use as a human shield and then went "See you in the afterlife, I guess!" as he was running away. And second, when Shanks tricked him into returning Luffy's hat for him and Buggy threw the hat towards the ship and was basically like "Straw Hat forgot this, bye!!" before flying away again. Also, seeing him and Shanks interact in general was a blast. I never knew how much I needed that duo in my life.

-Speaking of Shanks... I literally said "holy shit! Holy shit!!" when he showed up. He's my favorite One Piece character and it's been so long since he made an appearance. And what an appearance it was! Dude showed up just so he could put an end to the war! I understand why he didn't go to see Luffy (and I doubt Luffy would have been able to appreciate his presence, given that he was kinda comatose at the moment), but part of me wishes they could have interacted.

-I'm so intrigued by Koby hearing the voices of the dying Marines in his head. I wonder if he's developing some sort of power in the way that Luffy is developing "the conqueror's spirit" (which I know is called haki). Maybe extreme empathy is also a type of haki? It broke my heart to see Koby afflicted by all the pain and suffering on the battlefield, and I found it touching how Helmeppo seemed to care for him. (The new live-action series has gotten me much more interested in those two and their relationship than I was before.) I must say, I did think it was funny when Koby finally decided to fight against Luffy, and Luffy knocked him out with one punch. Ouch.

-Fuck Blackbeard. That's all, just fuck Blackbeard.

-Whitebeard being the Ultimate Dad was really sweet, and what a badass he is! (Or... was.)