User blog:DancePowderer/Die, Birdie, Die!

Ok, I'm feeling unforgiving and saw some twit revived a Sabo blog. Time to vent. Today's vent will be about death and our apparent denial/aversion toward it. People need to realize something first. Everyone out there. You are not the mangaka, you have no control over the mangaka, and your word doesn't come before what happens in the manga. People seem to think that just because they think someone is alive that they are. If someone says a character is dead, then that character is dead. If, it should turn out that the character is alive at a later date, then the character will be deemed alive. It's that simple. I know all the anal fear of death types will cite Igaram and Pell as counterexamples. To them I say shut the fuck up and keep reading before you get too fat-headed.

The first thing you need to accept is that people die, even beloved characters, ie Ace. For whatever reason, even when a character declares another character dead in the manga with overwhelming supporting evidence, people on here, ie extremist blogger fanatics, somehow think that the character is alive, doubting the very words stated in the manga. Not believing something directly stated in the manga is like saying you don't think Adam and Eve really lived in the Garden of Eden, or that Jonah was never swallowed by fish/whale, despite the religious canon. You have your doubts even though it says so right there in the Bible. You are what I like to call self-important ignorant morons. If it happened in the manga, denying it won't help. You only make yourself look stupid.

Now let's move on to our next topic, the apparent overt aversiveness toward death that most people will deny they have. In this case, I would like to cite Brownbeard. He was shot point blank by a rifle whose barrel was almost as big as him, by a master assassin, getting caught right in the middle of a fiery explosion. He then falls over without so much as an exhaling sound and everyone either declares he's dead or doesn't offer any type of argument otherwise. Among this group was a registered doctor. Despite all this overwhelming evidence, there was still doubt on here about whether or not he was dead. Really? It says it right there in the manga. It even shows it. And yet there is still doubt. It wasn't even over that important of a character. I mean, come on, it's that blaringly obvious, there's even a body. Just tag'em, bag'em, and let the dead rest.

Moving on to less obvious ones. I'll first address the counter examples, Igaram and Pell. Since the wikia organization was not up and running when their supposed deaths happened, I think it was around '99-'00, they were not the subject of controversy on here. Everyone said they were dead, turns out Oda changed his mind and decided to keep them around a little longer. Then they both turn up later. Good for them. If their supposed deaths had happened while this wikia was running, we would treat them as if they were dead, until revealed otherwise. It was stated they died, no one argued it, and dramatic irony was useless, ergo mori. I personally blame those two for everyone's skittishness toward accepting a character's death. If they had just bit the bullet, Sabo would be dead as soon as the second shot blew his ass up. Igaram and Pell created the one thing people cling to, doubt.

Now let's look at a certain kind of death, the flashback death. Flashbacks happen for a reason. They show a person's past as a means of developing their personality and overall character. Everyone has had someone die in their past, and it's because of that that they were able to grow stronger and more independent. A little trauma can do people good. Why is it so hard to accept some flashback deaths and not others. Bell-mere, Banchina, Kuina, Fisher Tiger, the Rumbar Pirates, the archaeologists, Tom, Otohime, the Orbit crew, and more. They're all dead, no one gives two shits. At least not here anyway. Sabo's dead, SO WHY DOES EVERYONE SUDDENLY GIVE A FUCK!? Because Dragon was involved? Because he had a cool hat? Because he was too young? Sabo is just another part of a theme involving deaths from flashbacks. Granted, he was one of them more popular characters, but when's the last time you saw someone fangasm about Tom or Kuina being alive as hard as people have about Sabo? Exactly. He was a child, who fell in the ocean, after sustaining serious injuries including but not limited to severe burns, and (assuming Dragon fished him out) only received medical treatment as soon as several hours after the ordeal. I don't care if Ivankov is a miracle worker, hormones can't bring back someone who's been dead that long. People need to realize that SABO WAS MEANT TO DIE. His death would inspire Luffy and Ace to train even more to become stronger. What's more, people don't seem to understand the idea of closure. Pretend it wasn't Sabo who died. Pretend instead that it was a loved one. Would you rather think that they're dead and you're standing over them in their coffin? Or would you rather consistently doubt yourself and think of a multitude of other possibilities as to how they might or might not have died.

People need closure. Many of you don't seem to understand that. Bringing back Sabo, or any dead character, would be like burying an empty coffin. There is nothing absolute about it. No one can rest with an empty coffin. What would the flashback have accomplished otherwise? Exposing how the coroner got it wrong? Bringing back the dead after that long would send everyone's mind, both reader and character alike, into turmoil. Death brings closure, so a lack thereof would open Pandora's Box. Closure is key here. That's why everyone was so ecstatic to find out that Bentham was still alive. They weren't completely happy because he was alive, they were just satisfied because a question that had long gnawed at them was finally answered. His fate wasn't absolute. We never saw him again after he confronted Magellan until recently. Nothing was absolute about his fate because even the characters themselves were at conflict. Sabo died. Kuina died. People on the escape boat were arguing about the possibility of him being alive. It's a fear of the unknown. To conquer your fear of the unknown in One Piece, take all the information you're given, and throw away the salt. Another thing to it has to do with the element of surprise. Surprise is good, it brings joy to people. If you're open and expecting anything, then there's no joy to be gained from it. Believe what the manga tells you and shows you, and think about them. Accepting that a character is dead will bring you one of two things. A. Closure, or B. Even greater joy if it turns out that they're alive. With a lot of characters though, I'd take closure over joy. People die, the sooner you accept it, the sooner you can move on to enjoying the rest of the story.

Now, having touched on a controversial topic, I can only guess that it will attract a fair number of trolls. Know this. I will delete any comments that I even think might be trolling, that includes those of you who love to post: tl;dr. On another note, I will also delete any pictures people upload to comments. Use words here people. They hold more value than a stupid picture, and will raise your credibility. That being said, I hope you enjoyed reading this.