#chapter 1159

First of all, I'm quite sure this whole thing with Shakky is based on Helen of Troy. It's one of the most famous myths but just in case you don't know, the basics are that she was considered the most beautiful woman in the world and she was married to Menelaus when she eloped with or was kidnapped by (depending of the version) Paris, causing the Troyan war.

The fact that Shakky's kidnapping quite literally made the world stop for weeks because her simple existence would touch the hearts of so many people reminds me so much of Helen I doubt it's a coincidence.

Second, I hope Shanks (or Shakky) kills this man on the spot. I felt so angry reading this yesterday, I feel so angry now.

So, Shanks' mom was a normal human from God Valley, where the twins were born, and Garling seemed unimpressed to say the least with his sons beyond that they are twins (and boys, probably).

I wonder if the fact that we didn't know her name or see her face at all means something. It could be a stylistic choice, meaning she was so unimportant to Garling (and the general story) we don't even get to know her; or she could be someone, part of a family that might be important during Shanks' past. There's still several gaps in Shanks' story and I want to believe her mother still had an impact in him. We'll see.

Third, this just makes sense so much sense to me.

A while ago we learnt Dragon was a marine, following his father's steps, but he left when he discovered there were no justice there. What happened in God Valley is one of the biggest events in modern history in this world, being radicalized by what he saw here doesn't surprise me in the slightest.

Fourth, Morgans is such a fucking menace and when he is in a chapter you know it's going to be good because he is always on some shit. He is one of my favorite sporadic characters because of that lmao.

He reminds me a lot of mr Scott's role in Black Sails (I'm so sorry for keep mentioning Black Sails in this blog, it will most definitely happen again): they don't seem like they're doing much but they actually play a huge role in several main events in their respective stories. Morgans KNEW what would happen if he revealed Shakky was in God Valley, so he is pretty much the one responsible of things turning they way they did.

Fifth, with what happened in recent chapters and this reaction, I think Rayleigh always felt something for Shakky. I think he feigned indifference because of Roger, Ray actually had a shot with her because their feelings were mutual but he didn't want to do that to Roger, so he pretended nothing was there. But I assume not knowing what happened to her for a year and now this will make him do something about his feelings.

Sixth, I felt like that what the hell sure meme when I read this. We already know Davy D Jones was the creator of the Davy Back Fight but I did NOT expect this. Some people have been saying for years th DBF might become important in the future and they were onto something, good for them!

I liked that idea but honestly didn't think it would be that connected with the main plot. This revelention changes things.

(Could Shanks' mother be connected to the Davy clan? Blackbeard and Shanks are already closely connected, first by the scar, now by their hometown. I don't think it's a far-fetched idea).

Seventh, Shakky should be allowed to kill ten men per hour.

It's actually quite interesting to me this whole thing with Shakky. Someone kidnapped her, we still don't know who, and they didn't harm her in any way. Were they just waiting for this event to happen to use her as a trophy? Where and who was she with during the year between when she was taken and this? Not with Garling, I assume, I don't think he was the one who kidnapped her because he seems quite obssesed with her, he would have kept her and forced her to be his wife directly, without the whole spectacle.

And eighth and last, I love this.

I love it so much when things like this happen because Dragon is about to do the right thing, he will save at least the child. He couldn't have known the horrors that child will bring to the world in the future, what he would do to his own son, directly and indirectly.

And even if he would've known, would you leave a still innocent child behind? I know Dragon has this moral dilemma constantly and I'm a sucker for this shit.

(I've been wanting to read Monster for a while and this revelation might be what will make me finally do it, oh well).

edit: People pointed out in my comments Dragon didn't go to Teach and I'm just realizing the background is different. He is talking to Shanks' mom, I didn't even think about it because I thought Garling killed her in the previous panel. Thank you for pointing it out!

What I said before may still be true if Dragon finds Teach too in a future chapter so I don't want to delete this, but for now he is saving Shanks. And it just ocurred to me, what if Dragon ends up being responsible for the survival of both considering, as I said before, how connected they are and what both are to Luffy?

Goddamn Mac, see kids this is why you don't make a fast food mascot jingle out of a song about a murderer. What a dick! Like, bruh you can have multiple wives. This is so wild, especially with what we know about how this ends and:

Dragon. Who was disillusioned by God Valley as a Marine recruit. And it seems like he was the one who helped Blackbeard get away. When we know Roger would ultimately split the lil Two Cheesburger Combo. Yeah if we don't have Kiku on the covers making me have to think carefully about Oasis album titles and haiku you bet we're getting a super-sized crop of Mac Tonight jokes. Fuck you Morgan Spurlock...

Sorry, tangent. We did get a cocky young Morgans as well though! That was cool. I liked his hat. Same with the glimpse of Kuma and Iva. Love Iva's spirit even so young. I guess this establishes Dragon is a bit older than his other founding Revolutionaries. But overall, this felt like a combination of setting the stage and showing us different sides of things we know about. Leading to my last point for today.

We'll go back to covering covers on Monday like usual, but I do feel it is pertinent to comment that Kiku's segment aligned perfectly with the start of this flashback to the point well...she enters the picture. We don't have specific dates but on our timeline God Valley is somewhere around that time from the Mountain God Incident to Oden being named Daimyo of Kuri. Then his flashback takes a six-year gap. Just, something to keep in mind as we go forward. Especially with Gecko Moria now as a perfect piece to maybe link the closed-off nation to the wider world.