Ace is now, effectively a Fire Ghost. He came back because people love and remember him. Because people want him to live. He came back because he promised Luffy he won't die.

Sabo and Luffy. How will they deal with this? Good news, Ace is alive. Well. Not really. He's still dead. Sabo ate his fruit for sea's sake. He's a ghost hunting the world because he promised Luffy he won't leave him.

And his whole Awakner thing would make so many people terrified. Because his new body, no longer has Mera Fruit. It's entirely made up of Fire and Ash. An entirely different biology. Sea Stone no longer works. As long as his core is intact, he'll keep coming back.

Awakeners are also references to Lovecraft mythos, so an Awakener Ace most likely be tagged to something Other. Eldritch. Something would change him a bit more than only a body of fire that can't shifted by the sea.

Luffy would be more okay with it than Sabo, because Luffy accepts monsters into his crew all the time. (Luffy is a monster, with a touch of Other to him.) He'd still struggle, I think, tho, Ace is different now, even more different than Sabo who also came back.

Tulu's mere PRESENCE, with or without him doing anything, just instantly changes the game on Fishman Island.

Like we can assume that in canon, Pluton was created against as a deterrent against Poseidon's Sea King masses specifically? There seems to be some implication there that Fishman Society as a whole may have had more capita/power than they do modernly, beyond the power of Poseidon alone.

A power that I personally think was on the decline by Joyboy's era, Void Century, for the Noah to be such a big deal and Joyboy's failure to lift it as well.

I love Queen Otohime and how BRAVE and FORGIVING she is, we need people like her to make societies better. BUT.

But. I'm of the opinion she may have been able to get as far as she did in her petition to the World Government because her people weren't viewed as a threat. Once Fisher Tiger started going around fighting, all of that was almost INSTANTLY thrown out the window because "oh no! Fishman ARE dangerous, and that might mean we can't take advantage of them anymore!"

How does that relate to Tulu, you might ask. As you mention, Fishman Rogues like Vander Decken are INSTANTLY less of a problem, because Tulu is not going to be FOND of anyone that interrupts the nice deal he's got going here (and is probably more than a little fond of Shirahoshi, shhh). Yet that might force them to go more abroad and be more of a trouble for the 'surface world.'

There's going to be less reliance on Whitebeard's protection, and post-Marineford, no need to go to Big Mom for protection either.

A cultural shift will most definitely happen, I think, because again, Tulu's existence just opens up all kinds of doors that Fishman Island didn't even know existed.

(Tulu might get a religion again.)

In the Florida Triangle, the Shichibukai the Strawhat run into, isn't Gecko Moria. Instead, it's Pontos. It was not Thriller Beck, but Ebwynnos. The people are still trapped. Not like Moria without their shadows. But by their own revelry. Forgetting everything of their life outside. It's still horror. But not zombie horror, but psychological horror. Like with the False Hydra.

One of the Trapped, being Brook.

Brook is here, with his family. With a healthy living body, where he can play music all day long. But he feels like he's missing something. Something important. He has to go somewhere to someone. But he can't remember. He needs to remember.

So the arc could be of Strawhat, helping Brook break out of the fantasy. To face the tragedy of what truly happened in his life. From his kingdom, to his crew, to his own body. Pontos asking, if he really want to face all that. Go back out on that cruel world?

Then, well. Cannon Brook happened. He made a promise to Laboon. So what if they all died? What if he's all bones now? So what if Laboon is not waiting anymore? Wouldn't it be so sad if Laboon was still waiting? A promise is a promise. He's going back.

Oh!!! The key to breaking Brook out of the fantasy, could be that Tone Dial. The one Brook kept in his skull. The final song by his crew. As it recorded even the sounds of them falling down dying. It's sad. But it's still a mark of pride. That they went down singing just like they promised. Now? It's time for him to fulfill his Promise.

Why I made Pontos as the Shichibukai as well? It's just seem so interesting to see how the dynamic would change with him amongst them. Also because that means he could also be in Marine Ford. To question Luffy again. Maybe even Ace. Won't you come to Ebwynnos? Where Dead is not Allowed?

These are some LOVELY thoughts, I like all of this.

Only one problem: I think Pontos is far too strong for where the Strawhats are in power when they hit Thriller Bark. And he's not the type to job when there's something he wants bad enough.

Luffy barely managed Moria and our 'shadow man' was suffering some handicaps at the time.

Pontos would definitely fuck up Brook with his promise of no death and a party forever, holy hell, my god. The Tone Dial is the secret, of course, like the paper cricket was for Pontos' nephew.

Maybe he could be tangentially related somehow? Gaunts could show up or something. Like Kuma was kind of there at the end.

Pontos's "Stay with me for eternity. Where revelry is endless and Dead is not permitted".

Luffy's "I will become the Pirate King by my own power. Even if I have to die for it. "

Also, Luffy accepting the death of his loved ones. Pontos denying the death of his loved ones.

Pontos would make a unique villain in One Piece. He's not exactly an Evil Overloard that's trying to hurt the crew. Nor is he ruling by fear and unfairness.

He's in the way of Strawhat, because he *Like* them. Like them enough to invite them to his Abyss. His love is genuine, he has well wishes for his people and ensures their absolute happiness (this is a threat). But he must be defeated because he's in the way of fulfilling their dream.

Pontos' thing with loss is a more compelling version of what was going on in Thriller Bark, where the entire mess happens because Moria refuses to let go of his loss.

Of course, that's harder to see because his flunkies aren't...that compelling. They're recruited to fill in what Moria really wants, which is a force that he never has to be worried about losing again. Emotionally or in, erm, not losing fights sense.

Of course Pontos would like the Strawhats. He likes their big dreams and hopes, that what the kind of thing he loved before he became...well, what he is now. Lord of the Abyss.

Where if you're unlucky, or have unfortunate connection to another plane of existence, could slip across.

"You're not Murphy," Luffy says.

The pale fishwoman twirls a smoking pipe between her fingers. She's silver and white and every color vibrant Murphy is not. But the eyes.

The red in the eyes is same, Nami can see it.

The eyes that are familiar, beyond the color.

"Not the one you know," the pale fishwoman agrees. She taps a gloved finger against her lips. "But I am Murphy. I am the Murphy who accepted her destiny."

Oh.

Nami knows what the look is now. She remembers the same look in the mirror, from her own eyes, during truly awful days under Arlong.

So Ace came back. But there's a price there for something too good to be true. What if, when he comes back, he becomes the same Fire that needs to keep burning "Something" to live? Not excluding even his memories?

Sabo who lost his memories, regain his memories when Ace die. Ace who die, must keep losing memories to live.

Ace with his faulty memories, but there's something that's so deep in his entire soul that will never disappear. He need to take care of Luffy. He can't remember clearly, but he must protect his brother. He made a promise he won't die. That's the entire reason he took that Deal afterall.

Cthuga Ra is actually an alternate spelling for... Kathigu-Ra. Of Morimens.

It's possible to link Ace and the Awakener together, though difficult, because Kathigu-Ra is like Luffy in that she cares pretty much only about people in her in-group that she's personally collected.

After his death, Ace left a Silver Core. He becomes an Awakner.

How will it go?

He'd be a Chaos Assault type for sure.

Honestly, with his fire and generally how he died and how much Ace cares for his brothers...a comparison to Kathigu-Ra from Morimens comes to mind.

Kathigu-Ra is much more aggressive, of course, though, from what I've noticed. But maybe that's a difference in ratings?

But Awakeners...it's hard for people who aren't already used to them. Because Ace is still dead. He won't change from what he is, not physically.

The mountain is burning. It's like the jungle on Dawn, but also not, trees all weird and different. Not enough vines or bushes.

"Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!" cry white birds, fluttering up around Luffy. They're small things, not worth catching to eat, but loud.

The air is hot and dusty with ash. As hot as that day.

The day that Sabo died.

"Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!" The birds are flying from the fire, so he does too, following them downhill. Into the shadows of smoke.