It's dark, it's twisted, and it utterly horrifies me. And it's pure genius.
A Darker World takes my two pet peeves, out-of-character behaviour and re-writing canon arcs, and creates a masterpiece that salutes the original work. The story starts with Luffy inviting Zoro to join his crew, and although Luffy and Zoro's dialogue is similar to what happens in canon, something about the whole conversation is eerie. Luffy demands Zoro to join his crew, he is rude, he won't listen Zoro's objections, and he leaves to find food before Zoro finishes speaking. He is obviously Luffy, but there’s something unsettling and wrong right under the surface. And then Luffy kills captain Morgan.
There are familiar, easily recognisable elements from One Piece, but everything is twisted into something cruel and dark. Luffy represents this well. His whimsical nature isn't funny but scary, his Innocently Insensitive bluntness becomes cruel Lack of Empathy, and his love for his crewmates is turned into obsessive possessiveness.
A Darker World shows what would happen if the Straw Hats weren't The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. It addressess many problems that arise if pirating was portrayed realistically in the original series, including Nami's standing on the crew. Extremely subtle and vague writing leaves much to a reader's imagination; most of the story happens between the lines.
"In a better world" becomes a relevant phrase that acknowledges that the story happens in a Crapsack World. After reading this, I was happy and relieved that One Piece is a light-hearted shounen series that is full of nice, kind people who are driven by their dreams.
I recommend A Darker World for people who enjoy excellent, subtle writing, and gritty AU settings. 10/10.
A great short story
This is one of my favourite One Piece fanfics.
It's dark, it's twisted, and it utterly horrifies me. And it's pure genius.
A Darker World takes my two pet peeves, out-of-character behaviour and re-writing canon arcs, and creates a masterpiece that salutes the original work. The story starts with Luffy inviting Zoro to join his crew, and although Luffy and Zoro's dialogue is similar to what happens in canon, something about the whole conversation is eerie. Luffy demands Zoro to join his crew, he is rude, he won't listen Zoro's objections, and he leaves to find food before Zoro finishes speaking. He is obviously Luffy, but there’s something unsettling and wrong right under the surface. And then Luffy kills captain Morgan.
There are familiar, easily recognisable elements from One Piece, but everything is twisted into something cruel and dark. Luffy represents this well. His whimsical nature isn't funny but scary, his Innocently Insensitive bluntness becomes cruel Lack of Empathy, and his love for his crewmates is turned into obsessive possessiveness.
A Darker World shows what would happen if the Straw Hats weren't The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. It addressess many problems that arise if pirating was portrayed realistically in the original series, including Nami's standing on the crew. Extremely subtle and vague writing leaves much to a reader's imagination; most of the story happens between the lines.
"In a better world" becomes a relevant phrase that acknowledges that the story happens in a Crapsack World. After reading this, I was happy and relieved that One Piece is a light-hearted shounen series that is full of nice, kind people who are driven by their dreams.
I recommend A Darker World for people who enjoy excellent, subtle writing, and gritty AU settings. 10/10.