i wanted to break down my edit bc i thought it would be fun to share my thoughts with you guys Things To Do - Alex G “i was asleep for days, and now youre the only thing keeping me awake” i dont think this one needs much explanation. after marineford, luffy is unconscious for days, and before waking up he sees ace protecting him. the first thing he asks when he wakes up is “wheres ace?” when he realizes what happened, he completely breaks down. “the calculator will make the same mistakes yeah, i see it in its face” for “the calculator”, i chose ace as a child, when he asks garp if he deserved to be born. then i cut to ace on wb’s ship, before he accepts the crew as his family. hes older, but hes still repeating the same mistake. the “mistake” isnt a literal one. to me, it represents the way ace keeps questioning if he deserves to be alive. he already found a family, but he still struggles to believe he deserves their love. also, i wanna point out a small detail: in this scene ace is looking at the sea. i think it fits perfectly bc the sea is such an important symbol in one piece: freedom, dreams, and the life hes still trying to find his place in see what i did there👀 “yeah, i see it in its face.” i chose luffy looking at ace after ace shields him from akainus attack. i like to interpret this line as luffy finally seeing the pain ace had been carrying all his life. luffy doesnt know every single thought ace ever had, but in that moment, looking at him, he understands how much ace sacrificed “hold on tight to this time, this place” this part is about memories. the moments that shaped them “because everything you know will be erased” aces vivre card burning. luffy has to hold on to those memories: the time, the place, and the people he loved, bc ace is dying. at the same time, he already lost his crew, so in that moment everything he knows is falling apart “you were born inside your head” i used aces birth with rouge bc he was born loved. his mother loved him and sacrificed everything for him. but ace never truly saw it that way. in his mind, his birth was always connected to roger. he grew up believing that being rogers son defined his entire existence. so “inside your head” represents the prison he created for himself: the belief that there was something wrong with him, that he shouldnt exist. “and that is where youll be when you are dead” at first glance, this lyric might make it seem like ace never changed, but thats not how i see it. i dont think it means he stayed the same. i think it means this feeling followed him throughout his life. ace always carried that doubt with him, but it changed. at marineford, when he sees luffy and wb’s crew risking everything to save him, he finally finds the answer to the question he asked garp years before. when he says he still wants to live, its bc he finally realizes that he is loved and that he deserves that love. thats why i used the scene where ace bows to wb. not bc hes submitting, but bc hes grateful. wb is the man saved his life. “when you are dead” i didnt use aces death itself. instead, i used his final words: “thank you for loving me.” bc his journey ends with him finally accepting the thing he spent his whole life questioning. “you are just a boy, you are no man” after marineford, luffys on amazon lily, breaking down, punching the ground, crying and calling himself useless. its the first time luffy truly questions his dream. he blames himself for aces death and for not being strong enough. but the truth is, he was just a kid. he was 17, carrying a burden no one that age should ever have to carry. “nobody you know will understand” although, jinbe understands luffys pain bc he also lost someone important to him, no one can truly know exactly how luffy feels in that moment. jinbe isnt trying to erase his pain. hes trying to remind luffy that even though ace is gone, he isnt alone. he makes luffy look at what he still has instead of only what he lost #onepiece #monkeydluffy #portgasdace #onepieceedit #angst - @ke69b