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ship_manifestoTitle: Like a Married Couple
Author: Mipe![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
eyesofsue
Fandom: One Piece
Word count: a little over 1700
Pairing: Chaka and Pell
Spoilers: the entirety of Alabasta arc
Disclaimer: Not mine
Notes: I was supposed to post this yesterday. Sorry.
One Piece is a manga and anime series created by Oda Eiichiro. The story follows a boy named Monkey D. Luffy, a young pirate captain, on his quest to find the legendary treasure known as "One Piece" and thus become the Pirate King.
One of the series’ most important elements is the Akuma no Mi, or Devil’s Fruit, a type of fruit that grants its eater an extraordinary ability at the cost of his or her ability to swim. Luffy has eaten the Gomu Gomu no Mi, or Rubber Rubber fuit which gives his body the properties of rubber. Devil fruit abilities are separated in three categories; Paramecia, which alters the properties of the user’s body in some way( such as Luffy's fruit), Zoan, which allows the user to turn into an animal, and Logia, which grants the user the ability to turn into a substance in their entirety and (usually) avoid physical damage.
Besides Luffy and his crew, One Piece has a vast and colourful cast of characters with surprising amounts of depth considering their usually minor importance to the story, and though the series itself pays little to no attention to romance, a number of pairings can seem borderline canon if looked at from the right angle.
This essay examines one such pairing: Chaka and Pell from the desert island of Alabasta, and its primary focus will be on the Alabasta story arc, owing to the fact that, apart from two occasions, neither Chaka nor Pell is ever seen outside of that arc.
Pell "The Peregrine Falcon"
One of the two “Guardian Spirits of Alabasta”, Pell is a falcon Zoan and – according to an unnamed Baroque Works Billions – the strongest warrior in Alabasta. As such it can be a little surprising how far from the stoic “ideal” soldier he is in terms of personality; Pell's emotions appear to frequently get the best of him, making him act on impulse, for better or for worse. For example, the way he expresses his decidedly parent-like concern for princess Vivi's well-being is one of the best examples of his impulsive behaviour; he doesn't even think about the fact that despite all evidence to the contrary, he is technically not allowed to lay a hand on a royalty, though he obviously feels a little bit guilty about it later on.
Despite this personality, Pell is very aware of his duties and has a deep-seated want to serve his country as best he can.
Chaka "The Jackal"
Chaka is the other "Guardian Spirit", and, rather predictably, a Jackal Zoan, and the appearance of his animal form draws heavily from the common perception of the Egyptian god Anubis. If Pell seems a little too emotional for a soldier, Chaka initially appears to be quite stoic and aloof, to the point of being almost robotic, as when he calls Igaram’s supposed death heroic and commends his commander’s bravery, instead of the open grief Pell shows in the same scene. As the story progresses, however, one comes to realize that Chaka is actually a very caring person who just happens to cope with things privately, though whether it’s a personality trait he was born with or something he does because of the great deal of responsibility on his shoulders is unclear. Either way, Chaka doesn’t seem comfortable displaying anything that could be seen as “weakness” in front of others.
Though Chaka is definitely the more duty-driven of the two guardians where Pell is the more relaxed one, he is not without a playful side. In Kohza's short flashback of one of their training sessions he feigns innocence as Kohza accuses him of being too harsh on him and Vivi and Pell watch on from the side, amused. And at the banquet at the end of the arc he is seen laughing at the Strawhats' dinnertable antics that initially horrify the guards in the room.
Comfortable together
Chaka and Pell are both side characters in an arc that isn’t really about them, even though they play fairly large parts in the chain of events. Keeping that in mind, we must understand that little of their background and motives is ever explained to the viewer; all we get is what is essential for understanding where they stand on the good-bad and strong-weak scales: glimpses that flesh them out a little without actually revealing much about them.
We do know for a fact, however, that these two are very close friends and enjoy each other's company, as one can usually be found where the other is. If the various flashbacks shown throughout the arc are anything to go by, it has been like that for pretty much as long as princess Vivi can remember, and quite possibly longer. Of course that is to be expected; they are supposed to defend the land side by side. You can’t work in such close companionship with someone and not end up having a strong opinion of them, one way or the other. We do not know what precisely brought them together, if they knew each other even before becoming soldiers or if they had never met before when they were appointed as guardians, but what matters is that at the present they are so close as to be incomplete without each other, as, it has been established earlier in the series, any good team is.
That which cannot be replaced
Towards to the end of the Alabasta fights, it is revealed that there is a large bomb with a 2.5 kilometre explosion radius hidden somewhere in the capitol city. The bomb is found a few seconds before it is set to explode, but there is no way to stop it from going off. Enter Pell, who grabs the explosive and flies high up into the sky with it, sacrificing himself in the process. He doesn't actually die, as impossible as it seems, but for a few chapters he is believed dead.
Vivi and the Strawhats who witness the explosion show the appropriate shock as they watch the shockwave part the clouds, and later Igaram and Vivi have a brief discussion about how strong and honourable Pell was. Chaka, however, reacts with neither horror nor pride. Instead, he finds himself incapable of accepting the death of his dearest friend:
Out of all the people affected by Pell's death, Chaka is the only one simply unable to let go. Which tells something about his relationship to the Falcon, given that he accepted Igaram's perceived death earlier much more easily. The difference here is that where Igaram is a respected and liked superior, Pell is an extremely close friend, and for all we know the only one Chaka has. True, both Chaka and Pell are close to princess Vivi and king Cobra, but the relationship between them and the royal family is and will remain a master-and-servant relationship, no matter how close they get. The two Guardians, however, are equals and able to communicate in a way they can't with anyone else. In each other's company, they are able to show weakness and admit to feeling inadequate or not in control of the situtation.
Irresistible
I myself became familiar with One Piece relatively late; around the fall of 2004. The manga, I believe, was somewhere in the Davy Back arc at the time, though I may be wrong. In any case, I watched a couple of episodes of the anime, decided it was somewhat cool but just kind of stopped around episode 5 or so. It wasn't until March 2005, when a publisher in my homeland of Finland picked up the manga, that I got interested again.
I started reading the manga online and fell head over heels for just about everything in it. I caught up with the then current chapters when the manga was in Water Seven, and so I'd generally spoiled myself for most of what falls between that and East Blue long before I got to read the actual chapters. Despite the lack of suspense caused by that, Alabasta stole my heart and has stubbornly held on to it to this day.
I love each and every character on that island of blowing sand and hot sun, but Chaka and Pell in particular always stuck out to me. There is something about a companionship strong enough to catch your attention despite getting hardly any screentime, and the two just seem so wonderfully comfortable with each other that I personally find it hard not to ship them. The lack of canon love interests further encourages a shipper of this pairing, because it increases the difficulty of imagining the two Guardian Spirits of Alabasta spending the rest of their lives with anyone but each other, whether it be in a platonic or romantic sense. And given their positions as the "ancient guardian spirits", they are pretty much destined to be together until one of them dies. The fact that their relationship seems to lack internal problems does work against a writer somewhat, though; canon gives us very little to resolve and you can only explore Chaka's feelings after the explosion or describe the reunion so many times. As such a casual shipper is tempted to go write about a pairing that does have unresolved canon problems.
Places to Go and Things to See
Unfortunately Chaka/Pell is one of those semi-popular pairings that few contribute to. As such, any list of recs is bound to be short.
Websites:
Tycoon System is a Japanese fansite which has a One Piece section mostly dedicated for the Strawhat crew, and especially Usopp/Sanji, but with a small subsite, "Animal World" (this link will give you a 403 message, but highlighting the URL and pressing enter should take you to the actual site) meant solely for Chaka/Pell. The content consists of a 72-page doujinshi, “Turangalila”, and several pieces of fanart, some of which could be considered NSFW.
ETA: As of June '09, this site has been down for quite a while and is showing no signs of returning. I have since bought the doujin in print form and scanned it (though the additional artwork from Animal World is lost to me). I will gladly provide it - or any of the other Chaka/Pell doujins I've bought and scanned - to anyone who wants it. Don't hesitate to contact me, no matter how old this note is by the time you happen upon it.
Fanfiction:
Guardians of the Sand (PG) bydethorats
Ailes (French, G) byplume_de_plomb
The drabble community![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
onepieceyaoi100 has also received a number of Chaka/Pell submissions. The easiest way to find them is through their memories, in the Pairing: Minor Characters section.
Author: Mipe
eyesofsueFandom: One Piece
Word count: a little over 1700
Pairing: Chaka and Pell
Spoilers: the entirety of Alabasta arc
Disclaimer: Not mine
Notes: I was supposed to post this yesterday. Sorry.
One Piece is a manga and anime series created by Oda Eiichiro. The story follows a boy named Monkey D. Luffy, a young pirate captain, on his quest to find the legendary treasure known as "One Piece" and thus become the Pirate King.
One of the series’ most important elements is the Akuma no Mi, or Devil’s Fruit, a type of fruit that grants its eater an extraordinary ability at the cost of his or her ability to swim. Luffy has eaten the Gomu Gomu no Mi, or Rubber Rubber fuit which gives his body the properties of rubber. Devil fruit abilities are separated in three categories; Paramecia, which alters the properties of the user’s body in some way( such as Luffy's fruit), Zoan, which allows the user to turn into an animal, and Logia, which grants the user the ability to turn into a substance in their entirety and (usually) avoid physical damage.
Besides Luffy and his crew, One Piece has a vast and colourful cast of characters with surprising amounts of depth considering their usually minor importance to the story, and though the series itself pays little to no attention to romance, a number of pairings can seem borderline canon if looked at from the right angle.
This essay examines one such pairing: Chaka and Pell from the desert island of Alabasta, and its primary focus will be on the Alabasta story arc, owing to the fact that, apart from two occasions, neither Chaka nor Pell is ever seen outside of that arc.
Pell "The Peregrine Falcon"
One of the two “Guardian Spirits of Alabasta”, Pell is a falcon Zoan and – according to an unnamed Baroque Works Billions – the strongest warrior in Alabasta. As such it can be a little surprising how far from the stoic “ideal” soldier he is in terms of personality; Pell's emotions appear to frequently get the best of him, making him act on impulse, for better or for worse. For example, the way he expresses his decidedly parent-like concern for princess Vivi's well-being is one of the best examples of his impulsive behaviour; he doesn't even think about the fact that despite all evidence to the contrary, he is technically not allowed to lay a hand on a royalty, though he obviously feels a little bit guilty about it later on.
Despite this personality, Pell is very aware of his duties and has a deep-seated want to serve his country as best he can.
Chaka "The Jackal"
Chaka is the other "Guardian Spirit", and, rather predictably, a Jackal Zoan, and the appearance of his animal form draws heavily from the common perception of the Egyptian god Anubis. If Pell seems a little too emotional for a soldier, Chaka initially appears to be quite stoic and aloof, to the point of being almost robotic, as when he calls Igaram’s supposed death heroic and commends his commander’s bravery, instead of the open grief Pell shows in the same scene. As the story progresses, however, one comes to realize that Chaka is actually a very caring person who just happens to cope with things privately, though whether it’s a personality trait he was born with or something he does because of the great deal of responsibility on his shoulders is unclear. Either way, Chaka doesn’t seem comfortable displaying anything that could be seen as “weakness” in front of others.
Though Chaka is definitely the more duty-driven of the two guardians where Pell is the more relaxed one, he is not without a playful side. In Kohza's short flashback of one of their training sessions he feigns innocence as Kohza accuses him of being too harsh on him and Vivi and Pell watch on from the side, amused. And at the banquet at the end of the arc he is seen laughing at the Strawhats' dinnertable antics that initially horrify the guards in the room.
Comfortable together
Chaka and Pell are both side characters in an arc that isn’t really about them, even though they play fairly large parts in the chain of events. Keeping that in mind, we must understand that little of their background and motives is ever explained to the viewer; all we get is what is essential for understanding where they stand on the good-bad and strong-weak scales: glimpses that flesh them out a little without actually revealing much about them.
We do know for a fact, however, that these two are very close friends and enjoy each other's company, as one can usually be found where the other is. If the various flashbacks shown throughout the arc are anything to go by, it has been like that for pretty much as long as princess Vivi can remember, and quite possibly longer. Of course that is to be expected; they are supposed to defend the land side by side. You can’t work in such close companionship with someone and not end up having a strong opinion of them, one way or the other. We do not know what precisely brought them together, if they knew each other even before becoming soldiers or if they had never met before when they were appointed as guardians, but what matters is that at the present they are so close as to be incomplete without each other, as, it has been established earlier in the series, any good team is.
That which cannot be replaced
Towards to the end of the Alabasta fights, it is revealed that there is a large bomb with a 2.5 kilometre explosion radius hidden somewhere in the capitol city. The bomb is found a few seconds before it is set to explode, but there is no way to stop it from going off. Enter Pell, who grabs the explosive and flies high up into the sky with it, sacrificing himself in the process. He doesn't actually die, as impossible as it seems, but for a few chapters he is believed dead.
Vivi and the Strawhats who witness the explosion show the appropriate shock as they watch the shockwave part the clouds, and later Igaram and Vivi have a brief discussion about how strong and honourable Pell was. Chaka, however, reacts with neither horror nor pride. Instead, he finds himself incapable of accepting the death of his dearest friend:
Out of all the people affected by Pell's death, Chaka is the only one simply unable to let go. Which tells something about his relationship to the Falcon, given that he accepted Igaram's perceived death earlier much more easily. The difference here is that where Igaram is a respected and liked superior, Pell is an extremely close friend, and for all we know the only one Chaka has. True, both Chaka and Pell are close to princess Vivi and king Cobra, but the relationship between them and the royal family is and will remain a master-and-servant relationship, no matter how close they get. The two Guardians, however, are equals and able to communicate in a way they can't with anyone else. In each other's company, they are able to show weakness and admit to feeling inadequate or not in control of the situtation.
Irresistible
I myself became familiar with One Piece relatively late; around the fall of 2004. The manga, I believe, was somewhere in the Davy Back arc at the time, though I may be wrong. In any case, I watched a couple of episodes of the anime, decided it was somewhat cool but just kind of stopped around episode 5 or so. It wasn't until March 2005, when a publisher in my homeland of Finland picked up the manga, that I got interested again.
I started reading the manga online and fell head over heels for just about everything in it. I caught up with the then current chapters when the manga was in Water Seven, and so I'd generally spoiled myself for most of what falls between that and East Blue long before I got to read the actual chapters. Despite the lack of suspense caused by that, Alabasta stole my heart and has stubbornly held on to it to this day.
I love each and every character on that island of blowing sand and hot sun, but Chaka and Pell in particular always stuck out to me. There is something about a companionship strong enough to catch your attention despite getting hardly any screentime, and the two just seem so wonderfully comfortable with each other that I personally find it hard not to ship them. The lack of canon love interests further encourages a shipper of this pairing, because it increases the difficulty of imagining the two Guardian Spirits of Alabasta spending the rest of their lives with anyone but each other, whether it be in a platonic or romantic sense. And given their positions as the "ancient guardian spirits", they are pretty much destined to be together until one of them dies. The fact that their relationship seems to lack internal problems does work against a writer somewhat, though; canon gives us very little to resolve and you can only explore Chaka's feelings after the explosion or describe the reunion so many times. As such a casual shipper is tempted to go write about a pairing that does have unresolved canon problems.
Places to Go and Things to See
Unfortunately Chaka/Pell is one of those semi-popular pairings that few contribute to. As such, any list of recs is bound to be short.
Websites:
Tycoon System is a Japanese fansite which has a One Piece section mostly dedicated for the Strawhat crew, and especially Usopp/Sanji, but with a small subsite, "Animal World" (this link will give you a 403 message, but highlighting the URL and pressing enter should take you to the actual site) meant solely for Chaka/Pell. The content consists of a 72-page doujinshi, “Turangalila”, and several pieces of fanart, some of which could be considered NSFW.
ETA: As of June '09, this site has been down for quite a while and is showing no signs of returning. I have since bought the doujin in print form and scanned it (though the additional artwork from Animal World is lost to me). I will gladly provide it - or any of the other Chaka/Pell doujins I've bought and scanned - to anyone who wants it. Don't hesitate to contact me, no matter how old this note is by the time you happen upon it.
Fanfiction:
Guardians of the Sand (PG) by
dethoratsAiles (French, G) by
plume_de_plombThe drabble community
onepieceyaoi100 has also received a number of Chaka/Pell submissions. The easiest way to find them is through their memories, in the Pairing: Minor Characters section.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Date: 2007-05-03 05:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-03 07:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-03 06:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-03 07:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-03 07:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-03 11:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-03 07:04 pm (UTC)And another thing...I was a bit surprised to read you're from Finland as well :D
*espionages your journal* mipeltaja? that sound strangely familiar. Umm...would you mind if I friended you, since we seem to have some common interests? (and I like to talk to people...a lot. That's a warning ^_^''')
no subject
Date: 2007-05-03 07:13 pm (UTC)And I don't mind being friended at all, so go ahead! :D
no subject
Date: 2007-05-03 08:29 pm (UTC)I need to go write some Chaka/Pell now...
no subject
Date: 2007-05-05 01:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-05 07:30 pm (UTC)Thank you so much!
Date: 2008-06-26 06:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-29 10:07 am (UTC)And if it's not much trouble, can you send me those Chaka/Pell doujinshis please, I don't even know there are doujinshi of them! My email is andyprueforever@gmail.com, thanks a lot in advance :D.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-29 02:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-18 04:06 pm (UTC)Thank you so much for the doujinshis, I really love them ♥ ♥ ♥ ! And because I love them so much, I decided I'm gonna do scanlation for (me think) the best one among those - Turangalila. So, in my email, I was asking if you could provide me with some larger scans with the apparently missing page (18-19, as you can see in the doujin's printed numbering), but seeing as I've completed 1/3 of it, I'm just gonna ask you for the left out pages, not to mention the missing contents are eating my brain away everyday.
I hope I didn't bother you too much, and please take as long as possible in case you're busy, I'm in no hurry anyway. Thanks a lot, again ♥
no subject
Date: 2009-09-18 08:39 pm (UTC)And it looks like there really is content missing there. I'm currently not in the same town with my scanner and the print version of the doujin, but I ought to be able to provide the missing pages in about a week. I do, however, have larger scans of the pages I've already sent you at hand right now, so if you still want any, I can provide them straight away.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-20 01:51 pm (UTC)Actually it's kind of a pain to clean all those pages again, but because there are some parts either blurred or too small, and I'm not so sure of my guesses, I'd love to have the larger scans please. Thanks in advance :D.
no subject
Date: 2009-11-20 12:41 am (UTC)I was wondering if I could possibly ask you for those doujinshi scans you mentioned?? I'd love to see them! If that's alright, my email is eloarei@yahoo.com
Thanks a bunch!
no subject
Date: 2010-06-05 02:26 am (UTC)If you're still willing to send the Chaka/Pell doujinshi, I would love to see them. I started a little late with One Piece and I just got finished with the Alabasta arc (which has to be my favorite arc as of now.) :)
no subject
Date: 2010-06-05 02:27 am (UTC)Thanks so much for being so willing to share!
no subject
Date: 2010-06-12 08:13 pm (UTC)So, in case this will work better, here's a link to a folder you can download the doujinshi from:
http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=fb2ccab1c28d79edd0d290dca69ceb5cc3e5f4c0c3547bf4bf1b77d2eb488dac
no subject
Date: 2010-09-18 09:25 am (UTC)It's nice to read a ship manifesto now. I's also like to thank you for the doujinshi.