Sign in or 
Share this
Brook
Name: BrookOther Names: "The Gentleman Skeleton", "Just Dead Bones" Brook, Hanauta (Humming) Brook
"Real" Name: Florian Rousseau
Room: Unknown
Roommate: Unknown
Age: 41, though he has lived for 88 years (there is a discrepancy in timeline and what the author has said, Brook could have been either 38 or 41 when he died).
Birthday: April 3rd
Hair Color: Black, it's a giant AFRO
Eye Color: Hazel (this is a guess; his eyes have never been seen in canon)
Height: 8'8" without his hat. With his hat, he passes 9 feet!
Weight: 220 lbs
Birthday: Unknown
Other notable characteristics: He has two scars on his face - The first is an upside down Omega sign slanting downwards across his forehead from the top right of his hairline. The second, and much more recent, runs vertically down the right side of his face, striking through his eye but not causing any hindrance to his sight.
Background History:
About fifty years ago, Brook was a member of the Rumbar Pirate Crew under the command of Captain Yorki. These pirates were a rowdy bunch very fond of music and merrymaking – they were even required to love music before being allowed to join Yorki’s crew – and were famed for being able to “bring a smile to any crying child’s face”. Brook was especially fond of music and proficient with about every instrument imaginable with the violin being his favorite.
This crew, like many others, was sailing for the Grand Line: the most dangerous Ocean in the world, searching for fame and glory. Along the way, they picked up a small whale that had gotten lost from its flock. The crew only made one early attempt to turn it away towards its family, but thought it too adorable to try again. They named him Laboon and treated him like a part of their own crew. Laboon acted as much like a crew member as any true pirate, saving men who had fallen overboard during battles and singing along with the crew.
When the crew came close to entering the Grand Line, they made the difficult decision to leave Laboon behind. The whale was only a child and would never have been able to survive in the Grand Line along with them. Being the closest with Laboon, Brook tried to explain that they couldn’t take him, but Laboon wouldn’t listen. As a final measure, the crew gave Laboon the cold shoulder to shut him out and force him away. After a week of not seeing the whale tailing them, they finally reached and crossed over into the Grand Line, but when they got there, they found that Laboon had followed them in. The crew wasn’t able to be mad at him, so they celebrated for a bit while their ship got repaired (entering the Grand Line was no easy task). Three months later, the crew was ready to set sail. Laboon no longer felt bad about their decision to leave him and stayed behind with a lighthouse keeper. Once the crew had sailed the Grand Line around the world, they would be right back to where they started and right back to where they had left Laboon. Captain Yorki told Laboon that it should take two or three years for them to complete this task. The crew waved farewell to Laboon, promising to return.So far, the crew has not been able to manage this promise.
Upon entering the Florian Triangle (basically the Bermuda Triangle) three years after leaving Laboon, the crew fell under attack from another pirate crew. Yorki himself wasn’t actually there with his crew during the attack; he had taken ill beforehand and left his crew so as not to get them sick, passing command to Brook. Yorki had left telling them to live so that they would all be able to see each other again, but it was not to be. During that attack in the Florian Triangle, the entire crew was wiped out, Brook included. The only reason Brook did not remain dead was because of the Devil Fruit he’d eaten.
The Devil Fruits give remarkable powers to whoever consumes them at the price of no longer being able to swim. Brook ate the Yomi Yomi no Mi (Death Death Fruit) while alive but was only unable to swim as a result. Only when he died did the fruit’s abilities begin to work. The powers basically sent Brook’s soul back to the living plane after death. Unfortunately, his soul was not sent back straight to where he had been killed and due to the thick fog that circulates through the Florian Triangle, he was unable to locate his body for a while. It took Brook an entire year to locate his body, but by the time he did, it had decomposed to the point of being a skeleton. Amazingly, Brook’s overgrown afro was still clinging to the skeletal remains (Brook claims that his strong roots saved it), but aside from that everything else had deteriorated away.
Brook still revived through the Devil Fruit’s abilities and is now one impossiblyalive skeleton. He can function as a regular human despite the lack of necessary organs. He walks, talks, eats, sees, everything - even uses the bathroom (yes, he said so himself) and gets nosebleeds (where does the blood come from?). The Devil Fruit is the only explanation for how such an impossibility as Brook can exist.
Before Brook died, the remaining members of the crew all decided to play a song as their final act. Most were dead, the crew doctor included, but those still breathing had been poisoned and knew they would not last much longer. Brook took out a tone dial (a sea shell capable of recording sounds) and began to play a song along with his crew. They continued playing and singing until only Brook was the left alive, then he died as well. Brook still carries the tone dial with his Crew’s dying song and intends to play it for Laboon once he returns for the whale. Many years he has spent on his crew’s ship, unable to navigate due to a broken rudder. He might have managed to drift out of the Florian Triangle’s thick fog eventually, but 40 or so years into his drifting, he hit another snag in his effort to return.
Brook fell victim to the abilities of another Devil Fruit user - Gecko Moria. The Shichibukai (one of seven pirate lords who cooperate with the Government) possessed the Kage Kage no Mi’s (Shadow Shadow Fruit) abilities and stripped Brook of his shadow by them. Moria takes the shadows of his victims and places them into reanimated corpses to do his bidding. Once infused with another’s shadow, a corpse will come to life possessing the personality and abilities of whomever their shadow originally belonged toalong with whatever abilities the formerly living body may have had. One’s shadow is basically a copy of his or her soul. As a pirate, Brook had been an accomplished swordsman/samurai, and the zombie his shadow was forced into exhibits those abilities. The zombie body was also once a samurai rumored to have slain a dragon, so the zombie with Brook’s shadow turned out to be stronger than Brook.
Not shortly after his shadow was taken did Brook attempt to reclaim it. He had no choice. Being without a shadow, it was impossible for him to step into sunlight. This was a side-effect of Moria’s ability; anyone who had lost their shadow ran the risk of burning up in the sun’s light. If Brook could not retrieve his shadow, then sailing out of the Florian Triangle into sunlight was impossible. The fog in the sea was the only thing protecting him from the sunlight. Retracing his steps, he reentered Moria’s stronghold of Thriller Bark – the largest ship in existence which contains an island on “deck”. Before he actually entered the stronghold part of Thriller Bark, Brook learned the weakness of the zombies while spying on some. If salt is put into a zombie’s mouth, the shadow attached will be forced out and the zombie will “die”. He dispatched many zombies with this knowledge and earned the title of the Humming Swordsman from the fearful zombies because he would always be humming a song before striking without warning.
He ended up challenging Ryuuma, the zombie his shadow had been put into, but suffered a crushing defeat. Brook was only allowed to live because if the owner of the shadow dies, then the zombie containing the shadow would also “die”. Brook had no choice but to leave the island, defeated for the time being.
Known Rumbar Pirates:
Captain - Yorki
Mizuta Madaisky (older)
Mizuta Mawaritosky (younger)
Storyline History:
At the time of Brook’s introduction to the main storyline, five years have passed since Brook’s last time at Thriller Bark. The Straw Hat Pirate Crew comes across his ship floating aimlessly about the Florian Triangle, thinking it a ghost ship. Because of his strange appearance, they also think Brook a ghost as well which scares pretty much the entire crew. Only Luffy, the captain, seems more excited than scared and immediately asks Brook to join their pirate crew. Surprisingly, Brook agrees just as quickly.
Brook is somewhat invited onto the Straw Hat’s ship by Luffy to come meet everyone. A mess of confusion ends with the entire crew, Brook included, eating together and talking mostly about Brook’s story. As amazed at they are over the story behind a living skeleton, they find it even harder to believe that Brook also has no shadow and cannot be seen in mirrors. Brook explains that this shadow was taken, but refuses to give the name of the one responsible for it absence, even when pressed by the crew. He also turns down his original agreement of joining the crew because of the problem with his shadow. Brook is thankful for the offer, but is happy enough to have simply met people after such a long time of being alone. As a means of thanks he offers to play some music for them on his violin, but before he begins they are interrupted by a ghost floating into the room. Brook rushes from the ship, literally running off over the water, while the rest of the crew is left to deal with the island that has appeared before them.
The Straw Hats’ ship had been captured by Thriller Bark, which proved a great stroke of luck for Brook. He’d been trying to get back to the island for the past five year’s time. While the crew ventures into the stronghold, Brook prowls about the island, looking for Ryuuma for another fight to reclaim his shadow. Brook appears back in the story later, falling from the sky (why, I’veno idea) right into a battle with Franky and Robin, two members of the Straw Hat Crew. He then proceeds to destroy their zombie attacker and purify it of its shadow with some salt. After leaving the zombies’ weakness with the two he saved as well as explaining some about his past, Brook runs off in search of Ryuuma.
Franky and Robin return to their ship, find that three of their crew have lost their shadows to Moria, then tell of what Brook had explained to them. The crew decides once again that Brook is going to be a member of their crew and heads back into Thriller Bark, looking to reclaim everyone’s shadows, including Brook’s.
While the Straw Hats’ make their move, Brook once again confronts Ryuuma, and he once again ends up defeated. Ryuuma is about to shave Brook of his afro when Zoro and Franky show up. Zoro shows a great deal of interest in Ryuuma and takes over the fight from here. Franky and Brook watch as it takes Zoro all of five minutes to finish off Ryuuma. He then claims the felled Zombie’s sword as a replacement for one of his own, and just in time. Oz, a very large zombie infused with Luffy’s shadow begins rampaging with orders to destroy the Straw Hat crew. Brook is unable to assist during the battle due to the damage he took in facing Ryuuma. Just when everyone thinks he’s down for the count, he reappears, healed and carrying a giant bag of salt. He had crawled to the kitchen to get the salt and had discovered some milk there which rejuvenated him because milk heals bone fractures (or so he says).
Brook tries to assist in the fighting, but he’s still too badly injured even with the help of the milk. He comes up with a plan anyway and gets launched as an electrified javelin right through the raging zombie’s shoulder. This is the only direct participation he is ever able to have in the battle. The Straw Hat Pirates, Luffy mainly, eventually defeat Oz and Moria in turn and reclaim everyone’s shadows.
When another Shichibukai, Bartholomew Kuma, shows up, Zoro is the only one still able to stand. Everyone else appears to be unconscious during Zoro’s face off with Kuma, but Brook proves later that he heard the whole thing. Brook is impressed by how Zoro overcame Kuma’s ability without faltering – Kuma took all of Luffy’s injuries and pain and told Zoro that, if he would take it in his captain’s stead, he would not kill Luffy as ordered. Zoro swore that Luffy would be King of the Pirates and then took every last ounce of the pain his captain had endured. Kuma left, also impressed by the members of Luffy’s crew, and when everyone else came to, the very injured Zoro said that nothing had happened. Two other members of the crew found out what happened through some other pirates who had been half-conscious during Zoro’s battle, but they kept quiet on the matter. Just so long as everyone is safe, telling what happened does not matter. So, not knowing what happened between Zoro and Kuma, the freed pirates threw a party in celebration of their victory.
During the party, Brook begins playing the piano. Luffy talks to him from on top of the piano, asking if he’s still going to join their crew. Brook nearly turns him down due to his promise to Laboon and his crew, but when Luffy says he already knows and says that he’s met Laboon, Brook breaks down in tears of joy. He remembers the events of his past, then stops playing the piano and pulls the dial tone containing his Nakama’s last song out of his skull (yeah, he can do that) to play for everyone.
Through the tears, he remembers his friends, his promise, and his duty to fulfill that promise while he plays along with the celebration. He resolves here once again to get back to Laboon no matter what, but to do it properly by circumnavigating the Grand Line and coming over that wall. He tells Luffy and everyone that the tone dial was the only thing making him feel like he was alive, but that now he has no need of it until he returns to Laboon. He “seals” the shell away in his skull, deciding not to take it out again until he’s back to his friend. He then tells Luffy that he’s happy to be alive because of this day, because he is finally able to start pursuing his goal once again after all of the hardships he’s faced.
After his speech, Brook asks if it’s still all right to be a member of the crew, and Luffy naturally says that it is. He’s welcomed instantly and introduces himself properly by presenting his wanted poster from fifty years ago. Back then, Humming Brook was worth 33 million Beri (Luffy currently has a 300 million Beri bounty, for a comparison). Since the bounty has been long-standing for fifty years’ time, it should increase later on. The crew delays departure for a bit after Brook joins, resting up and assisting in making a proper grave for the remains on Brook’s ship. Before the grave, Brook sits and plays his violin for them one last time. He is joined by Zoro, who sets his dead sword before the grave and sends it off as well. Zoro tells Brook that he has bad luck for getting involved with such a group as theirs, but Brook only laughs and says he’ll give it his best.
((Brook comes from right after this part in the series. As the series progresses and Arcs complete, more information may or may not be added beyond this point))
Special Notes for History:
--Any history prior to Brook’s joining of the Rumbar pirates is still a mystery. When he introduced himself to Luffy, he mentioned that he was many years ago the leader of a Battle Convoy/Surprise Attack Corps for a Kingdom he has yet to name. Knowing how the One Piece story likes to progress, this will probably come up later whenever Brook’s younger days are explained (a hundred or so chapters later, give or take). He is currently the only character with the crew that has not been shown in flashbacks under the age of twelve.
--Because of Brook’s fifty years stuck in the Florian Triangle, he appropriately has no knowledge of anything that has happened to the world for that period of time. This is particularly relevant because the dream of his new Captain is to become the Pirate King and obtain One Piece, the treasure left by Gol D. Roger (the former Pirate King) at the start of the Golden Age of Pirates. Gol D. Roger’s era ended twenty years ago, so Brook is likely not to know either of Gol D. Roger or of the treasure One Piece that Luffy and Crew seek. Unless something happened to Brook during his years of floating about that has yet to surface, he will be played based upon this assumption.
Personality:
Back when he was a pirate, Brook fit the pirate mold fairly well. He was loud, rowdy, and loved music more than anything. Energy just burst from him, seemingly at all hours. He was always the first up, ready and raring to face the day with a good musical tune. This became a nice alarm clock for his crewmates, but they only complained so far a being woken up. Aside from that, Brook didn’t seem to have any problems with any other crewmates and had an especially close relationship with his Captain. When Yorki fell ill, it was Brook that he addressed at his bedside and who took the position of acting captain in Yorki’s absence – he was likely first mate, though this is never stated specifically. Brook was given a lot of trust and respect from everyone, even Laboon.
They were all Nakama (eternal friends and comrades) in the strongest sense of the word. That fact made it all the more difficult for Brook to return after death. For close to fifty years, Brook has been by himself on the ship that his Nakama all sailed together on. He had to gather up his friends’ bones and put them to rest as best he could, setting the bones in a limited supply of coffins in a room on the ship. Even after dealing with his crewmates’ bones, there was no way to put the ship to rest or even sail it for the broken rudder. Everywhere Brook looked there was a constant reminder of days long past. Even his dreams were of his crew, and he would awake only to find that nothing had changed. He has had a truly lonely existence full of pain and suffering – “Lonelier than Death itself” in Brook’s own words.
The only reason why he did not attempt to end his suffering was because of the promise his crew had made. If Laboon was still back at the Grand Line’s entrance waiting for their crew to return, then their promise could still be fulfilled. Brook wasn’t about to abandon what was likely his last remaining Nakama because his life, and death had been a living hell. Dying was no excuse. While Brook knew it was possible that Laboon could have left or might even be dead as well, if there was the chance that he was still waiting for them to return, then Brook was going to hold to his crew’s promise. Brook understands the bonds of a Nakama’s promise more than anyone. His crew promised Laboon they’d return, and Brook promised his crew with his dying words that, if the Devil’s Fruit allowed him to come back, he would deliver their last song to their friend.
He feels extremely guilty for having left Laboon for so many years; every time he thinks about it, it pains his heart (if he had one, of course) and makes him all the more determined to get back to those twin peaks. Brook has a strength in his determination to follow through no matter what. When he lost his shadow to Moria, he took every measure possible to get it back so he could go out into the sun and back to his friend. Each defeat at Ryuuma’s hands only had him trying harder to win. He was even determined to keep his looks intact so that Laboon would be able to recognize him. Everything he’s done since being revived has been for the sake of returning.
For such a tragic history of loneliness, the skeleton Brook manages very strong emotions of the opposite kind. When he first comes across the Straw Hat Pirates, he’s very excited and loud, laughing in his unique way of “Yohohoho!”. He introduces himself as the “Gentleman Skeleton” but is in actuality very rude. He shouts for meals, asks to switch portions with others because their portion is bigger, is amazingly flatulent after meals, and worst of all he asks women to see their panties. At least he looks gentlemanly and does have his moments of being relatively decent. Still, his manners are in need of some tuning.He is also very bad with corny jokes, all mostly related to bones. He is always saying things like not believing his eyes, then correcting himself on actually having any. When he makes one of these jokes, he will also shout “skull joke” afterwards, just in case no one understood it. If it’s not a joke, then he’ll be making puns instead, again relating to his condition as a skeleton. This has gotten him clocked by Franky who tried to restrain himself, but eventually got fed up after a string of these jokes and puns. (Since he won’t be skeletal at Damned, he’s going to have to find some new material!)
He overreacts a lot as well, even to things said about himself. The reverse is also true in that he’ll be calm about things that others would overreact at. Brook is afraid of ghosts and zombies and jumps at his reflection in mirrors (before his shadow was taken, and he could still be seen in mirrors). To keep from being afraid, he’s learned to hum as a means of calming his nerves.
His boisterous attitude at the Straw Hat Crew turns out to be from happiness. The Crew members are the first humans Brook’s seen in his fifty years of being a Skeleton. Actually meeting people makes him so happy that he doesn’t even care about how terrible his life’s been. He can laugh and be happy just the same.
When Franky confronts Brook about being so happy when his life has been a nightmare, the explanation Brook presents has Franky respecting Brook more than ever. Franky sees Brook as a true man. The rest of the crew agrees as well once they hear of Brook’s story and promise to Laboon. Having met Laboon earlier in their travels, they understand just how important this promise is and respect Brook for it. He practically becomes a member of the Straw Hat Crew at this point, having earned everyone’s respect in one fell swoop.
Later, when Brook finally learns that Laboon is waiting for his crew, he breaks down in tears over the piano he’s playing. He’s so happy that his friend still believes in him and his crew long since gone. He becomes more determined than ever to return once he knows, but he cannot ignore his calling as a pirate either. So, he decides to wait one or two years longer and hold to the promise completely. He will be returning to Laboon properly, sailing right over the Grand Line’s wall once he’s circled the entire line with Luffy’s crew. The promise will still remain with him, tucked away with the dial tone in his skull.
Magical/Special Abilities:
Yomi Yomi no Mi (Death Death Fruit) - In life, this Devil's fruit gave Brook no particular abilities, though it did take away his ability to swim. When he died, the ability of the fruit brought him back to life. Now, as a living skeleton, he is capable of functioning as a normal human, but with a bit of a twist. His light weight gives him the ability to jump to tremendous heights and distance, as well as let him run on water when he moves his legs fast enough. His speed is nearly unmatchable (little wind resistence, you know?) At Landel's, the abilities granted him by the Fruit, save for the fact that he's living, are non existent.
Physical Abilities:
Brook is an excellent swordsman, even if he is a complete scaredy cat. His fighting style is very refined and resembles a mesh of fencing and iadou (drawing your sword from its sheath as an attack is made). His attack names end upmeshed as well combining names of French dances, fencing calls, and Japanese all together. Though his skill is impressive, he is shown to be weaker in ability than crewmate Roronoa Zoro. Brook is not dedicated fully to his swordsmanship skills and does not keep the full pride of a swordsman either – he has begged for his life and even pleaded that Zoro reclaim his shadow when he wasn’t able to defeat Ryuuma himself. Still, he probably had a lot of discipline early on to actually train to the level he has. If he beats Zoro in anything sword-related, it is in speed. His attacks are view through both what he has done and by what his Zombie performed in battle against Zoro.
Hanauta Sanchou: Yahazu Giri (Three Verse Humming: Notch Slice)
The strongest of his attacks, originally titled Requiem Banderole (Requiem Banner) from his time spent in a Kingdom's Surprise Attack Corps. It was renamed by his Nakama who praised his use of it. Both Brook and Ryuuma showed a mastry of this ability even though the attack is so quick that it isn't ever seen drawn out in the manga panels. There is usually a quick motion followed by the attacker making a few steps afterwards, possibly talking with another, before calling the attack as it finally slashes the victim.
Aubade Coup Droit (Serenade Right-Handed Strike)
A thrust with the right hand. Performed by Ryuuma, this attack was able to put a hole in a wall like a canon, but Brook claims that his attack is not nearly as strong.
Prelude Au Fer (Prelude to Iron)
A quick, but heavy strike executed with the intent to break the opponent's countering weapon.
Gavotte: Bond En Avant (Dance: Forward Thrust)
A speedy attack where you rush the opponent and land a single blow before there is any time for a reaction.
Raikotsuken Gavotte: Bond En Avant (Thunder Bone Blade Dance: Forward Thrust)
An makeshift attack used in fighting OZ. Brook was launched at the zombie as an electrified javelin and pierced through OZ's right shoulder. This attack combined Brook's Gavotte: Bond En Avant with Nami's Dark Cloud Tempo and had assists from Robin and Usopp for the sling-shotlaunch. Pretty much a triple combo attack.
Polka Remise (Polka Repeat)
A repetition of one strike consecutively, but with a different aim each time. It is meant as a counter for a missed attack on either participant's part, but Ryuuma used this attack to help assist in destroying the collapsing building around his and Zoro's fight.
Nemuriuta Flunge* (Lullaby Arrow)
An attack in which he first puts his opponents to sleep by playing the violin before striking at them, powering through with an attack that turns into a running attack after. This attack truly proves that music is power!
*Rough in Translation. Could be Flan, Furan, or something else entirely. It's assumed to be Flunge as that is a call in Fencing and would fit the pattern for Brook's other attack calls.
|
Kiarae29 |
Latest page update: made by Kiarae29
, Aug 16 2009, 8:32 AM EDT
(about this update
About This Update
Edited by Kiarae29
16 words added 1 word deleted view changes - complete history) |
|
Keyword tags:
Brook
Brooke
Hanauta
Main Crew
Yomi Yomi no Mi
More Info: links to this page
|
There are no threads for this page.
Be the first to start a new thread.
