A lot of bloggers featured in the Tea Time series would be people I regularly follow. Since I know their work, I just really want to get to know them better. I know that I’ll get a good conversation out of these interesting bloggers, so I really just boldly approached them. For this month, I’ll be talking to Rose, a cosplayer/blogger down at WretchedandDivine, and she has a massive following. Full disclosure, I expected Rose to decline this collaboration. She seems distant, and cosplayers are always hounded by creeps. I consider myself a creep, so I don’t really blame her if she turns down my invitation for tea. Surprise though, she agreed. I was “cool, so what’s your favorite anime or books or movies”?

She said One Piece. Sh*t, ok, how about your favorite arc in One Piece? She said Enies Lobby. Ok, now I can work with that. How many episodes is that arc? Ok, fun, forty eight episodes. It’s a good thing this is a monthly project. I did manage to finish that entire thing in a bone breaking viewing marathon, and me and Rose exchange notes. You can tell she really likes talking about One Piece, since her enthusiasm is overflowing as we talk about the battles and the characters of the arc. She’s also very friendly and accommodating. We talked for two hours about Enies Lobby, and I believe she stayed up till midnight just to talk about it. I hate the time differences between us bloggers.

Anyways, that long ass conversation is split into two parts. The first part is just casual back and forth between two people that do not really know each other. The second part will be the full look at her favorite One Piece arc. I hope you all enjoy, and I want to extend my full thanks to Rose for joining me for tea.

Ice Breaking

TPAB: Now, before we start, can I just address something? How old are you?

Rose: Sure. I am 21.

TPAB: omg, really? You look young. xD

Rose: Yes! I get that a lot XD

TPAB: I bet. Well that’s good. I thought you were 16!!!! hahaha sorry about that

Rose: haha no worries. I’m used to it.

TPAB: I think that’s an advantage for you, since you cosplay.

Rose: I agree. I can cosplay as high school characters and when I’m in my late twenties, I’ll probably still look young so I can continue to do it for a while.

TPAB: Yeah, you can go pro! It’s a huge plus for you, but isn’t cosplaying a bit expensive? Just a random thought, but your costumes are custom made??

Rose: it is expensive ahha. but I don’t really spend a lot of money on myself on other things.

TPAB: you must be pretty rich then. 😛

Rose: nooo. I just think the way I spend money is different on what I prioritize.

TPAB: Oh, how do you prioritize your spending? Also, are you active in the anime con in your country? You attend a lot of them in cosplay, and compete?

Rose: A lot of people my age go to clubs and drink alcohol and stuff but I just buy cosplays lol. I do attend cons. I try to attend every one if I can but I don’t compete. I just like to have fun. I would say I spend the most money on food and anime stuff, like cosplay.

Rose: My room has a lot of anime things.

TPAB: I can imagine, but cosplays are meant to be fun first. Is cosplay competitions serious in Canada?

Rose: Hm I don’t think it’s that serious. At least not that I’m aware of.

TPAB: Btw, you don’t look canadian? xD full chinese?

Rose: Yeah full Chinese but Canadian citizen. Canada is a very multicultural country so people of all ethnicity live here

TPAB: I understand. I was just really surprised when I learned you’re from Canada from your twitter profile.

Rose: Oh, how come?

TPAB: I thought you were from Hong Kong or Singapore or something. You should try cosplay competitions. I think you’ll be good at it.

Rose: Thank you~ 🙂

Fave Arc?

TPAB: anyways, One Piece is huge! Why is Enies Lobby your favorite arc?

Rose: So many things happen in Enies Lobby. We see Nami and Usopp become more serious about fighting since their opponents are stronger than in previous arcs.

TPAB: ah, is this the arc after the time skip? I don’t watch one piece so i have no idea, but yeah, i’m surprised Nami and Usopp can fight.

Rose: no, it’s before! I think it’s my fav because of the fights. Luffy’s fight with Lucci is one of my favourites. He was defeated before in Water Seven and was nearly defeated again here. In the end, he won and I really loved that he kept going.

Everything seemed like it was going wrong but the Straw Hats always found a way to overcome the obstacles. There were still many obstacles. The buster call was another thing that made it seem like things were going wrong. The perseverance was inspiring to me, and it makes me more motivated to persist through things in real life

TPAB: ah, very well said. i love this arc btw, thank you.

Rose: I’m really happy that you read it! And in such a short time too!!

TPAB: I watched it, actually. 48 episodes in three days.

Rose: Ohh

TPAB: It’s pretty short and I think seven episodes are filler, so I skipped them. I stopped at the episode where the Going merry was burned. That was sad, since I still remember when Luffy got it in Usopp’s arc.

Rose: it’s a special moment with Going Merry, the ship and how Merry saved them again at the end. I cried when they said good bye to her.

TPAB: Oh, what’s your second fave arc after Enies Lobby?

Rose: It’s hard to say! I just love them all so much. Maybe Impel Down. Only Luffy is in that one but we see so many criminals from previous arcs, like Crocodile, Buggy the Clown, Mr. 3, and more, and they help Luffy which was so nice to see.

TPAB: ah, I was actually shocked you didn’t mention that first. You like Enies Lobby better than Impel down?

Rose: Even though I like Impel Down, the drawback was that the others weren’t in it

TPAB: ah, you like the whole crew present

Rose: I prefer it when the whole crew is working together but it was a nice break in Impel Down

TPAB: that makes sense. But Ace is in Impel Down, right? Luffy’s bro?

Rose: Just a bit. He’s in the next arc a lot more, on the war. The war is another arc at the top of the list. The outcome makes me sad though so maybe that’s why it’s not number one, lol.

TPAB: The one where he died? I should really watch one piece, lol. All of it.

Rose: you should 🙂

We segued to yaoi, for some reason

TPAB: Is One Piece your fave anime?

Rose: yes it is!

TPAB: You stick to mostly to mainstream anime?

Rose: Hmm not always.

TPAB: What non mainstream do you like?

Rose: I do love a lot of yaoi that are just one volume, and they don’t have an anime.

TPAB: do you still watch one piece, 800 episodes and beyond. It’s a very fun show to get into, so i think One Piece is easy to watch

Rose: I am still watching it. I’m getting there but school gets busy.

TPAB: ohmygosh, you like yaoi!?

Rose: Lol yes I do! I also like other manga that don’t have anime like Liar Game, Kurosagi and Bloody Monday.

TPAB: Oh, what titles can you recommend? you like hardcore yaoi? I used to read Minami Haruka’s works, but only one time, lol.

Rose: Haha It’s a little embarrassing to talk about!

TPAB: ahahahaha, I understand. Well, what anime do you watch aside from one piece?

Rose: For anime, I try to watch seasonal.

TPAB: Ah, gosh, I wish I have time for seasonal. I’m trying some of winter 2018 though.

Rose: I watched Heaven’s Memo Pad last month, which was not seasonal. And yeah, I don’t have much time for seasonal either. I mostly just binge them during my break.

TPAB: Got any cosplay inspiration from heaven’s memo pad? Hehe

Rose: Hmmm. Alice is very pretty but her hair is so long. I’m afraid the wig will get tangled or be long to maintain. But maybe one day…

TPAB: That’s her name, Alice. She’s in her pajama or something and a lot of stuff toys.

Rose: Yea and she always drinks Dr. Pepper. I drank Dr. Pepper for the first time because of the show. I got really curious about how it tasted.

TPAB: Better than coke or pepsi?

Rose: I think I like Coke a little more, but I do like Dr. Pepper a lot. It’s more rare to find though. I wish Dr. Pepper was sold at McDonald’s and other fast food chains

TPAB: We don’t even have that in my country too, lol.

The Fights

TPAB: It’s a very long arc btw.

Rose: yes… it is. There were a lot of different fights going on. Did you have a favourite one?

TPAB: I have a lot of favorites in this arc. There’s the seize of the gates and then there’s the battle at the tower. Is the Lucci fight your fave?

Rose: Yes, it is my favourite. Lucci is also my favourite character in CP9 haha.

TPAB: oh, I think his fight is a bit overshadowed by the buster call though, but he is definitely the strongest. Luffy barely defeated him. Did other arcs didn’t seem as hopeless like in Enies Lobby?

Rose: I think the situation made things more serious this time. Both Robin and Franky were taken away and Robin’s life was at stake. The opponents were stronger in this arc compared to the other ones. The Straw Hats also learned new moves from the CP9 members, which was cool

TPAB: oh, there were a lot of “firsts” in Enies Lobby, huh? Like Nami and Usopp fighting opponents. Is it also the first time chopper used his powers like that? When he went berserk?

Rose: Nami and Usopp did fight before, but their opponents weren’t as strong. I would say it was their first serious fight. Probably because of the situation and the enemy’s strength. Yes, it was Chopper’s first time going berserk!

TPAB: Nami and Usopp were pretty awesome here. Usopp is so brave now. I stopped watching one piece at Sanji’s arc, so everything feels different for me.

Rose: Yeah. Luffy and Usopp got in a big fight and Usopp left the crew. I love how he is faking his identity to help out the others. He encourages Luffy during his fight with Lucci too, which was amazing.

TPAB: it’s pretty adorable that Sanji and the others didn’t tell Chopper and Luffy that it’s actually Usopp. I love that.

Rose: YEAH! One Piece is also very funny. I love how Luffy and Chopper don’t know that it’s him. It really shows how strong the bond is between the crew members. That’s the kind of friendships I would want for me

TPAB: You want to sail the world as pirates with your friends? xD

Rose: If I could, then yes I would. But it would be great if I was physically strong. I like how they don’t follow the rules. It feels very free.

TPAB: aw, that’s adorable.

– – – – – – –

The second part of this tea time will come out in the last week of February. It’s supposed to be a “final week” type of series, but the conversation/interview really took on a life of its own. Full disclosure again, it was very uncomfortable asking for her picture, but she happily provided some. With that being said, please, no one hound her asking for fan signs. Try not be a creep, like me. I’m saying this because Rose is very nice, and I don’t want people taking advantage of that.

Anyways, the pot is boiling so it’s time to steep the tea and strain the leaves. I don’t drink tea in real life, so I’m not sure what steeping actually does. I love the word though.