Brook

**Brook**, also known as **"Soul King" Brook** is the musician of the Straw Hat Pirates. He is a skeleton that the Straw Hats found on board of a ghost ship after drifting into the Florian Triangle. He is a Devil Fruit user who ate the Revive-Revive Fruit, and is undead, having been brought back into a pseudo-immortal state because of its powers. He is the tenth member of the Straw Hat crew, and the ninth to join Luffy's crew, as well as being the oldest member on board. He is also one of the two swordsmen onboard their current ship, with the other being Roronoa Zoro. He fills the role of the long-awaited musician that Luffy had wanted for his crew ever since his journey began.

## Profile and Stats

**Name**: Brook

**Alias**: Soul King, Gentleman Skeleton, Dead Bones, Humming Swordsman

**Age**: 90

**Classification**: Living Skeleton (previously a Human), Musician of the Straw Hat Pirates, Former Captain of the Rumbar Pirates, Former Battle Convoy Leader, Paramecia Devil Fruit user

**Affiliation**: Straw Hat Pirates

**Gender**: Male

**Height**: 277 cm (9'1")

**Weight**: 30 kg (66 lbs)

**Eye** Brook is an extremely tall skeleton dressed in formal attire complete with top hat and cane. Standing at 277 cm (9'1") in height, he is the tallest member of the Straw Hat crew. Despite having no skin, he still has an black afro which he says is because his hair has very strong roots. Brook's style was that of a rockstar/gentleman, consisting of heart-shaped sunglasses, a black jacket with inner linings being white and the cravat that was tied in between his coat and around his neck was blue, a dark top hat with a giant crown on the brim, a pair of black slacks and black leather shoes. The outer covering of Brook's cane sword which he carries was purple.

## Personality

Brook is an eccentric character with a distinct personality of his own, like the other Straw Hat Pirates. While he looks like and claims to be a gentleman, he possesses very bad manners such as asking to see ladies' panties (although in a mermaid's case he asks if they can lend him some money - however, he asked this question to the Mermaid Princess anyway), yelling impatiently for food (a trait shared by Luffy and Natsu) and occasionally burping and farting conspicuously. Despite this behavior he still is somewhat polite, usually referring to people using the respectful "-san" ("Sir" and "Miss"). He appreciates the simplest of things: frnotable trait amongst others, however, is that he cracks "skull jokes" about himself being a skeleton complimented with his distinct laughter of "Yohohoho" even if there is no one around to hear him. When Chopper broke one of his jokes by saying what he intended to say beforehand, Brook became temporarily depressed.

While stuck in the Florian Triangle, Brook discovered his skeletal body was now very limber and developed a strange gag to keep himself entertained- going completely rigid and then leaning against a wall or object at a forty-five degree angle. Though he mainly uses it to show it off in front of people and his crew just for a laugh, Brook later turned this into one of his signature poses as the Soul King. He has sometimes practiced and attempted to tilt in even further than forty-five degrees, but if he makes the angle too acute, he will lose his balance and slip.

Brook is a great lover of music. Whether it be through happy or sad times, music is what generally keeps Brook going. As a result, his love for music often reflects itself in various other aspects of his character, such as in his fighting style wherein the names of his attacks are derived from various songs and dances. He gave himself a musical theme so noticeable that while he was alive in his first life, he was called "**Humming Brook**" by the authorities. His love for music even gave Gajeel a way to perfect his own, leading the two to become sinning partners for entertainment for the crew and Fairy Tail.

In contrast to the other cowardly crew members own fears - Usopp's being out of insecurity, Nami's as a survival instinct, and Chopper's from cautiousness - Brook's fear is more down to Earth; he fears the things that are not normal. An example would be that Brook is easily scared by the ghosts and zombies (despite technically being deceased himself). In order to fight the various Thriller Bark creatures without fear when he encountered them, Brook convinced himself that if he sings while fighting, he would not be afraid of them (though he starts running in fear when he stops singing). This singing while fighting, however, had a side effect of making him seem like a more sinister creature to the zombies - a rather ironic fact due to him being the contrary and the fact the song he sings during battle being one of life and joy than one of ominous threat and evil as perceived by them. Because of this, despite his equal fear he was given the name of "Humming Swordsman" by the zombies and was ironically feared by them in turn. He apparently does not like moving fast, evident when he was in the more intense rides at Sabaody Park. Linked to this is moving at high speeds via the Flying Fish Riders flying fish or theme park rides and fighting a Pacifista cyborg there was little chance to win against. Comically, most of these fears are things he himself has the potential to unintentionally cause such as being an almost living skeleton that can run so fast that most people would have little chance to win against.

Before encountering the Straw Hats, Brook was very lonely while floating adrift on his ship and longed for the company of other people. He initially accepted Luffy's offer to join the crew and invited himself over for dinner upon arriving on board the Thousand Sunny just so he could interact with the crew and fill the void that he experienced all those years. Also, while possibly one of the oldest pirates "alive", Brook still retains an air of childishness about him that enables him to behave in a manner similar to Luffy and Chopper, noted by the ease with which he participates in their childlike antics.

His distinct personality and laughter allowed Nami, Usopp, and Chopper question a "guardian" of Hogback's lab, Jigoro, who had Brook's signature laughter and personality. This was because Jigoro possessed Brook's shadow until he and the samurai, Ryuma, was defeated by Zoro, upon which Brook's shadow was returned to its rightful place.

Awkwardly, Brook has a tendency to lack common sense in slightly frantic times. For example, when Luffy falls into the water, Brook (and Chopper for that matter) jumps into the water, despite being a Devil Fruit user himself. He also has a tendency to accidentally go on rides that go obviously fast and sit out on slower rides.

Brook believes in and has quoted the philosophy "*Good things come to those who wait*", given the years he spent on the ghost ship, and Laboon's eternal patience.

However, one issue he has stood by is the act of wasting lives. As he had experienced death, he knows more than most about the consequences of dying. He shares a very strong emphasis on keeping promises and friendship, as he would do everything in his power to reunite and fulfill his promise to Laboon his long lost friend, something Franky had complimented him upon. Though he is prone to being childish, he proves a loyal and fearless friend. Standing between Usopp and a Pacifista stating that he shall protect him even though he knew his chances of survival were slim. Even Zoro has quietly acknowledged that Brook is a true man to his heart, facing down odds that are near impossible unflinchingly to save a friend. Also similar to Sanji, while both of them are womanizers with lecherous thoughts, Brook is also very protective over women (as is Sanji), as he chastised the New Fishman Pirates for aiming their firearms at Shirahoshi.

Though he knows other songs, Brook's favorite song to sing is Binks' Sake which he was singing upon his first appearance. Even when he asks for requests from the others, he seemed to instantly switch over to singing this song. Other songs Brook sings include Black Handkerchief of Happiness and his own originals, Bone To Be Wild and New World.

## Powers and Abilities

**Revive-Revive Fruit**: A Paramecia-type Devil Fruit which enhances the user's soul to the point where they can come back to life after dying once, remain alive until their body is sufficiently damaged, and to use several other soul-based abilities. The power that allows him to live in the human world is not organs nor muscles: it is his soul.

* **Astral Projection**: A new ability Brook demonstrated after the timeskip. Brook is able to separate his body and soul, and move his soul everywhere he wants to, even through walls. When Brook is in Spectral form he both visible and audible to people. It is currently unknown as to how far the extent can Brook maintain this separation of his soul from his body.
* **Soul Energy**: After two years of training, Brook has mastered the use of this Devil Fruit to the extent of knowing its true nature. He reveals that in order for his soul to remain here in this world, it produces a unique and powerful energy that is almost physical in form. He has also mastered the energy his soul emits to the extent that he can reattach his bones by using this energy such as when he is beheaded he then attaches his head back with the help of it.
* **Chills of the Underworld**: Through his soul, Brook is able to summon the very cold of the underworld, which he utilizes in conjunction with his sword, Soul Solid, to generate freezing attacks.

**Master Musician**: Brook is a musician who is able to play any musical instrument. He usually uses a violin to play his music, though after two-years he switched his main instrument to a guitar. His musical abilities are so good that Laboon used to sing along to his music when they were together.

**Musical Talent**: Brook's devotion to music not only helped him to pass the lonely days during his long isolation, but also serves as a combat tool. His technique, "**Lullaby Parry**", shows this, where he strums his violin with his shikomizue like a violinist's bow, creating a soothing tune that makes anyone who hears it immediately fall asleep.

* **Lullaby Parry**: Brook swipes his weapon over his violin like a fiddle and plays a soothing melody which makes his opponents fall asleep.
* **Party Music**: Brook uses his music to hypnotize his opponents into believing they are at a night festival. This way, his opponents not only drop their guards, but they are also made vulnerable to suggestions.

Due to his musical background, Brook also moves according to the rhythm of his music to assist him in battle. His musical skill is such that he became a world famous rock star during the two years the Straw Hats were separated; his records in Tone Dials selling in the millions and his fans during his final world tour stop in Sabaody Archipelago were either crying or fainting at his presence.
His music also shows capabilities to change its listener's attitude and emotions such as when he was sent to the Namakura Island by Bartholomew Kuma his music inspires the cult there to fight back against its invaders, the Longarm Tribe.
**Master Swordsman Specialist**: At one point being the captain of the guards in his home country, Brook is well versed in swordplay. Despite his usual goofy personality in battle, he is extremely capable and can do more than hold his own. His fighting style resembles a combination of classical fencingand iaidō. Although an extremely fast swordsman, his skills are not of the same caliber as Zoro's, the Straw Hats' other swordsman. While Brook had been unable to defeat Ryuma no matter how hard he fought and while Ryuma only used a fraction of his power, he noticed that Zoro was able to defeat him at full power with only two of his swords, although Ryuma did say that Brook's protectiveness of his afro held him back somewhat.

* **Three-Verse Humming: Arrow Notch Slash**: A high-speed technique where Brook swiftly cuts his opponent(s) as he approaches them and then re-sheathe his blade.
	+ **Requiem la Banderole**: Performed much the same as Arrow-Notch Slash, except Brook executes a lateral slash against the opponent's chest.
* **Aubade Coup Droit** (*Dawn Serenade: Right-Handed Strike*): A ranged thrusting technique that creates a highly compressed blast of air.
* **Prelude: Au Fer** (*Prelude: After*): A technique intended to disarm the opponent by destroying whatever weapon they might be wielding at close range.
* **Gavotte Bond en Avant** (*Gavotte: Leap Forward*): A thrusting technique in which the user propels himself forward in order to strike an opponent.
* **Swallow Bond en Avant** (*Swallow Leap Forward*): An aerial version of Gavotte Bond en Avant.
* **Polka Remise** (*Polka Continuation*): A combination technique in which the user delivers several consecutive thrusts against the opponent.
* **Moonlight Lullaby: Night Slash**: A ranged technique which involves a high-compressed air slash after spinning Soul Solid in a circular motion.
* **Quinte Tierce Fantasia** (*Fifth Parry and Third Parry Fantasy*): Typically used in conjunction with Party Music, Brook uses a swift draw-and-sheathing technique while his opponents are still under the influence of the hypnotic nature of the musical technique.
* **Song of Scratches: Blizzard Slice**: Combining Three-Verse Humming: Arrow-Notch Slash and his Devil Fruit ability, Brook does the same thing Arrow-Notch Slash does but he sheaths his sword from top to bottom and the streak mark he creates with his "chilled" sword freezes the opponent's blood.
* **Winds of Hades**: Brook uses his Soul Solid in conjunction with his Devil Fruit ability to fire freezing winds at his opponent.

**Enhanced Strength**:

**Immense Speed**: Brook's main advantage is his tremendous speed, which is possible because of the light weight of his skeleton body. This allows him to deal extremely accurate blows and quick maneuvers before his opponent can react (once taking down and purifying a whole swarm of Surprise Zombies in a fraction of a second) that are much swifter than he was when he still had flesh and blood back in his mortal days. With these advantages, Brook excels best at fighting and taking down large enemy numbers of average fighters on his own. Despite not retaining any muscle tissue, it seems that Brook can still grow stronger over time, as he said to Ryuma that he is stronger than five years ago.

**Enhanced Endurance**: Brook also has somewhat good endurance, as he was able to remain conscious after Bartholomew Kuma used his Ursus Shock on Thriller Bark, however he could not get up or he simply decided not to.

## Weaknesses

* Cannot swim and becomes immobilized if more than half of his body is covered in water.

## Equipment

**Soul Solid**: Brook uses a type of sword called a shikomizue, a sword concealed inside a cane. He uses this sword in conjunction with his fencing skills and has had it for at least fifty years.

After the timeskip, Brook has named his sword "**Soul Solid**", due to him developing the ability to coat it with the aura of his soul, freezing it in the process, and anyone who comes into contact with it. He also claimed that the Longarm Tribe has helped him sharpen the sword.

## Quotes

* I eat nuggets for breakfast