#i think in onigashima (and vaugely post-ts when she's in hiding) it was her sunglasses btw
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nico robin and her smile
hiiii ok has anyone else ever thought about the person robin was before joining the straw hats? like who she was when she was at her worst? because i do. a lot. so go along with me here
from her introduction, robin has this very small smile that feels cunning and is seemingly meant to taunt luffy and co. it creates a sense that there's a canyon's depth of difference in power between her and the others.
robin's is a subtle character in her expressions compared to most other major characters in the series. and i think it fits her background of having to work in subterfuge. (???)
she maintains this expression throughout multiple scenes. the same shape of her smile that is so exact that it has to be with intention. this is the face of ms. all sunday. this is the person robin had to be in order to survive.
and yet each one still has it's differences and that's robin being not so perfect at hiding her true feelings (which btw i love that robin will always be exactly who she is). she's stressed or even strained at times. while also feeling perfectly at ease, but still performing a role.
i think for the most part. robin didn't mind what she had to do or who she had to be. because she's pragmatic, but she was definitely bothered by vivi and the strawhats. they're the ones who cause robin to show anything other than that static smile. notably when she is faced with vivi and luffy's determination.
and i've rambled about it once before robin is a kind woman at heart and who has a soft spot for the crew + vivi. their earnestness breaks through her own desire/need to not care for the effect her actions have on the lives of others.
notably the only times robin does seem to genuinely smile is in small sudden outbursts around luffy when something he does makes her laugh.
and throughout the rest of the alabasta arc. robin's clearly uncomfortable with facing the real destruction of alabasta at crocodile and her hands. later revealing that she never planned on helping him obtain the poseidon weapon. she never once smiles, instead dropping everything to focus on getting to the poneglyph.
after that though? she does her miss all sunday smile one last time when she asks luffy to join his crew. it's a famous panel, we all know it, we all love it.
the longer robin was with the straw hats. the more she began to genuinely smile. it's well established that being on the crew brought back joy and laughter into robin's life, that being with them gave her a reason to live again. but it was a slow start until we got to see this robin more often and more freely who is cheered by everyone's bright youth and excitement in being alive in a ways that she never had been allowed.
#one piece#nico robin#i've been working on this one slowly but surely#please i hope this makes sense and i'm not like alone here#using inconsistent sources because i'm not the biggest fan of viz's translation but sometimes have to read it#i haven't read onigashima yet so i can't talk about it with surety just yet but robin also has the habit of using accessories to denote whe#she isn't being herself.#it's why robin stopped wearing the cowboy hats post w7/enies lobby. despite the fact that the she looked so good in it.#i think in onigashima (and vaugely post-ts when she's in hiding) it was her sunglasses btw#i thought this would be longer tbh and it could be but i got impatient and didn't want to wait til later#the full better version is the version of this is made as a total nico robin character study that tracks from her character intro to now
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