#like maybe this is going nowhere because roger is just a big influence on luffys character and thats it idk

[hauntingblue]

Roger and nika keep me up at night I swear I get the similarities between roger and luffy, because he is his idol and wants to be pirate king so luffy being similar to him is destiny etc. but these similarities would also extend to roger and nika: the smile, the want for freedom.... so roger was just unlucky he didn't get the nika fruit? Should he had eaten it? Why did shanks steal it? Was roger a nika follower of some kind? Was info about nika on laughtale? Because nika awakens in very special occasions where the host is in sync with nika, by being similar to luffy, roger would have been a good host too? BUT WHY?

[frobin]

Hi! Ok, I know it isn't very related to Frobin (except if you decide to mention them in the answer), but I am curious about your opionion on this thing. If the end of One Piece have someone of the Straw Hat crew that can die, who can be? OBVIOUSLY I hope nobody, that this thing doesn't happen, but never say never. There're people who say Luffy to recreate Roger's connection. Someone else Usop (but I miss the reason). Or Jinbe, who has also some problems and enemies from previous experiences?

Hey there anon!

No worries about asking questions. This is a FRobin blog but it's also a One Piece blog so it's fine to ask all kind of questions about One Piece. Even though I wouldn't consider myself much of an *expert* so everything I write is very much influenced by my own impressions.

But you're asking for my opinion anyway so that disclaimer is not necessary in this case. XD

---

Okay, first of all: I'm no fan of death flags. I never see them and when I read about them I feel like people pull them out of nowhere.

So I don't think any of the Strawhats will die before or even while the big end fight. Also it's not like they will reach their goal and then just drop dead (don't forget the dream are very different too but more about that later). Like what kind of life would that be?

Also we can't forget that Oda still believes he is writing this story for 14 year old boys. So, even though death is and will be a theme I don't think he will kill off the main crew.

That would not be very clever story wise and is not how to tell a story about adventure and fulfilling dreams for young boys.

Right now it's very "fashionable" to let characters die for shock value. But the more it's done the more annoying it becomes and less of a shock and Oda won't stoop so low to use this kind of element. Why do I think that?

So far we had three deaths in OP and they all shocked us a lot. But they were also used as motivator for other characters. Whitebeards death was a motivator for a whole new Generation of pirates, as well as his crew to try to save Ace and his little brother. Ace's death was a launch of character development for Luffy, Sabo, Garp and even Sengoku and probably more. Pedros death was a motivator for Carrot and other Minks. (Even the fake death of Pell was a huge motivator for Vivi. Interestingly compared to other deaths his sacrifice did not stop the war, which would have been an adequate impact. So him coming back alive actually makes sense.)

But look how few and far between they are. Of course there was more death but the important ones are kept as those.

Why am I talking about that? Who would benefit from a Strawhats death?

Literally no one. They are all already motivated to go until the end for each other. It's more likely that a death would cause Luffy to just give up, him becoming catatonic again.

Who would Luffy fight for if he even loses one of his crew mates? Or maybe two?

If I were a Marine I would try to make Luffy think that his friends are dead and then catch him but that is beside the point.

But for One Piece, a Strawhat death it would not move the story further. There is no additional motivator needed and that would be the only reason to kill one of the crew.

Killing a Strawhat makes no sense in my opinion.

A death would only make sense after they reached their goal.

So it is possible that we see the Strawhats die but long after the story came to an end, them reaching Laugh Tale (if that is the end). And yes, I think all of them will die of natural causes and/or sickness. Most of them at an old age. I think Luffy, Zoro or Usopp being the firsts because of the trauma their bodies had endured would make most sense.

I hope that answered your question anon... and anyone who does not want to read even more about my nonsense can stop here.

But let me break down why I think that all Strawhats have plot armor against death flags, behind the read-more.

-> It is very important that I think the huge clash with the Blackbeard Pirates, which will be the end fight, will happen right before Laugh Tale. And Laugh Tale is the end-goal and the end of the main story. (I MIGHT BE WRONG!!!)<-

Everyones own story can only end after they reached their goal so let's look why I think that these dreams give the Strawhats Plot Armor.

Luffy: Become the king of the pirates. That means he has to reach Laugh Tale. I often hear that Luffy will die early because of the parallel to Roger. That does not mean he won't reach his 40s or 50s. Even after reaching Laugh Tale Roger lived a bit longer and even had time to "make a child" so, killing off Luffy in the end fight makes no sense. So maybe dying after the fight, on Laugh Tale? That could happen and would be the earliest death of any Strawhat imo.

Zoro: Become the strongest sword fighter. That means he still has to kill Mihawk. I don't think Mihawk will go and look for Zoro. So, Zoro has to survive and then return to Mihawk and have his duel. No sense in killing off Zoro. I am 100% sure that he will survive until then.

Nami: Drawing a world map. For that Nami has to travel the world many times more. After they reached Laugh Tale, Nami has only finished part of her dream. She has to visit all of the Blues, travel the Grand Line and the New world multiple times. Drawing a Map of the world will take a lifetime. Her dream will take the longest to be fulfilled.

Usopp: Become the great warrior of the sea. Now here we have a dream that is not really tangible. Usopp will be a great warrior as soon as he realises that he is one. In my opinion he already managed to become a great warrior. Time and time again he has shown how amazing he is but this is all about his own self image and so hard to grasp. This actually makes Usopp the most likely to have a death flag BUT we can't forget that he still has to return home and tell his stories to Kaya and the Usopp pirates. It's part of a promise that is only secondary but for me it's enough to think Usopp too is safe until he did that.

Sanji: To find the All Blue. Sanji thinks that the All Blue is something physical. We can't know that and if it is physical we can consider that it's maybe a part of the New World near the Red Line where all seas somehow come together. So again, until Sanji found that place he hasn't fulfilled his dream. And since I think that would be BEHIND Laugh Tale, again I think Sanji is safe. Alternatively the All Blue is just a metaphor for something completely different but I can't hink about what.

Chopper: To cure all illness. Here too, this is something that takes time. Chopper is still only at the beginning of his career of being a doctor. Finding a magical cure for every illness that exists is not something that just happens. Logically he would need to talk with many other medical experts and together they might be able to find it. When and how and if that happens is impossible to say but again that would be something that would fit best in the time after reaching Laugh Tale.

Robin: To find the truth of the void century. Right now we figure that she will find that at the end of their travel, on Laugh Tale. Maybe it will happen earlier in case the Strawhats storm the World Government. Either way she will learn the truth. But that will not be the end to her. After learning the truth it's up to Robin to bring it to the world, to write it down, to teach, to make people understand that they can't erase history and that they have to learn from it. Again, that is something that takes time and so, truly fulfilling her dream.

Franky: To travel the world in the ship of his dreams. Again that is a vague dream. But it would mean to at least return to Water Seven, so that Sunny has traveled the world once. But even then it's only been a small part of the world and traveling the world would mean to visit at least every of the seas. So far, Sunny had been in two to four, depending on how much you take the movies into account. But to fulfill Franky's dream he needs to survive a bit longer and so does Sunny.

Brook: To meet Laboon again. This is simple. But for that Brook has to reach the end of the New World and then get over the Red Line again. What he will do after that is hard to tell. But again, the Red Line is behind Laugh Tale and so I'm sure Brook too, has to survive... even though he is already dead YOHOHO!

Jinbe: Equality between merfolk and humans. Again this is something that is no easy feat and will probably take more than one generation. Also it is not only up to him and more to Shirahoshi and the World Government. This dream is about teamwork too, but who could be a better ambassador for the merfolk than him? Losing Jinbe would be a huge backfire for the cause. Jinbe too is safe in my opinion. If you have reached the end of the post, let me tell you again my headcanon about FRobin: After the main adventure Franky and Robin return to Water Seven where Franky helps to turn W7 into a boat and after that is done, they travel to the island where Ohara used to be and there they rebuild the island. More people return and it again becomes a hub for scholars and history.

[sanjuno]

In your fic/idea thing about everyone thinking Ace et al are Dragon's kids, what was Shanks reaction? To well, everything (including the WBP 'recruitment' efforts)

That would be Rumour, Slander, Hearsay and it’s… hard to say. Because in this ‘verse? Nobody except Garp knows for certain that Ace is Roger’s son. Everyone except for Dragon and Garp thinks Ace is Dragon’s kid, and while Dragon has suspicions about Ace’s parentage… he never confirms it. Because Ace is Dragon’s son now. So there, World Government Propaganda Machine, Dragon’s onto your wiles and he will protect his kids from your nasty rumourmongering.

Now, what this means, in regards to Shanks, is that his relationship with Ace (who Shanks does in fact get to meet as a child while on Dawn Island in this ‘verse) is only as strong as what develops during their interactions. Which, considering how Shanks is essentially D-bait plus Luffy being part of the equation… is pretty damn strong. Even without the currently unknown connection they have to one another through Roger.

So once Ace sets out to sea he’s probably going to have pretty regular contact with Shanks, for the given value of “regular”. Especially since it seems like Grand Line Pirates tend to go a decade or more without contacting friends or relatives unless they end up at the same port of call by sheer coincidence. Only that won’t fly with Ace, because in this ‘verse ASL have a goal beyond “get strong and wreck shit”. Which is, to summarize in a word, “freedom.”

All three of the ASL are influenced by Dragon’s philosophies in this ‘verse and contribute to the Revolution in their own ways. Luffy is going to be Pirate King and is cheerfully playing the part of the wrecking ball on the established world order as he goes. Sabo is the only one who is a Revolutionary in name, but he’s also going to “disguise” himself as a pirate as part of collecting information and going on missions for the Revolutionary Army. Ace is going to have a vendetta against slavers and the World Nobles, which will involve him burning down a lot of auction houses and sinking a lot of “Marine Escort” ships.

So Ace tends to get in touch with Shanks about relocating rescued slaves to the New World or the four Blues fairly frequently. Especially since Koala has informed the ASL about what happens when rescued slaves are returned to the homes they were taken from. Ace happens to be enjoying his life thanks, so it’s the Grand Line Witness Protection Program for the lot of them without exceptions. Which leads to Ace and Shanks having frequent arguments over which of them the “Freedom Trail Armada” belongs to. Ace insists it’s Shanks’ Pirate Armada because Shanks is the Yonko here and also they mostly operate in Shanks’ territory. Shanks insists that they’re Ace’s Pirate Armada because the only reason the Freedom Trail exists is because Ace has a grudge and the ability to set himself on fire at will.

Joke’s on them both because everyone else just assumes that Ace is going to take over as the “Roaming Emperor” when Shanks settles down. Which is… not an inaccurate assumption for them to make.

Anyway, in this ‘verse the reason Ace challenges Whitebeard is because he needs an excuse to lie low for awhile and maybe pretend to be dead because he might have set the entire Auction House sector of Shabody on fire and maybe a few World Nobles got their bubble-domes broken and they may or may not have expired due to smoke inhalation. So yeah. Anyway. Let’s challenge the Strongest Man in the World to a Captain’s Match! Then it’ll be totally understandable if we disappear from view for a few months because everyone will just assume Whitebeard killed us!

It’ll be fine! Shanks says Whitebeard is a decent guy, and a Captain’s Match has rules. Whitebeard is a Peacemaine so we can even mostly trust him not to cheat in a way that will actually kill us! It’s a good plan!

Which is the bit where things go really sideways. Because Whitebeard really is a good guy, and Ace really would have been fine coming out of an honest Captain’s Match with him. Only somehow the rumour starts that Ace wants to “take Whitebeard’s head”, which leads to Jimbei showing up. Jimbei, who works for the World Government. Ace would really rather avoid being horribly tortured until he finally dies to escape the pain, thanks. So they fight, and Ace fights to win because if Ace loses he knows that he and the Spades are going to suffer.

Jimbei, of course, has no idea what’s going through Ace’s head. He just thinks Ace is violent and savage and wants to kill Whitebeard. Thus we see the five-day running battle take place. Ace wins against Jimbei, only to be ambushed by the Whitebeard Pirates and taken captive. Commence the 100 days of assassination attempts and Ace’s isolation from everything and everyone he knows and loves.

Dragon, Shanks, and Sabo are all unaware that Ace’s plan to lie low has hit a little snag. When Ace drops out of sight after rumours of him fighting Whitebeard start to circulate they assume things are still on track. Luckily for Ace, he had plans to meet up with Sabo for some brotherly bonding time after making sure nobody was tracking him after confronting Whitebeard. Plus, Sabo has Ace’s vivre card and when it keeps smoking even 50 days after Ace drops out of sight Sabo starts getting worried. So Sabo tracks Ace down and finds him being kept prisoner on the Moby Dick without any of the Spades in sight. Ace’s ship is also nowhere to be seen, which is a big red alarm for Sabo.

This is when Dragon gets called in. Ace is rescued by his father and his brother, leaving the Moby Dick behind without a second glance. Dragon forces Whitebeard to return Ace’s ship and crew and exacts a promise to never “take slaves” again. Which has all of the Whitebeard Pirates cringing, because they don’t. They’re a family. But Dragon is merciless because Ace is his son. Ace is Dragon’s son and Whitebeard had ignored the fact that Ace had told him “no, I don’t want to join you”. Plus the daily beatings and borderline starvation.

“A good father.” Dragon snarls in a voice of quiet threat. “Does not ignore a child so desperate to escape they commit twice daily assassination attempts!”

So Dragon takes his sons and leaves a very chastised Yonko and crew behind him. After spending a few days thinking over what had just happened, Whitebeard calls a family meeting and puts measures in place to prevent the situation they tripped into with Ace from happening again. Which is great. It’s fantastic. Good on Whitebeard for acknowledging his mistakes and taking steps to learn from them!

Only that doesn’t stop the repercussions of what Whitebeard did to Ace from falling on him and his crew. One of those repercussions? Happens to be a visit from a very angry Shanks. Who wants to know what the fuck kind of drugs Newgate is on that he thinks kidnapping and torturing the kid Shanks considers one of his little brothers/protege is okay.

The news gets around that Whitebeard did something to anger Shanks, and some of the worst of the rumours imply that Whitebeard was caught taking slaves. And Whitebeard’s reputation takes a hit, because sure. They’re a family. Who are all branded with Newgate’s mark. Uh-huh. They’re all there of their own will. Sure, that’s believable. Lot’s of Pirate Captains like the idea of following another man’s orders. Mmhm.

For his part, Shanks says nothing about or to Whitebeard for years after yelling at the old man about Ace. Which really doesn’t help Whitebeard clear up the rumours.

Anyway there’s something of a Family Reunion in the aftermath of the rescue where Ace gets cuddled and fussed over by everyone. Shanks and Luffy do most of the cuddling. Dragon and Sabo do most of the fussing. Koala mostly takes a lot of pictures because this shit is adorable. Dadan may or may not mutter threats against Whitebeard’s continued masculinity when she thinks nobody’s listening.

Ace gets better and goes back to what he was doing before, and Shanks goes back to being vastly entertained by Ace’s everything. And if Shanks is maybe a bit more conscious of timelines, a little bit more strict about checking in regularly? Well. Nobody mentions it.