#luffy appreciation post

[psalm40speakstome]

Can’t speak for the anima or manga but as a solely live action watcher I am utterly convinced it would not work the way it works without the casting of this man

[nyarlathotep-thecrawlingchaos]

Luffy appreciation post because most of the time he's a brainless eejit but at least ten percent of the time he shows why he's such a good captain.

Luffy said 😠!!!!

Sanji said 😯??

I said 😭

Lil guy just wants everyone to follow their dreams and not throw their lives away. It's idealistic and unrealistic so much of the time, but damned if it still isn't inspiring.

Luffy saw his idol/hero/brief father figure get his arm torn off (no less for the sake of saving his life), and then recover and head right back out to keep following his dreams, and Luffy never forgot that lesson and lives by it.

And that's what makes him such a great captain. He loves his friends unconditionally (even though he had just met Sanji here, he already considers him a friend), but he knows when and how to put them in their place to remind them of their worth.

Hats off and applause to Oda for this one singular manga segment, for showing all of that in just a few pannels, and at the same time inspiring much-younger-me to keep going during a very hard time.

"He didn't save your life so you could throw it away."

It's a powerful line that a lot of people who have suffered trauma don't realize they need to hear until they actually hear it. It speaks volumes on the problem of survivor's guilt. It legitimately helped me through one of the hardest times in my life. Not exactly the same context, but similar enough to make a major impact.

I am extremely into that one single panel of Shanks and all the heavy lifting it does to draw parallels between Zeff and Sanji and Shanks and Luffy and how elegantly it explains what Luffy is thinking and why he's so emphatic here!!! He decided to value Shank's choice for all it was worth by going for it all and damned if he'll let Sanji do any less!!!!!

[wormzandgutz]

bros

[willlic]

I've spent the last 45 minutes crying because relationship emotional labor imbalance struggles, but that's not what is important here. What's important is it made me realize EXACTLY WHY I GET SO UPSET EVERYTIME I THINK OF THE WATER SEVEN USOPP STUFF. THE DUDE WAS DOING THE MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL LABOR OF THE CREW, AND 'HOUSE UPKEEP/MAINTENANCE' AND HE THOUGHT EVERYONE WAS FINALLY ON THE SAME PAGE ABOUT THE SHIP, AND THEN HE TRIES TO EXPRESS EMOTIONAL AND PHYSICAL SAFETY NEEDS ABOUT THE MONEY, GETS DISMISSED, GETS BEAT UP, VEIWS IT AS HIS FAULT AND RESPONSIBILITY BECAUSE HE WAS BASICALLY TOLD AND SHOWN THAT THROUGH LACK OF SUPPORT AND SAFETY, TRIES TO DEAL WITH IT, GETS BEAT HALF TO DEATH AGAIN, AND THEN WAKES UP WITH PPL WHO HAVE ALREADY HAD TIME TO PROCESS AND BE UPSET, GET MAD AT HIM FOR NEEDING TO PROCESS AND BEING UPSET. HE LOOKS FOR SUPPORT AND INFO, IS REJECTED, AND EXPECTED TO ACCEPT THAT THE HOME HE TRIED TO MAINTAIN FOR HIS FAMILY IS JUST GOING TO BE REPLACED WITH A NEW ONE. HE PUT IN THE MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL LABOR FOR THEIR HOME AND ORGANIZATIONAL/EMOTIONAL NEEDS, DIDNT HAVE HIS MET BECAUSE THEY WERE SHRUGGED OFF AND NOT UNDERSTOOD, FINALLY FELT HOPE, AND THEN HAD THE RUG PULLED OUT. THEY DIDNT EVEN PRIORITIZE HIS WELLBEING WHEN HE WAS HALF DEAD. THEY PRIORITIZED THEIR EMOTIONS AND PRIDE WHEN THEY WENT 'he's still breathing' AND THEN RVEN THE DOCTOR??! WENT TO BEAT THE PPL UP BEFORE TAKING CARE OF HIM?AND JUST COMPLETELY DIDNT EVEN NOTICE OR ACKNOWLEDGE THE WORK HE DID/DOES. HE WAS UPSET THINKING THE REASON THEY WERE GETTING A NEW ONE WAS HIS FAULT AND HE WAS TOLD 'i don't care that you lost the money' AS IF HE DIDNT JUST PUT HIS LIFE ON THE LINE. AND HES JUST EXPECTED TO BE COOL WITH IT IMMEDIATELY?? PEOPLE IMMEDIATELY REDIRECT TO THEIR OWN EMOTIONS AND GET DEFENSIVE INSTEAD OF ADDRESING HIS? THAT IS LIKE TEXTBOOK MENTAL/EMOTIONAL LABOUR IMBALANCE SOCIAL PATTERNS. LIKE WHAT?? THE ONLY ONE THAT SEEMS TO GET IT IS SANJI (thank God that he did). Am I just fully projecting?? Am I crazy here?? I feel like that's part of what happened and definitely part of what had/still has me redlining mad about it. Like he fixed that ship for months, advocated for it and tried to remind and keep mental track of finance priorities regarding the ship, and other people's emotions. Anticipated their needs, mediated arguments, comforted them, tried to keep them mentally aware of consequences and safety, he was doing the invisible work. And I genuinely don't think a lot of them saw and understood the full extent. Ugh I always feel so mad on usopps behalf.

[irisesforyoureyes]

morally grey characters are nice they are hot they are sexy BUT WHAT ABOUT THE GOLDEN FLUFFY BOYS THAT WANT TO SAVE THE WORLD yeah the brooding dark haired anti heroes would burn the world down for you but the morally white blinding white boys will try to make the world a better place for you. they would rather die than lose their faith in humanity even if humanity loses their faith in them and something about the pure good that thrives within them makes me go hshdhsjsjgdh “no nobody is dying I can save everyone” while bleeding to death themselves. enemies to lovers very hot. but I’m a sucker for chivalry and morals✋

[distinguisheddingus]

Iñaki reaction to the teaser trailer will melt your heart in 3..2...1....

This man deserves the world.

Bonus:

Taz who immediately hugs Iñaki as soon as he realizes that he was crying is the cutest thing ever 💙

[tibli]

me @ hancock any time she starts salivating over luffy

[kacievvbbbb]

I think it’s interesting how as time goes on Zoro kind of becomes more and more like mihawk in some ways whether that’s just because if you spend time with someone for 2 years you’re bound to pick up their habits or a deliberate attempt to emulate him is a conversation for another time. And Mihawk and Zoro where already pretty similar at the start so it’s a little hard to notice now.

But yeah whether unconsciously or consciously Zoro is becoming a bit more like Mihawk and it’s interesting to think that while this means maturing in some ways (he’s swordsmanship for one but he’s also just quieter much more assured of himself) it also means deaging in some others.

Despite their significant age gap and general dispositions, when it comes down to it Zoro is just a lot more emotionally mature and developed than Mihawk is. And a big part of why is because he found something larger than himself to devote his life too, hell Mihawk himself even kind of acknowledges this when he agrees to take Zoro on as a student when Zoro begs for the sake of his captain and crew. He acknowledges that putting aside his own ego and dreams for the sake of someone else isn’t something he can do and sees it as a fault in himself and a strength in Zoro.

Mihawk may be outwardly mature and his skills defiently did not stagnant but I’d wager that Mentally Mihawk is still stuck at the same age he was when he took over the title of world’s strongest swordsman. Honestly maybe even younger. And it isn’t until training Zoro, letting Perona stay with him, for probably the first time in his life taking charge of lives outside his own did he finally unarrest his development.

If Zoro is purposely trying to emulate Hawkeyes, which it wouldn’t be a surprise if he was that’s who he’s trying to be Afterall, then it would honestly set him back emotionally because fundamentally as he is now Mihawk’s attitude doesn’t work in a crew. It’s too singular, too abrasive. And while that abrasiveness can be useful in Zoro’s role as Luffy’s first mate sometimes it makes him a little too callous a little too apathetic, like with his disregard for Luffy’s sadness over vegapunk.

But Zoro has his crew to temper that, they are honestly just too ridiculous to ever stay serious around. And try as he might to hide it Zoro is also just a silly dude who likes to be horrifically petty with his opponents. And zoro still has so much fire in him, so much he has too prove and so much he wants to protect to ever really fall into Mihawk’s apathy. Zoro has Luffy who even after they reach their dreams will probably still continue to turn the world upside down forever keeping Zoro in some kind of trouble and his life interesting.

Zoro can’t be Mihawk because even Mihawk can’t be Mihawk anymore. Being with crossguild and crossing with the Red hair pirates and the strawhats is going to change him, it has too. if Mihawk is going to live after losing his title he’s probably gonna have to become a little bit more like Zoro.

[ismihir]

[theonescreencap]

their jokesters' bond

[misslovasstuff]

Whole cake island arc has the best writing in one piece. The parallels between Sanji and his father, Luffy and Sanji’s mom, the representation of trauma down to the details of body language, the string of hope and intense emotions that follows it through. Sanji being brave enough to go back and face the nightmare he went through 13 years ago when he was just a kid, a kid that had to apologise for being born ‘weak’, a kid that went through heavy abuse and trauma and found his only comfort in his mom but not for long.

Sanji being afraid to risk his friend’s lives for himself but in the end he was stunned by their determination to save him regardless the dangers they could face.

Sanji staying to save his abusing family because of the morals and values he was raised by and because of his kind heart, because as Luffy said ‘that’s how you are.’

Sanji that didn’t make a whole 360* change of his personality when he realised Pudding’s true intentions but instead still treated her respectfully and even understood her feelings when he asked her if she has been fooling herself as well. He protects her until the end and doesn’t hold a strong grudge.

Sanji that could only find happiness there with his friends and got worried sick, pacing and smoking the hell of his cigarette worrying about them, even though he tried his best to push them away for their own good.

Sanji that couldn’t convince his captain that he’s spoiled, mean and a traitor because how could the kind cook that risks his life for all his friends ever be this cruel?

The moment that absolutely crushed me was when Luffy asked Sanji ‘what do you want?’. That cute blond is always putting a show of hiding his emotions and placing others before him so you can imagine the intensity of his emotions when he was asked this question and admitted that what he wanted the most right now was to get back to the sunny.

Themes of love which prove that it cannot be faked but only developed when one is true to another. We have pudding who had also gone through a difficult childhood, paralleling somehow Sanji’s struggle in fitting in and being called the ‘odd one out’. When she’s complimented for something she’s been ashamed of her whole life, her demeanour falls and it’s shocking for her to hear such a thing, especially from the men she’s trying to assassinate.

It’s surprising how well Pudding encrypts Sanji in the first meeting, describing him as a wonderful man, he has lovey-dovey eyes but he’s gentle, he has twirly eyebrows but he’s kind. Her falling in love with him was inevitable for they share the same passion of cooking, but also the same need to be accepted as they are.

I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t have this arc in their top 3 favourites because wow, this arc makes you cry, laugh, reflect and realise by seeing how Sanji made a step towards making peace with his past, realising that he can rely on his friends and not take everything upon himself to carry. Realising that he’s important, he’s enough, and that that kindness of his is a trait resembling a treasure to be kept sacred and loved forever more.

[kitaurita]

One of the things that has struck me the most about One Piece's incredibly well developed characters is their realistic reactions to traumatic events, despite living in a fantasy world. Something that spoke to me specifically, as a person with PTSD, was Luffy's first few minutes awake after Marineford (spoilers for both Marineford and Post-War, and the same TWs that apply to Marineford apply here--mentions of trauma, death, blood, and dissociation/derealization).

Luffy, on account of his hyper-optimism, had never actually considered or prepared himself for the possibility that he may lose Ace. He is so blindsided by this that his initial response upon waking up is complete disbelief.

This "dream-like" feeling about Ace's death is potentially derealization, a type of dissociation. Dissociation is a method the brain uses to shield the person from traumatic events they are not equipped to handle. While it is a symptom of PTSD (and even more so, complex-PTSD), short term dissociation is a normal reaction following traumatic events (from mind.co.uk). At its core, dissociation/derealization is about feeling detached, or physically or mentally numb. It is most commonly described as feeling like real life is a dream (as in Luffy's case), feeling like you (or others) are a robot, feeling like a passenger in your body, or feeling separated from others by a glass wall (mayoclinic). I describe it as feeling like I'm wrapped in layers of bubble wrap that separate me from the real world.

As stated previously, dissociation/derealization is a relatively normal response to witnessing a very traumatic event, particularly one that is surprising. It would make perfect sense for Luffy to be experiencing this in light of the events of Marineford. More evidence for this comes slightly earlier in the episode:

Not a perfect comparison to what Luffy is experiencing, but I sometimes get "gut punch" moments, where I swing drastically between dissociating and not. I am typically most struck by it when suddenly exiting dissociation, as it feels like a literal punch to the gut or being dunked in ice water. It feels right to speculate Luffy may be experiencing one of those moments now.

Another hallmark of trauma is an overactive fight-or-flight response. Given Luffy's character, no one is surprised his reaction is to fight. This can also come out as restlessness, aggression, and irritability.

The thing that resonated with me the most is the clip below:

The symptom of trauma or PTSD that people are most familiar with is "flashbacks," though the psychological term for them is intrusive recollections. When most people hear flashback, they imagine the Hollywood movie-esque war flashback, where a character goes catatonic and watches the events of their trauma like a video, or genuinely relive the event (which we see Robin do in Enies Lobby, though I will talk about that another day). Not all, or even, most people with trauma or PTSD experience this.

Intrusive recollections come in a wide variety of ways. There is the classic flashback mentioned above, unwanted memories that come from nowhere, the sudden feeling of being in danger, and much more. My interpretation of the above clip is that Luffy is experiencing a type of intrusive recollection where a person is aware of their surroundings, but seeing reminders of the event almost so that it overlays real life, feeling momentarily the same things you felt in the moment (might be heart racing, sweating, hyperventilating). I was personally just overjoyed to see a depiction of intrusive recollection that was not the stereotypical flashback.

My interpretation of this overall is that Luffy is very realistically dealing with the psychological fallout of a traumatic event. I am always keen to diagnose characters with PTSD, but I don't really think that is what is happening here--though I have not watched very many episodes past this (diagnostic criteria for PTSD is that symptoms must be happening for at least six months, among other things).

We all knew that Oda develops his characters incredibly well, so I am not surprised, but I appreciate how characters in one piece deal with death and traumatic events the way real people would. So many shonen anime protagonists watch someone die and clench their fist and vow to train harder, or cry a bit and move on. And this often feels natural to us! As a detached viewer, we are not surprised when characters have a reaction to violence that mirrors the muted one we have. No matter how normalized the viewer is to the violence of this universe, Oda is sure to show it takes its toll on the characters. Despite being 2D, so many One Piece characters feel like living, breathing people and I think the characters having real-world reactions to fantasy violence is part of the reason why.

(Forgive me if any of this was stating the obvious! I haven't written show/character analyses before, I just see characters experience trauma symptoms and I feel seen. Please comment/chat with me if you have anything to add or discuss :D)

[hey-its-me-rolly-polly]

*definitely Normal guy voice who offscreen is furiously gripping a stress ball. Normally* hey guys wanna see how this one lusan fic is exploding my mind?

[patientwasabi]

Do you ever think about Luffy and how everyone leaves? Except the strawhats? Who, unless something really drastic happens, are there to stay? Who he thought of in the aftermath of Marineford? The eight people who tethered him and kept him from loosing himself to despair?

Garp came and never stayed. He knew from the beginning that Shanks was going to leave (why he insisted Shanks to take him too). His brothers had decided to leave to the sea at different times, their days were numbered and they weren't going to stay together for very long. Then there are the strawhats. They joined him and were going to stay. The times they left was them either being noble (Nami) or sacrificing themselves for him (Robin, Sanji). The exception is Usopp but it was less leaving like the others and more of a fall out.

So, at the time of Marineford, what he still had was what he'd continue to have and never really loose. As much as Luffy has made a home for the Strawhats, he's also made a home for himself. As much as he's the miracle who loves easily and makes the sun shy away because his shine is too bright, there are also the Strawhats who are keeping up with this sunshine and allowing him to have this brightness bring about a dawn whereever he goes.

[lowqualityonepiece]

[captainx-camino]

Still want to do full shading on this one but at least I can finally add Buggy's fuzz~💙