#this could be articulated better but i’m ill & kinda woozy

[nicorobinphd]

oda really hit the nail on the head when he made the main narrative representatives of wano’s suffering children.

momo is the exile, the displaced. the home-seeking youth denied the legacy of their people & the land upon which this history took place. as a result of orochi’s theft of the throne with the backing of kaido, he is denied access to any of the material stability his family may have accrued over time, the ability to exist in community with his people, the ability to partake in cultural traditions such as reading/writing the language on the poneglyphs, etc. his inability to do anything for a group that he feels responsible for but is nonetheless materially disconnected from is repeatedly emphasized throughout his arc, and is something he is only able to start working through with the help of an alliance & the opportunity to reconnect with his people.

otoko & otama are the disenfranchised youth born into the struggle. the starving poor trying to make the most of their current conditions while taking what limited action they can to try to ensure better ones. those who exist directly underfoot of oppression’s brutality, able to recognize such, and willing to weaponize whatever means available to humanize themselves in spite of it all. otoko sends money home to help her father & the people of her village knowing that the people she’s ultimately working for do not believe in their right to exist, and are willing to mistreat them as such. she finds an opportunity to gain access to some of their wealth and give it back to the people who need it most, who’s resources are being stolen from. otoko helps hiyori maintain her ruse while refusing to let the mask of joy imposed upon her & her village be seen as anything more than a mask. she grieves and she cries and feels bitter and is allowed to be, and is allowed to start learning to come back from it. otama, on the other hand, is a spitfire. if the fall of orochi & kaido at the hands of the kozuki clan is inevitable, then she’ll be damned if she doesn’t start doing something to help it along. she sees the world around her with clear eyes, recognizes the source of the pain experienced by her & those around her, and decides that the key to her survival is to bring it crumbling down. resilient, headstrong, & a fighter, otama recognizes that for all she is materially disempowered, there isn’t a thing the crown can do to take the power to fight she grants herself away. it can take so much else, has taken so much else, but it can’t take that.

both forms of powerlessness are emphasized by the fact that these characters are children. and for each character, their ability to overcome the powerlessness imposed upon them depends upon their ability to understand the world around them, to form connections, & the willingness of others to recognize their struggles & move with solidarity.

like… oda really did go 🔨🔨