#op crocus

[gizamalblythe]

The boy made horrid half gasping choking sounds as he lay in rogers arms. Rayleigh called for Crocus. Roger tried to make comforting noises to stop him from panicking and making things worse.

He kept calling out for someone named “Luffy”, he kept asking if he’s safe, if he made it.

“It’s ok, you’re alright. Everythings ok, everyones fine. You’re going to be fine, just hang on a little longer ok?”

The blood is soaking Rogers front, the liquid warm and uncomfortable. Rayleigh calls for Crocus again, just as he arrives with a medical bag and sees the carnage. 

Roger can feel the choking gasps the boy is trying to make. Crocus lays a hand on rogers shoulder, “With a wound like that, theres nothing I can do.”

The boy must have heard this as his shaking increased. Tears gather in his eyes, “I don’t want to die.”

@blackcat2907 @blackholesun321 @manofbeskar

#one piece #opla #op #gol d. roger #gol d. ace #portgas d ace #one piece portgas d ace #portgas d. ace #fire fist ace #one piece ace #op rayleigh #silvers rayleigh #dark king rayleigh #op crocus #monkey d luffy #mentioned #angst #marineford arc #marineford spoilers #implied #character death #Gift of The Cradle

[r0ttkins]

You can now buy stickers from me!

#one piece #buggy the clown #chaser yasopp #yasopp #emporio ivankov #op inazuma #op okiku #op kiku #op yamato #op crocus #vista of the flower swords #op vista #marshall d teach #op blackbeard #tony tony chopper #one piece merch #one piece pride

[huyandere]

that one night

#one piece #red haired shanks #buggy the clown #shanks #shuggy #silvers rayleigh #crocus #op

[alexa-fika]

I don't know how but I had these ideas while working out

1- Rayleigh x winged!child!reader (w)

W gets sent back in time and meets his grandpa and Roger Pirates

2- sanji x ghost!child!reader

Okay so the reader is basically Danny phantom and he doesn't die (because he's already dead yohohoho sorry) and doesn't need to eat so a story about that idk

3-law x son!reader

Okay you wrote a story about laws son being able to see dead people so he gets kidnapped by Doffy and ghost Corazon trying to reassures him until his dad rescues him

🐼💕~

Adventures in the past ( Roger Pirates x gn!child! Reader)

A/N here we gooo, Im kinda meh on this one and I ‘ll be honest I din’t even noticed that it was a winged!reader request until I was done so I had to kinda mix it in? But regardless here we goo, I can’t tell you how many times I went back and rewrote it again and again cause I kept getting stuck 😩

Reader here is Replaced by Dokucha which means reader in Japanese

Dividers by @/saradika

Dokucha groans, wriggling their way out of the barrel they had found themselves in, looking around their surroundings, shaking their wings

“Grandpa is gonna be mad that I ruffled them again,” they mutter

They squeak as a knife flies past them, digging into the wooden walls behind them

They slowly turn around, staring at the entrance of what looked to be an office of sorts, spotting two kids, a red-head with a straw hat holding a sword menacingly and a blue-haired boy with a red nose, holding an array of small knives between his fingers

The two seemed to be young but still relatively older than they were

“Um… hi”

“Who is it, Shanks, Buggy?” a voice calls behind the two young boys

“Uh…” Shanks lowers his sword, staring at the scared child in front of them

“It’s a Bird-kid!” buggy, never one to be at a loss for words, exclaims

They stare at the man for a few seconds, their eyes glancing at the familiar marks on his chin and grin, flying towards the man and crashing into him

“Grandpa!”

The boys give the man a side eye from where they stand

“Don’t look at me like that. I don’t know this kid!” he exclaims, looking down at the child who was now holding onto him and hugging him

“Kid, I think you got the wrong person…”

“No! You are Grandpa Ray!”

“How do you know my name,” he says slowly, looking at the child hugging him

“Because you’re grandpa!” They cry

“How old do you think I am, kid.” he frowns at the child clinging to him

At those words, the child pauses, taking a closer look at the man before him; it was their grandfather, that was for certain; the scar and the markings were unmistakable, not to mention the powerful aura their grandfather carried.

But the closer Dokucha looked, the more they noticed something was not okay; the silver-white long hair was now short golden yellow locks. The markings that characterized him, although there, rather than framed by his beard they, were now inked on his chin, the beard nowhere to be seen. And his face that was before marked by time was now much younger

“Um, Granpa Ray…. This joke is not funny. Why do you look so different?” They said, poking the man’s cheek, trying to find their ‘disguise.’

“Wait, wait, you actually think I’m your grandpa?” he asked in disbelief

“Who put this idea in your head?” he asked before letting out a slight chuckle

“Shanks, Buggy, is this your doing?”

“Hah? I didn’t do anything!”

“Not me either.”

Dokucha turns their head at the mention of their names, glancing down at the two teens

“Uncle Shanks? Uncle Buggy?”

The two looked a bit surprised; how did this kid know their names

“Uh, yeah,” Shanks said nervously

“How do you know who we are?”

“Umm, what year is it?”

The two exchange glances before looking back at the little kid in front of them; it was an odd question

“It’s… 1486.” the teen with the hat said

“Uh oh”

The two look at each other again a, very concerned looks on their faces

“W-what do you mean, uh oh?”

“W-Well, Grandpa Ray said it was 1522.”

Dokucha now had found themselves on Crocus's lap, the latter performing a quick examination on the latest visitor of the Oro Jackson

“I'm okay, Uncle Crocus,” they said, inching back at the cold feeling of the stethoscope

“Are you sure?” He asks, repositioning the stethoscope

“Your wings seem fine, no broken feathers or anything embedded in them, no lacerations or damaged blood vessels.”

“No fever, Heartrate is good, breathing is good, the pulse is normal.. they’re good,” he said, giving the rest of the crew his approval as he put his tools away

“Yay! I'm free!” They said hoping off and flying off

“Not so fast, Sweet thing!” laughs Roger, effortlessly picking up Dokucha

“Awe”

“So, what brought you here?” Roger said while carrying Dokucha in his arms

“A barrel did,” Dokucha responded

“You got yourself trapped in a barrel?” Cuts in Buggy

“Yeah, I couldn’t get back out because of my wings.”

Shank lets out a slight snicker at that

“Hey! It’s not funny!” Dokucha exclaims with a pout

“It’s quite funny, you got yourself trapped in a barrel,” Shanks said, snickering harder

“Haha, yeah, it’s quite funny.” Buggy joins, laughing along with Shanks

“Fight me!” They said, lunging at them

Roger lets out a belly laugh, holding back Dokucha

“There, There”

“They’re being mean, Uncle Roger!”

“I think they’ve only teased you lightly; they haven’t really been mean per se,” he responded, patting Dokucha’s arm

“Your future self sure raised a wild one, Rayleigh.”

Rayleigh rolls his eyes, walking closer to his Captain and plucking Dokucha from his lap

“Grandpa Ray!”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re back to Grandpa Ray now?”

He chuckled, patting the kid on the head

“Grandpa Ray looked so handsome when he was young,” the child exclaimed, moving Rayleigh’s head around and inspecting the younger version

“I’m not sure if that’s a compliment now and an insult in the future…”

“Don’t worry, Grandpa Ray looks handsome as he is now, too; he got to be with grandma after all,” they said, giving the man a thumbs up

Rayleigh rolls his eyes at this

“You’re something else, kid

“Now-Grandpa Ray says the same!” They chirp

playing around with his sweatband

“I'm sure he does,” he stated, putting the sweatband over their wrist

Dokucha smiles at this, glancing at the new addition and, sliding down his arms and walking to the two teenagers

They observe them for a while until a pout comes on their face

Shanks just stares at the kids as they pout

“What? Is something wrong?” he asks

“I wish I had gone back farther… I'm still shorter than Uncle Shanks and Uncle Buggy.”

Shanks chuckles a little before giving a small pat on Dokucha’s head.

“It’s alright, kid. You’ll catch up to us soon.” Shanks’s voice is kind and reassuring

Buggy just giggles at the situation

“No, I won’t; when I'm as tall as you are now, you’ll be all grown up, just like you are in my time! And then I ‘ll still be smaller.”

“Why do you wanna be tall like us anyways?” asks Shanks with a raised eyebrow.

They shrug

“to make fun of you.”

Buggy lets out a hearty laugh

“That’s the most honest reason anyone could give.”

Shanks snorts at this and lets out a laugh of his own

“I know”

“You are something,” said Shanks

“A lil brat,” says Buggy

They gasp,

“Says the red nose!”

Buggy’s eyes light up with pure rage.

“What did you say, bird-brat?” he growls

They stick their tongue out of them and running of between Rayleigh and Roger, who just observed the situation amusedly

“Are you going to let a little kid get to you, Buggy?” Rayleigh chuckles with a raised brow as he watches Buggy’s rage get the best of him

“Dokucha!” He growls

“Come and get me then!”

Buggy shoots off like a bullet, lunging for the small child

“Come here Dokucha!”

The kid laughs and giggles as Buggy tries to snag them.

Roger chuckles at this scene, watching the two

“Dokucha!”

“Dokucha!”

Dokucha looks around as Buggy’s voice soon begins to shift, becoming echoey and distant, changing into two familiar voices

“Dokucha!”

Dokusha blinked their eyes open, looking around and finding themselves in their room, Their grandfather and grandmother glancing down at them

“Good morning,” smiles Shakky, puffing out a wisp of smoke

“Geez kid, that was one heavy dream you were having,” Laughs Rayleigh

“Grandma, Grandpa?”

“Look like you’re still half-asleep. I'm going to get breakfast going,” Shakky says as she leaves the room

“What did you dream about?” asks Rayleigh, lifting the child from the bed.

“…”

“Still asleep? Hmm? Say, Dokucha, when did you get that sweatband?”

“Huh.” they look down, confused, only to look at their wrist and spot the familiar red and white wristband, a grin growing on their face as they realize what it meant

“Someone gave it to me!”

“Huh... I used to have one just like it; it brings me back.”

“Hey, Grandpa?”

“Yeah?”

“You looked really handsome when young. I can see how you got with grandma.”

“Hah?!”

Here we go thoughts? It’s not kicking your legs type but hopefully you got a chuckle, I will start working on the other one’s now 👀

Taglist:

@imaginarydreams

@amethystviolin

@h0n3y-l3m0n05

#one piece x reader #one piece #one piece imagine #one piece fluff #one piece x child!reader #rayleigh x child! reader #rayleigh x y/n #rayleigh x reader #op rayleigh #gol d. roger #gol d roger x reader #gol x reader #gol d #captain rogers #oro jackson #roger pirates #crocus #shanks x child!reader #buggy x reader #shanks x you #op buggy #shanks x reader #captain buggy #one piece shanks #red haired shanks #shanks #buggy the clown #buggy one piece #buggy x you #one piece rayleigh

[salteytakesonmanga]

“We’ll just sail around again” is the most incredible statement, considering only one other crew has ever managed it even once. But I love the idea of Luffy just looping the Grand Line over and over again, as many times as he wants, because there’s always something new to see and a new adventure to be had.

#one piece #op ch105 #saltey takes on one piece #doctor crocus #luffy #nami #miss wednesday #mister 9 #sanji #usopp #everyone's so tiny it feels pointless to tag them

[readsrealm]

incorrect quotes Roger pirate ft. Whitebeard and Marco

Rayleigh : It's pretty cold outside.. wanna hold hands? We should stay close. Roger, blushing: Okay. Crocus: It's fucking summer. *-* Buggy: So what’s for dinner? Sunbell: I can’t tell you, it’s a soup-prise! Buggy: … Buggy: Is it soup? Sunbell: I soup-pose it could be! winks Buggy: Please, enough with the soup puns! Sunbell: Wow, you’re soup-per mean. Buggy: STOP! one hour later Buggy: It’s fucking tacos?!?!?!

*-*

Spencer: Act natural. Buggy: For this kind of situation, the most natural thing would be to panic, so technically I can panic. Spencer: NO, that’s not what I meant! Act like it’s a normal day! Buggy: My ‘normal’ days of late, consist of a lot of panic. Spencer: Will you just cooperate? Buggy: When a person is panicking, they are not apt to cooperate very well!

*-*

Marco: pretending to joke So when are you going to go out with me? Buggy: I don't know. When are you going to ask me to? Whitebeard: And you just ran away?! Marco: I didn't expect them to flirt back! *-* Shanks: What, I can’t be in a bad mood? It’s like people think, “Oh, Shanks is such a nice person, Shanks is so happy-go-lucky! Shanks can’t be in a bad mood!” Well, you know what? Shanks CAN be in a bad mood. And right now, Shanks IS be in a bad mood.

*-*

Marco: I never tell people off the bat that I'm gay. I wait. I wait until they say some homophobic shit and then I laugh and am like "you know I'm gay right?" and watch the look of terror on their face. Whitebeard: Whitebeard: I like you.

Thanks for reading!

#one piece #buggy #buggy the clown #op buggy #shanks #silvers rayleigh #gol d roger #whitebeard #marco the phoenix #edward newgate #roger x rayleigh #scopper gaban #crocus #spencer #sunbell #bullet #buggy x marco #marco x buggy #roger pirates

[onepiece-polls]

One Piece Crack Ship War - Round 1 Side A

Propaganda under the cut.

Whale Watchers: Crocus is no stranger to looking after mountain whales, and Dick is large enough that he could just carry Crocus around.

Snowdrift: Both are level headed people within their respective groups, have weather theming, are really cute, have a sassy side, Kiku tends to be high strung and Nami is good at helping people relax.

#one piece #op crack ship war #cat burglar nami #kikunojo #crocus one piece #kikunojo of the lingering snow #dick the mountain whale #tournament poll #round 1 #side a

[minniiaa]

Roger Pirates Reunion Headcanon

Buggy and Shanks are grown adult men bickering just like they did when they were little kids while Rayleigh sits back watching with a soft smile. The breeze flutters his hair, the golden tone it used to hold long faded into to silver showing just how much he too has aged since those days.

“They may be Emperors now but they’re both the same stupid kids. Some things never change, eh Roger?” he mutters aloud, raising his flask skyward, a silent cheer to his old friend. If only he could be here to see them all grown up. Crocus suddenly appears at his side and clinks a glass against his flask.

“You haven’t changed much either Ray. You’re still cheering to him even though he’s been gone for years.” Crocus grumbles and it almost feels like an insult but Rayleigh knows better. “You think he’s up there somewhere?” his old friend asks, sliding down next to him, his bones creaking.

“Don’t know. But wherever he is I’m sure he’s laughing at how old and grey we are,” Rayleigh says with a faraway look. He tries not to think much about what the afterlife holds.

As he watches Buggy’s detached head float around Shanks as the redhead swiftly dodges his slapping hands, Rayleigh realizes that he is simply just a bystander now. The future is no longer his concern. He looks at Crocus, who perhaps came to the same conclusion. Together they laugh as they reminisce on the days where the world was in their hands.

#they make me feel some type of way #I have yet to determine if it is happy or sad #prob both #one piece #roger pirates #silvers rayleigh #crocus #red haired shanks #buggy the clown #op #op headcanon

[nevergreenwitch]

?

do we still not know who this person is Crocus is drinking with? The title page appeared in chapter 631 in the context of how people reacted to the Strawhats' return after the timeskip, during the Fishman island arc.

Now (300-400 chapters later) it's clear from the hat that this peron is either from Wano or had contact with the country (- although, Ace learned how to make those hats and gifted one to Little Oars Jr. ...). Plus they are on good terms with Crocus, who was on Rogers' ship. Oden and his family + Cat Viper & Dogstorm sailed with them for a while. Is it one of Roger's old crew or another Wano character we don't (?) know about?

Does anyone know or have a good theory? :)

#one piece #manga #op wano #wano country #fishman island arc #oden one piece #crocus one piece #one piece theory #roger pirates

[cricketbones]

I guess I just forgor about this, but,

YALL REMEMBER THIS SHIT ABOUT CROCUS??

Crocus joined Roger to heal him, BUT ALSO TO LOOK FOR YORKI?? Like- I forgot he literally LEFT LABOON FOR 3 YEARS, poor Laboon, TO LOOK FOR HIS DADS AND GAVE UP HOPE.

The house in Laboons stomach is also a medication zone, because it’s the only way he can medicate something so big (so he did it from the inside.) BECAUSE LABOON WONT STOP RUINING HIS BODY.

He still has no hope for the Rumbar pirates, and his memories of them are forever tainted by the constant fear of them being cowards and lying to his face.

#one piece #soul king brook #brook one piece #rumbar pirates #brook #calico yorki #laboon #brook op #op brook #humming brook #crocus #one piece lore #one piece history #one piece anime #one piece manga #one piece laboon #one piece crocus #gol d. roger #Roger one piece #one piece roger #one piece doctor

[harudnae]

Working on fics and grabbing canon data here and there, sharing my thoughts on the go because it's been a while since I last re-read this part...

CROCUS YOU SNEAKY BASTARD 😂

Acting like you're an outsider to "the crew of the Pirate King"

And what's that "Perhaps" for ?? YOU KNOW IT YOU WERE THERE

On another note : Luffy's face and his determination on the last panel really remind me of Roger 🥺

(Of course I'm not the only one thinking that because the panel below was the one I was looking for...)

I'll be forever amazed by Oda's subtle foreshadowing and the consistency in his story, considering the shitton of revelations we had during the Wano flashback 🤩

#one piece #op manga #chapter 105 #reverse mountain #crocus #luffy #mugiwara no ichimi #nae's ramblings #I've got an idea for the last day of Roger Pirates Week now 😋

[findpandaman]

Find Pandaman!

Solution under the cut: 

#one piece #pandaman #yonko saga #wano #wano act 3 #op 967 #oden #crocus #rayleigh #roger pirates #i promise it's him #but it's really clear in the manga itself #unfortunately running out of HQ scans :( #and i'm not butchering my books for better images #sorry

[erotetica]

Another gd thing but that proposed Sappho-poem-dyke-flag is still my favorite for Reasons, one of which is that’s the oilslick palette

#op #ITS ABOUT THE [DOG WHISTLING]. #medium deleted the article so I’m spelunking for it. but if it was deleted bc op Did Something #I might incorporate that into my belief system.meme on my own. #make a poem flag meself #I find their violet too cool and their crocus/yellow too warm anyway #also the angel aura quarts palette. #ALSO not casting shade bc now avail. on medium is the purple/pink/orange flag. so maybe the writer just changed their mind #idk if they’re the same person bc THE ARTICLE IS 404. #ignore me

[salteytakesonmanga]

Zoro really tried his best.

I always like how when Luffy’s not around Zoro quickly steps in to take charge. Not only that, everyone naturally defers to him without arguing in these situations. Zoro and Sanji’s rivalry (? that’s not quite the right word) hasn’t really started in earnest yet so it’s less unusual for Sanji to listen to Zoro here. Still, it reminds me of other times when Sanji listens to Zoro basically giving orders without arguing.

#one piece #op ch103 #saltey takes on one piece #zoro #sanji #doctor crocus #nami #usopp #roronoa zoro

[mega-ringsandthings-world]

There's something so interesting and tantalizing about the idea of outsiders reacting to a character once they come out from a significant event and the reactions to it. I’m thinking about Shanks again and the people he used to know—because it’s going to be about two years in captivity, another year and a half to heal and get back to snuff before either Shanks or Mihawk are gonna hit it out into the wide open blues again. That’s almost four years of people not seeing them—aside from the people who meet them right after, like Buggy.

What I’m trying to get at is, for two years, Roger's old crew had to watch their pseudo-son get showcased in front of a Den Den, spouting the most horrendous propaganda, being paraded about like the government's show pony. What seemed to be a happy and healthy life of luxury, they could only assume, having betrayed them—do some of them hate him? Do some of them try to justify his actions to themselves? Do some of them drink themselves to sleep, hoping he’s betraying them, praying behind cameras and photo ops he isn’t being tortured? Not to mention while all this is going down, they're being run down like hound dogs with a scent? And since the world government is cleaning shop and doesn’t have to worry about a wave of wannabe pirates to slow them down, they can get to the nitty-gritty of tracking Roger's crew down to ground.

People like Rayleigh or Crocus probably won’t even have time to grieve or settle down or drink themselves into a stupor. Every second will be running, hiding, buying what you can, and stealing the rest, going into the underground’s underground. For two years! You can’t tell me a lot more of them aren’t caught, a lot more of them aren’t executed (maybe even taken back to Loguetown where they can see Shanks face to face and see as he is forced to watch from below as he begs and cries, curled into the arms of another dead-eyed child before the spears pierce their back and all the cries turn to screams.)

Maybe they resent him, hate him in their own ways, as much as they understand and love him. So when Loguetown burns and everyone escapes and on the front page (if the government doesn’t cover it up) is that little boy, maybe not so little anymore, torching the place to the studs. How do they react?

Not just them, but the rest of the pirate world. Him, Mihawk, and the other survivors must be the most hated pirates on the sea for those two years, seemingly choosing protection and the lap of the government over Impel Down. Seeing their faces plastered everywhere as part of the rehabilitation effort of the Marines, they must be seen as traitors of the highest order. But then they escape, and Loguetown burns, and rumors and secrets start to get out about what really happened in logue-town, the true horror show. Maybe even the Revolutionaries spur this on with pictures and scars and their own interviews, learning about the coercion, the psychological and physical torture, the assaults, the corruption that keeps compounding on its self into a public relations nightmare. They have to come face to face with a smiling 14/15-year-old, knowing that under all that makeup and false cheer is a child being tortured.

Like Oda-sensei, that’s gotta mess with you. And your image when Mihawk and Shanks hit the scene—are they going to get as many weary glances as they are pitying ones? Like not only did all my trauma get blarred to the world in graphic 3D with surround sound, but people also treat me with awkwardness or like brittle porcelain.

Yeah. The official story that was released was that the pirates in the square were offered a mass pardon/amnesty after the execution, and most of them refused and rioted, being the mindless violent grunts that they are. But the more famous pirates, being of sounder mind, accepted the pardon/amnesty and are now working in conjunction with the government to rehabilitate the other pirates. Which is a load of bullshit, but one becomes a lot more believable once they start putting people out in front of the cameras. Shanks is going to be the object of resentment, sorrow, and yes, hatred, for his former crew. As far as they are concerned, he sold them out with Roger not even cold in his grave. Most of the crew are going to believe that he truly betrayed them, and those will be divided into ones that detest him and ones that afford him a measure of sympathy. On one hand, he's a traitor spitting on the memory of Roger and Roger's care for him and that's it, on the other hand, he's just a kid and seeing Roger, his idol and father figure being killed must have been a big enough blow that it turned him a coward willing to buy his own safety. Neither opinion is very favorable to him. But others like Rayleigh and Crocus don't think ill of him, they knew him, and they would have the sense that there's something insidious going on. They'd be the ones who worry and grieve for him and think the worst. This does not mean they don't have their doubts, though. When the government puts the heat down on the Roger pirates, the first thing that everyone is going to think is that Shanks gave them info, and even Rayleigh and Crocus will think it was forced out of him somehow. (for the record, Shanks never once betrays anything in the years he's a captive) and so the resentment builds, even in the ones who still secretly nurse a care/love for him. The running, the hiding, the fear, the times of need and living like animals and the unceasing relentless pursuit is not going to make it any better. And then, yes. They start getting picked off. That's inevitable. The marines get lucky one time, the Roger pirates actually do get sold out another time, and other times yet crewmembers sacrifice themselves to let the other's get away. (it's important to note that while the Roger pirates had been disbanded, they grouped back together under the persecution) However it happens, some Roger pirates end up in Loguetown, set to be summarily executed. And the Marines make sure they see Shanks before the fact. Those Roger pirates don't have a clue what's been happening to Shanks in the interim, and they react to him as one might expect. Mihawk kills a Roger pirate in the course of defending Shanks from them. They don't realize how wrong they were until too late, until they witness the situation at Loguetown first hand, or witness Shanks publicly begging for their lives, or the punishments he's given for that, or, during the rare times the marines do grant a stay of execution, what Shanks has to do to procure it. But it always ends the same for every captured Roger pirate, and the last thing they'll always see is a helpless Shanks being held back by Mihawk. (They'd have many questions about Mihawk, if there was time to ask them.) needs pt.2

#one piece #op #opla #dracule mihawk #akagami no shanks #hawkeye mihawk #red haired shanks #mihawk one piece #shanks one piece #mishanks #loguetown au

[justice4sasuke]

Before I get into this I wanted to say someone said on one of my posts about Naruto and One Piece that they didn't feel their was a point in comparing them and I wanted to say my intention isn't really to compare Naruto and One Piece. My point is that Naruto is a standard shounen with some good ideas and points but is overall not very good and has lots of writing issues. One Piece is a standard shounen that is very well written with fewer issues. And because all of my problems with people on here seem to stem from people wanting to read Naruto differently than intended to make it look better I want to use One Piece as an example of what something that is just good writing on its own merits looks like.

Anyway, Iruka says chapter one that he thinks Naruto's struggles have given him empathy and I think that is funny because to me Naruto has never been a character with any emotional intelligence or kindness to be seen in him. The only time he has interest in other's emotions or feelings is when he can relate them to his own experience and this is 1. never addressed as a problem Naruto has and 2. is a consistent theme throughout the manga. Not only that but he never seems to be able to do anything helpful when he finds people like that (which could be an interesting commentary on Naruto's inability with personal interactions but once again the manga doesn't make note of it). Think how he treats Inari, think encouraging Hinata to fight Neji even though it endangered her because it personally triggered him, think how he ends up fighting Gaara and saying he will fight Sasuke after saying he relates to them (not that I think he's wrong for fighting Gaara since...he's attacking the village just, Choices Kishimoto for doing that more than once).

Now let me show an example of the main character for one understanding someone else's feelings and for two, shock and awe, helping them. Generally Luffy isn't a character anyone would describe using the word "intelligence" for on first blush, but reading the manga you will see in a lot of situations Luffy is actually incredibly emotionally intelligent. And honestly I think it's kind of funny that Kishimoto bothers making Iruka specifically says Naruto has empathy when he doesn't show it at least in a helpful way meanwhile no one says anything about Luffy being kind yet...here we are...just being shown things instead of told.

Anyway, here's the example. This one is from early in the manga and I chose one that involves a whale instead of a person just to really drive the point home.

The crew meets (and gets eaten by...look it's a whole thing okay) a whale (Laboon) and the lighthouse watcher/former doctor/whale caretaker (once again...it's a whole thing), Crocus, tells them the story of how this whale was waiting for his friends, a different pirate crew, to sail around the world and return to him, but it's been 50 years and Crocus believes the crew has abandoned the whale and Laboon, disbelieving this, rams his head against the Red Line (it's a land mass that circles the entire world...listen I can't be explaining the intricacies of OP's world building just for this post), seriously injuring himself in his attempts to break through and find his friends. Luffy, for lack of anything else to do I guess (if he could just intuit the problem and do something about it without listening to a whole ass tale he would, trust), listens though as usual the energy he's giving is "no thoughts, head empty".

But the next thing you know! Luffy has broken of the ship's mast (for some reason...) and is running up the whale to stab the mast into Laboon's latest slamming-his-head-into-a-wall-of-earth wound (in case you can't tell I'm not showing all the panels thus all the explaining).

Laboon is in pain and attacks, but Luffy fights back.

Luffy stops the fight by declaring it a draw!

Well, it looks like their match isn't settled so they will have to fight some other time. Luffy declares that they are rivals and after they sail around the world (like Laboon's previous crew of pirate friends) they will come back and Luffy and Laboon can have a rematch.

Luffy even paints their...uh, his version of their Jolly Roger on Laboon's head where his scars are and says he can't ram his head against the Red Line because that will erase the contract. This gives something else for Laboon to look forward to rather than him needlessly waiting for his friends to return. And it works! Every time we see Laboon in little asides or cover stories after this he is happily waiting for the Straw Hats at the lighthouse with Crocus. (And in case anyone was wondering his pirate friends and the Straw Hats can't just bring him with them because he's a giant fucking whale and they are circling the entire globe through dangerous waters, also the sky, also the bottom of the ocean, also fighting the government, also getting flung across the globe, and various islands.)

And what really REALLY touches me about this exchange is that Luffy knows he can't replace Laboon's previous pirate crew of friends. He can't just say "I'll be your friend" to fix this. So instead he positions himself as Laboon's rival, not replacing the friends Laboon is still waiting for or belittling his bond with them (and trust me...it's a bond 😢). And in case you're wondering does this somehow connect to Luffy's sad past and that's why he's doing this??? No. His sad backstory isn't anything like this. He's just doing it because it's the kind thing to do and if you're trying to do something and Luffy likes you he will do everything he can to help you.

#anyway read one piece #is going to be my tag for this nonsense #me every time: cries in whale