since my return to tumblr I’ve been seeing a lot of ppl talking abt disabilities & I have one piece brainrot real bad so I figured I’d babble a bit
it took me a weirdly long time to realize that... Shanks is disabled??? like. he lost an arm. if the fan theory is correct, he lost his sword arm. and only after losing his sword arm did this man go on to become one of the four most powerful people on the seas.
and he’s not the only one!!! Crocodile’s missing a hand. Tashigi’s probably legally blind without her glasses, which she keeps fucking losing. Fujitora’s blind, Zolo’s sense of direction is so bad it probably qualifies as some sort of intellectual disability — hell, Whitebeard himself, Edward fucking Newgate, is on a ventilator for the entire time he spends on the page/screen. and yet.
none of these people are defined by their disability. Whitebeard is considered the strongest man in the world. Zolo is fucking Zolo. Fujitora’s an admiral, which is the only reason I’m calling him Fujitora in the first place. Tashigi is Smoker’s right-hand man. Crocodile is one of the first truly imposing villains the straw hats come across, and, oh yeah, still making himself relevant nearly a thousand chapters later. and Shanks... well, Shanks is one of the Four Emperors, a.k.a. legally classified as one of the four biggest threats to the current world order. he’s doing pretty okay for himself for a guy who visibly struggles to button his shirts.
it just makes me think. Oda has made a world where disability accommodations are... normalized. in a weird sort of way, but still. hell, this is a maritime setting — having a devil fruit power is a permanent disability, and yet people don’t hesitate to take them on. because everyone is just... used to accommodating them. can’t swim? don’t go overboard, keep someone on watch around the water, bathe with a friend. only one hand? that’s fine, that’s why you keep your first mate around. can’t see? we have superpowers for that. we can handle it. to paraphrase Usopp: you do what you can, and leave the rest to your crewmates.
anyway I really love one piece
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this is a part ii. find part i. here. // cw: reader shares a room w/ nami & robin, vague post timeskip spoilers
you’re rinsing soap suds off a dinner plate when the realization hits you.
luffy could do this without you.
the thought has you gripping the edges of the sink; spreads a cold, cold bug throughout your immune system. sanji notices from his peripherals and asks if you are alright, drying rag flicked nonchalantly over his shoulder. you stall, ask yourself the same question. are you alright? you don’t think so. because the truth is sanji is the cook—invaluable to the crew. to luffy. and you? well, you wash dishes.
see, you’re not particularly strong, or intelligent, or useful. it’s a wonder he wants you on his crew at all.
if luffy had never met you, it wouldn't make a difference.
it’s a bitter pill to swallow: inadequacy. you are no longer a sad, pathetic, touch-starved bitch, but you are still an anxious one. and yet, there’s something threatening to crawl out of your chest that rejects your fears. something visceral and desperate. palpable; you can feel it thumping underneath your skin. this thing, whatever it is, loathes your uncertainty in your captain. how could you ever doubt him? it asks. he saw something in you, didn’t he? shouldn’t that be enough? shouldn’t you trust him?
you do trust him. you just… don’t really trust yourself. uncertainty festers like an open wound, and you have no where to put it. so you shove it down, because your emotions don’t deserve to breach the surface, and taint his smile.
it’s hard to think about these things whenever he’s around, anyway. not when he’s kicking you underneath the table during dinner, or hiding behind corners and grabbing you by the waist because he “thinks it’s funny.” it’s even harder to think when those moments take unexpected turns. when he slips a leg between your thighs and interlocks your ankles, or when his hands linger on your body longer than necessary, slipping underneath the hem of your shirt, as he just… stays there. fingers swiping idly against your skin while he peers at you, curiously. and of course, it’s flat out impossible to think when he presses you against the nearest wall and kisses you until you’re breathless and panting into his mouth.
the first time you kissed him, you thought you would die. it was on a good night, a cool night. the rest of the crew had gone to bed, but the two of you stayed up, talking about things neither of you could recall, now. an unassuming conversation. but luffy had been staring at your mouth the whole night, and, feeling uncharacteristically emboldened—perhaps due to a few stolen sips of zoro’s booze—you asked him if he wanted to kiss you. he said yes. and it was messy. his lips were chapped from the cold. you bumped into his nose, and he bit your lip, and his tongue slipped into your mouth, and you thought you would die.
you broke apart, your fists clinging to his vest, breathing hard. for once, your mind was completely, utterly blank. “slower,” you instructed before leaning back in. he nodded, dazed. your arms wrapped loosely around his neck, his hands darted to your hips, and you tasted his smile.
the truth is, you feel unstoppable when you’re with him. because of him. you want nothing more than for him to feel the same.
is that selfish to think? are you a horrible person? how else could this have gone? the boy had you wrapped around his finger from the very start. had the whole world spiraling around his finger from birth: for he is luffy and he is the most magnetic person you’ve ever met, and he is going to be the king of the pirates. you’re just lucky that you can come along for the ride.
you’re lucky. that should be enough.
but still. you want.
you want to be indisposable. you want him to need you like you need him.
are you enough?
yes, of course. you are a straw hat pirate, and you are proud.
but why? why did luffy ask you to join his crew? what do you have to offer? you’re not particularly strong, or intelligent, or useful. it’s a wonder he wants you on his crew at all.
it’s a bitter pill to swallow: inadequacy. you have to hit your chest to get it down.
“you’re thoughtful.” nami declares after you confide in her, one slow day on the sunny. she says this easily, like she needn’t think about it, like this is a well known fact. she sits cross-legged on your bed, hugging a pillow as you brush her hair. “thoughtful?” you repeat, dragging a hairbrush down her scalp.
nami turns around to face you, something expectant on her face. her hair’s still wrapped around your fingers. “duh.”
something heavy rattles in your chest.
thoughtful. you’re thoughtful? that’s a nice thing to be. you should be appreciative of the compliment. a thoughtful person would appreciate the compliment.
“but—”
“but nothing,” she interrupts, rolling her eyes. “we want you here. can’t you see? we trust luffy to protect our dreams, always, but we trust you to protect out hearts.”
your grip on the hairbrush loosens. “…isn’t that… the same thing?”
nami hums vaguely. "not at all."
her words plague you late into the night.
thoughtful.
you are thoughtful, maybe, on a good day, but what good is that for the break-neck pace of piracy? are you gonna think your enemies into submission? kill ‘em with kindness, maybe?
you’re lying on your side, buried under your covers, attempting to sleep. across from you lays robin, in her bed. robin sleeps like the dead. there’s been a few restless nights where you’ve simply watched her sleeping form, counted her breaths, made sure she was actually alive.
however, this is the first night that someone’s knocked on your door in the middle of the night. three harsh raps. being the only one up, you slowly rise out of your cocoon and tiptoe across the wood floor, but the door cracks open before you can reach it. moonlight slips through the crack, casting shadows on a figure as it steps into your room.
it’s luffy. he’s in his pajamas, clutching his straw hat.
“lu?” you whisper. “wha—what’s going on?”
he stalks over to you. you can’t read his expression as well as you could have in the daytime, but his mouth is set in a thin line, and his eyes… he doesn’t give you much time to examine them before he’s wrapping his arms around you, hiding his face in your neck.
“it’s nothing,” he mumbles into your skin. goosebumps prickle across your flesh. nothing? is this nothing?
"can we just go to sleep?” he asks. there is something like desperation coloring his voice. and you—you know something about desperation. are intimately familiar with the beast that lies in your chest, that clogs your lungs ’til you can barely breathe.
it’s not nothing, not even close. but maybe he needs it to be nothing. you can accept that. so you pluck the hat from his hands and set it on the barrel you use as a nightstand. guide him to your bed. the bed dips under his weight, and there’s really not much room for the both of you, but it doesn’t stop him from sliding over to meet you in the middle. he reaches out and tugs on your arm until you’re rolling on your side, and then he’s slotting into you like a matching puzzle piece. his knees tuck into yours, and his arms slither round your stomach, and he’s breathing by your ear, and you are praying that you are enough. that you’ll be enough.
you think you are. will be.
maybe there is a difference between protecting dreams, protecting hearts.
ty all for the support on this mini series :') hope you liked the conclusion!
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