The Seraphim & The Concept Of Self

The Seraphim & The Concept of Self

I wonder who picked the Seraphim's outfits cause at first glance when you only look at S-Hawk and S-Snake it feels like there's a standard uniform. then you see the whole group and there's definitely some individuality going on; like S-Bear just wearing a mini kuma outfit, S-Shark with the gi, my man Moria got a little suspender situation going on over there. S-mingo wearing a whole ass hawain shirt. So there's definitely some variety though they all incorporate white in some way. And I wonder if maybe they got some input into what they wore one of the only acts of "free will" they were allowed was choosing whether they wore shorts or long pants which is as adorable as it is sad.

Because think about the implications that they are dressed to the taste of their adult counterparts, right down to how doffy and mihawk like to open their shirts (except for S-Snake which thank god) but yeah what if it wasn't an allowance of free will but a test to see just how deep DNA ran. If it could influence something as simple as choice of clothing, just another fact for Vega punk to marvel at.

Or maybe the clothes were chosen by one of the Vega punks (I can imagine Shaka doing it) or one of the other various lab assistants. And it's just another way to get them to embody the warlords, to reinforce who they were cloned to be, impressing on them that they are not their own people, their lives are not their own. They are already predetermined; from what powers they get, to what weapons they use, even down to what clothes they wear. Everything reinforces that they are not people, just "better" "stronger" versions of someone else.

Either way, and It might have not have been purposely meant that way because I'm pretty sure Vega punk doesn't really register them as human (which is weird cause he treats stussy very humanly and a whole other can of worms seeing as they seem to be aware and possess a personality to some capacity) it's another way of dehumanizing them, reducing them to the people they are meant to become. They have no "free will" no illusion of choice; they have a predetermined destiny, a pre-determined order, there was never any room for choice even down to the shirts on their back.

Let’s goooooooo!

—-

“You can cook?” Shanks said as they stepped inside Mihawk’s private kitchen. His eyes were open wide, that indomitable smile lost to surprise. 

Mihawk slid the door shut, fingers steady. “Naturally. You can’t?”

“I can stick a fish on a sword and grill it,” Shanks admitted, shrugging into Mihawk’s space, and wrapping an arm around his waist. The left, of course. Shanks was predictable enough to damn them both, for all that his actions were carved in a language Mihawk couldn’t speak. “Not much more than that.”

“Hopeless,” Mihawk judged. 

“A captain,” Shanks corrected, smiling. “I’ve got a crew to do the cooking— and a lover too, it looks like. You going to make me dinner, pretty bird?”

“Not if you call me that again,” Mihawk answered, shaking Shanks and the arm away.  

“The dream must end or the people can not go free” puts that in my back pocket.

But no seriously this goes hard and honestly have never thought about it that way.

So we all remember this moment from Jaya

It's an iconic moment for a reason, people love it so much so you see people make fanart of it or even get it tattooed on themselves, and it's understandable 'cause what Teech says here is kind... hopeful, inspirational even

Which is why the scene always felt so wrong to me, in a way I could not like put into words or explain why?? Like I wanted to be like "hey this guy isn't that bad, I agree with him!" and yet what Blackbeard says here didn't quite sit right with me?

But now, in-hindsight, I understand why

It's because Blackbeard is wrong

Like, from the begining, from when we're introduced to Blackbeard, he and Luffy are explicitly shown to be the polar opposites of each other in many ways (their taste in food being just one easy way to summarize it), including in ideals and beliefs

And while it would be so easy to think this scene was about showing that despite their differences Luffy and Blackbeard actually have one thing they agree on, one common ground

They don't

Luffy's dream has an end

And it's not just that, that's not the only reason he's the opposite of Blackbeard in this sense. If Luffy just keeps on dreaming of doing things, he will never achieve them, because achieving your dreams means the end of them

And think about how that reflects on the rest of the story

If people keep on dreaming of freedom, they will never be free

Nami's village would remain in Arlong's hands, rain would never fall in Alabasta again, the fire of Shandra would never be lit again, Water 7 will sink into the ocean, the kids on Punk Hazard would never see their parents again, the families of Dressrosa would never be reunited, Wano would remain under Kaidou's oppression, everyone on Fishman Island will remain at the bottom of the ocean and never see the true sun

The dream must end or the people can not go free

The darkness of night will break away The dream will end and the sun will rise

Sadly I'm stuck at work, and I say sadly bc I'm picturing and really want to write some fic about Shanks stumbling into a de-aged Mihawk and, of course, taking him to the rhp for the time being until they figure out how to solve the situation, bc he's not going to leave a kid in need, and he's not going to leave Mihawk. And mainly I want to write it bc I can imagine Mihawk being the absolute, worst menace to ever grace the rhp with his presence. Did you think that Luffy was a handful to deal with? Wait until the rhp have to turn the red force upside down bc they're not sure if Mihawk has been kidnapped by the marines / another crew / whatever threat or if he's just having a sulk in some random part of the ship bc Shanks didn't have time to 'duel' him (he didn't read well that Mihawk wanted attention) and now Mihawk is 110% convinced that he hates him.

(This could be very sad, very easily bc I imagine that Mihawk had a very crappy childhood with some trauma sprinkled on top of it, but it'd be interesting, Shanks having to figure out how to deal with kid! Mihawk when he knows like. Two details of Mihawk's childhood and just has vague suspicions about why he doesn't talk more about it, even with him)

And also bc I imagine kid! Mihawk being the type of kid that is very happy to be treated like an adult? Like, he doesn't have any idea of what's going on besides the fact that Shanks has said that they're going to help him, but Shanks gives him a map to (colour with crayons) 'plot the course of the ship' and he's glowing.

God the ways in which I just want Mihawk to go absolutely feral have been previously unknown to man. Like I need my man with hair slicked in sweat eyes deranged pupils dilated all the way to that first ring I need him so deranged he’s not even screaming words just something deep and guttural that you know once he gets out he’ll leave a trail of bodies and a Red Sea in just wake.