OOC;; honestly, my biggest fear with smoker is that oda drops the ball with him. that his reoccuring character is only there to serve as a garp analogue for luffy and that nothing else will be done with him. that i'm invested and oda will give me nothing.
generally i trust oda and his writing--he's amazing at coming back to characters, but i've literally been burned by every series i've ever been into. i'm used to favourites either dying or being written out of the story and i can't help but fear the same will happen here.
i like to think oda has a plan, that there's a reason he didn't leave smoker in loguetown as just another marine of the day. i want to hope he's building towards something here and that all these moments--all these times people have told smoker to expand his horizons or warned him off seeking answers are foreshadowing. i want to believe something will be done with his growing anger towards what the marines are. i want to hope that maybe luffy's 'i don't hate you' is a hint.
i can admit that i've been gunning for smoker to join the straw hats since alabasta. i know it's wishful thinking at best, but i do feel it could lead to brilliant things for his development. even if it's not with the straw hats, though, i hope he's not there just to be a garp analogue. he's different to garp. he shouldn't be chained to that damn pointless mirror that adds nothing to his story or luffy's.
i don't know. lately i've felt pessimistic and that maybe his character won't be taken anywhere in the end. he's been around for so many years now, he's been in a few good arcs, and we still don't know his backstory. and as much as i love seeing him, oda doesn't really let him do anything.











