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His first scar was a childish act to gain respect from a man he admired.
His first scar was proof that he would never back down from his dream, but he still lost.
Her first scar was her powerlessness to fight her fate alone.
His first scar was to protect his beloved village, and he realized then that being brave was only a start for becoming stronger.
His first scar wasn’t visible to the naked eye, and he wished many times that it broke his heart to scatter the pieces into the wind so he wouldn’t feel anything anymore, until one day he had enough and buried everything down, but the scar still remained.
Her first scar was to feel so hopeless against the cruelty of one man, but nothing, even her life, was enough to save her country.
His first scar was to be born a monster, but when he accepted it, it became a blessing on its own.
Her first scar was a burning tree in the middle of the sea, and the thousands of betrayals that followed.
His first scar was to feel unwanted and unloved, then it was all broken and reshaped into an empty shell.
His first scar was to live too long in this world without his loved ones.
His first scar was to always be one step behind and miss the timing to make things right.
–
Scars were something that couldn’t be erased, as much as people wanted to, and Luffy believed early on that they shouldn’t. They were part of their lives, a proof they lived, survived even, and they could only grow with them.
His first scar below his eye wasn’t proof of his best moment though, as much as he had believed it would prove to Shanks that he wasn’t afraid of anything. He was just a kid, and obviously he was afraid, but he didn’t know at that time that it was completely normal. Now adult, Luffy knew he was afraid of a lot of things, but it wasn’t to get hurt or to die anymore, it was to lose his nakama and to betray his promises. So, whatever scars his body had, he refused to regret them, even though it hurt like hell sometimes.
They stayed on his skin, visible and healed, proof that he was still alive and could still move forward, toward his dream.
–
Zoro had a lot of scars. From training as a kid, and even before, but his skin healed quickly and became rough to the touch, hiding the inconsequential scratches as if they never existed. But he couldn’t forget them. They were proof of his weakness and how he overcame it on his own.
The one he considered as his first scar became a symbol, a promise, that until he became the strongest swordsman in the world, he wouldn’t die. He could have many more scars after this one, but it wouldn’t matter anymore. They weren’t important.
He still refused to get one on his pristine back so he faced every opponent, every danger, head on. To get closer his dream. And to protect his captain and his nakama.
–
Nami wasn’t afraid of scars. She didn’t like them and hid them as fast as they appeared, putting a healing balm on her skin whenever she could, making them fade away quickly one by one, but she knew they were still there. It was the downside to work alone against pirates, to steal their treasure and gather the money to pay back Arlong.
She sometimes touched the hard tip of her fingers to calm her nerves. She didn’t bleed anymore when she was drawing maps, and it was a blessing then, but now, it was also a reminder that she could pull through any pain, even more because her nakama would never let her be on her own and would never let her down.
She was proud of her tattoo, and even if it hid part of her scar on her shoulder, she loved drawing the uneven skin with her tough fingers.
–
Usopp had never liked being hurt. He ran away at the first sign of a physical punishment, even so it wasn’t more than just a slap on his butt, and he knew how to not get into accidents, protective gloves and helmet being the most important things when he had to prepare for one of his fantastic adventures. But that was before, when he was still living in a peaceful village, where the worst that could happen was to be caught in Kaya’s house garden by Klahadore.
Now he feared being hurt, or killed, but it didn’t mean that he would always run away like when he was a kid. He knew, he wasn’t as strong as their best fighters in their crew, but he also knew when he had to step up for them so they could shine the most, clearing the way for them and take care of what they couldn’t do on their own.
He would break his nose a thousand times if it could protect his nakama and their dreams.
–
Being the outcast of the Vinsmoke family wasn’t the best way to start a life, but Sanji made it anyway, he survived and never became who people wanted him to be. He was himself, whether people liked it or not, and he was proud to be who he was. But it hadn’t been always that way.
His childhood was like a large wound that festered even after he closed it, the scar permanently red and tender, but he protected the pain like he deserved it, but no matter how hard his life was, he never gave up anything. Not his life, not his dream, and certainly not his love for his real family.
So when he thought about his childhood now, feeling that the scar of his heart was smoothly healed and didn’t hurt anymore, he knew he could do anything and that nothing would never hold him back ever again.
–
Vivi was a princess loved by her father and her people, playing among the other kids as if it was natural as breathing air. She fell and scratched her knee a few times, fighting with her fists when she thought talking wouldn’t help her anymore, and it wasn’t really like it was expected from a princess, but neither her or her father did care about that. She was not special, she was human too, and like her, people could do better if they put their will into it.
Still, Vivi wasn’t naive and knew that if people could be good for themselves and the others, they also could do bad things, and it hurt her more than anything every time she saw her people suffering. It didn’t help that angry, famished, thirsty people were too quick to take up arms and start to fight. She hated herself for being so weak and not be able to protect her country, especially when it was all for the satisfaction of one man.
But when she finally understood that she didn’t have to fight alone, that she could spread her scars to Luffy and the others, that it made them all stronger, she never faltered again. She would never fear for asking for help from her nakama anymore.
–
Chopper didn’t understand at first why he was a monster in the eyes of his herd, maybe he would never understand it, but the fact was that he was an outcast all his life, as a reindeer and as a human. One thing he learned although he was rejected by everyone he had met until now was that it didn’t matter what he was. His wounds healed, his heart grew warmer, and he loved being himself with Dr. Hiluluk. His broken and patched up antler was proof he was alive and cared for, and it was enough for him.
He was so young, and he didn’t even realize it, but it mattered to those who loved him. After losing his father figure, he tried to not believe at face value everything he read, but he still had the heart of a child and time and again, his nakama protected him from the harsh world they lived in. But as he grew up, he wanted to protect them in the same way, and since they only cared about who he was and not what he was, he could become anything to get stronger, even a monster.
Even though, his nakama always trusted him, recognizing his blue nose and his broken antler whenever he changed forms, and he was glad for it.
–
Robin had several scars on her skin, every time someone figured that hurting her sprouting limbs would hurt her, but she learned early on to just… ignore them. If it didn’t hinder her escape, or her temporary hiding place, she didn’t care about them. She cut her hair herself when she needed to, she only wore clothes that didn’t get in her way if she needed to run or fight, she did everything she could to never need anyone else but herself for a very long time, so scratches on her arms or legs weren’t important at all.
That was why the Buster Call had so much effect on her. She had been threatened by everything known to man almost all her life, but she only feared the most terrifying, destructive weapon of the world because it had scarred her forever. She didn’t want to think about it, but she couldn’t help it, and though the scar healed, it was still there when nothing else mattered. And then she trusted what was left of her to Luffy, to her nakama, and her scar made her stronger.
Her skin had many scars, ugly and visible, but she wore them with pride now, not hiding how strong she had to become to survive this cruel and beautiful world. And she won more along her journey with her nakama, it only meant that she had protected them right.
–
It wasn’t hard to be left by his pirate parents, as if he ever needed them. But it hurt when he realized that they had never wanted him, Tom laughing and laughing by his side because he cared about Franky. Carving new warships every day was his way to express his love for the fishman he wanted to call father, shouting and fighting with Iceberg because he wanted to call him brother, eating quickly Kokoro’s warm meals while he refrained from calling her mother.
His skin was rough, he hurt himself often, between the mistakes and the actual work as shipwright, but as he shaped his ships, he was shaping his body too. He thought it was enough to make him happy, but then the sea train took Tom from him, took his body from himself, and now he was made of scars of flesh and scars of metal, and there was no way to go back to the happiest times of his life.
It didn’t matter for a very long time until he took upon himself to reshape his body one more time, to change his scars into new ones, straighter and sturdier, and to make sure that he could take the hits for his nakama to protect them, whether they came from the front or the back.
–
Before Brook became a skeleton, he had another life, a happy and sad but full life, with friends and hardships, and with it came wounds and healed scars. It was where his scar on his skull came from, actually. So as much as he didn’t look the same as before, he had kept something from his past life, something visible to the naked eye unlike his memories of his old friends. It was hidden under his afro, and for a long time, it stayed hidden like it was supposed to, for living being anyway.
The first time he used his cracked skull as a hidden place, it surprised him how easily he accepted it. For years, he tried to stay the same as he was before, when he was still living and breathing, and never would he opened his head in two to stash something inside, but now it became natural, and maybe, it was a good start for his new life.
He would have new scars on his bones, quickly repairing themselves with milk, the care of Chopper and the rest of his nakama, and if they couldn’t hid them anymore, he would use them as best as he could in the second life he had been given.
–
Jinbei wasn’t a young fishman anymore, he had made his choices, every time following his beliefs and keeping his word no matter what. Honor was what he truly believed in. Honoring Fisher Tiger, Ace and now Luffy. But no matter how many years passed, he couldn’t forget every turning point he had to witness and fail to change into the best outcome. He tried, again and again to make things right, but being an honorable fishman wasn’t enough in this world. Talking wasn’t enough. And so he started to fight and never stopped.
He was proud of his tattoo on his chest, for being a member of the Sun Pirates, but it had been so many years ago, and as much as the symbol stayed close to his heart, still believing that no one should be caged or enslaved anywhere in this world anymore, he had failed to prevent Arlong to become the very same thing they had fought together. He had made promises that he couldn’t keep and he had wondered if, when, he would be able to make a real difference again.
And yet, at the helm of the Thousand Sunny, he believed one more time in a better future, because as much as Jinbei had failed in the past, he believed that Luffy would be the one to change the world, so it was an honor to be by his side and to be allowed, one more time, to fight for a man he truly believed in.
–
Scars weren’t always visible but for better or for worse, they all accepted them as part of themselves and could move forward to protect their loved ones and reach their dream.