the old stuff brings a smile to my face. As for my views on Rouge, I have to agree with a large majority if not all of the points you made in your last post, especially the first two. I never quite understood why someone might make those arguements without having any logical basis behind them. Not only does it not make any sense for Rouge to be a part of Roger’s crew for the very reasons you’ve given, but there is also no reason to connect Nami with Rouge as they are and always have been two completely separate characters. I think it has something to do with shipping, but I don’t think those that make the connection between Roger + Rouge and Luffy + Nami gave it much thought in the first place. And can I just say how on point your point on Rouge’s character is? Because it is. It is so on point that it might as well be a dart hitting the middle of a dartboard target. Truly, why should a woman have to conform to a male’s role to be strong? I know quite a few stay at home mothers that would give even the biggest of men a run for their money with words alone. No need to raise a hand in violence at all. I feel, no, I know if Rouge were to “fight” at all, it would be with her words, not her fists, in spite of any physical strength she may have had due to the labor she’d done around her home. On to Roger, if there is anyone I love just as much as Rouge and Ace, it’s Roger. Rouge, in contrast to him, would definitely be his foil, someone to calm him down if only a little bit for a while. However, I firmly believe she’d also be just as stubborn as him if not more so. The one to put her foot down or reel him in before things go southward, so to speak. Perhaps the best way to describe it would be to say she’s the voice of reason? I feel Ace falls between his parents here, eager for a fight, but still thinking a lot more than his father would before starting something. He’s more like Rouge in that regard, he’d want an explanation for things. Hoo, boy, this a lot, but I’m still going! I do indeed doubt Rouge would ever truly be unkind in any way. Maybe stern or disappointed with someone, but unkind? Most certainly not. For her to couple Roger would mean that she is an extraordinarily understanding individual. Roger was figuratively crowned King of the Pirates, a title rightly feared by many. She’d have to have given him a chance and gotten to know him before Ace could ever be conceived. The love of her community would be a result of that kind and understanding nature. However, let it not be said that she wouldn’t stand up for herself or her loved ones should it be called for. Going on about her, a firm belief I have is that she would always call Ace her boy, her son, because he is. She spilt her own blood, sweat, and tears -though not in that particular order- to make certain that he would live. She was willing -and ultimately did- give up her life for Ace. He is, above all, her child and she’d forever proudly claim him as such. Even shout it to the world as she pleased. It would not matter to her how old he was, he would always be her little boy in her eyes. He is her world and she’d give everything up for him if she had to. I’ve also given thought as to what her occupation may be… I don’t know why, but I can see her as a potter. Her small hands would be an advantage in creating various complicated pieces, and her willingness to get her hands a bit dirty also aids this thought. Another thought I’ve had is what her background could have possibly been and how old she was. We know Roger was in his fifties when he was executed and I’d like to think Rouge was at least well within twenty years of that age range… maybe in her thirties? Perhaps her mid to late thirties when they first met? I have so many thought threads going that it’s hard to keep track. Did they plan to have Ace or was it spur of the moment? I honestly don’t think it was the later. There’s one thing I’m kind of on the fence about when it comes to her though. I’ve put a lot of thought in it, but I think having another person weigh in with their perspective would help. During her pregnancy, it’s shown -from what I understand- that Rouge could sense Ace fairly well. Not only that, but delaying his birth through sheer will alone… Do you think she could have had Haki? I don’t think it’d have been all that strong, but maybe it was a weak form of Observation Haki?

I must agree that yes, it’s about the details. I love to read them - they are the most revealing of a person or character’s nature, intentions and so on & of great use to the writer, for establishing a coherent story/chronology or for foreshadowing, for instance - and thus hope I do a good job at writing them as well. I guess that’s why I abuse adverbs so much and I reckon I’d be more descriptive if my vocabulary was superior. 

I do try to… Well serious threads will always be my favourite but I reckon silliness is needed to lighten the mood, though I’m not always in the mood for it. Still, even in crack things, I try to keep Ace’s nature the same, you know? If I fail… well that’s why it’s called crack, I guess. But I am very glad you think so, that even the things where I have freedom to go stupid are not that utterly idiotic! I am oh so very glad someone notices it ;; It’s not like I am making an effort and being in control but I do make decisions before publishing something and I’m glad those seconds I spend are showing.

Ah, how many times can I thank you? I do wonder what other blogs of mine you keep track of, since you used the plural. I am really flattered that you check on my blog often and take time in writing to me, whether through asks like this one or as Rouge & co. Never thought someone would go through all that trouble and if my blog makes you happy, then I’m happy! Reckon I’ve been slow but I’d rather take weeks to answer something and have a sense of pride when I do.

It’s totally a shipping thing! Of King and Queen, Roger/Rouge and Luffy/Nami. While I can respect that, and even respect it when people consider Luffy their King or Nami their Queen because they’re partial to the characters - hey, I’m very partial to Ace, I understand the feeling - there’s no reason to shape Rouge at will in order to make LuffyxNami a legitimate, more ‘official’ pairing or, again, to ‘justify’ Rouge’s importance with giving her a more active role.

To paraphrase you a bit,or at least to use your words as base, how strong is a woman who can tame a man with words alone? That’s no display of weakness, quite the contrary. How commanding is a woman whodoes not have to take much action - maybe even a nod will suffice - to make a man stay or advance? Not that we know to what point Rouge could control Roger’s temper, of course, this is just to say there is phenomenal strength and authority in such things. Yet, some would have it that being strong equals being loud. 

It might seem I’m going down another road but… The Mummy’s (1999) Evelyn and Rick have always been my favourite cinema couple and there’s a scene that makes me melt and speaks volumes of Evy’s strength. It’s when Rick is ready to fire but Evelyn simply grabs his arm firmly and gently, the way only a woman is capable of, and with that and a look she makes him lower his guns.

This is the kind of strength I can see Rouge having over Roger. I am not saying he’s a puppet in her hands - and quite frankly I don’t see her as manipulative or anything of the sort - and I am not saying this would always work. But if Roger is being his eager self around Rouge, she can protect him before he even puts himself in trouble. I am not sure I can phrase it any better but this is it - and you have explained it better. Again, stubborness can be channelled in different ways… 

That is an ingenious observation! That Ace is somehow the synthesis or the balance between his parents’ personalities. It’s also an evolutionary thing, of sorts, as he paradoxically learns to control his fire within only to become actual living fire. We see him being just as eager in nature as an adult - it’s not like Ace’s penchant for violence disappears but it subsides. But it’s clear he does a lot of thinking from what we see in Impel Down/Marineford, all those twists near his death - he accepts his fate but doesn’t want to die, he deserves it but he still fights… Oh, Ace cannot decide which of his desires - to keep on living, to get absolution, to rest, to give the world the biggest middle finger he’s ever given - is the strongest. So yes… I do see him giving things more thought than it might seem at first tight and I do hope my writing is a vehicle for it.

Had Rouge lived, had Ace been raised by her, she would have always called him her son or her boy, yes. I actually have an idea of how things would be if that were the case… Ace would still hate Roger, that would not change. Only the way/why of doing so would. He’d hate Roger for leaving his mother alone. As a child, and though he’s quite bright or ‘street smart’, there is no way he can see the full dimension of his parent’s affair or relationship and would aptly, childishly, blame Roger for ‘walking away’ and abandoning them - because that’s his pov. That ‘father’ left his family… And then it would change into Ace hating Roger for getting close to Rouge in the first place, even if it puts his own existence at stake, and this I do include in my canon setting - how did he have the nerve to approach a lady like her while fully aware a fairytale relationship, the happiness she deserved, could never be achieved? It’s not like they could live together until the end of days… Ace doesn’t know if Roger tricked Rouge, if it was a carnal thing…In short, he doesn’t know the dynamics - but he knows Rouge deserved better.

But I see Rouge trying to make Ace change his mind. It should hurt her to hear her son - his son - say he hates him or that he has no father. She would definitely scold Ace for saying such things if he was abusing it, otherwise I can see her trying to calm him down or lessen his hatred by randomly recalling episodes of Roger’s wooing of her. I don’t know, she’s making a pie, Ace is watching/helping her and she breaks the silence with a ‘did I ever tell you…?’ kind of story. 

At least in the anime dub, I recall a line about Roger being in Baterilla ‘like a civilian’ or ‘any regular man’, something like that, which might be revealing, too - Roger knows he can’t stay by Rouge’s side thanks to piracy and his illness as well but that doesn’t seem to be an impediment. He truly does as he wants! We can only speculate about what this actually means - say, is Roger casually being bread like a regular Joe? - but that’s a kind of story survivor!Rouge could tell her son in the hopes of making Roger less of a beast in his eyes!

I also imagine Rouge would get lost in thought every now and then while watching the sea, thinking of her dear Roger and times of old and memories they had never got the chance to make… If only you could see your son now… I see he gets more and more like you everyday…Imagine teenage!Ace get in trouble and being dragged to Rouge’s doorstep. “Your boy was at it again”. Though she has to give the neighbour reason, she can’t help feeling proud of herself at hearing the words ‘your boy’. Maybe he stole some crops? Maybe he saw a dog all tied up and tried to free it? I am sure there’s mischief Rouge would secretly feel proud of, if it meant Ace has a good core.

And again, your idea is brilliant! Rouge as a potter is a good analogy for… ultimately what she did with Roger, isn’t it? She shaped something into something else, rather more refined. (And I recall clay/earth is also the material humans come from in some cultures). I guess that’s another of her powers: to transform things into something beautiful. Like with the flowers! 

Oh, Rouge is a goddess walking this earth! To me she is. To me, flowers grow where she steps. Sometimes I can’t believe a character that is so short-lived can have all this impact.

I love the idea of Rouge in her thirties. She would find Roger’s age and the contrast between the maturity he should have and his boyish penchant for trouble interesting, if not charming. And I imagine her listening to his adventures very intently, filling her cup with tea and his with the drink of his choice so he can go on… If she’s never sailed or if she’s never left the South Blue at least she’d be positively overwhelmed by his stories. All the things he has seen!

I really can’t help you any further now. I don’t see them sitting down and saying they should have a baby, yet, as Roger was said to ‘be acting like any other man in Baterilla’, I suppose establishing a family is part of that thought! Maybe it’s not that they decide on it but maybe some hints are dropped. There are many means to achieve on end. You know, Roger talking of a strapping young lad and Rouge using her female charms to ask him what he thinks of baby feet when he least expects… We can only speculate. So while I can’t say I totally believe Ace was planned, I can easily see a desire for it that can be supported by that canon reference. 

As for Rouge and her possible Haki, I’m afraid I am not smart enough to give it thought. Let’s see… I guess not much can be truly discussed without the truth of the Will of the D being out there, for Rouge is a ‘D’. On one hand, we don’t know much about women’s health in the world of OP.

 (I actually wrote a lot from this point on but decided to erase it al for fear of walking way out of the topic, so…)

Long story short, there are three things we have to consider here: the state of medicine and the particular views of women’s health in the world of OP, the Will of the D, and Haki and its forms - and I don’t think what we have for any of the three is satisfactory enough to let us test hypotheses. Or what we have about Haki is good enough indeed but the other two instances are lacking… There is something uncommon about Rouge, that much is obvious - but what name it goes by I do not dare try and guess.

(I am sorry I am useless about the questions that matter most to you!)