fleur du mal

So originally the main reason my mind thought of Shirahoshi is because of how this Shaggy/Mosa person talks. They speak very politely & seem to be quite timid overall. I don't think there is anyone else in the One Piece world who is as sensitive as our mermaid princess.

However, what really got me to cling to this idea & want to try & prove it right is that my mutual @wyvernslovecake pointed out to me that Roger ALSO calls Shirahoshi "Shaggy" in the Oden flashbacks.

Now, the unofficals are the ones that use the word "shaggy", but "hairy" which is used in the Viz translation is pretty darn similar. Both convey a state of excessive hair & when 1134 first dropped some of the fans who knew Japanese pointed out that the word "Mosa" can also be in reference to hair or "Shagginess". So while translations differ slightly they are all very similar in intentions. Is this a hint from Oda?

This then get me thinking back to Shirahoshi herself. Is there anything about her arc so far which hints to a connection to Loki at all? Or points to it leading in that direction?

Her gag. What even IS Shirahoshi's type?? 🤔 (perhaps a size/age appropriate tsundere lol? 👀👀)

At the current time of the manga the choice of gag from Oda seemed like just another way to add humor. Especially to a situation that is as uncomfortable as the one between poor Shirahoshi & Vander Decken (ewwww 🤢). Why didn't Oda just have her reject him? Why the emphasis on her type? Could it be that he knows exactly what that type is?

"Who are you waiting for!? "

I think at this point it's a safe assumption that both Fishman Island & Elbaph are arcs Oda has had in the back of his mind for a long time. I wouldn't even be surprised if they were apart of his original 5 year plan. So has Oda been planning for this the whole time & this gag is but a hint to a future plot thread? There's actually quite a few coincidences between the two characters as well....

Other hints at a connection between Shirahoshi & Loki

Loki calls "Shaggy" weak & is seemingly annoyed with their behavior, similar to how Luffy was with Shirahoshi in Fishman Island.

"Shaggy" asks Loki not to shout. Shirahoshi multiple times tells Luffy that shouting makes her nervous. She's sensitive! 😤

Another thing to point out is that "Shaggy" tells Loki she now understands that behind his harsh tone & words he is actually quite nice. Luffy teaches Shirahoshi that a harsh tone =/= a bad person. Through her interactions with him she is able to walk away with a deeper understanding on how kindness presents itself. So she'd be able to talk to some like Loki & see through his Tsundereness.

* I do NOT subscribe to the "Loki is a bad person" propaganda. He was framed I tell you!

Both have spent copius amounts of time forcefully isolated & bored outta their minds. This has the potential to lead them to form a quick & deep bond.

This could also explain why Loki has never met or seen Shaggy. Long distance pen pals while being stuck doesn't lead to a lot of opportunities for visitation.

But Why?

Being stuck in your room forever or being tied to a tree doesn't leave a lot of options for hobbies. Coupled with lack of social interaction I don't think it would be strange for these two to make friends in whatever way they could. Everyone gets lonely.

"Hurts me to hear it to"

Shirahoshi has been through multiple traumatic events lol. She has at least 3 which she could be telling Loki about. One of which Involves a nasty CD wanting to literally steal her which would tie into Loki's own hatred of the WG & world Nobles.

Luffy promised Shirahoshi he'd walk with her in a "real" forest someday.

Where does Loki live? In a forest surrounded by animals & I'm sure lots of flowers.

Brook in that same page reminds Luffy a promise is a pact to the death. While Shirahoshi got to see a forest at the reverie she still has yet to take a stroll in one with Luffy & the Strawhats. Could this somehow take place on Elbaph? 🤔

They are not only SIZE appropriate, but most likely AGE appropriate too! Loki was just born when Big Mom started that fire as a child & we know giants age differently. He is younger than both Hajrudin & Gerd. He's supposed to be around the same age as Road who was also born around the same time so that means both of them are most likely not older than Luffy. Or even younger.

Loki is a loverboy. We know this because he asked Lola to marry him a long time ago & nothing has been shown to us yet to refute the sincerity of his words. Another popular speculation when 1134 came out was that Loki was talking to a female. Maybe Loki was just a kid & that's why Lola said no to him? Maybe Loki is into pink hair? Loki's rejection coupled with Shirahoshi's gag makes me wonder if Oda is setting them up for a love at first sight type of meeting.

They would also parallel Shirahoshi's parents! It is implied during Fishman Island that King Neptune has a past of violence similar to Loki's, but marrying Otohime calmed him down. Shirahoshi also has the same idealistic & pacifistic nature as her mom. Could Shirahoshi also tone down Loki's bloodlust?

In the Oden flashbacks Neptune & Otohime were on opposite sides of the political spectrum, but obviously Otohime won him over. In the anime they even added a scene of Neptune being all blushy/a bit of a tsundere about her when discussing her political protests lmao. A repeat in the next generation perhaps? Surely with her family Shirahoshi would appreciate a strong warrior? She seemed very impressed with Luffy & the Strawhats at least.

Shirahoshi is also being targeted by Imu & will most likely need help in the future. Loki also being targeted & his desire to end the world in conjunction to Madam Sharley's prediction of Luffy destroying Fishman Island makes me wonder if all three of these characters will meet up for some reason in the future. Will Luffy learn of Shirahoshi being in trouble via Loki's transponder snail? There are a lot of ways this can be done.

Literally how though??

This is my main issue with this theory. How in the world did these two come into contact anyways?

The only thing we know for sure at this point is that they've never met. Loki even states that he doesn't know what Shaggy looks like. Do the transponder snail also act like walkie talkies? Was one of them shouting into the void & looking for a companion when they picked up each other's signal? Loki says it's only through a "twist of fate" they became friends. So maybe it was a random coincidence?

"we've long been friends"

Loki implies him & Shaggy have known each other for a while. This makes it less likely to be Shirahoshi as she tells Luffy in Fishman Island her only friend is Megalo.

However, Shirahoshi has lied before. She kept secret that she knew Hordy killed her mother most of her life so perhaps she was keeping secret a long distance friend? Maybe she thought she would get in trouble for it so she never told anyone for fear of access to her friend being taken away. Would be very teenager of her to have a secret pen pal lol.

At least a couple of months have passed since Luffy was in Fishman Island. Loki could just be being dramatic here & they haven't actually known each other that long. His phrase could be in reference to feeling like they've known each other forever instead of actually having a long standing relationship.

In Conclusion

I think it would be really cute & wholesome if the person Loki has been communicating with ended up being sweet Shirahoshi. The more I look into it the more it seems the possibility of this being true is a non zero %. Luffy even tells Shirahoshi that her name is kind of hard to say. Did Loki also struggle with it & decide to just give her a nickname? Has Oda been cooking up this friendship/ship for a while now?

I'm not sure. We shall have to see where this all goes. I'm just going to say though that a mean looking grumpy tsundere being paired with a sweet crybaby sunshine would be a really fucking adorable dynamic ok? You have to admit that at least, right? I ship it.

Loki would also most definitely think Shirahoshi being a weapon of mass destruction to be incredibly hot lmao.

Giant boy 🤝 Giant girl falling in love during the end of the world. Love is a hurricane after all.