[beating a dead horse] vivi's claim to alabasta and momo's claim to wano are no more legitimate than doflamingo's claim to dressrosa based on "my family ruled it first" like i get that one piece is not critical of monarchy, monkey d. dragon himself says this before the levely (which is why sabo's near-indifference to cobra is so sexy to me afterward), but it's just so infuriatingly apolitical to me how the straw hats' inteventions are actually always conservative/restorative, based on luffy happening to befriend an incumbent or deposed royal. and of course luffy's character judgment has never been wrong, but it's ultimately individual. in chapter 1182, zoro said of luffy that he's a "'friend's country is my country' kind of guy" but in all these cases said friend is attached to a saintly royal family. we can't know that vivi's descendants will be or her ancestors were deserving of a throne; luffy's judgment is all we get and this is supposed to be fine and legitimized by doffy and orochi being evil and actively killing or exploiting their people, but that does not mean restoration is the remedy. the only actual progress any kingdom makes on this front is drum island/sakura kingdom electing dalton and we don't dwell on it because he's not a princess
what i'm saying is no one heard crocodile out about utopia one piece hasn't been as politically interesting as it can be to me (to me) since alabasta and crocodile's whole mockery of vivi re: the protracted people's war, the rebel vs royal army each believing they're the ones defending alabasta: "your love for your country moves me to tears, but that love will destroy alabasta" (op 172). ultimately one piece is about friendship and love perservering and crocodile's defeat is really an ideological one where luffy proves him wrong that it's not a waste to put your life on the line for your friends, which by proxy is vivi's victory that her nationalism Was enough to save alabasta. but come on let's be materialist here
