A recurring prop-tell pattern: physical objects on the page do the
Joy-Boy-identity work before any dialogue or splash names it. The hat is
the load-bearing example, but the pattern generalizes — every Straw Hat
visual identity-prop is a Joy-Boy-adjacent steward-marker.
Component instances
What the pattern predicts
Every future Straw Hat recruit’s signature visual-prop will rhyme with
the Joy-Boy / hat / steward grammar (Sanji’s chef-collar already does
this; Robin’s hat does this; Franky’s hair does this).
The hat-as-name-source will eventually be literalized — a character
will say on-page that “Straw Hat” is the same name as Joy Boy (or
the original wearer). Most likely vector: a poneglyph reading or an
ancient-witness (a Skypiean, a Lunarian, an Iron Giant).
The Joy-Boy-identity thread’s physical prop layer will become
symbolically operative in the final arc — the hat will do something,
not just signify something.