@Triceron:
The argument was 'other theories are wishful thinking and Yamato has a lot of premises that no other characters has had in a long time.' I was countering the idea that any other theories or characters could be dismissed as 'wishful thinking' without addressing the fact that this is all subjective speculation, including what we have with Yamato.
If we're going to discuss the topic, then we should openly recognize that everything we discuss is subjective, and we should stop trying to dismiss anything as 'wishful thinking' since everything we're talking about should completely be regarded as subjective theories.
Okay, this I can agree with, to some extent. Arguing should be done in good faith, and we should take care not to just outright dismiss each other's arguments without due cause.
I will say, however, that since none of us are Oda or know Oda's plans, we cannot predict ANYTHING with absolute certainty, which means that the probability of whether or not a certain theory comes true is judged on a sliding scale - that even if we're speculating the outcome of future events, those different speculations can have differing levels of probability:
The likelihood of the Strawhats making it to Laugh Tale? Pretty high, by my estimation.
The likelihood of Yamato or Carrot joining the crew? Hard to say, need more information.
The likelihood of All Might jumping franchises to show up on Elbaf? Going to say doubtful, at best.
If your complaint is that we shouldn't dismiss each other's theories using words like "wishful thinking", then sure - even when we do have due cause, we can at least strive to be civil about it - but if your issue is that we cannot and should not weigh the merits of each other's arguments AT ALL, then there's no point in bothering to hold a discussion in the first place.
There's only one real 'fact' in play, and that is Oda has something planned and only he has the ability to make it happen.
And here's where I go back to disagreeing with you. Even if we accept the fact that Oda's calling the shots (which he is) and what happens in the story is the ultimate arbiter of…well, everything within the context of this series (which it is), that is not the same as saying that there are no objective facts upon which to base a theory.
Whether you like a character's design (or personality/backstory/etc.) is subjective, but the specific details of that design (personality/backstory/etc.) are objective. Even if a character's dreams and motivations are unstated, we can look to what they've said, what they've done, and other indicators that give us insight into what matters to them in order to form a theory. This enables us to attempt to get into Oda's head and try to predict where he might take a certain character/event/etc. in the future.
Whether that theory turns out to be right or not is immaterial - it's not "wishful thinking", it's "interpretation" and "educated guessing".
Yes, Oda is the one who ultimately determines who joins, but we can gain insight into his methodology by looking at the characters who HAVE joined (as well as those who haven't), and reading relevant entries from interviews/SBS answers. Even if you don't subscribe to "color theory", it's clear Oda thinks about how individual Strawhat color schemes interact when drawing the crew together as a whole and it's not unreasonable to give a bit more weight to a character's chances if their design fills in a gap in the Strawhats' color palette.
Just because a set of criteria is "fan generated" doesn't mean it isn't accurate or important - it just means we can't consider it as the be-all-and-end-all.
In general, I'm with you - what Oda does (and is hinting at doing) with a character over the course of the story is what I base most of my theorizing on. I see better than average chances for Carrot/Yamato and believe that Vivi will return due to story beats that we've either already had or those that I believe we will be getting in the future. Of course I recognize that Oda can instantly flip my theories on their head - I freely admit that I've been wrong before.
But this insistence that no one is judging anything based on actual objective criteria because "Oda can subvert it, thus it's not real" serves no purpose to my mind except to stifle debate. It's like trying to argue hard physical science with someone who believes that the world is all just a dream he's having. The fact that we can't disprove something does not make it correct, nor does it prevent it from being nonsense.
–- Update From New Post Merge ---
@Solid:
Its funny how I see some arguments for Yamato here that I’ve been using flr Tama for years lol
The reason they're a harder sell for Tama is that she doesn't have the skills to back them up.
Yamato, by all accounts, does.