#but this post is about Buggy and his status as pathetic blorbo

[flute-of-pan]

Love what became of Buggy, both in world and in meta

In world he’s some pathetic wet-cardboard dude that was defeated by some East Blue pirate without a bounty (at that time) and then sent to Impel Down. However, he has some god watching out for him or something, because by sheer luck he managed to gaslight gatekeep girlboss his way into making people several times stronger than him believe he’s someone worth following. And gets the position of Warlord. Then Emperor. Somehow. Only a handful of people know how weak he actually is, but some of those have no problem fuelling the farce for their own gain so they make Buggy seem more powerful. Average strength, high charisma kinda guy

But in meta? Ohh this one I simply adore. Because you see this same paper-bag guy? The one the fandom is aware is lame and pathetic and sad and a mockery and pathetic(x2)? Oh yes, that one, that one is now the icon to many. In particular I love how he’s just… the representation for adult gay men. There are many mlm ships in One Piece, ZoSan and ZoLu are some common ones, but they’re about young people. That’s fine ofc, but OP’s fanbase is wide and varied, it’s a show that’s been up for decades after all, and many chose Buggy as the guy to project to. He fucked/is fucking Shanks, he’s in a polygamous relationship with Crocodile and Mihawk; those are common depictions of him in fanart (the latter much more recent) and I find that amazing. He keeps his status as an idiot while also getting to keep his status as a grown man in a grown up relationship. Because hey, adults date too, even dumb men. Double representation!