#i am also a shanks defender to death but this isn't about him

[beanghostprincess]

We make a lot of fun of Buggy but, honestly, I would be fucking angry at the world all the time too. Imagine growing up as your best friend's shadow, always being seen as the weak and the clown because of course, Shanks is the legacy. He's the strongest. He's the one to wear the straw hat. And you accept that and give up on your dream for him. To follow him because at least that way you'll be able to achieve your dreams, even if you can't call it yours, but his. You give up on your dream and decide to go for an easier path instead, maps and treasure and money and everything a pirate ought to be, but he fucking ruins it. And it's not even his fault, but he's the one to make it happen. Nobody takes you seriously because saying "He made me eat a devil fruit and lost my map" doesn't sound as awful as "He made me lose my independence as a pirate and only way to follow a path of my own and now the sea I love so much hates my guts". And then your father captain dies in front of your god-damned eyes, leaving the youngest generation to continue his legacy. You think "Oh, well, at least Shanks is here. He'll keep the memory of our captain alive", but he hesitates. He shakes under the thought of the future. Falters for a moment. Somebody you —everyone— considers stronger, rougher, smarter and way better as a legacy than you, doubts himself. After so many years of you trusting him despite everything else. After so many years of everyone else trusting him, leaving you behind. So of course it fucking hurts and of course Buggy is rightfully mad. And of course he refuses to go with somebody that doesn't take this as seriously as him. Somebody that made the sea hate him and also hesitates after so many people trusted him doesn't deserve Buggy's love respect. And so Buggy goes away. And now nobody takes him seriously when talking about his past because he has become the clown everyone thought he was. They don't understand how somebody like him shared a room with somebody like Shanks. They don't understand how somebody like him was raised by the king of the pirates himself. But what they'll never know is that Shanks was the one who hesitated. And they'll never know Buggy was the one leaving his dream behind.

So I think Buggy is rightfully angry at everything and everyone and especially Shanks, even if he hasn't actually done anything. Buggy's anger and resentment is one of the things I'll always defend.

[maximumqueer]

I've recently been thinking a lot about Shanks and Luffy, particularly how I'll occasionally see this idea of how Shanks alone shaped who Luffy is, or how every aspect of Luffy is a direct result of Shanks. And I personally disagree. While I do think Luffy was clearly inspired in some aspects by Shanks, I also think that to claim that all of who Luffy is comes from Shanks fails to acknowledge just how starkly different the two of them are.

Shanks is a fairly passive character (at least as of chapter 1123). He is only really shown reacting to large scale events, such as Marineford or Greenbull attempting to take Wano for the World Government. We have yet to be shown any strong desire for much of anything from Shanks. Yes, he cares for and protects his crew, but when I mention desire, and I am more so referring to more selfish dreams (i.e wanting to be the strongest swordsman, wanting to be king of the pirates/the freest man etc.) Shanks has not been shown to have that kind of desire. He feels borderline aimless in his actions, his decision to finally start pursuing the one piece seemingly more about it being the right time rather than any personal desire for it.

Luffy, on the other hand, is nothing but desire and ambition. He set out with no crew nor ship, and was still determined to make his dream a reality. His pursuit of the one piece is tied to his never ending want of freedom - yes for his friends - but also for himself. Luffy has been nothing but pro-active in his actions. He will start fights and take big swings in a way that we have yet to see from Shanks. And it just feels strange to attribute that aspect of Luffy to him, when he has not shown those characteristics.

And again, this isn't to say that Shanks in no way shaped who Luffy is or his ideals. Clearly Luffy's view on what it means to be a pirate in part comes from Shanks, and it was also Shanks who reinforced Luffy's desire to defend those he cares about. (I do view both of this a indirect, as it these were never something that Shanks went out of his way to teach Luffy, but instead were traits that were imparted on to Luffy through his spending so much time with Shanks and his crew).

It's just such a disservice to both characters. For Shanks, it strips away (in my opinion) the trauma that he experienced as a result of Rogers death that (again in my opinion) caused him to become as passive as he is. A passivity that I think was only further exacerbated by whatever it was that Roger told him before he died. It wasn't enough to get Shanks to quit being a pirate, but it was enough to stunt whatever budding dreams he had, his piracy feeling more like going through the motions than a legitimate enjoyment of it. For Luffy, it removes complexity of character. Luffy was in some ways inspired by Shanks, but he is also very clearly doing his own thing. He has had his own, separate experiences from Shanks that have also played a part into he is currently.

Shanks is clearly important to Luffy, and vice versa. But I do think that what makes that importance and (on Luffy's end inspiration) so interesting is how different they are from each other. And to me, implying that Luffy is only who he is because of Shanks strips away that contrast of character, making both less interesting as a result.