#this can go for both versions of buggy i think

[circus-borealis]

☠️ Buggy with a reader stealing his identity - Headcanons ☠️

Info: pretty short headcanons (just a dumb idea I had); gender neutral reader; impersonation; some kind of fucking your clone fantasy ig??; the end is NSFW but everything before the divider is SFW and platonic

He definitely would be upset

Like he arrives in a random sea-side town, ready to pillage

And when he introduces himself

People either laugh in his face or look confused

Like nah, the real one set up camp a bit farther

He already took everything of value

How dare an imposter steal his name???

He goes to investigate, obviously

Talking shit all the way

Waltzing in with "how dare you"s, threats and "do you even know who I am"s

If you don't let down the act, he'll try to kill you

If you do though, he's demand compensation

Like all your treasure from this pillage and others

Along with probably anything else he can think of

In exchange for your life, obviously

Because of your audacity

He might be less upset if you tell him that imitation is the highest form of flattery though

And ask you to tell him how much you admire him

Basically asking you to sing his praises in front of everyone

Though if you do admire him and do so

He might ask you to join his crew

I mean, you've clearly got the spirit for it

And he's an attention whore

If you guys are sexually involved

Will definitely want to fuck and be fucked by himself

Will ask you

With the most bizarre reasoning ever

To experience how great he is

He'd be pretty normal (for Buggy standard) if he fucks you looking like him

But if you fuck him while looking like him?

Man is right about what he likes, ok?

He'd drool

Don't mention it though, he'd find excuses

[rorywritesjunk]

All I dream of lately is how to get you underneath me

It was Buggy's turn to do your makeup.

Rating: R because the girlfriend can't keep her hands to herself or keep her dirty mind from wandering.

Warning: None really, just suggestive themes. Buggy has a bun because I can't help myself, and chest hair. Mentions of nipple piercings on Buggy because why not? And Buggy is a damn tease as well.

A/N: Sequel to the makeup fic. I wrote two versions of this before deciding the second one was more on track with how the original went. It's inspired by a tag from @sporadicthingcollection from the first fic. Title comes from "Closer" by Tegan & Sara.

Part One is here!

The bath had been comforting, warm, and much needed. This time it wasn't Buggy having a bad day and needing some pampering, it was you. Between losing half your groceries from ripped bags to a pot of water boiling over on the stove and making a huge mess, your foot had also been run-over by Cabaji on his unicycle while you were trying to help some of the performers literally find their marks. It wasn't the first time your foot was a victim to the unicycle, but in the chaos of the day, you didn't think to wear shoes and well, the tread-mark shaped cuts on your foot was a reminder to do so next time.

You toweled off and pulled your robe on, wincing as you limped over to the bed to sit. Buggy was sitting at his vanity, only in his underwear as he unwinded from the day as well. His hair was up in a messy bun, his back to you as he wiped away the day's makeup. It was always a fascinating sight to you, and you knew you were lucky to see him in a near vulnerable state like this.

He rummaged through the drawers of the vanity for something before looking up at the mirror and seeing you reflected back at him on the bed. He smirked, the red around his mouth still prominent, making the smirk appear larger than it was.

"See something you like?" He teased. You flushed at being caught staring. 

"Always." You shot back as you continued watching him, a thought coming to your mind. It was dumb to ask. You both were going to bed in the next few hours, but you didn't know when a better time to ask would be. "Buggy, can I ask you something?"

"Depends." He replied as he looked back at himself in the mirror. "What is it?"

"Um… could you do my makeup?" You asked. "It's just… I like seeing how you do yours and… thought maybe you'd be able to do mine? But I get it if you don't want to, you know, I don't think I really have the face for it."

He pushed his chair away from the vanity and stood up. He didn't say anything as he turned to face you and crossed the room in just a few steps. You wondered if you offended him somehow by the way he grabbed your face when he approached you, staring down at you before smashing his lips against yours in a surprising kiss. You gasped when he pulled away, head spinning as you wondered what the fuck brought that on.

"Thought you'd never ask." He grinned. "Let's get started."

He went back to the vanity and started rummaging through drawers, piling whatever his findings were on the top. You wondered if you should even bother to change into clothes since you would likely end up naked by the end anyway, it would be less of a hassle to stay in your robe.

He came back over a few minutes later and gestured for you to scoot into the middle of the bed. Oh, he was going to do it on the bed, like how you did for him. You scooted to the middle of the bed and grabbed a pillow to stick under your head before making sure your robe stayed closed. He crawled on top of you, knees on either side of your body as you moved your hands to rest over your chest. He didn't need to pin your hands down because you weren't going to grope him like he did to you every time you did his makeup.

Once he settled on top of you and you realized the view you would have, you suddenly realized that oh, you can see why he couldn't keep his hands to himself.

Sure, you had been under him plenty of times, but not like this. For one thing, his thighs were right there. Of course you've been between them, looking up at him from the ground as you sometimes knelt down in front of him while he sat in his captain's chair, his pants undone as your mouth su-

"Babe." He snapped you back to reality. Your face was red. "You good?"

"Y-Yes." You replied as your fingers twitched, needing to be touching something to keep you focused. He seemed to notice and grabbed them, placing them both on top of his thighs, the last place you wanted to be touching right then because you knew them so well. You knew how they felt under you whenever you were straddling his lap, whether it was in bed or his chair, naked, riding him until-

He cleared his throat and you up at him again, turning redder in the face.

"Behave." He teased as he held up two eyeliner pencils near your eyes. He studied them for a moment before tossing one aside and uncapping the other. He then leaned down, face close to your own as he carefully moved the pencil along your bottom eyelid, looking at you but not really. The urge to pull him down for a kiss was there, and you thought the possibility of losing an eye would be worth it if you got to kiss him right then.

He was finished quicker than you thought and kissed your forehead. You realize you didn't specify how to do your makeup. Was he going to do something elaborate or simple? Your fingers tapped nervously against his thighs as you started to wonder if this was a good idea. You had worn makeup a few times in your younger years but it never looked right, so you gave up trying to learn how to do it on yourself.

But damn were you glad to have asked him to do it. It was a different kind of intimacy having him leaning over you, an eyeshadow palette in one hand and a brush in the other as he whispered for you to close your eyes, which you did without hesitation. Your hands stayed on his thighs, moving up and down his thighs slowly, fingers crooking to drag your nails over his skin. You didn't really pay attention to how much you were moving your hands until you felt the fabric of his boxers against your knuckles. You decided to push your luck as you flattened your hands back down and began to slide them up his boxers slowly.

"Babe!" He yelped as he swatted at your hand. "Hey!"

You cracked one eye open and grinned. "Sorry, didn't realize what I was doing."

"Liar." He scolded, looking scandalized by your actions. "I'll sit on you like you do me if you don't watch it."

"Aw, but Buggy!" You whined. "I can't help it!"

"Watch it." He warned as he held the brush threateningly. "Everything else is fair game right now but that. Just wait."

You pouted up at him as you let your hands move to his waist instead, your thumbs running along the waistband of his boxers. He seemed fine with that and you closed your eyes again as he began brushing the eyeshadow over your lids.

It was just hard not to touch him. Before you knew it, you were sliding your hands up his sides, to his chest, your thumbs brushing over his nipples, resisting the urge to tug on the piercings he had there. You felt him flinch when you touched him, so of course you did it again before running your fingers through his chest hair, hands moving up to his neck so your arms could wrap around him. He cleared his throat and you opened your eyes. 

"Okay, I gotta keep you still." He said. "You're getting too handsy."

"But Buggyyyyyy!" You pouted up at him. "I can't help it, really. Just… fuck, you should see what I'm seeing right now. You look so damn beautiful like this."

He blushed but said nothing as he set the eyeshadow aside. He reached back to unhook your arms from around his neck, pushing them above your head suddenly and holding them against the mattress. He held them down with one hand while the other moved to your cheek, stroking your flushed skin softly.

"And if you could see how you looked right now, babe, underneath me like this…” He trailed off as he tightened his grip on your wrists, his other hand now sliding down your body, untying your robe, touching your stomach as it moved between your legs. You inhaled sharply, trying to move your legs apart for him, biting back a moan.

And then he pulled his hand back without even touching you.

“Buggy!” You whined. “Why?!”

“We’re not finished yet, babe.” He smirked. “I still have to do your lipstick.”

[ecoamerica]

Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared

The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!

[soft-mafia]

Cupcake [Buggy x Reader]

warning: oc insert, fem reader, dom Buggy, Buggy detaching his parts(just his hand), porn without plot, literally just porn, I’m being self indulgent, grinding, Buggy calling himself daddy

a/n: So I guess I’m becoming a clown fucker blog :( this is actually really rusty. I haven’t written in a LONG time so please forgive me for how bad this is😭I’m just feeling really self indulgent right now. Also he might be a little out of character to some? I’ve watched the live action but I’m also trying to watch the anime too(which is over 1000 episodes😭) I’m trying my best to get his character down and the idea was to kind of mix both the live action and the anime version of Buggy together in this fic? Because I think both iterations are HOTTT. Although I don’t think it’s executed well. This is also my first Buggy fic so please bare with me, I’m sure I’ll get better as I go on lmao. Don’t worry, I’m not forgetting about Hisoka— I’m just adding one more clown to my collection.

Buggy’s floating hand gripped Y/n’s hand tightly and held it against the bedsheets, it was a mix of both a comforting hold and one of firm dominance. His other hand, attached to his body was holding onto one of her legs, holding it in the air while the other one was on the bed. The sharp movements of his pelvis thrusting back and forth created loud slapping sounds as his skin hit hers.

“You better take it.” Buggy laughed gruffly through loud grunts and groans as he thrusted firmly into her, his gloved hand gripped hers as the bed creaked beneath them. Y/n trembled and whimpered, moaning as she watched Buggy’s girthy cock slide in and out of her pussy. His long blue hair was out of its usual pony tails and draped down his impressively built body.

He bore his teeth, the grip he had on her leg tightened as he sped his pace. “Fuck that’s good.” He grunted under his breath. He leaned forward, attaching his hand back onto his wrist as he now towered over Y/n, his long blue hair acted kind of like curtains framing Y/n’s face as it fell off of his shoulders.

The blue haired clown took Y/n’s leg and let it wrap around his torso before moving his hand to grab her waist, he squeezed it firmly as he plowed into her, firmer and faster. His grunts and her groans got louder. “S-Slow down..!” Y/n moaned; tears of pleasure completely clouded her vision, the overwhelming sensation of arousal was too much to handle; the way Buggy was ruthlessly thrusting into her, manhandling her— paired with his low rhythmic grunts and groans, she was so close.

“Cmon baby I know you can take it.” Buggy just laughed, “Such a sweetie, you’re doing just fine, look at you.” He spoke against gritted teeth while grinning, he let go of Y/n’s hand to put it on the other side of her waist.

He could feel how wet she was on his dick, it was driving him crazy. Buggy had incredible luck— it was crazy how fortunate he was in life, having a girl like Y/n was just the cherry on top of all of his fortune, because every pirate warlord needed a cute girl on their arm right? Why was Buggy so lucky? He had no idea, he wasn’t going to question it either, he was going to take advantage of everything life had to offer for him.

“Ghhh!” Buggy grunted, his brow furrowed tightly as he screwed his eyes shut, his hands slid their way up Y/n’s waist so they could grab at her bare breasts, squeezing them between his fingers. Y/n arched her back at the action with a loud, strained moan, pushing her breasts further into his grip. Buggy was so close, that twitching feeling in his abdomen— it was orgasmic, it made him sweat. He growled softly while exhaling.

“I’m so close.” Y/n whispered, her arms were wrapped around his neck, his mouth was pressed up against her forehead. He was getting a bit of saliva on her, and his stubble brushed against her face which was a bit uncomfortable but neither of them cared about that right now. Buggy could feel Y/n tremble and that alone brought him closer as well. “I’m gonna bust all inside you.” Buggy snickered, inhaling and exhaling before thrusting deep into Y/n; Buggy came inside of her, his warm sperm painting her inner walls. Y/n moaned deeply as she felt his cum fill her up. “Buggy!!” She moaned.

Buggy groaned and leaned back up, holding both of Y/n’s legs up beside his torso now as he looked down at her, sitting on his knees on the bed. He was still inside, his cum leaked out of her and around his dick. “Damn that was good.” Buggy snickered hoarsely, grinning while breathing heavily, coming off of his high.

Buggy rubbed up and down Y/n’s legs. “You didn’t let me cum.. again.” She groaned. “Ok, ok. Yeah I know.” Buggy groaned, pushing his long hair behind his shoulder and letting it fall down his back, “Don’t bitch at me about it you know daddy always take care of you.” He laughed softly before pulling out and leaning back, sitting against the headboard before pulling Y/n onto his lap, dragging her by her ankles.

“Hey!” Y/n squeaked as she sat up. Buggy patted her on the ass, smacking her a bit as his cock laid between her thighs, resting up against her belly. “Grind on me, cupcake.” Buggy said with a grin, he leaned his arms back and rested them on the top of the headboard as Y/n began to rub her pussy on his length, her hips trembled as her wet clit rubbed his cock. Buggy groaned, his thigh muscles clenched slightly at the sensation, he held her hip with one hand, rubbing up and down her waist and thigh, then moving his hand back to squeeze her ass, grinning when it made her whimper. His other hand popped off and floated down to rub at her clit, helping her bring her to her climax.

“Come on baby, come on..” Buggy groaned, watching her pussy rub on his cock just did things to him, his chest rose up and down as he breathed out. Buggy’s cum was still dripping out of Y/n’s pussy as he rubbed her clit with his fingers and cock, her pussy clenched, she felt so close- so close.

Y/n groaned and whimpered, leaning forward, resting against Buggy’s chest as she came, finally, her whole body was twitching. Buggy immediately wrapped her arms around her, holding her tightly with a big grin on his face. “That was great.” He laughed.

Y/n’s eyes fluttered, her face was buried in the crook of his neck, his slightly musty scent invaded her nose; it wasn’t unpleasant though, it was kind of attractive and made her snuggle into him more. Buggy’s embrace tightened; he loved holding her body against his, it felt so good, he closed his eyes before inhaling and exhaling.

It was getting late, and Buggy had planned to stop somewhere the next day. Considering Y/n had already fallen asleep, he succumbed to his own slumber as well.

-time skip-

“WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?! HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF KNOCKING?!” Buggy growled as one of his crew members suddenly opened the door— greeted to a half naked Y/n, and Buggy who was in the middle of putting on his boxers. The crew member was rightfully flustered, covering his face and turning his body away “I’m so sorry Captain Buggy!! I should’ve knocked!!”

“I have a lady in here dammit!!!” Buggy growled, signaling towards Y/n who had actually fallen back asleep, sprawled out on the bed, still only wearing her bra and panties.

[beanghostprincess]

Transfem auntie buggy ideas again bc AAAA BRANROT I LOVE WOMEN-

Ya know,,,,, how Oda said,,,,,, Buggy COULD be really fucking powerful if there was effort put in? What if in transfem Buggy world, the effort was due to dysphoria-fueled depression and anxiety. Coming out ((and having such blatant and unrepentant support, from her lovers AND the Guild in its entirety)) leads to her actually... feel okay-ish. It's not a sudden in-all-fix-it ((she needs a PLETHORA of therapies)), but it starts her on a good path. Thay first step was difficult, but it was made... so much easier. Which leads to the second step. The third. The fourth.

And now that Buggy isn't having seventy four panic attacks every three minutes, she can devote some Brain Space to other things - her weapon making has become a sort of fidget toy type of situation, and she's.. actually really gotten a knack for this, over the years. She'd never call herself prodigal ((lowkey even if she is, with chemistry, physics and spatial awareness, she's so deep in the I'm A Liar hole that she doesn't clock that just.... Getting It isn't normal)).

Croc and Hawk are very supportive, even if they bully her (consensually).

And eventually, they even deign to try teaching her Haki - just to realize she's... been using it constantly almost her whole life. Her Observation is innate, acute, and one of the reasons she's so charismatic and able to reign in a crowd. It's both a talent for manipulation and also a form of reactive observation haki - by shifting her own energy among her followers, prospective or otherwise, she can encourage a specific reaction. It's a mix of Skill, Natural Talent and smoke and mirrors.

Learning that makes her wonder - if Haki can be so dynamic and THEN SOME, what other places has she not considered such an approach? Her weapons? Training? Her... her devil fruit...?

It's a paramecia. It affects her body, and she's gotten some rather decent control of it. Do paramecias awaken like zoans? Do logias? New Fixation Hours. She goes a little feral with the possibilities.

Suddenly, it seems like all of these little walls she never noticed before have fallen away, leaving a vast horizon of possibility.

Shanks will take a bit to arrive at Karai Bari, and he's expecting a specific version of his former best friend (or former love or former sibling, depending on Preferred Shuggy Flavor). He is anticipating the Buggy he saw a few years ago, but this time Woman Mode.

Crocodile and Mihawk's protective hovering is not exactly smth he anticipated, but he's willing to roll with that! His lovely Bug is just so pretty, he HAS to tell her, see her for himself, it's not even a want, it's not a desire, he needs it the way hee needs sea salt in his hair and a hilt in his hand and air in his lungs.

Buggy, meanwhile has skipped right tf over many emotions, instead Fueled By Hyperfixation, and while part of her is absolutely REELING at Shanks showing up unannounced on HER island, another part is cackling in mad scientist and saying "convince him to guinea pig, 'for old time's sake'." Shanks is WEAK to Buggy Begging Eyes, and Croc and Hawk ((while also weak but not exactly as weak as Shanks, they can pretend)) are watching and honestly laughing internally bc....

Well. Buggy's on a ROLL. And Shanks is her newest toy.

Poor Redhair has NO IDEA what he's in for...

SHE'S A QUEEN SHE'S A PRINCESS SHE'S LITERALLY LIVING IN MY HEAD RENT FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is actually canon to me. Okay. Okay? She was just insecure and dealing with dysphoria and now she's the queen of the world. She owns it. Shanks is such a simp he's gonna let her do anything lmfao. And Mihawk and Crocodile absolutely love her and it's even funnier to bully her this way. And she's,,, She's so powerful. Queen. Absolutely amazing. Sexy but also really cute. Prettiest clown you've ever seen. HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT HER CLOTHES??? Because I have so many outfits in mind I am going INSANE. And I can't stop thinking about Luffy and her getting along and Luffy being extremely happy (not to mention Sanji, Don't- Don't let Sanji see her because maybe he dies. Me too).

[the-obnoxious-sibling]

shanks & buggy, and giving up on your dreams

before my latest reread/catch-up on one piece i had not given the history between buggy and shanks much thought, except to wonder a little how they went from this:

(in the chapter 19 flashback, set a day or so before buggy gets his devil fruit powers; they're at most 12 here.)

to this:

(a single panel flashback in chapter 434 to the day roger was executed; they're 15 here.)

like. what happened in the intervening (three?) years to make shanks think he might get a positive response to this request? and why is he making the request in the first place? he's the one who said they should go their own ways, originally.

six hundred fifty chapters later, we get a… partial answer. but not to shanks' side of the story.

(from the chapter 1082 flashback, of course; this panel is from an unspecified time, but it's beanie buggy so probably closer to 12 than 15)

young buggy (the littlest bug, omg ;~;) sees shanks' potential and gives up on his own dreams (of becoming the pirate king, i assume).

now, is it just that he gave up on his own dreams, or did he make a new dream out of shanks becoming pirate king? that isn't clear… but I think that must be what happened.

(more of the chapter 1082 flashback, a more detailed version of the flashback from 434; they're 15)

because after roger is executed, and shanks tells buggy he's changed his mind about going to laugh tale, buggy's shocked response and rejection feel deeply personal. but he digs up some ancient baggage between them to use as his excuse for leaving, rather than state his true feelings…

which suggests shanks didn't know buggy was so invested in shanks becoming the pirate king.

so. it seems to me. that somehow shanks became aware that buggy's goals had changed. but he did not know why, or what they'd changed to. just that they were now (supposedly) compatible with his own.

at which news I imagine he thought: this is great! now buggy can be part my crew and travel with me while we both go after our goals!

🙃

this is just enough of an answer to make me obsessed. i have not been able to stop thinking about 1082 and its implications for weeks.

h e l p

[curlz-zy]

Felix Kranken + The Pumpkin Rabbit theory.

I feel like a majority of the fandom doesn't know that Martin Walls released a game in 2019 called "The night of the living Robot"

Maybe ya'll do and im just late to the party

After looking at playthroughs on youtube, it seems very unfinished and very buggy.

But the game is actually the first time The Pumpkin Rabbit is introduced. Not "The Mysterious House".

This game features Felix having very bad nightmares during Halloween specifically about the Pumpkin Rabbit. Nightmares so bad that he went to see a doctor.

I think that The Mysterious House is one of Felix's nightmares too and i'll get back to that in a bit. I think it would make sense since some characters in that short represent the ones in Bon's Burgers like Bon the Rabbit, Sha the Sheep and Billy.

Theres one theory that The Pumpkin Rabbit is just an alternate version of Bon.

So I have a theory that after Felix covered the deaths of Ed and Molly and after the disappearance of Jack he started having awful nightmares due to his guilt.

Since Bon is controlled by some violent angry spirit I feel like this spirit also manifested itself into Felix's dreams into the Pumpkin Rabbit as a way to torment Felix.

"But how could this be related to The Mysterious House ?"

While The Mysterious House isn't something in the game I feel like it can be interpreted as one of Felix's dreams:

Felix killed Jacks two younger children in a car accident and covered his track by burying them in the woods.

The Pumpkin Rabbit murders two children on Halloween. Basically, The Pumpkin Rabbit torments Felix with his own guilt about the deaths of Ed and Molly, and is mocking him with it in his sadistic nature.

But yeah!!! This is my theory. Lemme know what you think!

PS: I think Martin Walls mentioned a while back that The Mysterious House isn't a canon thing or smth like that but I think it's fun to think about.

EDIT:

Ok so look at these two

Their models are quite the same but just recoloured. The Pumpkin Rabbit seems to be a bit thicker and taller.

But anyways, the theory that the spirit controlling Bon appeared in Felix's dreams as The Pumpkin Rabbit make more sense since their models are quite so similar.

EDIT 2: (Sorry for the edits I just have so many ideas)

Take what im abt to say with a pinch of salt.

Lets go with the theory that Jack is possessing Bon and Bons spirit is putting itself in Felix's dreams to haunt him.

Martin Walls voices both Jack Walten and The Pumpkin Rabbit. Bon and PR have the same model but PR is slightly bigger.

It is possible that Jack Walten could be haunting Felix. But we don't actually know what happened to Jack.

But yeah, this should be the end I hope. I had fun with this theory and I hope you others enjoyed it too!

(Reblogs are appreciated)

[ecoamerica]

Watch the 2024 American Climate Leadership Awards for High School Students now: https://youtu.be/5C-bb9PoRLc

The recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by student climate leaders! Join Aishah-Nyeta Brown & Jerome Foster II and be inspired by student climate leaders as we recognize the High School Student finalists. Watch now to find out which student received the $25,000 grand prize and top recognition!

[an-au-blog]

hello! a different anon interested in the unclenapped au here! (and other aus where buggy is with the strawhats i guess)

not to bring PLOT into a mostly character-focused au, but with extra strawhat crew aus i'm always curious where the author would have kuma send the new guy(s) post-sabaody. basically, where would you send your au buggy to learn & grow over the time skip? is he learning new skills somewhere, or landing on the red force (or wherever luffy & rayleigh ended up) and learning about his past?

thanks!

Hello other anon! Can I call you Difan (get it? because different anon (I'm so funny ik))

And no, no, no, don't worry, I LOVE plot! And I was actually recently thinking about the whole Kuma situation. Because he sent each one either to a friend/somewhere to make connections with the revolution, or to help them train/help with personal growth.

At first I thought maybe I should make up an island that would fit this version of him. Something that would maybe make him conquer his fear of being trapped and claustrophobia, or maybe something to better help him use his powers.

Maybe something like an island where everything is small and all the inhabitants live in dark holes in the walls (picture something like the kindergarten from Steven Universe). And Buggy is freaking out because he can't live in the whole in the wall, he just can't! Not again! Not to mention the food, there's so little food for the small people there, what would he eat - as someone probably two times their size?

He just wasn't ready to go back to not having anything. So he starts helping them grow their farms and defend themselves from wild beasts and in return they help him reach inner peace and face his trauma. Maybe he'd even have a Sanji moment where he finds out that the people can teach him fighting skills he didn't know they had?

idk...

But I also started looking into places or different arcs and two specific ones actually seem pretty fitting. (can you tell I've actually given this quite a bit of thought hahaha ':))

The first place I thought of was Impel down. It would also cross with the canon timeline and events. Think about it: he'll get over his fear of imprisonment, make connections with the revolutionaries living in the walls. It would be just like in canon for the exception that Buggy is willingly helping Luffy and he's been in there for a shorter time.

Not to mention that on the ship when they tell everyone that he used to sail with Roger, he would be finding out something new about himself. Maybe even remember something.

(And here I go pushing my shuggy agenda again) And that way Shanks's return would be have more weight as well. It would impact both of them so much because 1. Shanks not only lost Ace but now he finally found Buggy and 2. Buggy went through so much trauma and then some greasy redhead claims to know him??? And what's more, he doesn't have this spike of anxiety upon meeting him?? (but maybe I'll make a separate post about that specifically)

Although I don't know if after that I'd want him to go back to Amazon Lily with Luffy and meet Rayleigh (because again: revealing past and all that fun stuff), or if i want him to be taken in by Shanks and his crew instead of Law (and he'd still have the reveal of the past but differently that with Silver...)(idk just food for thought)

Anyway though,

The second place I thought of is a bit of a stretch. I thought of Arabasta. It's a bit of a stretch because, why would he be there?

Well they're alleys of the straw hats and had recently gotten out from under Crocodile. Also if I'm not mistaken the revolution army had it's foot in there as well right? Also I'd absolutely love seeing Vivi and Buggy interactions. I feel like she could teach him a lot in just general. Also he'd love the sun so much.

I'm also thinking maybe he could train and learn quite a bit history there. But I hadn't had that much time to think about this option to be honest...

[mega-ringsandthings-world]

This could be a totally crack pot theory and you may bap me on the nose and point in another direction if so but..

Is the reason the Marines and World Government are so dogged about getting Shanks because he's part Celestial Dragon? I mean, he can totally be something else; our lord and savior, Oda sensei, has yet to say it’s gospel. But are the Celestial Dragons trying to bring this wild card back into the fold? I mean, he is also Roger's chosen to take the mantle of the Straw Hat, so that might be why. But they could also be like, "Oh good, former mentor out of the way now, come home now," or something? Could be a mix of both? Like, bring the baby Celestial Dragon back into the fold but also have this possible problem in the future under control.

Or maybe they want him to denounce his former captain use him as a propaganda piece. Like look Rodger stole an entire child and kept him as a slave on his ship. As the former Rodger pirates and Buggy see him slowly deteriorating threw the paper— You know Peata and Johanna hunger games type of situation—and God that would break Shanks.

Idk could be absolutely off base. I’m just shooting into shit into wind and hoping I hit something.

As you mentioned in the last question I sent, I’m very intrigued to see Mihawk break under these circumstances. I feel like it will be a very interesting character study. We don’t have a lot of that with his character in fic mostly, I think, because he's so solid in his older incarnation that it just seems almost out of character for him to fall apart. But younger and less settled, still haven’t reached the highest heights or lowest lows... It will still definitely be a challenge but not improbable. After you're done with this AU, I might write something about canon Mihawk meeting this version of himself- or canon Shanks meeting his version, that won’t end horribly. Especially since these two would be trauma-bonded and practically crawling into each other's skin type of close. While canon characters would have the luxury of non-vulnerability and emotional stability.

Also would you like art? Because I can make art? No promise it’ll be good but I feel like this au deserves some art!

One thing about me is that I love a good crackpot theory, lol. Give me a rabbit hole and I'll never come out. So, that could be! It is very, very compelling for Shanks to be a CD. And one of the big reasons why marines want Shanks is because he's basically the son/successor of Roger, in this AU they are taking the crackdown on Roger's line/crew/associates to the extreme. Shanks is the perfect target, because he's the successor/plus he's young, emotionally attached to Roger, and was at the heart of the Roger pirates' doings. All these things the marines intend to exploit for their own purposes. And they've been gathering intel on Shanks for a while, too. Propaganda purposes? YES. Also, all the pirates they've captured in Loguetown either know who Shanks is, or they find out due to the Marines. So, Shanks is going to be used to break the morale of the captives they have. And not just Shanks. What happens when you single out the greatest pirates in the crowd and systematically break them in front of everyone?(Shanks knows he should stay strong. he knows it. But after so much time has passed...he can't.) Who is going to resist after that? And love the Peeta/Johannna parallels!

As far as Shanks being a Celestial Dragon...hm, there's a reason Doflamingo wasn't caught. And also...the marines gathering intel on Shanks is important to that, because they are also gathering intel on everyone and everything in order to move towards ending piracy for good. No stone is left unturned. During this search they will find certain things, and origins of certain people. And Shanks being a Celestial will give them a good reason to not outright kill him after they do their worst. Oh, I'm eager to see him break myself! (I say that like I won't be doing the breaking, lol) "because he's so solid in his older incarnation that it just seems almost out of character for him to fall apart." One reason why I'm putting so much into this AU is because of exactly that. Drama and angst and hurt is my thing, but with the older versions of Shanks and Mihawk, there is not much that can phase/hurt them to the point of evoking severe drama/angst/hurt, unless it's an overpowered threat. With their younger selves, it's a different story. Their lowest lows lead to the their highest highs in this AU, the idea that marines attempted to wipe their enemies off the face of the earth and instead only created a monster for themselves is a driving theme. So yeah, that'll be fun. OOOOOOH, I'd read that in an instant! please, please do. The juxtaposition of the independent and powerful men the canon Mihawk/Shanks are against the glued-at-the-hip, jointly feared and entertwined Mihawk/Shanks this pair will be. I'd love art! Anything that gets made for this I'd eat up! Fire away! I actually have some sketches I've made too while writing, I'll throw those up pretty soon.

[boston-babies]

(The five times the Evans celebrated Vday and the one time they didn’t) *unfinished version*

*********

You walked into the small kitchen to find five year old Ryan crying his little eyes out, two very confused looking twins in their height chairs and Chris desperately trying his hardest to not laugh. Your brow furrowed “what’s going on?” Chris took a breath “Ryan wanted you to be his valentine today but I told him you couldn’t be his valentine because you’re my valentine today”

Your heart melted as you knelt down to Ryan’s height and held your arms out. He ran right to you and wrapped his little arms around your neck. “Aw honey, it’s okay” you rubbed his back and kissed the top of his head “don’t listen to daddy, he’s just being a meanie. I would absolutely love to be your valentine today”. He hiccuped as he pulled back and rubbed his eyes with his little hands “weally mama?” You pulled him back in for another hug because you could feel your heart ready to explode “yes really buggie”

*************

Eleven year old Dani peeked over Brayden’s shoulder to see what he was writing, it was a letter to Thea. She giggled and quickly snatched it from her brother. Brayden stood “give it back Danica!”

Dani ran around to the other side of the kitchen island “dear Athena, I think you’re so so pretty and I love you so much, would you go to the Valentine’s Day dance with me?”

Ryan snorted his water “you wrote a love letter to Athena Milanesi?” Brady snapped “yeah so what?! And how do you know Thea?” Ryan laughed “her sister’s in my math class” Brayden’s eyes widened “please don’t say anything! I’m begging you!” Ryan nodded “what kind of a brother do you think I am? I wouldn’t sell you out like that”

Dani giggled some more as she took a pen and added to the letter “signed your future husband, Mr. Milanesi” Brayden growled and chased Dani around the island. Chris walked in a few moments later “woah what the hell is going on here?” Brayden and Dani stopped, she was still laughing and Brady was huffing, completely out of breath. “Dani-she took a letter-I was writing and she won’t give it back”

Chris looked sternly at Dani “hand it over piglet” She pouted and dragged her feet over to Chris and handed him the letter. She looked over at Brayden and stuck her tongue out at him “tattle tale” Brady stuck his tongue out back “whiny brat”

Chris raised his voice “enough! Both of you, go to your corners” Dani walked back over to Ryan and stood next to him and Brayden stayed next to Chris. Chris folded the letter up and handed it back to Brady “I want you to apologize to Brady piglet” She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms “fine, Brady I’m sorry for taking your love letter to Athena” Brady’s eyes widened “Danica!”

Chris sighed “alright, Dani go to your room” she stomped her foot “that’s not fair!” Chris shook his head “I don’t care, when you’re ready to give an actual apology to your brother then you can come back downstairs”

She growled and stomped off to her room. Ryan cleared his throat while leaning his elbows on the island “Brady I’d hold off on giving that letter to Thea”. Brady put the letter in his pocket “why?” Ryan sighed “because she has a boyfriend dude”. Chris and Ryan saw Brady visibly deflate. Chris put his hand on Brady’s shoulder “sorry kid” Brady just shrugged “we’re probably better off as friends anyway”. Ryan tried cheering him up “hey who knows Brady, stranger things have happened. Just give it some time and you and Thea might end up together” Brady sighed “yeah I guess..”

************

Chris opened the front door to find a boy. One that wasn’t one of his son’s or son’s best friends. He narrowed his eyes “can I help you?” The kid visibly gulped “I um..I’m here for Danica?” Chris arched a brow “my daughter? What do you want with my little girl?”

Fourteen year old Dani came barreling down the steps “oh my god stop being weird! You’re so embarrassing!” She maneuvered around her father to stand in front of him and smiled at the boy “hi Jason” Jason smiled back “hey..” He got quiet again when he noticed Chris still glaring at him from behind Dani. She turned around “go away” Chris crossed his arms “absolutely not”

“Go away or I’ll tell mom!” He put his hands on his hips and scoffed “you’re going to tell on me to your mom?” She nodded “sure am because you’re being weird!” Jason spoke up “um Dani?” She turned to face him “Jase I’m so sorry” he laughed “it’s okay, I was just wondering if you wanted to go to the valentines dance with me tonight?”

Just as Dani was about to say yes, Chris pulled her back and stood in front of her “absolutely not, thanks for stopping by but don’t come back” Chris shut the front door and when he faced Dani, she looked like she was going to explode. Chris pointed at her with a stern expression “don’t even think about it Danica”. She screamed so loud that Chris had to plug his ears “MOM!!!”

You came running to the foyer from your office “what’s going on? What happened?” Dani faced you and she was fuming “Jason was here to ask me to the valentines dance and daddy shut the door in his face” your eyes widened “Jason asked you?” Dani whined “yes and daddy scared him off!”

Chris furrowed his brow “you know this Jason kid?” You looked at him “yes, he’s one of the boys on the lacrosse team that Dani likes”

He made a face “why do you know that?”you crossed your arms “Because the kids actually talk to me about their lives smart ass” he shook his head “my answer’s still no. He looks at least seventeen and he didn’t even ask my permission and she doesn’t need to be dating a jock” Dani rolled her eyes “he’s a freshman like me Daddy” he shrugged “don’t care”.

She stomped her foot “you’re being so unfair right now!” He took a breath “piglet, I don’t want you going out with boys yet” she growled “ugh I’m not a little girl anymore and I’m not your little piglet! That nickname is stupid and I hate it!” You saw the hurt flash in Chris’ eyes and you pulled Dani back a bit by her shoulders “okay, take a breath honey. Go outside and see if you can still catch Jason and tell him you’d love to go, I’ll handle daddy okay?”

She mumbled a “fine” and headed outside to catch Jason. Chris rubbed his face “she’s not suppose to grow up, she’s suppose to stay four years old forever” you walked over to him and wrapped your arms around his middle and rested your head on his chest “honey you have to give her room to grow, if you keep her locked away from the world she’ll only end up resenting you for it. She’ll always be your piglet though”

He rested his chin on the top of your head “yeah I know..” you giggled and pulled back to look at him “I knew having a girl would be harder for you than the boys” he rolled his eyes “yeah because I don’t have to worry about the boys as much” you just laughed “considering that all three are exactly like you, I’d worry plenty” and with that you walked away and Chris hollered after you “what’s that suppose to mean?”

*******************

Brayden flopped on his bed in his shared room with Brandon “so, this is your first Valentine’s Day with Will, you excited?” Brandon was sitting at his desk and turned from his laptop to face Brady “yeah but I’m also really nervous”. Brady scrunched his face “why?” Brandon shrugged “it’s over zoom and not exactly romantic and what if he’s met someone or doesn’t feel the same anymore?”

Brady sat up “Bran, the whole world is on lockdown from a pandemic. Who is Will going to meet?” Brandon threw his hands up “I don’t know but it’s possible!” Brady shook his head with a smile “dude, you need to take like several deep breaths and chill out. You and Will are fine. He likes you and you like him and I’m willing to bet that one day you two are going to be married living your best lives” Brandon smiled “you think?” Brady nodded “I know”.

[starcrossedjedis]

Edgy/misc ask game for Mira! #6, 7, 13 anndd 24 ^_^ Enjoy.

Thank you ❤

tagging the OPLA squad: @auxiliarydetective @bravelittleflower @supermarine-silvally @oneirataxia-girl @daughter-of-melpomene

6. How easily could your OC be convinced to do something that goes against their moral compass?

eeeh... depends. She's the daughter of the most notorious "old guard pirate", so I think the whole morl compass thing is a little bit bendable to begin with. Mira is a good person at heart, but with morally questionable decisions she will very probably go and weigh the cost agains the gain and put her own reservations aside if the gain is worth it.

7. What's one way your OC has changed since you first came up with them?

Mira in herself is "a Sun who's changed since I first came up wit her" in that she is a version of Sun who grew up on her father's ship with Shanks and Buggy. But she's also changed since I first came p with her. Her devil fruit powers are more refined now and intertwined with what she inherited of her father's Haki powers. I'm bending the canon timeline for her A LOT. But first and foremost her personality deviates a lot more from Sun than it did in the beginning, becaus I realised how much Sun was a product of her experiences and that Mira didn't need that whole hard shell protecting her good heart, so she is now a lot softer than Sun.

13. If you met your OC, would the two of you get along?

I think so, yes. I love her a lot. Not sure she'd be just as fond of me, but a woman can hope (we definitely share our taste in men, so that's a start xD)

24. What is an alternative life path your OC might have gone down? How different would their life be if they'd made that decision?

Again, Mira is already on the big, alternative life path simply because she is the AU version of Sun, BUT there is one big decision that sets her life's course in a big way and if she didn't do it, things would be very different in that -

had she told Shanks what she found out about her captivity and the real reason behind her staged "rescue" instead of just running away in the middle of the night and breaking his heart, she would have had him by her side when she learned that she was pregnant and they could (and would) have raised their daughter togther instead of both being miserable on their own and their daughter always wondering who her real father was and why the thought of him made her mother so sad...

Their daughter might have never met the Straw Hats though, so not everything is bleak and sad in their version of reality ^^'

[blysse-and-blunder]

In lieu of a travel journal

2am my-time, monday, july 24, 2023

Awake and giddy and trying to calm down after completing what I think may accidentally actually be a decent conference paper, a few short hours before I need to present it—some thoughts on the things that have kept me entertained and sane while on necessary breaks from writing! writing this on my phone so there’s no read-more, apologies.

reading

having a very good time alternating between after Sappho, selby wynn schwartz, and an angela carter short story collection called the bloody chamber. both very ~feminist~ but in ways that are subtly distinct—you can tell which came out in 2021 and which did not—but both so interesting. I think I may DNF this other unnamed spy-urban fantasy, unfortunately, which sucks because the premise was good, the execution is just very grating. assorted other libby holds include italo calvino’s the baron in the trees, ty @morrak and carmen maria machado’s in the dream house.

listening

yws gwynedd and the resulting welsh pop / rock mix on 24-hour lockdown repeat. it’s been extremely good to me, high energy, low engagement, except I’m also getting better at listening comprehension slowly but surely, there’s no downside. Stuck in my head currently, perpetually:

watching

the first episode of d20’s starstruck odyssey, which despite all the potential for getting bogged down in new mechanics and bad stats and dysfunctional team dynamics was really lovely? It is filling the sweet spot right between being in the mood for fantasy high and being in the mood for Neverafter, and plus I like! just getting to hear them play! I also watched the first few minutes of disn*y’s strange world on this airbnb’s d+ account, and will hopefully be able to go back—I was looking for something I could have on in the background and ended up getting interested, so, task failed successfully! I also watched, and slept through, amsterdam (2022) on a plane recently.

playing

fallow week. shoutout to the game I tried with friends a few weeks ago and forgot to mention, genesis noir, which was so gloriously atmospheric and moody and interesting, right up until it was slightly too buggy and/or unintuitive to get past the first fifteen minutes or so. though that could have been the fault of the internet connection, which had been slow that whole night and did crash immediately thereafter. we laughed ourselves to absolute fucking tears over gangbeasts again, afterwards. but I’m still thinking about the celestial noir vibes and hope to get back to this one soon.

making

fallow week! making plans and achieving them, making memories and taking pictures, making virtual friendships into realities. making more homecooked meals, hopefully, now that I have real kitchen access! making some professional connections??

working on

the last week has been all about either working on said paper, or getting a mental refresh by getting as far from it as possible. it’s been hard to get back into work mode after some of these full days off, but also, I did budget my time and I *did* put enough in, early and often, that by the time the eleventh hour came around it was possible to actually finish. i don’t think i could have gotten to this version, which i’m pleased with, with any less effort—but spending all day thurs at the library, working in the morning or an hour before bed, or between lunch and dinner tonight—and a lot of time the week prior—it all added up. it all contributed something. this is my memo to myself: the long boring slog leading up to the exhilarating last minute is just as necessary. it helped that I have other (dissertation-based) uses for every idea and sentence and quote I had to cut tonight, and I still think this paper is stronger without them.

[wingodex]

it’s been two weeks since 1079 but i’m still thinking about kid and just spinning him around endlessly inside my head. he sucks so bad but he compels me so much anyway. truly terrible. the thing about kid is that he’s a character told through contrast. we only learn things about him by comparing him to other characters, and I love that, I find it so fascinating. the other two members of the captain trio are the ones he’s usually contrasted against, with luffy being the most important one to the understanding of his character because he’s literally in the story to be luffy’s foil

kid’s not luffy’s only foil in the story, with blackbeard clearly being set up as a foil as well, but both kid and blackbeard serve different functions in the story. while blackbeard is supposed to be the worst kind of pirate, the opposite of everything luffy stands for, kid is more like the evil mirror version of luffy. he’s the kind of pirate luffy could have been, if things were a little different. he’s a pirate captain going after the one piece and aiming to become the pirate king just like luffy, and he’s the only captain with a crew member who is also a supernova. they’re brash, impulsive, a little stupid, and loud, with unbreakable wills and crews who will die to protect them and their dream. they're both competitive and voracious eaters. kid even apparently grew up in a scrapyard, not unlike the gray terminal. on the surface they’re almost the same, but with one crucial difference; luffy is kind and draws people together, while kid is uncaring and unwilling to work with others.

now admittedly, we don’t actually know all that much about kid even though he’s been in and out of the story for 500+ chapters, but most of what we do learn is specifically to highlight the difference between him and luffy. as i mentioned earlier, kid is meant to be luffy’s foil, to show the kind of pirate luffy could have been. the most obvious contrast between them happens at the end of their first encounter in sabaody after luffy declares that he’ll be the one to find the one piece and kid calls out to killer instead of responding to him.

it’s a callback to luffy’s first encounter with bellamy in mock town, when luffy very deliberately didn’t fight him for mocking his beliefs and dreams, which was already referencing how shanks handled the bandits in foosha village. when compared to kid, you can see a version of luffy without shank’s early intervention. luffy tried to fight the bandits to defend shanks’ pride as a young child, and he easily could have turned into the type of pirate who would always be willing to do that, always getting in worthless fights against people without the guts to believe in anything. he could have been the kind of person who jumps to violence first, every single time.

kid’s aggression and tendency to pick fights is actually the way we’re introduced to his character. he’s trying to kill apoo for staring at him? i guess? huge asshole behaviour, for sure (in contrast to kid and killer fighting the other supernovas for no reason, law’s introduction involves him watching a fight without intervening and then taunting the person who does intervene). it’s not even just that kid won’t back down from a fight though, he and his crew clearly go make problems themselves. shakky reveals that the reason kid’s bounty is higher than luffy’s is because his crew attacks and raids civilians.

while the strawhats aren’t interested in being heroes themselves, they also don’t go out of their way to harm people. in fact, they often make it their problem to keep civilians out of harm when they’re fighting antagonists, like when luffy stopped the mayor from fighting buggy, or the villagers from fighting arlong’s crew in cocoyashi village. luffy, sanji and usopp even got mad at conis for putting herself in danger to tell them the truth. it’s because of this kind of behaviour that the straw hats often end up leaving an island with everyone considering them heroes anyway, despite not purposely seeking that recognition themselves. i’m also reminded of roger not allowing his crew to attack civilians either in chapter 966.

kid’s crew is obviously not like that at all, seeming to be more like typical pirates, stealing and pillaging villages, and attacking without provocation. while we don’t know any details about the kinds of trouble the kid pirates got into before sabaody, i think it’s probably safe to say that kid and his crew tend to leave islands worse off than they found them. their actions are never to the benefit of the people living on the islands they stop at, and they certainly don’t have parties and banquets thrown for them before they leave. with one notable exception... wano. but i’ll come back to that later.

one of the big things that kid and luffy have in common is that both of them hate people who abuse their power. kid’s presence in the auction house is marked by his comments on how distasteful he finds the whole thing. kid is a character who we have seen directly criticize the world government and celestial dragons, both here and during marineford.

what sets kid apart from both law and luffy is that kid doesn’t care. he doesn’t get involved until he has to, despite how much the situation pisses him off. because it’s not his problem. he calls it a farce when saint charlos purchases camie, but makes no move to do anything about it, where luffy jumps in and punches the celestial dragon immediately. we even see law freeing jean bart, but kid spares him no such sympathy. similarly, while law heads for marineford when the broadcast shuts down, kid does nothing despite expressing disgust at the situation. he feels for things and understands things in a way that luffy doesn’t but he doesn’t care enough about others to do anything about it. 

in similar situations, we often see kid responding with ruthlessness while luffy responds with kindness and empathy. when kid encounters a weak pirate crew in the new world trying to flee, he crucifies them for being cowards, apparently brutally murdering all of them. when luffy encounters brownbeard on punk hazard, a former pirate who had given up on that after being defeated, luffy shows him empathy and protects him from ceasar. he even eventually calls him a friend. what’s especially telling about this moment though, is that kid seems to echo words we’ve heard luffy say before but in a situation that places him in the opposite position from when luffy said them. it reveals them as harsh and sinister when being reflected upon by the person who is victimizing others rather than the one risking everything in the face of their potential destruction.

now, i need to take a brief moment aside to talk about kid and his crew killing people. he almost certainly kills people. it’s definitely implied that he kills people. i’m mostly inclined to believe that he does kill people, but you can’t fucking trust oda to kill anyone in the story so... you’d think his partner and best friend being named killer would be a clear indication of the fact that the kid pirates murder people and yet. i would say that that’s another way that kid’s shown to be different from luffy, law and their crews because they all allegedly don’t kill people, but i think it’s insane and makes no sense that they don’t kill people, so i consider this a very weak contrast. still, it’s there. i guess.

when law makes an alliance with luffy to take down kaido, kid makes a similar alliance with apoo and hawkins to take on shanks. luffy and law come together relatively easily, but kid clearly enters his alliance without any real desire to do so, and is completely distrustful of his compatriots. it’s only because of killer that the alliance happens at all, while luffy joins up with law despite protests from his own crew.

the way their alliances play out are interesting points of comparison too. kid is hung out to dry by hawkins after they’re both betrayed by apoo and sold out to kaido. law doesn’t betray luffy outright, but he does hide his intentions, mislead him, and try to use him to accomplish his own goals. And yet, luffy’s alliance still manages to hold out, despite law’s attempts to end it, with both luffy and law being fully and completely committed to each other and their final goal at the end. the way kid and luffy react to people who want to work together with them to accomplish their goals is vastly different too. even before being betrayed, kid was reluctant to work with others, but afterwards he is completely unwilling to even consider an alliance with luffy, even though he knows how reliable luffy is. kid considers the very act of trusting others to be the reason his crew had to endure so much in wano and he views his refusal to form another alliance to be his way of protecting them. His temporary alliance with law against big mom is only made under duress.

Whereas luffy is basically always down to work together with anyone who asks him, including his enemies, teaming up with buggy, galdino and crocodile in impel down. luffy even knows that buggy is gonna ditch him as soon as he can and doesn’t really care. he accepts help from anyone who offers it to him, and often actively seeks out companions who will provide aide in some way. luffy bonds with people quickly and easily, needing nothing more than to witness a kind action from them to throw all of his fighting power behind them. he connects with enemies and allies alike, placing his complete faith and trust in them, and earning their respect and admiration. his very presence inspires others to go above and beyond what they would normally be willing to risk for someone else because of the trusts he affords them

the contrast between kid and law is honestly not as fleshed out as the one between luffy and kid, but it’s still there and worth mentioning. the reason their interactions are so funny and combative is because they’re meant to be opposites in terms of personality. they both have lofty ambitious of turning the whole world on its head but they approach it very differently. law is a schemer, working on plans for years, and preferring to set things in motion and watch the fallout. kid dove right into the new world with nothing but his own ambition and violent tendencies to get him by. he has never planned a single thing in his entire life, and while he’s capable of strategizing in battle just like luffy is, that’s best described as a last resort. law is reserved, often trying to remain emotionally uninvolved, and secretive, keeping his cards close to his chest until the last possible moment, while kid is reactive, honest, and entirely sincere. both of them are so fucking angry, but while law’s anger had been sharpened and directed, kid’s anger is explosive, unable to find any direction at all and being thrown towards anything that gets in his way. in a funny way, the thing they have most in common is that they’re both shit disturbers who like to pick fights, although kid seems to be the one usually throwing the first punch, while law’s the one taunting his opponent into making the first move.

their fighting styles are completely different too. while i’d say that both are pretty versatile in terms of their range, law definitely seems to keep his distance from his opponents more than kid. he’ll usually play defence until he can spot a good opportunity, moving quickly in to strike and immediately pulling back after. kid will get up in his opponents space and stay there, often making himself and his metal creations the target of their attacks. law spends time analyzing his opponents and coming up with strategies to use against them. he takes advantage of his environment and his allies to get the most out of the very diverse utility of his devil fruit. kid is way more of a brawler, throwing himself into a fight without any forethought, and letting his fists lead the way. i dunno if this is an intentional character choice, or specifically an aesthetic decision, or if oda decided he didn’t want to learn anything about physics (extremely based if true) but if kid’s powers can actually do what oda claims they do, then kid is not using them as effectively as he could be, instead deliberately seeming to use them in a way that caters to his own interests in weapons and fighting style. their opposite personalities cause them to clash constantly, but their opposite fighting styles work together extremely well. law’s generally cautious nature reigns in kid’s more impulsive tendencies and protects him from unnecessary danger, while taking advantage of the opportunities they provide to move in and strike. kid’s aggressive approach forces law to make the bigger swings that are necessary to take down an emperor. it’s good synergy.

kid does have one saving grace that prevents him from being a complete villain, and that’s his commitment and love for his crew. this is actually one of the things that luffy specifically recognizes and acknowledges in him, and there's no doubt in my mind that he proposed the alliance to him because he witnessed kid's care for killer in udon. the thing that has set the supernova captain trio apart from the pirates they’re up against is their driving desire to protect their crews, and their utter devotion to them. law differs from kid and luffy in the way he chooses to protect his crew, which usually involves sending them away from the danger he places himself into. kid and luffy seem to be of one mind, understanding the dangers they’re placing their crew in, but choosing to believe in their abilities and strength to make it through because they would rather fight alongside them. the biggest testament to kid’s faith in his crew is the way he relies on them to protect him while he collects metal for his big confrontation. one of the weaknesses of kid’s devil fruit is that he needs to amass a lot of metal in order to fight effectively, and during that time, his crew protects him. kid also throws himself into danger for the sake of his crew. he allows himself to be recaptured after escaping udon just to reunite with killer again, and the driving force behind his desire to fight kaido is revenge for what was done to his crew. as misguided as his refusal to ally himself with luffy is, kid makes that decision under the hovering fear of betrayal after his devastation and fury at what had been done to killer. he’s also oddly sweet and supportive in the way that he makes his crew handle killer eating the smile fruit? like, he just obviously cares about them a lot, and killer in particular.

kid’s devotion is also reciprocated by his own crew, who allow themselves to become orochi’s pawns in order to protect him. killer goes above and beyond for kid, eating a smile fruit and even offering his own life in kid’s place on multiple occasions. kid's crew steps in to protect him from big mom and from the beast pirates afterwards. while kid is absolutely willing to put his life on the line and die, his crew cares anout him such that they're not willing to take that same risk with his life. we see them begging shanks to spare him, even handing over their poneglyph rubbings despite kid's clear desire to die for his pride.

kid’s second encounter with the red haired pirates on elbaf epitomizes the consequences of his unwillingness to work with others and his own violent temperament. if the straw hats had won the coin toss and gone to elbaf, they would have been welcomed. there would have been happy and tearful reunions with dorry and broggy, and maybe with saul. even if they would have eventually fought shanks and his crew, it would have played out so differently because they have so many friends there. kid has never been interested in solving conflicts diplomatically and he definitely hasn’t left a trail of friends behind who would be willing to step in and defend him in a tense situation. there is likely no place that the kid pirates could go where they’ll meet a friendly face. and beyond all that, shanks knows what luffy (and by extension, his crew) is like. even if the straw hats had come in swinging for whatever reason, he wouldn’t have been concerned about the safety of the crews in his fleet enough to demolish the straw hats without a chance to save themselves. where the straw hats reached out their hands in friendship to the people they’ve met during their adventures, kid and his crew have attacked without remorse, leaving nothing but devastation. shanks dealt with kid the way he did, without a shred of mercy when kid’s crew begged for his life because giving kid any leeway at all would have put the fleet under his protection in danger. maybe if kid had ever shown compassion to an enemy or a bystander, then shanks could have felt comfortable enough to let kid fight him one-one-one or even let his crew take him away to safety. but kid never has. so why would shanks extend mercy to someone who has never shown mercy himself? to someone who has never once considered offering that kindness to someone weaker than him? and that’s why the kid pirates couldn’t win. we don’t know why kid wants to find the one piece or become king of the pirates, whether he understands being a pirate in the same way luffy does. but the reason he won’t be the one to do it, why a character like him isn’t the main character of this story instead, is because he can’t see value in other people. he refuses to reach out to others, to accept them as they are and to truly care about anyone outside of his own crew. he’s lacking in luffy’s ability to draw people to him and make them want to help him and believe in him. as mihawk points out in marineford, this luffy is greatest power. that's what’s gonna get him to laugh tale. and kid doesn’t have that

so where do we go from here? shanks destroyed kid’s ship and drowned him and his crew. is that it? well, maybe? we all already knew that kid was never gonna accomplish his goal in the way he wanted to because luffy has the same goal, and i never really thought he had a chance against shanks. as we get into the endgame, oda is juggling a lot of characters and storylines so maybe this was a way to cut out some of the extras, and this really is the end for kid. i hope not, because it would suck if his role in the story was just to hype up the abilities of another character. I doubt oda would kill all of the kid pirates outright because he never kills anyone, so they’ll just stop being in the story, fading into obscurity because they couldn’t keep up with luffy.

if kid and his crew do survive and continue to play a meaningful role in the story, then that means something about kid is going to have to change after this defeat. he can’t keep tearing through the new world in the same way that he’s been doing up until now because it’s not viable anymore for him or his crew. the way i see it, there are two options here, but one of them seems way more likely than the other. the first option is that he could go fully evil and become a real antagonist for the straw hats, aligning himself with blackbeard or something stupid like that. as much as i love how kid is a huge bastard, I think this option sucks, and i don’t think the set up is there for it. kid’s function as a foil for luffy wouldn't exist anymore because his role would fold under blackbeard's, making him redundant. I also don’t think this option is very likely to happen because of how luffy reacts to both blackbeard and kid. luffy and blackbeard are immediately set up to be completely diametrically opposed and incompatible in every way right from the start, and their final clash has been in the making for 900 chapters now. while luffy bickers with kid, he actually seems to actually like him a lot? and we’ve been shown time and time again that luffy is a remarkably good judge of character and extremely emotionally intelligent, so it would just feel kind of out of place. plus, like luffy, kid is very anti-authoritarian and i can't ever see him realistically falling in line with anyone without compromising a critical element of his character.

The other option is that kid decides to make some friends and allies, but for real this time. other people have pointed out the similarity in the wording between the ending of chapter 1079 and 513 in sabaody. since I’ve spent the first part of this post talking about how kid is luffy’s foil, let’s consider luffy at the end of sabaody, and try to extrapolate what this means for kid and his crew.

that moment for luffy is where he finally hits the wall that he cannot overcome. in the east blue, luffy is easily the most powerful person around. east blue arcs go out of their way to prevent luffy from immediately jumping into combat, because the moment he does, the fight's already over. that changes when the crew enters the grand line. luffy starts to really struggle against opponents, only just barely scrapping a win in his fights. sabaody is the first point in the story where luffy is just not strong enough to overcome his opponents no matter what he does. he can’t protect his friends and he loses in a way that he can’t bounce back from. this remains true for the rest of the story before the timeskip. The summit war saga is luffy’s lowest point emotionally but also in terms of his relative strength to other characters. he shows signs of his future potential, like his use of conqueror’s haki in amazon lily/marineford, but he can’t rely on that in any meaningful way. From sabaody onward, luffy is powerless in a way we’ve never seen before. he has plenty of fights, but he doesn’t defeat any of the major antagonists of the summit war arcs. the only reason he survives is because he finds powerful allies to support him. luffy’s ability to make people want to help him protects him when his strength isn’t enough, but even still, it’s not enough to save his brother. that’s why the timeskip happens in the first place, to give luffy the time to recover and become stronger, and to fully harness the potential we know he has.

so now back to kid. In terms of power, kid should be at the top of his game. he’s just awakened his devil fruit, he’s defeated one of the four emperors, and he’s got one of the highest bounties in the world.* unlike luffy in sabaody, kid isn’t powerless at all. the real problem is that he’s a loose canon, a literal fucking railgun aimed at hundreds of people who never stood a chance against him. and despite that, he still hits a wall that he can’t overcome. when you step back and compare him to luffy pre-timeskip, it’s clear kid’s in a similar situation. while both luffy and law waited to enter the new world, kid jumped right in and he’s been scraping by, but only barely for a long time and it’s cost him and his crew. he’s managed to beat down the weaker pirates by being bigger, meaner, and more violent, but every time he’s tried to go against an emperor, it hasn’t worked out. the first encounter with big mom’s crew presumably went badly for him, he lost his arm to the red haired pirates without even fighting shanks, and kaido wiped the floor with him. when you compare what kid’s managed to accomplish in two years to what luffy manages to do in a month after he enters the new world, it’s laughable. it took him two years to increase his bounty 100 million berries, while luffy breaks 1 billion almost immediately. so then what is kid lacking? it doesn't seem like he's hit the limit of his power yet. but you see, i’ve already answered this. the thing kid is lacking is luffy’s ability to find allies and friends. the first real win he snagged in the new world was when he finally made some new friends to fight with. and the second he ditches them, he loses so badly he basically gets a death scene. in wano, kid gets a taste of his own potential, of what he could accomplish, just like luffy did during the summit war saga. kid has the ability and the drive to take on emperors! ...he just can’t do it alone. i hate to say this, because it sounds corny as hell, but the wall kid’s up against is the fact that his power of friendship isn’t strong enough. but it could be! maybe! if he put even a little bit of effort into it. we know that kid has the capacity to care about other people because he is fiercely devoted to killer and his crew. and he can inspire people to follow him and support him because his crew is equally devoted to him! they follow him into battle because they believe in him. they’re willing to subject themselves to slavery and misery or even death just to protect his life and his dream. so he could try to make some friends. i do not want a kid redemption arc, i don’t think he really needs one, like i wanna be clear that i don’t think kid should suddenly become a good person or anything like that. but maybe he could, I dunno, be a little bit nice to someone for once. make a new friend maybe. trust someone. believe in someone. you know. character development and all that. anyway, i’m interested to see where kid’s story goes from here! i really hope oda’s not done with him yet because it really does feel like he’s been laying the groundwork to do more with him despite the ending of chapter 1079

*you could absolutely make a power scaling argument about how he really seems to need to work on his haki because both him and law are kinda lagging behind luffy and zoro, and kid’s somehow even worse than law at using haki despite having conqueror’s haki. so he does still have room to grow and improve. but that’s not the point i’m making, so like, why would you? The point is that kid should’ve been flying high after taking down an emperor of the sea but shanks didn’t even give him the opportunity to fight because kid’s a piece a shit

[duckielover151]

Some Ep 2 Live Action One Piece Thoughts

I've been saying it since the beginning, and I'll say it again... Anyone who had reasonable expectations for this live action series being good accepted going into it that some things would have to be changed. I felt like the second episode really put that to the test for me. Episode 2 properly introduces both Garp and Buggy, after teasing them near the end of the first episode, and neither one of them is quite the portrayal that I'm used to.

Both Garp and Buggy have had some of the fun sucked out of them... But I mean that in the most positive way possible!

The live action is a slightly darker, more realistic take on the tale and the world, and the villains need to reflect that. Things were always a little up in the air with Garp. He's this leading figure of the marines... but also totally liable to let his grandson's crew get away. There's a softer side to original Garp that I'm not seeing in this portrayal of him. At least not so far.

I think the most telling scene is the one where he recruits Coby. Because in the live action, he bonds with Coby over precisely the opposite reason he takes a shine to him in the original.

Coby's really passionate about being a marine... but he's not totally indoctrinated. In the original, he and Garp basically bond over this shared acknowledgement that the world isn't black and white like the government's propaganda would like everyone to think it is. That even though he's a pirate, Luffy's clearly not a bad guy. He saved his life. He'll do what's asked of him if they ever meet on the seas professionally, but he can't proclaim to hate Luffy. They're still kind of friends. Just friends on opposite sides of a worldwide conflict.

In the live action, Garp takes him on when Coby basically denounces any continued goodwill towards Luffy. He's a pirate, and that's that.

I'll be curious to see where that goes. On the one hand, the original show's complicated portrayal of morality is one of the best things about it. I'd hate to see that lost. But I can totally understand why Garp might need to be a villain who can be taken more seriously in this version of events.

Wishy-washy, cowardly villains are fine in cartoons but don't play so well in realer worlds. Which leads into a discussion of Buggy perfectly.

Because cartoon Buggy was always a little incompetent. And live-action Buggy most certainly is not. Like, I almost don't know how to explain it except to say it's like they turned Team Rocket into Team Plasma. And it's great. I can't stress enough that Jeff Ward's portrayal of Buggy is really fucking phenomenal. Like, he better be making a reappearance in this version of events, because one episode is not enough!

I will say, Buggy expressing aspirations to be king is the only thing I'm uncertain about. The one thing that feels downright out of character. Everything else is really great, though. Seeing how he not only destroyed the town but imprisoned the townspeople as his audience as well. Really great for a villainous clown.

But there was also a softer moment I'm really curious about. When he posits that Luffy's obsession with Shanks might be about revenge... that felt genuine to me. Like he would have been willing to take him in or team up with him or whatever if Luffy hadn't immediately corrected him. That one moment was what made me sad we didn't get to see a flashback with younger Shanks and Buggy. With these characters being a little different, I think we need more of a clarification on their relationship now.

Fuck, I could use a second Keep Reading. This has gotten a little out of control. Onto details that I loved!

Nami is so noticeably traumatized by the very concept of pirates in this version. It's great. More depth than just a hard hatred for them would allow. The moment where she makes a break for it, giving up Luffy and Zoro to try and save herself... only to find herself in the midst of just what Buggy did to this town... the horror there... Genuinely gave me chills. And it made the little bonding moment when she are Zoro are locked up together pretty great also. I can already see how they're coming together to make a great team. And the way the live-action has handled the fight scenes has been all-around really great... because everyone has a role to play. I loved seeing them work together to defeat Buggy.

And, you want to talk about scenes that gave me chills? The fight between Shanks's crew and the bandits was also really badass.

There were some weaker moments there. Shanks losing his arm wasn't nearly as sudden, which took away from the shock of it a bit. (And how did he even lose Luffy in the first place? His crew was fighting in another room while Shanks was staring down the bandit who kidnapped Luffy. The chaos never seems to reach the room Shanks is in, but when he comes running out, he's lost track of them somehow? Almost like a locked room mystery; it doesn't quite make sense...)

But the music playing in the scene where he gives little Luffy the hat? Beautiful. Can't wait to see what comes next.

[dystopianam]

W.I.P Strangerville Plants Update

As I said in the other post:

While I was fixing the names in the Strangerville plants files I discovered three things, so I'm redoing everything a bit (You can use the current version which still works, but the updated one will have more stuff)

So with the update of the post everything will change. I'll use a compatible Base Game object as a base, so I won't have the compatibility issue anymore (that was a lapse in my memory, I didn't remember the fairy statue was from M&G, I remembered it being from the base game)

Each plant will have all its EA swatches (I found them! I should have digged better in the debug!) and the corresponding glowing version! The object I'm using now has two subsets. The recolors above are unlit, the ones below are glowing. Both subsets have an invisible recolor. (I had to do this to have two subsets so as to divide the recolors between unlit and glowing)

There is a small problem that sometimes the invisible recolors are buggy and the previews change but you just need to click a little bit between one swatch and another and it fixes itself, I don't know why this happens, I'm sorry... (If the previews change, click ctrl + right or left mouse button (I never remember when I'm away from the keyboard)

Nothing will remain of the old sets I will make a single set, Base Game compatible, every plants + recolors (unlit and glowing) but I am thinking of making a separate customized set using the brightness of the Glow 3 set but with modified colors (I would like to create a light pink version or light yellow, in short, create customized softer textures)

Btw this is the intensity of Glow 3 ^

But before I go any further I wonder if it would make more sense to try to make them lights that can be turned on and off. I don't know if the lights are more complicated to do, as I already said I'm a beginner, but I might see if I can do something...

[beanghostprincess]

What’s so fascinating about shuggy that makes you go this wild? Aren’t shanks completely over this guy? And buggy just bitter? Am I interpreting it wrong?

I'm not gonna ask whether you want the short or the long version, because I'm gonna give you the longest, gayest version no matter what you tell me. So. Yeah. I think I'm kind of crazy about them but in a very normal way (I just lied on the internet). I'm gonna answer your last three questions before actually getting into the subject of why Shuggy makes me go so wild:

(Spoilers: manga ch.1082 and that Wano flashback)

Shanks being "completely over this guy" would be a very simple way to put his feelings for Buggy into words, I think. Although the fandom exaggerates the way he feels for him (turning into obsession and just complete depression) for fun or for angst purposes (I must say I don't really dislike it and I do believe Shanks still holds Buggy close to his heart in this way, and if we talk in a shippy way, he's definitely the clingy one) I think Shanks isn't completely over Buggy. At least not in the cynical way some people say. I think that after parting ways, Shanks accepted Buggy leaving him. I don't think he quite understands his reasons (he never will, tbh) but accepted his decision. I think he tried to choose the more mature way (not that he had other options) and moved on. But moving on doesn't mean forgetting or being completely over someone, because I wholeheartedly think that even if Buggy isn't on his mind 24/7, he's still one of the most important people in Shanks' life and story. Buggy is there in the back of his mind like a catchy song you can't get rid of, you know? It itches sometimes, too, but Shanks can't do anything about it so he just lives with it. To Shanks, he would gladly reconnect with Buggy and go back to the way they were in the blink of an eye, but he knows it can't be. I think Shanks has moved on but the second somebody mentions Buggy he goes into nostalgia mode and thinks about their times together back when they were just kids with endless dreams aboard the Oro Jackson. I think Shanks has more things to worry about than his past to be the way the fandom portrays him, but that doesn't mean he has completely forgotten about it and doesn't want Buggy back. Because he definitely does.

Buggy is- He isn't just bitter. I don't think you can say Buggy is just bitter when Shanks' decision was what determined his whole life. Leaving the thing about the map and the devil fruit aside (which also affects the story but we know his resentment isn't really about that) Buggy has every right to feel the way he does towards Shanks. Perhaps it's just that I find this pathetic clown to be very relatable, but I will always be both a Buggy apologist and defender. I'll probably get into a more detailed version of this later, but Buggy isn't just bitter. Buggy is rightfully frustrated at how his life ended up to be without Shanks. "But he's the one who left Shanks"... Is he, though? He did leave Shanks physically, but Shanks was the first to break the relationship. The thing about Buggy that I absolutely love is how his character portrays envy and jealousy into a... I wouldn't say healthy way, but at least not a damaging way to Shanks. Despite fighting all the time, they obviously loved and cared for each other. Being best friends and the youngest of the crew, always together in both the worst and best of their moments, etc. So Buggy, even though he lived as Shanks' shadow, that isn't why he's resentful towards him. He could be angry about that, right? Just bitter Roger chose him to keep his legacy alive instead of him. But no. Buggy chose to follow Shanks instead because he trusted him. Because he thought "Well, I might not be able to follow my dream, but Shanks will do it for us as our captain's legacy". Which makes sense because they were so damn close. They're always together. Like. Just watch/read the Oden flashback. Their presentation was even together, lmfao. And when they talk about them, they mention them together. The whole thing about Shanks not going to Laugh Tale to take care of Buggy? It's just- It's just so obvious that they were best friends and intended to be together forever. Buggy was willing to follow Shanks until the end of the world until Shanks hesitated when asked about following Roger's steps (Buggy doesn't actually say he'll be in Shanks' crew, but the way he reacts to Shanks' words makes me think he would've accepted to go with him as a co-captain until... Well. Yeah. That happened). And like, I get it. Shanks knew they were too young. Shanks knew they needed to grow up and live more experiences as pirates before going to Laugh Tale and for the One Piece. For Shanks it's just a little pause before they actually fulfill their dreams. But for Buggy? For Buggy, his whole world is crumbling down because the person he trusted the most literally told him he wasn't going to follow their dream. For Buggy, Shanks doesn't take the role of Roger's legacy seriously enough, so it's unfair. It's unfair that he had to leave his dream behind for him. It's unfair that he trusted him. It's unfair that Shanks didn't believe in himself. It's unfair that their captain died. It's unfair that now Buggy has to be completely on his own, with no ability to swim and no map to follow because Shanks also ruined that for him. So, yeah, Buggy is a bit more than just bitter, and rightfully so. It's classic miscommunication because obviously, Shanks wasn't going to give up on going to Laugh Tale, but Buggy takes it that way. And he also sees it as Shanks doubting himself and the dream and it's unfair that the one who got the straw hat is the one to hesitate, and the one who didn't get anything is the one who wants to fight for their dream. Buggy is more than just bitter. I know it's played for laughs, but his grudge towards Shanks is deeper than that.

You are not interpreting it wrong, tbh. I think the fandom just exaggerates their behavior and in canon you pretty much have to analyze the characters to fully understand them. If you're not a fan of these two characters, their whole relationship can feel like "Oh, they were just friends in the same crew" even when it's way deeper than that. Although I think chapter 1082 (my favorite chapter ngl I've read it so many times google instantly shows it to me when I look for the page where I read OP) explains what I just said pretty well from Buggy's POV.

So now onto the real question, what's so fascinating about Shuggy?

I'm gonna be honest with you, before writing this I have to say that I have a tendency to love these types of ships. Soukoku (BSD) and Satosugu (JJK) are no exception and they follow the same "former BFFs/partners who turned into enemies and are very very gay". The reason I like these three ships so much is probably because of personal experiences I'm not gonna talk about, but somebody mentioned something very interesting about lesbians/sapphics relating to these ships because we always have this experience about having a really close girl bff that we have a crush on, but since we don't acknowledge the real feelings, it ends up in a very toxic way that leads only to resentment and nostalgia. And, you know, as a lesbian who has been through that I can confirm wholeheartedly that this is why Shuggy is so important to me (considering Shuggy a ship for the lesbians in my heart </3)

Leaving that aside and the fact that childhood best friends to lovers is like my favorite trope, I just think their characters are so perfectly written. And it's surprising because they barely have scenes talking about each other or being with each other (Marineford is Shuggys' Roman Empire atp, although I will always remember that first flashback in episode 8 in the anime. That changed my life fr). But their story is made with so much care and love for the characters (it's obvious Oda likes Buggy a lot) that you can feel it. At least I do. Because although not having many scenes they've completely taken over my heart and soul.

Shanks is a very complicated character due to lack of information and the fact that we know he hides something deeper, but he is, after all, a symbol of hope and dreams. At least for our main character. Shanks is the main reason why Luffy becomes a pirate and there are so many parallelisms between them that I can't count them. I find it so ironic that the symbol of hope and freedom Luffy follows is actually somebody who crushed somebody's dreams and hopes. Talk about irony, right? And then we have Buggy, who's the complete opposite. With Buggy's first appearance (and honestly all of his scenes until the Wano flashback and chapter 1082) we think he's one of the bad guys. And yeah, all of them are like that because they're pirates and yadda yadda. But I'm talking about "bad guy" as in "bad bad person with no hopes and dreams and that is just interested in being feared and powerful". And he is a failguy. A very funny one, too. But he's so much more. And the fact that this comedic relief character that's always played for laughs when it comes to his own misery turns out to be the one who has the biggest of dreams and the biggest of heartbreaks about it? It just shatters my heart.

Shuggy makes me go wild because of Buggy, mostly, ngl. I wouldn't like Shanks this much if it wasn't for Shuggy, probably (I love him a ton outside of his relationship with Buggy, but you know, it makes things a lot easier). I like Shuggy because the topics the ship touches are very emotional and angsty and they crush me completely. Buggy living in Shanks' shadow? Buggy wanting to follow Roger's steps and following Shanks instead because his self-esteem disappeared the moment his captain's legacy ended up on Shanks instead of him? The trust he had in Shanks? The way Shanks hesitates and the way Buggy refuses to follow somebody like that? Buggy running away on his own because he gave up his dream for somebody who doesn't even treat it the way it deserves? It's just heartbreaking. Especially if you have in mind that they just lost the man that raised them.

Buggy then becomes somebody that people make fun of and ridicule, and they don't even think about the possibility of him being part of the crew of the king of the pirates. And when they find out, they can't believe it. They don't talk about this much, but I think that it must hurt so fucking much to be seen this way. He was just as important as Shanks. Roger loved him too. And to this day, being Shanks' shadow still haunts him. I love the angst Shuggy has. It breaks me and I love it.

Then, (and this is something I adore) with the creation of Cross Guild, Buggy has the chance to get out of Shanks' shadow. He's surrounded by two guys who only think about money and stability and business and... It's boring, isn't it? It's not flashy! And I think he has this realization of "this is my chance to prove I'm worth something. This is my chance to actually go for my dream. Mine" because these two idiots keep talking about boring things instead of following their dreams and aspirations and bigger things! And it just shows how much Buggy truly cared about Laugh Tale and the One Piece and how much he has had to wait for it. And this has nothing to do with Shuggy, I just really love this fucking clown.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I love Shanks making Buggy lose the map and eat the devil fruit. Because, okay, in retrospect it feels very stupid because it was a simple accident. But just hear me out- Even though it was an accident, Buggy lost his ability to swim for powers he didn't want. He lost the ability of independence, because what's a pirate on his own if he can't swim? He lost his individuality that night, and we see him depend on others constantly throughout the show. And Shanks mentioning that Buggy is a great swimmer? Oh, fuck you Oda for making me cry so early in the show. Then, the map. He lost his individuality and then he lost the only thing that led him to a future with treasures and his dreams. Then again, losing his independence because he couldn't just go on his own without a map. Fucking great. The fact that Shanks jumps to rescue him the second Buggy starts to drown haunts me at night, too. They're just so-- Ugh.

But Shuggy is not everything about Buggy's resentment and angst. And it's not about Shanks missing him and wanting his best friend back because he doesn't know what happened for him to run away so easily.

It's also about unconditional love, and I am so passionate about that. Shanks care and love for Buggy is something the fandom exaggerates but... These people are not wrong, tbh. Shanks gave up his dream to go to Laugh Tale (postponed it) to stay with Buggy and take care of him because he was sick. Shanks is a very selfless person all the way, and when it comes to Buggy it seems that he doesn't hesitate to put him first (in serious situations. Their usual arguments don't count. They're just stupid, and love to argue and fight like the divorced couple they are). And besides, this happens right in the same episode after Toki gets sick and Oden wants to take care of her but she forces him to follow his dream and leave her behind. Like- What the actual fuck. Ah, yes, parallel the main couple in the Wano arc. I'm sure that's not romantic at all. The difference is that Shanks stayed. And god, does that hurt. Especially when he says they'll go on their own one day, because it shows he cared about Laugh Tale too (I mean, ofc, but from Buggy's POV it's just different).

To end this I also want to say that, leaving the whole deep analysis behind: Their personalities just match. They're funny to watch. They're cute. They have an angsty story behind them. They won't stop arguing like little kids but they care for each other still. They are chaotic. They're just... Perfect for each other.

Hope you liked my tiny essay about them because I could've kept going on and on and on about it, but some people (like me, sadly) have to wake up early tomorrow to work instead of just posting about gay fictional characters (somebody please pay me to do these things and I'll stay on tumblr 24/7).

[whereistheonepiece]

Theres this theory going around that Buggy found a way to split himself so precisely that he can split his own atoms causing a large explosion. People are saying he found this out and made it public via a big fight or something and thats why hes considered enough of a threat to be an emperor. Any thoughts?? Like from a story teller pov what would you do with that concept with how the story is currently going???

My thoughts are Oda has made it clear over the last two decades that Buggy could be one of the most powerful pirates out there if he actually put in effort and trained.

As a Buggy stan I do think it would be great if he reached his full potential, yet I also find it hilarious that he is the definition of White Man Failing Upwards. Buggy is a mediocre pirate that has gotten as far as he has thanks to dumb luck, his past with Roger, and no one bothering to fact check. And I think that's hilarious because I love seeing this pathetic little man get thrown into situations that he has to bullshit his way out of.

Buggy has gotten as far as he has because of the aforementioned reasons and also because Oda thinks it's funny. I could be entirely wrong about this, but Buggy strikes me as the kind of character that was meant to be a one off villain who keeps coming back because Oda is so attached to him and thinks it's funny that such a shitty (albeit funny) pirate has gotten as far as he has. This literal clown survives the Grand Line, becomes a Warlord, and is now an Emperor, through no effort of his own. (Well, I can't say that for sure about his becoming an Emperor but I am 99% sure this is what happened.) Why? Because it's funny and unexpected.

My brother has proposed the possibility of Buggy making an atom bomb once as a joke. And I think that if Buggy were to create an atom bomb, it would be an updated version of the Buggy/Muggy Ball. Why? Because it's my headcanon that he's a technical genius since he seemingly made his Muggy Ball in prison. Buggy may be lazy and shifty, but he has his own strengths. He can make his own explosives and he's apparently competent at running his own business. He took the power of the Buggy Ball and condensed it into a pellet that can fit in his shoe. So if he's made an atom bomb I believe it would be an actual bomb and not through mastering his fruit.

But the more I think about it, the more I'm beginning to believe that Buggy became an Emperor through a misunderstanding, just like he became a Warlord. I think something must have happened when the Marines came for him and his crew. Something big and flashy and totally an accident. And the Marines think Buggy did it, so they think he's dangerous enough to become an Emperor now that there are two openings.

And so if I were Oda, that's what I would do. I would continue what I've done with the character's trajectory for the last twenty years and take it to its logical conclusion. Actually I think its logical conclusion would be making him Pirate King if I didn't care about pissing off readers lmao. I just. I think Buggy and Luffy are similar in that both are unnaturally lucky. But barring that, I'd have Buggy become Emperor through no merit of his own because it's funny and shocking. Several people have pointed out now that our beloved protagonist is an Emperor now but all anyone can talk about is Buggy. Because it's funny and shocking.