#—shuggy reconciliation

[the-obnoxious-sibling]

How do you think it’s most possible way of shuggy getting together rn? How could cross guild react to that info? I think shanks would lost mihawks respect so fast

hm... the thing is, i think buggy is still pretty angry with shanks. and shanks… well, he's acting less passively than he used to, but that seems to be in service of a long established goal; idk if that change in behavior extends to interpersonal stuff. it's hard to picture either of them taking the necessary first step to even see each other again, let alone get together.

so let's have chance take that first step for them.

the easiest way to make it happen is through their common goal: the one piece. there are only so many different paths to take to get there, and at some point all of them will intersect. whether it's finding that burn-scarred man, or the second-to-last island, or on laugh tale itself, at some point the paths merge, and if the timing works out, they can reunite.

now, that reunion probably starts messy—especially if buggy’s been stewing over why shanks is going after the one piece now, when he refused all those years ago—but i think, regardless of the content of the conversation, seeing buggy again sparks an idea in shanks. after all this time apart, to run into each other twice in as many years, both times connected to their captain’s legacy? (his son, and then his treasure?) it almost feels fated. like captain roger is pushing them together…

and so, on something like a whim, shanks’ plans change, just a little. pursuing the one piece and buggy simultaneously could be tricky, if they weren’t all heading the same direction. but since they are, it’s trivial to arrange to run into him again, to have gifts on hand, compliments prepared, an afternoon to kill.

buggy takes a while to pick up on what’s happening. at first he thinks shanks is trying to distract him, to trick him into losing sight of his goal… then, as the old longing wells up inside him like high tide, as he realizes how much he wants it to be real, he thinks shanks knows, and he’s being mocked.

i don’t know what it is that makes him see shanks is being sincere. it would be very funny if mihawk or crocodile was the one to make him face facts, but i can’t quite figure out why or how it would happen that way.

suffice to say, he realizes, has a little freakout, and the next time shanks just so happens to be at the same port as buggy they have it out. there’s shouting, buggy’s body falls apart in a rage, more shouting, a very frustrated love confession, kissing, more shouting, more kissing. very messy, but ultimately a happy resolution.

and this is either a completely private conversation or happening in front of both of their crews and one of big news morgans’ reporter-photographers. i’m also 50-50 on whether they come out of the conversation as allies in the one piece hunt or more competitive about it than ever.

either way, mihawk and crocodile have been a reluctant, unwilling captive audience to buggy’s side of things, so the get-together does not take them by surprise. i think crocodile is pretty fed up with all of it—he doesn’t give a shit about the one piece or shanks, why is so much of his time being occupied by one or both of them—and mihawk is just… drinking more. he lost most of his respect for shanks a while ago, when he first connected the dots between the old friend shanks used to reminisce about when he got too drunk after a duel and buggy. this is just… new lows being discovered, lol.

[shanksxbuggy]

What would be the perfect shuggy ending for you and what ending is the most possible for them? If shanks dies before they make up I will die (I know he will die)

For a perfect shuggy ending their individual character arcs would have to feel emotionally resolved. First and foremost I want to see what Uta is doing in the present day, and I want to see her reunite with Shanks and have them be father and daughter again. With Shanks’ depression over their separation and his promise that she’ll always be his daughter no matter what, I can’t imagine a happy ending for him without reconciliation between them.

I’d like Buggy to feel accomplished in his own genuine achievements and form true bonds with Crocodile and Mihawk (wishful thinking).

I suppose a perfect happy ending would be where I get to see Buggy meeting Uta too. Also, Buggy and Shanks vacationing in Wano and meeting up with Momo and Hiyori.

Shanks and Buggy will definitely meet again before one of them kicks it. But it might not be until the very last battle they actually meet again. I don’t think either of them are really looking to make up with each other, Buggy made his decision back at Loguetown and Shanks respected it all these years. Now they’re both going after the One Piece in their own separate ways. They are more likely to bump into each other as rivals after the same goal, and it might end up being a comedic moment like in Marineford.

I have my share of theories/analyses on Shanks and Buggy that I keep in the drafts because they sound too insane.

Shanks has the same role as Ace where he basically exists for Luffy’s character growth. If Ace was the ideal big brother, Shanks is the ideal adult role model for Luffy.

For now Luffy still has this ‘safety net’ of chasing Shanks who is waiting for him. But for Luffy to truly grow up into an adult, he has to learn the uncertainty of living without that safety net to look forward to. That’s why Shanks either has to die or go someplace Luffy can’t reach so they never meet again. It’s a very classic trope in coming-of-age stories where kids grow up when they finally stop clinging onto the adults they relied on and let them go.

I’ve gotten this idea in my head that if Shanks doesn’t die, he will go to the moon.

Look, I don’t know why, but the moon is surely important. And I feel like Shanks is connected to the moon somehow.

Actually years ago when I thought about an ending, I thought Shanks would stay on Laughtale for whatever reason. Because he always seemed like the final hurdle and gatekeeper of that island. Shanks would say goodbye to Luffy, only it’s him watching Luffy sail away just like Luffy watched Shanks sail away in the beginning. Maybe Buggy can stay on Laughtale too because why not, you know he can’t keep up the Cross Guild facade forever so he’s gotta find some other fate.

But truly I don’t have a most likely ending in mind for them because I think the One Piece treasure and the ending is going to be something most people don’t expect.

If anyone has their ideas for a shuggy ending feel free to share. I could use better ideas than my ‘Shanks goes to the moon’ idea.

[the-obnoxious-sibling]

You once discussed cross guild reaction to shuggy. Sorry u can’t find it! How do you think rn would the rest react? Buggy crew, mainly Alvida and galdino? In your fanfic he’s pushing it but it has different vibe because of the situation he’s in. So right now? I think shanks crew would be chill about it, maybe shocked? Shanks has vibe like he never told them about buggy? Thank you!

i think this post may be the one you’re thinking of, anon!

as to the rest of the crew—as you say, galdino’s encouragement in my fic is very context-specific. shanks is an emperor, and that’s terrifying, but more importantly he is the guy who decides whether buggy and galdino are getting off that boat alive, and he’s been acting very flirty with buggy. buggy reciprocating might save their lives… or at least keep shanks distracted until they reach their destination.

but when you’re looking at the possibility in the present day? shanks doesn’t have that same power over them. (he could, if he wanted, but he’s not a clear and present danger.) there aren’t any significant advantages to getting involved with shanks, and there are plenty of risks. i can’t see galdino being happy about shanks and buggy getting together unless buggy’s situation changes drastically for the worse. (which, knowing buggy, could happening very easily.)

my thoughts on the others you asked about are below the cut.

i’m not quite as confident about my grasp on alvida’s thoughts and motives… her alliance with buggy has always struck me as staying remarkably professional. she’s not impressed that buggy’s a former roger pirate, but she is impressed that so many strong impel down felons followed him, and that he’s got captain john’s map bracelet. thinking about it like that, i think she probably doesn’t care about his love life until/unless it impacts her well-being. so, once the marines become aware that these two emperors and ex-roger pirates are associating—though the marines no doubt think it’s for alliance-building reasons only. at which point i expect alvida would shrug and preemptively welcome the presumed change in leadership, same as last time someone much stronger than buggy barged into their lives.

cabaji and mohji… you know, they occupy an interesting space to me. i do believe they care about and for buggy, but they are also painfully aware that they’re in over their heads and have been for years. unlike alvida (who is literally untouchable) and galdino (who has made himself useful), the only thing keeping these two alive is buggy’s reputation. so they do need to be a bit pragmatic about things… but on the other hand, they were around for the bitter ranting years. they know how furious—how hurt—buggy was. so i think, like galdino, they are not a fan of this development… but it’s about equal parts concern for buggy’s heart and for their own lives.

as to shanks’ crew… i don’t think his connection to roger is a secret from them, so they may have heard a bit about buggy? but i don’t think from shanks directly; he doesn’t really talk about the past to anyone who wasn’t present for it. if his crew was around when he talked with rayleigh or whitebeard… though, overhearing them talk wouldn’t really convey what buggy meant to shanks. so yeah, i think it’s a bit of a surprise. but if the boss is happy—and that happens so rarely—then i think they’re happy for him.

(beckman may have some reservations for reasons similar to cabaji and mohji: he was there for the more vulnerable years after roguetown, and he’s not wild about shanks risking his heart on this clown again. but shanks is a grown man, he can make his own choices.)

[the-obnoxious-sibling]

I personally don’t think he has to do anything, I think it’s purely buggy issue he needs to work out.

Now when that’s out the way. Does buggy even thinks about “forgiving” shanks? Yes, he hold a grudge etc, but what would he want for shanks to do in order to “make it up for him”? Is there anything there that would make buggy rethink his hatred? I feel like he is like angry for the sake of being angry.

this reads like it's in response to a specific post but i have no idea which one. please forgive me if i repeat myself, anon, i don't know what context you're asking this question in.

i definitely agree that buggy is being angry for anger's sake. because it's easier for him to be angry than to acknowledge that he got his feelings hurt (which is what really happened that day in roguetown). hurt feelings are a vulnerability, are a weakness, so it's better (safer) to just be angry.

so, is there anything shanks could do to make up for hurting buggy's feelings, when buggy won't even acknowledge that that's what shanks did? can shanks do something to get buggy to forgive him? i waffle on this. sometimes i think yeah, if shanks just did the thing that buggy wanted him to do in the first place, then buggy would—but would he, really? and it's a bit late at this point to go after the one piece together, they both have their own crews going after it. what are they gonna do, combine forces? god, i wish.

if shanks learned the truth behind their roguetown split and came to buggy looking to make amends, what would buggy ask for? because an apology would definitely not be enough in buggy's mind, he holds way too tightly to his grudges for words to do the job. treasure? an act of public humiliation? some fairy tale-ish, "scarborough fair"-y impossible task??

well, since i don't think shanks is likely to find out this particular truth, i instead tend to prefer buggy coming to realize that holding this grudge served no purpose, and that he would rather have shanks in his life than cling to childhood anger. whether he makes this realization in time to meaningfully act on it is up to the reader, idk your preferred level of shuggy angst.

[the-obnoxious-sibling]

The thing that makes ME believe in shuggy is the “what was the reason then”

All the interactions and their reactions

They were so early established as at least knowing each other

There were so many different options to not make them go to LT but no, it was because shanks wanted to stay with buggy

Also I don’t think the only reason Buggy was so angry at Shanks was because of their promise of LT. When he talks about it you can see Shanks interacting with Roger while Buggy is hiding around the corner. I think Buggy saw it more as betrayal of legacy that happened to be symbolised by the LT and hat, and whenever brought up we got emotional reactions from Buggy.

And personally maybe I’m weird but I would be a little bit moved someone believed in me so much since day one. That I would carry legacy of someone we both admired through our entire live

yeah!!

if buggy was only meant to provide a contrast with shanks’ way of being a pirate, that was addressed in his first appearance. why would he keep showing up again and again? he must have another purpose for still being in the story. his history with shanks, and that unfulfilled desire to see the last island, are perfectly plausible purposes.

and you’re totally right about buggy having more than one reason for being angry with shanks! i’ve tended to focus on his first reaction—you’re not who i thought you were, shanks… aren’t you gonna be the king of the next generation?—but his second—i thought captain roger’s wish was for you to follow in his footsteps!!—is also important. it’s not just buggy’s personal dream falling apart, it’s his perception of their captain’s legacy too.

now, my thought on this is that shanks had a different understanding of what roger wanted, of what he was doing with his last words. (i don’t have a strong suspicion of what, at this point, that mystery’s too mysterious for me just yet.) so he didn’t see it as his legacy to inherit. i think in his mind just being a pirate, happy and free, would make roger proud of him.

expectations are a curious thing. they can be an honor (that someone thinks so highly of you!) or a burden (that someone expects you to do things you have no interest in). they can weigh you down, or lift you up. at this point it’s anyone’s guess what shanks would think of buggy’s expectations. maybe he would be flattered! idk.

[the-obnoxious-sibling]

How optimistic you are about shuggy?

optimistic in what way?

about the pair of them surviving to the end of the story? i think buggy makes it to the last arc for sure, though i’m 50/50 on whether he survives it. i would like him to, but i would like for a lot of things to happen that i don’t consider likely. as for shanks, i am on the record as being very uncertain of his fate. i would love for him to live, but. he is the protagonist’s mentor and idol, so… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

about the pair of them reconciling? again, i would fucking love it. peak buggy character arc resolution, imo. but i’m always a little uncertain whether he’s actually going to get a fulfilling arc, or end up just a joke in the end. and shanks’ arc doesn’t need that reconciliation the same way buggy’s does (again, imo), so it might not happen.

well, either way, i guess the short answer is i’m not pinning my hopes on anything, but i am happy to be proven wrong!

[the-obnoxious-sibling]

Everyone has big theories and hopes and I’m just here with simple need of shanks and buggy becoming close again. Idc about other stuff, I complete trust Oda but I need them to be friends for at least a minute (assuming bb bb will kill shanks)

yeah, a reconciliation is pretty high up on my wishlist too!

i would like it to last a little longer than a minute, though; Death Means Redemption/Death Means Forgiveness is a trope i’ve lost my fondness for over the years. put in an effort! actually try to figure out what went wrong!

i don’t want them to skip over the hard work because they’ve run out of time to do it, you know?

[the-obnoxious-sibling]

You are truly fascinating person. You look at OP so differently than most Reddit or Tumblr fans I encountered. There were two types of usual consensus I noticed about 1082.

1. Shanks is 100% correct and Buggy was just being idiotic with his idea. It’s good he left.

2. Poor Buggy, I hope they will be besties again. I’m sure Shanks would understand him and be so sad about what happened.

You are so fresh in your takes. I love it.

thank you, that’s so kind of you to say!

i try to be thoughtful about what we know about these characters—their thoughts and feelings, the things we as readers know they know, the things we know they don’t know, and the great big void of unknown unknowns (things they might know that we don’t know about, things we don’t know that they also don’t know, etc.). i hope it helps me to look at conflicts between characters with less bias.

(…though it would help if we got even half as much insight into shanks’ thoughts as buggy’s. i sometimes think we’ve seen more of buggy’s thoughts than shanks’ spoken words.)

[the-obnoxious-sibling]

Reading your posts made me realised I don’t want shanks and buggy together again? I don’t see how they could be close to each other if not being kinda forced to be around each other for so many years. They don’t understand each other, nor they actually wish to?

oh, i think the tragedy is that they did want to! they were just... bad at it.

and i agree, i think i've mentioned it before—it would take a lot of work to be close again. whether we as readers think they would be willing to put in that effort is a matter of personal opinion at this point! for you, it sounds like it’s a no; for me, it’s a not yet.

[the-obnoxious-sibling]

I really want shuggy getting back to be besties, brothers, whatever you want to call it, to happen without anyone else helping them that much because I feel it would de kinda undeserved? It’s their job, mostly buggy, to get over this miscommunication and maybe some help but not a lot. I wish Oda would focus only on them in that scenario.

I still hope it will be too late though. Shanks die rn, i need the clown to suffer

i totally understand the desire for these guys to fix their own problems! i don’t know that i trust them to do it, though. when shanks doesn’t seem to know why things broke bad between them, and buggy shows no signs of wanting to reconcile… seems tricky to fix something when one party doesn’t know how it broke and the other won’t admit they want it fixed, you know?

[the-obnoxious-sibling]

If you wanted to convince someone to give shuggy a chance what would you tell them? I wonder what arguments you would find the best for them

well, that really depends on who it is i’m trying to convince! you have to tailor your argument to your audience, after all.

if it’s someone totally new to one piece, i wouldn’t offer too many details upfront. the way their history is gradually revealed in canon is really compelling for me, i wouldn’t want to ruin that experience for a new reader. i’d probably describe the ship in vague terms… something like: luffy’s mentor has a messy, almost tragicomic history with one of luffy’s antagonists, which reveals itself to be even messier the further you get into the story.

now, if it’s someone who already knows the whole story, i don’t have to worry about spoilers, i have find a way to explain the appeal of the ship.

for me, that’s tied up in narrative stuff. their roles in the story, their character arcs, how their relationship fits into the larger themes of one piece… so rather than present an argument for shuggy, i think i would probably present my audience with the type of questions this ship makes me think about, in the hopes that thinking about those questions for themselves will help my audience to understand where i’m coming from when i say i ship it.

if they’re pretty neutral on shanks and buggy as characters, i think i’d use a similar tack as with my one piece newbie: they’re narrative foils with a tragicomic history, going from twenty years no contact to being back on their bullshit again on sight. and now they’re both emperors searching for the one piece! do you think the seriousness of their goal can overpower that instinctive reversion to old habits? are they going to squabble like children over whose ship landed at laugh tale first?

if they’re already a fan of shanks, i think i’d emphasize the shared history kept secret. in one piece, characters tend to fall into one of two categories; either “never shuts up about the past (it’s my motivation/grudge)” or “never talks about the past (to keep precious memories safe/keep painful memories at a distance),” and shanks is definitely in that latter category; narratively he’s almost always associated with the future, and we’ve only seen him talk about his past with people who were part of it (rayleigh, whitebeard). buggy was a big part of that past, and things between them ended badly. do you think memories of buggy are more precious or painful to shanks these days? do you think that could change? would buggy have to be part of his present or future for shanks to feel comfortable talking about their past?

if they’re already a fan of buggy, i’d focus on buggy’s character arc. buggy’s most emotional moments in one piece have involved shanks—specifically, shanks accidentally wrecking his plans in increasingly tragic ways, and shanks never understanding why because buggy wouldn’t admit what his plans were in the first place. this, and the battle of selfishness vs selflessness that’s an ongoing theme with buggy, seem to be leading to a character arc-concluding encounter. there’s no way of knowing how that encounter will end… but we can guess. what do you think would be most satisfying: shanks accidentally helping buggy succeed this time? shanks accidentally wrecking buggy’s plans for a third time, but getting to know why? buggy choosing to wreck his plans for shanks’ sake? the two of them choosing to work together? something else altogether??

and if they dislike either shanks or buggy… well, i’ll be honest, i don’t think i could convince a hater to ship it. 🤔 maybe if they hated both of them, i could convince them in a “those two deserve each other (derogatory)” kinda way.

[the-obnoxious-sibling]

Three asks in one

1. “since i don't think shanks is likely to find out this particular truth” you don’t think so? I’m gonna be honest I always hoped they would make amends with both learning the truth. I really don’t want this to be one sided. I think shanks is hiding a lot and I hate the idea of him not knowing how much buggy saw in him.

2. “an act of public humiliation?” We need a whole episode where shanks just agrees to that and the whole 20 minutes is just him in random situations with buggy next to him who in the worst possible moments asks him to do weird humiliating but stupid stuff. Shanks will be talking to gorosei and suddenly he hears “and now crack the egg on your forehead”

3. Sorry if it’s already there, I couldn’t find it. but will you ever post your nonfic shuggy thing on ao3?

(context for 2/3 of this)

well, as much as i would like for shanks to find out the truth, i don't actually think mihawk's gonna spill the beans, and i find it hard to imagine buggy ever being honest with shanks about it. but maybe i'm wrong! maybe they get to laugh tale at the same time and it starts raining and buggy snaps and dramatically reveals all! he's a hard one to predict sometimes.

i would 100% watch that episode.

the near miss fics aren't posted on ao3—yet! i have some edits (mostly spag, some content & structure) to make before they're ao3 ready, and i'm holding off on some of those until after i finish the post-marineford story. (i do think i'm on the last part, but it's been a hard part to write.) but fear not, you'll know when it's going up on ao3 because i won't be subtle about it! i'm gonna crosspost! and self-reblog! and share all the art @midydoof has been sending me!! (i am very excited for that last part especially :3c)

[the-obnoxious-sibling]

Mihawk is primed and ready to be dragged into Buggy's orbit, kicking and screaming of course(metaphorically, he is too dignified for these theatrics), idk like he can reluctantly wingman him and Shanks into reuniting, it will be hilarious. Mihawk long-sufferingly aiding idiot one and idiot two into making up and leaving and freeing him and Crocodile from Buggy's burden in the process. I just find it endlessly fascinating how Mihawk, offense over the clown aesthetics and grovelling aside, kept his ass alive (to use him, but we can all tell that neither he nor Crocodile have managed to do much controlling, apart from physical abuse that's played for laughs). I want to see what Oda will do with his clown blorbo and the characters he has sentenced to association with Buggy, every direction will bring forth so much fun stuff

if there's one thing we know about mihawk it's that he is always trying so hard to not care about other people. it's those trust issues rearing their head again; mihawk seems like one of those guys who thinks if he doesn't get close to anyone then he can't get hurt by anyone.

well, tough luck, hawkeyes. no man is an island, and proximity will bring with it concern if not affection, no matter how you try to resist.

he definitely could wingman the shuggy reconciliation at this point, but would he? i think he's content to pretend he doesn't care about either shanks or buggy until the end of time—or until emperor buggy's shadow is no longer a safe place for him to hide. at that point, i think as he's packing to leave mihawk would casually inform buggy that he's sent shanks a message revealing all, so now buggy will be shanks' problem and not mihawk's.

(why yes, i'm never getting over perona's tears about mihawk not saying a single kind thing to her until right before she moves out leaves gloom island. he's so tsuntsun it's unreal.)

anyway, i agree, i want more cross guild screen time asap!! i need to know what this chaotic group's idea of a one piece hunt looks like. how much of the upper management is just getting day drunk while buggy's biggest fans do the real work? or have they actually gotten invested in the hunt against their will?? i wanna knooooow

[the-obnoxious-sibling]

Emotional damage aside

How do you think buggy arc, assuming we will get one, can play out without him interacting with shanks? And do you think buggy just getting over his past friendship would be having equally satisfying impact on the story as them becoming close again?

well, my shuggy bias is 100,000% at play here, but i think a version of buggy’s arc that doesn’t involve shanks in the end just can’t be as satisfying as one that does involve him, whether it’s a proper reconciliation or just confrontation/closure. the way buggy thinks and feels about shanks has been such a huge part of the way buggy talks about his life and thinks about his goals, it would feel imbalanced to me if he wasn’t there at the end, somehow.

but what could a buggy arc without shanks in it look like? that’s an interesting question. two options (one a hurt no comfort version of my lt fic still pretty shanks-oriented, one an honest attempt at a shanksless buggy arc) below the cut.

if we’re just saying no interactions, shanks can still be part of buggy’s story in absentia, as he has been for much of canon. something to strive for, the measuring stick of buggy’s life, always frustratingly out of reach… until now. now buggy can practically taste the look of shock and awe on shanks’ face when buggy beats him to the one piece! it’s gonna be so good, getting everything he wants and rubbing it in his stupid face. but then shanks dies. shanks is dead. he never got the one piece, and he never got to see buggy get the one piece, and buggy’s never going to see him again, and— the one piece is within buggy’s reach, and so is the person who killed shanks. what does buggy want more: riches or revenge? what does he value more: treasure or an old friend?

buggy wants the one piece for two reasons, right? one: because it’s the biggest most valued most legendary treasure on the planet, and buggy loves treasure. and two: because it’s captain roger’s treasure, and buggy wants to inherit that legacy, if shanks won’t do it. so i think we could manage a satisfying no-shanks arc for buggy if it involves him proving himself worthy of roger’s legacy. not by getting the one piece—i may be engaging in buggy-centric speculation but i think we all know that thing’s meant for luffy—but by gaining the respect of cross guild, and of the other emperors, and of the wider pirate world. the marines are wary of their misapprehension of buggy’s charisma; let’s see his real inspirational ability used for a good purpose. let’s have half the world call him a hero and half call him a monster, and either way mean that they consider him roger’s successor! let’s have rayleigh show up and tell buggy he’s proud of him!!!