This Is Not A Hostile Question Btw!!! I’m Just Genuinely Interested. Please Forgive Me If This Is Phrased

the new splat4 idol group looks a bit strange

i’ve seen a lot of people genuinely confused about shachi and penguin’s relationship in canon. i happen to be hyperfixated on them both, so i thought i’d write a post briefly explaining the origin of their bond!!

i think the confusion stems from the fact most one piece fans haven’t read law’s novel, and learned more about penguin and shachi exclusively through the wiki, which (despite the editors’ much appreciated work) sometimes lacks info. when the wiki says “their parents were killed in a tsunami” it doesn’t mean they share the same parents, as someone seems to think. this is clarified in law’s novel (thank you @/odaslaughtale for your translation!), in the paragraph where penguin opens up about their past.

plus, if they were related, i don’t think there would have been a point in specifying the people that took them in after the death of their parents were exclusively shachi’s relatives and not penguin’s.

we don’t know exactly when shachi and penguin met, but since their parents knew each other and it was normal for the two families to hang out together, it’s not a stretch to think they have known each other since birth due to their parents being friends or something like that. it warms my heart just thinking about it sorry

i obviously don’t have anything against people that see penguin and shachi as siblings; everyone is allowed to interpret the relationship between characters as they’d like (when no type of bond is explicitly stated in canon!!!), and exchanging ideas and headcanons is without doubt one of the best parts of fandom culture. however, i don’t want people to unknowingly spread misinformation, especially since law’s novel isn’t available in all languages and some may not have access to it. so i thought a post like this might be useful!!

I sent you an ask about shanks hiding his scars in more than the chapter you posted and I’m not sure you got it?

hi! yes i did get it, don't worry! i'm still writing my answer cause it's a bit long and in-depth, but i should post it soon if all goes well :)

new official art for law's birthday!!!

the hearts baked him a cake... this is the sweetest thing ever

they're so girlfriends

I’ve been searching you 4ever and now I know it’s you who wrote that thing bout shanks I looked at one of people I follow and they reblogged with their own meta about panel with mihawk When he goes and meets shanks He has the same thing going on The scar cover The meta said shanks has to feel guilty for losing arm and now he can’t finish rivalry with shanks Shanks still wants to duel but it will never happened

What do you think? Since you wrote so much about the theory I ask u Finally it’s you I found you

hi, thank you so much for sending this!! i'm glad you were able to find me, and i'm sorry for making you wait so long for a reply, but i'm here now!

i'm glad you brought this to my attention; i honestly didn't remember the existence of this panel, but you're right in saying it looks a lot like the ones i analyzed in this post, so i will briefly explain what i think about it.

there's something that sets this panel apart from the ones i included in my meta post, and it's the context in which it's placed. in this particular moment, the reader is meant to see shanks from mihawk's point of view, while still maintaining a sense of suspence: mihawk isn't afraid of shanks, but he's still alert while approaching him; at the same time, the reader still doesn't know who mihawk came to look for, and the scar is a very distinct characteristic that would kind of "spoil" the reveal. i think the scar was hidden mainly as a way to keep the suspense high, to put it simply.

i don't think the fact his scar is covered is linked to his missing arm, or his rivalry with mihawk in general. however, it's true that mihawk was seeking out shanks to inform him about luffy's bounty, so the paneling might have also been used as a little callback to the moment when shanks lost his arm in the first chapter!

in conclusion, you were right, anon, in pointing out how the panel mirrors the ones from chapter 1 and chapter 434; however, while those two instances were meant to portray shanks's weakness, i think this one does the exact opposite: it channels strength, in a way that is characteristic of shanks throughout the whole manga.

SHACHI SAYS TRANS RIGHTS!!!!!!! 🏳️‍⚧️

@transfem-sanuso hi

THE SHUGGY PIECE... THE SHUGGY PIECE IS REAL!!!!!

What do you think about the main 4 heart pirates as a big polycule? As they've grown up together Law, Bepo, Penguin and Shachi might have experienced puberty together. 🤔❤️❤️❤️❤️

hi! sorry for taking so long to answer. real life got in the way

i think bepo should be kept out of this discussion because he's considerably younger than the other three (he was 9 when he met the others; law was 13, shachi was 14, and penguin was 15). as for the other three, i like to imagine them experimenting with romance and physical affection together, even though i think law would be a bit resistant and hesitant at first. he's generally not one to show affection explicitly, and would find the idea of "trying things out" with his only friends, the people he's closest to, very embarrassing. penguin and shachi have for sure tried to convince him though, since they're famously attracted to him...

anyway, this leaves us with only penguin and shachi, which isn't surprising coming from me lmao. but yeah, i think they would be open to experimenting together: they spend every moment together, and they share everything, so it's only natural for them to talk about these things and maybe even have their first experiences together. after all, something noticeable about them is that they basically have negative game. they're noticeably Not Good with ladies in canon. so it's safe to say they might have agreed to experimenting together romantically due to the lack of other options. the fact they end up falling in love in the process is a story for another time <3

I have maybe stupid thought/question. It’s thought that changes into question. And it could be dumb so I choose anon option.

Let’s go! “it channels strength, in a way that is characteristic of shanks throughout the whole manga.” This got my attention because maybe I’m an idiot but a lot of those moments are shanks mask. He is playing big bad emperor, he needs to do it to protect his fleet. We see it more recently. I understood this that way. “mihawk isn't afraid of shanks, but he's still alert while approaching him”. That also. Tbh I always saw them as two close friends who occasionally spared for the title. But this looks weird to me now? I just thought shanks face is a joke because he is just hangover but acts like something big is going on. But your interpretation seems to be more into shanks is channeling his emperor persona. And yes mihawk is dangerous but I never thought he would attack shanks? He constantly is against that. I’m not sure why, can we trust him it’s only arm or something more? Does he care about shanks that much? Not attacking luffy would point to it. So if that’s the case why is shanks like that? Putting this strength face on? Sorry if it’s stupid.

it's not stupid at all, i see your point of view and all your questions are valid to me.

i think when talking about shanks we necessarily have to split between two separate readings of his character, and look at him from two different points of view: the one of the readers and the one of the other characters.

it's obvious that shanks has two sides to him; his emperor persona is in direct opposition to his sillier, more carefree side. when we see shanks in the manga, we always look at him from the point of view of other characters, mainly luffy, buggy or, like in the case we are talking about, mihawk. as the point of view varies, so does shanks's demeanor, depending on what type of relationship he has with said character. after a brief menacing introduction, and after luffy's wanted poster is revealed, we see a side of shanks that is adjacent to the one we see in luffy's flashbacks: mihawk is an old friend of his, so he invites him for a drink and makes space for him to celebrate with his crew. the air felt thick before mihawk mentioned luffy, but only because his visit was sudden and unannounced. don't forget mihawk was a warlord at the time, so of course shanks got defensive. they weren't exactly on bad terms, it's true, but they're both two affirmed figures now, so it's fair for them to be more cautious in the presence of the other.

if we hop behind the fourth wall and look for a non-diegetic explanation, then, it's more or less what i explained in my previous post. we, as readers, have a more global understanding of shanks. we know shanks puts up a front, an armor of sorts: behind his façade lies a more solemn version of himself, one that takes his place very seriously and appears more meditative and resolved. is this side of him a travesty, too? there's no way to know as of now.

i love how puzzling shanks is, it's my favorite part of his character. he's unpredictable, sometimes basically indefinite. it's not a character flaw, though. everything we know about him passes through other characters' visions, which contributes to the confusing outline the readers have of him. it's a tool that helps us know him without ever seeing his side of the story.