Buggy D Clown - Blog Posts

Become the shallow end

Oda being a writer of heavy themes doesn’t mean every random interaction is abuse, that has nothing to do with the fact that Shanks and Buggy are not an abusive friendship. They literally fight over things the way they did as children. Shanks isn’t some helpless guy being abused, nobody thinks this way when they look into them, Buggy having a rough attitude and Shanks being the even-tempered one has always been their dynamic since they were kids. Shanks is capable of tricking Buggy by lying about a treasure map, he knows how to work Buggy, they can bicker and bite back at each other. It’s not even that shitty, it’s just a typical One Piece friendship between men. No one is stopping you from disliking it, it’s how you police other fans from liking a typical dynamic in the story that’s not even presented as toxic.

Posttimeskip, what has Buggy done to Shanks that feels terrible or abusive at its worst? They seem to be living their own lives. What have they done besides being typical enemy pirates working on different things and not talk to each other? Buggy canonically doesn’t even hit Shanks unless Shanks is also hitting him back like Nami does with the Strawhats. Buggy just says he’s angry over the treasure map. You could say objectively, even if Nami hits for the right reasons that’s still bad, beating up someone whenever you think they deserve it and they don’t fight back is still bad.

I basically mean you’re treating the shitty thing as unacceptable because it seems to be one of the crimes Buggy committed against Shanks. What change of behavior? He left to start his own pirate crew, neither of them sought each other out, what change of behavior are we supposed to see? They’re both enemy pirates going after the One Piece, at this point a sudden behavioral change doesn’t make sense and serves no purpose to the plot.

Nothing better to add then Buggy didn’t turn him down civilly. We’re suddenly judging characters by how civil they act in a show about pirates? Their father figure just died it was a pretty emotional moment. It was supposed to be a bad time  and emotional fallout.

I’m explaining why that dynamic exists from the characters’ portrayal in the story. I’m not saying Shanks can ‘handle it’, I’m saying in his view the argument would be so meaningless he would either fight back equally petty or completely forget about it, because that’s who his character is. Most of these arguments are just stuff that annoys them, because there hasn’t been anything they seriously have to fight about, or it just highlights their differences. While Shanks seems to care about fun and adventure, Buggy cares about piracy the connection between him and Shanks is based on their shared life of piracy. So when their views of piracy don’t align they have to separate. When they fight about the North Pole and South Pole, it’s an equal disagreement and we don’t know how it started. When Shanks lied about the treasure map and Buggy gets mad, neither of them actually seem victimized, Shanks just looks smarter and like he knows Buggy well for being able to trick him. That’s their canon dynamic, and the author writes it as a funny way to depict old friends. Friendships have that kind of dynamic where you’re both reckless with each other. You see this kind of dynamic in characters and pairings throughout One Piece. It’s not even about abuse it’s about friendship dynamics being able to do things everything without it becoming a matter of hard feelings, close friends are able fight and be flawed that can be lighthearted without it being overly sensitive about every little thing, realistic close relationships argue and act like idiots. Sanji can simp and Nami can beat people up because they’re close enough they can act like idiots with each other and know it’s not seriously harmful.

What’s the worst thing they have to apologize for? The separation at Loguetown? That was Buggy’s choice as his own free person. Shanks or Buggy could’ve sought out each other for twenty years in East Blue if they wanted to. Neither of them have to apologize, both of them likely have regretful feelings, it was an emotional night where they saw Roger die. As a reader, we should know Buggy doesn’t pose serious harm towards Shanks.

I’m not downplaying Shanks’ emotions. I’m saying between them there aren’t any major fights that are worth taking seriously, besides maybe Loguetown, but even that separation was for the best. Even objectively, it’s not a crime to go their own ways. Any serious fight, Shanks would fight back as he’s not shy about doing so with Buggy, but when he doesn’t it’s because it’s a superficial matter. Or Shanks also has flaws and the problem dynamic goes both ways. Just because Shanks doesn’t visibly shout or get angry doesn’t mean he can’t also be a flawed person and bad partner. I’ve seen your post being angry over the idea Shanks would shower more and drink less if he was with Buggy. Those are both completely inconsequential things that don’t hurt Shanks, it’s just a habit of his that someone could nag him about. Most of the fandom content you seem to complain about aren’t actually as serious as you claim and not worth screaming toxic over, you think even a slight attitude is toxic. I’ve never seen content where Buggy genuinely considers Shanks trash and Shanks suffers through the pain to treat Buggy preciously but you act like it’s everywhere. I’m not sure what example you’re talking about when it comes to serious arguments where Buggy treats him like trash over something genuinely serious and Shanks just doesn’t fight back. Most seem either like a joke or an inconsequential fight like the fruit and map, or because of the Loguetown fallout which was a miscommunication as kids anyways, so what other serious matter is there?

So many of these characters would be crazy in real life, if I was constantly thinking about real life I wouldn’t be able to watch the Strawhats because they’d be so much worse in real life. Buggy having an attitude and still being simped after looks incredibly tame compared to viewing the other characters through a real world lens. But this is a fantasy story where the bad attitudes play a role in entertainment and over-exaggerating character dynamics.

I understand if you just don’t like a character dynamic, but this is a fantasy story where every character dynamic is exaggerated for entertainment in some way. They’re enemy pirates, they aren’t even currently on speaking terms. One is the one who holds no grudges, the other still does, and fans just play on this existing dynamic because it aligns with their characters. It’s not even that absurd because Buggy is someone close to Shanks, they separated, had a petty fight, and are separately operating their own crews. Personally I don’t care for the overuse of Shanks as a lovesick dog but that’s a general fandom issue and not even that big of a deal.

So you refuse to accept that others might have a gentler interpretation of Buggy’s character by denying canon itself. Yet you claim this is not a bad faith reading at all, yeah, sure.

This isn’t Buggy is a tsundere argument, I never even used that word. The treasure map specifically is used as a joke and coverup in canon. We literally see Buggy using that as an excuse during Loguetown separation, when his true feelings were actually hidden, did you miss that? The treasure map is the petty thing you did that your old friend keeps bringing up. Buggy’s anger at Shanks is because of their separation at Loguetown. His inner thoughts and spoken words were different, because his inner thoughts were his real feelings. That’s what the men of One Piece are like, they don’t genuinely say their emotions because they have too much pride as men and pirates. By having Buggy use the treasure map excuse in Loguetown, it makes us understand the feelings he had everytime he said that before.

In Impel Down, there was an instance where Luffy was also very happy to see Buggy alive. Buggy is clearly treated as an annoyance like Mr 3. You don’t have to be a saint, more like understand that in the world of pirates fights happen all the time, and you learn to choose which squabbles are worth your time. Buggy is like a rock in his shoe, he’s annoying but he’s not someone like Blackbeard or Akainu. Luffy doesn’t like Buggy but he recognizes Buggy’s just a loser with some petty grudge against Shanks. If Buggy was seriously harmful towards Shanks he wouldn’t act so nonchalant with him. You think Buggy is going to be the villain that’s hardest to forgive? Buggy obviously is being shown in a more positive light when he made the speech about the One Piece and roped in Crocodile and Mihawk, when he sent money to a man’s dying family. The Roger Pirates still think well of Buggy.

We can’t really say why Rayleigh left, he’s also a mystery when it comes to his motivations and thoughts. Buggy leaving was the right decision anyways, you can’t be the subordinate to someone else if you have conflict with them and don’t agree with their goals. Look at what happened with Usopp and Luffy, that kind of conflict tears the crew apart and places a burden on the Captain. Buggy leaving was the best decision for both of them. Otherwise Shanks would’ve been like Luffy and prioritized his friend over his role as Captain. Buggy would’ve been a bad friend and bad crewmate had he joined Shanks and disrespected him as Captain and duelled him, but he never joined, they stayed apart as two fellow Captains on different paths.

The business of pirates is a lot like the mafia or criminal gangs, you have to hold your own and protect your reputation. I know some fans were shocked that Shanks’ crew blew up Bartolomeo’s crew even when he displayed such loyalty to Luffy. That’s just how the business of pirates is. 

I think it’s important to consider Shuggy in the context of the One Piece story, that’s where the authorial intent is. Especially for Shanks who still has many mysterious motivations and subtle readings to his character. Buggy acts like a regular pirate, and his attitude towards Shanks has constantly been regarded as petty beef between close friends. Amongst the many over-exaggerated character dynamics in One Piece, it’s not meant to be harmful, even outside of the author’s intent it just seems like a typical close relationship between two guys, and they’re extremely chummy for two enemy pirate Captains. Even Kinemon and his wife’s story was more ‘toxic’, he constantly stole money from her and he gambled it away and she paid off his debts while he was ungrateful. So many relationships use bickering and nagging as a way to signify closeness. Compared to canon couples the level of ‘harmful’ Buggy was towards Shanks wasn’t even that bad. You just seem extremely biased towards Buggy as if he’s a real person without understanding the common tropes utilized in the story and that he’s meant to be shown as someone important to and liked by Shanks. You say Shanks’ feelings are important, but Buggy’s feelings are also important since his dreams and desires have been given such spotlight as one of the Four Emperors. There is more to Buggy and he’s not just a harmful presence, his feelings have been given meaning and validation in the story.

I can understand if you just dislike Buggy on his own, nobody has to like a character, but tagging your hate about how harmful Buggy is while acting like you’re in a parasocial relationship with Shanks and policing others on the ship, you’re being completely irrational. 

I’m trying to explain why the dynamic exists. To us, we already know Shanks’ life is cool and admirable, but for Buggy that’s not what he wanted, while Shanks did want Buggy with him. If Buggy is so worthless in your eyes, then leaving was him doing what’s best for Shanks, despite Shanks’ wishes. Shanks loves his friends and loved ones more than anything, nothing can compare to that, you should know that as a fan. It’s not Buggy specifically, it’s any one of Shanks’ friends. If Yasopp suddenly left the crew to go back home, it would also be like Shanks lost someone precious, Yasopp is precious to him. That’s just Shanks’ character, his friends are his most precious treasure.

I knew you’d bring up Usopp since you’re not understanding the story. Usopp joined the crew and accepted Luffy as his Captain, then he belittled Luffy’s authority and challenged him to a duel to win the Going Merry as its Captain. When he tried to beat up Luffy and lost he even got pitied by being given the ship. Luffy not chasing after him wasn’t a matter of personal feelings, it was his responsibility as Captain and for their pride as pirates, and even then afterwards Luffy eagerly wanted to get Usopp back without apologies needed, but Zoro was the one who stopped him and couldn’t ignore the duel with the Captain and demanded he apologize. It’s a completely different situation from Buggy who turned down Shanks before he could accept him as his Captain. If even Luffy wanted to go after Usopp after the major disrespect and conflict he caused, of course Shanks would wish he could go after Buggy. I don’t think Buggy is particularly precious, but he is an important enough friend to Shanks for him to be that way.

Maybe Shanks will be revealed to be whatever you think he is, but we can’t be completely sure that’s what’s going on with him. He sure does seem like a good sacrificing hero. It’s more about how you thinks Shanks gets utterly wronged by the slightest offense because he’s some holy suffering figure, and that restricts your ability to see him as a fully fledged person. I think in ships and stories people prefer to think of Shanks as a human who is flawed and can be made fun of like other characters and not make everything about how great and noble of a sacrifice Shanks is. So fandom tends to blow up flaws because we see so little of him, like him being a careless drunk or giant baby, but that’s a general fandom issue. We know Shanks is cool, strong, goodlooking, most fans know that Buggy can’t match up to him, but to his close friends he can just be a normal guy without the pressure. Everyone probably worships or acts careful around an Emperor, so it’s more precious when someone treats him like a casual friend. In a relationship there has to be a reason why Shanks likes Buggy, he must love Buggy because he treats him like he did when they were kids. That’s a very possible interpretation that has nothing to do with toxicity.

Oh yeah, that dastardly kid. How dare he eat a fake devil fruit and keep a treasure map he found from an enemy pirate? The crew freely gave that fruit away for anyone to eat, and yeah, he’s a pirate who stole a map from an enemy. Maybe it’s just me, but in this story where the characters literally commit many crimes, a kid stealing on a pirate ship is not that bad. This is the same crew that was going to disband a year later anyways and leave Shanks and Buggy to fend for themselves.

There’s a difference between admitting a character is bad and what you’re doing. You talk about Buggy as if everything about him is an atrocity towards Shanks, and that everybody else has to feel the same. At most, it’s likely that Buggy is just meant to be greedy and dumb but harmless. Zosan or Shuggy, they are pretty similar in that they’ve both got a dynamic as naturally opposing forces, they both misunderstand each other and don’t fit over their differences. It’s not that Shuggy can’t be toxic or angsty, it’s literally filled with tons of angst content and messy exes content, but it’s not all because Buggy is the worst friend and undeserving which is how you make it out to be. It’s as if someone demanded reformation from Zosan fans for having Zoro loving on Sanji when it should be Sanji redeeming himself in Zoro’s eyes for his sexual harassment and for leaving the crew and Sanji should be asking for forgiveness from Zoro for beating up the Captain he gave everything for.

Shanks swooning over his lover is literally in every Shanks ship and Shanks x reader and Shanks x oc. Shanks being written as a sad and mentally unwell man is not that common anywhere. You literally just said that you think Shanks would be a simp in any ship, so every Shanks shipper is guilty of this. A lot of Shuggy content is when they’re younger too when Shanks didn’t have those problems, so you’re just saying things that other Shanks ships are more guilty of as they’re ‘pretending a troubled Shanks has a clear mind and being all lovey dovey’. I actually think then there’s too much Shanks and Luffy content that erases Shanks’ troubles over Uta and not enough Shanks and Uta content. Shanks might be depressed, but he’s still gonna try to have a positive mindset and maintain his old personality. If anything, Shuggy shippers are the only shippers who act like Shanks is flawed and unwell and copes badly, thus the jokes of he doesn’t wash and drinks too much. He isn’t alright because he misses Uta and Buggy. So shouldn’t you like Shuggy shippers because of this? Outside of Shuggy, people say Shanks is a whore who sleeps around and he has too many kids he abandons and neglects. But Shuggy shippers saying Shanks misses and longs for Buggy fits right into your characterization of him as a sad man who holds in his feelings.

I do agree Shanks has inner struggles going on. I think the ship doesn’t worsen or cheapen his struggles any more than others. Plenty of characters made sacrifices, they are both pirates and grown men, I very much doubt we’re supposed to clutch our pearls over people not treating him delicately. You’re too focused on characters not having the proper attitude when that’s just a typical friendship in One Piece. We don’t even have the whole picture of Shanks’ character and his plans. I’m not even saying I understand Shanks completely, but that’s why there’s gonna be different interpretations. He can have issues and still show love and happiness like many people do, he doesn’t have to be sulking and brooding all the time. Even in the middle of Marineford when Ace was dead a few meters away, Shanks was smiling at Buggy and happy to see him. So doesn’t that mean Shanks’ mood got lifted just because of Buggy? But all you keep saying is Buggy harmful, Shanks the victim in their toxic relationship. Plenty of fans have biases and they freely admit that and just have fun with it. You can’t even admit you have a bias, it hinders your ability to read correctly. The author certainly doesn’t care if fans are loving Buggy too much and not focusing enough on the problems he brings to a relationship.

There are are countless metaphors, you could’ve used the one about cattle. We’re talking about petty hate, comparing that to speaking out against colonizers isn’t even anywhere near the same topic nor the same level and I prefer not to stoop to that.

Dude. This isn't about canon one piece. Obviously in canon one piece they don't have a toxic relationship. They aren't even near eachother. This was never about canon one piece. Never. You keep bringing up canon one piece and their relationship there to "disprove" me when it was never about that. It was about Shuggy. Nor did i say Shanks isnt a grown man. He is. Though you are downplaying his sacrifice as "well something pirates just do" like every pirate out there would give an arm to save a kid. Plus, Shanks wasnt even the one to take the initiative to shoot down Bart, it was Yassop. Shanks was ready to just let it slide for Luffy, but Yasopp took initiative to remind Shanks that there needs to be consequences. Also about you "Knowing i would bring up Usopp" yeah obviously. That moment is the closest gotten to what Shanks and Buggy have gone through, theres no 1 to 1. I don't know why you're using that as a "gotcha". I kept using your points and using one piece moments to argue against it but now that I have you're just bringing up their canon relationships when it hardly matter because they don't itneract. Anyone would react the way Shanks did when he saw Buggy, if i saw a childhood bully I'd react the same, its just someone familiar and like you said they were children so the bickering didn't matter it was just bickering. Of course Shanks isnt some helpless guy in canon, no shit. I wasn't talking about canon, I was talking about the popular and normalized Shuggy relationship. Like 85% of this is trying to defend Buggy and Shanks's relationship in canon saying it isn't toxic 10% of it actual argument and the other 5% is bringing up that damn metaphor again. Your argument with Zosan isn't even applicable because my while point in bringing up Zosan previously is that they're not toxic, just have some elements of argument. Yet they are more aware of that than Shuggy shippers and the toxification of their ship. Genuinely I want you to take away the percentages of this where you bring up things that don't matter because so many of your arguments is bringing up their canon relationship when they hardly even have one and I was going off of how they interact and how the Shuggy media uses it to paint Shanks as an infant that can't defend himself. Its not me saying that, i'm going off of them. As for my "parasocial relationship" what a way to put it just because I don't like Shanks being used as an accessory.

So honestly if you want a proper reply to this "argument" you need to write something bringing up SHUGGY. Because right now I was using the Shuggy basis and bringing up canon to show both of their psyches and how it would work in a relationship like that, using the Shuggy dynamic as a mold. What you're doing is bringing up the canon relationship and then trying to use that to "debunk" me saying that they have a toxic relationship in canon when the only time i said that was that Buggy was a bad friend and at worst abusive. You said you were a "Shanks fan" but this is really reading as you're just a Shuggy fan that likes Shanks and how he is a cute little puppy simp in Shuggy despite the only way he would be like that when Buggy would treat him how its popularized is if there was a toxic dynamic, again, me using Shuggy as the mold, not the canon current relationship. There hardly is one. Im not even gonna tag this one Shuggy because there is nothing Shuggy about your reply to me, you were just bringing up the canon as a mold and "gotcha"ing me because Luffy doesn't have a 1 to 1 Buggy reference and that my metaphor was too crazy for you.

As a Shanks fan I need you to stop tagging your posts and making us look bad. The more you write the more clear it is this is a bad faith reading, bashing while not understanding the writing. Your only precedent on examining these characters is based on stacking morality points on how nice and good they are, rather than their roles in the plot and their thematic relevance as narrative foils, their longstanding history and familiarity, the continued relevance of their intertwined journeys and emotional energy in the story. You seem set on seeing them as abusive when that’s clearly not what Oda means, their character dynamics play a role in telling the story and I assure you it’s not a message of abuse. But of course, there are fans who think Nami hitting the Strawhats is abusive so I shouldn’t be surprised. You can’t even seem to reflect on your own self and realize your own views are infinitely more toxic.

So Buggy left when they were both 15 and traumatized and somehow thats the most unacceptable thing. Yeah, whatever, hate them for petty things, but don’t act like you have some superior understanding when it’s just the most typically shallow reading. Your dislike is your own, but policing others because you lack the ability to comprehend is not okay.

Is this apologizing business really some big thing to cry over? Shanks wanted Buggy to come with him, Buggy turned him down. They were ex-comrades and pirates, obviously Buggy was free to leave and start his own pirate crew, Shanks even said they both should. Many of Buggy’s complaints are just petty things Shanks probably doesn’t even care that much about. But to Buggy it does matter so he cares more about getting closure from that time. Shanks doesn’t even care about the fruit or the map, he’s just glad to see Buggy again. They might fight but ultimately Shanks cares more about Buggy than any petty grudge and is more likely to forgive and apologize for little things, even just jokingly or to appease him, because it’s not a big deal for him to do it. To Shanks, friends are what’s important, so words and actions needed for his friend are a small thing. Villainizing Buggy and resenting his rejection is probably the last thing Shanks would want in that situation. He’s not gonna be a spiteful victim because someone got mad and left of their own free will. He’d rather be a loser who apologizes and begs for his friend.

The whole issue with ‘apologizing’…it’s not a big deal. A lot of times it seems to be treated as a joke. The treasure map is supposed to be seen as a stupid reason not worth getting up in arms about. Buggy being mad over the treasure map is treated as a joke and an excuse as a way to cover up that he really cares about Shanks. But this whole thing just seems like you’re mad when Shanks simps for Buggy and Buggy acts like he typically would. How is it hard to believe that Buggy is important to Shanks and Shanks would express that to him? Are you really so caught up on just hating on Buggy’s personality and him being a regular pirate you can’t stand him being treated like someone important? He’s one of the Four Emperors going after the One Piece and you don’t think his desires and feelings have some significance?

Buggy may have left, but that was all within his rights to do so, even the other Roger Pirates left these kids. For the current Buggy to apologize he’d probably struggle to get over his feelings, but to Shanks why get hung up over petty grievances if it’s for a friend? That’s just their personalities. Sure, Buggy could apologize, but it’s just not like him, and it’s not even that necessary anyways. Obviously knowing Buggy’s character he gets overdramatic and too emotionally invested he can’t let things go, while Shanks will let go of things because he cares. Luffy too learns to forgive and let things go, it’s one of the things he learned from Shanks. We get hit on the head so many times by this kind of message. When Luffy happily bows down and passes up on the opportunity to leave Amazon Lily just so he can save a few people he just met…there’s nothing wrong with giving in and bowing down when it’s not worth it otherwise.

Shanks couldn’t communicate his real reasons and wanted Buggy to join him but got rejected, so as the Captain who was rejected by Buggy who was willing to be part of his crew, it seems like Shanks was the one who lost out. Of course Shanks longs for his friend and would care for him. Luffy would also chase someone if it was his friend. This isn’t an abuser and victim relationship, it doesn’t matter who was wrong because there was never any actual communication. We don’t even know Shanks’ perspective and his reasons, only Buggy’s, so we just see they had their differences and Buggy felt disappointed. They wanted to prioritize different things because that’s how they’ve always been as pirates, not because one is an abuser, they are grown men who used to argue a lot.

If Shanks wanted to truly protect Luffy he would’ve done something like actually reach out to him and communicate to him. Shanks knew the risks when he encouraged Luffy to be a pirate and return his hat. He knew Luffy would be in danger especially with his fruit. That’s how it is in the pirate world, you can’t make it if you don’t put your life on the line and fight others. Luffy had to survive and overcome that if he wanted to get anywhere near the New World, Shanks knew that. He knew people would try to kill Luffy, that’s how the pirate world is, but Luffy would never become strong if he didn’t experience that. Anyways, Buggy is obviously supposed to be a tame joke villain. He didn’t even kill the villagers in Orange Town, the villagers evacuated to a shelter beforehand and he just raids the houses and blows them up.

I think you have this image of Shanks as this delicate abuse victim and Saint-like Christ figure (ironic) when he’s just a pirate who knows he and others have had to make sacrifices. All I can say is, you really think that? Okay, can’t help you there. 

You just seem to really hate Buggy and refuse to accept any positive take on Buggy. You even hate him for harmless things he did as a literal child. You want Buggy to be portrayed as trash and dirt compared to Shanks, but in a ship where fans love both characters and Shanks cherishes Buggy that’s obviously not going to happen. It’s clear that you’re biased so you can’t reasonably have a good take on this, all you do is victimize Shanks. How hypocritical that you complain about others having no insight when you’re way worse.

There’s so much stuff about Shanks fandom to criticize but the fact that you fixate on Shanks caring about Buggy as the worst thing, that’s just mindless hate you shouldn’t be tagging. The best understanding of Shanks I‘ve seen was from shuggy fans, I’m gonna trust them from now on.

Also are you seriously trying to compare your petty hate of a fictional character to speaking out about the literal atrocities done by colonizers of America? Please think before you speak.

Okay im tired of explaining this just as is so im just gonna take bullet points and say my piece and thats it because ive made two posts now explaining as best as I can and still somehow its being misunderstood as me being some sort of toxic Shanks fan thats making them look bad for some reason. This is literally me analyzing him and showing the problems of Shuggy people don't want to accept.

"The more you write the more clear it is this is a bad faith reading, bashing while not understanding the writing." Im not saying this in bad faith. That is why i tagged it as Shuggy. Not for some sort of ragebait or to spew hate i just really want the dynamic of angst fix-it stuff to change or atleast be more popular. And again, I understand the writing perfectly well. I'm rereading the manga and literally have not just been saying whats on the top of my head im looking into it.

"Your only precedent on examining these characters is based on stacking morality points on how nice and good they are, rather than their roles in the plot and their thematic relevance as narrative foils, their longstanding history and familiarity, the continued relevance of their intertwined journeys and emotional energy in the story." If this is how even if Buggy is bad it means they can still be together because they work well i literally agree its the dynamic. I cannot stress this enough i don't know how this isn't going through.

"You seem set on seeing them as abusive when that’s clearly not what Oda means, their character dynamics play a role in telling the story and I assure you it’s not a message of abuse." Oda has included abuse, suicide, addictions in his story and you really think he wouldnt sprinkle in the fact that Buggy was an abusive friend. Im not even saying he 100% was i said at worst. An abusive friendship is different than one thats a relationship too, and again i said at worst.

"But of course, there are fans who think Nami hitting the Strawhats is abusive so I shouldn’t be surprised." What she does was objectively bad, and she's toned it down a LOT post timeskip. Part of her character development that now you can safely say when she hits they either kinda deserve it or she doesn't really go rough with it.

"So Buggy left when they were both 15 and traumatized and somehow thats the most unacceptable thing. Yeah, whatever, hate them for petty things, but don’t act like you have some superior understanding when it’s just the most typically shallow reading. Your dislike is your own, but policing others because you lack the ability to comprehend is not okay." I never said it was the most unacceptable thing, i meant it was the most shitty thing he could do. You mentioned somewhere elsr they were 15, which is true, but as time goes by and Buggy doesnt change that excuse is out the window.

"Is this apologizing business really some big thing to cry over?" Its a major thing, and is something thats used for Shanks to Buggy that is seen as a major thing i dont know why im being posed as overly dramatic when i say it would be way better if it were buggy apologizing to Shanks.

"Shanks wanted Buggy to come with him, Buggy turned him down. They were ex-comrades and pirates, obviously Buggy was free to leave and start his own pirate crew, Shanks even said they both should." You're acting like Buggy turned Shanks down civily and it was not a decision of emotion.

"They might fight but ultimately Shanks cares more about Buggy than any petty grudge and is more likely to forgive and apologize for little things, even just jokingly or to appease him, because it’s not a big deal for him to do it. To Shanks, friends are what’s important, so words and actions needed for his friend are a small thing. Villainizing Buggy and resenting his rejection is probably the last thing Shanks would want in that situation. He’s not gonna be a spiteful victim because someone got mad and left of their own free will. He’d rather be a loser who apologizes and begs for his friend." And this is the problem! this! Just because Buggy cares more than Shanks doesn't mean that Shanks doesn't deserve to be atleast understood. Shanks would rather act like a loser to get Buggy than value himself is literally a toxic behavior for relationships. I beg of you to think of this in real life. Imagine Shanks as some chick and Buggy as the boyfriend and its very very clear that you just brushing it off as "oh well Shanks can handle it" sucks! It sucks! I've seen relationships like that and they suck! Its okay for comedy the same reason Nami's hitting is or Brook's panty loving is but when you're writing or drawing it seriously you can't just paint it as something okay when the reason why Shanks would put himself down for Buggy is because Shanks is mentally unwell! He deserves a Buggy that would actually treat him preciously instead of the now normalized "oh you're trash but ill forgive you I guess" Its not even a point of "oh well Shanks wouldn't mind!" You're right! But YOU should! Because you are the outsider looking in, the one that can look through an objectjve lens where you arent a dependent man that needs any sort of companion.

"He didn’t even kill the villagers in Orange Town, the villagers evacuated to a shelter beforehand and he just raids the houses and blows them up." This literally doesn't matter since Buggy has talked about killing before and I don't even think is true. There was a shelter because he just likely didn't kill all of them, but "just" some. And doing that is pretty bad in of itself.

"Buggy being mad over the treasure map is treated as a joke and an excuse as a way to cover up that he really cares about Shanks." Here with the "oh but Buggy's just a tsundere" If i never do anything for you ever because you made me drop my icecream 10 years ago does me being a tsundere just make it okay. This isn't even fully true. It's not a cover-up Buggy isn't just some little cute tsundere he holds malice. He IS mad about that still its not a cover up because oh well he still cares it can be both, and its mostly just actual anger. Because why else would he bring it up even when he doesn't have to cover up affection.

"Luffy too learns to forgive and let things go, it’s one of the things he learned from Shanks. We get hit on the head so many times by this kind of message" Letting go and liking the person is two seperate things. You're acting like Luffy is just some angel when he has also been shown again to really not like Buggy and some people. In impel down he doesn't want to rescue Buggy but ends up doing so so he can get to Ace "which buggy tries to betray" and in basically every instance where Buggy is brought up around Luffy Luffy has literally only bad things to say about Buggy so idk why you're acting like Luffy is some saint that would forgive anything. Im rereading impel down and he also didn't want to forgive Crocodile, he just needed the help, still doesn't like Crocodile too. Luffy shows dislike, its just not super loud, he shows it through not helping. He even only helped Hachi during pre ts only when Nami said it was okay. Shanks doesn't forgive everything either. The lesson Shanks taught Luffy wasn't "forgjve everyone". Thats what Luffy THOUGHT it was when he was a little kid. But thr actual lesson was just to be more mature, to be careful. To not fight at every chance because you could be endangering others. Difference between forgiving someone and just letting it not bother you so that you can use them, as Luffy has showed.

"Buggy may have left, but that was all within his rights to do so, even the other Roger Pirates left these kids." Rayleigh leaving Shanks was not a good thing for Rayleigh to do, especially since Rayleigh also knows whats going on, but he just left a 15 year old to just deal with it because he wanted to toughen the kid up or something idk, theres a lot of "just suck it up buttercup" in One Piece because thats what Oda thinks is cool and nice and manly, he isn't perfect. Also Buggy did have the right to leave, the problem is that he didn't leave because he wanted to start his own crew or find the one piece himself it was just because of the conflict between him and Shanks. It was not a clear decision.

"If Shanks wanted to truly protect Luffy he would’ve done something like actually reach out to him and communicate to him. Shanks knew the risks when he encouraged Luffy to be a pirate and return his hat. He knew Luffy would be in danger especially with his fruit. That’s how it is in the pirate world, you can’t make it if you don’t put your life on the line and fight others." I agree with this and I also feel it was the right thing to do unfortunately, s Luffy has a huge thing he needs to do even if he isn't aware of what he's doing. However, this is what Shanks chose, Buggy didn't go for Luffy because he wanted to toughen Luffy up he went for Luffy because he hates Luffy and his strawhat that reminds him of Shanks and the fact that he's also developing the same complex with Luffy that he was with Shanks, though not as strong since they aren't really together often.

"But this whole thing just seems like you’re mad when Shanks simps for Buggy and Buggy acts like he typically would. How is it hard to believe that Buggy is important to Shanks and Shanks would express that to him? Are you really so caught up on just hating on Buggy’s personality and him being a regular pirate you can’t stand him being treated like someone important? He’s one of the Four Emperors going after the One Piece and you don’t think his desires and feelings have some significance?" I don't know how you came to the conclusion this is what I think. Im not against Shanks simping for Buggy, I believe Shanks would be a simp in any relationship, this is more about how Buggy reacts in turn. Would be fine if it was just some shyness but its not. Buggy's harmful. I really don't know where i said I don't think Buggy is important. I just hate him as a person. As a character hes funny and a good character objectively and I think that he matters in the story I just don't like him as him. I'm not some person that wishes he would stay unimportant, i never said that. This is not about the story of One Piece this is about Shuggy.

"Shanks couldn’t communicate his real reasons and wanted Buggy to join him but got rejected, so as the Captain who was rejected by Buggy who was willing to be part of his crew, it seems like Shanks was the one who lost out. Of course Shanks longs for his friend and would care for him. Luffy would also chase someone if it was his friend." Would missing out on being a crewmember of a famous crew not be way more of a loss than not getting an already disloyal person as a subordinate. Shanks was important to Buggy too, I don't know why you're acting like Buggy is so precious in comparison to Shanks that its only Shanks that could miss out. Also, my friend, did you miss the ENTIRE ARC WHERE LUFFY LET GO OF A FRIEND BECAUSE HE WAS DISLOYAL!??? Did that just disappear in your mind?? The difference between Buggy and Usopp is that Usopp actually manned up and apologized in order to get on the crew. The entire point of the last scene was that if Usopp did not apologize they were actually going to leave him! Luffy is different from Shanks because Shanks would depend on someone toxic, atleast in the Shuggy that's normalized, while its canon that if a friend was truly toxic and a crewmember was bad that Luffy would leave. Cmon man! Why are you telling me I don't understand the story like I'm stupid when you just completely glossed over water 7 😭

"I think you have this image of Shanks as this delicate abuse victim and Saint-like Christ figure (ironic) when he’s just a pirate who knows he and others have had to make sacrifices. All I can say is, you really think that? Okay, can’t help you there." Its funny how you say ironic when it is ironic. Thats the point. That Shanks is a sacrifice. That is what Oda is alluding to with Shanks if not consiously than unconsious. I beg of you to think about it. A person that has sacrificed everything, their dreams, their friendship, their sanity, and even their limb, for a God of Freedom to help free the world. That is what Shanks is, a sacrifice for the greater good. Just like how they were trying to portray Robin's death/servitude in enies lobby as a sacrifice for the greater good. It is not "ironic" it is the point. It is not the first time Oda has pitted someone as a sacrifice for the greater good.

"You even hate him for harmless things he did as a literal child." Ah yes the harmless actions like creating an entire fake devil fruit to eat so that he can pocket the actual one and sell it for money to use to kickstart his own crew and find treasure on a map that he kept from the same crew that raised him with care and freedom. He didn't just do that on a whim, he planned that shit. It was only stopped by Shanks interruption. If not he would've straight up left the crew that raised him and done what he wanted. Im not saying him being a child doesn't constitute some slack but theres only so much slack you can give when it was so very clearly thought out on his end to betray.

"You want Buggy to be portrayed as trash and dirt compared to Shanks, but in a ship where fans love both characters and Shanks cherishes Buggy that’s obviously not going to happen. It’s clear that you’re biased so you can’t reasonably have a good take on this, all you do is victimize Shanks. How hypocritical that you complain about others having no insight when you’re way worse." ????? You can love both characters of a ship and admit that theyre bad. Crocodile shippers do it all the time. So do people who like all sorts of other villians. Kaido, Crocodile, Akainu, a lot. It really feels like Buggy is the only villian that people ship and use while pretending like he's not been truly horrible. Zosan shippers are more aware of the toxicity that could be between them, and use that as a story point and not something to just brush aside or even romantisize without some sort of angst thing where they know its toxic. And their dynamic isn't nearly as toxic as the normalized Shuggy one. It really feels like you have more bias than me since the plot points so far some of them have clear holes or are ignoring huge things. And again with the Shanks thinking, a toxic relationship can be toxic while the victim thinks everything is okay. A lot of bad relationships stay relationships because of that.

"There’s so much stuff about Shanks fandom to criticize but the fact that you fixate on Shanks caring about Buggy as the worst thing, that’s just mindless hate you shouldn’t be tagging. The best understanding of Shanks I‘ve seen was from shuggy fans, I’m gonna trust them from now on." No. The understanding of Shanks that YOU want is with Shuggy fans. Because when you're a Shuggy fan you get to just deny that anything is wrong with Shanks mentally and that he's just a handsome man that can swoon over his lover and not someone who has very clear faults and mental issues. You can just pretend like Shanks is completely clear of mind so you can use him as a little puzzle piece to fit into anything you want to add a "simp" factor to a ship. Because if you really wanted the "best" understanding of Shanks you'd accept the fact that he is not a completely alright person. He doesn't "brush off" things like they don't matter. They hurt. He just holds it in. With Uta he bit the bullet and left for her sake, but he held it in. When he lost his arm and Luffy despaired we never saw him do anything to show distress over his lost arm, because he held it in. The only time we ever notice that he does feel pain is when he's talking with whitebeard and confesses to the scar on his eye stinging, and surprise surprise, it wasn't to vent his emotions, it was just in attempt to save Ace. Not for himself. He was sad that he's missing an arm, because in the same scene he even says "the scar that hurts most/more is my eye" not "the one that hurts" showing that his arm does hurt. Because losing a dominant arm would hurt anyone. Especially when it lost him Mihawk, another relationship he sacrificed to save something or someone. Yet unlike Buggy Mihawk still is somewhat amicable to Shanks. Mature. Even if he isn't perfect either (ex: completely okay with dying by Zoro's hand and doesn't have any goals now that he achieved world's greatest swordsman. His only friend was Shanks who he left once he couldn't be a suitable rival, showing a dependence on what he knows as Shanks was likely the only one that he had in his life to teach him any sort of friendship).

"Also are you seriously trying to compare your petty hate of a fictional character to speaking out about the literal atrocities done by colonizers of America? Please think before you speak." What the hell did you want me to do. Clearly just saying what I mean isn't working, metaphors are what usually help people finally understand. Yet instead of seeing the metaphor i used you just focused on that it was a cruel one like the point of me using it wasn't to show the cruelness. What other metaphor did you want me to use. You need to learn that a metaphor =/= me saying its the same thing. You brought that up just to make me seem like im a mindless hater that brought up atrocities for nothing. Do you get mad when people who talk about history compare the way slaves were treated to the treatment of cattle too? Since using your logic whatever a metaphor is must mean that you think they're the same thing. A metaphor or comparison is a just a tool. Unless you're gonna send some thing calling me crazy because i used another comparison.

No one is more annoying than you tagging your hate. Seeing how you guys act, only Shuggy fans will get my support and other Shanks ships get nothing but my hate. Shuggy fans are truly the only tolerable Shanks shippers. The rest of you need to get your act together or find something else to do because you don’t even understand the story or the characters.

I literally wrote this whole thing about the problems with Shuggy but i got distracted and accidentally closed the app so im just gonna say if you really think that I'm not understanding the point or the story or the characters then you need to reread/rewatch one piece because everything Oda has put out has not been shy or subtle in showing that Buggy is toxic. Buggy stomped and stabbed Luffy's treasure, tried killing him multiple times, then in impel down Luffy forgave and struck a deal with him and Buggy tried to fuck him over again despite acknowledging himself through inner dialogue that Luffy is incredibly trusting and only a monster would betray him, and then shamelessly trying to betray him.

The whole point of his character in Impel down/Marineford is that Buggy is horrible and his karma is that he's forced to help in order to save his own ass since at every corner he's ready to betray, just like Shanks and the Roger Pirates. Shanks tried to be brotherly friends, Buggy felt inferior so he constantly picked fights, The Roger pirates raise Buggy with love, Buggy tries to steal a treasure map and devil fruit so that he can sell the fruit off and go find the treasure for himself and blames Shanks despite the reason Shanks approaches him is to check on Buggy, but Buggy still blamed Shanks despite it being his choice to be an idiot and stuff the fruit in his mouth to hide it while letting go of the map. When the Roger crew disbanded and Roger died Buggy made it about him. He said he was willing to give up "everything" for Shanks or whatever and then Shanks betrayed him and thats the whole reason why Shuggy lovers coddle Buggy and demonize Shanks but Shanks also sacrificed everything basically. He stayed behind for Buggy when Buggy was sick and missed the last of the adventures with his father figure and being able to go to the last island. Shanks sacrifices everything. Buggy was mean to Shanks even before the "betrayal" which was just Shanks saying he didn't want to go for the One Piece.

Then he blames everything on Shanks and leaves Shanks at his most vulnerable time since as the story goes on we're learning more and more that clearly something traumatizing and burdening happened to Shanks that made him give up the One Piece at that time. It was his dream too. He was always so bright and happy and hopeful and he always tried his best yet Buggy was the one who actually betrayed Shanks, running away like a coward because of his inferiority complex when Shanks was doing everything in his power to lift Buggy up. But Buggy doesn't want to be lifted up. No matter how much Shanks tried Buggy always would rather drag Shanks down with him. Now Shanks is alone, he had to go through everything alone and clearly is not okay mentally because of it from his random bouts of melacholy and burden. He longs for some sort of companion but has nothing because Buggy left and he didn't give chase, sacrificing his want for a friend in order to let Buggy leave since Shanks felt that Buggy really must hate him and would be happier leaving, he sacrificed his dominant arm to save Luffy, severely weakening himself, gave what he had left of Roger to Luffy in order to cheer the boy up, another sacrifice. Then you'd think "oh he still has his daughter" and you'd be right, he took care of her when he found her in the chest, sacrificing his youth to take care of a baby on the ship, but he had to leave her. He made himself look like the bad guy to leave her, losing the last bit of compassion in his life.

He took it hard too, Oda drew in a little sbs thing im pretty sure of Shanks despairing over it. Then, canonically, Luffy is Shanks's last hope, for everything. Shanks doesn't have a companion, no little daughter to cheer him up, no lover because he likely doesn't want to bring them into what he has on his shoulders, nothing. Yet Buggy tried to kill that hope, multiple times. And only helped Shanks with Luffy when Shanks had to trick him into it (oh the horror what a devil that redhead/s). Shanks is just a broken Luffy, he was bright and sunny and had hopes but from likely learning about the prophecy or whatever that he was not going to be JoyBoy, so he gave up his dream for the world. All of this. All of these terrible things Shanks has gone through for everyone and everything and how Buggy tries to destroy every single one of it and somehow Shuggy shipper STILL manage to coddle Buggy and treat him like some cute tsundere that was wronged by Shanks and Shanks is the one that needs to chase after Buggy because evil Shanks betrayed him. That Shanks is the stupid longing ex husband that needs his wife back and that he messrd up when Buggy is a terrible friend at the VERY best and an abusive one at worst. That is why i "hate" Shuggy. I don't tag my hate post as Shuggy because i'm some sort of ragebaiter or slanderer trying to take away the happiness that is Shuggy its because I need Shuggy people to realize that the way they portray the ship is so utterly unfair to Shanks. The story goes on and on and you find out more and more about how Shanks sacrificed so much yet you're telling ME that i "don't even understand the story and characters" like the whole dynamic of Buggy isn't that he's horrible and its funny to see him get karma while somehow surviving and that Shanks's role is to be the sacrificial lamb to everything while having no one to take atleast some of the burden off.

Shuggy people and the way they portray it is toxic. Its not just they treat Shanks like the longing ex husband for the comedy, every artwork and fic and story i've seen its always Buggy needing to be apologized to and they're serious in that being the good and what should happen option and not, i don't know, the literal bad guy abusive person being the one to go "oh shit i need to change my ways and I have to apologize and help the friend I abandoned". No its always just adding more shit to Shanks's already about to break apart plate. It's maddening seeing it. It has so much potential to be an amazing ship that can explore the relationship between someone that used to be abusive learning that they arent the victim and atoning while finding love in eachother's comfort but instead its just victim blaming 101. Shanks could end up fucking dying horribly in One Piece while Buggy watches and goes "serves you right" and somehow Shuggy lovers would go "oh nonono its actually just him being a cute tsundere and look he feels bad deep inside so its all forgived and Shanks just dies ig idk anyway poor Buggy." There is so much wrong with the ship and how its treated that all that shit about shuggy haters trying to debunk it using some shitty half assed excuse like its "emotional incest" when theres so many other problems is if i looked at a history book and was like "Yeah the colonizers of the America were definitely wrong because their wigs were weird" like thats completely insignificant! Shuggy and the way its treated as if Buggy is the wronged one and always the loved and longed after while he has his poor hurt heart closed off from years of trauma like abandoning his friend and pillaging and killing innocent civilians while using their wealth to flaunt and pretend like he's big and strong.

Shuggy should not be a fix it via victim blaming Shanks and treating him like some dumb dog that loves Buggy so much it should be using the fact that Buggy has an inferiority complex and that he longs to be in the spotlight that he slowly learns that theres a reason why he's at the bottom. That is my issue. I'm not ignoring the story i am looking st the story with everything i possibly can because I even used to be kinda alrighy with Shuggy. It is literally now that we are learning more about Shanks and that im rereading One piece and remembering how horrible Buggy is that I'm realizing how horribly its treated. I mean look I started this off that I would try and summarize it but its so hard to summarize when theres so much wrong. I'm okay with shipping, i really am, but the ship is toxic, and the "fluffy" stuff is even toxic because its just making Shanks's misery worse. I need yall to realize that. This is not mindless hate.

hate that fuck ass clown. Sorry to all the Shuggy lovers but i keep trying to find shanks fanart and theyre all just shuggy shit and i HATE that fuck ass clown 😭. It sucks sm bc childhood friends is a ship trope i adore but i just hate buggy so much that its ruined for me. He's so insufferable as a person and was terrible to Shanks and it seems like all Shuggy lovers just kinda ignore that and act like SHANKS is the issue. Like "Shanks fumbled" or "He fucked up" and BUGGY has to be the one to "forgive" him. Buggy was never good! From the very start he was trying to steal the fruit then got mad when HE fucked up and accidentally ate it. Then held a grudge against Shanks because when he accidentally ate the devil fruit BUGGY dropped the map HE was hiding from the crew! He was a fucking cunt in the roger pirates then acts as if Shanks "betrayed" all of them just because he didnt want to go for the one piece. Like fuck you i hate him so much. Not only that! It gets worse! He was raised in a loving environment with Shanks as his friend and the Roger pirates who were all good people and despite ALL THAT grew up to be a horrible fucking person anyway! He pillaged villages, killed civilians, and is terrible to his very own crew. He was fucking horrible to Luffy, to Shanks, to the Roger Pirates, to people, to even fucking Crocodile and Mihawk. Whatever they do to him is honestly deserved and I agree with Mihawk A THOUSAND PERCENT when the swordsman is like "You had the potential to be amazing like Shanks but let your patheticness make you turn out like this" Yet despite ALLLLL this Shuggy lovers are always all about SHANKS being the one having to chase after Buggy and it just being like.. a good thing? Like its not even "He's chasing after Buggy and i know its wrong" its like they treat Shanks like some dumb dog that wronged poor innocent Buggy and Shanks is the reason why Buggy's life went to shit. I feel so bad for him when Shanks is the one who's actually been truly suffering all this time and clearly has a fuck ton on his shoulders from what we've been learning yet every shuggy art i see its Shanks the one begging even in angst art its always him apologizing him doing this and that and never Buggy once realizing that "Oh shit.. IM the one who fucked up and I gotta help my old friend and now boyfriend" Nono the dynamic is always Shanks its always his fault always his responsibility when hes already got a million fucking things on his plate and a dumbass ugly blue fucking shit eating cunt sucking micropenised chud incel pathetic useless disgusting greasy red nosed red faced black hearted rotten no good scum of the earth less than shit encrusted on a hoarder's toilet clown doesn't need to be one of them i need Buggy INCINERATED i HATE him. There is nothing but MALICE in my heart for that thing and the only reason i would POSSIBLY want him alive is to apologize to Shanks like what the redhead DESERVES.

Considering how much everyone liked my fanfic about Sub!Buggy, then keep the second part…

"...Honey, could you please stop moving your hips so much?" Buggy asked in a whisper leaning towards your ear.

The thing is that a new performance of Buggy and his team was about to begin, but you, as his girlfriend, had other plans. Currently, you were sitting on his lap and his arms were wrapped around your hips. Your panties were off and your boyfriend's dick was all over you, but thanks to Buggy's hands that covered the place where you both joined, it seemed to everyone around you that you were both just cuddling on his throne.

You shrugged your shoulders with a grin and moved your hips, causing a muffled groan to be heard from your boyfriend’s mouth. "I don't know, I don't want to deprive my boyfriend of his favorite wet pussy…~"

Buggy blushed and rested his head on your shoulder. “T-Тhis is completely different, now is not t-the best moment and anyone from the team can see us…”

You raised an eyebrow. “Do you think they will say something to you about this and reproach you as captain?”

Buggy looked away. "N-No, but-"

“That’s not good. We will continue to do this until some bad boys learn their lesson and ask nicely for release…~” you whispered to him with a smirk and turned your attention completely to the stage.

Buggy sighed in defeat against your neck and moaned pitifully as your pussy clenched around his cock again.

"Are you okay, boss?" asked one of his subordinates.

Buggy put on a smile and hugged you tighter to hide your genitals. "Of course it's okay, idiot! It's just that the future pirate king is tired and just wants to watch the show today!" he shouted to his subordinate and you giggled at your boyfriend’s attempts not to sob or moan from your wet warm walls around his cock.

I know that many people love Sub!Buggy, don't you dare deny it…

Buggy whined quietly, biting his lower lip and rolling his eyes. It is very difficult to restrain himself when he is tightly tied with ropes to a chair, and his sweet woman is lying on the bed in front of him. His disconnected cock slides deep into your pussy, making a slapping sound and making you moan softly. Buggy can't deny that it's a song for his ears and he loves the warm walls of your pussy squeezing around his cock, but he wants to touch your body so badly. His bound hands twitch slightly, trying to find a way out, and with small tears of pleasure in his eyes, he looks at you with a silent gaze.

"H-Honey, my d-darling, my b-beauty." He says quietly pleadingly, trying to get your attention. "J-Just untie me already and let me touch you too…"

all I want is you...

"ᴮᵃᵇʸ, ʷⁱˡˡ ʸᵒᵘ ʰᵉˡᵖ ᵐᵉ? ᴮᵉᶜᵃᵘˢᵉ ᴵ'ᵐ ᵍᵒⁿⁿᵃ ʰᵉˡᵖ ʸᵒᵘ ᴬˡˡ ᴵ ʷᵃⁿᵗ ⁱˢ ʸᵒᵘ ⁿᵒʷ, ᵃˡˡ ᴵ ʷᵃⁿⁿᵃ ᵈᵒ ⁿᵒʷ ᴵˢ ʷᵃⁱᵗ ᶠᵒʳ ʸᵒᵘ ᵗᵒ ᶜᵃˡˡ ᵐᵉ, ᵇᵃᵇʸ, ᴵ'ᵐ ˢᵒ ˢᵒʳʳʸ" ~ᴿᵉᵇᶻʸʸˣ

______________________________________________________________

⚓️ Monkey D. Luffy — "I just want you to be okay... okay, baby, alright."

You were the only one who didn't laugh when he shouted he was going to be King of the Pirates.

You looked at him with wide, glassy eyes, and nodded like it meant something more. Like he meant something more. You were the only one who ever looked at him like that.

The others never noticed how quiet you got after the battles. They did not see how you curled up on the deck, legs pulled to your chest, staring into the sea like it might give you answers. But he did. Luffy saw everything — even if he could not always understand it.

“Are you okay?” he had asked once, lips tugging down, unsure.

You blinked like you were surprised he noticed. “Yeah, Captain. I’m just... tired.”

You smiled after that.

But it never quite reached your eyes again.

He did not have words for how that made him feel — how your sadness curled around his ribs like a sea monster, heavy and tight. So, he tried harder. Pulled you into dancing when Brook played, dragged you into snowball fights on winter islands, left oranges by your bed when you forgot to eat.

He even gave you his last piece of meat once.

You laughed. Genuinely. Just for a second.

And he thought, Maybe I can fix this. Maybe if I stay close enough, long enough, loud enough... you’ll be okay again.

But one day, you were gone.

No note. No footprints. Just a jacket left on the rail, your scent already fading into salt.

Now Luffy stands at the edge of the Sunny most nights, straw hat clutched in his hand, whispering under his breath like a prayer he cannot quite name.

“I know what you want… Let me be the one to hold your hand forever...”

And the sea says nothing back...

______________________________________________________________

🗡️ Roronoa Zoro — "Tell me I’m disgusting. Tell me that you love me. But really you mean nothing."

Zoro has always been good at two things: fighting and silence.

Feelings? Not so much.

You came into his life like a flashfire — sharp-tongued, sharp-eyed, loud and full of life in all the ways he never was. At first, you got on his nerves. Too many questions. Too many looks. Too many feelings.

But you stayed. Through storms, through bloodshed, through his worst moods and longest naps. You were there every time he opened his eyes, and eventually… he started looking for you.

He never told you that.

But he didn’t need to, right?

Except... you started asking. And that was the beginning of the end.

“Do you even care about me?” you asked once, after another close call — blood on your shoulder, adrenaline in your veins, and his voice still sharp from yelling your name in panic.

Zoro had stared at you too long, jaw locked, like the words were stuck somewhere deep in his throat.

“…Of course I do,” he muttered eventually, but his voice was distant. Like he was talking to a ghost instead of the person who had almost died in front of him.

You laughed. Bitter, quiet.

“That’s not enough anymore, Zo.”

You left that night.

You did not slam the door or pack a dramatic bag. You just… disappeared. No note. No goodbye. Just a silence that felt like a sword pressed to his throat.

Now he trains harder. Sleeps less. Bleeds more.

Because the ache in his chest? It is louder than any wound he has ever taken.

He swears he hears you sometimes, late at night — that little scoff you always gave when he got lost, the gentle click of your tongue when he drank too much. Maybe it is memory. Maybe it is madness.

But he talks to you anyway.

“You wanted a real answer?” he mutters into the cold air, voice rough. “Here it is — yeah, I care. More than I should. More than I know how to say.”

His fists curl. His swords stay sheathed.

“Tell me I messed it up. Tell me I pushed you too far. Just… tell me something.”

No reply.

Only the sound of wind and waves.

Zoro turns back to the dojo, jaw clenched like he’s holding back something he’ll never say again.

And in the dark, where no one can see him — not Luffy, not Sanji, not even himself — he finally let out a gentle sob.

______________________________________________________________

🍳 Vinsmoke Sanji — "You make me feel dirty. Tell me I’m disgusting. Tell me that you love me. But really, you mean nothing."

Sanji had always known how to play the part.

The flirt. The charmer. The perfect gentleman with a rose between his teeth and a cigarette between his fingers. But with you... that mask never fit quite right.

You saw straight through it.

And he hated how much he liked that.

You never swooned. You never batted your lashes when he called you "mademoiselle" or offered your favorite dessert on a silver tray. You always looked at him with something sharper — like you were searching for the man behind the suit, behind the smoke, behind the smile that trembled more than it should have.

“You’re not as good as you pretend to be, Sanji,” you said once, not out of cruelty — but truth.

He never forgot it.

He told himself he could change. That he wanted to. That maybe if he loved you right, if he made you feel safe and seen and special, you would never have to see the broken parts of him — the blood on his hands, the rage in his chest, the cruel voice of his father echoing in his skull every night.

But you saw it anyway.

You saw all of it.

And worst of all — you stayed.

Even when he pushed you away with a sharp tongue and clenched fists and long nights drinking too much and saying too little. Even when he called himself a monster, and you cupped his face and whispered:

“Then be a monster who loves me.”

He kissed you like you were salvation. Touched you like you were fire. Needed you like he was drowning.

And still, somehow, he ruined it.

He said something wrong — something cruel in a moment of weakness. You flinched. You left. And this time, you did not come back.

Now, his cigarettes burn down faster. His fingers shake over the cutting board. He makes dishes for you every night and throws them out uneaten.

The others stopped asking questions.

But he still talks to the kitchen walls like you are hiding in the corners.

“You make me feel filthy, you know that?” he whispers into the steam of your favorite soup, eyes red from smoke or something worse. “You make me feel everything I try to bury.”

The spoon clatters. His hands fall to the counter, shoulders shaking.

"Tell me I’m disgusting. Tell me you hate me. Tell me anything... just—"

His voice breaks.

No one answers.

Just the soft simmer of something he will never serve.

“Just tell me you love me,” he breathes, softer this time, like it physically hurts to say.

And in the quiet of the galley, he stays alone — waiting for the door to open again, even though he knows it never will.

______________________________________________________________

🎯 Usopp — “I remember crying. I just want you to be alright.”

Usopp always told stories.

Wild, beautiful lies — the kind that made people laugh or roll their eyes or shake their heads in disbelief.

But you? You never laughed. You leaned in.

Every time he said something outrageous — “I fought a sea king with one hand tied behind my back,” or “My aim’s so good I could hit a fly on a cannonball” — you smiled with that soft, knowing look in your eyes.

“Tell me another,” you whispered once, voice small as you lay next to him on the deck, eyes on the stars. “Tell me the one where you save me, Uso...”

He did.

He told it a hundred times. A thousand.

Until one day, you needed saving — and he failed.

It was not some grand battle or dramatic fall. You had been slipping for a while — smiles growing quieter, footsteps growing softer, hands fidgeting with sleeves when you thought no one was watching.

But Usopp was. And he was terrified.

Because he knew all the stories in the world could not fix the shadows in your eyes. Could not fill the silences that stretched too long between your words. Could not reach the places inside you that even you seemed afraid to touch.

Still, he tried.

He made you gadgets. Left tiny presents in your hammock. Carved your name into a seashell and whispered into it, saying, “You’re not alone. You never were.”

He told himself you would be okay. Because the hero always wins in the end.

But then… you stopped coming to breakfast. You stopped meeting him on the deck. One day, he knocked on your door and found it open, the room empty.

Gone. No goodbye.

No final story.

Now, Usopp sits in the crow’s nest with his slingshot across his lap and swollen eyes that have not seen sleep in days.

He looks out over the sea, voice hoarse.

“I know I’m not the strongest. Or the bravest. Or the smartest,” he mumbles to no one, “but I would’ve tried. I was trying.”

He presses the seashell with your name to his chest like a talisman, fingers shaking.

“I remember crying,” he says. “I just want you to be alright. I don’t care if you ever come back. Just—just be okay. Please.”

But the sea doesn’t answer. It never does.

“All I need is you now,” he breathes, forehead against the window, as the tears come again. “All I want to do now… is wait for you to call for me.”

And he does...

Every night...

Even though he knows you never will...

______________________________________________________________

⚕️ Trafalgar D. Water Law — “Fix the holes in your heart, it’s what I wanted from the start.”

Law didn’t mean to fall for you.

You weren’t part of the plan. You weren’t like Cora — loud and chaotic and selfless — and you weren’t like Bepo or his crew, either. You were… soft. Not weak, but gentle in ways he didn’t know how to process. You didn’t ask for anything. Didn’t demand answers.

But you looked at him like you saw him — and that was so much worse.

You never flinched from the cold edge of his voice or the scalpel-sharp way he kept people at a distance. You stood beside him in silence, in storms, in sickbays soaked with blood that wasn’t always someone else’s.

And one night, after a mission that nearly killed you both, you found him on the floor of the infirmary — gloves off, coat stained, hands shaking.

You didn’t ask what was wrong. You just knelt beside him and whispered, “Let me help.”

He told himself it was a one-time thing. That letting you touch the cracked, hollow places in his chest wouldn’t mean anything. That he wouldn’t get attached.

But then you smiled.

You made tea for him in the mornings.

You remembered his favorite food without him telling you.

You asked how he was when he was trying so hard to pretend he wasn’t anything at all.

He couldn’t stop it.

He didn’t want to.

So he gave you pieces of himself in silence. Little things. A book from Flevance. A quiet "goodnight." A rare smile when he thought you weren’t looking.

But love, for Law, was never soft.

It was surgical — precise, dangerous, bloody.

And somewhere along the way, without meaning to, he began to treat you like a patient. Like something broken he could fix.

He didn’t realize it until the night you finally said it.

“I’m not something you can save, Law.”

You weren’t angry. You just looked… tired.

And he didn’t have the words. Not the ones that mattered. Not the ones that would make you stay.

So you left.

Not with malice. Not with drama. Just with silence. Just like everyone else.

Now, the sickbay is too quiet. The ship too clean. There’s no laughter echoing down the hall, no gentle knocks at midnight asking if he’d eaten.

Just Law, alone with his ghosts, staring at the hole you left in him — too deep to close, too old to ignore.

He’s operating in silence again. Gloves on. Scalpel steady.

But his hands tremble.

“To fix the holes in your heart, it’s all I wanted from the start... That’s all I wanted...” he mutters like a curse, eyes blurring.

He drops the scalpel. Covers his face with blood-streaked hands.

“Come back...” he whispers, so quiet it gets swallowed by the hum of the ship.

And no one hears it but the walls — and the sea.

______________________________________________________________

🔥 Portgas D. Ace — “I got mental issues, always fucking miss you.”

Ace doesn’t sleep well when you’re not around.

He tosses and turns on sheets soaked with sweat, waking up breathless and angry at himself for dreaming about you — again. It’s not even the good dreams anymore. Not the ones where you’re laughing, curled against his chest, warm like sunlight, kissing him.

Now it’s nightmares.

You leaving.

You crying.

You dying.

And he always wakes up too late.

The room smells like old smoke and iron. There’s a cracked glass on the floor by his bed. A shirt that still smells like you shoved under his pillow. And his fists ache — from punching walls, from holding back.

“I got mental issues,” he mutters to himself, leaning against the frame of the bed, shirtless and shaking. “I’m really fucked up, huh...?”

There’s blood on his knuckles. Again. He doesn’t remember how it got there.

There are tissues everywhere. Piled in corners, scattered across the floor. He doesn’t throw them away — like maybe if he keeps enough of them, your scent will linger just a little longer.

He misses you so bad it makes him angry.

Like it’s your fault for being so gentle. For loving him when he didn’t think he deserved it. For touching his skin like it wasn’t a curse, and telling him he was good like you believed it more than he ever could.

He told you once, in a rare moment of stillness:

“You’re the only thing in this world that makes me feel real...”

You kissed his temple and said, “Then be real with me.” smiling.

But he couldn’t. Not fully.

Because what if you saw it? The dark, cracked part of him that asks every night, Was I even supposed to be born? What if you walked into that storm and didn’t come back out?

So instead, he pushed you away.

Not all at once — no, Ace is too cowardly for that. He did it in pieces. A missed dinner here. A half-hearted kiss there. Another mission he took without telling you.

You stopped chasing him eventually.

And when you were gone… when the ship felt too empty and the fire in his chest flickered low — that’s when he realized.

"l'lI always fucking miss them..."

And now he’s sitting on the floor of some cheap inn, holding your sweater like it’s the only thing keeping him from falling apart.

He wants to call you. Wants to say I’m sorry, I was scared, I didn’t know how to love you right, but please, please come back—

But the Den Den Mushi stays quiet.

And Ace stays ruined.

He’s not a storm anymore. Just smoke. Just echoes. Just... want....

______________________________________________________________

🕊️ Sabo — “Please don’t desert me, please don’t desert me.”

Sabo isn’t used to begging.

Not as a revolutionary. Not as a brother. Not as the man who smiled through bloodied battles and watched the world crumble under kings and fire.

But with you?

He begs in silence.

He does not know how to say, “Please stay.” So instead, he leaves cups of tea where you’ll find them. Wraps a blanket over your shoulders when you fall asleep at your desk. Brushes your fingers when he passes by, like touch is the only language he still remembers how to speak.

You love him with an ease that makes him ache.

You never demand pieces of his past he cannot give. You don’t pry into the darkness that swims behind his eyes on bad nights — you just sit beside him, wordless, warm. Present.

And Sabo… Sabo falls.

Hard. Deep. Quiet.

He starts to write you letters he never sends. Pages stained with ink and doubt.

—"You make me feel like I deserve to live again.

I can’t lose you too.

Please don’t leave me like he did."

But you never left.

Until you did.

It wasn’t a fight. It wasn’t betrayal. Just a slow, quiet unraveling — because Sabo kept part of himself hidden too long. Kept telling you, “I’m fine,” when he wasn’t. Kept pushing you out when all he wanted was to pull you in.

One day, you stopped knocking on his door.

The warmth faded.

Your coat was gone from the hook by his bed.

He found your necklace left behind — on purpose, probably. Something final.

And that night, he drank alone, firelight flickering against the scars on his hands. He could feel himself unraveling.

“Please don’t desert me…”

He whispered it into the dark, broken and too late.

He pressed his forehead to your necklace, eyes stinging with everything he couldn’t say in time.

“Please don’t desert me. Not like he did. Not like—”

But no one answered.

Only the crackle of flame and the silence of a room too big for one person.

He still wears that necklace.

Hidden under his scarf, against his chest.

He tells himself that if he ever sees you again, he’ll say it right this time. No riddles. No brave smiles.

Just—

“I’m scared of being left. But I’d rather be scared with you than safe without you.”

______________________________________________________________

🎪 Buggy the Clown — “I’ll make you feel special, help you feel less stressful.”

Loud? Yes. Flashy? Obviously. A little bit unhinged? Well, that's Buggy's whole thing. He was the kind of guy who could stand on top of his ship with his arms thrown wide, demanding the world recognize his greatness. And for most people, that was all they saw — the captain, the performer, the clown. His bravado, his flair. The show.

But there was so much more beneath that.

He never let anyone see it, of course. Because if they did, if they saw what was lurking beneath his perfectly painted smile, then they’d know. They’d see that the self-inflated ego was just a shield. A shield to protect a heart that had never truly felt like it was worth anything.

Buggy had always believed that no one could really love him. Not for who he truly was.

He was a pirate, sure, but he wasn’t the kind of guy who got the kind of love he saw in movies or heard in songs. He wasn’t the romantic hero. He wasn’t the charming, smooth-talking swashbuckler. No, he was the laughing stock of every crew, the one everyone used for comic relief. A joke.

It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy the attention — no, he craved it, needed it. But deep down, behind all the clamor and the glitz, Buggy was terrified that if anyone ever got too close, they'd leave. And that thought? It was crippling.

But then… you came along.

You, who didn’t laugh at his jokes just to make him feel good — you genuinely laughed with him. You, who never flinched at his disassembled limbs, never turned away when he got a little too dramatic, when he overreacted or shouted just to make sure everyone was paying attention.

You stood beside him, even when the rest of the world told you to run in the opposite direction.

And Buggy? Oh, Buggy fell hard.

He didn’t know when it happened, honestly. He didn’t know when he’d started thinking that maybe, just maybe, there was someone who could look at him and see more than just the crazy pirate captain with a flair for the theatrical. He didn’t know when he’d started feeling like he could actually be loved. Like he could be enough.

But you… you were there. You made him feel like he didn’t have to hide behind the act. You made him feel special in ways that no one ever had before.

The day he left — the day he walked away, pretending like he was doing you a favor — it wasn’t because he didn’t care. No, it was because he cared too much.

The sight of you laughing with him, your warm smile, the way you didn’t treat him like he was a walking joke, it scared him. It terrified him more than anything in his life.

You were the first person who made him feel like he was worthy. Like maybe there was more to him than just the chaos and the bluster. But he wasn’t ready for it. Not yet. He wasn’t ready to let someone in that close. Because what if you saw the truth? What if you saw all his flaws, all his broken pieces, and realized that even though he had everything to offer, he wasn’t enough?

You were too good for him. He was just a clown.

Buggy stood at the helm, his fingers gripping the wheel tightly as he looked at the ocean ahead of him. The ship was drifting farther and farther from the shore, from you. From everything he’d let himself feel.

He hated this. He hated it more than anything he’d ever hated in his life.

But what else could he do?

He tried to convince himself that this was what was best for you. That he was just some mess of a man, a guy who would only bring more destruction into your life. That you deserved someone who could love you properly, without the chaos. Without the theatrics. Someone who wasn’t going to break your heart.

And yet, every time he looked at the ocean, he could still see your smile in his mind. The way you’d looked at him, like he wasn’t just some eccentric fool. Like he mattered to you.

His chest ached. Damn it.

“I’ll make you feel special, I'll help you feel less stressful…” he muttered to himself, as if saying it out loud would somehow make it true. But even as the words left his lips, he knew they weren’t enough. Not anymore.

“I’m not ready for this,” he whispered, almost like a plea to the wind. “Not ready for you. You deserve better.”

When the Den Den Mushi call came through, he knew it was you. It was always you who’d pick up the phone when the others just let it ring.

He hesitated for a long time before answering. When his face finally appeared on the screen, he smiled — but it didn’t reach his eyes. His usual flair, the confidence, it was all gone. And for once, he didn’t know what to say.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought… maybe if I just walked away, you’d be better off.”

“You’re not the problem,” you said, your voice tight, like you were holding back tears. “You’re the one I want, Buggy.”

He wanted to reach through the screen, to take you in his arms and never let go. But he didn’t. He couldn’t.

“But I’m too much for you,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ll just bring chaos into your life. You deserve someone who can love you the way you deserve. Not a mess like me.”

You stared at him, your eyes filled with unshed tears. And for a moment, just a moment, Buggy saw something he hadn’t seen in years — something real. Something pure.

“I’ll make you feel special,” he said, his voice catching in his throat. “Well, I wanted to. But I can’t. Not like this.”

You didn’t say anything. You just looked at him, and for the first time in a long time, Buggy felt completely seen.

The call ended. The ship drifted away.

And Buggy stood there, staring at the horizon, wondering if he’d made the right choice. Maybe someday, he’d get the courage to come back. But until then, all he had were the memories — of you, of your laughter, of how you’d made him feel like maybe, just maybe, he was worthy of love after all.

______________________________________________________________

🍷 Shanks — “I remember nights we were dancing in the moonlight.”

He never told you he loved you.

Not with those exact words, anyway.

He said it in other ways — in the way he laughed at your jokes even when they were terrible, in how his arm would always find your waist when you leaned too close to the sea rail, in how his eyes lingered a little too long when you weren’t looking.

And sometimes, he’d let the mask slip.

Like that night, on some quiet island no one would remember. The tavern was half-empty, his crew rowdy and drunk. And you, you were warm beside him, fingers stained with fruit juice and salt air, eyes glowing like you had swallowed the moon itself.

There was music playing. Something simple. Soft.

You nudged him and said, “Dance with me.”

He scoffed, sipped his drink, and said, “Nah, I’ve got two left feet.”

But your hand stayed outstretched.

And so he took it.

The floor was uneven. He stepped on your toes twice. His laugh was louder than the music, and your cheeks hurt from smiling. And when the others weren’t looking, he spun you into him, held you close, and whispered—

“If I could bottle this moment, I’d carry it everywhere.”

You didn’t say anything. You didn’t have to. Your smile told him you felt the same.

That night, you danced under the moonlight until the candles burned out and the stars were your only audience.

But things change.

Shanks always leaves eventually. You knew that from the beginning.

He told you once, long ago, “The sea is a jealous thing. She always calls me back.”

And still, it hurt when he went.

You stayed behind on some island — a “safe place,” he called it — with a kiss to your forehead and a promise you never asked for.

“I’ll be back before you know it.”

You knew better.

Weeks passed. Then months.

No letters. No sign.

And Shanks? He was far away, sitting by a fire on a different shore, holding your necklace in his palm like it was the only thing that kept him tethered to anything human.

His crew thought he was fine.

But sometimes at night, when everyone was asleep, he'd take out the old Den Den Mushi and stare at it. Thumb hovering over the dial.

And he’d whisper—

“I remember hiding, I remember crying... God, I just want you to be alright.”

He never dialed. Never called.

Because he thought maybe you were better off without him.

But if you walked back into his life — wind in your hair, sea in your eyes — he’d say it.

Not with flowers. Not with grand speeches.

Just a quiet, choked—

“I never stopped dancing with you. Even when you weren’t there.”

______________________________________________________________

⚡ Kid — “You control my life. I feel like a fucking puppet.”

Kid had never been the type to lean on anyone. To trust anyone. The idea of someone else controlling his life, controlling his choices — that was something he never allowed. He was a man of steel, a pirate who carved his own path, never bowing to anyone.

But then you came along.

And from the moment you stepped into his life, everything started shifting in ways he couldn’t control. He hated it. Hated the way you made him feel things he didn’t want to feel. Hated how his heart raced when you laughed. Hated how his thoughts would drift to you when he was supposed to be focused on his next big heist.

He hated how you made him feel like he wasn’t in control.

At first, it was a joke. A distraction. He’d tell himself that he didn’t care about you, that he could walk away anytime. He wasn’t the kind of guy who needed anyone. Certainly not someone like you, someone who had the power to make him question everything he knew about himself.

But then... then the feelings crept in. Slowly at first, like a seed being planted deep in his chest. And then, before he knew it, it had taken root. He couldn’t get rid of it. He couldn’t escape the way you made him feel.

You made him feel alive in a way he didn’t know was possible. And that scared him more than anything.

One night, after yet another pointless argument, Kid found himself alone on the deck of his ship. The moonlight reflected off the ocean, and the cold breeze brushed against his face, but none of it could clear the heat building inside him.

He had tried to push you away. Tried to act like he didn’t care. But all it did was make him feel more desperate, more broken.

And now, here he was again. Standing in the same spot, staring at the empty horizon, trying to ignore the voice inside his head that kept calling your name.

The ship creaked behind him, and then he heard it. The soft sound of footsteps.

You. Of course, it was you.

He couldn’t look at you. He couldn’t face the person who had so completely taken over his life. Who had him tangled up in knots, unable to let go.

“You’re still pissed?” he asked, his voice rough, trying to mask the vulnerability bubbling under the surface.

You didn’t answer immediately. Instead, you walked up beside him, standing in silence. He could feel your presence, feel the weight of it pressing against him. You were close enough to make his breath hitch, but he wouldn’t let himself acknowledge it. Not yet.

“Kid,” you said softly, and the way you said his name made his insides twist. “You know I don’t want to fight with you.”

He scoffed, turning away to hide his face, but you could still see the tension in his shoulders. He clenched his fists at his sides, as if the action might stop the flood of emotions threatening to spill over.

“Don’t even try to act like you understand. This isn’t some game. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, alright?” he spat, his anger rising in a desperate attempt to cover up how raw he felt inside.

But you didn’t flinch. You never did.

“I don’t need you to explain it to me,” you said, your voice calm, like you weren’t afraid of his anger. “But you don’t have to push me away, either.”

Kid felt his heart skip a beat, but he refused to look at you. He couldn’t.

“It’s not that simple,” he muttered, his voice quieter now, the edge of his anger beginning to fade. “You don’t get it. I don’t want to feel like this. You can’t just come in and change everything. You can’t just control me like I’m some damn puppet.”

His words hit harder than he intended. There. He’d said it.

You stood there for a moment, not saying anything. He could feel you staring at him, waiting for him to break the silence.

“Kid,” you finally said, taking a step closer, “I never wanted to control you.”

He shook his head, but the knot in his chest only tightened.

“Then what the hell is this?” he asked, his voice cracking slightly. “Every time I try to pull away, you’re still there. Every time I think I’ve got my shit together, I— I start thinking about you. About how you make me feel—”

He stopped, his throat tightening, but he couldn’t stop himself. His frustration, his confusion, his desperation all came out in one breathless sentence.

“I’m losing control. And I hate it.”

You didn’t say anything right away, but you didn’t need to. You didn’t need to explain yourself, because you understood. You’d always understood.

You reached out, gently resting your hand on his arm, and for the first time that night, Kid looked at you. His eyes were stormy, conflicted, but beneath it all, there was something more — something softer. Something that made his heart feel like it was going to burst.

“I’m not trying to control you, Kid,” you said, your voice quiet but firm. “I just... I just want you to be you. No masks, no act. Just you. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

He swallowed hard, his chest tight. You weren’t asking for anything more than that. And somehow, that terrified him even more.

“You don’t get it,” he whispered, barely audible. “You make me feel like I’m not enough. Like I can’t even control my own damn life anymore.”

You smiled softly, and for once, Kid didn’t see pity in your eyes. You weren’t looking at him like he was a broken thing.

“You don’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to have it all together,” you said, stepping closer. “I’m not here to control you, Kid. I’m here because I care about you. And that’s all.”

He stood frozen for a moment, the weight of your words sinking in. And just like that, all his walls came crashing down.

“God, I hate you,” he muttered, but there was no real heat in his words. Instead, there was just that undercurrent of raw emotion he had never wanted to show. “You make this so damn hard.”

And maybe that was okay. Maybe being vulnerable for once, letting someone else in, didn’t make him weak. Maybe it made him stronger.

“All I want is you,” he whispered, more to himself than to you, but you heard it anyway.

You smiled again, this time with a tenderness that took Kid by surprise. You didn’t say anything, just stood beside him, silently offering the support he never knew he needed.

For once, Kid didn’t feel like he had to fight it.

______________________________________________________________