Can we spare a moment to just discuss how
How in the everloving HELL
Shanks managed to net Benn Beckman as his first mate?
Like this silly lil redhead, who was still a teenager when he watched his own captain be publicly executed
And lost his clown bff
And was all alone and had nowhere else to turn to
And somehow managed to find an intelligent, patient, gentle giant of a big bro to recruit as his first mate??
Like. Beck is twelve years older than Shanks, and far superior in IQ, but.
I picture Shanks just huddled in a corner of an alley in the pouring rain with nowhere to go, and Beck working as a bartender stepping out back to throw out trash and finding him there, and Shanks just looking up with those puppy dog eyes and
"Join my crew please...? 🥺"
And Beck is just SIGH I guess this is my life now
I have multiple headcanons of how they could have met, but this one just persists.
Just immediately this dumbass is now my little brother and I must protect him from his own stupididty
And being forever and constantly surprised that Shanks hasn't somehow managed to unalive himself over the years
But also incredibly proud of the overpowered little dum-dum at every turn like
"Beck they're calling me a 'Yonko' should I be insulted"
"That's...no, that's a compliment, captain."
"Really?! 😀"
"😑"
And
"Beck why is this weird child gnawing on my arm"
"That's just Luffy, he seems to think you're a good role model"
"Oh. Uh, neat? *proceeds to teach weird child everything he knows*"
"exhausted sigh"
And now it's come full-circle with Luffy and Zoro. Silly overpowered dumbass and his protective big bro.
When the Red Hairs and the Strawhats finally meet, Beck is just going to look at Zoro and go "You too, huh?"
And Zoro's going to glance between Luffy and Shanks being happy lil dipshits together and be like "..........Yeah. Pretty much."