#marco just curious to why izo asks

[henrioo]

✦ ── SOMEONE WHO WANTS YOU: WHITEBEARD CREW

Relationships: Platonic! WhiteBeard Crew x Child! Reader, Platonic! Edward Newgate x Child! Reader, Platonic! Marco x Child! Reader, Platonic! Thatch x Gn! Reader, Platonic! Ace x Gn! Reader, Platonic! Izo x Child! Reader

Warnings: Mention of child abuse

Synopsis: What to do when no one in this world wants you? And what to do when for the first time you find someone who wants you?

Word count: 1,9k

Notes: This is my first imagine after a while without writing so I might be a bit rusty, I apologize for the translation English is not my main language. I'm going to apologize for the pronouns, the idea is to write with a neutral reader but how I translate the fics is difficult, since the neutral in Portuguese and English are different. I ask that you forgive me and read Imagining the pronouns that feel most comfortable

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ• ────── ✦ ────── •

His life was difficult from the beginning, his mother was the lover of a married boy from the small island where he lived, so when he found out that he had impregnated his mistress, he didn't like to become aggressive and abandon her. Your mom could have handled that awful situation in any number of ways, but she decided that blaming you for screwing up her life was the best way to go, so when you were born expecting to be welcomed with open arms and comfort, you were met with stares. disgust and disgust.

Of course, you weren't at fault, you were just a child like any other, pure and sinless. At first your mother wasn't really bad, as long as you didn't cry and cuddle her things would be fine. But as you grew up and became more like your biological father, something inside her awakened. A terrible fury awoke. It was then that the abuses prompted.

You weren't exactly rich, but soon she started to lose control and spend all her money on gambling, she started stealing both meals and even selling her clothes or toys to get more money. When you reached the age of twelve, it was clear from your appearance the suffering life you had had, your old and dirty clothes, your hair and skin not cared for, your eyes without hope and life. You're living in a world that made it clear it didn't want you, so life seemed meaningless.

So you ran away. Of course, your "mother" didn't mind going after you, maybe for her it was even better that the focus of all her anger finally disappeared. You ran as far as your legs could take you, farther than the small town they lived in. It was clear that you couldn't leave the island being so young and alone, so all you could do was run to a neighboring town that was further away from where you were born. At least there you could guarantee that you would be safe and far enough away from your former guardian.

It wasn't easy, you were small and fragile, you had to live off the pity of others and steal food in most cases. The adults were cruel and some even attacked you when they saw you stealing, throwing stones or leftover rotten food. Don't you think the people who want to help you all had their own problems, who would want a stupid kid to support? You knew that nobody wanted you, not your mother, not your father, not even those adults in the new city. You were just a burden. That's what you believed.

Then one day you saw the market getting more crowded, lots of unknown people were walking around and the traders looked both happy and worried at the same time, you weren't curious why. Getting ready for another day you bumped into a young man, the trick was simple: pretend to have accidentally bumped into someone and steal their wallet quickly. You were already getting better as the months went by, but just as you turned to run towards the alleys, a hand firmly gripped your wrist and you were forced to stay put.

"Easy there little one, you have faster em-yoi" The yellow haired guy said laughing, how did he realize that you stole his wallet? Desperation began to course through his veins and his stomach twisted at the thought of the motivation he could receive.

"What do you have there, Marco?" Another man approached, he had a long chestnut color and was carrying several bags. Next to him was another younger boy, shirtless and with black hair.

"What is it, a child?" The black haired one asked looking at you, he looked curious and confused.

"A petty thief, I guess" Marco, you seemed to understand, said and then took back the small bag of coins from your hand. You instinctively started pulling your arm hard as the tears started to flow, you didn't want to stand there and find out what your motivation for stealing was.

"What?! I can't believe you were stolen by a child!" The black-haired one spoke laughing, for him everything seemed like a big joke.

"I didn't get robbed, Ace-yoi" Marco corrected "I caught him before they could get away" He then turned to you, his eyes were serious though not causing the anger and disgust you were used to seeing. "Aren't you going to explain yourself? Small-yoi" He chuckled.

"Poor thing, he must be scared with that scowl on his face... Don't talk to him, talk to me, yes?" The man with the topknot placed the bags on the floor as he knelt down to be at your height, he reached out with his arm as if he was going to catch you. Scared, you simply screamed while using your legs that were loose to defend yourself, the problem was that you hit the guy square in the face.

"Thatch!" Marco and Ace screamed together and quickly his arm was released as both men turned to help their friend who was on his ass on the ground and holding his nose that was now bleeding.

You didn't wait another second before running through the crowd at te market. You heard voices shouting behind you but didn't turn around to find out if they were following you. When you were far from the city, deep in the woods, and your feet were already hurting, you knew you had run enough. You threw yourself against a tree while catching your breath, you had run too far and you hadn't even been able to eat, so now you were tired and hungry.

Not having the courage to go back to the market and have the chance to meet the same men and receive even worse punishment, you decided to curl up in the grass and get some sleep. Maybe at night you could go back and try to eat leftovers from the restaurants, it wasn't worth the risk of getting hurt if you went back too soon. So closing your eyes you let the light breeze and ambient heat settle you as they carried you off to dreamland.

Something was wrong. You were sure of that when you woke up with a jump, you frantically looked around, there didn't seem to be anything wrong, but your whole body said otherwise. You got up and started running while looking back trying to figure out if you were being followed. You could hear the sea and must have been starting to get closer to shore when you hit something firm and landed on your butt.

You screamed in pain and looked up in confusion, that's when you saw… A giant! You had never seen someone so big and immediately your eyes widened in shock as you thought how it was possible for someone to be so big. He had his hair tied back in a headband and wore a nice outfit but he was definitely not an ordinary person, in the background you could see a huge ship and several people walking with boxes and bags, both inside and outside.

"Then that's it?" He spoke, not to you, but to some men beside you.

"Look, we were going to look for you and you came running towards us!" Ace you recognized said excitedly "You gotta show me that kick again shorty, Thatch is still pissed off that you broke his nose!" Then he burst out laughing.

"Don't laugh about it" A man with long hair and strange traditional clothing spoke with some disappointment. He wore makeup and was extremely handsome. "Isn't this child too small?" He said looking at you.

"I told you he was tiny" Marco shrugged "But he had more quick ones to rob me in the market today, I thought it would get your attention, oyaji-yoi" He said looking at the huge man.

"Hm… let's see" the man raised his hand towards you and you immediately tried to run, but he was faster by grabbing your shirt from behind and pulling you off the ground. You fit in the palm of the man's hand and now too far off the ground you couldn't run away. "So, brat, what's your name?"

You looked around desperately, who were these people and why were they so interested in you? You initially thought they just wanted to punish you for stealing one of the members, but now your head was spinning and you thought you could be sold into slavery. You didn't want that! Then your body reacted and you bit down with all your strength on the man's palm, of course that didn't seem to have any effect, the only thing that changed was the man's face, which formed an irritated frown.

Tears were already starting to flow and you curled into a ball while thinking what they would do to you... That's when everyone started laughing, your face burned in embarrassment as you looked at everyone without understanding anything.

"They has grit, I like that!" The man holding you would laugh like he heard the best joke in the world.

"I told you" Marco laughed "When he realizes he's in an ugly situation he reacts, smart brat…"

The tall man placed you on the ground and knelt down to appear less threatening, the others beside him were smiling as if everything was going extremely well. You didn't understand exactly what was going on, but you were too scared to run away, so you just stood there waiting for someone to explain the situation.

"Let's try again, what's your name brat?" He said and now he looked a little less intimidating, although his face was still serious.

"(Y/n)" you said in a low voice, afraid to answer, you didn't know what they wanted with you.

"Hm… A good name for a little fighter… Tell me, are you alone?" You shyly nod your head "Don't you have a family?" Again you wave with a certain fear, then the man opens a gentle smile while moving his hand to lightly caress your hair "So come be my son, become part of my family, brat! You have fighter blood and don't give up easily , I like that" He chuckled again.

Did you look at him confused, son? What was this man saying? "You… You're not going to sell me into slavery?" You asked shyly, the men around made a little shocked face and looked really offended by your question.

"Slave? We are pirates but we still have morals!" The long haired man spoke.

"Yes, you don'twhat do you need to worry about, no one here is going to sell you or hurt you-yoi" Marco smiled patting him on the head "We just want you to be part of the family."

"Do you want?" His eyes glistened with newfound hope, were you really listening to that? Did anyone want you? "Do you want me? Really?"

The men seemed to understand their predicament, their gazes becoming softer and their smiles gentler.

"Yes, I want you as my son" The huge man said "My name is Edward Newgate and from today you are part of our family, brat, so don't worry about anything anymore, understood?"

You nodded as you felt tears welling up, for the first time being from joy. You were now wanted, you were now part of a family, with a father, brothers and you would have people wanting and loving you. You finally understood what this love you saw on the streets was and you were happy.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ• ────── ✦ ────── •

Notes: I hope you enjoyed it, if you can tell me what you think I'll really appreciate it, it's my first story after a lockdown so I'm a little unsure, you can ask for a story too!

[lighthouseofstories]

Little Stowaway

08/09/23 TW: Child Slave, alludes to past child abuse and neglect, four grown men try to figure out what to do with a small girl.

Summary: 273 is a nameless child slave with only a number for identity, who hopes to escape her abusive captors. During a fight with another pirate crew, the perfect opportunity to run presents itself. She sneakily manages to stowaway on the new pirates' ship and hides herself. But what will happen when the crew of this infamous ship finds her before she has a chance to leave for land?

Marco runs his hand through his hair and sighs in frustration. Throughout the day he keeps picking up a presence on the ship, but like a light breeze, it’s gone as soon as it appears. For someone to be able to hide their presence like this, they were certainly worthy of being considered a danger in Marco’s books. 

It’s late and Pops as well as a good deal of the crew have retired for the night, so Marco convinces himself it isn’t an imminent enough threat to concern Pops and instead, he decides to speak to Thatch about it. 

Finding Thatch was easy, he is setting up for tomorrow’s breakfast in the galley. “Oi Thatch, I need you to keep an eye out. I think there’s someone on the ship. But they’re trying to hide their presence so it makes it hard to track them.” 

Thatch stops cutting the onions and turns to look at Marco with a frown. “You think they’re a threat?” He asks seriously.”

Marco just runs a hand through his hair and shrugs. “Who knows. But I’d rather keep up my guard than not yoi.” 

Thatch nods in understanding. He is going to say something else but at that moment  Izo walks into the galley and looks curiously between Marco and Thatch. “You two look rather concerned. Anything I should know?” He calmly raises an elegant brow. 

Marco sighs as he replies to Izo, “I think we have a stowaway. I catch glimpses of their presence only for it to disappear again. I’m wondering whether someone from the ship we decided to take down earlier decided to sneak on board in hopes of getting revenge on us for crushing them yoi.” 

Izo contemplates for a moment before he speaks up, “But if they wanted revenge, why haven’t they acted on it yet?”

Thatch shrugs. “Maybe they’re waiting for a good opportunity?” 

“Well regardless of their plan, we better keep our eyes open yoi.” Marco warns the two who nod in agreement.

Later that evening Izo is taking a stroll around the ship, just checking that everything is in order and nothing is amiss when he hears some light shuffling coming from behind the crate boxes that hadn’t been put away yet. Curious and concerned about Marco’s words, he listens carefully, his hand on his gun. But after standing there for a while, Izou concludes that this doesn’t sound like the movements of a trained fighter, especially not when a small sneeze is heard. With a theory formed in his head, Izou heads to Thatch for resources to put his plan to work. 

Thatch is undoubtedly incredibly confused about why Izo wants the buns from Lunch, even telling him that if he’s hungry he’ll just make him something fresh to eat, but on Izou’s refusal he gives in and hands the plate over, grumbling all the while.

Returning to the pile of crates, Izo leans against them and places the plate on a low crate next to him, then, opening a newspaper he pretends to be busy. 

Way quicker than he expected, the shuffling returns, and hesitantly a small hand reaches up to the crate and towards the plate of buns. 

Acting quickly, Izo leans down and packs up the small figure under the arms, lifting them up to see the culprit.

His eyes soften at the sight in his arms. A scruffy-looking girl who can’t be more than six is staring at him with green eyes wide with fear. He sighs and does his best to give her a soft smile. "It’s alright I won’t hurt you, but there is someone we need to go and talk to.” Then still holding her under his arm, he picks up the plate of buns off the floor and heads back to the kitchen. 

“You’re back this quick-!?” Thatch’s words are cut midpoint as he turns around and sees the small figure that Izo is still holding.

“Izo, who is that!?” Thatch yells loudly as he continues to stare at the girl who’s desperately trying to disappear in Izo’s arms.

“Shh! Do you plan on waking up the whole ship Thatch!?” Izo angrily hisses but then calms himself down. “Thatch, can you go and find Marco?  I’m worried she’ll try to run if I let her go. Tell him I’ve found his stowaway.” 

Still staring at the girl in shock, Thatch nods but fills a pitcher with water and looks around for a small cup the girl can have. “Tch I don’t think we have anything small for her to drink from and I could of at least heated those buns before you gave them to her.” Thatch eventually takes a sake cup and puts it down in front of Izo and the girl before heading out to find Marco. 

Meanwhile, Izo puts the girl down next to him but keeps a light grip on her shoulders as he tells her, “We won’t hurt you. You can have these buns and there’s also water. But eat slowly.” 

The girl watches him carefully, like a small spooked animal ready to flee for its life, but eventually hunger wins over and she quickly takes a bun and starts to devour it. Then another and another. She takes gulps of water in between to help her swallow them and Izo refills the sake glass. He watches the girl with a frown on his face, he’s curious about how long she’s been hiding from them and who exactly she is. Judging from her appearance she wasn’t treated well wherever she is from.  

The door opens and in comes Thatch with Marco by his side.

Marco’s eyebrows shoot up at the sight of the little girl and Thatch just shrugs his shoulders next to him. “I did tell you, you need to see it for yourself.” 

Marco sighs and sits down next to the girl who flinches, bumping into Izo who steadies her so she doesn’t end up falling off the stool. Marco holds up his arms in surrender and smiles. “Woah woah I won’t hurt you yoi. say kid, do you have a name?” 

She tenses up, watching the three men warily but responds, “273 or girl, or you.” She responds and continues to devour the last few buns. 

Her response has the three men stunned into silence as they look at each other with serious faces. Who doesn’t have a name and is just a number?

Alright kiddo, how about your age? How old are you?” Thatch asks with a small smile. 

She frowns and shakes her head. “I don’t know.” 

“You.. don’t know?” Thatch asks hesitantly. 

She shakes her head and avoids eye contact.

“What exactly… should we do Marco? She’s not a threat… but she did stowaway.” Izo asks with a frown.

“But She’s a very cute stowaway” Thatch smiles and pinches the girl's cheek who looks very lost at the words. 

Marco sighs and takes off his glasses, rubbing his eyes tiredly, looking like he aged another ten years in the time they've been in the kitchen. “Kid, where did you come from and why are you on this ship?” 

“I wasn’t trying to be trouble! I just want to go away! I thought this ship would stop on the island and I could leave when everyone was asleep. But then you didn’t and I ended up stuck here.” She hurriedly tells them while wildly shaking her head.

“Alright did you come from the ship with the Jolly Roger that has an eyepatch?” Marco asks and she nods. 

“What are we going to tell pops?” Thatch asks the question on everyone’s minds.

“What are we telling pops?” A tired voice asks and all three men’s heads shoot in the direction of the door where Ace is yawning. 

Ace suddenly stops in his tracks and stares at the girl sitting next to Izo. His eyes widen and he points at her. But before he has a chance to say anything, Thatch hisses at him.“Shh ace close the door! Do you want the whole ship to hear?!” 

Ace does as he’s told and goes to sit opposite Izo and the girl. “Soo who is this? Do one of you have a secret child you suddenly found out about?” Ace teases them with a grin.

Thatch’s eyebrow twitches and he hits Ace over the head. 

Marco just sighs for what feels like the hundredth time that night. “We found her hiding behind the crates or technically Izo found her and managed to get a hold of her. We were just discussing what to tell pops tomorrow in regards to her yoi.” 

Ace looks at the girl and grins, “Heh, you’re a cute stowaway aren’t you?” 

“See? That’s what I said.” Thatch smugly tells the others

“Alright, we can’t show her to pops like this. Missy you’re going to need a bath. Any volunteers yoi?” Marco asks as he points at the girl.

Ace shrugs, “ You’re the doctor.” 

Thatch points at Izo, “Izo found her.” 

Izo looks at Ace with a scowl. “Aren’t you the one with younger siblings?”

“Sibling, Luffy is younger than me and Sabon was the same age as me. And don’t you also have a younger sibling Izo? Also, as one of the people with the longest hair, you’re probably the best suited for fixing… this…” Ace shrugs before he gestures to the girls matted hair. 

Izo sighs, giving in. “Fine, but find her something to wear. She can’t walk around in this.” he gestures at the threadbare dress that just about goes above her knees. With that, Izo stands up and smiles down at the girl. “Come on then, time for a bath.” He doesn’t wait for a response before he scoops her up into his arms and heads to the infirmary bathroom.

After the bath, Izo dries the girl off and wraps a towel around her. Then still in a towel he sits her down on a chair and takes a look at her matted hair. He takes an old brush of his and sets to work on trying to detangle the bird's nest on her head. 

Unfortunately, even though it was drowned in conditioner, this mess is simply beyond the help of a hairbrush. A quick look down at the girl shows she’s got a white grip on the chair and trembling eyes that are desperately trying to hold back tears. 

He sighs and puts the brush down, “I’m sorry little one, I should have just gone to the easiest option from the beginning. Let’s give you a bit of a makeover alright?” With that, he picks up the scissors and carefully sets on cutting her hair into a manageable state.

Sometime later Izou stands back to observe his work. Her once tangled hair that resembled a bird’s nest is now up to her chin and waving slightly. After a moment of thinking, Izou also gives her a fringe. Now, Izo can’t help but smile. This, he decides is a massive improvement from her earlier state. 

The night is chilly, so he dries her hair off with the towel and then dresses her in the spare shirt one of the guys found for her. It’s long enough to touch the floor and too wide so he wraps the sash that comes with it around her several times to secure it a bit more to her tiny body. Due to a lack of child-sized socks and shoes, her feet will, unfortunately, have to remain bare for now. 

Izo nods at his finished handiwork, meanwhile, big green eyes just blink at him in confusion while looking down at the clothes she was wearing in awe. 

Meeting up with the others in the kitchen Izo puts her back down on the chair that she unfortunately  has to kneel on to be able to see the top of the table. 

“What happened to her hair?!” Thatch almost drops his drink in shock. 

Izo just sighs. “It wasn’t cooperating so it had to go. Besides, this is for the better. It can grow out healthily now” 

“You still look cute, don’t worry and you’ve got a lovely hair colour.” Ace tells her as he gestures to her reddish brown locks with a smile. 

She shyly smiles and looks down at her lap.

“Anyways, while you’ve been gone Izo, it’s been decided that she’ll sleep in the infirmary and I’ll stay there with her. I’m the morning, I’ll go explain the situation to pops and one of you will stay with her until I come and get you yoi.” 

Marco finishes and looks at the girl who’s fighting to keep her eyes open and is leaning against Izo. 

Pfft Marco has to look away to not laugh at the adorable sight. He has never seen Izo so soft with someone before, over a span of a few hours this girl has somehow managed to worm her way to his caring side.

After they finish discussing what to do with the girl who’s now asleep in Izou’s lap and solidifying their plan for tomorrow, it's decided everyone should try and get some rest.

Seeing as the girl is holding onto his sleeve and refuses to let go even in her sleep, Izo has no choice but to pick her up and carry her to the infirmary with Marco having gone ahead to get her a bed ready.

In the infirmary he gives up trying to free her hands from his haori and just carefully takes it off and lets her cuddle up with it. 

The action makes Izo smile. He hopes pops will go easy on her tomorrow, she’s so small and deserves to have a chance for a better life. 

One last look at the sleeping girl and a goodnight to Marco he leaves for his own room, tomorrow is going to be a long day.

[usopp-writes]

Valentines Day preperations

So yeah, this just came to me and wouldn't let me go, so enjoy this little drabble, while waiting for my brain to be ready to answer my asks.

"I'm getting worried about Thatch."

Marco looked up from the book - Herbs and how to use them - he was reading and at the masked man sitting across him. Deuce couldn't tell if the older man was bored, stresed or relaxed, the drowsy and stoic expression on Marco's face was constant and the masked man hadn't seen many expression on the phoenix's face since they were forcefully 'adopted' by the Whitebeard Pirates.

"What have you observed, yoi?" Marco hadn't noticed anything unusual about the cook, so he was curious to know what the younger man had seen.

"Well, I know he usually works a lot, but the past week and a half, he's almost always in the kitchen, barely leaves between meals or after clean up at night. I'm worried about his stress level."

Marco nodded, the worries completely understandable. "It's because it's almost Valentines Day, yoi." He was about to turn his attention back to his bok, when he noticed the confused expression on Deuce's face. Oh, right. The Spade pirates had been adopted a few months back, so they didn't know the yearly routine yet.

"You do know what Valentines Day is, right, yoi?" Marco didn't feel like explaining the special day, though he would, if needed. To his relief, Deuce nodded. "Good. Here, it's a day of love and appreciation. It's a day where all will get just a little extra attention, no matter your relationship status. Thatch starts two weeks ahead with the preparatons, making sweets and treats for everyone, while also manage his daily routines. He can handle the extra pressure, as he is doing what he loves. Using his cooking skills to make others happy. You'll see on Valentines Day why he's so busy, I don't want to spoil the surprise for you, but it's something you can look forward to, yoi."

Deuce did feel himself getting curiou sand excited. He'd already noticed how much this family loved and cared for each other, so a day where it would be shown even more, sounded like something even Ace would appreciate.

"Is that why Izo also looks busier than usual?" Now the masked man thought about it, the sniper had been gracefully moving faster and had little time for chit chat.

A chuckled left the older man. "Well, a celebration of love and appriciation can't go unnoticed wherever you ar eon the ship, can it? He's working on getting the decoartion ready, as each year, it'll always somehow get somewhat destroyed, yoi."

Right. Celbration decoration. Deuce should have thought of that himself, knowing that Izo always was in charge of any form for decoration for the various celebration the crew had.

"Guess I worry for no reason then." He mumbled, a little ashamed.

Smiling softly, Marco placed the book on the table. "You worry because you care and that is never nothing. I'm happy you noticed it and voiced your concern. I can trust you to help me out. Always feel free to ask anything, as it'll take some time to understand the routines we have, yoi."

Marco's words of encouragement, his kindness and understanding, made Deuce feel better. The phoenix was right, he still had so much to learn about their routines, so he would keep asking. It was nice to know that he was taken serious and that his feelings were acknowledged. That he, as a person and a doctor, was seen and respected by the older man and doctor. This was what family was really about.

[my-muses-in-op]

"Take off those clothes" (Whitebeards-16th-commander)

Send “Take off those clothes.” For the receiving muse’s reaction to the sending muse saying this to them.

@whitebeards-16th-commander

The day had barely begun for Marco, he'd breakfast and was now sitting at his desk with the endless paperwork. Well, at least there weren't much today, so he could enjoy some time outside. Good thing he pulled a long workday yerster, because today was a beautiful day. When Izo entered the room, Marco hummed to let the other know he acknowledge him.

"Take off those clothes."

Blue hues gazed surprised at Izo, having not expected such a demand from the other right now. It didn't surprise him that the other would even made a demand like this. With the gorgerous commander you never know what would happen. If you thought he would never do something like this, he would prove you wrong.

"Right now, yoi?" He raised a brow, midly curious. "For what reason? It's not torn, is it, yoi?" Had he put on some torn clothes today? It happened when he was distracted or hadn't noticed it was torn in the first place. Not that he cared much about what he wore, as long as it wasn't an eyesore to him, but he didn't like wearing torn clothes.

[nami-the-simp]

Hello again Iman!

The headcanon about Platonic Teen! Y/n with Strawhats was just *chef's kiss* M A S T E R P I E C E! And I mean it in any way possible.

It was so wholesome and it made my day and mood better honestly^//^. That's why if you feel okay with this...

Can I ask the same y/n but with Platonic Whitebeard Pirates?

It's okay if you can't or don't want to! I was just really curious how would they react.

Please take care of yourself and eat properly!

Have a good day/night/evening!

W/C: 640

TW: None

A/N: I only did the main people on the crew as there are too many people lol. Thank you for all your kind words!!

- They first met you when docking at your home island to restock on some food.

- Everyone was terrified of them and ran away instantly, but you not knowing who they were served them at your shop.

- It was Marco and Thatch that you first met, and you don’t know what it is but Marco saw something in you and brought you back to the ship to join their ship.

- He was the first that you hugged when you were allowed to join their crew.

- He had such a comforting hug, which might be due to being a doctor he has learnt how to be comforting to patients.

- You wanted to hug Whitebeard as well but you were too scared.

- A couple hours later you hugged Thatch and thanked him for making you food.

- This happen with many other members of the Whitebeard’s crew, like Izo when after he taught you how to use a gun.

- Eventually everyone was used to your nature of giving hugs to people a lot.

- However, you caught a virus at the last island that caused you to be reall ill, like REALLY BAD.

- You had Marco taking care of you but still you were too ill to get off of your bed.

- Not that many people came to visit you because Marco told them not to as it is a really bad illness and it can’t spread around.

- But you didnt know this and you thought that maybe they didn’t like you or didn’t miss you or your hugs.

- Marco heard you crying but thought it was because you were feeling really bad.

- When you recovered, you stayed away from everyone, taking your food to your room to eat alone, or heading to the bathroom to shower when everyone was sleeping.

- Everyone noticed your weird behaviour and this started a conversation around the dinner table.

- They couldn’t really pin point what it was that was making you feel like this but the most reasonable thing they could think of was that you were still feeling ill and didn’t want to chance it by giving the illness to them.

- But they still weren’t sure so instead of thinking about something that couldn’t be confirmed unless by you, Marco offered to go and check up on you.

- He softly knocked on the door before entering keeping in mind that you could be asleep.

- He found you sitting on your desk writing some things down on your book.

- You smiled at him and he made his way to sit down on the other chair in your room.

- “You have been acting a bit weird lately, yoi. Are you still ill? Do you need me to check up on you again to be sure?”he questions, genuenily worried for you.

- You always felt like he was the only one who cared about you ever since you fell ill.

- “No, i am fine thanks.” you breath out. There is a little pause pf silence in the room as you try to figure out if you should say what has been on your mind lately.

- “Do the others like me?” you question, “It seems like ever since i became ill they distanced themselves from me” you say, your voice breaking a couple times.

- Everything seems to click for him at once, why you were crying when you were ill, why you aren’t showing up at dinner and why you seemed like you were on the verge of tears.

- He was quick to comfort you and tell you exactly why everything was like how it has been recently.

- He takes you to the deck of the ship where most of the people were and shouts one question that makes you change your mind instantly.

- “If you missed y/n, then comeup and give them a hug.” and everyone came running at you.

[fallensnowfan]

Having a bit of fun with names and chapter numbers for Miss Lingering Snow.

Chapters 913/914, The crane returns the favor - Otsuru introduces Okiku to Luffy and Zoro. Readers learn that she is a samurai and the three team up to rescue Otama.

Chapters 962-964, Becoming samurai - Izo and Kikunojo meet Oden. While the cute "sessha ♡" gives away that the role has always been a poor fit for her, Kiku becomes just like a samurai, and a L-A-D-Y she's a bit shy... I had to, no I won’t apologize for it, moving right along. Soon after, Oden leaves Wano and Izo is caught up in his escape.

Chapters 1012/1014, Life's lousy actor, or actress in this case - Izo and Kin'emon are both worried about Kiku, she calls back to when Izo left, then Kin'emon and Kiku split from the other Scabbards.

Kikunojo is unable to close off her loving heart, though I think she knew she wouldn't be able to, she was just too stubborn to admit it, and was defeated. I have nothing but respect for her maintaining such a friendly and loving heart after everything she has been through. Usopp would later call her out over her stubbornness in clinging to the lifestyle that she's always struggled with. I'm still in awe at how much of the essence of her character Oda was able to show in so few pages. (Also ouch, why Oda?)

Chapters 1062-1064 will be 50/100/150 chapters after others with major scenes involving Kiku as an individual. Credit to basedkikuenjoyer for the idea of 150 chapters separating important events for characters. Originally for Marco.

If her having such little dialog and being absent from many scenes it would have made sense to include her in during Wano's finale wasn't strange enough, no I don't think Oda "ran out of time," then there currently being no goal that progresses Luffy's story on this new island makes things truly bizarre.

Around the ends of Wano’s first two Acts, Kiku has a pattern of disappearing for a while, then soon showing up in a different location with a different group or outfit at the start of the next.

Kiku quietly resting in one of the rooms on the Sunny, after asking not to be disturbed, would fit her to a T. In 1061, a big shark/robot shook up the ship and potentially did just that.

And what's with Chopper having a hat that Tama made for him and VP's comment about controlling the urges of animals? Call me crazy but those things paired together seem blatantly intended to bring Little Miss Ninja in Training's powers to mind. Oda, you can't keep including things like this and not expect me to think about Act 1. I’m not going to form expectations though needless to say, I am curious to see how events progress.

[sandpumpkin]

Hiya ! For your spring factions event could I request Marco and flower viewing pls ??? Thank you so much 💕

Hallo! Doctor Pineapple, is quite popular again! Hope this is okay!

Spring Factions: Yonko

Marco: flower viewing

The cool breeze tugged at his little mop of blonde hair. The sun hung high in the clear blue sky, the weather wasn’t too cold, it was a good day. No. He glanced to his left where you were, your hand nestled in his much bigger one. It’s a perfect day. Marco smiled brightly, squeezing your hand gently, spurring you to smile in response.

“It’s so nice to get out for the day,” you hummed leaning against Marco. 

“Hm..It’s nice to be out without the others following.” Marco added with a deep sigh. It was suspicious enough for Thatch to offer to provide a picnic for you both and ushered you off the ship. He was a little curious what drove them to such acts of: kindness...but with such troublesome brothers chaos was soon to follow. I should try to enjoy this moment whilst it lasts. You eventually came to a park full of cherry blossoms, a sea of soft pink petals decorated the trees. You gasped excitedly, 

“It’s beautiful!” you tugged at his hand leading him further into the park “We should find a good spot for the picnic.” you decided on a spot on a small hill, in the shade but it had a good view of the park. 

Once laying out the blanket, you knelt on the blanket as Marco set the basket down. “I wonder what Thatch packed for us?” Upon opening the lid, you couldn’t contain your excitement, Thatch had out done himself, “This looks so delicious!” 

Marco sat down next to you, grabbing the flask and pouring you a drink of hot tea. “Here you are.” you accepted the little cup gratefully and took a welcoming sip of the tea, sighing loudly. 

“This is so nice.” you said, leaning against him “not just the tea I mean,” you added quickly “To have a quiet day, to enjoy such scenery..the enjoy this moment.” setting the cup down, you grabbed a pair of chopsticks and grabbed a piece of eggroll, turning to Marco with an innocent smile. “Say ‘ah’” you said, holding up the eggroll to Marco. His face was positively crimson, looking away shyly for a moment, he looked back at you, his brow knitted in concentration and opened his mouth letting you feed him. “Is it good?” you asked, he nodded slowly. You turned again to pick something else from the basket. This time Marco was prepared, mentaly steeling himself for the intimate act of: being fed in public. They look happy..and it’s kinda nice… he thought as he accepted another morsel of food.

Your face just as flushed. Marco smirked and leant to rest his forehead against yours. “You look flushed, are you okay?” he asked, knowing full well the cause of the blush. You stammered out a response “Hm, is that so? Well maybe some food will make you feel better?” he hummed, his tone threateningly playful, reaching for his own pair of chopsticks he returned the favour offering you a piece of food “Say Ah.” he cooed. Gingerly you opened your mouth and let him feed you. If you hadn’t been blushing before you certainly were now. “Ah, you missed a bit,” Marco stated, but before you could react he had moved to lick the morsal from your lip stealing a kiss in the process. 

He’s a doctor..he’s going to kill me. You thought in panic, as your heart raced a million miles and hour in your chest. The sudden sound of whistling snapped you out of your daze and Thatch appeared from behind a tree promptly followed by the crew. 

“Looks like we should call Marco: Doctor Love, from now on.” Thatch teased, elbowing Marco in ribs as he laid out another blanket. 

“I am impressed, you have learnt well.” Izo nodded, sitting down beside Marco “Did those romance novels help you?” 

“I borrowed no such thing!” Marco snapped, his shoulders slumped. It was good whilst it lasted. You chuckled and shuffled closer to Marco resting against him once more, before pecking his cheek quickly. 

“Romance novels?” you whispered in his ear, “Doctor Love..” Marco groaned, 

“Not you too..”

“Why  not? You’re a doctor..and I love you.” you grinned back, turning your attention back to the food which would be quickly snapped up if you didn’t defend it against the crew. Marco shook his head and ran his hand through his little mop of hair. 

“What am I going to do with you..” 

[stardustryewriting]

New Year’s Revelation

When Marco and Ace talk about their respective crushes, they're both surprisingly mostly sober. They give Thatch a headache anyway.

Also on AO3: here

New Year’s Eve on the main ship of the Whitebeard Pirates - and on every minor ship, Marco was sure - has always been a big thing. While they couldn’t do the fireworks tradition, because of the safety on board, and because neither Marco nor Newgate trusted their drunk crew mates with it, they did virtually everything else. Which always included drinking like it was the end of the world, eating a banquet that seemed to get larger every year and just generally partying like the were no worries in the world. New Year’s Eve has always been a big event.

And then Ace came along.

Suddenly they didn’t only have to celebrate making it through another year, but they had a birthday on top of it. Well, it was Ace’s birthday, but everyone else ate and drank like it was theirs, too. Marco was torn between reprimanding them (some of them had to stay sober, in case they were attacked, but no one seemed to understand) and joining in as lively as they were, because Ace seemed to be truly happy. And Ace’s happiness was something to behold.

Not that it was a rare occasion. Ace was almost always seen with a smile on his face. (When he wasn’t sitting over a ton of navigation maps, his forehead wrinkling in concentration and he was cute then, too.) But usually there was some kind of darkness underneath it. Like Ace carried a secret big enough to be his doom, one day. He knew, in fact, that Ace did have a secret, he refused to tell them about. But he also knew, that Ace told Pops and Pops said not to worry about it. It was a big thing for Ace, but it wasn’t something that would impact the crew. Marco trusted Pops and he trusted Ace, so he wouldn’t be prodding. Even though he couldn’t help but be curious.

But on nights like these, when Ace once again proved that he could eat more than half of the crew together, and laughed with them like he’s always been a part of their big, weird family, Marco didn’t have the heart to try and coax something out of Ace. He was so happy, his smile so radiant, Marco could spent the entire night just looking at him from afar. In fact that was his plan for the night, until Thatch came along. How his brother could afford not being in the kitchen, with the rate their food was vanishing, was beyond Marco. But he hadn’t had a good talk with Thatch - that didn’t involve either of their divisions or the provisions needed for the celebration - in days, so when his brother took a seat next to him, he didn’t want to talk about the kitchen.

„You know, today would be the day to finally kiss Ace“, Thatch said, grinning like a madman - or like someone trying to get a raise out of his brother - and Marco decided he would much rather talk about what’s happening in the kitchen. Not that that was likely, now that Thatch has already started a conversation about Ace. Which seemed to be Thatch’s new favorite thing to talk to Marco about. (And Pops’, and Izo’s and Vista’s and even Jozu’s. They should find another topic to gossip about in Marco’s opinion.)

„Nah, with the amount of alcohol he’s consumed, I’d rather not“, Marco argued, in hopes Thatch would accept this better, than his usual argument.

(I’m twice his age, Marco would argue. We’re pirates, Thatch would shrug it off, like it gave them a free pass for everything. It didn’t.)

„You“, Thatch said sternly instead, pointing an accusing finger at Marco, „are just a coward. You know Ace can’t get drunk. His fire burns the alcohol. Or something.“ Or something. Even though Marco was the ships doctor, he never quite understood how the alcohol vanished from Ace’s body. He just knew that most of it did, in fact, get lost, so getting Ace drunk usually involved an amount of alcohol that would haven even killed Pops in his prime. Not that that ever stopped Whitebeard from trying to drink with Ace until they were both wasted.

„Alright, I’m a coward“, Marco agreed easily, because really it wasn’t as insulting as Thatch thought it was, „my point remains, I’m not kissing anyone tonight.“

„Who is Marco not kissing?“, Ace asked, looking at Thatch with a curiousity only someone as young as Ace could still possess. Marco really needed to stop drinking, he didn’t even feel Ace coming over to them. But also, other than Thatch he didn’t falter in surprise, he just tensed up. Unfortunately Thatch seemed to find his voice faster, than Marco could come up with some kind of coherent answer to Ace’s question.

„Someone he’s been having a crush on for a really long time.“

„Marco has a crush?“, Ace asked, sounding surprised and Marco would have liked to argue about that. Yes, he has feelings, too, thank you very much. But this talk was going into a dangerous direction, so instead of protesting Marco had to look to divert their attention elsewhere. Ace might not be the fastest on the uptake, but he was smarter than people gave him credit for, and Marco wasn’t really interested in finding out how fast Ace could come to a conclusion with minimal evidence. That was if Thatch wouldn’t spill the beans before that.

„Yeah, he’s been pining for so long, it would be funny, if it weren’t that pathetic“, Thatch answered dramatically and made a show of throwing his arms around Marco’s shoulder and giving him a look full of pity. He really did spend too much time with Izo.

„He thinks he’s not good enough, so instead of being a man and confessing, he pines. It’s the worst“, Thatch added  and Marco had the sudden impulse to knock him into the ocean.

„That’s bullshit“, Ace protested rather passionately, „Marco is a great guy. Who wouldn’t think you’re great?“ And really, it warmed Marco’s heart that Ace would defend him like that. Especially considering that barely over a year ago, Ace’s goal was to kill Pops and effectively end the Whitebeard crew. But still Ace didn’t know what he was talking about.

„It’s not that. There is just an age difference that I can’t ignore“, he tried to explain. And reached deaf ears again. Ace really did fit in with them, all too well.

„So? We’re pirates“, he shrugged, not unlike Thatch always shrugged that argument off. Thatch looked entirely too pleased with himself sitting next to Marco, gloating as if he wanted to say I told you so.

„I’m twice their age. I’d feel like a cradle robber“, Marco tried to argue with Ace again and it was entirely too reminiscent of his usual arguments with Thatch, and Pops and Izo.

„There is someone else around my age on the ship?“, Ace asked excitedly and Marco felt like he messed up. Ace wasn’t supposed to know that. At the same time Thatch’s palm met his forehead with quite a lot of force behind it and he muttered to Ace: „Be glad you’re good-looking.“

„I am good-looking“, Ace answered with a confidence that he usually had to play, but that was entirely real this time, „it’s one of my few redeeming features. People especially like my freckles.“ Yeah, Marco could see that. They were cute and fit right onto Ace’s face, even though they made him look even younger. What was Marco even doing here? Prying on their youngest crew member, that’s what.

„Yes, you are“, Thatch agreed, „but you are also way too slow on the uptake.“

„Well, what’s the uptake here, then?“, Ace demanded sounding increasingly frustrated, whereas Thatch looked like he just lost all hope in humanity. Marco could admit that Ace was a bit slow-witted right now, but it still was adorable to him.

„Forget it. It could hit you in the head and you still wouldn’t see it“, Thatch announced and then stood up, „I’m going back to my kitchen.“ And suddenly Marco was alone with Ace, who still seemed determined to find out who Marco’s crush was. Curse Thatch, for bringing it up.

„Come on, we’re friends right? You can tell me. I promise I will take it to grave with me!“, Ace declared and while Marco believed him, there was still no way he could tell Ace. Not if he wanted to keep face in front of him, anyway.

„It’s not that important, go back to celebrating your birthday. I promise you’re not missing out on anything here.“

„Alright, I tell you about my secret crush and then you tell me about yours. That way it’s fair and you can be sure, I will keep your secret“, Ace declared and didn’t even wait for Marco to agree with him, before he continued, „My crush is someone, who is in love with someone else. Not that it matters, as soon as they find out who I really am, they would avoid me anyway.“

„They don’t know you’re a pirate?“, Marco asked surprised, because you would have to be really detached from the pirate world to not know Ace is a pirate. He was a notorious rookie, he was offered a place among the Seven Warlords and he fought Jinbei for five days straight. He also made a name for himself as Whitebeard’s Second Division Commander already and he only had the spot for a few months. If you were even remotely knowledgeable about pirates, there was no way you never heard of Ace.

„They know I’m a pirate, they don’t know the other big thing. The one only Pops knows“, Ace explained and Marco could feel the curiosity again. Damn Ace and his big secret.

„You think that’s big enough to make someone hate you?“, Marco asked, because he really couldn’t imagine it to be. Pops would have told him, if it was something that big.

„I know it is. People hated me for it all my life. It’s not even my fault.“

This secret of Ace just got more confusing the more information he got out of him. Luffy knows, Ace had told him once and it didn’t really surprise Marco. Ace loved his little brother to pieces. Luffy wasn’t mad about it either, I don’t know why I thought he would be. Which was the confusing part, because apparently Ace expected the entire world to him for this secret and Luffy was the singular exception to that. That must be some kind of brother Ace had.

„Honestly, I don’t think there is anything that would make me hate you“, Marco said to Ace instead, because he seemed like he needed it and because it was true. Ace was such a sunshine, with so much sadness lurking beneath, you just had to love him. It’s not like Marco had much of a choice in that matter and the rest of the crew adored him, too.

Ace seemed to think about something and it was quite between them for a long time, before he whispered: „Even if I was the Son of Gol D. Roger?“

„Even then“, Marco answered without hesitation, „It doesn’t matter where you come from, anyway, we’re -“

„- all children of the sea“, Ace finished, seeming somewhat relieved, „Pops said the same thing.“ And then he smiled that brilliant smile at Marco, that seemed to take his breath and Marco didn’t even have the time to consider that Ace really was the son of the Pirate King, because he was so beautiful, illuminated only by the dim lights on the ship and Marco really was smitten.

„So, you don’t hate me. Too bad you’re still in love with someone else“, Ace said, seemingly not catching the implications of his own words. But Marco did. And suddenly the only thing he could concentrate on was how soft Ace’s lips looked, and how his freckles brought out the sad look in his eyes - that really shouldn’t be there, Ace looked better smiling. And how much he desperately wanted to kiss Ace.

So he did just that.

And only mid-way trough, when his brain caught up with his actions he realized that never asked for permission So, interrupting their kiss he asked: „Do you want to do this?“ And instead of answering, Ace reclaimed his lips more passionately than before and made it into an even deeper kiss.

[mooshs-crack-headcanons]

Congrats on 200 Moosh!! 🥳🥳 can I request Marco, female, 🥰, 16 please?

(I'm not sure how this one turned out but I hope it's okay!)

16. Tub kisses

You sighed to yourself as you made your way through the doorway. Your wet soggy jacket slumped over your shoulders, dripping onto the floor as the weight of your body pressured your feet. As you walked into the small office, you lazily closed the door behind you before trudging to the desk in the middle of the room, dropping the stack of papers in your hand on the desktop. 

Your eyes felt they were going to drop at any moment as you looked to the papers. All of it was the paper Ace dropped on you. HIS paperwork. You felt at the bridge of your nose. 

Why the hell were you so agreeable all the time? 

You know your day started out perfectly fine. You woke up, managed to get your favorite breakfast before the rest of the crew meaning you ate in peace and quiet for once without the crews loud 'Whitebeard pirate-ness', Teach was sent away for a week due to his creepy shenanigans which was a win for everyone, and no one managed to hurt themselves, it was a great morning! 

Then noon happened. 

Just how stupid do you have to be to think you can take on the Whitebeard pirates? How really? Fucking marines never learn. But that encounter got a few crewmates for you and the rest of the nurses to attend to in the med ward.  

Then Thatch made Izo mad. 

The mess hall erupted in a brawl, as Thatch jumped and dodged for bullets for his life the test of the crew cheered on and even bets were made. It was only when the Fourth Division Commander grabbed a skillet that a bullet bounced off and hit Deuce in the leg. The own doctor being sent to the med ward, yet again for you to treat. 

For a couple of weeks now one of Haruta's major prank wars was in full swing. Everyone on the crew had their turn...and today's just had to be yours and that's how your jacket got to wet and soggy state it's in now because...you opened a medicine cabinet door and that demon child's fucking traps. 

And so as you were walking back to Marco's office in hopes of some little R&R, that's when Ace stopped you and asked for a favor, you to do his paperwork so he could check in on Deuce. You had to admit, the younger division Commander was sweet but...fuck he was too sweet for you sometimes. 

You groaned to yourself as you continued to feel it on your face. God you needed a break. 

And that's when the door squeaked open. You let your digits drop from your face as you instantly spun around to see who was going to bother you now, only for it to be Marco in the doorway, covered head to toe in syrup. 

You found a let giggle emerge from your throat. "He got you too?" You asked, watching the tired emotionless look in his eyes. He shut the door behind him and sighed. 

"You wouldn't believe the day I've had-yoi. Pops' being stubborn about his heart medication again." He said as he walked across the room to your shared bathroom already taking off his sandals. You crossed your arms over your chest. "Yeah tell me about it, I watched Izo almost cap Thatch today." The first division Commander flashed an enthused smile. 

"Yes, I heard-yoi." Once his sandals dropped to the floor he glanced over to his desk at the stack of paper, sticky blonde pineapple hair stuck to his forehead, he groaned. 

"...please don't tell me that's for me-yoi." You shook your head. "No, Ace dropped it on me earlier...just when I thought my day was over." Marco opened the door to the bathroom with a sigh. 

"It's his paperwork. He's in charge of it, not you. I'm going to see if I can...get this off-yoi…" A few moments of silence. 

"You're free to join me-yoi."

A bubble bath did sound nice. 

The two of you sat in the water together. The said water filling the tub part way and bubbles surrounding the two of you. You faced him, him with his back to the tub edge and his arms on the sides tired and woozy due to the water, as your hands scrubbed all the stick left in his hair. You mentally cursed Haruta to yourself at the Commander's sick view of 'fun' as you continued to scrub but somehow found more to wash out as you continued on. 

Once you got to a point where you couldn't find anymore, you sighed as you relaxed into his chest, his arms immediately wrapping around your body with a quick kiss pressed to the top of your head. 

"Thank you, love-yoi." 

"No problem, you got it worse than I did...all the punk managed to do was ruin my jacket." You nuzzled your face deeper into his wet chest as you let out a quiet snicker. 

"Sounds tough-yoi." 

"Marco! I liked that jacket!" 

"I'm sure it'll be fine-yoi." You puffed out your cheeks in frustration until his hand found your chin and he tilted it up for you to look at him before leaning down to press his lips to yours. The kiss between you two deepened as your arms wrapped around his neck, the sudden movement of you two slashing around the water, the occasional bubbles spilling to the floor. 

As your tongues collided, your nails gripped tightly onto your back as Marco pulled away and pressed tiny kisses along your shoulder. 

"I love you, (Name)-yoi." You giggled as you pushed yourself back, detaching his lips from your skin as you smiled and looked back at him, an idea forming in your mind. 

You scooped up some bubbles from the water, Marco watching with curious eyes as you placed the group of bubbles on the top of his head and moved closer to try to mold them in shape. The blonde cocked an eyebrow at you watched and curiously watched you play with the bubbles. 

"What are you-"

"Hush! I'm making a pineapple out of bubbles!" He couldn't help but to let out a woozy laugh. "...you're ridiculous, you know that?" You smiled as he gestured for another kiss, which you feverishly did so but careful not to knock over the pineapple shaped clump off his head. Once you pulled back he pressed a kiss to your cheek before taking a few moments just to stare into your eyes. 

"Oi, (Name) I-" 

"MARCO!!! (NAME)!!!" The two of you quietly cursed. 

"I SWEAR HE'S GOING TO KILL ME THIS TIME!!! OPEN UP!!!" 

"Thatch." The two of you muttered. 

Nope, it looks like neither of you is getting a break soon. 

[husbandograveyard]

Hi! For the cliche box opening- Marco and fem reader, 21?

Hiya! Some of that gorgeous phoenix man coming right up! I don’t know why he’s getting more and more popular but daaanggg I am all here for it, he really is one of those slightly perfect men, pineapple andall! I hope you enjoy this dear!! 

This is a setup - Marco x Reader 

Cliche with Bae prompt #21: Blind date set up by friends  Character: Marco - Word Count: 1.9k 

You never really thought about dates and such. As a pirate, you had better things to do than occupy your mind with romance. You had the occasional crush, the occasional fling when docked on an island. Usually never something serious. You have had some crushes on your crewmates too, but never really acted on it. It’d feel a little weird. 

Right now the object of your crushing was your ship’s doctor and commander of the first division, Marco the Phoenix. His soft and gentle demeanor, combined with his strength, determination, and leadership skills made it hard to not fall for him. And well, you’d be lying if you said he wasn’t extremely good looking. His reading glasses being the cherry on top, a sight you were seeing more and more often lately. 

Whitebeard had appointed you Marco’s assistant, mostly since you were one of the more gentle, calculated and precise people on board. Ideal to assist the doctor with his herbs and medicines, since you made no mistakes. And well, spending long days and sleepless nights with him, preparing herbs, labeling medicine and just generally assisting him in the infirmary, sometimes even taking over command over the nurses whenever commander duties called him, surely had made you appreciate him even more. 

A crush was just that, and you didn’t want it all interrupting your duties. But it was nice to have someone to daydream about whenever there was a silent moment and your actual dreams were bringing you much joy, glad to wake up with the prospect of spending time with the one person that kept visiting in your dreams. But you kept to dreaming and dreaming alone, it was not worth trying, besides, there was not even the slightest indication of any mutual pining. No way you were going to ruin your favorite job on the ship so far just for the sake of a possible relationship. 

After a party on the Moby dick, you had been slightly intoxicated, you had confided in Ace about having a crush when he asked you something about the guy you left behind some islands ago. You had forgotten about him and had explained to Ace how you preferred short flings for the duration of the stay on an island, and in the meantime, you’d enjoy your crushes on the ship.

It had been a terrible idea to tell him because this man was so damn curious about your crush, he kept bothering you, even if the alcohol had no more influence after the party ended, just kept on bothering you for days on end. You kept explaining you preferred to not get involved with someone on the crew and put a real emphasis on the fact that nothing should be one-sided. After a while, they stopped bugging you. At least that is what it seemed like. 

When you were about to dock at the new island, you were hanging out with Izo on deck. He too was now aware of the little situation going on with Marco, but compared to Thatch and Ace, went a lot more subtle about the whole ordeal. “So, y/n, are you going to find some other fling here too, or is your mind a little too pre-occupied?” “I don’t know”, you answered truthfully, “I guess I wouldn’t mind something to distract my brain for a little bit. I’ve never had a crush last this long.” Izo hummed. “Well, I do know some people on this island? How about I find you a nice man, and arrange a date? Kind of a blind date thing? I promise I won’t set you up with some kind of weirdo. Just… to distract the brain, and that way you won’t have to go through a batch of well willing guys that are not worth your time.” 

You thought it over for a bit, the offer didn’t seem that bad. Worst case scenario you just had a bad date, but the chances of having a bad date were just as big if you went out and looked for someone by yourself. Besides, you did trust Izo and his judgment, so the date couldn’t possibly that bad. “You know what? Sure. One blind date. The second night we’re at the island so you have time to convince someone to do a blind date thing.” You laughed and Izo nodded in response. “Consider it done~ I’ll figure out the details with him and let you know as soon as I’ve met up and set it up.” “Perfect.” 

As promised, the next day Izo gave you the time and place of a small restaurant pretty close to the harbor. “No need to dress up too fancy, I told him it was very casual. That way you can see for yourself whether you want to hook up or just have a fun evening.” You thanked him for his consideration. You were feeling a little bad, something you had never done when going onto a date of any kind. It was not even like you never had done a blind date before. You looked over at the closed door of Marco’s cabin and felt a little pang in your heart. You shook your head, there was no way that was going to work out, so might as well make the best of it tonight. 

You spent most of the day distracting yourself with your chores, even taking on extra ones to make time pass faster. And it worked very well, you nearly forgot about the excitement of the evening when Ace asked you why you were still on the ship. You had completely lost track of time. Good thing the date didn’t require dressing up nicely, you just changed into the first clean set of clothes you could find inside your cabin, and then sprinted your way to the restaurant. You remembered Izo’s words, the first row of tables to the right in the corner, he had booked it for the date so you definitely wouldn’t miss it and sit by the wrong person. 

You walked the final feet to the restaurant, not wanting to arrive all out of breath. You were only a couple of minutes too late. It was embarrassing, but not too bad. Maybe your date was a little late too and you could both laugh about it. You walked in, turned to the right, looked at the corner… and frowned. The table was taken already, a familiar face looking surprised before smiling and waving you over. You reluctantly walked up there, and with every step you took, the realization sank in: Izo had been part of a set-up. You’d strangle him the moment you got back. 

“Hey Marco” You smiled as you sat down, the doctor smiling back at you. “Did you know..?” “No, y/n”, he laughed, “I’m afraid we both are victims of a set-up”. You nodded. “Well, we might as well make the best out of it?” “That seems like a plan, nice food in great company sounds like an ideal date to me- yoi” he winked at you as he said that, and you couldn’t stop your cheeks from heating up a little. 

You ordered drinks and food, and once you got over the initial awkwardness and the fact that you both had drastically been set up by your friends and crewmembers, the conversation started flowing. Starting off with things about the ship and such, since that’s what you always talked about when you were working together, but slowly evolving to more personal conversations, such as your pasts, your dreams, your goals, your hopes, and aspirations. It all seemed to flow so easily and you were just having so much fun. 

Marco was not only an amazing date to have deep conversations with, he was also a true gentleman and incredibly funny. You could almost feel your crush grow into something more right at that very dinner table. Or at least, the denial that it was nothing more than a crush was about to get thrown overboard. You were head over heels and that was not part of the battle plan. You were surprised to get kicked out of the restaurant hours later because neither of you had noticed just how long you had been talking, keeping up the waiters and such. 

The cold evening air hit your skin and you shivered. Before you could even move your hands up to rub your arms, you felt the fabric of his jacket being draped over your shoulders. You wanted to swoon right then and there. Why was he so damn perfect. “Aren’t you gonna get cold?” “I am a literal firebird, y/n, I don’t get cold that easily-yoi” You chuckled and wrapped the jacket around you a little more tightly, instantly warming up a little as you started to walk back to the Moby Dick. 

“What are we going to tell them when we get back?” “I don’t know… I actually had a pleasant night, I wouldn’t mind going for another date” You stopped dead in your tracks. “Are you serious.” “Yes, I mean it. I have to admit, I’ve had a little thing for you ever since we started working together, but I didn’t want you to feel forced, or uncomfortable. I am your commander after all-yoi” “You’re kidding me” “No, I am not. I’m pretty sure the guys set me up on this blind date cause they knew and they were kind of annoying me to say something about it.”

You had to stop yourself from facepalming. “They set us both up worse than you think.” Marco tilted his head to the side and gave you a questioning look. “I have been crushing on you for weeks on end. I didn’t want to say something because I didn’t want to make things weird, and they offered me a date to give my mind some peace and quiet and possibly distract from you. They all knew about it.” Marco laughed out loud. “Then maybe it’s the two of us that are the fools.” “Maybe….can’t believe those three actually did a serious thing” you laughed a little, the noise dying out as you noticed Marco stepping closer to you. 

“How about we let them think they failed for a bit? Just until they’ve learned their lesson?” You nodded. “Well, does that mean I can’t hang out with you?” “Of course not. We work together, you have no choice,” he smiled, “and behind closed doors, we can do whatever. Only for a few days, just to make them feel a little bad.” He smiled as he took a final step in your direction, taking one of your hands and pulling you even closer. You could only breathlessly nod at his plan, too busy staring in his eyes to give a decent answer. “Then, before we get back… With your permission?” He leaned in close, still careful to not make you feel too uncomfortable, patient yet eager. You felt your heart swell at how considerate he was, and closed the gap, kissing him eagerly. 

The cold was temporarily forgotten, as well as the fact that you were in the middle of the street in the middle of the night, probably looking at least a little bit suspicious. You gave him a quick peck on the lips to seal the previous kiss right before you pulled away, giving him back his jacket. “An unsuccessful date doesn’t end in wearing each other’s clothes” you smiled. Marco put it back on, smiling back at you before you both started walking again towards to the ship. “Let’s not pretend for too long though, I don’t think I’ll always be able to wait for us to be alone after that kiss.”

[hkshirayuki]

MYTHICAL CREATURE 3

Marco x Reader

Genre : Fluff

Art is not mine credits to the rightful owner.

They just greet and welcome y/n. Y/n just thanked them. Marco was the last one to welcome y/n. As soon he walk towards you. He can feel everybody's gaze on his back.

" Welcome to our loud chaotic family, y/n, yoi" Marco said with a smile.

Y/n just blush, as it was her first time to hear him call her name.

"Thank you" y/n replied and Thatch couldn't miss the opportunity to butt in.

"Are you blushing, y/n-chan?!"

Marco just roll his eyes at how much of a gossiper his siblings is, when it comes to love life. Well he can't blame them as he did the same thing to Oden and Toki. Well they did the same thing as he did.

"Oh, I was just surprised" y/n stutter said as she touch her face. It was warm, she is indeed blushing.

Thatch just suggestive wiggle his eyebrows at Marco. The other soon joined him, doing the same gesture.

Marco just glare at them, before smacking there heads and the rumble of the siblings begin. They both share the same blow, others cheer and bet who will win.

Y/n just asked 'what's going on' Whitebeard just chuckled at how immature they can be, but he love seeing them like this.

Timeskip 5 years later

It's been a 5 years, since the day y/n joined the Whitebeard pirates. She always remember the faithful meet she had with Marco. She didn't regret her decision as she found a very supportive family.

When she talked about her dream to meet every each Mythical Creatures she had met. They all support her to it. The adventure to the sea with them was never been boring, it was full of excitement. Y/n was best pals with Marco, as for the others they blame marco for being a bad influence to y/n and y/n could fully heartily laughed at what they say about marco.

Marco and y/n understand each other, through the years they spend, They have notice the similarities of each other. They will always have there own private talk at night together. Marco will always asked how is her day and she will asked the same thing.

The Whole crew know, how sneaky the two are. Y/n mostly tease Marco when there only alone. She will keep asking him about the reason, he stay in her boat as a phoenix. Marco will only frown when she asked as he learn she love to rub salt to his past wound, Marco will only tease her back only to backfired. And both of them are embarrassed and promised to keep it a secret together.

After getting embarrassed the two soon talk about something they find interesting that Marco sometimes joke and y/n laugh. Thatch, Izo and along with jozu, vista and haruta were only spying at marco and y/n. Whitebeard only scold them for spying there brother and there sister. but soon join them.

"Just when will Marco, will tell y/n" Whitebeard asked to his sons.

They only shrugged there shoulder and still watching and listening to whatever marco and y/n talking about.

Whitebeard again asked them again and they only said "Shh" to there Dad who just frown. Whitebeard just thought of leaving when he got cramps making him groan loud. It was loud enough for the two to hear him.

"What the! Are you serious yoi!?" Marco asked angrily as he know that they were spying on them.

Y/n just blushed as she experienced them teasing her to no end. When she was hug by Marco the time she was away for a month. Well she was hug by all of her family member. It's just they tease her and Marco when they are seen together.

Marco just angrily March towards the noise come from. And Thatch, Izo, Jozu, Vista and haruta just hide. While Whitebeard have no choice but to stay there as he have a terrible cramps.

"Oyaji! What are you doing?!" Marco unamused said.

Y/n just follow Marco and surprised to see. There Dad was spying them.

She only give Whitebeard a face of displeasure. Marco just scold him while y/n notice the other tip toeing but y/n shouted said "And where do you think you guys going?"

The five shadow flinch and Marco just name them. "Thatch, Vista, Jozu, Haruta, and Izo come out already" They only did and tried to act dumb.

Thatch just tried spoke with a feminine voice. "Ahahaha, There is no Thatch here, it's me Whitey~"

It was pretty obvious that it was him. Only an idiot will believe that kind of lie. Izo was only embarrassed as he was too curious that's why he tag along with them. Marco was disappointed to see Izo with them.

Marco just scold them, Y/n leave the scolding to marco, when it's them. They only apologize for spying them.

"We promise not to do it"

"Let me and the others do the seppuku as my apology for intruding your two privacy" Izo said while there in there knees and low his head at Marco, y/n.

but when he said that y/n just panic.

"What!? no! Izo!" y/n said. Marco just smack his head.

"Stop it, Idiot!" Marco said to Izo.

The other that is present that time only just shut there mouth as they can see, Izo wasn't kidding about it. They only gulp in terror.

Y/n just scold him for scaring her like that. Marco just sigh as he have a stressful night. Because of his siblings.

Thatch, Vista, Jozu and Haruta just curse there dad in the back cause he was only scolded and he returned to his room. While they were punished to kneel down overnight as an apology. Izo, Of course accepted it. They couldn't leave nor stand up as they were threatened by Izo either they stay or they all Commit Seppuku.

The next morning, The other member just Question why there are sleeping outside and kneeling down.

Marco and y/n were only greeted by the sight of the five. Y/n feel guilty while marco hope they learn there lesson.

One week passed,Thatch just implanted an idea inside y/n head.

He just asked what does y/n think about marco.

"You know, Marco is always kind"

"Well yeah he is, but notice this

y/n-chan, he is extra kind only to you" Thatch point it out. Y/n just thought one of the reasons 'why' Thatch just whisper in her ear in a low voice.

"Marco have a crush on you" Thatch keep on whispering while y/n is focused when she hear him. She couldn't help but blushed.

"Thatch!!!"

Thatch just look at her, like he didn't do anything "What?"

"Stop whispering something like that"

Thatch just laugh at how adorable y/n is but he wasn't sorry. At the same time Marco was doing check up on Whitebeard. When he asked Marco the same thing.

Marco just sigh as he answered "If your asking me, if I like y/n? I do"

Whitebeard were delighted to hear it. So he asked what's preventing him to confess. He tried to say something reasonable. Only he sigh and felt embarrassed.

"I'm trying to, okay! I'm just waiting for a good timing...yoi"

Whitebeard just laughed at the flustered look Marco had.

"Your not a teenager boy, Your already 30, Same as her... Man up"

Marco just frown but his dad have a point. "I know that... Yoi"

"Marco, you should do it sooner, before someone confess first" Whitebeard said.

"shit" Marco said to himself. Well he can't blame them, You were such a natural charmer, they might be blind if you couldn't charm them. But sorry for them cause he decided to make a move.

Tonight as usual, Marco and y/n met for some other reasons. The two had an awkward atmosphere. Well y/n suddenly remembered what Thatch whisper to her ear. Marco just thought of confessing his feelings.

It took a 5 minutes before Marco finally decided to break the awkward silence they both had.

"Were having a lovely night yoi" Marco said and y/n just look at him for a second and look away soon. Though she just agreed to it.

She didn't look at him anymore. She was looking somewhere else.

"What's wrong with you, yoi?" Marco asked with a hint of concerned.

"Oh, umm, nothing just have an odd day" y/n replied still avoiding his gaze.

For some reasons what thatch said to her that time keep on repeating inside her head. Y/n doesn't like to assume. So she shakes her head trying to focus.

"The moon is beautiful isn't it?" y/n said. Marco then sudden smirk.

Looking at y/n admiring the moon.

"Did you just said, I love you to me, yoi" Marco said with a smirk in his face.

"Yeah... I mean, wha?!" y/n replied but soon becomes a stuttering mess after it finally sink to her mind.

"Well I love you too, y/n" Marco bashfully replied. Y/n then look at him. The smirk he wear a while ago just melt and she can see the red tint in his face.

"Really?" Y/n said, but she know that it was sincere but couldn't help to tease him. Marco just frown.

Why do you inherit this habit from the others. But he got an idea to make it fair.

Y/n is still teasing him, She were still asking him even she know it already.

"really? Really?"

Marco just thought a great revenge so he just scoot down and stare her directly in the eye. Inch slowly, y/n wasn't ready for it. But she close her eyes but she only felt Marco lips on her cheek.

He just stick out his tongue when she open her eyes." Sorry, Were you expecting me to kiss you in the lips,

y/n,yoi"

Marco swear he never seen so flustered y/n is. As he hum for victory. Y/n just covered her face with her hand.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Dedicated to Owner-san from One piece fam, tumblr.

[mystical-flute]

Let the Wine of Friendship Never Run Dry

Also on AO3

When news from Wano finally reaches the Moby Dick, it's the last thing any of them wanted to hear.

(Spoilers for manga chapter 999)

The blinding sun seemed stuck overhead as the Whitebeard Pirates sailed leisurely through the Grand Line. Everything was perfectly ordinary - Teach sat at a table munching on a cherry pie, Vista and Jozu sparred behind him, and there was a steady gulp, gulp sigh from Pops as he drank and watched Izo’s patient attempts to teach some of the newer recruits the traditional dances from Wano.

It was a perfectly ordinary, if not hot, day.

Which made the sudden cry from the lookout tower all the more troubling.

“There’s someone hanging off a piece of driftwood!” Fossa shouted. “Port side!”

“Is there anything else around? Any other ships?” Pops called, already rising to his feet with Murakumogiri in hand.

“No, Pops! Nothing else!”

“Marco, go.”

Marco vanished, his blue flames almost disappearing against the color of the clear sky. Still, the crew watched anxiously as he floated above the barely-visible driftwood and teenager, surveying the surroundings and the state of the kid.

Teach wondered if they were even still alive, although a bit part of him doubted it. They wouldn’t be reaching another island for at least a few days. Unless the driftwood had once been a boat with rations, he couldn’t see great survival odds.

To his surprise though, Marco scooped the teenager into his arms and bolted back to the Moby Dick, screaming out for medical equipment.

Well shit, the kid was stronger than he thought.

That, or had fantastic luck.

“Teach, Johan, help me out with this, would you?” Marco called, not even looking his way as he sprinted to the infirmary. Teach and the rookie followed wordlessly, concern knit across their faces.

“Is she really alive?” Teach asked, frowning in concern at the horribly thin teenager laying on the bed.

“For now, but that’s why I need your help,” Marco said. “She’s probably been without food for a few days… but she looks like she’s been malnourished for a while now. Get Thatch to start preparing some soft foods, would you Johan?”

Johan nodded, disappearing again. It was when Marco moved away from the girl that Teach noticed something strikingly familiar about her.

“Marco. Her clothes.”

Marco paused as he hung up an IV bag on a line, then took a deep breath.

“Get Izo.”

When Teach did, Izo took a sharp inhale of breath immediately. “The pattern is a specialty of Ringo. I’d recognize it anywhere.”

“So she’s from Wano, then? How the hell did she end up here?” Teach asked with a frown.

“I don’t know… but I admit, I’m concerned. Lord Oden wanted to open Wano’s borders. Why haven’t we heard anything about that by now?” Izo asked, alarm written on his face.

“We’ll ask her when she wakes up,” Marco said softly, the heart monitor’s steady beeping the only thing to break the tension that suddenly hung in the air.

It was nearly ten-thirty at night by the time the girl let out a groan, one dark brown eye cracking open.

“Where ‘m I?” she whispered, voice ragged.

“You’re safe…” Marco said, leaning over to check her vitals. “Can you tell me your name?”

“Akio.”

“Do you remember what happened, Akio?”

Izo rose to his feet as well, leaning over anxiously.

“I - I stole one of Lord Orochi’s boats… I needed to get out of the country. H-he wanted me to be a concubine… but I couldn’t - I couldn’t! He’d already taken my parents! I couldn’t let him take me too!” Akio’s breath quickened, panic overtaking her.

“Orochi?” Izo said sharply, and the teenager’s breath suddenly slowed. “What happened to Oden?”

Akio’s face flickered with fear. “N-no one must speak of him!”

“Please, you're safe here. My name is Izo. I left Wano decades ago. What happened to Lord Oden and his retainers?”

Akio’s eyes filled with tears. “H - he’s dead. They’re all dead. L-Lord K-Kaido and L-Lord Orochi s-saw to it three years ago.”

The air was sucked out of the room.

“Who is Orochi?” came Johan’s voice.

Marco gave Teach a look, and he nodded in understanding, dragging Johan out of the room. The door closed behind them just as Izo screamed in devastation, the echo rippling out to the main deck of the Moby Dick.

“Commander Izo!” Johan cried. “Teach, c’mon, we have to make sure he’s okay!”

“He ain’t gonna be okay for a long time, Johan,” Teach said.

Pops was on his feet when they arrived. “What happened?”

“Commander Izo started f-freaking out for some reason, Pops! I - I don’t know - ” Johan was too new, still too intimidated by Whitebeard to finish his sentence.

“Teach?” Pops asked, raising a brow.

For once in his life, Marshall D. Teach wished he could look away from his captain’s gaze. He felt a strange, uncomfortable knot in his stomach as the reality of the girl’s words set in.

“Oden is dead. His whole family, Pops, and their retainers… including Izo’s sister. The girl said it was Kaido.”

For the first time since Teach had been sailing with the crew, Pops’ face went nearly as white as his mustache. Jozu looked like he’d been slapped, Vista’s swords clattered to the ground, and Curiel bowed his head in respect. The newer recruits stared at each other in confusion.

Pops took a deep breath. “When?”

“She said it’s been three years,” Teach said, bowing his head.

Pops’ face darkened, fury brewing in his gaze.

“What do we do, Pops? Are we going to invade Wano?” Jozu asked, his arm hardening into diamond.

For a moment, Pops was silent.

“No,” he finally ground out. “We aren’t invading Wano. There’s no point. Oden’s already dead, and the casualties would be too great, between us and the Wano citizens.”

“But Pops, he killed some of us! We can’t just sit here and let that go!” Fossa spoke up this time. “And Momonoskue and Hiyori - they were just kids !”

“I said no! The damage is done. We’d be doing nothing but causing trouble for innocent people,” Pops sighed. “Drop anchor. We’ll have a memorial for them tonight.”

It was a solemn scramble to get the sake poured and the cannons ready for the salute. Marco managed to coax Izo out onto the deck with him, getting him a seat right next to Pops.

Izo’s usually carefully placed makeup was smudged, tear tracks worming their way down his cheeks. He was pale and drawn, staring at the sake in his hand as if it were a lifeline.

Pops let out a sigh, standing before the crew with his larger than life sake bottle in hand. “Oden was a good man, as many of you are aware. He was bright, curious, and brought a light to this family. And Toki, Momonoskue and Hiyori as well. Tonight, we drink for them, for their retainers. For their country of Wano as a whole. Fire!”

The sound of cannons rang out into the air, the sound echoing in the darkness.

[usopp-writes]

In love

Nervously he browsed the internet, trying to get inspired for what he was going to do and buy. He hadn’t been on a date in a long time, as he hadn’t allowed himself to get too close to anyone. His heart had been broken so many times and he didn’t think he could bear it. However, then she walked into his life. Fiery red hair, blue eyes, a warm smile and a heart of gold. So, what if she was a little chubby, he liked her just as she was. Shy, but once feeling comfortable, her bright personality shined thorugh all the insecurities.

She hadn’t had it easy too, if he was to read the unspoken words and feelings in her eyes. He wanted to help her through that and leave the past where it belonged. In the past. When he realized that was what he felt, he was lost for some time, before building up the courage to ask her out on a date. She’d said yes, though a little hesitant and he couldn’t really blame her.

He was semi famous, being one of Edward Newgate’s adopted children. Sure, he wasn’t as famous and desired as Marco, Thatch, Izo or even Haruta, but people knew who he was. What would they think of her? Not that he cared, he only cared that his family liked her and others didn’t matter. However, he was sure she didn’t see it that way and he would help her get through it.

“Do you think she’ll be scared away by a single red rose?” He looked at Ace, who had been the one to introduce her to the family.

Ace chuckled and patted him on the shoulder. “Namur, she would be happy if you show up. Just be yourself and enjoy your date. No pressure. The perfect date is just imagination and that can never live up to reality.”

Taking a deep breath, he looked back at the screen, exhaling slowly. Ace was right, but he just wanted this to be perfect anyway. She was way too precious to blow his change up.

“She’s properly just as nervous as you, Namur. Don’t overthink it. She’s already agreed on a date, which means she is interested. Show up, be yourself and everything willbe fine.” Sabo added helpfully.

“What does a single rose mean?” Luffy blinked curious, not really getting why Namur would be nervous for a date with a woman he’d been hanging out with alongside with them.

Ace and Sabo groaned. Luffy was oblivious when it came to romance and love. They still loved him, but he was rarely any help.

Namur turned tot he young raven haired male. “A red rose symbolize new love and courtship.” As a florist he was well known in the language of flowers. He loved flowers and help people express what their heart couldn’t say in words. Sadly that language was not something everyone knew, but the internet provided with the knowledge.

“Oh. That’s lovely. You should give her one then. I’m sure she’ll like it.” Luffy grinned brightly, convinced that she would be happy to recieve a single rose. Ace and Sabo wasn’t convinced, but Luffy’s instincts was mostly right. It was scary how ignorant he was about love and romance, but knew exactly what others should do and say to win someone’s heart or make up with them.

Namur smiled lightly. “Then I’ll give her one. Thank you Luffy. Well, I better get going. I don’t want to be late.” He ruffled Luffy’s hair softly, before saying goodbye. He felt much better now. Ace and Sabo was right. He should just be himself, as she had already agreed on a date, even though she knew him. Hopefully he wouldn’t get his heart broken again, but he didn’t want to think of that. She had showed interest in him, not any of the other people, who attracted lots of women.

He was still nervous, but he could handle it now. After all, she could be the one for him and he was going to do his best to find out. Maybe she just was there to heal his heart. Whatever would happen, he was not going to be afraid again. Because this feeling was beautiful and felt amazing. 

[daresplaining]

Who are your favourite DD villains? Fisk, Bullseye and Mr Fear all sound brilliant from what I know of them, but are there any others with similarly iconic influence on Matt?

    There are! Daredevil comics aren’t known for their well-crafted villains to the extent that, say, Spider-Man or Batman comics are, but I really enjoy a lot of Matt’s rogues gallery. Fisk and Bullseye are probably the two biggest names, but there are many others who have had major impacts on his life, and the Marvel Universe in general, over the years. Here are some of the most notable DD villains, in my opinion:

Gladiator (Melvin Potter) is a major antagonist who, over the years has become arguably one of the most nuanced and interesting Daredevil characters. I wrote a longer post about him, way back when we thought we might actually get a Gladiator origin story in the Netflix show, but in general, a lot of his lasting appeal comes from the complexity of his character. When he was first introduced in Daredevil vol. 1 #18 he was a pretty standard Silver Age villain: a guy with semi-logical origin story, a funky costume, and a penchant for monologuing. Specifically, Melvin Potter was the owner of a costume store who was sick of being disrespected by his customers, and so decided to make a name for himself by attacking people with spinning blades. 

[ID: A panel from Lee’s Daredevil run. Daredevil is battling the Gladiator. Daredevil hoists himself up on a big crate to dodge one of the Gladiator’s spinning wrist blades.]

Matt: “He’s not fooling with those wrist blades… he’s fighting for real! But, why? I’m certain I’ve never met him before!”

Melvin: “You can’t keep dodging me forever! And the moment you slip, you shall have the honor of being my first victim!”

Daredevil vol. 1 #18 by Stan Lee, John Romita, and Sam Rosen

    Over the years, various writers have worked hard to add nuance to his character. Despite his fearsome appearance and goal of gaining respect, most early Gladiator stories involve Melvin being manipulated by stronger, smarter supervillains. Later, he becomes even more sympathetic: a dangerous killer who, at heart, is gentle and naive and hates when he loses control and hurts people. This creates an inherent discord in his character that adds an emotional hook to all of his stories. Matt tries to help him, and Melvin is grateful for Matt’s friendship and returns that favor when he can, but sometimes they end up having to fight each other. Essentially, Melvin’s story is the relentless tragedy of a man who wants to live a peaceful life but keeps falling victim to his own demons and the cruelty of the world around him. 

[ID: A page from Miller’s Daredevil run. Matt Murdock, in civvies (a tan suit and blue tie) confronts Melvin Potter, who is in a prison uniform and holding his Gladiator helmet.]

Matt: “Melvin, we’ve come so far. I know how much you want to be well… to go straight. We can help you, Betsy and I.”

Melvin: “I been trying, Matt. I been sitting in that courtroom, listening to them say those things about me, feeling my guts churn up, wanting to rip them all to pieces… They hate me. They all hate me… so I’m gonna hate them back!”

Matt: “I’m not letting you off that easy. If you want to become the Gladiator again, you’ll have to get past me.”

Melvin: “Past you?! Look at you– you’re just a skinny little blind guy! I’d break you in half! It’d be easy…”

Matt: “Is that what you want?”

Melvin: “Why not? I’m the Gladiator! The Gladiator! When I’m wearing my armor, I’m unbeatable, I’m…” 

[ID: Melvin throws the helmet and falls to his knees.]

Melvin: “I’m all alone. Help me… please…”

Daredevil vol. 1 #173 by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, and Glynis Wein

    This complicated and heartwrenching characterization has helped Melvin to remain a fresh and popular antagonist (anti-hero, even) and a regular guest in Daredevil. He is one of several characters who complicates the hero/villain dichotomy, and thereby both emphasizes and challenges Matt’s own heroism. 

Typhoid Mary/Mary Walker is another one of the more famous Daredevil villains, and someone who has had a significant impact on Matt’s story over the years. I wrote a longer post on her as well. Female antagonists in particular seem to suffer from a variety of weaknesses in their depictions, and Typhoid– as a sexual character by nature, as well as someone who plays upon “crazy” villain tropes– has had her share of not great depictions over the years. However, at her core, she is a wonderfully compelling character and a dangerous villain who is literally multifaceted by design. Even moreso than Melvin Potter, Mary plays upon the concept of a good person who is powerless to prevent themself from doing violent things– in Mary’s case, through genuinely having multiple psyches inhabiting one body. She is in constant conflict with herself, as gentle Mary and bloodthirsty Typhoid battle for dominance. As much as she is an antagonist to Matt and the other heroes whose paths she crosses, she is her own arch-enemy. 

[ID: An excerpt from Nocenti’s Daredevil run. Typhoid Mary and Daredevil are both underwater, in the East River. Mary looked panicked partway through strangling Daredevil, and flees out of the water.]

Mary/Typhoid: “Don’t kill him! You! Shut up! I love him! Stop! Get out of my head! You can’t kill him! Get out of my head! Oh, god! Where am I? Why am I dressed like this? What have I done?!”

Matt: “Curious. That’s a completely different woman running away! What came over her?”

Daredevil vol. 1 #256 by Ann Nocenti, John Romita Jr., and Christie Scheele

    Matt’s dealings with Mary have brought about some of the more unheroic moments in his career. In Joe Kelly’s attempt to integrate the Man Without Fear-verse origin story into the 616 universe, he proposed that Matt nearly killed Mary on his first superhero outing. When Typhoid, in her introductory arc, is hired to seduce Matt, it works– he cheats on Karen with her. Later, when attempting to bring down the Kingpin’s empire, Matt removes Mary from the equation by sleeping with her to get her guard down and then forging documents to have her locked away in a psychiatric hospital. She hits all of his weak points: as Mary, she is a victim who needs rescuing… and an attractive one at that. As Typhoid, she is a dangerous enemy who must be stopped. In addition to her skill with weapons, she has all kinds of awesome psychic powers– including, most notably, pyrokinesis– and something about her physiology messes with Matt’s senses and makes her difficult to fight. She is a challenge on every level, and in many ways, Matt serves the same purpose for her– Mary (and, arguably, Typhoid as well) accidentally falls in love with him, representing a loss of power and control that she can’t stand. 

[ID: Excerpt from Nocenti’s Daredevil run. A series of panels alternating between Daredevil falling off a bridge and a tear sliding down Typhoid Mary’s cheek.]

Daredevil vol. 1 #260 by Ann Nocenti, John Romita Jr., and Christie Scheele

The Hand I love the Hand– which is to say, I love the Chaste, and part of why I love the Chaste is because I love their rivalry with the Hand. On some levels, the Hand are your standard Big Bad Secret Organization, but I also find them to be a lot of fun, and they have been a significant force in Daredevil comics since they were introduced. The Hand are key players in Miller’s updated version of Matt’s origin, which introduced Stick and gave him a purpose for training Matt. They also had a huge role in Elektra’s origin, since her attempt to singlehandedly bring them down from the inside led to her becoming an assassin. And of course, Matt’s role as leader of the Hand and temporary vessel for their patron demon, the Beast, was a defining moment in recent DD comics and a low point of Matt’s career. The Hand are dangerous because they are vast, and their high-ranking members have all kinds of cool powers, which I love. And there’s also a certain amount of weakness and dysfunction to the Hand that makes them appealing. They are a once-great organization relegated to being mercenaries-for-hire. Their low-ranking members are fairly weak– as Matt quips in Volume 1 #380, “a little harsh language and [they’re] up in smoke!” They were led by a Skrull (disguised as Elektra) for a while, and didn’t even notice. Arguably their most dangerous enemy, Master Izo, mostly just bothers them with Hand puns. 

[ID: A panel from Diggle’s Daredevil run. Daredevil, seen from the back, is standing in an empty room. The light from the sunset streams in through the windows. Izo is sitting behind him on the floor, drinking tea.]

Matt: “Look, you wanted me leading the Hand, you got it… but I never agreed to be your puppet.”    

Izo: “‘Hand puppet.’ Heh.”

Daredevil vol. 2 #503 by Andy Diggle, Roberto De La Torre, Marco Checchetto, and Matt Hollingsworth

    I also enjoy the way the Hand and the Chaste operate and Matt’s relationship with them. Matt isn’t an official member of the Chaste (like Elektra, he was rejected for being too emotional– which, in his case at least, is a fair assessment) but he still teams up with them on occasion, and the experience almost always puts him out of his depth in really entertaining ways. Matt is one of the Hand’s biggest enemies and one of the Chaste’s most useful allies, so he gets dragged into their business even when he doesn’t want to be involved. 

[ID: Excerpt from Daredevil: Ninja. A conversation between Daredevil and Stone in a series of face close-ups.]

Stone: “We need your help.”

Matt: “You should have asked me to come.”

Stone: “Would you have?”

Matt: “I hate this ninja crap. I hate it. Every single time it’s nothing but lies, half-truths, and misguided loyalties. Stay away from me and my life.”

Daredevil: Ninja #2 by Brian Michael Bendis, Rob Haynes, and David Self

    There are also two excellent (and, I’d say, influential) alternate universes in which Matt joins the Hand and thrives in their presence: What If? Daredevil vs. Elektra and Earth-65 (Spider-Gwen-verse). 

Lady Bullseye (Maki Matsumoto) And if we’re discussing the Hand and the Chaste, I have to mention Maki– undisputed head of the Bullseye Fan Club and another of my favorite Daredevil villains. She’s relatively new (she was introduced during Brubaker’s run) and so hasn’t had a particularly big long-term influence on Matt, but she is a great character with extensive connections to Daredevil history. One thing I love about her is the fact that while she modeled her look and identity on Bullseye, she isn’t treated as just female version of him, as her name might suggest. They actually have very little in common; she just chose to honor Bullseye because he played a role in her origin story by indirectly rescuing her from a human trafficking ring.

[ID: Panels from Brubaker’s Daredevil run. Bullseye is single-handedly beating up a bunch of gun-toting mobsters in a warehouse building. Maki Matsumoto watches him between the bars of a large cage.]   

Caption: “She remembers that so vividly. Remembers the joy she beheld that day from her cage. She had never seen anything so beautiful, she thought. Of course, she was nearly insane already by then. But then, like a miracle… freedom.”

[ID: Maki reaches between the bars of the cage and grabs a key from a dead mobster’s pocket. As she tries to escape, another mobster runs toward her.]

Man: “You– back in your cage, girl!”

Maki: “I think not.”

[ID: Without looking at him, she slices his throat with the key.]

Daredevil vol. 2 #111 by Ed Brubaker, Clay Mann, and Matt Hollingsworth

    Since then, Maki has teamed up with Bullseye– mostly notably, resurrecting and caring for him after his death in “Shadowland”– but more often, she operates on her own as an assassin. Like both Elektra and Matt, she was trained by the Hand and the Chaste without forming an official allegiance with either, and it seems her primary teacher was Master Izo– thus making her Matt and Elektra’s ninja aunt and/or sister in the Chaste Family Tree that definitely exists in my head and nowhere else. 

[ID: Excerpt from Brubaker’s Daredevil run. Lady Bullseye and Izo are standing on a Manhattan rooftop as the sky brightens behind them. Pigeons are flocking around them; Izo has one perched on his hand.]

Maki: “You said I would lead the Hand.”

Izo: “I said a lot of things when I was training you, girl… Said whatever I needed to say.”

Maki: “You’re as bad as them.”

Izo: “No. I didn’t put you in a cage and sell you to the Yakuza.”

Maki: “You still used me.”

Izo: “Yes, I did… but I’m not going to apologize.”

Maki: “Someday I’ll kill you for this. You know that, right?”

[ID: Izo leaps off the roof.]

Izo: “Yeah, well… get in line.”

Daredevil vol. 2 #500 by Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano, Matt Hollingsworth, et al.

    Maki masterminds the destruction of Matt’s life that leads him to join the Hand. She is extremely smart (she passes herself off as a lawyer during Brubaker’s run and fools both Matt and Foggy; as far as anyone knows, she might actually have a law degree…?), an excellent fighter (arguably better than Matt, not quite as good as Elektra), an absolute badass, and an all-around great antagonist who deserves her own solo series (hint, hint, Marvel). 

Death-Stalker I’m not sure Death-Stalker counts as a major Daredevil villain, but he was used about once a week in late 70s Daredevil so he’s certainly been a recurring presence. I also just find him really cool, conceptually. One of the interesting things about Death-Stalker is that he started his existence as a completely different supervillain: the Exterminator, who is best known for “killing” Mike Murdock! The Exterminator had a weapon that could shift its victims out of sync with the time-stream. When Matt blows it up to fake Mike’s death, the Exterminator is caught in the blast, with shocking consequences: 

[ID: Excerpt from McKenzie’s Daredevil run. A series of flashback panels: the Exterminator (a kind of goofy-looking villain with a purple and white costume and blue antennae on the side of his mask) watching Daredevil pull a lever, then the Exterminator getting caught in an explosion and falling into a void.] 

Death-Stalker: “How many long and empty years has it been, Murdock? How many… since you so callously destroyed my awesome Time-Displacement Ray… catching me fully in the time-shattering explosion?! How long has it been since I was hurled through the fabric of time? But what you believed to be my death proved instead a macabre rebirth! I found myself in a timeless limbo! Unobserved, I could go anywhere! Do anything!”

Daredevil vol. 1 #158 by Roger McKenzie, Frank Miller, and George Roussos

    Thus, the Exterminator returns years later as Death-Stalker– a villain who can move freely through time and space, become intangible at will, and whose mere touch is lethal. This, combined with his new appearance (glowing eyes, bony hands, huge billowy cape…) makes for an excellent creepy character concept, and some of the Death Stalker issues feel more like horror stories than the typical Daredevil comic. 

[ID: Excerpt from Gerber’s Daredevil run. A tired Daredevil is making his way through a swamp. Death-Stalker appears behind him out of the fog and puts a skeletal white hand on his shoulder. Daredevil collapses.]

Matt: “H-he’s gone! Nothing but an empty cape! It’s not possible! It– where did he go?!”

Death-Stalker: “Here, Daredevil. I am here. Death is at your back.”

Matt: “Huh? Wha– No!! My… shoulder… your fingers… like ice–!”

Death-Stalker: “Like death, Daredevil. Like the grim, glacial embrace of the North Wind. No use to flee… you can’t outrun the wind.”

Caption: “For Daredevil, for this sightless adventurer, all the world is blackness, all the time. But now, a different kind of darkness envelopes him, a sort of oblivion he has never known before. He hears his heartbeat slow… feels his mind empty of all thought… feel his every nerve tingle, then go numb… and he knows that he is… dying. And that is all he knows when the darkness claims him and the Death-Stalker relaxes his grip.”

Daredevil vol. 1 #114 by Steve Gerber, Bob Brown, and Stan G.

    Sadly, though, I don’t feel he was ever used to his full skin-crawling potential, particularly considering how dangerous his power-set was. He was mostly just a nuisance who rarely got the upper hand, and he was killed in Daredevil #158 when he accidentally materialized through a tombstone during a fight with Matt. One of my favorite details about Death-Stalker isn’t Death-Stalker himself– it’s that his mother lived in a booby-trapped mansion and owned an army of exploding robotic children that she sicced on Matt to avenge her son’s death. But that’s a story for another post… 

Jester (Jonathan Powers) The Jester gets no respect, and it’s a shame because he’s both genuinely a great villain when he’s used well and highly entertaining when his 1960s goofiness is played up, and he manages to embody both of those characterizations with absolute panache. He has played a role in some fairly major Daredevil stories over the years and I’d consider him a staple DD villain. His origin story is pure Silver Age silliness: he was an actor who received bad reviews for his first major starring role, found his career heading downhill, and so decided to become a supervillain instead. This is pretty typical of motivations for villains of this time period (see the Gladiator’s origin story above, and Stilt-Man below), but even this aspect of his character has been put to good use. Daredevil #218 features a surprisingly touching story of the Jester stealing the chance to reprise that first starring role– and of Matt keeping the cops distracted (by pretending to be the Jester!) so that his enemy can finally live his dream. 

[ID: Excerpt from O’Neil’s Daredevil run. The Jester is dressed as Cyrano de Bergerac. He pulls off his false nose and bows dramatically to Daredevil and the cops who have come to take him in.]

Jester: “A moment ago you unmasked. Now I shall perform a similar gesture… I am your humble and obedient servant… the Jester! At your service!”

Matt: “You deserve the bow. You were magnificent.”

Jester: “Indeed! I trust the critics will change their tune.”

Daredevil vol. 1 #218 by Denny O’Neil, Sal Buscema, and Christie Scheele

    Throughout the issue, Matt draws comparisons between himself and the Jester: their shared mask-wearing and the experiences of disillusionment that shaped their lives– and while it certainly doesn’t give the Jester the emotional depth of certain other Daredevil villains, it’s a memorable connection. 

    But where the Jester is at his most dangerous is not as an actor looking for attention– it’s as a creator of chaos. The Jester is a master of illusions and media manipulation. In his introductory arc, he frames Daredevil for his murder and turns Matt into a wanted criminal. Later, he uses a campaign of false news reports and misinformation to sabotage Foggy’s run for District Attorney, turn the superhero community into targets, and throw the whole country into an uproar. Most recently, in Waid’s run, he manipulated TV footage to cause rioting in NYC in the wake of an unpopular and highly publicized court ruling. His plans don’t always succeed, but even then, the scope and effectiveness of the damage he causes makes him a truly formidable villain.

[ID: Excerpt from Waid’s Daredevil run. The Jester is sitting in front of computer monitors in a dark room, yelling into a microphone. In the next panel, we see random civilians in a cafe, watching “Mayor Jameson” (played by the Jester) on TV.]

Jester: “Listen to him. God, he’s so smug. No matter. This is a minor setback. Daredevil’s not the ultimate target, after all. The city’s the target, and it’ll burn. Voice synthesizer on… People of New York… this is Mayor Jameson! Effective immediately, I am rescinding all handgun regulations in Manhattan! Take up arms– for your own protection– and await further instructions!”

Daredevil vol. 3 #32 by Mark Waid, Chris Samnee, and Javier Rodriguez

The Owl (Leland Owlsley) The Owl has, unfortunately, been overshadowed by the Kingpin for most of his existence, and as such, hasn’t been given anywhere near the same amount of character development or nuance. They were created based on the same character concept: a high-powered mobster with a shadowy network of pawns who controls the city’s criminal underworld. 

[ID: A series of panels from Lee’s Daredevil run, showing a man in a long green coat and brimmed hat walking into an office building. His face is not shown; the people he passes looked at him with fear.]

Caption: “This is Wall Street, heart of New York’s Financial District, where fortunes are made and lost by the world’s greatest financial wizards! And, within the canyons of this street, we are about to find one certain man… a merciless man… a man with no friends… no loved ones… nothing to connect him with the human race, save the fact of his birth! Let us follow this man… let us study him as he walks into a towering office building, his heavy footsteps reverberating through the huge marble lobby! For we shall see much of this man on the pages that follow… He walks slowly, but with a sure, steady tread… looking neither to the right nor the left… ignoring those he passes and those who pass him! But he himself cannot readily be ignored by others! His very presence seems so fraught with evil, with menace, that his fellow humans shrink back from the mere sight of him! There are some who recognize him… who speak his name in whispers… for his wealth is said to be legendary, and his power almost beyond measure!”

Daredevil vol. 1 #3 by Stan Lee, Joe Orlando, and Sam Rosen

    Unfortunately, the Kingpin just ended up doing it better, and while there are a few Owl story arcs that I really like, I’ve never found him that interesting. However, he is hugely significant because he was the very first Daredevil supervillain, introduced all the way back in Daredevil #3! (In #1 Matt fights the mobsters who killed his father, and in #2 he fights Electro, who is a Spider-Man rogue.) Thus, he has had an impact on Matt’s life simply from having been around for so long. This also means there’s a huge range in his stories, verging from extremely ridiculous (he sometimes eats rats, and used to own an owl-shaped airplane. How cool is that?) to slightly more grounded. There is a great Owl story arc in which his bird-like body modifications start killing him, which gives his law-breaking more nuance, because he is doing it to look for a cure. Matt, upon discovering this, tries to help him. 

[ID: Excerpt from Chichester’s Daredevil run. Daredevil and the Owl are on a fire escape together. The Owl has metal cybernetic legs and has collapsed. Daredevil is comforting him.]

Matt: “You’re going to make it, hear me? You’re gonna–”

Owlsley: “You should’ve let me…”

Matt: “Unh-uh. You take my hand– you’re willing to take my hand– I don’t let go. You’ve got some long ways to go, mister… but you can count on me…”

Daredevil vol. 1 #303 by D.G. Chichester, M.C. Wyman, and Christie Scheele

    There’s also great point in Bendis’s run when the Owl, in a surprising demonstration of cleverness, hires a lawyer to sue Daredevil for breaking and entering. It doesn’t work, but it throws Matt off and is absolutely priceless. 

    The Owl has also had several children– two unnamed young kids who were introduced in Alias, and Jubula Pride, who was introduced in Daredevil Volume 4 and worked alongside Matt to rescue her father. Jubula’s brief-but-memorable appearance added a bit more depth to the Owl– allowing us to see him in the role of a parent as well as a villain. But mostly, over the years the Owl has remained one of the more insidious of New York’s mob bosses, always scheming to stay in power and fight his way out of the Kingpin’s shadow. And he’s been doing it for so long that he feels like an integral part of Daredevil comics. 

Turk Barrett He’s not a costumed supervillain or even much of a threat, but Turk has become an iconic Daredevil antagonist for both his sheer ineptitude and his plucky ability to stay alive. Of all of the recurring low-level mobster characters, he has the most engaging personality, and his dynamic with Matt is one of long-held friendly animosity. Daredevil isn’t the most dangerous person in Turk’s life, Turk isn’t the most dangerous person in Matt’s life, so they mostly just annoy each other. They’ve even been known to team up, when Turk thinks the odds of survival are in his favor. 

[ID: Excerpt from Daredevil: Love and War. Turk Barrett (dressed in a white shirt and blue pants) is mopping the inside of an elevator. The doors open, and Daredevil walks in. They ride the elevator together.] 

Matt: “Turk! You got the job!”

Turk: “No, man… this… I mean, I’m working undercover, man… I’m your backup!”

Matt: “I believe you, Turk.”

Turk: “Even know what level the doc’s on, man… So how’d you get in, Devil?”

Matt: “I flew in, Turk.”

Turk: “…Course. I knew that. ‘Spose the window locks weren’t much trouble…”

Matt: “Melted them with my heat vision.”

Daredevil: Love and War by Frank Miller and Bill Sienkiewicz

    Turk is an underdog. He’s kind of a goof and he’s certainly a criminal, but he’s also a small fish in a big and dangerous pond, working in a career where most people eventually end up at the bottom of the East River in concrete shoes (or a taxi, as the case may be). He’s slippery and resourceful, he stays just harmless enough to keep himself out of danger, and you can’t help but root for him, even when he does dumb things like stealing Stilt-Man’s stilts or trying to kill Daredevil for the hundredth unsuccessful time. 

Stilt-Man (Wilbur Day), of course, requires no introduction. He is another personal favorite of mine, and a rare case of a goofy Silver Age villain surviving into the modern era while remaining exactly as goofy as he was when first introduced. The great appeal of Stilt-Man is, in fact, that he’s a bit of a joke, while at the same time being quite dangerous, in a comic book physics-kind of way.  

[ID: Excerpt from Lee’s run. Daredevil is battling Stilt-Man on a daytime city street.]

Wilbur: “Hah! You missed!! Have you forgotten so soon how easily I can change my height, thanks to my magnificent hydraulically-operated stilts?!!”

Matt: “Mebbe so! But I haven’t forgotten that I’m the gent who whumped you good last time fought! (Man! It sure is lucky I was here! If Stilt-Man ever managed to get the Leap-Frog safely away, what a team those two would make! But, I hear the boys in blue hauling that human jumping jack right now! Which means Stilty and I can go it alone!) Heads up, dad! It’s time for fun ‘n games again!”

Wilbur: “Hah! Didn’t expect me to seize your cable, did you? I should have warned you, little man– I’ve modified my protective armor in such a way as to double my strength! Which means I’m more than a match for your limited talents!!”

Daredevil vol. 1 #26 by Stan Lee, Gene Colan, and Artie Simek

    Part of the charm of this characterization is the fact that he’s a joke in-universe as well; most of his appearances in modern comics consist of Stilt-Man being made fun of and/or of the audience being reminded that he’s actually a threat. This creates a great balance in his depictions; the jokes are fun, the sight of various superheroes being beaten up (at least a little) by Stilt-Man is fun, and he remains an enjoyable, mostly lighthearted presence in a landscape that has become dominated by Dark, Serious, and Disturbing villains. 

[ID: Excerpt from Bendis’s Daredevil run. Matt is sitting at his desk in his darkened office, talking to Wilbur Day– a short, bald guy in a black jacket, with his arm in a sling.]

Wilbur: “Wilbur Day– I’m Stilt-Man. We’ve met four hundred times.”

Matt: “Stilt-Man– Huh. Oh, you mean that burglar guy Stilt-Man? Who wears the stilts and robs things?”

Wilbur: “Can we please just–”

Matt: “We’ve met when?”

Wilbur: “I–”

Matt: “Are you in some kind of legal trouble? Is that why you’re here?”

Wilbur: “Okay, fine.”

Daredevil vol. 2 #41 by Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev, and Matt Hollingsworth

    Stilt-Man is just a short guy in a ridiculous outfit who wants to commit some crimes and get a little respect– and really, who can’t relate to that?  

Ikari (???) I’m mentioning Ikari not because he’s a long-established Daredevil villain– he’s not– but because I am fascinated by his potential. He’s a favorite of mine as much for what we don’t know as for what we do. In his introductory arc, we learn this: He was engineered/commissioned by Bullseye to kill Matt, his fighting abilities equal Matt’s, he has hypersenses, and (as a horrified Matt discovers later) he can also see.

Ikari: “Someone has, in fact, managed to re-create the toxic chemicals that blinded you, gave you enhanced senses. Someone whose hate for you keeps him alive. But he didn’t waste the process on weak, malnourished vagrants. He used it to baptize a warrior. A fighter trained to be every bit your equal in skill– and now, in power.” 

Daredevil vol. 3 #25 by Mark Waid, Chris Samnee, and Javier Rodriguez

    And that’s it. We don’t know who he is or where he came from, or what the consequences are of having that degree of sensory perception (presumably his vision is heightened too?). We don’t know what his personal goals or motivations are, since we’ve only ever seen him as a pawn– first of Bullseye and then, later, of the Kingpin. But the concept of his character as someone who shares Matt’s powers plus some– who is essentially, skills-wise, a criminal version of Matt– and all the mystery that surrounds him, is hugely compelling to me. 

[ID: Excerpt from Waid’s Daredevil run. Both Ikari and Daredevil are out on the street, being shot at by cops. As Daredevil hides behind a parked car, Ikari attacks the cops and cuts their guns in half with his blades.]

Matt: “The cops are hunting me under an open-fire command. Presuming they’ve been advised of Ikari’s prison break, I’m sure the same order applies to him. I wish it scared him. I wish anything did.”

Daredevil vol. 4 #17 by Mark Waid, Chris Samnee, and Matt Wilson

    In his last appearance he was killed by the Shroud, but his body was stolen, leaving the door open for him to maybe return sometime in the future and receive more development. I hope he does. 

[ffs-abalisk]

The Den of Umbral Flowers [Part 5]

[Part 4]

Izo was about to burst a blood vessel at this point.

Officially, this had been the sixth time in two minutes he’d noticed Thatch poke his orange pompadour into the same corridor, a mystified expression on his long face. He would glance about, scratch the back of his head, and turn around, disappearing to god knows where before showing up again.

It was distracting. Izo was currently in the process of applying a new layer to his makeup and he needed the utmost concentration in his task. Face painting was a grueling process, and having that mischievous jackass lurking about only added to his stress. He’d found a wrinkle a few moments ago. A wrinkle!

He let out a sigh when, once again, he saw Thatch vanishing around the corner. A small part of him was curious as to what the man was up to, but his rational side preferred not sticking his nose in... just in case his brother had a prank planned.

Besides, he hadn’t even applied the rouge yet.

And Izo was going to do just that, touching the tip of the brush to his lips, when Thatch popped back in like a freaking groundhog to bark, “Hey Izo—“

“WHAT?!” he shrieked, whipping his head around angrily, the brush smearing a line across his cheek, “WHAT COULD YOU POSSIBLY WANT?!”

Thatch cringed, grimacing at his snarling expression. He was pissed—already he could feel some of the foundation cracking—he was going to have to start from scratch. “S-sorry,” his brother stuttered, before hesitantly pointing to his own face, “You got a little someth—“

“I KNOW! ANSWER MY QUESTION!” Izo snapped, banging his fist against the counter top. He knew damn well what his rouge looked like. A disaster. He was a disaster and he couldn’t possibly been seen like this! But first he needed this idiot to leave so he could resume putting his face on!

“Ah-uhm-so—“ Thatch fumbled, before he finally gathered his wits and blurted out, “Have... Have you seen Marco anywhere?”

Izo blinked, caught off guard.

Because now that he actually thought of it, he hadn’t seen the First Division Commander today. His mouth twisted into a frown, thinking. “No, I have not...” he murmured, rapping his nails against the arm of his chair, “In fact, the last time I saw him was at the meeting a couple days ago.”

His brother scowled as well and brought a hand up to scrub at his goatee, a worried furrow to his brow. “I—Same here. He said he was going out on patrol that night,” Thatch murmured, eyes darting about as he recalled the event, “It was still storming to all hell then, but I didn’t think anything of it.”

“A storm would hardly slow him down,” Izo remarked, crossing his arms, completely confident in Marco’s flying capabilities. He’d witnessed the man flying effortlessly in hurricane force winds, so a little squall would hardly slow him down. “Did you see the direction?”

A heavy sigh escaped Thatch then, his shoulders visibly slumping. “Not exactly. It was raining and I didn’t want to follow him on deck... If I had to take a guess I’d say further inland, since we were anchored in the bay.”

Izo hummed thoughtfully, tapping his chin with a finger. Marco wasn’t one to stay on land for long, being somewhat of a homebody... so for him to be gone for such an extended period of time was strange in itself. “Have you asked Pops?” he wondered.

Thatch made a face, his mouth almost turned down into a perfect arc. “That’s why I’m here. Pops wanted to update Marco on Denzin’s progress,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck, “But I can’t find him, and now I’m worried.”

“Haki?” he suggested, but when his brother shook his head Izo felt a quiver up his spine. Thatch wasn’t the best at Observation Haki, but there were several under his command that were... and if he was shaking his head now that meant no one could detect Marco’s signature. 

Which went without saying that it did not bode well...

Izo wetted his lips before hesitantly asking, “Do you think... she had anything to do with it?”

“The Guardian?” Thatch asked, mouth thinning into a line, and at Izo’s nod he ran a hand down his face, features stretching as he groaned, “I don’t know... The only thing we can go off of is what Marco and his division witnessed.” He stroked his beard, twisting the hair of his goatee—a tell-tale sign that the man was agitated. “But even from that, we can’t know for sure. We don’t have any info on who this woman even is, let alone believe that we can trust her.”

Biting at his nail, Izo narrowed his eyes in distaste. “And what’s worse, we’ve been effectively trapped, only allowed on this island due to her good graces,” he murmured, clenching his teeth hard enough to bite through the keratin of his beautifully manicured nail, “The locals would be suspicious of a mass sweep and it might even incite her wrath if we go about this wrong.”

Thatch was quiet for a moment, brow furrowed in thought, his hand firmly clamped over his mouth as he considered Izo’s words. “What if...” he started hesitantly, “What if we only form a small search party---just you and me---under the pretense that we’re taking in the sights? It might not cover as much ground, but...”

“That could work...” Izo mused aloud, drumming at his lips for a few moments before pinning Thatch with a serious look, “But we need to inform Pops of this---Only Pops---he needs to be aware of the situation, however we don’t want to create a panic within the ranks. Keep this low.”

“Yes,” he agreed, whirling about with the intent to do just that.

“Thatch,” Izo called, and the man paused, hand resting on the door frame, an unreadable expression on his normally cheerful face, “We’ll find him.”

A blank nod was all he got in return, the man’s eyes distant... and he was gone.

Izo sighed, slouching gracelessly into his chair.

He couldn’t even begin to imagine what Thatch must be feeling right now. It was clear the man felt responsible for Marco’s disappearance, especially considering he was the last to see him... not to mention the fact they were in potentially hostile territory.

It didn’t look good.

Taking another glance at his less than stellar appearance, Izo resigned himself to the task of removing all his hard work, dipping a bottle of makeup remover into a cloth and dabbing at his face liberally. He and Thatch had work to do, looking beautiful could wait.

“You better be okay... Marco...”

“You sure he’s a pirate?” a not-quite-whispering voice murmured.

Keeping absolutely still, Marco fought back a smile, listening intently to the careful creak of the floorboards as he feigned sleep. He picked up the sound of several feet tip-tapping in a poor attempt at stealth just beyond the door, the shoji rattling in its track slightly as he assumed someone peered inside.

“He doesn’t look like much...” the same voice stage whispered.

“Shh! You’ll wake him up...” another hissed, though they weren’t much better, “B‘sides he’s got a tattoo. Everybody knows pirates got tattoos.”

Someone else snorted... Just how many were out there? “Does that mean old man Nampton’s a pirate too?” they asked, tone dripping in sarcasm “Cuz he’s got a tattoo.”

“His don’t count,” the second argued, clearly annoyed as their voice rose out of a murmur, “Everybody knows he drew his himself.”

“He could’a been!” a younger voice chirped in excitement, loudly, “When he—When he was—When he was not old!”

“Shhhhhhh!” several voices shushed angrily in unison, unknowingly making a racket that was much louder than the last kid’s statement. Marco stifled a giggle, immensely amused. It very much reminded him of his brothers’ play bickering during off hours, those bearing witness usually exchanging bets if the argument grew more heated.

The youngest sounding one squeaked out an apology after a breath of silence.

Marco could practically feel their eyes... Watching. Waiting.

He affected a wheezing snore.

“Wow, he’s really out of it,” one of them said softly.

“Duh, he got the crap kicked out of him by a Seal Leopard,” another replied, equally as hushed. Marco heard the shoji move a little further, the floor creaking as he assumed the child leaned in. “I betcha he’s got wicked scars.”

An assortment of hissed exclamations confirmed that the kid was taking it a step further.

“Burke, get back here!”

“Don’t go further in!”

“What if he wakes up!”

“Ohh—Miss Kaiza’s gonna be maaaaad...”

“Shut up dummies, I’ll be fine,” the one apparently named ‘Burke’ growled, clearly confident in whatever-the-hell this escapade was. Marco figured that the kid was probably just bored. “Now be quiet or you’ll really wake ‘im.”

The babble died down into muted whimpers and Marco strained his ears to listen for the child’s advance. The soft, vaguely sticky tapping of bare feet on polished hardwood was his first clue, a slow creep, likely tip-toeing on the balls of his feet.

This went on for several seconds, the quiet encouragements for Burke to be careful breaking through the near silence. Marco let the boy draw near, faintly able to hear his controlled breathing as he came closer, the blanket at his side dipping slightly as the boy rested his palm against the linen.

Feeling mischievous, Marco snapped open one eye and pinned the startled boy with a look.

“Boo.”

The effect was immediate, Burke’s arms pinwheeling back as he shrieked in unbridled terror, the other children huddling in the hall answering his shout with wails of their own. They stumbled over themselves and each other as they stampeded away, their cries echoing back as they called for Kaiza to ‘save’ them.

Meanwhile, Marco was dying.

His shoulders shook as he clamped a hand over his diaphragm, trying and failing to contain the spasms as he chortled uncontrollably, damn near crying with how hard he was laughing. The look on the kid’s face! This was it, this was how he was going to die... he could already feel a faint twinge of pain as his ribs vehemently objected to his fit. A loud barking laugh finally left him, wheezing and coughing and choking at the empty room, and Marco resigned himself to his fate.

He was so freaking bored.

[empresswrites]

For homebody who bought me a coffee~!!

Would you write a story about Marco & Ace drinking coffee? What if the coffee shop only had one cup left, though?

Ace always came in towards the end of the rush hour to enjoy a nice cup of coffee. Oh goodness, was he about drooling for his favorite caramel mocha with extra whip that he could literally paint his nose with there was so much. A small groan leaves his lips as he felt tired from the short amount of sleep, having to fight a fire early this morning and structure fires were never easy to put out. In his truck held a German Shepherd named Stryker, something he picked after adopting the dog from the shelter as he was classified as ‘useless’ for the police force. Stryker was absolutely amazing by Ace’s side when going to fire’s and helping comfort people, letting them find solace in him while they worked—being a blessing for kids in most cases. 

After glancing once more to his truck to his windows down in the cool weather as Ace wouldn’t dare leaving his canine in a hot car, the young firefighter walked in to find a booth easily, almost collapsing into it tiredly. The waitress came over in a chirp, greeting Ace happily as he could almost see the hearts floating around her. It was no wonder as most got that way after the department did a fundraiser for the local homeless shelter by doing calendars and giving around ninety percent of profit to the shelter. They kept a little to pay the people who did the photographing and printing, with the small left over they did a few things with the station—like putting on an expansion for Stryker to have a place to sleep when they crashed there. 

“The same? With the to-go croissant?” The waitress asks, Ace for the life of him trying to remember the tag that says Bonney, and smiles. 

“Make that two, Stryker is pretty hungry.” The man comments with a gleam in his dark eyes as he was always happy when talking of his dog, even when Stryker tears up the newspaper when he was trying to read it. Stryker totally did it on purpose to mess with Ace, and he knew it, which is why he always tried biting down a laugh than being angry. 

“Sure thing!” She beams before turning away and was almost skipping away, seeming to be happy. 

Ace tiredly rubs to his face as he noticed the last of the rush hour leaving and he knew this was the time the employees could catch up on things. They seemed a little understaffed, which didn’t surprise Ace as Sunday mornings usually don’t get busy. He always came in at the same time at the proclaimed rush hour because he didn’t want to deal with a crowd of people and the parking in the small parking lot. Humming softly to the song playing overhead and he found himself nodding his head to the beat. 

“Do you mind if I sit here, yoi?” The question has Ace tiredly move eyelids to open and looks to the business attire on the blond male. Glasses are framing his azure eyes that show a face of mild disturbance and the light scowl is lingering, not particularly to the young man though. 

“Knock yourself out,” a hand waves out from the firefighter and just let the hand fall to the table as he was too tired to move it. 

“Good because you got the last coffee cup for the next ten minutes,” the businessman mutters while sitting, moving his tie and looked to adjust a type of suit jacket, but remembered he didn’t have it on over his dark purple button-up shirt. 

“Mh, happens.” A shrug leaves shoulders as dark eyes hide behind lids again as he tiredly rests back. 

“A firefighter?” The question has Ace hum and tilt his head back up while peeling eyes open with his exhausted muscles, knowing it will be quelled by caffeine soon enough. 

“Yeah, big fire early this morning.” 

“I know, my brother came tumbling into the apartment after it, yoi. I’m surprised you are even up after how late it was when you all got done.” The comment has Ace raise an eyebrow before shifting to rest against forearms. 

“Brother? Which one are you unluckily related to?” A smile flicks at his own humor and the other snorts while tilting his head. 

“Thatch,” a laugh leaves Ace on that with head bowed forward and gets a grumble. “Well, you must be Ace, the famous Freckles.” 

The dark hair shifts as the head snaps up with a scowl, “oh, for fucks sake, I told him to drop that months ago!” Ace complains and gets the other laughing before the coffee cup is set before him. 

“I’m sorry, sir. We will have yours out as soon as the cups are washed!” Bonney comments with a slight bow of her head to go with the apology and he waves a hand out. 

“Not your problem…” The expression schooled to be polite and Ace watches in bemusement as he takes in his features to pinpoint the name of him. Bonney excuses herself as the firefighter sips on his coffee, letting out a sigh of relief of the taste. 

“Oh!” Ace almost scares the other who raises a brow and a grin is on the freckled face. “Marco! The stuck-up, married to his work brother, right?” The question has a scowl set deep with a slight twitch that has Ace laughing. 

“I guess I need to throttle Thatch later, yoi.” They both crack up a little before Ace drinks gingerly and Marco shifts lightly. 

“Mh, wanna try? It’s good!” Ace offers after taking half the drink down, not caring it was burning his mouth a moment ago. Seeing the eyebrow raise he gives a cheeky grin, feeling himself wake up more for the time being to take Stryker out to play for the next hour at least. “Come on~!” The encouraging has Marco snort before he grasps the offered cup and takes a tentative drink. Surprise shows in blue eyes and he pulls it away to look in the cup. 

“Is that caramel?” 

“Yup, caramel mocha with extra whip.” 

“I can tell by your nose.” The mentioning has Ace trying to look down at his nose, earning a light laugh from the other. The firefighter begins using his tongue to soon barely reach part of the sweetness before growling as it’s too far. It has Marco still laughing before a hand moves to finally sweep the white fluff from his own nose and finds a mouth. A hum lingers from the firefighter, having eyebrows raise in questioning at him and Ace’s dark eyes flicker before giving a cheeky grin behind his thumb with bouncing brows. There is a snort lingering from the businessman as the cup is taken back. 

“You know, Thatch probably doesn’t introduce me to his brothers for a reason.” Ace comments snarky and gets a curious look to explain. “Because I wouldn’t mind being a mistress to your work,” the suggestive words linger before that smirk is covered by a mug, but eyes are smoldering. 

“You are quite mouthy, brat.” The remark is accompanied with a smirk and gets a gleam in dark eyes, seeming even more interested if the other was. 

“Very mouthy, old man.” The words linger and bring this festering in Marco as he enjoyed that comment, sending his mind wandering a little. 

“Two croissants and a coffee!” Bonney shows up in a chirp, setting the mug down that was hot from just being washed and the bag of bread is set down. “Here is your bill!” The slip of paper is handed to the firefighter, who graciously takes it. It was amazing how he could go from deadbeat to hyper with just a half cup of coffee. 

“Hold on, I got the money here.” Ace’s mug is set down as he digs for his wallet and hands over the amount with extra bills for the tip added in. “Keep the change, and thanks again.” 

“Thank you, you have a nice day~!” Bonney skips off and Ace puts his wallet away before grabbing his mug to chug the rest down. 

“Mh, as much I would love to flirt with you into oblivion, I got to go play with Stryker. His doggy park time and all, wouldn’t let me sleep through it even when he is damn near exhausted.” Ace mentions with a thumb over his shoulder and gains a snort and chuckle in return. 

“That’s too bad, I was enjoying my mistress time.” A faux sigh shows and makes Ace laugh at the play on words and he gets up, noticing a pen in the shirt pocket. He shifts to yank the pen out, clicking it before turning over a hand to write. 

“Here, now I will let you decide if you want me to bug the shit out of you or not.” Ace responds, Marco looking to the number with a smile and then gazing up to him with flirty eyes—they totally were. 

“Sure, let’s play a game while we’re at it, yoi.” An interested look left the firefighter and Marco smirks. “No telling Thatch, first that lets him find out has to give in to the other’s prize decided at the time.” A beaming grin lingers on Ace on such a type of game that could lead to many things if they hold it long enough. 

“What about your other brothers?” 

“I’ll bribe them, especially Izo.” The comment has the younger laugh before nodding. 

“Um, yeah, but let them know that loser gives them a gift!” The claim shows a smile on Marco, liking how he knows of his brother well enough that he doesn’t have to explain them. 

“Deal, yoi. Talk to you later, brat.” The response has Ace grinning as Marco has no clue what he just opened himself up to, Ace was practically the king of flirts and that meant through texts or calls too. 

“You’re in trouble, old man.” The mentioning leaves the firefighter as he trails out with his bag of goodies for his dog, hoping the other was shamelessly checking out his backside—though it wouldn’t matter as he would help with that soon enough.