(no subject)

[thatched]

[Name]: Sharon
[Age]: 30
[Contacts]:
♦ AIM: nightmarechan
♦ Plurk: handsoplenty
[Timezone]: EST
[Other Characters]: Monkey D. Luffy



[Name]: Thatch
[Canon]: One Piece
[Age]: Late 30s
[Gender]: Male
[Canon Point]: When he first acquires the Darkness Devil Fruit (before Canon)

[History]:

Thatch was born in a port town in the Grand Line. He never found out who his father was and his mother died when he was young, leaving him in a brothel, whose owners took care of him well enough so that he had clothes and didn’t starve. He was pretty lonely as a kid, though, until he met Stede Bonnet. A few years older and ten years more conniving, Thatch looked up to him in the worst way and was talked into doing all sorts of things from stealing to lying to a little extortion. Eventually a little gang of other like-minded kids formed around Stede and their petty incidents got rougher and more violent, with Thatch becoming the look out more often than not. He didn’t really like the terrible stuff, but Stede convinced him it would all work out in the end and, further, if he didn’t do it, they would no longer be friends. Having no one else at this point, Thatch readily agreed.

When Thatch was eight or so, Stede said Thatch had to prove himself by leading the charge of robbing the carriage of a newly arrived dignitary. It was either sink or swim time, Stede had said. Thatch’s strategy was well thought out and almost brilliant but the dignitary was shot dead by someone unknown. As it turned out, the guy was the mayor’s cousin and the gang was arrested. Every one of the gang put the blame on Thatch for orchestrating that as well as the other crimes, except for one of the girls who said nothing.

Thatch was subsequently sentenced to four years in prison, the rest of the gang spent only a few months and Stede not at all. Thatch was more alone than ever and too hurt by what had happened to reach out to make any friends, save a crusty old pirate and his even older parrot, that Thatch took care of after the pirate died. Being small and keeping out of the way, Thatch got somewhat lost in the shuffle as far as the guards were concerned. When he was 16 he shot up like a weed and ate like a horse and was no longer a mascot nor unnoticeable and two years after his sentence was to have ended, Thatch was kicked out.

When he was out, he looked for his old friends, thinking to make it up with them somehow and maybe be friends again. It was then he found out the truth. The whole thing had been a set up from the start. The mayor had wanted to kill his cousin who had been coming in to take his spot and he and Stede had orchestrated the whole thing so that Thatch, the only one without a family or a name, would take the fall for it. All of his old gang had comfortable positions in various islands because of this. Some even were rising among the ranks as Marines.

Having nothing left and nowhere to go, Thatch took to the sea to hunt them down. And hunt them down he did. A single pistol shot to the head was his calling card and gave him the title ‘Head-Hunter Thatch’ with a bounty to match. When he had found and killed nearly everyone but Stede, he was captured by a corrupt, no-account Marine who told Thatch that if he could kill Whitebeard, he’d not only go free but the Marine would tell him where Stede was.

Though Whitebeard eventually became one of the strongest of the seas, he was still just an annoying ant on the periphery at this point, though enough to bring a small time Marine a good promotion or two.
Thatch chased Whitebeard up and down the Grand Line, finally catching up with him at Sabody and the moment he saw him with his crew surrounding him and having a good time, Thatch knew he couldn’t kill him. The more he stalked Whitebeard, the more he realized that what his crew had was what Thatch had wanted all his life and revenge didn’t matter more than becoming part of that. It didn’t help that he heard that all of Whitebeard’s crew were his family. Though Thatch didn’t consider himself worthy to approach Whitebeard and ask, he stowed away in the ship’s hold, trying to think of the right time. He figured Whitebeard would either accept him or pitch him out. Marco in phoenix form came to investigate and Thatch initially kidnapped him to keep him quiet. But then realized that he didn't want to hurt Whitebard’s pet and let him loose and sort of begged it not to tell.

Over the course of the next few days, Thatch and the the “pet” grew close. Thatch told him about his life thus far and what his dreams were. He had a half dream that the parrot said to him that he if he wanted to join he had to be brave enough to ask.

The next day Thatch plucked up his nerve came to the deck and asked to be part of the crew even if he was unworthy. Marco (in human form) interrupted and said that if he didn't think he's worthy, what right did he have to be a WB? Thatch told him he'd work hard to become so. Whitebeard agreed that he could stay.

But no matter what he did or how hard he worked, Marco asked him if he thought that made him worthy and Thatch grew irritated with him because nothing seemed good enough. Though when he wasn't trying to prove himself he made easy friends with his crewmates who seemed to accept him even though he was still on 'probation' and he grew to really care for them because they got his back without hesitation as he got theirs. He also became proud of being with Whitebeard because he was so strong and because he used that strength to help and protect people and he wanted more than anything to be like him and do what he did. But Marco refused to let up on the worthy question.

And finally Thatch reached the end of his rope with it and blurted out that it's because he wanted to be a Whitebeard more than anything and he gave it his all so that made him worthy no matter what anyone said. And Marco just grinned and said yes which startled the hell out of Thatch. And later when Thatch asked Whitebeard if he was really his son, Whitebeard said he always had been.

Afterward Thatch easily found his place in the crew and grew close to Marco. He never did kill Stede, but that kind of thing ceased to matter. Under the care and affection of a family, he became his true self—a pretty jovial and affectionate guy who doesn’t let much get to him. Thatch became the Fourth Division commander, and the one to ease in new crewmates who were afraid, angry, or otherwise unsettled. He served as the welcoming presence, to offset Marco's harshness.
[Canon starts roughly here]
When Ace arrived, Thatch was the one who was kind to him at first.

He and Ace grew pretty close, too, fighting back to back against the powerful DeCalvan brothers with Ace at his back. It is implied that they DeCalvan brothers were defeated but either way they later joined the Whitebeard allies.

Then after a certain raid, Thatch acquired the Yami Yami no Mi, or the Darkness Devil Fruit that would give him the ability to control darkness. Because he'd gotten it, it was up to him what he wanted to do with it. While he was thinking it over, one of his nakama, namely Marshall Teach ne Blackbeard, stabbed him in the back--ultimately killing him and taking the Devil Fruit for his own.

[Personality]:
Thatch is a pretty easy going guy who loves a nice party or spending time with people, getting drunk, playing games, laughing and flirting with the ladies. He's friendly toward pretty much everyone he meets unless they give him a reason not to be. But even if he can't be a friend with someone, he's diplomatic enough to not let on. Unless of course they hurt his nakama and then he is on them like a ton of bricks with no mercy. Once you have crossed Thatch by hurting one of his own, he is brutal and ruthless in revenge, which only his crew can pull him from.

Other than that, Thatch considers himself a pretty decent guy all told. He stands up for those weaker than him and prefers to cheer people up so that everyone is having a good time. He also has a knack for reading people and seeing through certain kinds of bullshit. For instance the 'I'm fine. Really' line. But he has a hard time seeing treachery, especially once he's decided to trust someone. He just doesn't believe people would hurt those they really cared about.


As for mannerisms, Thatch doesn't sleep much out of habit but gets lonely when no one is around so will go and hang out with whomever is on watch or otherwise awake. He is also a bit of a prankster and will hatch little plots with others, he rarely operates alone so there's always more than one culprit in any Thatch related pranks. He likes to drink as much as any other pirate, perhaps a little more than some. He is also a very persnickity pirate, appearance being a big deal for him. He will spend a good hour or two every morning making sure he's presentable. To this end, he even carries a comb in his pocket, as well as a small jar of pomade to freshen up his 'do. This is a source of personal pride for him; that even as a pirate, he can look good. Plus, he firmly believes that if you look good, you feel good. This is also why he tends to brush off harder subjects such as betrayal. Bad feelings inside project outward, and he'd rather just feel good.


His motivations and goals all revolve around what his captain and nakama want. It's not that Thatch is selfless, more that his goal is to keep his family happy. The most he's ever wanted out of life is to be loved and accepted by a family-- and have adventures along the way. He enjoys seeing others happy and that is part of the reason why he's such a horrible flirt. He enjoys complimenting women and making them smile. This occasionally leads to something more, but that is not always the end goal of his flirting. Sometimes he just likes to see someone have a good day. But there is another side to this as he is also a master manipulator, using his charm and grins to catch people off guard and see what’s really going on in their heads, and on occasion, what he can get from them. Sometimes it’s just to see what trouble that particular person may bring. This especially applies to Marines or any pirate not nakama or allied with them.

As for his nakama, he cares for them so much it's hard to see any shortcomings in them. He thinks they're all perfect and awesome and wouldn't suspect any of darker motives--at least against him. While he's well aware they can be hardcore against others, the others must have deserved it as far as Thatch is concerned. He also tends to bottle up his anger for most things other than right in his face injustice. Though he doesn't let things slip by either, instead engaging in micro-aggressions and subtle revenge if someone pisses him off. The severity of his revenge depends on how pissed off he is and is limited to people outside of nakama. If he's annoyed with his crewmates, he blank faces them and/or gives them the silent treatment.
He also enjoys cooking, amateur astronomy, and sneaking off to do his own thing—occasionally bringing someone else with him to start a little trouble. Tweaking the Marines’ noses is always fun.

[Abilities / Strengths & Weaknesses]:

He’s an excellent swordsman, wielding two blades quite well. And not a bad shot either. Having spent over 20 years on the sea, and often very odd seas, he’s a great sailor and a fair navigator in his own right. It’s implied that Whitebeard commanders are all pretty strong and fan theory suggests they have some kind of haki—so I’m giving Thatch Observational Haki, which allows him to predict an opponents planned movements, and to some extent, empathize with extreme emotion.

While he’s a genial guy and shows boundless love for his crew, he doesn’t particularly trust outsiders and while he’ll usually help innocents in trouble, others are on their own. He has very little problem with using people, too. Though is generally too good natured to harm them unwarranted.

Because he internalizes anger so much, when he’s truly steamed he’ll often go off by himself as an outlet and cause some trouble. This kind of trouble occasionally gets him into trouble as well as have far reaching consequences. Also, while he is headstrong and determined enough to get any job finished that he sets out to do, he doesn’t always know when to quit, staying and fighting as hard as he can even in the most dangerous of situations until he’s ordered (or dragged) back. He doesn’t expect his men to be so reckless, however, and will often send them back and fight on alone.


[Limited Powers]:

His haki will make him hard in a fight but not unbeatable as he’s human so there’s nothing to limit.

[Other Important Facts]:

He’s roughly 7”.

Since this comes before he’s killed, he’ll be bringing the darkness devil fruit with him. I don’t know whether he’ll eat it or it will go to someone else or be used at all—but if that time should happen, I’ll go over the limited powers of it.

[Samples]:

♦ Thread: have a thread. or two.

♦ Post:
[written in a thoughtful script]
You know, I’ve sailed much stranger waters than this. I’ve been in seas where if you don’t see a gigantic beast, you wonder what worse is coming. Where if you break or lose a log pose, you’re pretty much lost at sea for the rest of your vastly shortened life—unless you get lucky. Now we’re all here against our choosing, and it can get pretty rough from time to time, but, well, life’s like that, too. So call it an adventure and relax. Have fun. Enjoy the wild sea and sky. Every breath you draw could be your last, so try to make it a great one, aye?