which is fine. all fanfiction is projection. but at a certain point those guys are no longer ace and marco, they're just dudes with their names and appearances. not a fan of how many of their other important relationships are dulled and ignored in the interests of shipping either

protected zoro from K&Q while he was recovering with the drug, immediately sought out nami and otama to keep an eye on them even when his stamina was completely out, tanked a bolo breath for nami, rallied the gang so they wouldn't give up hope... he's the MVP of every arc he's in

obviously this is conjecture, but based on 1. marco being a thoughtful person 2. how not-upset he seemed when discussing the payback war with neko and 3. how he was so easily able to track down izou, i think it's all but explicit the wbps weren't killed in the altercation with BB but are laying low

这真的很好。给我一种巨大的，有条理的，随性移动的海上巨兽/城堡存在感，他们能撑起这个大家庭。白胡子海贼们有自己的生活*^_^*