fierybluebird | [Video] / Action

[It's Marco's voice, but somehow with a darker tint to it. And it looks like his hair's been dyed black? That's not the strangest change though. The tattoo on his chest is completely removed. There's a rough scar where it used to be though, it's not bleeding, but it's clearly still healing.]

Can you believe the arrogance of those fools? First they drag me away, then they removed my father's mark, and gave me a mockery of it. [Oh yeah. He's deadpan, but it doesn't take a lot of knowing Marco to recognize that he is thoroughly pissed off. More angry than he's ever openly shown in Luceti for that matter.] But the joke's on them, oh yes. [His eyes glitter darkly, burning blue for a second, as they might have done before.] Just because my healing is slowed here doesn't make me any less a phoenix. They can remove my tattoos and piercings but that's a simple thing to restore.

Watch and learn fools. Watch and learn.

[LUCKILY the next part is filtered away from kids ten and under, though no doubt many adults would have preferred not to see it either.]

[Marco props the book up on the edge of the fountain, and leans back to lowers his neck into the water and uses a knife to carve an old school manji symbol in it, line by line. Those familiar with the nazi swastika and not the manji symbol might confuse it for that. Marco doesn't make a sound however, but his blood is clearly revolting against the treatment, blue flames trying to battle the water, and the most they can do is hold back the damage. As he finishes, Marco smirks, grabs a bottle of blue ink from a broken pen and pulls out of the water to throw the ink into it. At that he lets out a feral sound, something like a loud crow's caw, and he shakes off the rest of the ink with a smirk, the skin already still stitching over his chest and trying to cover his neck, but hitting a barrier where it's inked.]

[He fiddles with the journal again to turn off the filter and grins.]

There. I don't know about you, but I feel better already! Now who wants to get on my good side and help me find some earrings?

[[ooc: Marco's returned from Mallynap in "evil" mode! He'll have black hair, be a lot more emo/depressed/dark, and comments will come from

evilfierybluebird and

fieryblackbird respectively!]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Disgusting? Okay, I'll make sure to get one where you can't see it if I decide to do it anyway. Wouldn't want you to be repulsed by the sight.

[Or he could get a different tattoo... Something like "Absolute justice rlz" or something like that. The mere thought makes him feel sick though.]

I appreciate that matey.

[Dry. Very dry deadpan.]

[Ikki just smirks smugly.]

Say, had you been in the mood to actually wait, how would you have done your tattoo again? I don't think you can use needles to make a tattoo on yourself like that.

Law. Trafalgar has enough tattoos himself that he should know plenty about how to do one properly and as a doctor he can make sure the ink is clean. I'm thinking of having him add a couple of tattoos to begin with anyway.

[Gestures.] On my back, where I can't reach.

[Is Law the name or the last name? Whatever, Ikki notes it down to memory for possible later use. Not that he's planning on getting a tattoo himself or anything, not at all.]

You sure you don't want someone to just stab your back and pour ink on the wounds?

[Sarcasm, but he's not going to let it drop until it gets into Marco's head that it wasn't a good display. Which probably will never happen.]

It is probably not a good idea with the proximity to those foolish mock wings from this accursed place. Although, I did consider it.

[Ikki just shakes his head, you're incorrigible, old bro.]

Good to see you care about your life after all.

If not my life, then at least those who do care about it. In an extended sort of way, no?

[Ikki just gives him a look. Sure, Marco wouldn't die from what he had done, they just can't die from something like that. But they can't expect other people to realize that. Not when people can't really get to understand what being a phoenix means for them.]

I mean you.

[Among others. His point is that he's more than willing to sacrifice his life, but he cares about people like Ikki who don't want to see him hurt.]

I'm flattered.

[And still not happy, it's not as if he's worried specially now that it seems clear that Marco isn't crazy enough to really kill himself. But even so he just doesn't like what the other did even if he understands it and all. Unfortunately it doesn't seem Marco is in a condition in which he will be able to understand what Ikki means and trying to actually explain it would involve something like being honest with his thoughts and feelings and those things Ikki only does when Kotomi is around.]

You sound it. [Deadpan lying/joking.]

Are you all right, little brother?

Do I look as if I'm not?

[He will get better. As will Marco, it's a little comfort. So little that it doesn't do much to quell Ikki's general anger issues but he can live with that.]

Shouldn't that be my line anyway? Though I think that I can guess the answer.

[A grin!]

Likewise. But we are phoenixes after all, will we not always look all right? [Even if they're not, even if they never will be.]

I don't know you, but I'm pretty sure that even as a phoenix I looked like shit when a mountain fell on me.

[Even if it was for just a few hours before he was back and crawled out of there.]

I could not defeat Akainu on my own, but I did not look any worse for the wear after taking volcanic blows to the chest. In its own way, that is some of the burden, is it not?

[It's harder to tell humanity you can empathize with them when they can't see the pains you take.]

I think that's one of the differences between us as phoenixes.

[After all Marco is more of a true phoenix than he is, at least he has always thought so.]

But yes, that's some of the burden.

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