fierybluebird | Action / Voice

Entry tags:

Action / Voice

[A: Action has a ridiculously cheerful Marco wandering Luceti, actually walking, not flying. This is because he's walking his Pops' dog. A big white dog with a mustache on its face. The same crescent moon mustache that can be seen on Marco's tattoo. Well they say pets take after their owners...]

[Though I'm pretty sure that's not how it's meant.]

Fetch, Stefan!

[The dog barks and goes bounding after the white frisbee, only to stop as it hits the ground. What you expected him to catch it? Or actually fetch it? No. He gives Marco a quizzical stare instead, like what the hell is he supposed to do with it? Marco deadpans him right back.]

What, you were expecting this? [He holds up a white boomerang instead. And Stefan barks. With a small sigh Marco tosses it, fetches the fallen frisbee himself, and the dog goes racing after the boomerang. Including when it comes back to Marco, who just holds up a hand and catches it.] I don't know if you're just that lazy or he gave you bad habits, eh? [But Marco gives the dog a treat and an affectionate face rub anyway. Seems his Pops wasn't the only one giving him bad habits. In any case, feel free to spot him anywhere outside and stop and say hello or join him, both Marco and Stefan are quite friendly.]

[B. Voice: After fetching food for dinner (fish and mostly vegetarian things, sorry Robin, he's been cooking with Leanne in mind) and stopping to actually return books to the library instead of just stealing them indefinitely like the pirate he is, Marco lazily grabs a spot in the garden near the Straw Hat house.]

Hello Luceti.

I'm Captain Marco, of the Whitebeards, though there's really only me left of us here. I suppose that goes for a lot of the pirates left here, eh? In any case, if you're a lost new feather, give me a call, and I can come flying out there. And for everyone, I pose to you a question.

All worlds seem to have their own ways of preserving history, and some of burying it. In my own world, I think we go for the latter more often than not. Perhaps ironically, one of the strangest things about being a pirate is that we also uncover and preserve a lot of history. Accidentally, or because of treasure and legends. What one pirate might find to be treasure, the rest of the world might see as useless junk. My father was big on preserving history through stories. When you pass on legends, you keep them real in a way nothing solid can. So my question quite simply, is what do you or your worlds do to preserve history and stories? And what do you do if it's destroyed, eh?

Thanks.

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[Finally, something clear. That automatically gave Marco a few points in his book, even if he sighed heavily in his irritation about the revelation.]

Kotetsu-san and I are a team. It figures that this world would play a trick like this on him too.

Edited 2013-07-26 02:28 (UTC)

I'm not sure it was a trick. Well, we thought it was a coincidence, but if I remember right, Sanji and him were friends.

[Something akin to a smile ghosted on his face, along with a small sense of relief.]

Well, he is a clumsy and foolish old man, but he has a way with people.

...At least he didn't break everything.

[That gets a grin.] Even if he did, Sanji's captain is worse about such things, and Luceti near-instantly repairs structural damage, eh.

I've heard that, actually. [He hadn't been holing himself up in his flat for nothing.] I meant in terms of anything permanent.

[It was a legitimate concern. He would do what he could to make up for any damages that Kotetsu left behind in his wake. As teammates, it was only fair.

And respectful. Barnaby wouldn't admit it openly, but this was the first ~~semi~~direct connection to Kotetsu that he's found so far. It was a shame that he had arrived too late to pursue the trail.]

Like what? [A headtilt.] Even if he broke himself it wouldn't last, eh?

You clearly don't know how clumsy this man can be.

[Clumsy and foolish at that, but with a heart that was bigger than any other he's seen.]

[A soft grin.]

My condolences. You must miss him. Sorry I didn't know him well, eh? Hero types usually make me nervous.

[Finally, someone who knew the idea and understood. It spared Barnaby much of the explanation that he dreaded, even though he knew that the information would come out eventually.

He didn't need to hide too much. It was a relief.]

Because you're a Pirate, right? To my understanding, labels don't really matter here. The actions a person takes are far more important.

[He rubs his chin and thought and nods.]

Aye, but just before coming here to Luceti, I was stopped by the Heroes of my world. Specifically Hero, really. So I think it's probably a little easier for other pirates here than it was for me.

And I'm older.

Hm. You don't look that old.

[Perhaps only as old as Kotetsu, not much more. He failed to see how age was even relevant to this conversation.

Heroes were, but he wasn't about to pry for information from a stranger. Instead:]

But what you're saying sounds like it could be a problem for someone of any age. How do Heroes work in your world?

I'm a phoenix. Aging is a little off for me, so learning to adapt so quickly gets difficult, but thank you.

Garp the Fist is the hero of the marines because he's chased down and locked up so many pirates. My little brother, Garp's grandson, was being used as bait for my father and crew. The marines, "justice" was planning to have him executed. So while I was trying to rescue him, Garp knocked me out of the sky and stopped me.

[Sorry, Marco. The only phoenix Barnaby knows is very, very different from you. Although he was a phoenix only in his theme, the comparison remained in Barnaby's mind.

He didn't voice his thoughts on this matter. The commentary about heroes and their 'justice' was more important.]

Captain Marco. Those aren't Heroes in my mind, but that sounds closer to a military operation that was designed to make a point. You sound like you have a sense of decency, which is more than most criminals can say.

The law is the infalliable line in your world, isn't it?

[As if Marco even has a problem with that. See also: Izou, and how Marco is not fazed by wearing lipstick, heels, or nail polish.]

[And he gives an amused snort.]

They are marines after all. And I'm not sure what you mean by that, eh.

[How is a man who is recovering from such a black and white mindset to describe this?]

Extreme justice executed without remorse.

[Like he observed from the vigilante NEXT, Lunatic. Like he was trying to get over himself.]

Pretty much. [His eyes harden and he waves a hand back and forth.]

And your heroes are so much different?

HeroTV has a policy against lethal force. It's illegal, and bad for ratings.

Bad for ratings? [Head tilt.]

We're heroes. Public opinion matters.

[He solemnly thinks that over. Was that why Sengoku was so desperate to hide the means the marines used to defeat them? Marco had always just assumed it was to keep the Pacifista secret, not the way they betrayed and double-crossed. Moral high ground... tch.]

People will think as they will. [Celebrate Whitebeard's death without ever realizing that he was the last line of defense they had against the rest of the horrible pirates of the world. Celebrate the marine's victory without ever realizing that it wasn't the marines who won at all, but Blackbeard who double-crossed everyone all over again, and would do so a thousand more times if they let him.]

In my experience, reality matters little there. [He says it quite flippantly, like discussing the tea flavor, but his eyes are dark and focused behind it all.]

[The seemingly careless words struck Barnaby with the sharp accuracy of Blue Rose's ice darts. His eyes darkened underneath his glasses with his own disgust of the thought that it was a truth similar to his own.

Maverick had played them. He played the heroes, the network, and the entirety of Sternbild for decades without their knowledge...the revelation of his actions and schemes made the entire justice system in the city appear to be a hollow facade. The hope and sense of safety that the heroes had given the citizens was what built Sternbild into the thriving city that it was. It was an impressive development after the flooded wreck that the city was just a generation ago--

It chilled Barnaby to realize that the hope was founded on a rock that was as hollow as Maverick's heart.

How many lives had that man ruined on his path? How many lives had he taken...?

Barnaby didn't want to know.]

I suppose you're right. It really doesn't.

And on that cheerful note... [Marco help up a tea cup.] Cheers, eh?

I guess justice isn't so great even for heroes, eh? [He wasn't sure what Barnaby was thinking about the whole thing, but he could tell it had struck a chord of truth at least.]

[Barnaby nodded, but didn't touch his own drink.]

That depends on the definition of justice...and the man in charge.

It would seem some things are universal then, eh?

Unfortunately so. It's a shame, really.