piratejournal | [Voice & Written]

I wouldn't know, I really am not going to get any closer than this to the island. I really don't know how it works, I didn't even know if it would apply to me.

At least that question has been answered.

[He sighs.]

Do whatever you like, but if I can't touch them, don't be offended.

Okay, you have yourself a deal, yoi.

I'll get you black ones.

Black flowers are never holy.

[.... He's still way too fucking into this.]

There's probably some truth to that, although I can't recall ever seeing a black flower.

They're technically dark purple or red, like dahlias or queen of the nights.

But even pansies and orchids have strands that can get that dark. Like human hair colors, nature tries a lot of variation to figure out what's best.

Bat orchids would probably be best, but it's not hot enough for them yet, yoi.

[He will find you enough black flowers for a crown though.]

[Because his dedication is insane.]

I can honestly say I don't know that much about botany. It wasn't something I was particularly ever interested in. Aside from the examples referred to in my Biology texts about genetics, I never really put much thought into it.

[His dedication isn't the only thing.]

Knowledge is strength.

And my brothers Vista and Izou respectively know more about flowers than I do, but I tried to keep up with them both. Vista's known as Flower Sword Vista, he can do anything with flowers. I wish he was here, eh.

And Izou is an expert in the ways of the taikomochi. Flower arranging included.

[He lets out something mixed between a groan and a sigh.]

I remember flower arranging.

[Natsuno shakes his head a bit, although Marco can't see him.]

I always preferred academics, mind you that didn't get me very far.

Heh, most pirates don't get any education at all. Except through experience.

In my world, usually only nobles have all that extensive an academic background. Is it more common in your world?

[He would be surprised, but Zeff asked him all about it when they met.]

Incredibly common. Children are required to go to school until they are about fifteen or so, at the end of middle school, and then they can choose to work or continue their education into high school. I suppose they could choose the alternative, meaning they do nothing.

[He might be a tad judgmental on the subject.]

At least that's the case in my country, and many around the world where I am from. Piracy is something of a distant past. The world is much more modernized than this place is.

Anyhow, after high school is where it gets a little more complex. You can choose to continue your education, or again split off and go to work, but generally people who are continuing onto high school are looking to go to some college or university program. Otherwise, why bother?

Education isn't free, but it's relatively reasonable. Most people go to school based on their level of knowledge, usually a test is involved. The high school in the Sotoba region however was secluded and was the only choice. I'd rather have gone to a prep school in the city but my parents moved us out there.

What kind of fields was there to study?

More fields then you can imagine, probably. They go from vocational training, like the people that join religion, to things like tradespeople who do things like cooking, repairing vehicles and electricians for example, or the more academic pursuits of law, medicine, science and engineering. Schools tend to specialize one way or another, beyond high school.

Sounds practical. So there's specializations for whatever anyone wants to learn?

Provided you put forth the necessary devotion and money, that's pretty much true. It depends on how high you set your goals. I was aiming for Todai, which means little here, but at home that would be a big deal. It's the top university in the country.

So it's a fame thing?

Prestige?

Education is so common that fame wouldn't enter into it, but it would definitely be a matter of prestige. They only take the smartest students, and to say you've come out of Todai is a huge boost to your resumé when you are looking for work.

Interesting.

In my world, I guess that's sort of like where you're from. Certain oceans and islands are regarded as more dangerous than others.

But rookies working their way up as pirates can be pretty desperate to get attention.

The foolish ones at least.

I suppose that makes sense.

What do they want attention for? I mean, if it's not true, why bother lying about it? Is it difficult to become a pirate?

[A small laugh.] No, it's the same as becoming one here. You can just decide to.

The rookies don't usually lie about their achievements, unless they're really young and stupid, and then they would only do that to try to scare off other weaker pirates either to avoid a fight or because they weren't strong enough.

Usually the ones desperate to stand out though aren't going to lie about what they've done, just do incredibly stupid shit to stand out.

Let's say a brand new pirate crew here got together and thought that the way to gain Davy Jones favor was by standing out. How would they do that? Well, if they were as foolish as some of the crews in my world there's a few ways they could try it. Exclusively hunt down the marines, purposely target something too big for them to handle, anything that sounds like a big deal, even if it's stupid as hell, and doesn't actually accomplish anything.

As for why they want that attention, some of the young kids think the bigger the bounty from all that attention, the stronger you must be. Really it just means the more of a nuisance of yourself you are to the marines, but it's a point of pride with a lot of pirates. Still a bit silly seeing as the man with the largest bounty in the world isn't even a pirate, he's a revolutionary.

And Pops was the strongest man in the world, but marines didn't want to fight him until they cornered us. [And there's a pause in his stream of talking at that. Yeah that's a good place for him to quiet down again.]

Well logically speaking if you're going for notoriety, hunting down the marines is the worst idea. Strictly speaking tactics, you're far better off terrorizing the people you find because they'll contact the marines for you.

I'm not really sure what makes a person strong. I can't really say. I'm not really sure anyone can answer that empirically.

Pops was the strongest.

That ever lived, so far as I'm concerned.

I hope you get a chance to meet him someday.

[He takes a deep breath, and just completely sprawls out in the forest for a bit, letting all the LIIIIIIFE feelings overwhelm him, even though the same effect is also enough to almost make him want to throw up. It's a lot on a phoenix.]

He was undefeatable. That's why. The Pirate King, Roger, couldn't defeat him either. No one could. And the more infamous he got for that, the more people wanted to kill him to take his place and prove they were the strongest. But they couldn't, because we wouldn't let 'em, and because he was too strong.

One rookie came close you know. But when the kid realized how thoroughly outmatched he was, you know what he did? He told his crew to run away and tried to sacrifice himself as a distraction to Pops. Sacrifice himself as penance for his pride in trying to kill Oyaji.

So you know what Pops did?

[Natsuno is just listening to the story.]

No, I really don't know.

Asked him to be his son and join the crew!

[LAUGHS.]

You should have seen the look on the kid's face.

He was so shocked. And pissed. He totally refused.

But then he passed out unconscious. And his crew were too loyal to actually leave him there, and they still wanted to fight. [Another laugh.] So we knocked 'em out and brought 'em all on board.

Oh man, ask Thatch sometime about when that kid first woke up. Thatch was the first one to talk to him. All I remember was his growly aura. Like a feral cat, you know? I was sure he was going to bite the wood.

We gave him the choice of taking his crew and getting off, or joining, since Pops offered. But he didn't take either option. He said he still wanted to fight Pops.

So every day, without any warning at all, that kid just kept on trying! He tried everything! Knives, giant axes, suicidal cannonball attacks, it was pretty damn creative, actually.

We started taking bets too on how long it'd take before the kid gave up.

See, we all knew the kid didn't hate Pops, he just wanted to be the strongest in the world. But he was like a man possessed, yoi. The idea that he could still prove himself the strongest and join the crew at the same time took a long time for him to really reconcile. [Soft happy grin. He knows now why, of course, but at the time it had seemed hilarious. And it's still funny so far as Marco is concerned.] He's a really stubborn guy, that Ace.

[It is a funny story, and he might have gotten a small chuckle on Natsuno's end. He'd deny it though.]

Hey, Marco. Is Ace really that hated? He told me that once, that at home he's really hated. I don't really see why. I like him well enough.

[It's a tough question actually.]

[The people who hate Ace don't hate Ace at all. They fear and hate the idea of the pirate King's son. They hated a child who wasn't born, whom they tried to make sure would never be born, whom they tried to make sure paid for another man's crimes.]

[But Marco hates them more than they will ever hate Ace for that.]

[Would he love Ace as much as he does if Ace hadn't been so hated? If Ace hadn't gone through all that pain?]

[Marco doesn't know, because maybe Ace would be an entirely different person. Maybe they all would.]

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