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[foreverphantom]

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[selfimmolation]

Me neither, it's more of a hunting thing.

[foreverphantom]

You...hunt bears and then eat them.

Aren't you a pirate? There can't possibly be a whole lot of bears at sea.

[selfimmolation]

[ help. laughs ]

Nah, man, I did that as a kid before I set sail! That's probably why it's nostalgic.

[foreverphantom]

So...how old were you, exactly, when you were wrestling bears for their meat?

[selfimmolation]

Bears specifically? Maybe like... seven? I started off with the boars.

[foreverphantom]

...weren't you being raised by mountain people? They just let you do that instead of giving you some of their food?

[selfimmolation]

Bandits. [ is it better if he corrects people to bandits. no. ] The leader was kind of a hard ass. You work for what you eat kind of deal. The best she'd ever guarantee me was a bowl of rice a day, so I'd go off and hunt instead of doing chores or anything like that.

[ he had a normal childhood. ]

[foreverphantom]

So it was either hunt something down, or only get a bowl of rice to eat.

[selfimmolation]

Well... yeah, pretty much, since I didn't feel like helping out around the house otherwise, and it's not like they liked me hanging around either. So I'd go off in the forest or the dump nearby.

[ he's completely casual about this, and also, he is stealing another marshmallow to just eat like this as they talk ]

[foreverphantom]

And...that's the part of home that you miss. All of that.

[selfimmolation]

Well, I'm old and sentimental enough I do miss that old hag sometimes. [ he's twenty. ] I don't really miss the island, and Luffy's sailing too, so it's not like I've ever planned on going back. But sure, there's some stuff I miss. Like bear meat.

[foreverphantom]

...right.

Who's Luffy?

[selfimmolation]

My stupid little brother! [ suddenly sounding crazy fond despite the insult ] He's a pirate too, but he set sail about three years after I did. He's already making waves out on the sea though!

[foreverphantom]

Being a pirate runs in the family, huh?

...wait, does that mean he was also raised by mountain bandits?

[selfimmolation]

Hm. Yeah, I guess so.

[ he sounds amused at the idea of piracy being a family thing though... mystery. ]

Sort of? He was seven when he was brought over. He spent most of his time after that following after me.

[foreverphantom]

Oh, okay...I think. [ he thinks he gets it. ]

Until you went on to become a pirate, though, right? Then he was on his own until...he also became a pirate.

[selfimmolation]

Yeah, I sailed off three years before he did. We'd promised we'd set sail at seventeen. [ why? because reasons apparently since he moves on ] He was always going to be a pirate, though. It's been his dream since way before he met me.

[foreverphantom]

I've never heard of "pirate" as a dream career before.

[selfimmolation]

Really? Well, it's pretty common back home! Though technically his is "king of the pirates". A little bigger than just pirate.

[foreverphantom]

[ with laughter in his voice a little: ] Is that a thing? Do pirates have a monarchy system of government?

[selfimmolation]

Yeah, Pirate King's a thing. [ there's something a little dry there ] But it's more of a title. The first guy died about twenty two years ago. Left behind everything he'd gotten and told the world to go and get it if they dared, to make a long story short.

[foreverphantom]

Wow. Gutsy.

[selfimmolation]

Yeah, something like that. Never cared about some guy's leftovers myself, but I'm sure Luffy'll make it.

[foreverphantom]

What'll you do when he does?

[selfimmolation]

[ he. very clearly hesitates at that question before he laughs ]

Ah, probably throw him a party?