PC: ACE 💀

[resumed]

Comments

[selfimmolation]

You've got a lot of opinions on this, huh? I thought Will was big on movies.

[ Ace thinks this just looks like a weird ass pirate crew. He does not say that. There is a baby. ]

[resumed]

[ nyeh. ]

He's seen a lot more than I have, I'll admit that, but he'd probably still agree with me. [ ...hm. actually. he has no idea this might be the type of movie will would see just to drive nico insane. ] I just have the opinion that bees should maybe not look like people. That's a normal opinion to have.

[selfimmolation]

[ looks at the bee ]

... I guess it is a little weird? [ he's laughing ] They do all look pretty different.

[ the styles aren't meshing it's like a collage ]

[resumed]

See! The longer you look, the more it's weird to imagine. [ there is no argument he's just saying. ] But the rest of the city's kind of weird, too, so maybe I shouldn't be that surprised?

[selfimmolation]

Maybe the whole movie is a trick from the "supervillain".

[ he is clearly not serious ]

[resumed]

Which means...we would have to go see it in order to defeat their evil plan? [ he is not serious. he is 15 and waffling on seeing what is bound to be a godawful movie. ]

[selfimmolation]

If we want to know what it is, it's the only way.

[ why not. why shouldn't they see a bad movie ]

[resumed]

[ ...there's a slight, tentative smile. ]

Okay, well...what kind of a hero would I be to let you suffer alone? [ thanks. ] Guess we're going?

[selfimmolation]

Cool. [ this is a choice because ace has no actual like. theater etiquette knowledge he will react to everything but more importantly; ] Let's get snacks! That was the best part of the pirates one.

[ absolutely devastating to potc ]

[resumed]

[ i have to debate this, but. ]

What pirate one? [ but yeah they will head inside! buy tickets for this monstrosity! and head for the snack bar. he's not immediately purchasing anything yet but he seems to be looking at everything available. ]

[selfimmolation]

[ ace is purchasing everything available. ]

The... what was it. Caribbean one. It had skeletons?

[resumed]

[ squinting. ]

...I think Will told me about that one, but I haven't seen it yet. But I feel like maybe I should be concerned if the snacks were the best part. [ he says this, but he's grabbing like a single pack of licorice because food is still a foreign concept. ]

[selfimmolation]

I'm probably biased. Anything about pirates kind of makes me compare it to home.

[ ace has barely paid that he is already snacking on stuff, so the other bias is he likes eating. ]

[resumed]

I think that's normal. If there were more movies about stuff I've experienced I'd probably do the same. [ at least nico is safe from a world where the pjo movies don't exist. also really glad he's just treats motivated, good for ace. nico's taking his candy and he's leading them to the theater. are there other people here? who cares. ]

How bad was the comparison anyway?

[selfimmolation]

[ the other people are going to hate them and it's fine. ace follows and munches ]

Good and bad? Some stuff was just plain weird, and some stuff was a little too on the nose. [ government hunting pirates, lol, etc. ] Like women being a bad omen on ships was weird.

[resumed]

It was probably just to push the romance agenda. [has he seen pirates? no. but his vague understanding has allowed him this. up to the top row they go. ] I'm going to guess that you know crews that had women on them, then.

[selfimmolation]

Sure, most crews do. [ they are going so far up... doo doo doo ] Anyone can be a pirate. It kind of defeats the purpose if you're saying no to half the population.

[resumed]

I guess that's true. How does a person even become a pirate though? They just decide to board a ship and call it good?

[ they can sit dead center at the very back. ]

[selfimmolation]

... Yeah, pretty much. Just set sail and be free! Some people join crews, some form their own.

[ sitting down munching on popcorn ]

Now whether people are successful or not is another thing entirely.

[resumed]

[ they're really going to talk through the whole movie and that's okay. ]

Can you be a solo pirate? Or is a pirate only a pirate with a crew behind them? [ chews on a red vine. ] And what counts as successful anyway? Winning fights and finding treasure?

[selfimmolation]

You can be a pirate without a crew, but most of the time you'd be a pretty lousy pirate. I do know one guy that doesn't have one, but he's a Warlord, and I don't know if he had a crew before that. [ pauses in his chewing ] Warlords are pirates who have had their bounties cancelled by the World Government in exchange for basically doing their bidding. [ throws a popcorn up in the air to catch it in his mouth ] They asked me to be one when I was still captain of my own crew.

[ what counts as successful is a whole different brand so he has to chew on that first. and on some candy. ]

[resumed]

[ the thing is, it's probably obvious that nico is more interested in what ace is saying than whatever the fuck is about to happen on screen. he's shredding a piece of licorice with his teeth and he's nodding along, letting all of that rattle around in his head a bit. ]

Can a warlord ever break free from their contract with the government? [ since. that's basically what it sounds like. an agreement. ] Sort of sounds like immunity with a bunch of strings attached. I'm assuming you said no.

[selfimmolation]

It was a little bit closer to hell no. I don't care for that whole system at all. [ which probably isn't surprising, all things considered. ] In theory a warlord can choose to quit, but then you get the bounty reinstated and any protection to yourself and your crew nullified. And considering the government turns a blind eye to all pirate activities warlords do-- there's not much of a point to renouncing it if you've decided to take it in the first place. Unless you really disagree with what they want from you, I guess.

[ that last bit is added as an afterthought, like he thought of a particular scenario ]

[resumed]

[ there's a soft laugh to that. yeah, that sounds more accurate. ]

A rock and a hard place then. Either follow their rules and keep yourself safe even if what they ask of you may go against any morals you might have, or leave them and risk your own survival to anyone who finds you.

[ he just. makes a face. ]

Your government sounds like a pain. No wonder everybody's fine with taking their own risks.

[selfimmolation]

I wouldn't say everybody. Most people are fine just living their lives, and most pirates went off for reasons that had nothing to do with how the world is run.

[ he shrugs ]

There's a revolutionary group around, though.