concasse | Monday

He seemed really excited about it, so I said I'd help!

[Okay, he's excited about it, too. He's being more muted about it...but that smile is pretty telling. Fon Masters don't get blanket forts. Ion puts the snacks down carefully where he doesn't think they'll get knocked over, and goes to untie and unhook the bed curtains, as well.]

I think...it already looks really, um...really cool!

["Really cool" seems so odd coming out his mouth, but he's trying.]

[This is the type of adorable shit that gives a man cavities, but he's still going to be gruff and tsun and shake his head at both of them while immediately putting down the cocoa so he can help. Walking over, he'll grab the opposite side of Ion's bed curtains.]

Well, Natsuo's gonna have to give the orders here. Didn't have a lot of, uh, blanket forts in my childhood.

[Pirates didn't get blanket forts either, so he and Ion are in the same boat here]

"Not a lot" is still more than me— I've never made one before!

[ But it's pretty intuitive, something that children are able to do and so he'll take charge. The curtains are already pinned up high, so they're pretty easy to pull over and form something of a ceiling overhead, and apparently there's a lamp in their room too, which is great because otherwise they'll be sitting around in complete darkness. ]

Number two, you pull it up like this, and tuck the ends under the dresser so it'll stay put! Three, [ that's you, Sanji ] help me move the mattress onto the floor so we can lie down on it!

Okay!

[He seems to take a second to realize he's "Number Two", but then he gets right to work. Little Ion got the easy job but he still puts his best effort into it. He's gonna make it the most secure curtains ever?]

[NUMBER THREE.

There is a terrible, terrible joke here but Sanji is above it. He just snorts and follows directions, strolling over to the mattress and lifting it with Natsuo.]

After this, we move the snacks inside, too?

[ Oh... no, I hecked up and misremembered; Ion's number three and Sanji is four but then that ruins the joke. Ion and Sanji can duke it out for number three later, but for right now, Natsuo nods, making sure everything secure and tucked away and then he goes ahead and ducks inside the little fort first. It's a really tiny fort, but they'll be able to fit. They'd fit better if Natsuo doesn't decide to sprawl out on his stomach instead of curling up in a corner to make himself compact, but there he is. ]

Come in! Lie down! Bring everything in and just set them all out here!

[I feel fear for poor Sanji and his long long legs. But at least Ion is absolutely being considerate here and taking a small corner space for himself without complaint--after grabbing the snacks again, of course, and bringing them inside with him. It's not until they're finally settled that he thanks Sanji properly for his visit.]

Thank you so much for thinking of us.

[Sanji is 5'11" and all leggy, why must Natsuo be like this. He is eyeing the kid with thinly veiled exasperation but honestly, just saves his breath and scoots on in, legs kiiiinda sticking out of the entrance with the hot cocoa in tow.

He'll smile fondly at Ion and his thanks... and then smirk at Natsuo]

Look at this gracious attitude. I really hope you're taking notes and some of Ion rubs off on you.

[ Natsuo kicks his feet in the air behind him; sometimes it's nice being short. No cold feet. He grabs at one of the mugs of cocoa without so much of a thank you, pulling it close to him and propping himself up on his elbows so he can drink. ]

I'm the one teaching him all sorts of stuff, you know? I'm the one who's going to rub off on him! [ Which would be terrible; nobody needs Natsuo 2.0. ]

Besides, there's no need to be formal! We're friends!

[Ion laughs softly. Natsuo...will probably not rub off on him, but having a bit more of a voice wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing.]

He's my aniki now, so I'm going to listen well!

[He looks so excited. He takes one of the mugs and blows on it softly. He will probably still burn his tongue.]

[A Ion with Natsuo-like qualities....

Excuse him he needs a solid ten seconds of silence to burn that image from his mind. Not today, kids.]

Jeez, you two.

[He probably sounds way more fond than he means to come across. This meeting is cursed, he's going to be smiling all through it.]

But anyway, I promised you two stories. [PIRATE STORIES]

Which one you wanna hear? Let's see... there was the time we sailed to a sky island. Or when we had to rescue our crewmate from Enies Lobby...

[Oof, but that last one is kinda heavy. Moving on with another alternative] Or maybe the first time my crew crossed over to the Grand Line.

[ Natsuo sticks his tongue into his mug, immediately scalds it, and keeps drinking anyways. You know. As you do.

What story to hear, though? Sky Island sounds pretty cool, and Enies Lobby sounds like some sort of fancy hotel. The Grand Line? He's imagining Sanji dramatically walking across... honestly, just a bold black line painted across the ground. Somebody needs to give these places better names. ]

I want to hear something about treasure! Tell us about a time you found lots of treasure and then buried it and there needs to be parrots and- and singing!

[Ion, a boy of much simpler preferences, naturally has a much different sort of reaction to Sanji's question.]

I think anything would be lovely to hear!

[But that's not particularly helpful, so he adds:]

The Grand Line sounds nice!

[He said "first" so it's probably good for a chronological start, anyway.]

[TREASURE.

HA.

Natsuo is about to be so disappointed.]

My crew doesn't own a parrot -- and shit, the only parrots I remember are ones that could only face a specific direction. You twist the bodies but the head remains in place. They got really pissed off at us.

[But anyway--]

Grand Line it is, then, since Ion actually picked between the options. [Holds up a finger]

Now, the thing you two gotta keep in mind is that the place where I'm from? Mostly water. And islands. In fact, there's only one large body of land, and it circumvents the world like a ring. Called the Red Line.

Which makes it pretty damn tricky to get to the Grand Line -- that's a strip of ocean with some of the most dangerous monsters in the world. Some big enough to swallow a ship whole and have room for dessert. Most people end up dying if they try sailing there...

Edited 2018-06-27 04:24 (UTC)

[ He kind of wants to hear about this parrot harassment ngl The rest of what Sanji's saying is starting to sound like a horror story than something cute to listen to over cookies and hot chocolate. ]

What kind of post-apocalyptic world did you live in...? What if you can't swim!? If a ship breaks and you can't swim, there's nowhere to run to! I'd die!!

[Ion blinks, surprised by Natsuo's reaction. Sure, his own world isn't nearly that watery, but it has its own issues.]

It's not that strange, is it? So, where exactly where is the Grand Line in relation to the Red Line?

[Also staring at Natsuo like wtf, apparently one out of these three does not have a planet that's always two seconds away from spontaneously combusting for some reason.]

If you can't swim, well... either you stay on whatever island you grew up on, or you take that shitty risk. I didn't say being a pirate was safe.

[Sanji's life expectancy is shit. Thanks One Piece.]

And pretend this is a globe. [Picking up a snack that is sphere shaped, probably some cute pastry that took like five hours to make.]

The Red Line covers the world in a loop, and the Grand Line runs perpendicular.

[Basically this, with Sanji looping his fingers along the pastry to demonstrate.]

The Grand Line? You can't cross it like a normal sea. You'd die. So for most people, whatever ocean quadrant they live in, they stay in. If you wanna switch over, you risk your life.

[ONE PIECE~ A HAPPY STORY ABOUT PIRATES]

Anyway, the point where the Red Line and Grand Line connect? Its a huge ass mountain with streams that run up and down. If you wanna get on the Grand Line, you shoot up the right stream and pray your ship isn't destroyed before the journey even starts.

... Oh, and hope the giant whale doesn't smash your ship, either.

[Typing this shit out makes me realize how horrific this story actually is, I am so sorry]

[ When will airplanes be invented so everybody in One Piece can live?? ]

Scary... Why don't you just— [ He picks up something simple like a chocolate chip cookie, teases out the chocolate chips, and pokes them under Sanji's fingers, breaking up the line it creates. ] Build a bridge to get over it? Then you don't have to mess with the whales and stuff.

I'm guessing the currents and monsters make that impossible, right? If it's too difficult to cross in the first place, building it would be an incredible feat...and even more of one for the bridge to stay in place for very long.

[There could also just be laws and regulations in place, but.]

[Pooointing to Ion, ding ding ding, he's got the right idea.

... Also taking that cookie and promptly popping it into his mouth. THERE'S MORE HERE, NO COMPLAINTS.]

Not only that, no one actually lives on the Red Line, last I heard. shit's completely uninhabitable. So the coordination it'd take to build a bridge when none of the Blues really interact with each other, on top of gathering up resources from all the islands... that shit isn't gonna happen anytime soon.

[But anyway.]

So at the start of the Grand Line lives a giant whale named Laboon. He's so big, his doctor actually lives within a small island in his gut.

[Why is this canon like this]

You just... build the bridge while crossing it, you don't have to get to the other side first. All you need is some wood and nails...

[ He pulls a face at the incompetency of One Piecers. Can't build a bridge, and they've got this whale eating doctors now. ]

Is this where you come swooping in to save the day? You gutted the whale?

[Oh my God. Ion glances back at Sanji and he can't help but smile. We're just, uh, we're gonna move on.]

I hope that it didn't come to that--Laboon didn't end up crushing your ship, did he?

[Sanji isn't even much of a sweets person but by god, Natsuo is driving him to eating another cookie. Thank god Ion is here.]

No, I did not gut the whale. He's actually a friend of mine now.

[Give him a second, Sanji will explain.]

See, Laboon's actually the long lost crewmate of my musician. 50 years back, that crew left him at that mountain because the journey wasn't safe for a baby whale, and eventually Laboon grew so big he accidentally blocked the passage to the Grand Line. But, y'know, refused to move while he was waiting for his friends.

[This universe is either dangerous or sad, kids.]

As for my musician... [Oh boy.] Well, he's around 80 years old, but was transformed into a skeleton... and uh, his crew didn't make the journey. But me and my crew found him lost at sea, so now his goal is to return back to Laboon and show him that the crew never forgot him.

[They just died horribly.

O N E P I E C E]

Edited 2018-06-28 00:06 (UTC)

[ whispers, like he'd just made a stunning revelation- ]

It's Fane.

[This is one time where Ion is not going to be helpful. He has a hand over his heart, crestfallen, at the tale of poor Laboon and his plight, at Sanji's undead crewmate...

and then Natsuo speaks. His expression goes blank, and then he can't help himself. He absolutely doubles over in laughter.]

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