006↠ ACTION

[concasse]

[It's sunny. And hot. And perhaps not the best weather to take a nap in while you're unabashedly unconscious.

... Which is too bad, seeing as Sanji's passed out under a tree located at the village's edge - clothes dirty and ruffled, no doubt collecting more dirt as he rolls in his uncomfortable slumber, the crook of his arm covering his eyes.

Go on. Wake him up. Be a good Samaritan.



And hell, even if you don't, Sanji will eventually stumble upon you -- or into you, if that's your thing. Later in the day he'll be all over the village insisting he's fine, no he's not drunk so stop trying to escort him back to bed. B| He can walk it off.]





[ooc: MALLYNAP EFFECT. Touch him and your character will share a memory with Sanji. It can be a memory of his or a memory of your character's; just specify in the subject line what you prefer. |D Any memory is free game, and the scope of it is at our discretion, but keep in mind both characters will view it until the memory ends or they escape the "boundary". (Just imagine the memory as a bubble and if a character walks far enough for whatever reason, they pop it.) Also note they're still in Luceti - no teleporting anywhere. Just assume the characters are mostly slack-jawed and staring at a tree for the duration.

I also endorse all time-breaking. Tis but a flimsy wall in our way.]

Comments

Sarah you are horribad. HORRIBAD.

[concasse]

[The moment they had collided, Sanji's only wish was for a gentle memory - something mundane, easily forgotten. They could awkwardly laugh it off once it was finished and go on their separate ways, moods all the lighter for knowing they had dodged a more serious encounter.

But he can tell as soon as it begins this is the exact type of memory he had hoped to avoid - the reason he should've been more careful - and as the cruel penance for his mistake plays out in front of them...

It looks like Ion is dying.

Sanji's now left to hope for a happy ending. In his ignorance of the circumstances - as he stands bearing witness with a subtly pained expression - his only wish is that this memory doesn't tread down the path he suspects it will, and that Luke's cries won't fall on death ears.]

[Action] I REREAD PARTS OF THE NOVEL JUST FOR YOU

[ledbythewind]

Sanji!

[Naturally, Richard's first instinct is to attempt to catch his friend as he falls, reaching his arms out to grab him before he can hit the ground. He's not sure he'll be able to support all of Sanji's weight but he's at least going to try, dammit.]

I do what I can. B)

[distressedude]

[If Sanji was hoping to find some clue that everything he sees will come together for a happy ending, he's out of luck. Rather, Ion's own reaction might be enough to indicate that this doesn't end quite so happily. He brings a shakey hand up to his chest, not saying a word and still unable to look away. Living through it and watching it happen were completely different things...

"Tear... come closer..."

From behind Luke, Tear walks over and takes Ion's hand.

"I will... take the miasma from your body... into my own."

"But Fon Master, you'll...!" She starts to pull her hand away, but Ion reaches out with his other hand and pulls it back.

"I told you before. There's only one way to save you." Their bodies start to glow with a strange light, which seems to moving out of Tear's body and into Ion. "The seventh fonons are drawn to one another. As my own seventh fonons dissipate, so will your contaminated ones."

Luke's grip on Ion's shoulders tightens as Ion's body starts to grow weaker. "Ion!"

"Don't you see...?" His voice grows weaker with each word, "This way... Tear is... safe."

He doesn't know what to do. Would yelling "Stop!" make it stop? Or does he only need to wait until the end? He doesn't know. But he does know what comes next, and he knows he doesn't want to see it. Not right now. Not after that happened these past few days.]

I could go either way with the memories C:

[risingwinds]

[...Whoa. What's Sanji doing passed out all the way over here? And why's he look so roughed up?

Ven, curious and a little concerned, slowly makes his way over, crouching down right next to him.]

Sanji?

[Cautiously, he'll reach out for his shoulder.]

[Action]

[tanukipwnt]

[Chopper picks himself up as well, quietly listening to Sanji's answer. So that would explain what just happened, but...he shakes his head.]

It's okay. I already told Robin about that a long time ago...I don't mind if you know, too. [Ignoring the fact that there's a huge difference between hearing a story and watching the events play out in front of you like a movie...but he's okay with ignoring.]

[Of course, that's when it dawns on him that this is a side effect from Sanji's kidnapping. The memory is still leaving him a little shaky, but that realization kick-starts Chopper into the next line of business; yes, he's looking at you now, Sanji. Feel his scrutiny.]

Oi, but Sanji! You just got back, right? Here, let me take a look - [Then he flinches.] - um, will...we share anything else if we touch again?

[Action] I AM OPEN FOR ANY MEMORIES. THE ~*POSSIBILITIES*~.

[failazure]

[This weather... Noel likes cool weather. Not hot. Hot is bad. And somehow, being out the house somehow feels better than being cooped up in a stuffy room. Maybe a visit to a friend's is in order, or... or... something.

That was somewhat part of the plan, but upon seeing an unconscious Sanji perched up against a tree, it all flies out the window. She hasn't heard from him in a while (wonder why 8|), and the times she did peek into Seventh Heaven he wasn't around. Don't tell her...?]

Sanji? S-Sanji! [D8 Noel runs over to him!! Because he will totally respond, right!?!!?!?!]

SO HERE IT COMES

[markofthebrave]

[Sanji, stumbling around town is no way of convincing people that you're all right.]

Sanji?

[Katara hurries over, a concerned smile on her face despite the shadows in her eyes.]

Did you just get back?

[Action] Enjoy the trauma conga line that is Marineford

[deathsdoctor]

[It's okay, Sanji. Law's had a long night of surgery so he isn't in the best shape either. A long night of surgery on Masaomi. Shattered bone. Concussion.

Certain other memories are close to the surface. Ones he's rather not admit to.

He gets time for only this:]

Wha---?!!!!

[And then they're sucked in. Into the mist. Into darkness.

To the screams.

AAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCCCEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

No.




Not this.]

[toujoursfluer]

[No need to be sorry, even if this particular memory is bittersweet, it's also important. You will remember it, too. She is on one side of the canal and you are on the other.

She knows you want her to come back, and she knows it's not just because she is a pretty lady and you have a (fairly silly) weakness for them. She knows the truth, or thinks she does. And so lets you go by walking away.

But the memory doesn't stop here as it should and the next part, the part you didn't see where she is walking in the shadows...she's not so happy to show you]

I don't suppose there is a way you can stop this?

[Action]

[concasse]

[...

It's suddenly very, very hard to breathe, right now. Or think. Sanji tries, but the only sound that resonates in his head is a scream that goes on forever.

So he just stares blankly ahead, his face turning an ashen shade of gray.]

L-Luffy...?

[Action]

[concasse]

[Some of those faces Sanji remembers. He steps back reflexively as his hackles rise, and has to hold down his desire to swing first, ask questions later. It's a memory. Just a memory.

--A memory that isn't his, he realizes too late. He never experienced this. And the magnitude of their experiment runs his blood cold the longer he stares at the water climbing higher and higher into the room, sloshing its way up his ankles, then thighs, now his waist...

No way out. Just patient faces waiting on the other side for you to nearly drown.

Then there's a scream, shrill and terrified. His eyes snap to the trembling girl right next to him pleading for her life, launching herself at the glass with her last remaining strength. She thinks they might kill her. And even if they don't succeed, the pain and fear and second chance at another "experiment" might give them ample reason to try again. And again.

It's only the real Perona's cries that drag him back to "reality". She's on the ground, shaking, and in her current state of dress she seems so much younger than the man remembers. This is not just a memory to her. You showed her this, chef.

It isn't lightly that Sanji casts the scene out of his mind - he won't forget this, Malnosso. Or those faces. Capture him again and see what happens to you all - but he has a scared girl to look after, and so drops to her side with both hands on her shoulders]

Perona-chan! [Shit. He needs to get her out. Sanji doesn't want to test how long this memory will keep going.] Listen to me! We're getting you out of here!

[Action]

[deathsdoctor]

Don't watch.

[Law is there in the memory unveiling itself, horror, though subtle, etched on his face, mixed with a strange sort of subdued pain and pity. And there is Jinbe, bandaged, still heavily wounded beside him, speechless with naked grief.

For before them is a scene that would move even the most heartless of rivals.

The complete and most perfect picture of the destruction of a human being. The shattering of the boy who would be Pirate King, and a shining spirit ground to dust.

"UWWWAAAAAH!!! WHERE'S AAAAAAAAAACEE!!! AAAAAAAACCEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Law's voice barely heard, soft, over the rising screams and violence as the Strawhat Captain turns on the Heart Pirates in a mindless fit of rage and grief -"He's completely beyond out control!! Straw Haaat!! STOOOOOOOP!!"- as they desperately try to contain him, stop him from hurting himself...

... and the bandages on the screaming, sobbing boy start to spot red...

"... it's exactly what we all feared."]



You shouldn't have to see this.

["What'll you think will happen if we let him go like that?"

Law looks at Jinbe, and seems to be unable to find voice for a second. Then...

"...

... it's simple..."

The prognosis is heavy.

"His wounds will open back up, and he might die this time."

And. There. Is. A. Moment. Where the Fishman looks nearly moved to tears. And they turn to the carnage.

"AAAAAAAAACCEE!!"

"AAAAACCCCCCCCEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!"

"WHERE IS HE!! ACCCCCCCCCCCCCEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"

And the memory?

Fades to black.]

[concasse]

[The chef can feel it -- the boiling heat that is his temper gaining momentum. The more Kotetsu blubbers on about escaping, the more that heat climbs and sends a subtle quake through his body.

Shut up already.

"I've been learning how to make fried rice!" Crying. Bargaining. Pleading. The desperate words of a man about to lose everything. "So you have to try it someday!"]

[action]

[concasse]

[He hesitates at the suggestion without answering the friendly question, and squares his stare on Ace. Not that it isn't a good one, but it doesn't ring true to Sanji, either. Then again, like fuck if he knows the rules to this game.

The scene itself hasn't ended, though. Both child and adult are in the middle of a bicker exchange - one asserting his plans of adulthood through cigarettes while the adult looks on, unimpressed. Despite the circumstances, Sanji can't help but linger over the scene with an expression almost wistful. For a moment, he feels... old. A portion of his desire to hurry out of the memory cools and steadies.]

... Yeah, for ten years.

[concasse]

[This is Robin, and she's nakama. A certain amount of guilt on Sanji's end is to be expected. But not only that, to bear witness to one of her precious memories sets Sanji ill-at-ease. The scene might be familiar, and so are the emotions - confusion, concern, fear - but as she walks into the shadows, there's a lingering desire to know a little more than he's ever been allowed.

That's exactly why he looks away.]

Ah... [Sanji stares at the floor, ashamed for reasons he's not about to say] I'm sorry, Robin-chan. I haven't figured out how yet. [But he'll try if she orders it]

[toujoursfluer]

[She considers this a moment, watching herself, being herself, the old emotions filling her. But they are changed now. Shifted. There are two different people here. And this is all a Malnosso trick to cause pain. Well, perhaps she can turn that around]

It's all right. [She smiles] Watch with me, Sanji-kun.

[And if he does look up, he will see her make it to a quiet room, the only light coming from the arched windows. The door closes and when it does she leans her forehead against it. There are tears, for all that she is quiet about it, and her fists clench against the wood even as her teeth clench together]

I wanted you all to leave. To not exist. But you saved me from a lifetime of this.

[And yes, she does feel vulnerable. But then again, Sanji is nakama and perhaps to fulfill their dreams, they will have to go through darker times than these]

[Action]

[concasse]

[There are only two plausible paths to take the conversation: to backtrack through Chopper's memory or discuss Sanji's instability. The chef isn't sure which one he'd rather avoid.

Eventually he picks the path of least resistance. Chopper is treated to a simple nod.] Haven't tested it out yet, but I'd assume so.

[Which might render Chopper's job a little more difficult]

[Action]

[concasse]

[No.

You're wrong, Law.

Because Sanji wasn't there. None of the crew was. They'd all been shot across the shitty planet, made literally distant to Luffy's suffering through their own weakness. Even if it'd been necessary, even if the gains now justified the means, even if they were all together again...

His captain had shouldered this pain alone. The least he can do, as his nakama, is bear witness to the scene, be though it is a memory.

So Sanji stands. And watches. And listens. The only moment he glances away is when the scene draws to a close, and that's to cover his face with one hand, subtle shudders jerking his shoulders.]

[wildkotetsu]

Sanji—

[He continues his walk to Sanji, tense, confused at the sudden fiery silence coming off the young man in waves.

"Too close, pal."

Eyelashes. What had even compelled him to talk about his eyelashes again? He grits his teeth as the entire seen suddenly goes pitch black. He can't see Sanji. He's unable to see anything at all, unable to tell up from down, see his hands or feet or ground or anything

Meanwhile, he can hear Barnaby's voice fading off into the distance.

"Kotetsu...??"

Strangled, desperate, lost.

"Kotetsu—!!"

The sound is an awful kind of sound he can barely remember now; the sound of someone thinking they were left alone again. He grits his teeth, hands clenched, and glows, leaping as hard and far as he can, out of the dark and away from the memory. Might've overshot just a little, because when he can see again--away from that inky blackness--he's tumbling roughly through some trees.

Overshot a little.]

[Action] fufufu EXCELLENT

[concasse]

[--Damn it all.

By the time Sanji settles back on his feet with Richard's help, expression grave and tightening, the world around them has already shifted. The chef has his eyes closed in advance.

If it's one of Richard's memories on display... then he's sorry.]

IS THIS OKAY BRO?? BETTER BE READY. also this is totally on the 10th if that's coo'

[asobouyo]

[After all the commotion--after... all that hideous stuff, and Sanji's finally home, trying not to think of all this? Tucked away in his room and trying not to deal with his kidnapping effect woes? That's when Elicia visits. And she knows at some point or another that it's been really hard on the chef, dealing with what he has this past day. Her feet patter across the Strawhat floors, and Nami's somewhere in the house letting her go, and she just really needs to see Sanji—

On his door, she starts knocking.

She's gotta see him, make sure he's okay. She's not sure if he's even okay.]

Big bro?? Big bro, open up! Sanji...!

[Action]

[deathsdoctor]

[... silence...

Once the memory is over, Law steps free, his face branded with his own pain, and turns to the side slightly as the man grieves. He will... give him privacy. Best he can.

The pirate captain is nursing his own ache.

... to hear his nakama again... their voices... like this...

He hasn't seen Bepo for over six months. He hasn't seen the rest of them in over a year and a half...

All he has left? Memories.

Even ones like these.]

[concasse]

[The last of Barnaby's cry dies with the memory - whether from Kotetsu's escape or the perpetual darkness swallowing the sound, who knows? But suddenly it's quiet; the type of lively silence only a forest filled with life can pull off. Sanji takes his time moving, first tearing his stare away from a hapless, nearby tree he didn't know he was glaring at, and then finally forcing the rest of his body into action in one snappy motion oozing of pent-up frustration.

He's pissed. He has no right to be after what he's just seen - Kotetsu's "retirement" is his own business - but the hell-hound that is his twisted anger and sorrow has been set loose, and no cage will hold it.]

That shitty-- [Damn everything.]

Kotetsu!!

[wildkotetsu]

[Blink, blink. His power flickers he sits upright and then is strong again as he looks left, right, up, down. Where did Sanji go—ah. Well.

Whoops.

He looks around before hopping to his feet moving through the forest as a little zig-zigging neon light before sliding to a stop around where he'd found Sanji to begin with. It doesn't occur to him that that wrath would be following after Sanji like a ghost, because why would it be?

Sure, he accidentally showed him a tender moment, but it doesn't mean he has to be upset. Right? Right. He searches around and finally sees Sanji's back, putting his hand up. The blue light fades out immediately.]

Oi, Sanji.

[Maybe... he should address that kidnapping shift. He really needs to.]

... Can we talk now?

[Action] /o/

[concasse]

--You think?!

Shithead, get your ass back inside before I kick you in there!