Entry tags:
006↠ ACTION
[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.]
... 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.]
[Action] 10th, if it's okay - Also... you know exactly which memory is coming up
Watch out for Supernovas.
There's a good chance of bumping into one on his way to the grocery store.]
[Action] Yeah that's fine! And.... ;A; 1/2
At least he has it in him to apologize first] Ah, sorry about--
[Action]
[Not good. Sanji's body freezes and then stiffens up like a steel trap, and the memory hasn't even started. Worse yet, he doesn't exactly have a moment to explain to Law what the fuck is going on.
Please, please be some monotonous memory of when he was a kid]
[Action] Enjoy the trauma conga line that is Marineford
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.]
[Action]
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]
[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.]
[Action]
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.]
[Action]
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.]
[Action]
This time, he feels he can't go that far. Either because Law is present or circumstances hold him back... whatever the case may be, when Sanji lowers his hand, his visible eye is bloodshot and moist. No other signs exist.
He doesn't acknowledge Law's presence until he's got a cigarette safely in his mouth. Excuse him, doctor, but his nerves sorely crave nicotine right now. One puffs, two, then three. He exhales slowly through his mouth and watches each cloud of smoke dissipate in the air. The normalcy is a comfort, and grounds him.]
... Thank you. For looking after my captain. [And for showing me, even if you didn't plan or mean to.]
[Action]1/2
Not for that.
The flashbacks come fast. Marineford. Kizaru. Blackbeard. The blood on his hands.. Ivankov.
What Ivankov said.
Jinbe. Boa Hancock. Two weeks spent waiting. The awakening. The aftermath.
Rayleigh.
I didn't do it for gratitude.
I just did.
For a whim.
For a promise.]
[Action]
No. They've all been stuck in a jamjar. And much has happened. And things have changed and he has changed and
... the reply will be different than the one he would have (will) given on Punk Hazard.
Law inclines his head. Nods. An 'you're welcome'.
Silent acknowledgement of the thanks. He isn't at the point where he can speak it. It doesn't need to be spoken. Some things are better unspoken - can only go unspoken. They're understood - the bond between rivals is a complex one - and gratitude and respect and all the other things that go hand in hand are beyond words anyway.
It is an acknowledgement.]
[Action]
His day hasn't been ruined, for all his focus have been jarred asunder - just directed down a new, different path, filled with reminiscing and reflection. It's... been so long since he's thought of home, he realizes. A necessity to protect himself because you can't spend everyday pining, but that feels so cheap of an excuse now.
He shifts his next few steps in a new direction; not for his house or for Seventh Heaven, or the forest, but for the teleporter that'll take him to the beach. To the sea. And apparently he does have a few more words to spare, as he inclines his head slightly while passing the rival pirate by:]
Take it easy, Law.
[Action]
[And Sanji goes, and Law stays where he is for long moments, watching his retreating back.
And then he goes forward. No looking back.]