[ well. okay, i'm sorry to say that gets him. his breath hitches and he starts full on crying leaning against the bars, as close to her as he can get. it's not pretty, and he's kind of trying to choke it back at the same time, voiceless. ]
[this is such a mess because he starts crying and it makes her cry harder, and she just. she wraps her arms around him as much as she can get, wishing she could get through the bars. it's unfair, it's so unfair, that she can't even hold onto him before she has to watch him go.]
[ here is my only real hug icon that ive never used before now because it felt mean
and now it is mean so anyway sometime in the tears he kind of sounds a little like he's laughing ]
I'm sorry. I know I'm hurting you, but-- [ he's grinning through the tears, half choking on his words ] ... Hearing you say that makes me happy. You know?
[THIS IS THE MEANEST ICON YOU COULD'VE USED AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
she hiccups, when she hears him laughing, but it's not so bad to hear. she wants to hear him laugh, she wants to see him smile, she wants him to have any measure of feeling loved at all before he marches to his death in front of so many people.]
S'okay. [she warbles, adjusting her grip.] I want you to be happy.
... I was. I am. Please don't doubt that. [ ace hasn't led an easy life, but it's never mattered. he's been happy, and he's been loved, and that's the most he could ever ask for. ] Okay? And don't... I know it's asking a lot. But try to be happy after tomorrow, too, sometimes.
[she really, stubbornly, wants to say no, but she can't. she can't say no to him.]
I don't want to. [that's what it boils down to. she doesn't want to. watching her family get ripped out of her grasp - it's like what she said before. it's so much worse when they don't want to leave you.]
... I'm not asking you to. [ well if he used the word earlier he doesn't remember because his cyoa effect is on forever but ] I just... want you to try. You deserve to be.
[ he's not sure it's something he knows how to explain, but he'll try. ]
There's no path you have to follow, no laws you have to listen to. Every day's different, because the ocean's never the same. The weather, the islands, the people... there's always something new to discover. And if you've got the right crew... that one's like here. They'd follow you anywhere. You fight together, sail together, have fun together.
[ ... ]
At night, the stars reflect on the ocean, so it looks like you're surrounded by it on all sides. Like it could go on forever.
no, she just listens, eyes closed. it sounds like a dream. it sounds like something so far out of reach, but something she wants anyway. she's quiet where she's curled up against the bars for just long enough that maybe she passed out, but.]
I want that. [...] I don't think I've ever wanted something so bad.
It's not any worse than where I'm from. [she never calls it home, her world. it doesn't feel like it. home is here, home is him. home is this crew, home is a penthouse in a city that seems hellbent on taking and taking and taking.]
I'd have you. [...] And Nico. And all of us. It'd be good. It'd be worth living for.
Nico'd be one scary pirate. [ commanding the dead at sea? intense. but he looks at her a little more seriously ] ... And you'd make a great one. I've thought so from the start.
You're a menace. [ FONDLY ] You do what you want, and you do it loud and proud. You don't care about laws or rules, you just follow your heart. What's more pirate than all of that? [ there's a pause ] And... everyone goes out to be a pirate because they want something. But only the good ones go out because they want something more than the world can give them. You always seemed like you'd be great, if you could really be free like that.
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and now it is mean so anyway sometime in the tears he kind of sounds a little like he's laughing ]
I'm sorry. I know I'm hurting you, but-- [ he's grinning through the tears, half choking on his words ] ... Hearing you say that makes me happy. You know?
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she hiccups, when she hears him laughing, but it's not so bad to hear. she wants to hear him laugh, she wants to see him smile, she wants him to have any measure of feeling loved at all before he marches to his death in front of so many people.]
S'okay. [she warbles, adjusting her grip.] I want you to be happy.
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I don't want to. [that's what it boils down to. she doesn't want to. watching her family get ripped out of her grasp - it's like what she said before. it's so much worse when they don't want to leave you.]
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[there's no venom to it, though, and she looks like she is maybe eight years old so it's probably kind of just silly sounding.]
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Sorry. I know it's pretty selfish of me.
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[she agrees, but she doesn't move. and then, after a while:]
I can't promise anything, Ace.
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she doesn't answer that. instead, she reaches to hold his hand.]
If you aren't gone forever - if you're somewhere else. Talk to me. Somehow. Okay? Tell me you're there.
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... I will. You'll get really annoyed with me.
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[she's too worn out to be a brat. she almost slurs the words.]
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Sucks to suck. They owe me.
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Yeah. I think they owe all of us, at this point.
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They owe you more than anybody else. [...] Tell me about being a pirate. I wanna hear about it. Tell me what it'd be like.
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[ he's not sure it's something he knows how to explain, but he'll try. ]
There's no path you have to follow, no laws you have to listen to. Every day's different, because the ocean's never the same. The weather, the islands, the people... there's always something new to discover. And if you've got the right crew... that one's like here. They'd follow you anywhere. You fight together, sail together, have fun together.
[ ... ]
At night, the stars reflect on the ocean, so it looks like you're surrounded by it on all sides. Like it could go on forever.
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no, she just listens, eyes closed. it sounds like a dream. it sounds like something so far out of reach, but something she wants anyway. she's quiet where she's curled up against the bars for just long enough that maybe she passed out, but.]
I want that. [...] I don't think I've ever wanted something so bad.
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... It's dangerous. But if you've got the right people with you... Every single moment's worth it. Even the bad ones.
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I'd have you. [...] And Nico. And all of us. It'd be good. It'd be worth living for.
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Nico'd be one scary pirate. [ commanding the dead at sea? intense. but he looks at her a little more seriously ] ... And you'd make a great one. I've thought so from the start.
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Why?
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You're a menace. [ FONDLY ] You do what you want, and you do it loud and proud. You don't care about laws or rules, you just follow your heart. What's more pirate than all of that? [ there's a pause ] And... everyone goes out to be a pirate because they want something. But only the good ones go out because they want something more than the world can give them. You always seemed like you'd be great, if you could really be free like that.
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