disregard that she doesn't care about the sea kings because she cares about this last part. no, she will not forget it? wow, she doesn't like the feeling of phantom pain, and he'll feel her little burst of anger and like I'm Gonna Fucking Do a Violence in emotion form.]
I'm not afraid of lava. [she says, clinging to him a little more tightly. she really does not like the sensation of - any part of his death, or thinking about it, but it doesn't matter.] This place has got me all messed up, but you can't kill me normally.
[stubbornly. nothing has stuck! she just disintegrates herself before anything else can.]
It does matter, anyway! I'm not just gonna sit around and let the guy who murdered you run around without getting fed to a dragon! [the dragon is her] Worst comes to worst he'll give me indigestion.
[ he gets the revenge urge, so there's something like fondness there, despite the always lingering sort of really? for me? disbelief, but more than that there's lingering concern and a lot of wryness like ah. yes. this is the worst i am looking at myself in the mirror and myself is an idiot ]
Not really murder so much as the guy doing his job. [ like, ace hates the guy, there's no hiding that, but it's not the kind of personal hate he's got when thinking of his own revenge quest, simply kind of a vague disdain. the guy is a marine and ace is the son of the pirate king and ace fell for his taunts and it was, very much, his own fault, and also embarrassing to be humbled by I Have Your Fruit But Stronger Bitch, but he was a lot more offended at trying to kill luffy. obviously.
also he will be madder when he sees luffy's scar from the guy but that's later right now he's like, it happened to him so he doesn't care, and also there's a blip of worry because he doesn't want her getting hurt for him and a blip of I Can Take My Own Revenge Damn. it's a lot of emotions i hate emotionshare week ]
I don't even know that he's running around. That's the point, I don't know what happened with that war after I died. Besides, I don't need you to fight my battles for me. That's a little too embarrassing.
[this is the worst i am looking at myself in the mirror and myself is an idiot correct
she gets Very Grouchy when he says he doesn't need her to fight his battles for him, because obviously he does!! he won't do it himself!! but she also respects him too much to be a brat about it, so she just lets it sit and simmer instead.]
I'd be fighting your battles with you. [grumble grumble, but she lets it go for now.]
... Thanks. [she mutters finally.] For asking me.
[a little burst of anxiety and relief all in one, it's a horrible mix. like guilty for feeling relieved.]
[ he ignores the battle thing because she has not seen how absolutely insanely stubborn he can be about fighting on his own yet sorry he is like that [ace voice] i never run. and because he wants to concentrate on that thanks.
there's a bit of embarrassment through the mostly fondness as he nudges her ]
... I would've earlier, but I didn't think I was really an option. [ the embarrassment is saying that out loud here. god. ] I always meant it when I said I thought you'd make a great pirate.
[she flops back finally so she can just sprawl on him instead of hugging him like a koala. there's a little touch of gremlin emotion when he's embarrassed, but mostly fondness, and that same squirmy feeling.]
It's okay, nobody else asked, so you're first in line. [she jokes, but there's a stomach-sinking sort of feeling at that, which she ignores.] I've wanted to be a pirate since you said it, man, I'm ready for it.
[there's like this sort of fuzzy, spaced out feeling. like a skip, like a tape being hit with a magnet.]
Nope. I'm a free agent. [he is right, though.] Doesn't matter. I'm not gonna stick around places I'm not wanted, right, like I'm not gonna just invite myself.
Well, pretty sure he'd at least want you to visit, but that's a problem for later. I called dibs. [ boops her face ] And apparently you're a potential life boat in case Pops really did sink Marineford. He seemed pretty serious about it.
[ he's joking at the potential life boat thing because she's the one who said it, but he cannot stop his grief/love thing every time he mentions his dad :( so moving on ]
Getting out of government waters will be the most important thing, and then... probably finding a newspaper.
[uwahhhh i called dibs makes a whole lot of emotions swell up and make her throat tight again. happy and wanted!! someone wants her around. ace wants her around. it's nice. she laughs a little and bats at his hand when he boops her.
anyway, she doesn't mind the grief/love - it's sad, and it makes her have little pangs of sympathy, but she doesn't mention it. it just gives her a sense of how important he was. she wishes she could've met him, but.]
Look, if we just get tossed out into the ocean I'm not going to let you drown, obviously. [there's like a nauseated feeling at that but it goes away fast.] ... A newspaper? Like just to see what happened?
[ he likes her feeling happy/wanted a lot more than the nauseated feeling at drowning, though he has his own uncomfortable feeling at it. it's not as bad as his feelings on lava but it uh. also sucked. from his end of things. boops her again to be annoying. ]
You'd better not. That'd be embarrassing. [ "embarrassing". anyway he hums a little ] Yeah. The whole thing would've been pretty heavily documented. They wanted to make a show for the whole world, so whatever the outcome was would be in the news. It won't help me locate anybody, but they'd mention anyone with a bounty that died during it, too. It was all a bonus for the marines.
[ which would cover luffy and at the very least the other whitebeard commanders. again just. a pang of guilt thinking about the people that died for him but there's not much he can do there!! ]
Plus we need an actual boat to find anyone, so any place that has a newspaper we can at least get a ship. Letting you swim us to the nearest safe island because we might not have a choice is one thing, but I'd rather not.
also i'm sorry she won't ever stop being furiously angry about the marines trying to make a lesson out of it. she just seethes for a second as she listens, arms folded where she's just sprawled on him ig, and then:]
It's not like I care if I gotta swim. [she tells him, but. she also would prefer a boat.] How easy is it gonna be to get a ship?
[ it probably doesn't help that his feeling on that are kind of like, resignation still a bit. it's fine. BOOPS HER A THIRD TIME a little Annoy because he is not making her swim that far there's weather and monsters and it is a bad idea, but he doesn't specify, just. lets her lie down on him while he looks at the sky ]
Hmm... We're pretty far for you to just swim directly to where mine should still be back on Banaro, but we can steal a small one to get there. We don't need a good one if we can get mine. [ he's like, sort of drawing a map to himself as he says it, gesturing to the sky ] The island I was on is deep in government territory... Sabaody's closest, but we can't go further from that without a boat that can withstand going underwater. I could try to get in contact with people around there but it's got a lot of government involvement too. So going back instead, grabbing a boat and getting to Banaro to get Striker would be easier. No one could have gone off with it, since it only works with my fruit.
[ he is kind of babbling considering she has no context for any of this, he's just trying to math out the safest way to get away without being hounded by the government again to die. he'd like. he'd like five minutes of peace. ]
[the third time she tries to bite his hand. not hard but she does in fact try to do that.
anyway she just listens to him talk, and she doesn't really understand literally any of it, but it's okay. she gets he's charting it out, and besides that it kind of feels like the thing a first mate might do? just listening to their captain figure out a course of action. casually just assigns herself first mate.]
Ssssure, okay. [she says, with a little grin, but:] Is Striker your ship? What do you mean it only works with your fruit?
[ SHOVES HIS HAND ON HER FACE WHEN SHE ATTEMPTS TO BITE just casual bullying ]
Mm. [ there's nostalgia and fondness as he tells the story: ] When I set out, I got shipwrecked on a deserted island before I got a crew, trying to find a rare treasure rumored to be there. The currents and rocks around the shore were too strong, so anyone who wound up there never came out alive. All the boats I tried to build just kept breaking before going anywhere because of that. About a week in, I met some other poor sap stuck there. He ended up being my first mate when I made the Spades. Long story short, we found and split the Devil Fruit. I got the powers, but he's the one who got the idea to build a boat that uses a propulsion system with my flames so we could bypass the current. I've had Striker since. It's small, but it's probably one of the fastest ships on the sea thanks to that. It's not a real pirate ship, but it'll get us to people.
[ boops her nose. it's just fond and proud and a little hehe past me is stupid vibes ]
Deu wears a mask, and he didn't want to give me his name at first, so I gave him the one he goes by now. Masked Deuce! [ he laughs a little ] He hates when I add the masked part. Deuce sounds like Ace, right? I wanted us to match.
[this is the true sibling behavior is just having a conversation while casually trying to beat each other up
she slaps his hands away, amused - and listens with a fascination that's probably embarrassing. not that she cares or notices that's what she's giving off. she didn't even know there was such a thing as islands with currents that are too strong to get around, she hasn't been to an ocean in a very long time... and, well, past that, she kind of just likes hearing about ace's past.]
I guess it does. [she teases. she's like deuce sort of sounds like ace? does france exist in nimona i don't know. i don't know if she knows it means two either so they're both out of luck]
You basically gave him a superhero name, I'd complain too. [hehe] That works, though, with Striker? I can just hang out as a bird or something while you navigate.
the thing is ace doesn't talk about himself but he loves talking about the people he cares about. tragedy. so he actually likes that nimona is fascinated because he wants her to know them too, because he cares about her. it is a very simple sort of thing. ]
He was wearing a mask and hiding his identity, I couldn't not give him one. [ hehes a little gremlin-y. the masked part was him being a shit. ] Anyway, don't worry about that, there's space enough for two people on there. You can switch into whatever form so long as it's not too big. A rhino won't fit.
[ she just has to like. stick in front because the back is where ace does the fire ]
... I want to try to find Luffy first. [ unfortunately luffy will be in hiding but he doesn't know that ] Then we can check on my crew.
[ aGAIN GUILT because like. what's left of them. rip ]
[immediately and without hesitation the first thing she will want to do upon getting on the striker is turn into a rhino. she won't but the intrusive thought will be there.
she looks up at the sky too - they're still sprawled on the sand, which she's okay with. she likes being outside. the guilt makes her reach for his wrist, and then his hand. she squeezes it, briefly, and then lets go.]
I said it already but I absolutely gotta meet Luffy. [there's something excited there? she thinks she'll really like luffy, honestly.] ... He's gonna be really happy to see you.
anyway there's a little bit of fondness and embarrassment at the hand squeeze. the embarrassment isn't for the hand squeeze it's for being EMOTIONALLY EXPOSED. he hates it.
it quickly turns into like. they're talking about luffy so it's love and devotion and More Guilt and also worry and also exasperation, because it's luffy, ]
You gotta. He'll think you're so cool. Especially if you turn into a talking beetle. [ amused fondness exasperation but like. 100% sincere. why beetles, luffy. and also there's fondness at her wanting to meet luffy. that feeling of excitement at two people you really love meeting. and then we're back to guiiiilt ] ... Yeah. Man, he's probably going to cry.
[if she has to be emotionally exposed all over the place so does he, suffer
she laughs at the talking beetle part because what. and like she doesn't do requests, but... she would do that request.]
I mean, yeah, but it won't be bad crying. [she says, elbowing him.] I can't think of anything that'd be less sad than thinking someone you care about was dead and they're not, actually.
[ he's like thinking about that incredibly unlikely scenario (looks at the camera like im on the office) ]
I think I'd be a little mad they let me think they were dead, but I guess you're right. It wouldn't be bad. [ there's something a little conspirational when he says; ] Last time he thought I was dead we were ten, and I got mad at him for killing me off so easily.
[ but ace at ten got offended at everything it's fine ]
The not coming back part wasn't on me, Dadan stayed behind with me and got injured. I had to steal some medicine and take care of her before I could drag her back.
[ "why did you stay in the fire to fight the guy in the first place" anyway. also hilarious that the only bit of dadan nimona saw was her saying I DON'T EVEN CARE IF HE DIES STUPID DEVIL CHILD and then this story
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Date: 2023-11-08 11:40 pm (UTC)disregard that she doesn't care about the sea kings because she cares about this last part. no, she will not forget it? wow, she doesn't like the feeling of phantom pain, and he'll feel her little burst of anger and like I'm Gonna Fucking Do a Violence in emotion form.]
I'm not afraid of lava. [she says, clinging to him a little more tightly. she really does not like the sensation of - any part of his death, or thinking about it, but it doesn't matter.] This place has got me all messed up, but you can't kill me normally.
[stubbornly. nothing has stuck! she just disintegrates herself before anything else can.]
It does matter, anyway! I'm not just gonna sit around and let the guy who murdered you run around without getting fed to a dragon! [the dragon is her] Worst comes to worst he'll give me indigestion.
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Date: 2023-11-08 11:53 pm (UTC)[ he gets the revenge urge, so there's something like fondness there, despite the always lingering sort of really? for me? disbelief, but more than that there's lingering concern and a lot of wryness like ah. yes. this is the worst i am looking at myself in the mirror and myself is an idiot ]
Not really murder so much as the guy doing his job. [ like, ace hates the guy, there's no hiding that, but it's not the kind of personal hate he's got when thinking of his own revenge quest, simply kind of a vague disdain. the guy is a marine and ace is the son of the pirate king and ace fell for his taunts and it was, very much, his own fault, and also embarrassing to be humbled by I Have Your Fruit But Stronger Bitch, but he was a lot more offended at trying to kill luffy. obviously.
also he will be madder when he sees luffy's scar from the guy but that's later right now he's like, it happened to him so he doesn't care, and also there's a blip of worry because he doesn't want her getting hurt for him and a blip of I Can Take My Own Revenge Damn. it's a lot of emotions i hate emotionshare week ]
I don't even know that he's running around. That's the point, I don't know what happened with that war after I died. Besides, I don't need you to fight my battles for me. That's a little too embarrassing.
[ HIS PRIDE!!!! ]
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Date: 2023-11-09 01:36 am (UTC)she gets Very Grouchy when he says he doesn't need her to fight his battles for him, because obviously he does!! he won't do it himself!! but she also respects him too much to be a brat about it, so she just lets it sit and simmer instead.]
I'd be fighting your battles with you. [grumble grumble, but she lets it go for now.]
... Thanks. [she mutters finally.] For asking me.
[a little burst of anxiety and relief all in one, it's a horrible mix. like guilty for feeling relieved.]
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Date: 2023-11-09 01:40 am (UTC)there's a bit of embarrassment through the mostly fondness as he nudges her ]
... I would've earlier, but I didn't think I was really an option. [ the embarrassment is saying that out loud here. god. ] I always meant it when I said I thought you'd make a great pirate.
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Date: 2023-11-09 02:58 am (UTC)It's okay, nobody else asked, so you're first in line. [she jokes, but there's a stomach-sinking sort of feeling at that, which she ignores.] I've wanted to be a pirate since you said it, man, I'm ready for it.
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Date: 2023-11-09 03:07 am (UTC)You sure? I thought... [ hm: ] I thought you guys had at least discussed it, with Nico and Will.
[ he doesn't know for anyone else but ]
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Date: 2023-11-09 03:18 am (UTC)Nope. I'm a free agent. [he is right, though.] Doesn't matter. I'm not gonna stick around places I'm not wanted, right, like I'm not gonna just invite myself.
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Date: 2023-11-09 03:25 am (UTC)Well, pretty sure he'd at least want you to visit, but that's a problem for later. I called dibs. [ boops her face ] And apparently you're a potential life boat in case Pops really did sink Marineford. He seemed pretty serious about it.
[ he's joking at the potential life boat thing because she's the one who said it, but he cannot stop his grief/love thing every time he mentions his dad :( so moving on ]
Getting out of government waters will be the most important thing, and then... probably finding a newspaper.
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Date: 2023-11-09 04:21 am (UTC)anyway, she doesn't mind the grief/love - it's sad, and it makes her have little pangs of sympathy, but she doesn't mention it. it just gives her a sense of how important he was. she wishes she could've met him, but.]
Look, if we just get tossed out into the ocean I'm not going to let you drown, obviously. [there's like a nauseated feeling at that but it goes away fast.] ... A newspaper? Like just to see what happened?
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Date: 2023-11-09 05:10 am (UTC)You'd better not. That'd be embarrassing. [ "embarrassing". anyway he hums a little ] Yeah. The whole thing would've been pretty heavily documented. They wanted to make a show for the whole world, so whatever the outcome was would be in the news. It won't help me locate anybody, but they'd mention anyone with a bounty that died during it, too. It was all a bonus for the marines.
[ which would cover luffy and at the very least the other whitebeard commanders. again just. a pang of guilt thinking about the people that died for him but there's not much he can do there!! ]
Plus we need an actual boat to find anyone, so any place that has a newspaper we can at least get a ship. Letting you swim us to the nearest safe island because we might not have a choice is one thing, but I'd rather not.
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Date: 2023-11-09 06:27 am (UTC)also i'm sorry she won't ever stop being furiously angry about the marines trying to make a lesson out of it. she just seethes for a second as she listens, arms folded where she's just sprawled on him ig, and then:]
It's not like I care if I gotta swim. [she tells him, but. she also would prefer a boat.] How easy is it gonna be to get a ship?
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Date: 2023-11-09 06:49 am (UTC)Hmm... We're pretty far for you to just swim directly to where mine should still be back on Banaro, but we can steal a small one to get there. We don't need a good one if we can get mine. [ he's like, sort of drawing a map to himself as he says it, gesturing to the sky ] The island I was on is deep in government territory... Sabaody's closest, but we can't go further from that without a boat that can withstand going underwater. I could try to get in contact with people around there but it's got a lot of government involvement too. So going back instead, grabbing a boat and getting to Banaro to get Striker would be easier. No one could have gone off with it, since it only works with my fruit.
[ he is kind of babbling considering she has no context for any of this, he's just trying to math out the safest way to get away without being hounded by the government again to die. he'd like. he'd like five minutes of peace. ]
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Date: 2023-11-09 06:58 am (UTC)anyway she just listens to him talk, and she doesn't really understand literally any of it, but it's okay. she gets he's charting it out, and besides that it kind of feels like the thing a first mate might do? just listening to their captain figure out a course of action. casually just assigns herself first mate.]
Ssssure, okay. [she says, with a little grin, but:] Is Striker your ship? What do you mean it only works with your fruit?
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Date: 2023-11-09 07:08 am (UTC)Mm. [ there's nostalgia and fondness as he tells the story: ] When I set out, I got shipwrecked on a deserted island before I got a crew, trying to find a rare treasure rumored to be there. The currents and rocks around the shore were too strong, so anyone who wound up there never came out alive. All the boats I tried to build just kept breaking before going anywhere because of that. About a week in, I met some other poor sap stuck there. He ended up being my first mate when I made the Spades. Long story short, we found and split the Devil Fruit. I got the powers, but he's the one who got the idea to build a boat that uses a propulsion system with my flames so we could bypass the current. I've had Striker since. It's small, but it's probably one of the fastest ships on the sea thanks to that. It's not a real pirate ship, but it'll get us to people.
[ boops her nose. it's just fond and proud and a little hehe past me is stupid vibes ]
Deu wears a mask, and he didn't want to give me his name at first, so I gave him the one he goes by now. Masked Deuce! [ he laughs a little ] He hates when I add the masked part. Deuce sounds like Ace, right? I wanted us to match.
[ HAS NEVER ONCE JUST LEARNED IT MEANS TWO. ]
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Date: 2023-11-09 07:36 am (UTC)she slaps his hands away, amused - and listens with a fascination that's probably embarrassing. not that she cares or notices that's what she's giving off. she didn't even know there was such a thing as islands with currents that are too strong to get around, she hasn't been to an ocean in a very long time... and, well, past that, she kind of just likes hearing about ace's past.]
I guess it does. [she teases. she's like deuce sort of sounds like ace? does france exist in nimona i don't know. i don't know if she knows it means two either so they're both out of luck]
You basically gave him a superhero name, I'd complain too. [hehe] That works, though, with Striker? I can just hang out as a bird or something while you navigate.
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Date: 2023-11-09 07:50 am (UTC)the thing is ace doesn't talk about himself but he loves talking about the people he cares about. tragedy. so he actually likes that nimona is fascinated because he wants her to know them too, because he cares about her. it is a very simple sort of thing. ]
He was wearing a mask and hiding his identity, I couldn't not give him one. [ hehes a little gremlin-y. the masked part was him being a shit. ] Anyway, don't worry about that, there's space enough for two people on there. You can switch into whatever form so long as it's not too big. A rhino won't fit.
[ she just has to like. stick in front because the back is where ace does the fire ]
... I want to try to find Luffy first. [ unfortunately luffy will be in hiding but he doesn't know that ] Then we can check on my crew.
[ aGAIN GUILT because like. what's left of them. rip ]
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Date: 2023-11-09 07:50 pm (UTC)she looks up at the sky too - they're still sprawled on the sand, which she's okay with. she likes being outside. the guilt makes her reach for his wrist, and then his hand. she squeezes it, briefly, and then lets go.]
I said it already but I absolutely gotta meet Luffy. [there's something excited there? she thinks she'll really like luffy, honestly.] ... He's gonna be really happy to see you.
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Date: 2023-11-09 08:00 pm (UTC)anyway there's a little bit of fondness and embarrassment at the hand squeeze. the embarrassment isn't for the hand squeeze it's for being EMOTIONALLY EXPOSED. he hates it.
it quickly turns into like. they're talking about luffy so it's love and devotion and More Guilt and also worry and also exasperation, because it's luffy, ]
You gotta. He'll think you're so cool. Especially if you turn into a talking beetle. [ amused fondness exasperation but like. 100% sincere. why beetles, luffy. and also there's fondness at her wanting to meet luffy. that feeling of excitement at two people you really love meeting. and then we're back to guiiiilt ] ... Yeah. Man, he's probably going to cry.
[ so will ace but that's. fine. ]
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Date: 2023-11-10 01:01 am (UTC)she laughs at the talking beetle part because what. and like she doesn't do requests, but... she would do that request.]
I mean, yeah, but it won't be bad crying. [she says, elbowing him.] I can't think of anything that'd be less sad than thinking someone you care about was dead and they're not, actually.
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Date: 2023-11-10 01:05 am (UTC)I think I'd be a little mad they let me think they were dead, but I guess you're right. It wouldn't be bad. [ there's something a little conspirational when he says; ] Last time he thought I was dead we were ten, and I got mad at him for killing me off so easily.
[ but ace at ten got offended at everything it's fine ]
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Date: 2023-11-10 01:30 am (UTC)What, he just thought you blew up or something?
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Date: 2023-11-10 02:30 am (UTC)[ admittedly in retrospect most people would assume him dead ]
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Date: 2023-11-10 02:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-11-10 02:39 am (UTC)[ "why did you stay in the fire to fight the guy in the first place" anyway. also hilarious that the only bit of dadan nimona saw was her saying I DON'T EVEN CARE IF HE DIES STUPID DEVIL CHILD and then this story
sorry his foster mom is tsundere ]
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Date: 2023-11-10 04:36 am (UTC)... Don't vanish on me for three days or else.
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