catchall nimona

[selfimmolation]

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[sharkgirl]

[sweats]

Sorry. My memories got all messed up. I just remembered that I asked her to come with me, but I forgot that other people asked.

[selfimmolation]

Don't worry about it. It was never gonna be no, anyway, even if it ended up being a total surprise at the last second.

[ hmmm. tilts his head ]

It's fine now? [ her memeries ]

[sharkgirl]

Yeah, I didn't... realize how many people told me that I could go with them.

[she's like, wildly embarrassed, actually, and kind of - not shy, but ??? in a sense? people love her and it's weird.]

But I remember now, yeah.

[selfimmolation]

Yeah, I thought it was pretty weird when you said nobody asked.

[ he's fond and amused at her embarrassment ]

I'm serious, though. I won't be mad if you guys pick somewhere else in the end.

[sharkgirl]

[she bites his ear with her kitty teeth]

No. [grouchy emotions!!!] I want to go with you. I've wanted to since -- a while. As long as you want me to.

[selfimmolation]

[ oh my god his emotions are both touched and so amused but also pulls her off his EAR ]

Okay, okay--ow. First of all, you can stay forever, stupid. [ this is important ] I'm just saying, go where you wanna go! You don't owe me anything. I said the same stuff to my crew when I joined up with Whitebeard. The point is to be free, alright?

[sharkgirl]

[there's a not insignificant amount of relief, but also something huffy. she does not bite him ear anymore once he pulls her off, just cat scarfs again.]

Okay. [she says, after she thinks about it.] It's not about owing you anything, you know. I think...

[a pause, as she tries to word it, and then:] You talked about it before, the way you talk about being a pirate. It sounds like everything I want to do. Everything I've really wanted to do.

... I wanna go see Nico and Reigen again. And all of the people here that I like, I'll go see them eventually, but I think I want the ocean to be home.

[selfimmolation]

[ he listens and he kind of smiles. there's something proud and fond as far as emotions go, and also a little nostalgic.

scritches again ]

Alright then. That's what it'll be. [ home. ] Was the Saya thing what you said you wanted to ask in private?

[sharkgirl]

[wow, crazy, the flickery and jittery emotions she feels at having a home. god.

she leans into the scritches, closing her eyes.]

Yeah, it was. I just didn't wanna put you on the spot in front of a bunch of people because I forgot something important.

[selfimmolation]

[ the emotion is just :3 ]

Like I said, I already knew about it. Don't worry. Everyone in this place is a huge gossip. [ teasing. ] No one will think anything much of her having that other appearance either.

[ they will just assume she has a fucked up fruit ]

[sharkgirl]

[god they really are a bunch of gossips!! she was worried for NOTHING]

Good. [her tails flicks.] I told her she can be whoever she wants, and if other people get weird at her, I'll eat them.

[selfimmolation]

[ laughs at that. he shouldn't ]

Try not to eat too many people, or your wanted poster will read Nimona the cannibal.

[sharkgirl]

[she makes a face at that]

I'm not people so it wouldn't be accurate. [the people making your wanted poster don't care you dingus] ... Did you write anything specific down in the book?

[selfimmolation]

[ oh. he sort of hums at that as they walk. the feelings are pretty conflicted ]

Nah. I couldn't think of anything.

[sharkgirl]

[hmmm. she's a little cautious here, but:]

... You wouldn't bring back anybody? [she knows people are wary about breaking timelines, but... he could bring people back to life, if he really wanted.]

[selfimmolation]

[ ... ]

I don't know everyone who died or didn't at my execution. Whitebeard... [ the feelings are a mess, here ] Pops was sick. For a long time. Before I joined the crew, even. I know he went out the way he wanted to. [ even if he feels guilty about it, going out in a fight-- ] He yelled at anyone else trying to stay behind, because a father shouldn't have to bury his kids.

[ which is like. and then ace died, but anyway ]

[sharkgirl]

[she curls a little closer, at the messy feelings. purrs very gently and quietly, just out of habit - she got accustomed to doing this for people when they were really out of it after trials.]

Better to go out the way you want, I guess. [she says, though there's a little buzzy feeling when she says it. for. a lot of reasons, honestly.] What about Sabo?

[she does not know that sabo is alive, but]

[selfimmolation]

[ it's fine that she curls up and purrs, because they've arrived at the beach and he can plop himself down next to the ocean and just kind of pet her quietly. if he's honest, he doesn't know how he feels about that himself properly, though he's distracted by being kind of shocked she's even bringing sabo up ]

... He's been dead for ten years, Nimona. [ twice as long as ace knew him, and that hurts in a distant way he's used to. more than that... ] We promised we'd live with no regrets. I can't undo all the bad things that happened and just...

[ he shakes his head ]

All we wanted, the three of us, was to be free. To be able to control our own destinies. Even using the book for this much feels weird to me.

[sharkgirl]

[she figures she might as well bring up possibilities, and she's patient enough to just let him pet her and think it through.]

Yeah. I get it. [she hasn't put anything in the book either - she doesn't even really care to. it's not like she has anything in particular other than the people here that she wants to protect.]

... I just talked to Temenos about bringing someone he really cared about back, who didn't deserve to die, is all. [and it made her wonder if she should do the same for ace, but - the circumstances are different, and that's okay.]

But - no regrets is good. [she says, settling. listening to the waves.] And using the book this much means everybody is free. It means I get to. And it means you get to, too.

[selfimmolation]

I think I know who you mean.

[ for temenos. he's not objecting; he just thinks it's different circumstances, even though he's also a little conflicted about it. thatch was more recent, but is it any better to bring back a man who was murdered by someone he thought of as a brother when a large part of his family would be dead by then? what's the actual end goal? absolving his own guilt for letting him get hurt? ]

I'm not objecting to people using the book. And I'm definitely not objecting to anything we agreed to put in it. [ scritch scritch ] ... You deserve all that. [ generic you and nimona you both. he can't quite convince himself he does, but enough people think so he's not going to argue when he wants it too anyway. being selfish is part of the pirate job description. ] Just feels weird to start changing too much.

[sharkgirl]

[she nods a little at the first part. it's just on her mind.

but the second part is also fine, and she gets it. she didn't have anything she thought was worth putting in the book. for a bit, she thought about trying to save her world somehow, but - actually, she doesn't care. so.

she settles.]

I just wanted to know if you'd thought about it. [because temenos hadn't!] But it's fine to not change things if you don't want them to. If everything fits better like this.

[selfimmolation]

[ he hums a little. the feelings are still Conflicted ]

I don't know about better. But it's probably what's for the best. [ ... ] I've never been one to take shortcuts anyway. Kinda ruins adventures.

[ he is maybe convincing himself A Little ]

[sharkgirl]

Guess so.

[...]

If you ever change your mind, we still have the book.

[selfimmolation]

It's alright. No regrets, like I said.

[ scritchies under the chin ]

Only thing I regretted when I died was that I wouldn't get to see Luffy get to the end of his dream. That's about all I should care about fixing.

[ it's not, but. ]

[sharkgirl]

[tags this even though game is over]

Should. [she huffs.] You can care about fixing what's important to you.

[she knows he knows this, just. she takes the scritches...]

No regrets, I know, I know. You're gonna get to see Luffy do all that. And we're gonna be really fuckin' great pirates. We can do anything.

[she actually believes that. it's wild. she didn't, when they started.]