voice: un; CAPTAIN

[nishishi]

[The feed is going to start up easier than it did last time. Looks like someone's actually learning how to use his communicator--how about that.

Either way, the face that Luffy's making this time around is a little bit unreadable. A smile is on his face, but somehow, if you're someone used to the sort of expression this man usually makes--it's clear that there's something not quite right with it.

Even if the tone that lights up the speakers is a bright one.]

Everyone been having fun yet? It's been messy, right? I hope no-one got too hurt when it came to the big ugly swamp monster. [After all, he'd gotten quite beaten up by it. Look at the bandages and scrapes on his hands and face.]

Even if you did, there's lots'a people here to fix you up, Like Torao. But anyway.

Have any of you seen Ace? My brother. He's always flying ahead of me when we go on adventures together, and he did it again this time around. So I think he got lost.

I'm sure we'll find him when the mission's over, but you know!!
It's not fair, I wanted to be the one who got ahead this time.

[He's so steeped in denial, it might hurt to hear. Sorry.]

Comments

audio; UN: marine01

[soru]

Not since we hit the forest.

[ this... doesn't really bode well. hell, ace's existence in oska didn't bode well. if the previously-dead were to up and disappear, what did that mean? was it expected?

was he really gone, or just on the lam? ]

Have you tried contacting him directly? If I'm not mistaken, I'm pretty sure you can do that with these things. Like baby den-den mushi.

[nishishi]

[Not since we hit the forest. Yeah, that seemed about right, even with Ace dancing ahead.

He pulls in his bottom lip a little, but keeps his expression cheerful.]

Directly?

No, Iunno how to do that. [Honestly, he doesn't.]

audio; un: okami

[whatshimadayou]

...Captain.

[He immediately knows that it's very possible that Ace is gone. For good. It seems that these people are cruel about reuniting family before ripping them apart, thus far.]

If I see him, I will let you know.

[nishishi]

Ace can get pretty competitive, so I think he just wants to get there to prove he's still better than me.

['We're two years older than you, we'll always win!', the echoed words of his brothers Ace and Sabo ring in his ears. Ha...]

Thanks, Hanzo.

voice;

[historiology]

I haven't seen him probably since you last did. But if I do, I'll let you know.

[It's...too soon to just assume he went home like Edna and Dezel, right? Sorey still wants to try and help if he can.]

[nishishi]

[Way too early. As in, even if you tried to tell him, he'd heap on denial until he hangs up on you, probably.]

Thanks, Sorey!

He's a pretty hard guy to miss. You've got a good set of eyes!

TEXT. UN: LOKI

[selfimage]

Got pix??

[ he just wants pics. ]

1/2

[nishishi]

[??????]

[nishishi]

[?????]

[Enjoy getting THIS over text, Loki.]

text | un: Sasaki

[ex_adept136]

I'll let you know if I spot anyone matching your picture.

How long has it been since you last saw him?

[nishishi]

hes got freckles an a tattoo on his back 2

so hes hard 2 miss

and i last saw him running across the chasm with his squidge

text | un: drdeath

[kikoku]

[This text comes a while later, after all the arguments and repeated denials that "Ace can't be gone!" Law isn't about to help with that. Arguing with Luffy isn't fun, stubborn as he is, and he can only think about the broken man he rescued in Marineford when he considers it.]

Are you by yourself right now?

[nishishi]

[Probably the shortest text Law will ever receive from the rubbery-bodied captain here, honestly. And while there's still no punctuation or proper capitalization, it's still a pretty clear tell.]

yeah

video; un: mccree

[flashbanging]

'Fraid I ain't seen'im. I'll keep a lookout, though.

[ Meantime ... ]

You all right?

[nishishi]

Thanks, McCree!

[He can count on this guy, too. He raises up his hands, showing off his bandages.]

Yeah, look! Hanzo patched me all up after our fight with the swamp monster. You were pretty awesome in that fight, too.

voice; un: green cyborg

[backthatup]

You've -- [ -- lost your brother. He doesn't finish the statement. Could it be that Ace died on this planet? Is it really that dangerous? ]

You've drawn an excellent picture of your brother. I will do what I can to search for him for you, Captain... and do what it is that I can for you. That was the deal between us, was it not?

[nishishi]

[It's really nice how both Shimada brothers call him Captain, and maybe he'd comment on it if he wasn't trying to keep calm about his brother having gone missing.

But Genji's voice is definitely a welcome addition here--especially with that reminder of their promise.]

Shishi. I'm glad you think it's good! [It's not, but he'll take every compliment about that anyway.] Thanks, Genji. It was part of our deal, huh. I knew I could count on you.

[Haha.]

video | username: olivia

[winces]

[ thinking back on it, olivia recalls seeing ace's squidge among those who trail behind them now. she bites down on her lip, keeping out the conclusion that immediately comes to mind. she's happy this isn't the text function, which might have betrayed that, however there's probably no hiding the expression on her face. ]

...it sounds like the two of you got into a lot of trouble together.

[ well. if he wants to live in denial, who is she to stop him? ]

[nishishi]

[He hadn't paid much attention to the straggling squidges--mostly because he could barely keep a good eye on his own, much less pay attention to any others.

Maybe that was a good thing. Otherwise he might have noticed Ace's own falling behind.]

Shishi... yeah, that's definitely true. Ace and me have always got in trouble, even when we were kids. Along with Sabo, too. [Haha, those were fun times.]

But it was always fun like that.

action

[soru]

[ sometime well after a very tense conversation, coby approaches. actually, it's more like he threads his way through the accumulation of travelers who've taken up shelter in the cave, stepping on toes and apologizing quietly yet profusely, but the end intention is the same.

he's well aware that he might not be top of the list of people luffy would want to see right now. he has accepted, in some small, nervous part of himself, that this might extend beyond 'right now' and into 'in the foreseeable future'. this small, nervous part of himself has been historically, notoriously, difficult to ignore for the better part of his life, but he has made leaps and bounds in managing to reduce it to white noise for periods at a time.

like now, for instance.

staring at the back of luffy's straw hat right now is, perhaps, the most daunting thing he's done thus far in his career. (and that's not counting trashtalking alvida to her face) doing what he's about to do feels like it's on par with looking akainu in the eye. but this isn't in the heat of battle, this isn't his morals screaming at the top of their lungs to be heard and sated. this is just him. just coby, with a desire to do something, directionless and strong fit to burn a hole in his gut. never mind that it is virtually to luffy's face.

never mind that numerous people are no doubt listening in, the straw hat crew included. never mind that he may never live it down come hell or high water.

back straight, arms at his sides in a parade rest, he begins to sing. his voice is clear and high, stuttering a little at first few bars before gaining in volume and certainty. foreign to luffy's pirate ears, no doubt, but the meaning behind it comes through just fine; a requiem. ]

[nishishi]

[He's been dealing with replies from people for a few hours now, and while most have responded and gone along with his denial or offering calming promises of 'we'll help you find him', it's still raw in his mind that he could very, very well be gone. He could be gone, and everyone's searching could be fruitless--only adding to the captain's denial that his brother was still very much of this world.

His stomach is already sinking, along with his appetite. It's something Sanji and Nami would doubtlessly notice later, but for now, he's merely sitting calmly with said Nakama, toying with his sketchpad and pencil, the really poorly drawn images he's made of his brother and his Whitebeard Pirates tattoo.

Singing is one of Luffy's favourite things to do--that much isn't really a mystery about the young pirate. So when he hears a voice he recognises start up--one that he's sang alongside-- of course he's going to perk up a little to listen. It's not... the traditional kind of singing he himself enjoys or even partakes in. It's slow, it's ... almost dark, really. But it's the lyrics that you don't have to think about when you listen to music.
The lyrics tell a story, and they send a message. And even if this is a song he hasn't heard before, he can at least understand what Coby's doing, quite suddenly.

"I must not fear, because you are here. I must not be timid, because my comrades wait for me."

He won't say a word until Coby's done, but when he is, he's going to pull his hat down a little over his eyes--hiding the tears already forming in the edges of them.]

...I've never heard that song before. ['Thank you'.]

action, 1/2

[diablejambe]

[You would think, what with having two years to think about something, Sanji would have some idea of what to say, what to do. You would think that he would have spent some of those two years apart coming up with a way to comfort Luffy, to let him know that even if Ace was gone, he still had nakama there with him. You would think he'd had some sort of plan when he stood in front of Ivankov, ready to rip the world apart to get back to his captain's side.

He didn't. He doesn't.

Sanji's not the best at things like this. At understanding and dealing with loss. Partly because he's never really been through it himself, and partly because the familial bonds he has aren't like the ones between Ace and Luffy. And, not for the first time, he finds himself wishing the marimo was here with them. Not because he wants the idiot stomping around and making a mess of the mission they're on, but because of what Zoro does for Luffy. As much as he hates to admit it, the swordsman is their captain's right hand for a reason.

Two years ago, Sanji would have gone to hell and back to be by Luffy's side, to kick the asses of the marines and try his damndest to lessen the pain he knew Luffy had to be feeling any way he could. But two years ago, there was no denying what had happened. The papers had spread the news like wildfire, the pictures were damning, the images of the battle at Marineford burned into the minds of anyone who looked at them and knew just what they really meant.

Now... now, Ace is gone. Gone to the point where he's not even responding to his little brother. His little brother who had seen him die once already. Ace is gone, and Luffy's in denial.

Just what the hell are he and Nami supposed to do about this?

Letting out one last, good stream of smoke, he decides it's time he stops working the situation over in his head and starts acting. The longer he lets Luffy sink into denial, the worse it will be when he can't keep ignoring the facts.

This will be painful. It will be horrible, gutwrenching, practically unbearable.

But just like Luffy has been there for every one of them. Just like Luffy's helped save their lives, their hearts, their dreams-- Sanji can finally be there in return.]

[diablejambe]

[It doesn't take long to find Luffy, in the end. He's made sure to keep close by since the while swamp monster thing. But when he does find his captain, Sanji's armed with food (the very, very last of the dried meat he'd packed back in Oska). It's not the feast he'd like to come armed with, but it's better than nothing.

He reaches up, pushing gently at Luffy's hat in greeting before offering the plate.]

Oi. Lunchtime, Captain.

un: swan

[sheriffing]

If I run into Ace, I'll contact you.
How long has it been since you've seen him?

[nishishi]

[Swan... what a pretty username.]

its been uh
since we crossed the chasm yea
he zipped right ahead of me and my crew

and then we havent seen him since

video | un: baaaan

[perma_banned]

They send folks on other missions all the time, from what I remember. I hope they send me somewhere with a lotta booze and fun stuff to do, myseeelf ♪.

[nishishi]

[Oh.

...OHHH! BAN, THIS IS A GREAT ANSWER! Suddenly he feels ten times as relieved. He looks it, too!]

You think they picked him up and sent him on a different mission??
That makes perfect sense--no wonder he's not answering! He can't, right? Haha!!

(Voice; UN: courtesy)

[stonebird]

(Denial is easy for her to hear. She has experienced more than her fair share of that emotion. Well, Sansa has, at least. Her stomach clenches with guilt, remorse and concern and after listening to his post all the way through, she decides she cannot remain silent.)

Can you tell me more about him? He sounds like he is very brave.

[nishishi]

[It's a voice he doesn't recognise, but it's one that he already feels comfortable with answering. Somehow, Sansa's voice reminds him a little of Vivi--and that's enough to get a smile out of him. Not that she'll see it.]

You bet he's brave. He's really strong, and he's made out of fire, too.

One time, he saved me from pirates all by himself. When he was nine! He fought two of them, by himself. Just with a steel pipe!

this is so late i'm so sorry i'm the worst ;;;; also action!!

[weatherscience]

[ Oh. Oh.

She has never been one to feel crushed by her own helplessness, hasn't felt this way since her arm was burning from stab wounds and the knife was a heavy weight on her hand and there was a hat on her head, a promise, the beginning of the kind of faith she never thought she'd feel, for anyone--

back then, Luffy saved her. No, not merely her; he saved her village, saved everything she'd been fighting for her whole life. He saved Belle-Mere's memory, a field of tangerines, a home. He did all of it because she asked him to... and she can't do anything to help him. She can't help, because she can't bring back the dead, and she can't bring back Ace.

The unfairness of it all is the most bitter pill to swallow. He was here, impossibly whole and alive; Luffy was here and had his brother back. ALASTAIR had given them both something painfully precious, only to take it away again. Nami still remembers how she felt, the gripping pain and urgency and the bone-deep knowledge of Luffy's suffering, the overwhelming need to be there, to just be there, to remind him he wasn't alone, never alone.

She knows, as she knew then, that it's not enough. But it is the only thing she has to give, and so, some time after the broadcast, she finds her captain, sits next to him in silence. ]

Luffy... [ She won't tell him how futile this effort to find Ace is, but she won't tell him empty platitudes, either. She's here, here if he wants to talk, here if he doesn't. A quiet reassurance that this time, at least, he has some of his nakama close to him. ]

omg youre not the worst i havent done tags in a week HAHAHAHA

[nishishi]

[He's had a long time to think about it. A long time in Luffy terms, at least. Between what his friends, new and old had said and talked to him about... it's becoming increasingly heavier on his head. That Ace might not be here anymore, that he's more than just lost.

It shows on his face when Nami sits with him, his expression a blank stare where there's usually a bright smile or a silly expression. Brown eyes wide and concerned, just as they had been that day that he'd asked what Nami wanted.

But this time, they were thoughts about the impossible.

'Impossible'. He always hated that word.]

You haven't had any lucky finding him, either?