theafflicted | 00

00 - prologue

PROLOGUE

It doesn't matter where you are or what you're doing – something strange begins to happen. There's a sudden burning sensation that wraps around your right wrist and part of your forearm. If you glance at the affected area, you'll find that it's...glowing. The glow is pale blue, and it's so bright that it hurts to look at. The burn itself isn't so painful that you feel like keeling over just yet, but it does hurt nevertheless.

But before you have time to try to soothe the pain, you start to feel lightheaded, dizzy. Perhaps some of you may attribute this to any injuries you may currently be sustaining. For those who were previously unscathed, however, there's quite possibly no explanation for this other than the sudden appearance of the mysterious burn on your arm.

There is no time to mull it over, though, because it is the last thing that you see before the world suddenly fades to black.

-----

When you regain your senses, your vision is blurry; but when it starts to even out and you survey your surroundings, you find yourself sitting in a rather uncomfortable chair. Looking around you’ll see rows and rows of chairs, all facing the same way towards a desk, a podium, and an empty wall. A projector hangs from the ceiling and the lighting is bright and artificial... For some of you, it might be reminiscent of a college lecture hall. For others, you might have never seen anything like this before.

Your wrist, by the way, feels perfectly fine...though there’s now some kind of strange marking on it. It looks like a scar of some sort, and if you choose to touch it, it doesn’t feel inflamed or damaged in any way...but that doesn’t mean you don’t experience any pain. Perhaps the last thing some of you remember is a hard-fought battle, and the aches from your injuries still linger; some of you might not even remember getting hurt, and yet, your body aches like it has; for the lucky ones who feel fine, well. Pray that it lasts for a little while longer.

Because the moment someone gets hurt – emotionally or physically – there’s a small chance you’ll feel it, too. Where and who and what it’s coming from, though, is on you to figure out.

In front of you on the desk is some kind of device – a tablet, for those of you who are familiar. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be capable of doing much of anything right now, other than take photos and videos with the Camera app. There's also a translating app for those of you who need help reading some of the text around campus, as it is all in English. (Verbally, however, you can understand everyone in your own language. Tablets are also in characters' native languages.) It seems to be incredibly durable and hard to break, but you may want to be careful with it regardless.

Something shifts in your pocket (or...in your socks/shoe/what have you, if pockets aren't a thing) as you move around. Should you reach in and feel for it, you’ll find some kind of card – those who are familiar with modern technology will recognize that this is some kind of card you need to swipe. It has your name and a photo of you on one side, and the back of the card has the word "KEYCARD" on it.

There are also other people here, scattered throughout this mysterious classroom you’re in. In fact, there’re a bunch of you — 29 others, to be exact.

And now... you’re free to do whatever you want. Mostly anything, at least, given that once you step outside and explore, you’ll notice an ominous fog behind the various buildings within view. Still, this is a good time to get your bearings, check on what you have - and don’t have - and talk to the people around you until orientation starts.

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( OOC: Welcome to your Intro Log! The partner system is in effect for the Intro Log, meaning that yes, pain share is happening! For some notes regarding the partner system, your character will not know who their partner is upon arrival. It’s entirely possible that they find out now if their partner gets or is already injured, or if they can pick up on their mood. Otherwise, they’ll find out later today...!

Anyone who tries to leave campus grounds will have to enter through the fog, but no matter what, they will mysteriously wind up back onto campus grounds. And for clarification, the keycards are what characters need to gain access to their dorms!

Finally, we will have an NPC Reveal at 6pm EST today! )

FULL NAV

(CODE)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ well sorry for being a nerd?? there's nothing wrong with having brains and brawn you know. some people find it highly desirable. ...but sure, let sabo be a good malewife and have retrieved ace's tablet as well with everything else that he was already doing. he might as well have!!!!

they sure did opt to finding a place more private to talk and sabo busted his ass for it so pardon him if he doesn't immediately jump to ace's invitation. ]

You want to go out again already? I would have thought you'd want to talk a bit more.

[ what a lovely malewife he has.

at the comment of talk, ace stands back up straight and stretches out. he walks back over to the bed and sits down to look at sabo. ]

Sure, I'd love to hear about what you've been up to before we explore the area.

[ it's so strange to think about that. about the letter. about everything. he cried his eyes out, even if he gave luffy hell about crying. not that he would tell anyone about it. ]

[ sabo will stay seated in his chair but just turn more towards ace. there's still the playful, light air from just moments ago about him but he also knows that he still isn't sure where its safe to step. ]

Where would you like me to begin? Any questions you'd want me to answer first?

Why not start from the beginning?

[ the beginning being what he thought was the end, of course. sabo's a smart guy, he should know what he means.

he still has a bit of a smile on his face, considering the fact that it wasn't really the end of the other man, despite what he thought. ]

[ he gives a nod because, well, he expected it. ]

The Revolutionary Army saved me on that day. I don't know why they were there when they were or anything about that but they rescued me and saved my life. However even though my life was saved it didn't mean nothing had happened.

[ sabo doesn't bring attention to the scar on his face but it's really hard not to have noticed it by now...no matter how much he does try to subtly hide it with his hair. there was no way that he would have been gotten away with his life and unharmed after all. ]

I was told that they had planned to return me but I refused to want to go back; I asked them to take me with them. At the time, I couldn't remember anything, not even my name, but I knew that I didn't want to return to my parents. I'm not sure what all I said at that time but it was enough for them to keep me.

[ so they kept him and thus sabo became a revolutionary. ]

[ that explains... a lot. why he wouldn't have been there that day. why he didn't come back to them immediately. that instinct to not want to return to his home and his parents... that's understandable. awful, but understandable. ]

So you've been working with them all these years? Must be pretty interesting.

[ sabo snorts.

he isn't sure if he wants to call it "interesting" work given the kind of things he's done over the years. still, he's glad that ace took the reason for why he didn't immediately return to him and luffy well. it wasn't as though he wanted to stay away from them...he just couldn't remember. there's no reason for him to bemoan how badly he wished he could have been there. ]

It's been a lot of work. I'm not sure if it's been as exciting as a life as a pirate.

[ it's a lot to digest and ace is more in the "taking it in" mode than anything. a lot to process, so he might as well not think much about it. easier that way. hopefully sabo wouldn't be lying to him after all these years.

but at that last statement, he laughs. ]

Nothing beats being a pirate.

[ that's a given. that's why they wanted to all run off and sail the world with that freedom, after all. of course, there were downsides... betrayal being the top of the list for him. ]

Edited 2022-05-24 19:46 (UTC)

[ yeah... well...

sabo will take a moment before he responds properly here. luffy was still off going about doing his own thing with wanting to be the pirate king; ace had "failed" as a pirate captain on his own but found something in its place. or, well, that's what sabo hoped.

as for him? the one who was first to leave and so desperately wanted to taste freedom? ]

I don't know about that. What I'm doing with the Revolutionary Army is important to me. It's important to those who we've helped.

[ he listens to that, taking in what he says.

their collective dream... things changed from that route they'd planned on taking. but if sabo found meaning in what he wanted to do, then that's what was most important. ]

Sounds like it fits you. It's good they were the ones that saved you.

Does it?

[ the public opinion never bothered him since the end goal was always what was most important to him in the end but— ]

Here I would have thought you'd be a bit more disappointed in me. Luffy didn't question it but that's also because he never cared about things like that.

[ hmmmm. now that's a bit complicated. ]

Maybe disappointed that we couldn't live our dreams together.

[ he hooks his arms behind his head and stares up at the ceiling. there were so many things they wanted to do. the dream of being a pirate together on the seas.

but should he be disappointed that sabo seems to have found a purpose? that he seems determined? that's a bit more complicated.

maybe the biggest disappointment is that he never knew. that he always believed sabo was dead all these years. ]

Almost sounds like you want me getting mad at you about all this. Isn't the most important thing that you're alive?

[ as ace reclines, sabo looks to the ground and smiles it slightly. he didn't have any expectations going into the conversation since, well, it wasn't as though it was a scenario he seriously considered. it's not like people have the chance to talk to the dead.

...still. ]

No, I always got the impression that you'd be more angry with me if I didn't keep doing that. Living, that is.

[ living and not just being alive.

yet it doesn't mean he isn't filled with guilt and regret for things he wasn't able to do. some of those things that he has put aside for the sake of something bigger than his dream. even if the numerous "what if" scenarios plague him and keep him up at night, the voices of those who don't dare to dream of freedom keep him focused. ]

However, since I can't live out my dream yet, I'm going to make sure that Luffy will be able to see his through.

You're right about that. You made it out of there.

[ sabo kept going, even without his memories. found a purpose. found a reason to keep going and fighting. the fact that he also considers the dream still a possibility gives him a bit of hope, too. carry on where he, himself, cannot. ]

I'll be able to rest easier knowing he's got you at his back.

[ at least he'll have one brother. at least in death he can be "at peace" so to speak. he had his answer, he knows luffy isn't alone. that's enough for him. it has to be enough for him, it's not like he has any other choice. ]

[ hmm. ]

It's what a big brother should do, right?

[ he would say more about how it was more of a benefit to him than just luffy. ...honestly had he regained his memory only to realize that both of his brothers had died while he was unable to do anything for them—

well, that isn't a timeline he needs to worry about. the one he lives in is enough. ]

It also sounds like since I left, you warmed up to Luffy quite a bit. I bet that must have made him really happy.

[ since, well, given the last time he saw them it seemed far more of a one sided affair. ]

You're right. That's the big brother's job.

[ a job he failed to do. but it is a relief that luffy isn't alone now. that he has one of them left. not that luffy didn't have a crew that he was building, but them being sworn brothers... it's a little different. ]

We had some ups and downs, but yeah... I couldn't just go ignoring him.

[ it was far, far more than that. the depths of what luffy became to him. well. he doesn't go into that right here right now. but the smile he has on gets a touch of sadness to it. ]

There were a lot of times where we'd get wrapped up in things and expect you to be right there with us. Luffy would accidentally call out your name when I was picking on him. Things like that.

[ not sure what ace would have expected from sabo after hearing this information, but he will keep focusing his attention down at the ground—his boots are unevenly scuffed—as he tries to think of something he could say to that. it's all too easy to imagine and the mental imagery makes him happy as it does sad.

(the slips of his name. the two of them looking to the side expectantly to get his attention for something.)

sabo was always confident that ace would properly accept luffy and eventually open up to him, but seemed like his departure was the catalyst in term of speeding up that process. after all, who knows how stubborn ace would have been if sabo was always there to play mediator. ]

I see.

[ a small laugh. ]

I'm still glad that you two were able to become closer. He was always fond of you—even if he called me the nicer one.

You were the nicer one. Always taking his side.

[ there isn't a drop of bitterness in his voice. that's just how it was. how they played. he was the ""tough"" guy between the three of them and had to keep up that front. but luffy was luffy and managed to worm his way into his heart. ]

No wonder he was such a crybaby with you acting that way.

[ not really. since luffy was like that well before the two of them got involved in his life. but he can rip at sabo for it anyway. ]

[ another soft laugh. ]

I wasn't always taking his side; it just seemed that way to you.

[ there is nothing wrong with positive reinforcement and offering patience where it was due. sure they were all kids—kids who were allowed to be wild in the most literal sense of the word—but sabo was always a bit more emotionally aware. though speaking of being aware... ]

Or maybe you disliked it so much because you were actually jealous that I was praising someone other than you?

Why would I be jealous of something like that?

[ clearly that isn't something that would bother him. how dare sabo even suggest that to him. he didn't need the other boy's praise at the time. obviously. ]

Luffy's the one that needed it more than me.

[ liar. ]

[ and yet he just joked about how he babied luffy and how he favored luffy's side. sure, like sabo will believe this. he definitely remembers how they were as children—the difference treatment he'd get. of course, that was when they were children and he won't expect things to be the same as adults. ]

If that's how you want to remember things.

How was it for you, then? If you're saying I'm remembering it wrong.

[ he knows that before luffy came along (and even for a while after luffy arrived), he only had sabo around. it was just the two of them. their hoarding to get out of there. the plans for the future. it's not that luffy was any less of a brother to them, but it was the two of them from the start. that had a special meaning to it. and he knows it deep down. ]

I remember an Ace who would get upset when I didn't always take his side except that he would also pretend to not be upset or that it didn't matter.

[ tsundere. it's okay to not want to have to "share" your very first and closest friend with someone who was shoved upon you by a man who would come and go in your life. ]

One that would have a bit difficulty showing a certain side of himself. [ except that's when they were children and he doesn't know the ace in front of him as well. what is five years verses the decade and some that they were apart? ] But maybe you're passed that now.

[ ace can't help but huff a little at those words. terrible, hearing that from sabo. ]

It didn't upset me that much.

[ yeah. still having some of the same habits of denying things about how he feels. tsundere, indeed. ]

Maybe you're seeing something that's not there.

[ sabo probably isn't the person he should say that to, considering how smart he's always been. great at figuring things out and reading things. this is probably answer enough for sabo to realize he still keeps a side to himself. that even if he got an answer in the end, he never had time to fully digest it. ]

But it was just enough for you to sulk afterwards.

[ if sabo was the type or person to call it cute...

regardless, he's certain of what he saw and what he observed during their time together. he's also fairly confident that he'll still be able to see through ace even after so many years. ]

It's okay, Ace; you'll always be the first person I called my friend—my brother. It's not a bond that can be easily broken.

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