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

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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.

[ wow, this is an embarrassing statement. how can sabo say something like this with a straight face and not get bothered by it? ]

...

You're right about that.

[ of course he means he feels the same way. but he doesn't say it in so many words. sabo said enough to cover it. ]

[ because he has no problem with just saying things like that. if it's the truth then there's nothing to be flustered about. ]

Oh? It looks like that hasn't changed; you still embarrass easily.

Shut it!

[ the protesting probably only makes it worse and he makes a huffy little sound. ]

I should have expected you to say something like that.

[ it definitely makes it worse but even if he hadn't sabo would have seen the truth. somethings certainly do not change, especially when it comes to proving a point. ]

Maybe.

Though it looks like I haven't been seeing things that weren't there.

Maybe you're still seeing things that aren't there.

[ yeah, he's not giving the best case for his argument, but then again, sabo was the one that had the most brains of the trio. and the one that was best with observing things.

but, surprisingly, he does soften a little. ]

But I always appreciated you being my friend and brother.

[ after all, he doesn't know how much longer this all is going to last. he doesn't want to miss this chance if it's the only one he has. don't expect it to last, though. ]

If I am then this is one of the more nicer things that weren't there.

[ what does he mean by this? what else could he mean by this honestly? but sabo won't further elaborate and instead will snort as he'll look up from the ground to where ace is laying. ]

...especially when I hear things like that. [ a moment's hesitation. ] So, you were happy?

[ ah.

of course he couldn't keep dodging that part, could he? he'd walked right back into it, in a way. of course sabo would want to hear more about that. and he deserved to hear it.

if only he had his hat he could adjust to hide his face some. he could honestly remain lying flat to somewhat keep his face hidden, but he props himself up on his elbows to face sabo straight on. ]

Yeah. It wasn't like I was thrilled to be dying or anything like that. But I... [ his words catch a moment and he has to swallow hard. it's hard, talking about this. being this vulnerable. ]

I was so incredibly grateful for someone like Luffy loving me like he did. That both my brothers cared so much about me. That you felt I deserved it.

[ with that, he drops back on the bed, arm draping over his eyes, trying to cover as much of his face as he can. there's a lot of emotions there and he's trying to hide himself again. ]

[ sabo doesn't say anything for a while and simply just stares at ace and really takes a good look at him. he's only seen ace through photos and he hadn't taken the time to study ace as an adult. eventually when he speaks, he does so in his casual carefree tone. ]

Still stupid, too.

[ then will proceed to plop himself down right next to ace on the bed, lying on his side as he gets a better—closer—look at his best friend a decade later. he tucks one arm under his head and uses it as a pillow while the other just rests in the space between them. ]

I'm not sorry for leaving you and Luffy that day. [ because his "father" would have surely allowed bluejam to kill them both as a means to punish him for his "poor behavior". besides, no one would have missed the two of them. no one important to his "father", anyway. ] ...but before the fire, I tried to get back to you both. They stopped me and wouldn't let me leave no matter what I did. Then afterwards, I couldn't stand being there any second longer and the only thing I thought was left for me was to escape the island altogether.

[ however, because of that... if he hadn't left that day and endured it just a bit longer until he could find a way to escape... would ace still have harbored those thoughts for as long as he had? ]

[ at the end of everything sabo says, he moves his arm away from his face to look at the other man. a face that's changed so much in a decade. a face he'd never thought he'd see again. ]

Luffy was devastated when all that happened. I told him he shouldn't cry so much.

[ as if he didn't scream his lungs out and cry for his lost brother. he went into mourning, too, but only did so alone. ]

I get why you did it, especially now. But it doesn't mean I wasn't upset about it.

[ sorry, but sabo is going to need to laugh at ace's remark because he can imagine it all too well. it wasn't that strange of a sight growing up with them. he'll weakly shake his head at ace before speaking. ]

Of course you did. That's he never thought of you as the nicer one.

[ a bit more seriously but still not losing the gentleness of his tone. ]

I've always been glad to have met you, Ace. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have made it as long as I have. [ then just before ace can get a word in he'll quickly add: ] And not just because you taught me how to take care of myself in the mountains.

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