theafflicted | 06

06 - week six

WEEK SIX

Sunday starts with more aches and pains than you might be used to. Florence patched people up after Saturday’s lesson, sure, but it’s not a complete cure - not to mention it doesn’t ease the sting of betrayal. Some classmates that you thought would cooperate wound up breaking your trust in the end, and this week will be interesting with the fallout.

It’s hard to say what this week will have in store otherwise. Things are changing, and it’s not clear what this means for all of you. On the bright side, however, the creatures and places you once knew from home have suddenly disappeared, so that's less that you need to worry about. There are new areas for you to look at as well.

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

FLORENCE / LORELEI

FULL NAV

(CODE)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ another day of "presents" from this place and ace is working to haul everything inside. he's not really bothering breaking up the boxes of who gets what. they can sort through it as they go, after all. ]

Wonder how much junk we got this time.

[ sometimes it's junk, but sometimes it's fun stuff. sometimes ... well. there are very important things. he grabs one of the boxes that's addressed to him and sits on the bed cross-legged.

also, surprise. he's starting to wear normal clothes more regularly this week. it's a mystery what shirt he has on, since he has the hoodie slipped over him, but he's wearing one of the pairs of jeans they grabbed. ]

[ almost another day and another dollar. or something like that, and honestly, the fact that ace is wearing a shirt (hoodie) on where sabo can't see the massive scar on his chest is comforting given how his sleep has been lately. (which is poor. very poor.) not that he'll mention it directly.

regardless, given the stuff that sabo got from this week's dice rolls..... he's just going to notice the sprayonnaise with the utmost tired look possible. he also doesn't miss the additional butt pillows. ]

What are we going to do with three of these now?

[ it's not like ace is oblivious to the negative feelings. and he, himself, hasn't exactly been having dreamless sleep... far from it.

he can't help but laugh at that reaction of what he's gotten there. ]

Have a pillow fight?

[ it's a good offer, right? other than use them as pillows or toss them out, there's not much else to offer for a suggestion.

he tosses the tortilla blanket behind him, no reason not to keep another blanket just in case and looking to see what else there is. ]

[ sometimes it really sucks to have a negativity feedback loop even if it's to a small degree. at least sabo keeps his woes bottled up?? verbally.... ]

I'm not against it for the pillows but I was referring to the other thing.

[ he says while pointing to the sprayonnaise directly only to notice the grapes which he will happily help himself to without even bothering to check with ace. there are plenty of grapes for the two of them. he'll also wander over to pick up the tortilla blanket and drape it over his shoulders. ]

I don't even know what I should do about them.

[ that's probably not a good thing that they're both keeping things so tight inside. but that's them! congrats, boys.

his grapes!!! but he doesn't protest it and is amused about the tortilla blanket. ]

Prank someone with them?

[ he pulls out some of the candy hearts and holds out "you rear" toward sabo. might as well continue with the ass jokes. ]

[ when it comes to his nightmares there's no reason to share!!! after all, ace could probably guess what kind of nightmares that sabo would have and sabo could probably guess about any kind of nightmares that ace could or would have. it is a cozy sabo lastname wrapped up in a blanket (almost) as he raises an eyebrow at the candy being held out to him.

at what point are these just subtle compliments of sabo's ass? ]

If you're ready to deal with a potential prank war, sure, but I'm not.

[ it's true, but they should maybe talk things out, regardless. they absolutely suck at that kind of thing still. and probably always will for certain things.

and maybe they are compliments. they could be. ]

Here I thought it would be fun.

[ but putting the candy aside, he pulls the sake cup and looks at it for a long moment before looking back at sabo. ]

A pair for the one we already have.

[ at least be more obvious about them if you're going to compliment his ass!!! but should they really talk about the nightmares that they have? sabo's gotten used to not talking about them because of how frequent they are for him normally..... looks into the camera. ]

I won't stop you if you decide to pull the pranks; I'm just giving you a warning.

[ sabo jests lightly up until ace shows him the red sake cup, and then he'll go silent for a bit as he walks closer to ace. ]

...and so it is. [ he doesn't take it from ace but he does look at it fondly. now, if there were three of them then they'd have the full set. ] Funny that it would find itself here.

[ it's fun to be vague with the compliments. maybe??? it might help them a little bit. who knows anymore. but he doesn't follow up with the joking line of thought once the attention is brought to the cup.

and while sabo doesn't come over to take it, ace shifts to reach out and take sabo's hand, placing it there so very gently. the hand that's holding sabo's doesn't move, staring directly at him. ]

Like it was meant to be.

[ his thumb gently brushes along sabo's hand, surprisingly very tender in his touch right now. but there is a certain sense of fondness behind his touch and gaze. ]

[ the sudden tenderness is hard for sabo to discern the reasoning for it. it's not unwelcomed, and he doesn't look away from ace, but it just feels a bit weird to be treated in such a way. then again it does bring up memories that are much more welcomed than the ones that have been plaguing his dreams.

sabo's expression is pleasant as it normally always is as he responds. ]

We're still missing one cup.

[ and the last person to share another drink with. he doesn't deny that it wouldn't be nice to have the opportunity to do one more toast but it wouldn't be right without luffy. ]

[ the cups brought up a lot of emotion and he's trying to get better at expressing this kind of thing. maybe it's a little off character, but it's sabo. they're alone in their room. he can show it once and a while. ]

We are. It's pretty unfortunate. I wonder what kind of trouble Luffy would make here.

[ he really would love to see luffy again. though, admittedly, it has been nice to be able to catch up with sabo one on one.

and since the cup has been delivered to sabo's hand, he shoots a smile before shifting away to start going through the items again. ]

More than I'd want to imagine. [ sabo keeps admiring the cup in his hand for a moment longer before walking to his desk to put it down for safe keeping. ] I'm not sure that Lorelei would have had enough patience to deal with him and us. I'd also feel bad for whoever would have ended up being his partner.

[ ... ]

Or maybe they would be grateful.

[ since luffy is a much more positive person and optimistic to an idiotic degree unlike the two of them here. sure sabo's confident and keeps things casual as much as he can, but he always has a foot behind him to get a head start running when needed. ]

[ he laughs about that assessment. sabo's probably right about all of that. ]

I think Luffy would complain about not being paired up with us, too.

[ would it do anything? probably not, but he'd probably harass those in charge.

he sifts through a few more random items and comes across a piece of paper. he doesn't remark on it at first, letting the other conversation linger. ]

[ sabo finds himself chuckling as he imagines luffy complaining about not being partnered up with him or ace. he takes a moment to wonder who would luffy want to be partnered with the most... his gut says ace if only because luffy has always clung to him.

not that sabo could blame him. ]

He might but he would get over it after a while. Luffy's like that.

[ red sake cup settled, sabo will make his way back to ace's side with the tortilla blanket still wrapped around him, of course. ]

What else did you find in there?

Yeah, you're right about that.

[ while ace undoubtedly knows he's dead, seeing it written out on his wanted posted is a bit of a jarring experience. he holds the sheet out toward sabo so that he can see what it is. ]

Guessing this must be yours.

[ it's not so much of a question or anything. just one of those statements of the obvious. it couldn't be anyone else's here, after all. ]

[ there...could have been a little more finesse before he was handed the sheet of paper but savo takes it easily enough. he doesn't get a proper look at it until he holds it in his hands. ]

Mine?

[ ah. ]

Oh. Yeah. It is.

[ perhaps it's a little unhealthy to have kept the wanted poster with him, or at least this version, but not having it at all would have been unfair as well. he had luffy's and he would have ace's.

but his feelings aren't as important to him as how ace was taking it. ]

...do you want me to put it away somewhere?

[ sorry..? but ace keeps his eyes on sabo to see what kind of reaction he has at seeing this again. but it seems like sabo has more interest in how he feels about this thing.

honestly, it's not the worst thing he's experienced since he's gotten here. reliving the memory was a lot more visceral than seeing this. he thinks about the question before he shakes his head a bit. ]

It's not like it's news to me. [ but hm. ] Do you keep that thing around normally?

[ sabo's reaction is muted and controlled. perhaps a bit practiced in how calm and collected he comes off with his smile. (albeit extremely tired one.) ]

I thought I would at least ask since I'm not sure what you would think about the reminder.

[ he looks back to the wanted poster. ]

But I do. I keep it in my room along with Luffy's. [ he'll slowly start to fold it up to later store somewhere. ] It's not like I have any any other photos of you.

[ at least, that would be the case back home. it's much easier to have a wanted poster than dig through old newspapers. ...less obsessive too. as for how things are currently...it's pending if they might have taken any here with the polaroid camera that they were blessed with. ]

I already have a constant reminder.

[ and even if he's been better about wearing shirts lately, for him, it's always there and always a reminder. it's not something he can just stuff into a drawer. he knows that even if he's not wearing his shirt, the tattoo he wears with pride is mangled and barely there anymore. so, yeah. he should be hiding that scarring more for the people around him. but it doesn't mean that he doesn't think about why he's wearing his shirt.

so, really, the wanted poster is only a bit more to add on as a reminder to it all. ]

That makes sense. That'd be the easiest way.

[ not the only way, but the easiest. ]

You do, and I think I like your's better. I can almost see the jolly roger I came up with on your wanted poster.

[ had ace's arm be lowered just a tad more or the angle changed ever slightly the struck through "s" would also be right in the center. and again, don't think sabo hasn't been noticing how ace has been wearing shirts and the clothes that they (he) picked out in frequency. honestly, he's a bit wary to bring it up. ]

Though I also have your fruit now and that is something that no one will be able to take from me without a fight.

[ well, not without killing him but that's an extreme and something that sabo isn't planning on doing any time soon. he doesn't have a say in the matter as his work doesn't keep him remotely safe but that was also fine. ]

Really?

[ it's a little strange to hear, but it is what it is. as for the clothes, maybe it's a combination of being considerate and also to actually use the clothes sabo bothered to pick out. ... and another reason, but that shall remain unmentioned. ]

That's true. I'm really lucky it ended up with you.

[ he'd hate to think what would have happened if it ended up in the wrong hands. it would have been something that tormented him to know. this way, he can rest at ease. ]

If it wasn't going to be me, then Luffy would have kept it safe. He was also after it when I arrived.

[ just another reminder of what he had said once before. luffy was after the fruit after just having been there in the right time and place whereas sabo had been a bit more deliberate in tracking it down. ]

But what were you shocked about?

[ sabo said a lot of things here and he's not sure which part that ace is referring to with his "really". he could assume that it was about the jolly roger but at the same time it could have been something else. ]

True. It's good both of you were there to make sure it would be safe.

[ it's just that concern, regardless. if it hadn't ended up there. and who else might have gotten it. but that's not important. it's not like he's going to obsess over the "what if" considering it didn't happen. sabo has it and that's what matters. ]

Not really shocked, but hearing you saying you prefer mine.

[ and the part about having the reminder was more about the scarring, that it's a reminder of his death than anything. including the part on his chest. ]

[ oh.

...but. ]

Why wouldn't I? [ it's a rhetorical question, really. he doesn't expect ace to answer it because the answer is right there. it's something that he came up with as a child and something that ace permanently inked into his skin. something that would be there forever especially after he ate his devil fruit.

and in a way to add a bit of levity to the moment, sabo will place a hand on where he knows the tattoo to be and give ace a bit of a sly look. ] In a way, does that also mean that I have a stake on you? Pirates only put those things on they own, right?

[ it's an obvious joke, of course, since ace also had (has) the tattoo honoring whitebeard on his back. something that he wore much more prominently than the modest jolly roger. not to mention, sabo isn't a pirate. he's a revolutionary. ]

[ he's about to say something and that question catches him completely off guard and he has no idea how to respond at first. sabo... owning him? normally that'd be a terrible thought, given slaves and the likes, but also he made a very fair point about the jolly roger. normally, he might come back with a snappy response, but he considers what sabo is asking here. ]

Is that what you want? To own me?

[ with things that have been mentioned to him, and other things, he knows there could be deeper meaning to it. and he wants to see how exactly sabo responds to this, in return.

but... he doesn't seem put off by what he said. ]

closed to sabo

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