PC: ACE 💀

[resumed]

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[selfimmolation]

... For about seven years, the closest thing I had to a friend was Luffy. [ ace says it lightly, glancing at the sabogotchi himself ] I had no real idea or plan on how I was going to get a crew, but I ended up with a lot of people willing to throw their lot in with me somehow. Sometimes you just gotta try and find the right people for your brand of crazy.

[ that last part is partially a joke. he doesn't know how to talk around the fact that getting friends means you can lose them too when he is the friend nico is losing right now. ]

[resumed]

[ it's a fact that they're both painfully aware of and a fact neither of them can bring themselves to talk about because they're people who have experienced a kind of loss you can't always recover from. not really. so he chooses to focus on the other things, still holding sabogotchi so ace can see him. ]

Yeah, well...Jason wanted me to try, and Will had been arguing with me to stay and I did. Between the two of them I think my entire life changed last summer. For the better, obviously, but sometimes...you know how it is. You find something good, and you kind of can't believe it's something just for you or that...[ "or that you deserve it." ]

Sometimes it's easier to believe it than other times.

[selfimmolation]

... Yeah. Sometimes you just... keep waiting for someone to pull the rug out from under you.

[ it was sort of that, for him, with the whitebeards, but he doesn't think he needs to specify, right now. ]

But what I'm getting is you should listen to Will more often. [ and this time it's definitely teasing ]

[resumed]

[ that does get him to laugh a little. ]

Don't let him hear you say that. He'd agree. [ like. yes? ] ...but he's made things easier to believe, so maybe you're onto something. Less like everything's going to fall apart right away all the time.

[selfimmolation]

... Yeah, well... He's right about that, you know.

[ it probably feels like an insane thing to say, when they're talking with ace behind bars. ]

[resumed]

[ he doesn't verbally reply, but he grips ace's hand a little tighter anyway as if to say "well, not really, but i get why you're saying this." ]

Yeah. I mean I think I agree with what you said earlier. You guys have been the best part of being stuck here. Even when things started getting bad, it...helped. Knowing there were other people to count on.

[ which is just another reason this sucks, but you know. ]

[selfimmolation]

... You've still got each other. All of you.

[ there are other people you can count on. he gets that it's unfair to say, after both he and reigen will-- but they might be losing people but they're not going to be alone. ]

[resumed]

[ ...yeah. ]

We're not leaving you behind. So don't even think about that.

[selfimmolation]

[ ah. ]

... Yeah, I know you'll try if there's a chance. [ but it'd be impossible to march to his death if he's keeping his hopes up, so. ]

[resumed]

[ ...yeah. that's fair. ]

I'm gonna fight the moon. As soon as I get close enough, it's over for it.

[selfimmolation]

Yeah? [ he sounds so amused, but also like he completely believes nico there ] Kick its ass double for me.

[resumed]

Definitely. [ he is so confident about this? ] I still have my sword and I've been training. I'm not going to let it get away.

[selfimmolation]

I never doubted that for a second.

[resumed]

[ yeah!! fight the moon!!

but he goes quiet after a second of that bravado. ]

...any other requests I should take into consideration?

[selfimmolation]

...

[ it's ace's turn to kind of squeeze nico's hand ]

If I tell you to take care of yourself, are you gonna listen?

[resumed]

[ he allows this, if only because he doesn't know how to answer that question honestly. ]

...I have other people I have to look after. You know that as well as I do. [ will. nimona. the rest of the jailbreakers. they're his responsibility just as much as anyone else's. ]

[selfimmolation]

That's what I figured you'd say. [ he doesn't think he's actually allowed to make it a request, all things considered, because it's his fault in the first place nico's finding himself with that much trouble. ] ... I was okay dying the first time because I knew Luffy's crew would take care of him.

[ he maybe shouldn't admit that but. yknow. whatever. ]

[resumed]

[ he doesn't like that, but he also understands. and maybe it's a little fucked up to say: ]

I think in the end Bianca was hoping for that for me. And it's why she was okay sacrificing herself. [ it just didn't work because nico reacted poorly and everything came crashing down and he ran away. and nobody thought to look for him until they realized he could be used against them for kronos's army. or at least that's what he figures enough. ]

...though I imagine it does make it a little less painful when you know the people you're leaving behind are going to be in good hands. [ and maybe that's what he's trying to do. or he's trying to distract how much it's going to hurt watching him die tomorrow. one of the two. ]

[selfimmolation]

Probably. [ maybe it's a terrible thing to say, but it's what he figures, too. and for that... ]

...Yeah, kinda. I know you guys will be, too. [ ... hm: ] With Luffy, it's... something Sabo asked me to do. He sent me a letter, before leaving. I only got it after he died.

[resumed]

...hence the reason you'd want to go back when I figure things out. Yeah, I get that. [ it's soft and it's thoughtful and he really does actually understand why ace has his attachments to his brothers. sometimes you have ghosts that never really go away. he thinks about ace receiving a letter after sabo died and he thinks about receiving a figurine he probably would've once coveted after bianca died and the parallels aren't lost on him. things you receive out of love that kind of chase you until you die.

or maybe he's dramatic. he's probably dramatic. ]

You know you did everything you could, right?

[selfimmolation]

I tried, but I probably didn't. [ he says it softly, but it's not really regretful, just sort of knowing. ] It's alright. I was never trying to be more than just good enough to... anyway. I think I had a point, but I got distracted.

[ it's wry. his brain is still half-soup. it's fine. ]

[resumed]

[ there's a soft laugh because yeah. he's been there. ]

I think I got your point, so it's okay. I'm still gonna counter it though that you did more than just good enough because I think I know you better than you think by now.

[selfimmolation]

... You think?

[ it's not so much dubious as curious and a little unsure ]

[resumed]

Sure. You're not exactly a difficult person to read most of the time, Ace. And the stories you did tell us kind of say enough.

[selfimmolation]

Pretty sure you said I understated how bad I was as a kid earlier this week.