dear_mun | on muse's bounty being released

Yeah... We promised we'd meet each other out there in the sea. You and Luffy may have lived past that already, but I haven't. It's not right I get to know what kind of man I become in the future just by asking about it!

Okay! I won't ask about myself anymore. [Ok, srs time over. Just look at that innocent smile he's throwing at you~] So you have to tell me your adventures, Ace! What kind of crazy stunts did you pull to get 550 million, you bastard?! [Besides being the son of the Pirate King, he means.]

(ooc: /sob, missed this one earlier... ;^; )

Damn right, Sabo. [He just grins. Finally. That really, really killed him. And then Sabo got on an even better topic.

ADVENTUUUUUUUUUURES.] Well, when I first started out, I was just kicking ass left and right. But after a while, I joined Whtebeard's crew! And hell, I think that in itself made my bounty go up. And they made me the second commander!

[And sadly that is all I know of what he did. :|]

[[ooc: it's all good!]]

Oi, there's not enough details! And there's not even much bragging! Tch, when'd you get so stingy... [How can he boast of you in his book with that little info, bro?

Still, excitable little boy is excitable, and not giving up that easily.] Well, whatever! Tell me everything next time. What about Whitebeard?! Is he as awesome as they said he is? Does he really have a cool beard?!

[At least this one Ace can tell him plenty about? :D]

[He just laughs.] Sorry, sorry, but my mun says we haven't gotten enough information on me as a pirate.

[And watch his face light up to that of a million watts.] Pops is the BEST! He's really strong, and he's got a Devil Fruit, too! One to make earthquakes! Pops is reaaaaally tall, too! He's probably three time my height! Yeah, his beard's pretty damn epic, too! And he drinks even more than Shanks, too! You could never win a drinking contest against him!

[Do you want him to tl;dr about how awesome his daddy is...]

E-earthquakes?!! He can make earthquakes?! And three times taller... [brb, looking up past your head, estimating...... whoa.] Man, and I thought he couldn't be cooler. I wish I could meet him too one day! So what else--

Wait, you said Shanks. You mean Luffy's Shanks? Have you met him?

[tl;dr later, bro, just got sidetracked. Nope, Sabo has no idea Shanks is a Yonkou like Whitebeard. idk why maybe your oyaji's more famous? >>;]

Yeah! He's the est pirate ever! [He just laughs.] Yeah, he's pretty damn big. It'd be great if you could meet him, too!

[He nods.] Yep, thanked him and everything for saving Luffy's ass way back when.

[So, remember that face Makino made when you asked her to teach you manners? Sabo's making that same expression, complete with the hand to chin motion.]

Oh...? That's surprising.

[................... why are you looking at him like that.]

Wh-what?

Nothing. It's just.... you really did that, huh?

[Oh, brother. You grew up so well. He's proud of you. Yep, still with that face~]

Course I did. Luffy's our little brother, why wouldn't I thank his savior?

[DID MAKINO TEACH YOU THAT, SERIOUSLY. ;;]

I didn't say you shouldn't have! It's actually good you did, it's the right thing for us to do. If I ever meet that red-haired captain, I'll probably do the same.

I'm just wondering how you came up with that idea in the first place. [Because you're a tsun, Ace. This is a bit OOC for you as far as Sabo knows. :3 ]

... I'm really grateful to have Luffy as a little brother. I wanted Shanks to know I was grateful for saving him and letting me meet him.

[EW SABO, YOU'RE MAKING HIM GET ALL MUSHY GUSHY AND TALK ABOUT EMOTIONS WHEN HE'S NOT SUPER DEPRESSED OR DRUNK.]

.... Looks like I really missed a lot. You've become so much closer through the years, huh. [There's a huge part of him that aches he's not there with them while growing up. That he'll never to, whether he stayed in the kingdom or continued sailing away.

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, HIS VERY PRESENCE HERE IS AS EMOTIONAL AS IT GETS. Yours too, actually. :|]

... heeeey. [Throws his arm around your tiny shoulders.] Doesn't make you any less important. Without you, we never would've become brothers in the first place!

[WELL, DUH. BUT HE DOESN'T SHOW IT. Oi, what's that mean.]

[Ugh, heavy. And hey he's not tiny, you're just overly tall.] Ah... That'd be pretty horrible, alright. You'd have killed each other from the start.

[It means they're both dead and shouldn't be even able to talk. They can be as emotional as they want. B[

And oh btw, he's now eying that crossed out S in your tattoo with ALL the interest.]

[No, you're tiny.] Hahahaha! We would have, huh? Remeber when we actually tried to? But we were both too chicken?

[Well, muns are magical, so there. >:|

And Ace is wishing he covered that tattoo. He glances at it. Think, think!. Sabo's smart, he can see through lies...] A kind of memorial for a good friend of mine.

[Just you wait 'til he got his growth spurt. >[] Hey, at least I have a reason for wanting him dead that time. You, on the other hand, tried to get him killed in the forest just for being an annoying brat!

[And evil too, sadly. ;; Because damn, even if his initial reaction is to tease, Sabo's connecting the dots here. His symbol permanently inked in Ace's arm (because what else could that crossed-out S be?) + strange expression + the word 'memorial' + vague answers about his future = ???]

....Must be a real special one then, to be remembered like that. [Clearly, the only way to deal with this is to believe they're talking about another person.]

[The growth spurt you'll never get? ZING.] Oi, I didn't know any better! Back then, he was just some annoying kid.

[He took a good long, hard look at Sabo. He knew. He knew he knew. Ace bit his lower lip, and just wrapped up Sabo in a hug. Shit, why did he have to die!? He deserved his freedom! He deserved to live!!]

You are!!! You're our brother, you're one of the most important people in our lives! There's no way in hell we'd just forget about you! [Okay, he's probably crying, but he doesn't care.]

[...You are one cruel human being. Especially given what's happening here. ;;

Sabo doesn't want to believe it. He wants to believe that symbol's someone else's, someone who was free, who lived long, enjoying life, and was lucky enough to have met Ace. But no, Ace has to confirm it. The hug alone is enough, but the tears? Those words? It kills what little hope Sabo has that this was all a misunderstanding.

He's not quite crying yet, but the face he's making might be all the more heart-breaking for it. There's a question he's desperate to ask, so he couldn't break down. Not yet. So Sabo shakes Ace's shoulders, trying to get him to look up.]

H-hey, Ace? You said I got my freedom. After the fire, you said I--- is... is this what you meant?

[sob I know I am.

His heart is breaking all over again. It's like he just got the news, except Sabo came back himself to say it. He trembles just a little and looks up, tears streaming down his face. This is one of the hardest things for him to have ever done.]

... yeah. You got your freedom, and no one can tell you or me or Luffy or anyone otherwise. You sailed away with a pirate flag on that ship, you were a pirate. Not a noble, a pirate.

I-It's today. I... That's the last thing I remember. T-that, hey, you can't mean I died there, right?! I... I just got away! I can't have...... [He might be trembling now, but he's still gripping Ace's shoulder. Which tightens as the realization dawns.

He's dead. In Ace's time, he's dead. There's no bounty to tell, because he's dead. No adventures, no book, no dream. He's never able to keep his promise to Ace and Luffy and meet them in the sea... If they ever escape this limbo, he'd never see them ever again because he's dead.

Finally, the tears come. And he clings to Ace so very tightly like the frightened child that he is.] N-no... I don't wanna die! I--I can't die yet! W-why do I have to....

I-I'm sorry... I'm so, so so sorry.

[This is killing him. He can't take it, he never wanted Sabo to die, he never should've gotten that! He should have sailed away. Ace is filled with a mix of emotions. Sadness for his pain, extreme anger at the people who took his brother's freedom away, and helplessness for not being able to do a damn thing about it.

But when Sabo cries that he doesn't want to die, Ace just loses it. And really can't stop the tears, no matter what he does. He just hugs and clings back to Sabo to keep him close, almost trying to prevent anything else from hurting him.] It's not FAIR! Goddammit, it's not fair at all! We didn't want you to die, but those shithead tenryuubito... I'm sorry... I'm sorry...

[Sorry, Ace. Sabo can't hear you over his own grief and hopelessness. He just curls up against his brother's chest and cries hard.

He's going to die. He's sailing right to his death. It's not actually the dying that crushes Sabo's heart. No, dying's part of the danger of setting out to the sea, Sabo knows that. It's the fact that he was actually free. He's finally free, to live and die on his own terms, and then it's snatched from him. He isn't even that far from High Town! There's so much he wants to do, so many plans for the future. And now it's gone, just like that? Without even doing a single thing, without even a chance to fight?

...He'll never see his brothers again. They are his greatest treasure, the most important people in his life. That he won't see them again pains him the most out of everything this horrible future paints for him.

He's going to die.]

[Ace isn't sure he can take this. He's never seen Sabo, who has always been so strong and so determined, just crumble like this. It's like a punch right in the gut, and he feels like it's his fault. For a lot of things. Dying in front of Luffy and breaking his promise, leaving all of his brothers and Pops so selfishly, and now shattering the little sliver of hope one of his most treasured brothers ever had. Even if Sabo came to Luceti and got extra time, the ocean was too small to really give him the freedom he wanted. He would still be trapped in a cage, like when he was a noble. It wasn't fucking fair! It's like fate kept taking every chance Sabo had at getting what he deserved.

He held Sabo closer, trying to do anything he could to just comfort him, in whatever way he could.]

Dammit, Sabo... I'd give the world if I could! I'd make you an ocean to sail on! I'd beat the shit out of anyone who tried to stop you! [So why couldn't he before?] Pl-please don't quit. You're alive now, you can see me and Luffy now, you can still live! There's gotta be some place around here with an ocean! And if not, we'll make one! Or force someone to make a game that will! I swear, I'm not gonna stop looking! [Does he sound desperate? Because he is.]

[It's only when Ace pulls him closer that Sabo remembers where exactly he is and who he's with. Ace. Despite the odds, he's here with his brother. Seeing how much Ace had grown, hearing about Luffy's adventures, actually seeing them alive and happy... things now lost to him forever back in their world. Somehow, through all the grief and fear he's feeling (would never stop feeling, if he's honest), Sabo recognizes it for what it is: a small mercy. One that he swears now he won't waste, especially if it is really nothing but borrowed time.

And besides, he hates that anguish and desperation he sees in Ace. Like this is somehow his fault and his responsibility to fix. Sabo might be powerless against dying, but knocking common sense back into a stubborn brother's head is something he could do. The least he could, if Sabo really caused this much grief to his brothers.

It's far from a comforting thought, but it's enough to make Sabo take a shuddering breath and squeeze his eyes shut to quell the tears. It takes a number of tries (because you don't get over your inevitable death that easily) but when he finally looks up, Ace might now glimpse that familiar brother he grew up with.]

H-huh, who's quitting, idiot? I'm here... aren't I? Like hell I'm going to pass up this second chance. [If his bravado's sometimes broken by sobs he couldn't yet stop, ignore it. He needs to get this out, for his stupid idiot bro.] ...This isn't your fault, Ace. You don't have to take the responsibility for this.

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/sob, it's too early for this...

f-fffff /pats ;;

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