34 ✿ [Voice]

[bokuwadoctaaa]

Um... I guess, everyone knows we're all back from the boat trip.

It was... [His voice trails off and he just stops before changing the subject. He doesn't really feel like talking about everything right now. Zombienapping, Umi disappearing all of sudden, Green dying, and now Franky is gone.Weather Hardy is a good boat. I hope we can sail on her

Comments

[baratiesbest]

[...]

She is a good ship, isn't she.

[bokuwadoctaaa]

Uh-huh. I-It didn't get badly damaged when we met that seacat, even when we didn't have the best things to make it, so we did a really good job with it, right? It fits with the name she has. Franky thought so.

It would have been cool, to have a rocket ship.

[He would otherwise be asking how and why they found a seacat, or being a little more pouty about not having a rocket ship, but all he does is... sound sad.]

[baratiesbest]

In this place? She's a damn miracle ship, that one. With or without rockets.

[Chopper's not the only one who sounds blue. This was one bittersweet trip. Heavy on the bitter side.]

1/2

[bokuwadoctaaa]

All our ships have been like that. We've had good luck with them. But, Sunny could shoot beams.

This adventure wasn't very good.

[There's some hesitation and worry in his voice now, more-so than before, just because he's not used to that sad tone of voice from Sanji. Whoa, wait, you can't sound sad! Chopper isn't good at this cheering-up stuff. You guys are the best at that, not him.]

[bokuwadoctaaa]

[So, time for little brother to take some initiative for once.]

Sanji!

[baratiesbest]

Yeah... it was pretty shitty.

[Between the whole thing with Green and Umi disappearing he's just not sure what to do with himself. And now Franky too? Worst excursion ever which is saying a lot - he didn't even make it out of the previous two alive.

He's just a little bit startled by that sudden burst of initiative and it's probably obvious that he wasn't paying as much attention to the conversation as he normally would've. ]

Hah? What is it?

1/2

[bokuwadoctaaa]

[Chopper pauses, trying to figure out what exactly to say. Of course he's not exactly sure if he'll be able to do this, since even he's still overwhelmed over everything that happened during the trip. There's no harm in trying though, as clumsy as his efforts might be.]

You know, all the friends here, and all the new nakama we've made, I'm really glad we met them all. They've all gotta go home though, even us. We don't know when it happens but when it does, we can't be sad about it! We'll miss them a lot and sometimes I kind of wonder if it's okay to make friends with people we might not ever see again, but that shouldn't ever matter!

I like the memories I have here. They're not all good memories, but the ones that are, those are important to me. They're important to everyone, even you! Even if they won't stay with us, I like feeling like this and knowing these people, no matter how long or short a time it is... no matter if... no matter...

[bokuwadoctaaa]

[But before he can finish, the communicator turns off. Mostly because he got so caught up in what he was saying that he doesn't want you to hear him wibbling over his own words.

Sorry Sanji, he tried. He really did. Maybe if you respond he'll snap out of it?]

1/2 /tl;dr's

[baratiesbest]

[He's quiet for a good long while. Of course he knows this, it's the exact same thing they've been telling themselves for all these months. The bonds they make here are worth just as much as the ones they forge back home and there's always a goodbye at the end. The Grand Line is no different. They've left people behind countless of times and even though it's painful it's also the way things need to be.

You can't turn around once you've started walking. There's no road back to where you came from. The ones you leave behind will remain there, even more so here where there's worlds separating them instead of oceans.

He knows all this, intimitely. It's not the first time he's repeated the mantra "they're better at home" and for once he knows that this is true - but that only makes it hurt more. Franky he'll see again, he's not worried about that and even though a missing nakama always leaves you with a hole in your heart it'll be fine.

But herShe belongs there, in Tokyo. She's happy there, away from all this, safe with her friends.

[baratiesbest]

[But this is not shounen hero behaviour. Even less so since Chopper so obviously picked up on his brooding and that in itself is just a little bit embarrassing. They're Straw Hats for heaven's sake, always bouncing back from disaster as if the whole clan was made of rubber.

So he picks himself up. Takes on a more confident tone, a little more life even though it's still too fresh to complete the illusion of normalcy.]

Oi oi... of course it's worth it. The memories we make here and the people we meet... it's not that different from back home, is it? We just don't know how much time we get but that's no excuse to not make the most of it.

And who knows. (...) Some of them we might get to see again.

1/3 /counter-attacks with tl;dr AND triple combo. OH SNAP

[bokuwadoctaaa]

[Even with all the experiences he's had while being a Straw Hat, there's still certain things that Chopper can't catch on to, and so there was never any way for him to understand just how badly Sanji was affected by Umi leaving, or even how Zoro might feel about it, though he was always better at hiding that kind of stuff. To Chopper, it was just like another family member leaving, another part of their nakama. Anything more than that was just way too foreign to him.

But it didn't matter. Franky was gone, and Umi was gone. They themselves had all left before, some more than others, but they'd come back. It got more and more complicated to know just how to react to all these disappearances and reunions, but there was no way they could just stay depressed about it forever. No, they didn't have time to dwell on those things.]

[bokuwadoctaaa]

[Chopper took a deep breath, rubbing furiously at his face to get rid of what tears had escaped his eyes and turned the communicator back on.]

I'd like to see them all again, even just one more time. If I could, I'd really like that. But, being like this is okay. Just these memories is okay. I'd rather have them now then not have them at all. Even if I forget, when I go back home and I gotta wait for everyone again...

[That island. Those birds and natives and tall trees and land that could be days, weeks, months away from a familiar ship and faces... far from any stretch of ocean they'd ever sailed on.]

...

[bokuwadoctaaa]

We're pirates Sanji! We can't cry about this kinda stuff! That's not what a man does! That's not what Straw Hats do!

This stupid city doesn't know how strong we are! No one except us knows how strong we are, so we'll show them for as long as we're here!