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[Action/"Voice"]
[Nami for her own part is content to either stay with her mother or go out exploring with Sanji for the first day or two she's home. It's bitterly cold out there and she doesn't like it much at all-- it's nothing like Cocoyashi-- and her feet are a little red from early barefoot adventures in the snow, but luckily she doesn't catch cold. She's more grounded and less restless than Sanji is, because Bellemere is here. And that means she can let Bellemere take care of things. Because after all, didn't mama say that they wouldn't be here for very long? She misses Nojiko, but if it's only for a little while, then maybe she'll just treat this as a holiday.
Then the second night passes, and Nami turns 10. And everything changes.]
[She's had nightmares before. And the last night was unsettling with the dreams she had, but they weren't bad dreams-- just ones that feel like she's lived a lifetime in one night. Or...one year, as the case may be.
The second night, she wakes up with a wail (muffled brutally by shoving the blanket up to her mouth, because nobody likes a crying human) and tears and her arm hurts but mostly all she can remember right now is Bellemere and the screams when they stepped on her arm and the blood and the way Arlong just shot her down--
die for your pathetic love--
--and everything that followed. And she knows why her arm hurts, but that doesn't make any sense, and Bellemere is right upstairs and Nami just spends the next ten minutes crying into the blanket and not daring to look at her arm. And when she can separate dream from reality just enough, she slides out of bed and doesn't even bother to dress properly, running for the stairs to the next floor in an oversized tshirt that hangs off her arms and going straight for her mama's bedroom.
She eventually falls asleep again and further returning memories distance her from the shock of that death, but none of them are good memories. And now she's confused to boot, because sometimes when she closes her eyes she expects to open them somewhere else entirely. And Nami grows to like the cold, because as long as there's snow outside, it means she's not at Arlong Park, and that means that maybe she can put it all aside as an especially bad nightmare and it didn't really happen. Because it didn't. Because Bellemere is here.
Anyway, distracting herself from darker thoughts is a damn good idea, really. Best to try and not think about it and just...stick with Bellemere a lot today.]
["Voice"]
[So in the afternoon, Luceti, there is a little girl staring back at you from the journals. And doing the most awesomely intelligent thing:
[Yeah. Because making faces at you all is really mature. She just wants to see how many people notice her, because damn this magical journal is fun.]
[Action]
[If people want to run into Nami at varying ages, she can be found:
-- At the library on Monday when she is 12, trying to reach that top shelf of navigation books;
-- At Good Spirits on Wednesday when she is 14, trying her luck at being served underage drinks (look, she can hold her liquor okay B|); and
-- Pretty much anywhere on the following Friday when she is 16, because she's smitten with a severe case of wanderlust; a rooftop, a shop, the forest, the battledome...anywhere. Chances are if you run into Nami today, she might attempt to pickpocket you just because she's got the suspicion she's damn good at it. And those ships out at sea hold her attention for a fair while, because...well, wouldn't it be nice to sail one away? These dreams, man.
For ages 17 and up, well... there'll be another post much later. Just to avoid confusion.]
Then the second night passes, and Nami turns 10. And everything changes.]
[She's had nightmares before. And the last night was unsettling with the dreams she had, but they weren't bad dreams-- just ones that feel like she's lived a lifetime in one night. Or...one year, as the case may be.
The second night, she wakes up with a wail (muffled brutally by shoving the blanket up to her mouth, because nobody likes a crying human) and tears and her arm hurts but mostly all she can remember right now is Bellemere and the screams when they stepped on her arm and the blood and the way Arlong just shot her down--
die for your pathetic love--
--and everything that followed. And she knows why her arm hurts, but that doesn't make any sense, and Bellemere is right upstairs and Nami just spends the next ten minutes crying into the blanket and not daring to look at her arm. And when she can separate dream from reality just enough, she slides out of bed and doesn't even bother to dress properly, running for the stairs to the next floor in an oversized tshirt that hangs off her arms and going straight for her mama's bedroom.
She eventually falls asleep again and further returning memories distance her from the shock of that death, but none of them are good memories. And now she's confused to boot, because sometimes when she closes her eyes she expects to open them somewhere else entirely. And Nami grows to like the cold, because as long as there's snow outside, it means she's not at Arlong Park, and that means that maybe she can put it all aside as an especially bad nightmare and it didn't really happen. Because it didn't. Because Bellemere is here.
Anyway, distracting herself from darker thoughts is a damn good idea, really. Best to try and not think about it and just...stick with Bellemere a lot today.]
["Voice"]
[So in the afternoon, Luceti, there is a little girl staring back at you from the journals. And doing the most awesomely intelligent thing:
[Yeah. Because making faces at you all is really mature. She just wants to see how many people notice her, because damn this magical journal is fun.]
[Action]
[If people want to run into Nami at varying ages, she can be found:
-- At the library on Monday when she is 12, trying to reach that top shelf of navigation books;
-- At Good Spirits on Wednesday when she is 14, trying her luck at being served underage drinks (look, she can hold her liquor okay B|); and
-- Pretty much anywhere on the following Friday when she is 16, because she's smitten with a severe case of wanderlust; a rooftop, a shop, the forest, the battledome...anywhere. Chances are if you run into Nami today, she might attempt to pickpocket you just because she's got the suspicion she's damn good at it. And those ships out at sea hold her attention for a fair while, because...well, wouldn't it be nice to sail one away? These dreams, man.
For ages 17 and up, well... there'll be another post much later. Just to avoid confusion.]
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Nami wipes her tears away, pointless the gesture might be.] I dreamt pirates came to Cocoyashi, Bellemere-s-san.
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... That's right, Nami. They did.
[She refuses to lie. It's the truth. She won't pull wool over her own daughter's eyes to help things feel better, because... she'll know soon enough.]
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She tries a watery smile.] You mean... before?
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... Before, yes.
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Nami curls up under Bellemere's chin, biting her lip.]
What happened?
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[Calm and soft. She can't frighten Nami more than she already is... even so, this isn't something a mother often has to deal with, huh?]
Nami, what do you remember, in your life? These last few years.
1/2
She still thinks it's wrong. You're living evidence that it's wrong. Or maybe it's right, but you're not actually dead and when she goes back to Cocoyashi, there you'll be. Surprise. Fooled you all.
Would that be so bad?
(Or maybe this whole part is the dream. That makes more sense, doesn't it?)]
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We had a fight, and I didn't mean it-- [She curls up more, practically speaking into her knees now.] And I went to see Gen-san, a-and-- and pirates came to the village. And they were monsters, and they hurt you and Gen-san and--
[...]
One of them looked like a shark, and he made you-- you were-- he had a gun, and they all tried to stop him f-from--
It's not true, is it?
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She pulls her close, very close now.
How does she even begin...]
I'm so sorry, Nami. Bad things happened at home... I can't go back now. I can only be here... Do you understand?
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Nami understands because this morning she is ten, but she doesn't want to. How can Bellemere be alive here but dead at home? There's the weird wings. Are they both dead now? Did Arlong go too far and she just doesn't remember...?
Is it okay if it's that?
She doesn't answer at all, because she can't. Not without falling apart. But there's tension trembling through her entire body as she stares at the blurred patterns that make up Bellemere's shirt and shuts down. Just for a few moments.
It hurts.]
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She'll hold you for as long as you ever needed it.]
Everything will be okay, Nami... It'll be alright... I know it's hard to understand, but trust me--everything'll be alright...
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It's a pretty damn long time before she stirs again, voice tiny and flat.]
Are we dead?
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You're not dead.
[Please, forgive me. For that back home, and for this right here.]
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[She was a realist, but she was also willing to bend the truth a little, if it meant momentary relief for Nami. She wouldn't lie about the situation... No. She wouldn't lie about the truth of her and her daughter's situation at home.
But this?
She's willing to give in to childish optimism.]
People are hoping to find ways home for everyone to go home.
I'm not dead here. I'm right here, in front of you--see?
[She takes Nami's hand, nodding. For now...]
I'm right here.
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...well, she's only ten. And she puts her other hand on top of Bellemere's, her promise just a little wavery (she'd like to put on a big tough face, but that's not working too well right thise second).]
Then I'm going to take you home with me.
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You'll have some troubles, and it'll be tough at times. But eventually, you'll find a circle of friends who are the best you could hope for--I've seen them myself. They're all strange and dopey, but they'll always be there for you.
You're going to go with these people, free and happy, and you'll navigate the world... You'll point the way for them and map out more than you can ever imagine.
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And Bellemere doesn't lie. Not even about painful things.
There's a subtle relaxing of her form as Nami calms down. It's a nice ending. If that's the way things end up, then maybe she'll be okay with the rest. That's what she's aiming for anyway, isn't it?]
...
Will Gen-san like me again?
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Nami... no matter what happens or happened in our world, Gen-san will always like you. There were times he shouldn't have liked me, but he had faith in me--and he'll have faith in you, too.
[A smile.]
Even if he's grumpy a lot of the time.
Understand?
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I'm sorry.
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There's nothing to be sorry for, Nami.
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...
Can I stay up here with you?
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I'd love for you to keep me company—that way... if we're in each other's company, we can try to dream well tonight.
[Chances are slim. But still... it helps put things at ease, when you wake up beside someone you love.]
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"And then Ashlee drppped Bellemere the very next day..."
Sad day indeed.