Appointment Post / Voicemail / All That Jazz

[justicereigns]

Smoker can't come to the journal right now because he's out not!arresting pirates so leave a message.

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Date/time & Means of contact (Writing, Voice, Video, or Action)

He'll get back to you ASAP

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[orangeoutlaw]

[he wanders closer intermittently through the night but never so close he can be spotted doesn't return after around 4]

[justicereigns]

[Throws him a paper airplane with an orange doodle of an orange tabby in red beads & a cowboy hat and white dog with a sheriff's star.]

[And then coffee with steam off it.]

[Cat + dog = coffee.]

[And goes to the kitchen to make some coffee.]

[orangeoutlaw]

[finds it and is surprised and feels weirdly embarrassed in a good way though he can't explain why that would be. It takes him a little while but eventually he does wander in, climbing in the kitchen window and sitting on the sill, his hat hanging down his back]

[justicereigns]

[Tickles him under the chin with smoke.] Come here if you want to learn how to make good coffee. Watch, and then you can try on your own if you're a fast learner.

[orangeoutlaw]

[jerks away from the touch]

I can watch from here.

[justicereigns]

[Eyeroll.]

Suit yourself brat.

[But drops the smoke too, and just... makes coffee. And he doesn't bother explaining it either, because screw you.]

[orangeoutlaw]

[he doesn't need to. He just watches]

I sent a note to Tashigi. [said blandly] I can't stop wanting to mess with her.

[justicereigns]

[Sharp glare.]

Why?

[orangeoutlaw]

Because I want to mess with her. [draws a knee up to his chest] And piss you off.

[and see how strong she is. That excites him the most. To see what influence Smoker had on her and how she stands up to him and what she would say and do]

[justicereigns]

Congratulations.

You piss me off by breathing. You hardly need to up the ante, moron.

[orangeoutlaw]

It's all about upping the ante. [Ace pisses a lot of people off just by breathing. Just by existing. If he let that be all there was, what was the point of living?]

But I think you'd rather protect her. Do you think I'll break her, Taisa?

1/2

[justicereigns]

No. I think you'll do something stupid to upset her, because that's what you do. That's what you do with Adela, that's what you do with your crew, that's what you do with me, and so you're purposely trying to push it past a line you shouldn't, because what?

2/2

[justicereigns]

To prove you're a bad guy? To prove you're not because we wind up liking you anyway? And what does THAT prove?

[He is THIS [ ] close to trying to choke Ace and throw him out the window, but what the fuck good would it do?]

[And it seems that's exactly the reaction Ace is looking for and he doesn't want to give him the satisfaction.]

[orangeoutlaw]

That you guys are too goodhearted. But don't worry. I'll make sure she has no reason to like me.

[even if ultimately he doesn't do anything to her, he'll make sure she doesn't see anything that she might fall for]

[justicereigns]

[Breaks a mug from the force of his grip which is the only warning Ace gets before he's rather forcibly grabbed by the throat and shoulders, thrown hard against the fridge, and held there.]

You can't control that!

If you could prevent things like that, you wouldn't keep coming around me and your brother would hate me like a real pirate should! If you could do that, your brother would be dead, and so would I. Stop talking bullshit!

[Slaps.]

[orangeoutlaw]

[takes the slap because why not]

That doesn't make any goddamn sense. Why would Luffy hate you? Luffy doesn't really hate anyone even if he should.

[he looks away]

But I can't stop coming around you that's for sure. I keep wanting to see you. Even if it's just to piss you off.

[he hates that about himself. That he can't just leave things be]

[justicereigns]

[His eyes go into a low simmering heat.]

Because I want him to hate me.

And I'm pretty sure he doesn't just to spite me.

[Clenches his jaw and fumes!] If we're going to fight, we better take this outside. The only reason it hasn't woken the puppies is because they're probably with Adela I expect.

[SLOWLY LETS GO.]

[Eyes still on low simmer.]

Tashigi doesn't hate you. She already likes you. And she'll never hate you unless you do something that makes you hate yourself. So don't.

[orangeoutlaw]

[smirks]

I hope you become best friends [ha! He hopes they like each other so much that Smoker can't even stand it. That would be the ultimate revenge.

When Smoker lets go though, he slumps, not really in the mood for fighting and shrugs]

And bullshit she doesn't even know me.

[justicereigns]

[THEY ALREADY ARE CLOSER THAN HE EVER WANTED TO BE AND LUFFY CALLED HIM A PIRATE BUDDY AND IT WAS TRAUMATIC AND SMOKER GAVE HIM S'MORES AND WAS FISHING SIDE BY SIDE WITH HIM. TRAUMATIC.]

[In any case Smoker goes down the stairs and outside, deep breath, fresh pair of cigars, gets on his motorcycle. Want to hop on the back? There's no bitch seat, but Ace will survive.]

She knows more than you'd be comfortable with.

[orangeoutlaw]

....

[slumps to the floor, drawing his legs up to his chin and rests his arms on them]

Her and everyone else.

[it's like he can't even really decide how people will take him anymore. They all already know. How he lived. How he died. He can't become something new. He can't even play at it because they know the truth. And what stung the most is they knew more than he did and there was a part of that he could never find out for himself unless...

unless he went back and saw for himself

He rests his head on folded arms]

Who cares. I'm still going to take her on.

[justicereigns]

[Picks him up and takes Ace with him.]

You're an idiot. You want to take her on? Make her like you. She's not as hard a sell as I am, and her justice is less unwavering, but it's twice as strong. She told me off for upsetting you. Not because I was too nice. She wants you to have a chance here, and hates your killer maybe even more than I do.

[Holds him on his shoulders, to the motorbike.]

[And drives it out to Fayren.]

You can't make her hate you. You'd have to become blacker and bleaker than you'd ever be happy with. So don't try. You want to prove something? I told you how from the start. Make it so that every marine who winds up here finds an entirely corrupted marine corps who would all defend your right to live in peace and refuse their idea to hurt you.

Your brother is doing that. It drives me insane. My whole G-5 have to act like imbeciles because they like his crew too much. And Tashigi is still fond of the doctor and navigator. And the chef completely converted my men, as if they weren't annoying enough already.

[orangeoutlaw]

[he doesn't have it in him to move away. Though he does feel more comfortable away from the house. He lays limp on Smoker's shoulder and watches his butt idly and the ground whirring past. This is kind of nostalgic]

I don't want to make her like me. That's not honest.

[and it would require him to be not himself]

I want to fight her. I want to see-- It... [okay he will be honest] if she dislikes me fine but I want to see how much she can take. I want to see what she does. She's interesting. I don't like her anyway but... I don't dislike her either.

[reaches down and grabs Smoker's butt, just to feel it squish]

And I still want to find new ways to annoy you and see how far you'll go.

[he doesn't know. He wants to see their breaking points. But then he really would be like the assholes on the sea. It's not befitting a Whitebeard or the brother of Luffy.]

I don't care about corrupting the Marines. If they can be corrupted their weak. Luffy doesn't count because everyone loves an idiot.

[squish squish]

[justicereigns]

[Annoyed, and as soon as he gets some place less crowded, he takes Ace down, even though it puts him pretty much in between Smoker's lap and the handlebars. Fuck it, he doesn't care.]

That's not how it works.

You want to see if she's strong enough to withstand your worst? Is that what your crew went through? How much fire do you want everyone to jump through before they're worth being strong enough to love you, huh?

[orangeoutlaw]

Boo. [leans forward to rest his chin on the dash, resting his fist on it]

My crew are already too strong to get burned. [which is why he belonged there] And Luffy is too stupid. [and Sabo ... well.. that's something else again]

No one else gets that... Or, well I guess maybe Jiijii.

....

[he rests his cheek on his arms, hat shadowing his face]

He was there too ...

1/2

[justicereigns]

[:< Stupid brat.]

[He hates when you're sad.]