justicereigns | Smoker's return [Action / Video]

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Smoker's return [Action / Video]

[The minute Smoker realizes he's back in Luceti, he gets his jitte. Like hell he's letting some pirate take it for a few months again. Then there's the basic things. A month's supply of cigars, and oh, isn't that nice of him, they even thought to get him a bunch of his own marine brand. They literally say marine on the little gold tabs, so surely no pirates would want to try them, right? Then it's off to get coffee, prowl around the general vicinity and head on home. As he's heading inside, the sheer amount of packages he's carrying jostles the journal open.]

Ikki, I have to thank you for the Cosmos-- Haki... [Annoyed growl. No Ikki. :| Figures. So he goes to open the journal for real and everyone can get a look at Smoker, two years later, no longer wearing his hair in ~~awesome~~ spikes, sunglasses, a giant scar, but still 100% Smoker.] Where the hell is Ikki? And how long have I been gone that he moved out? [He can tell Ikkk is still in Luceti, if not where, but what the hell man?] What's the date?

Right, to everyone else, I'm Vice Admiral Smoker. [Oh that's right, he uses his real title now. Watch out world.] As soon as I can, I'd like to get back into teaching jitte and kickboxing. Any old or new students, we'll meet at the barracks. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are open sessions, the other days can be scheduled for private hours or one on one sparring. If anyone spots a marine, let me know. Do not try to engage anyone from G5 in a regular conversation, they've earned their reputation as being pyromaniac psychos, just send them my way and I'll deal with them. [There is no affection to that. If anything "deal with them" sounds a little like "beat senseless and chain to a wall somewhere." Anyone want to laugh at him for his choice of command post?]

I assume we must be in a New Feather cycle, so welcome to Luceti. There are other people teaching forms of martial arts or filial magic, but unless the Drafts and missions have stopped -- which I doubt -- you'll want to take advantage of at least one form if you can.

All right, that's all.

[Feel free to action jump Smoker anytime before getting home, or right afterwards because he will be out and about being Smoker.]

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Don't you have one?

... Maybe Tomoya-kun is my best friend, but.. I don't know if Tomoya-kun thinks I'm his best friend. We were friends since we were kids, but he forgot about me.

He forgot about you?

... Yes. He promised to come to my birthday party, but.. that day nobody showed up. And from that day on, I didn't see Tomoya-kun for a long time.. maybe it was even longer than ten years.

[Wow. It's a good thing Smoker will never meet Tomoya or he would punch him.]

Tell you what, you talk every day with Ikki now, I'm pretty sure that makes you his best friend. Got it?

[ He was in Luceti a while ago, but alas, Smoker, you missed your chance.. but Kotomi does care about him and has already forgiven him, okay. ;; ]

... Really? Does that really make me and Ikki-kun best friends..? But what about Smoker-kun and Ikki-kun then?

You can have more than one best friend right? Otherwise I'd have to pity Hina for being one of my best friends back home. [And he will never pity her because she's bossy and frustrating.]

If Smoker-kun says so, then it must be right. [ nodding to herself!! ]

So that means Ikki-kun is one of my best friends now.. that's so nice. It feels very warm.

[Oh god, he will just die of cute from that.]

Make sure you let him know, okay? I think that would make him really happy to hear. Deep down inside, under the tsundere.

[ no, Smoker, you must hold on..!! ]

I've already told Ikki-kun before.. a lot of the things he does give me this really weird, but nice warm feeling inside.

Like... happiness or love?

[He (arguably validly) suspects she might not have had a lot experience with either, nor enough to know the difference.]

[ spot on, really - she has some experience with happiness, though! And some with love, but she.. never realised it was love.. so yes. No differentation. ]

... I don't know. How are you supposed to tell, Smoker-kun?

[He thinks about this awhile. The difference between love and happiness...]

Sometimes love hurts. Happiness is only a shallow high. You can get it from other things like ice cream or sunshine. Love is something you're willing to work through bad times for. It runs deeper.

I guess you and Ikki haven't had any bad times though.

It's like... when you really love someone or something, you put aside your own selfishness. And the times when it gets in the way, you work to finding a compromise because it's more important to be together than whatever else might get in the way.

When Grell went home I wasn't sure we were still dating. Because I might never see her again, or she might not remember me. Those were selfish things. Grune said I should hold out faith and just remind her who I am, and when Ikki said she'd returned, he told me to go find her no matter what, because I'd do the same for him if you left.

During that Valentine's Shift a lot of people wind up thinking they're in love. But it's more like a quick high. The difference is, real love doesn't go away. When you stop loving someone, they have to have changed so much you don't want good things for them anymore, either because they turned -- [Quick pause for choice of words] -- into a bully, or you never knew them as well as you thought. Or like with the shift, because it was only surface reasons, nothing running deep. When you fall out of happiness, it's just a disillusionment. Like thinking one day that just because the world has ice cream in it, that everything is okay. And then along comes a bully and kicks it out of your hand. No more happiness. In love, even if something bad comes along, it doesn't go away.

Damn, I'm making it sound like you can only tell it apart if something bad happens. [Thinking again.] But it's more like little things. Every day has something bad, something that could make you sad or angry or hurt, but around people you love, those things aren't so bad because you have each other for support. Does that make sense Kotomi-chan? I guess it's that happiness fades, love grows stronger.

[Love is not his forte as much as heartbreaks; but he's trying really hard.]

Edited 2012-03-28 20:21 (UTC)

... It still all sounds a little difficult, Smoker-kun.. I understand the difference if something bad happens, but does that mean something bad would have to happen with Ikki-kun and me before I would know? That.. sounds a little scary.

Not exactly. It can be small bad. Like if the Malnosso kidnapped him, you'd stil wait, and if they experimented on him so he was a girl, would you stop caring about him?

.... Huh?

[ blink blink. ]

Why would I stop caring about Ikki-kun just because he's a girl? That's mean.. [ aka it comes natural to her. ]

Exactly. Being in love is trying to never be mean or petty.

It's harder for a lot of people. [Which is why it makes it harder to explain to her.]

Okay remember when I made the book metaphor before? Let's say you only had one book and you could either selfishly keep it for yourself and make sure it never got ruined, or you could share it with Ikki in the hopes that he'd really like it, even though it might get dirty. Which would you choose?

I would share it with Ikki-kun, of course.

[ the answer comes practically instantly, as if she didn't even think about it. ]

It's nice if the book never got ruined, but.. Ikki-kun wouldn't ruin the book either way, I'm sure, and I want him to like the books I really, really like as well.

Good. It's things like that. Trusting him to understand that the book is important, wanting him to enjoy it too, sharing things. All of that is part of love, which will make you feel happy.

All of that is.. part of love, huh.. [ She's slowly trying to make sense of all of this. ]

I still think it's a little difficult, but maybe I get what Smoker-kun is saying just a little.

I'd recommend you a book, but love is a little different for everyone, so I don't think there are any good books about it.

It's one of those things you learn more from experiencing it.

I already read some books about it.. [ although they were like, horrible teenage advice column-like stuff. ]

But it's still confusing, even with that. So maybe if I talk more to Ikki-kun, I'll find out more about it.

Yeah, maybe. Just remember to read between the lines with him, got it?

Of course. I will remember all of it, so.. thank you for your advice, Smoker-kun.

[ voice ]

justicereigns - 2012-04-01 20:23 (UTC) - Expand

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Smoker's return [Action / Video]

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