"i thought this would be easier somehow..."

[grandsummon]

Characters: (ou) Yuna, Eco (possibly Baralai!) & open threads welcome!
Where: Initially the hospital, then enroute to the residential district. Later house B-7 (closed thread).
When: Post Thirteen Moogles event
Summary: Finally returning to the house since the incident, Yuna has a lot to think about...
Warning: None.

( ... with all of my friends together beside me. )

Not Good Enough [Post Sephiroth Battle]

[gomu_ningen]

Characters: Monkey D. Luffy [OU] and you?
Where: The hospital and some of the restaurants in the city
When: A few days after his confrontation with Sephiroth
Summary: Luffy's morose for once, and refuses to lay in bed to heal
Warnings: Possible feels? Dealing with Luffy, language.

- - - - - - - -
The Hospital
Every time he looked to his bandaged arms, it was a reminder of just how weak he truly was. Luffy had been told countless times that his successes back home had surely been some fluke, that luck had been on his side all this time as he ignorantly went about his life with the overconfident belief that he would always come out on top. While such an attitude would eventually become problematic back home, it was becoming more than obvious that his way of doing things was as far removed from responsible as humanly possible. It's a fact he despises, a truth he hates to see grinning at him with bright, white, jarring teeth in the shape of sutures and braces covering his limbs.

What had he been doing all of this time? Had he truly been so naive? He'd been so boastful about his friends, his crew, and yet he had watched a single man rob a young woman of her life without so much as a moment's hesitation. The world, as Luffy had believed it to be, was far more cruel than he'd ever imagined. It's a sharp, painful reminder of his shortcomings. His lack of strength and ability, even more so now that he's reverted back to being without his Devil's Fruit powers, were far too much for him to bare as he lay prone on the stretcher.

Having had no visitors, the lad merely occupies his time with doing what he can to ignore the dressings on his body. Every strip seems to be a harsh reminder of watching Zelda's body entomb itself in crystal.

Around Ixen Aquares
Though the staff had protested, Luffy couldn't stand a second more being housed up in some cramped, forsaken hospital. Least not while there was time. Time for him to grow stronger, time for him to do what must be needed in order to protect the ones he cares for, to protect and fight for his crew. "Nakama", above all else, were the greatest treasures a pirate could know. What sort of Captain was he if he couldn't even protect them? It's hard enough not having a ship, a fact that as of late had been grating on him more than he'd care to admit, but now for this to happen? It was more than he could bear.

As he walks around the streets, Luffy looks more and more like a reanimated Mummy, wrapped several times over with layers of thin fibers now partially stained maroon. Normally Luffy would be picky about what sort of meat and food he'd be consuming, but when his stomach craved sustenance in such a desperate manner he wasn't going to fuss over particulars. Sitting himself down at an outside table, demanding food in a manner unlike his usual joyous self, Luffy proceeded to vanquish whatever food was set in front of him. He doesn't eat in his usual messy manner, having purpose outside of his usual need for feeding. If he didn't eat he'd be left in that bed, waiting for time to make his wounds right. He wouldn't be able to grow stronger, which meant he wouldn't be worthy of the self-chosen title he'd been working so hard for.