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[deviledlegs]

Hey, all you heavenly angels and cocky asshats! Consider this your very first public service announcement on behalf of everyone's favorite pirate cook, Sanji.

[There he is, blowing cigarette smoke at his phone's camera with that shit-eating grin. All is well, or so it seems.]

I need food wrapping paper and air-tight containers. A shit ton of them.

Each and every lovely lady who has the generosity to go out of her way and deliver some to me will go home with any dish her heart desires so long as I have the ingredients! You other bastards can just be grateful knowing you might not actually starve later.

[He wiggles his fingers in a rather silly goodbye gesture.]

Ciao!

Comments

[deviledlegs]

You could say that.

[He laughs like someone who doesn't actually find what they're laughing at very funny.]

We're moving out apparently! Whether we end up on some barren tundra or a dense rain forest, I damn well plan to preserve as many edible goods as possible beforehand.

[storyseeker]

Ah, yeah. I'm not really looking forward to that. I was just getting used to this place.

[She gets why moving is necessary, of course. But necessary things can still suck.]

Which place are you hoping for?

[deviledlegs]

No kidding. I'll miss the ocean, even if this particular sea isn't attached to the one I need to return to.

[He shakes his head, allowing himself a nostalgic sigh.]

I'll be honest though, I voted against my own hopes.

[storyseeker]

[Elena nods. Maybe she's not as attached to the ocean as he is, but she knows what it's like to feel its call.]

Why's that? Did you think it was the better option?

[deviledlegs]

I'm a chef.

[He smiles wistfully as he says it.]

When I heard one of our choices was short on both flora and fauna, every single one of my instincts told me we couldn't go there. I may be good, but even I can't make something out of nothing.

But the people here have already gone on dangerous sea voyages without any experience on a ship and risked mauling each other to study some shitty, mood-altering door fragments... All for the sake of getting the hell out. The sooner we know what we're dealing with, the better chance we all have of living to scavenge another day.

[storyseeker]

I'd be incredibly impressed if you could...but I can't argue against that point.

[She smiles for a moment, then looks more pensive.]

I just hope this leads somewhere. When I arrived, I was told no one had known the town to be anywhere but the cave. Now we're headed to what, our third new world? I don't want this so be some kind of Quantum Leap scenario, traveling and traveling and never making it anywhere.

[deviledlegs]

...Is there an end game destination here?

Not for us. For our gracious hosts, I mean. It sounded more like they didn't care where they were running as long as it was away. That's not exactly conducive to getting anywhere in the first place.

[storyseeker]

That strikes me as a really excellent question to ask them. Unfortunately, I'm not that sure we'd get an honest answer.

[deviledlegs]

[A beat, as something occurs to him that hadn't before.]

I should be able to tell whether or not the answer is honest.

[storyseeker]

[Elena looks at him for a moment, and raises an eyebrow.]

You sound very certain of that.

[deviledlegs]

[He offers her a considerate smile, then shakes his head.]

It's not fool proof, but... As long as their shitty godliness doesn't take them outta range of my haki, I can sense their sincerity.

[storyseeker]

I take it a haki is some kind of superpower? How closely is sincerity mapped to truth?

[deviledlegs]

If you'd like.

[Please don't call him a superhero though. He'd rather be a knight in shining armor!]

You can consider it a way to detect motivation rather than detect the lie itself. People can lie with good intentions, but even that is a very different motive than what drives honesty.

[storyseeker]

[She'll skip both.]

I see. That makes sense...as much as something like that can.

How do you think they'd react to knowing you're trying to pin them down?

[deviledlegs]

[He'll change her mind someday!]

Well. [He blinks, admittedly dumbfounded for a few seconds.] If they made a fuss, I guess that'd make them shitty hypocrites on top of being godly assholes.

[storyseeker]

And that would surprise you because...?

[deviledlegs]

Because it's just like back home, and nothing here is quite like back home.

[storyseeker]

[She thinks about it for a moment. That actually makes sense, kinda.]

All right, fair enough.

You know, if you don't want to put yourself forward like this to test them, no one would blame you...but if you so, I'd like to be in the loop.

[deviledlegs]

[He's not particularly worried about talking to the weird ass bastards, but... He would rather have a back-up plan than rush in without thinking. It'll have to wait.]

You'll be the first to know, Miss...?

[storyseeker]

Elena. Elena Fisher.

[She offers a hand to shake. It kind of feels like it might be sealing something shady, but it's not like they're really plotting anything. And if they were...oh well.]

[deviledlegs]

Miss Elena!

[He raises his hand too, pressing it to his phone camera to seal the deal virtually. This is hardly shady, but Sanji would never turn down the chance to play at conspiracy with a beautiful lady.]

JESUS I forgot it was network....I'm smart....can I blame vacation hangover....

[storyseeker]

[She nods, and grins at him.]

Just Elena is fine. Keep me posted, okay?

haha, absolutely.

[deviledlegs]

Why settle for fine when you're obviously amazing!?

[Yes. That's a yes. He will keep her posted.]