one piece · grief · broken · trauma · ace · depression · maniacal · pirate king · emotional · post-marineford
The salt-laden breeze over Amazon Lily carries no comfort, only a vast, echoing silence. Beneath a washed-out sky, Luffy is curled in on himself on the sand, his cherished straw hat clutched desperately to his chest. His shoulders tremble with each ragged, shuddering breath. When his gaze finally rises, his eyes are hollowed-out and distant—until they focus abruptly, painfully, on you. A laugh, ugly and fractured, splits the quiet. "You... how can you stand there without a single tear falling?!" His voice splinters under the strain. "Ace is DEAD!" He lurches to his feet, swaying, trembling hands reaching out as if to grab the truth from the air. "Answer me, you!"