keychained | 010; [video/action for route 32 outside Union]

Entry tags:

010; [video/action for route 32 outside Union]

[video, glorious video. Sora's finally gotten his 'gear fixed after a week of texting and learning how to make smiley faces with symbols, and although he has to admit the smiley faces are pretty cool, he's much happier to be able to talk to the network face-to-face. sort of face-to-face. he's feeling a lot better, too.]

[so there's a very groggy kid opening up a feed today. it looks like he's just woken up from a fantastic nap, because he has some equally fantastic bedhead: the smaller spikes that usually go every which way are actually almost entirely flattened against his face on one side, and the bigger ones have sort of lost their vaguely coherent shape. it's quite a sight, really, and Sora doesn't seem to realize he has it.]

... Hey. Uh. I got a list of names from everybody who signed up to help with food for the festival from Nurse Joy. If you're still interested, the restaurants in your town would be happy to have you help! And if you were thinking about selling some kind of food from back home at a booth, they've all agreed to let you use their kitchens to make it. You just need to let them know in advance.

-- Oh yeah! Are any of you interested in running booths? If so, what kind?

[Sora pauses here, instinctively rubbing his eyes. as fantastic of a nap that was, he really hasn't been getting enough sleep out here on route 32.]

Ven? Where are you guys? We're just outside Union Cave. And--

[he turns away from the 'gear to address someone off screen. behold, spiky bedhead in all of its majesty!]

Riku! I've got something for you!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I'll let him sleep in his pokéball. Hopefully you won't hear him through that, too.

I think we should be pretty safe there.

Yeah...

[Sora's gaze momentarily drifted to the others gathered at the mouth of the cave, then he glanced up at Ven.]

Hey, Ven? Can we go somewhere for a bit?

[Ven looks toward the others himself before he nods]

Yeah, sure thing.

[he'll lead the way, then-- back to where he'd left his backpack underneath a tree, and where he'd taken that much-needed nap earlier. his backpack is even still a little squished from where he was using it as a pillow. Sora plops down on the ground resting his back against the tree trunk.]

[after following Sora over to this spot in silence, Ven takes a seat facing him. for a while he's quiet, unsure what to say, and then he ventures an attempt to start this discussion off]

So...

[alas, this is as much as he achieves]

[Sora's not much help on the starting off front either; he just lowers his head and stares at the ground silently for a few minutes, pulling up a few blades of grass between his fingers. at first, all he can really think to say is:]

Ven, I'm sorry.

[that Xehanort had created Vanitas from him in the first place. that he had to put up with his darker half hurting others. that there wasn't really a whole lot Sora could do to help.]

[the words make Ven stumble, scattering the words he'd started to shuffle together the same as leaves in the breeze]

There...there isn't anything for you to be sorry about, Sora.

[he just smiles at that, and rests his head in his hand. it's a weak smile, though.]

I guess... I'm just. I hate how unfair it is. And I know that I overreacted, so... I am sorry.

It's okay. He's good at getting a rise out of people, me included.

And getting tossed into fights with Heartless with no help and no training beforehand doesn't sound all that fair either, you know?

No, not really. I guess it isn't really fair across all boards, huh?

[Sora picks at the grass some more.]

And it really isn't all that bad. I was mad at first, but we still look different enough, so.

I'm sure you've noticed he's not at all like you, either.

[huffs out a small sigh]

Thought it'd be longer before he did something like that...

No, I'm about a million times cooler.

[count on Sora to try to crack a joke, no matter how uncomfortable the subject is.]

So does he... steal faces or something?

I've got no clue; I only just saw what was under that helmet before I wound up here.

And then I met you - the older you - and I couldn't figure out how the heck he'd ended up resembling somebody completely different.

I wouldn't even know where to begin trying to figure it out.

Maybe everybody just has a random lookalike? I mean, there's you and Roxas, and Kairi and Xion...

But there's usually reasons for everything, right?

And Vanitas said something about it, too...

Yeah...

[Sora just doesn't realize that for pretty much all of those cases, that reason is him.]

-- What'd he say?

[Sora's the all-purpose solution, all right]

He said you filled in the hole he left when he and I were separated.

[Ven brings a hand to his chest, looking down at the ground]

I... did?

[he mirrors Ven, placing a hand over his own heart.]

How did I do that? I don't remember that at all.

I don't think you would... The voice I heard said it was a newly formed heart.

So I...

[hang on a second Ven, he needs a minute to process this. typical Sora, reaching out and making bffs as a newborn baby.]

...Have always been a nice guy, seems like.

[and Ven'll make it simple]

[and he chokes on a short laugh at that, his grin spreading wide as he holds up a hand to cover his eyes. these are happy and relieved tears, Ven.]

[course Ven's left with a worried frown, placing a hand on Sora's head. it's what Terra always does, so he assumes it's the thing to do]

Sorry, did I say something weird?

No, no... It's not that.

[he draws that hand covering his eyes away from his face, but not before using it to flick away a stray tear that was about to escape.]

I'm just happy. Vanitas can look like me all he wants, and that's perfectly fine with me. Because it means that you and I are friends. We always have been, right?

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]