pixel skylines
Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her
Three Goblin Art
DEAR READER
ellievsbear
d e v o n
Kaledo Art
"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"
Peter Solarz
$LAYYYTER
YOU ARE THE REASON
Game of Thrones Daily
❣ Chile in a Photography ❣
will byers stan first human second
we're not kids anymore.
blake kathryn
Sade Olutola
styofa doing anything
Show & Tell
Jules of Nature
seen from United Arab Emirates
seen from Malaysia
seen from Dominican Republic
seen from United States
seen from United States
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seen from Peru
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seen from Türkiye
@twilight-swordsman
"Haha…haha…hahahaha…" Good thing she got rid of them before she came over…
"Muuuu, Rikuuu—!!" Cue exhaling of her puffed up cheeks into a pout.
"Heh, you laugh now, but you never know what could happen..."
"Ha. Same old Shiki."
threadseason:
"Hehehe, I’ve been wanting to do that for awhile now~"
"…spicy tuna roll." Cue Shiki puffing her cheeks up at the silverette.
"Tch, of all people you could pick on, it just had to be me. You should be careful I don't swipe one of your needles to poke you with."
"Guess instead I could settle with this." A light poke in her puffed-up cheeks.
"Ri-ku~!" -not so casually slips an ice cube down his back- "I miss youuu~"
"Oh hey Shi--HOLY HELL THAT'S COLD! Man, I come back to this?"
"Well, what's that saying? Don't hate me because I'm beautiful B]"
Sometimes a sickness was more brutal than the silver-haired boy liked, and resisting said illness only made it worse. Typically, people recovered from being sick in a week, even if you found yourself throwing up. But Riku's pride couldn't let it drop, and adopting a mind-over-matter attitude about it only forced more stomach acid out of his throat.
But thankfully now he was up and walking on both feet again, and not even a wet cough remained. He wondered what everyone else had been up to while he'd been woefully trapped in his room.
"Wonder if I missed anything..."
| Riku&Serah
“Me too,” she nodded in agreement “I’m glad you came here, too. Otherwise I wouldn’t have met you.” Serah smiled up at Riku, glad he didn’t feel his time here was a ‘waste’, even if he didn’t find his friend. Though, her hopes were still that he would find Sora here. She sighed softly, wishing there was more of a way she possibly help.
Walking alongside him, Serah came to a stop as Riku began to speak, watching him hop up on top of a nearby rock, surveying the area. “It’s a little quiet and plain, but nice.” she added softly to his comments about the area.
New Bodhum was only a start to what Pulse would have to offer. The former residents of Cocoon would finally fully settle and then begin to grow, just as they did, creating much more than simple seaside villages. Not that she minded, of course. It was relaxing and she’d rather have this than the bustle and noise of a large city.
Drifting out of thought and back to reality, Serah tilted her head a bit in question. “If I wouldn’t mind? Of course I wouldn’t mind!” her puzzled look uplifted into a small smile. “Why would I? It’d be great to have you visit again.” Serah reassured with an affirmative nod.
Finding Sora would be great, although the last time they were separated there was little to no chance of the two friends reconvening on account of them being in entirely different places. If this world was just like the sleeping worlds, split in half with no way of crossing from one to the other, finding Sora would do him no good. Sometimes it could be frustrating seeing someone right there in front of you and not being able to reach out to them.
"Heh. That sounds familiar," he noted with a wry grin. Just what he'd thought of his home before things got exciting. No doubt a nice place to live, but it could get so incredibly boring after a while. But at least Serah wasn't trapped in the same sense he was. If she wanted to get out and explore the rest of the world, nothing would hold her back whereas on Destiny Islands, before you could even think about the rest of the world you needed something better than a rowboat. But his craving had been satisfied; even though traveling still wasn't exactly a cakewalk, there'd be no repeating of his mistakes. Never again.
"It would be great to come back," he affirmed with a nod of his head. "If Sora's not here, he'd love to see the place. Not to mention another friend of mine." Wanderlust was something that didn't rest easy in the silver-haired boy, and though his attitude wasn't as carefree as his best friend's, there was always something about exploring new places that intrigued Riku. Not to mention when you had people like Serah to visit, it made the journey all the more worth it.
TAG. YOU'RE IT. The rules are to state 10 random facts about yourself. Then, go to your 10 favorite blogs and tell them they're it. O 3 O
ooc//: awwww bbu * 3 * you're the best senpai/twin ever OK
1) I am pursuing the dumbest major ever partly because it's the only thing I'm good at and partly because the school of my dreams accepts that major
2) I am the only one in my family who is resistant to cold temperatures and quite vulnerable to heat, which results in many funny heatstroke stories
3) My sis is getting married next year and I still don't have a dress for it
4) I am very distantly related to the VA of Commander Rourke from Atlantis: the Lost Empire which I suppose means there's a little Cherokee Indian in me
5) I am positively gaga for dogs and I squeal like a girl whenever I see one (silently if in public xD)
6) I have several physical issues that are similar or identical to my sis' (we both have a gimpy knee and sight problems)
7) Don't feed me energy drinks. Ever. It won't be pretty
8) I can curse in five other languages and say "thank you" in six
9) I'm hoping to return to Disneyland sometime this year to see the new "Cars" land with my father (and besides I love Disneyland so bloody much)
10) I have a calendar on my wall that tells you when Lady Gaga, Victoria Beckham, and Beyonce celebrate their birthdays, but not when St. Patrick's Day or the beginning of spring is
| Riku&Serah
Her smile widened as her words seemed to leave some effect. Even reassuring Riku the smallest bit was still a help. His worry about his friend only caused her to be concerned, too. Of course, like she said, it was only natural to be nervous and it just meant that she cared, but she’d still rather see him more reassured about the safety of his friend.
During times when Snow and Lightning were both gone, Serah remembered keep having to ease herself and just hope that everything would be okay – though there was nothing that would insure it, it was still a help, and with Riku being in a similar situation to what she was in, she wanted to help as much as she could.
“Sounds like a plan!” she cheerfully added to his suggestion.
“Hey,” Serah started, her voice softening, tilting her head to look up at Riku “after you find your friend and go home and all … you will still be able to return back here and visit, right?”
Though the two haven’t been friends for long, she had already grown attached to the silver-haired acquaintance. Serah had assumed he would be able to, but only wanted to confirm things.
“–I mean, only if you’d want to!” the pinkette quickly added, feeling a bit embarrassed that she seemed to have ‘forced’ the return of the other, without intention.
Riku was starting to instruct himself silently that worrying would do him no good. On top of the fact that even if Sora was getting into some kind of trouble he could handle himself just fine, his worrying was only making Serah worry. He hadn't seen any Nightmares or Heartless around, and though it didn't guarantee Xehanort or any of his incarnations weren't around, he still couldn't sense that familiar odor of his old nemesis.
So he put on the kindest smile he could muster and said to her, "I'm glad I could meet you here, even if I don't find Sora." The words were a bit awkward, since he didn't normally say stuff like that, but he did mean it. After all the mistakes he made in the past, anyone who smiled and showed compassion that he didn't fully deserve had a good heart.
He blinked at the sudden drop of her tone, and for a second, he didn't know how to respond. They'd only been walking together, searching for someone who in all likelihood wasn't there, and she wondered if he'd come back...no, if he wanted to come back. Granted, a number of places he'd been to had only garnered one visit from him (with few exceptions, but that's beside the point), but why wouldn't he want to come back? Something about this place just intrigued him. The beach encouraged a Destiny Islands feeling, but it didn't feel as confined as his home island did.
Deciding to show that he wasn't always serious, he shrugged. "I'm not too sure, to be honest. But if I did find a way, I will come back." Hopping up on top of a large rock suddenly, he swerved his head around to take in the sights with a grin. "This place is just so interesting!" Then something occurred to him and he slid off the rock and lightly scratched his cheek. "If...you wouldn't mind me coming back."
Gardening |Riku & Aerith|
Hollow Bastion had definitely changed over the years. When the silver-haired youth had first arrived here, the entire place was barren, the Rising Falls really the only “pretty” aspect of the eroded world. He would have been curious to see what the place looked like before Maleficent turned it into a forgotten castle, but who knows if that was possible anymore? Sure, Sora’s friends who used to live here were doing all they could to bring back the home they remembered, but it wouldn’t have been as easy if the place had fallen just like Destiny Islands did. But in the end, any world that didn’t fall to the Heartless had it better than the worlds that did.
Riku had decided to come back on a whim, see what kind of progress they were making here. Standing at the very spot he’d first seen in this world, he was a little surprised to see flowers here. He might have doubted this was the plateau over the Rising Falls if he didn’t get the distinct feeling of deja vu right where he was. When he and King Mickey had been here before, Hollow Bastion certainly felt different from the ruined castle, but for them to be planting flowers around was yet another step in the right direction.
His gaze fell on a young brunette tending the flowers and wondered if he should introduce himself. Her eyes looked kind, but if this was a friend of Sora’s, she might not have been too happy to see the one who was formerly under her enemy’s wing. Well, he just wouldn’t have to bring up that little fact and give her a chance. He wasn’t the same boy, after all. He cleared his throat to get her attention and tried a polite smile. “Hi. I’m sort of new here, this is Hollow Bastion, right?”
In Hollow Bastian, everyday was pretty busy with the restoration committee. Restoring such a beautiful world that was tormented by the wings of evil, was sometimes challenging—-and in all honesty, tiring. Especially on a young woman who should be out having fun and in her prime. Though it was a lot of work, Aerith never seemed to complain. She lived everyday with a smile on her face being that she was working hard towards an accomplishment, and with her great friends at her side. A friend she did miss however, was Sora. It had been a long time since he last visited that even Leon was missing him. He wasn’t very open with that, but the rest of the committee could tell. With Sora in mind, Aerith lived her days happily. He was a boy who always was so confident and uplifting that she just couldn’t find anything to be sad about when thinking about his positive attitude. It was contagious whenever he was around, for the rest of them to feel the same happiness. —-Today, Aerith had some time to herself in which she took advantage of this by spending some hours working on something she personally loved. Her flowers. Spreading lillies, roses and tulips throughout the clouded town was her way of lightening it up a bit. Maybe, it would attract visitors as well so she could make some new friends! There just was no harm in planting them all over the town, so she did just that. While she was knelt down by one of her batches of flowers, the young woman lifted her small water can and sprinkled the soil with its fresh drink; bring moisture upon the surface which caused a small smile to tug at her lips. Nature and life in general, always made her feel such an exceeding amount of happiness. While she hummed peacefully to herself, a sudden sound of an unfamiliar voice surprised her and she very quickly lifted her head. “Oh my! You startled me!” She said with one hand now resting over heart in attempt to calm the fast paced thumping in her chest.
“Sorry about that…I can be a bit jumpy.” She admitted to the boy before standing up and brushing off the front of her dress. “You’re right. This is Hollow Bastian. You’re a visitor? You were pulled here by all of the flowers, am I right?!”
It was clear the young lady was in her element as she tended to the flower bed. In a way, she reminded him of Kairi, sweet but with pluck, not to mention girly with the flowers and all. But hey, she was a girl and not all of them had to be like tomboys.
He glanced down at the watering can she gripped and wondered if it was her job as part of the--Restoration Committee (if his memory served him correctly) to maintain the general outlook of Hollow Bastion. Maybe planting the flowers was her idea, but he wasn't usually one to jump to conclusions. "I suppose I was," he shrugged. "I was...here not too long ago, and I don't remember seeing flowers here. So I take it that's what you do around here, or it's a hobby or something?"
He thought about offering his assistance, but one, he wasn't sure she'd need his help sprinkling water on flowers and two, gardening wasn't exactly his best talent. At the very least, they each had someone to talk to. "So, uh--how do you think the restoration of this place is coming along? Still got a lot of work to do?" Hopefully he wouldn't come off as nosy or rude or anything; he tended to strike that kind of first impression.
Gardening |Riku & Aerith|
Hollow Bastion had definitely changed over the years. When the silver-haired youth had first arrived here, the entire place was barren, the Rising Falls really the only "pretty" aspect of the eroded world. He would have been curious to see what the place looked like before Maleficent turned it into a forgotten castle, but who knows if that was possible anymore? Sure, Sora's friends who used to live here were doing all they could to bring back the home they remembered, but it wouldn't have been as easy if the place had fallen just like Destiny Islands did. But in the end, any world that didn't fall to the Heartless had it better than the worlds that did.
Riku had decided to come back on a whim, see what kind of progress they were making here. Standing at the very spot he'd first seen in this world, he was a little surprised to see flowers here. He might have doubted this was the plateau over the Rising Falls if he didn't get the distinct feeling of deja vu right where he was. When he and King Mickey had been here before, Hollow Bastion certainly felt different from the ruined castle, but for them to be planting flowers around was yet another step in the right direction.
His gaze fell on a young brunette tending the flowers and wondered if he should introduce himself. Her eyes looked kind, but if this was a friend of Sora's, she might not have been too happy to see the one who was formerly under her enemy's wing. Well, he just wouldn't have to bring up that little fact and give her a chance. He wasn't the same boy, after all. He cleared his throat to get her attention and tried a polite smile. "Hi. I'm sort of new here, this is Hollow Bastion, right?"
On the Waves
“Sureeeeee.” she puffed her cheeks out in a mock-displeased manner, but it soon turned into a smile back and eliciting a few giggles. Riku’s jesting seemed rare, but when he did, it was truly funny.
“Ah, okay.” she piped up, watching Riku head back to the bathroom before coming back with a tube of ointment. As he peeled off her bandages, she didn’t feel much except for the tightness of the bandages loosening.
“Um, not much. I’m not sure if it will hurt though once you apply ointment and put the bandages back on. If it does though, then it’ll be okay. I don’t think I need painkillers for awhile.” she replied.
"Hey, it's true." He grinned a little at her giggles. "You try fighting against your personality, see how well that works for you," he teased. He would hate himself if she misinterpreted the comment when he only meant it as a joke, but whatever happened would happen.
"'K," he muttered, carefully spreading a thin, even layer of ointment across a hand towel before applying it to the irritated skin. "Good, this is healing up pretty quickly May not be long before it won't hurt to walk again," he mused, putting aside the hand towel and unraveling a fresh bandage to wrap around her ankle. Hopefully the ointment would do its job of dealing with the pain and not causing any additional damage, because that was all either of them needed now. "So you think your friend is starting to worry about you yet, or has that ship already sailed?"
★ | Shadowed Truths
She nodded firmly, convinced she would make three charms for Riku and his two friends when this was all over…whatever this was. While the magic within her own wayfinder had long vanished it’s symbolism was still there, the meaning never left. She often wondered if Ven and Terra still had a hold of theirs, she’d not thought to look when she’d left Ven in his safe place, and the last time she’d seen Terra didn’t exactly open up many opportunities to check or ask. She liked to think so, that their three charms connected them, no matter how far a part they were now, that a little piece of her was always with them. “Just something simple, so no matter how far a part we are there will always be a part of me with you…sounds nice in theory” a light chuckle leaving her as she realised she was starting to sound a little sentimental.
It was a cycle, cycles weren’t made to be broken. People would always have dark thoughts, no matter how small. It made her think how that story she heard, from Kairi’s grandmother was just a fairy tale, how could all the worlds be filled with light? In a way she supposed their work as Keybearers would never be done in that case. Until they could no longer lift their blades due to old age, they would always be the protectors, keeping the balance. She’d known that when she decided to walk down this path, but she probably hadn’t known that it would be this big. “Looks like we have our work cut out for us,” she jested but it was true, their battles were far from over. She’d chosen this life, Riku had in a way but he’d only been young, how could he have known how truly hard the trials ahead would be? She didn’t even know how Sora came to wield a Keyblade, it had simply just chosen him, he had little say in the matter from what she knew. “Just goes to show how delicate the balance is, one slight shift and everything falls a part, no wonder there used to be so many Keyblade wielders” their numbers now dwindled.
She listened carefully as he described this castle as best he could, it sounded strange indeed, yet it was more familiar than strange to her. When she’d left the place had been empty, though it appeared others had ended up at it’s doors.
“It does sound weird but oddly…I think I know the place,” she couldn’t be certain but his description matched. “My home…was destroyed several years ago now, it was in pieces when I finally returned” she began to explain, knowing her words might baffle the other to begin with. “When I became Master my own Master told me secrets only I should know, one of them was how to lock our world away in dire circumstances, I did so to protect my friend, a place to keep him safe” she continued as she recalled the day her dark and broken home was transformed by her own hand. “I can’t be certain but it could be the place you’re talking about,” if that was so perhaps others had found Ven? Though she was told only she could unravel it’s secrets.
He was starting to feel a bit cynical; after all, something simple would hardly make the cut in ensuring he or Sora or Kairi would never forget her. But, in a way, Kairi's charm was doing that. By leaving it with Sora, she'd given him motivation to keep on going, to find both Kairi and himself, to ensure that everyone came home, and he could give it back to her. He never got the idea behind little trinkets like that (it must have been a girl thing), but maybe in their own right, they did the job better than he expected. "Does sound nice, actually." He didn't want to add it was always a pleasure to make new friends lest it made him sound like Sora.
"Yeah, suppose so," he chuckled in response to Aqua's joke. But there was ineffable truth to that. Granted, the things he'd seen and done were things no one would do willingly, but after an age of spending his days on a boring tropical island, fighting to protect the balance was a welcome change, not to mention an honor. An honor he didn't truly deserve at the moment. "There used to be more? Kinda strange to hear that when a number of people I've come across have wielded a Keyblade." But then again, even that number wasn't too big if you didn't count himself and Sora. He'd only met three (he wasn't too sure of the number on account of the faint, dwindling memory of the third), and it was possible Aqua had met several more during her own journey.
He blinked in surprise when she told him she knew the place. It was odd to hear that Castle Oblivion had been another place before the Organization found it, but things were starting to make sense. From what he observed of Xemnas, he didn't recall his previous life much like Namine. If, and he was only guessing here, Xemnas' past self had some connection to both the Xehanort Aqua knew and Terra, then the residual haze of memory may have led him to Castle Oblivion in an attempt to bring back more. "Mind if I ask a question about your friend Terra?" he inquired. "You mentioned before he was possessed. Was it Xehanort?"
[ GAME OVER ] is a new role play masterlist that caters specifically to video game characters. We’re an open group that particularly aims at role players new to the community and need a place to get started. But we welcome all role players, new and seasoned. There are an abundance of characters open and we’re now accepting reservations and applications. We’re also looking for part time mods to help out every so often. So if you’re interested in joining don’t hesitate to check out our group page!
“You were listening?!” Sora screws his face up into a grimace, punctuated in a terrible attempt to appear deadpan and failing miserably. “Yeesh. You’re really still mad over that? You know I only said it because I care.” In any and all attempts to win best friends over with acts of remorse built solely on the piggyback nature of competition, they’re tied for two. But he isn’t particularly angry at Riku; at least, not in the way the other boy’s suspecting he is.
“Gimme’ a break. You’re still here, aren’t you? As long as you and Kairi stay, that’s all I’ll ever need.” He’s all scrunched-up now, tucking loose limbs under the bedsheets like he’s only seven again, and retrograde childhood can’t be good for the soul or the body, but Sora’s pretty much entitled to one day to act mopey with an infection in his esophagus and introspection on the brain. There are words stuck in his throat, but whenever he attempts them, they get kinda’ clogged around his tongue, so he tries one last time, flopping over on his side and enunciating each syllable carefully, oh-so-poignantly. He’s already half-tumbled off to sleep when he finally catches what he hopes is the last word of the day.
“Thanks.”
"I'm your best friend, aren't I?" he chuckles, raising an eyebrow. "Who else is gonna keep an eye on you and make sure you're not getting yourself killed?" Yeesh indeed. Who said he was mad? He was just trying to make a point. "You say it's your way of caring, but I guess I'm still just stinging over the fact that it was my rudeness that told you it was me and not something like my sword." He might make a remark about his personality rubbing off on people in a way he wasn't expecting, but he is who he is after all.
"Right," he smiles as he watches his friend burrow into his sheets. All that trouble of making the bed only for him to tunnel into them like a groundhog. Heading to the kitchen to fetch the invalid a glass of water and promise his mother he only needs rest, he sets the glass by his bed and throws in one last remark as he tousles Sora's wild 'do:
"Get well soon, you little sap."
On the Waves
She titled her head slightly in the silence, and simply let the silence prevail. However when she saw him smirking, she puffed her cheeks out. ”I know you’re rubbing it in, geez. Yeah, yeah you’re right, silence is nice.” she gave a wry grin.
“Ah! Yeah, here.” Shiki put her propped up legs down back on the ground and turned so Riku could look at her ankle again.
"Sorry, it's a little reflex of mine," he grinned back, standing. Even though he knew he wasn't always right, all the times hanging out with Sora had almost engrained this hobby into his personality. But then again, Sora and Kairi were modest to the point of insanity, and his attitude helped even it out in a way.
"Huh. It's looking pretty good. Maybe I should put some ointment on it before changing the bandages." He quickly retrieved some minty gel from his bathroom before carefully peeling off the bandages. "It doesn't hurt, does it? I got more painkillers if you need them," he offered.
★ | Shadowed Truths
“Still…might be nice to have something to symbolise that connection,” perhaps something different to the wayfinders or at least an alternate design for the younger trio. Maybe she just wanted something to work on while here, drawing in the sands for eleven years did get a little tedious. She didn’t think Riku would forget but it was best to be safe, though she too didn’t think Sora or Kairi truly forgot her. Deep down somewhere her visage was still there it was just a matter of bringing it back to the surface. At one point she had thought she could do things on her own, that she could brave her trials alone as long as she had her friends in her thoughts. Yet sometimes that wasn’t enough, sometimes you did need someone there to have your back. She had to admit when visiting the Enchanted Dominion where she first encountered Maleficent having someone on her side had been a relief, another set of eyes to look out for her and vice versa.
However with people like Xehanort that wasn’t the case, they didn’t have ‘pawns’ so they could look out for each other, they were merely tools to be thrown away once their purpose was finished. She couldn’t see the two of them teaming up, fighting side by side as comrades, in that respect they did work alone. Even during their battle with Xehanort and Vanitas the two had only teamed up briefly before separating for Vanitas to finish her off and to create the χ-Blade with Ventus. Maybe if both of them had worked together she wouldn’t have been able to shatter the χ-Blade along with Ven. “That’s what troubles me, as long as there is darkness the Heartless will always be around but the worlds can’t exist without it either” to have one without the other would surely thrown everything off balance. As Keyblade Master wasn’t it her job to protect that balance? All her life growing up she’d been told that darkness was bad, even more so as she got older from her Master’s teachings who’d obviously been scorned by darkness in his past to hate it so much. Of course now she knew better.
“I see, I don’t think something as convient as that will come along to save me though” it seemed all too easy. Maybe she was a little saddened at how easy it was for others to come in and out of here with little effort or at least had someone out there looking for them. Perhaps she really had been forgotten after all these years. “A perfect balance? Where was this place?” Not sure why she was so intrigued, she’d come across many castles before and the one he mentioned could be any of the ones she’d seen or none of them at all.
"That'd be interesting," he remarked. Kairi had something like that before, the charm that was probably modeled after a paopu fruit she never lost sight of. If he remembered correctly, Sora now had it, which she probably believed would ensure they all met again, just as the paopu fruit did in its own way. Listening to Aqua talking about stuff like this had Riku convinced she and Kairi were pretty alike: they'd sooner die than let their closest friends drift out of their lives forever. Of course, with how frequently he and his friends lost each other (and from the sound of it, Aqua and her friends had the same issue), he'd take whatever he could get in finding his way back to them.
These people that he and Sora often came in conflict with never seemed to truly appreciate their allies. He'd been working with Mickey for a while, and the diminutive monarch relied on him just as much as Riku found strength in his support. But people like Xehanort's Heartless (and to an extent, Ansem the Wise) only found value in an ally if they needed backup, or the other could serve as expendable. Just like Xehanort's Heartless found Kairi useless after opening the Keyhole and deemed her unworthy of living, Ansem the Wise had wanted Namine disposed of once Sora's memories were all in order, using an excuse he found worthless to justify it. It was so disgusting sometimes to know that there were people in this world who thought like that. "I'm actually worried this cycle won't ever stop, because it's not like people are about to fill their hearts with light to make sure the Heartless never come back," he shook his head. "But, I guess that's what power struggles like this one means. Finding and maintaining such a balance isn't easy to do."
He sincerely doubted anyone would leave through a card anymore, since Castle Oblivion had been abandoned. Not even the current Organization seemed to find much use for it. "Well, that's only happened once if I remember. Not like cards made of light just pop up all over the place anyway." Trying to recall Castle Oblivion after the eventful year he'd had was no simple task, but there was no forgetting just how strange the place seemed to him. "Well, this castle wasn't in the realm of darkness or light. It--felt so blank, but the design was crazy. I think the general color on the outside was brown and green, with really tall towers, it looked like it might have been a grand castle once before. And all the rooms were white, like just staring at the wall could make you go blind. I think on the front doors were spear designs, too," he narrowed his eyes as he tried to remember. He knew he wasn't doing a fantastic job of describing the place, but it was all he could bring to the front of his memory. "Sounds weird, huh?"
★ | Shadowed Truths
At least she held some comfort in knowing where Ven was and that she was the only one that could find him. He couldn’t sleep forever, and while she’d promised she would watch over him for all eternity she knew he would wake long before then. So in that regard she didn’t feel so in the dark, it was only a matter of believing in him, that one day he would open his eyes again. Terra was more complicated, she had no idea what happened to him after she saved him, if she really had done so. It had been evident that he was fighting back, when he plunged the Keyblade into his chest but she didn’t truly know what that meant. Keyblades could unlock hearts so she could only hope he’d somehow managed to drive Xehanort out, what that meant for Terra she couldn’t even guess. She could blame Xehanort for all their misfortunes all she wanted but it didn’t change anything. In the end they had been their own downfall for not trusting each other, Xehanort simply took advantage of it. “Well in case you do forget I should make something so you can remember us,” the wayfinder charms came to mind.
She wasn’t so sure Xehanort used Maleficent as to not dirty his own hands, while conniving he didn’t shy away from doing dirty deeds. He was the one to actively approach Terra and persuade him his only other pawn had been Vanitas, a definite thorn in her side. She often wondered if he was truly gone, while the lack of Unversed would suggest as such it seemed these villainous types didn’t like to stay dead. “Something like that, though I’m sure Maleficent had puppets of her own” they were all most likely tricked, promises of power and all that. She was a little unsure of the questioning tone in his voice, why he would think she wouldn’t agree she couldn’t say. “I personally wouldn’t but for some people it makes sense, if Xehanort has some grand scheme going on he’ll need extra hands” even he couldn’t do it by himself. “We should probably be used to it by now, it’s the sort of thing they do” she shrugged lightly.
She really did believe that’s what he was doing, if he had done all those horrible things and was now regretting them, then setting his own punishment by casting himself here seemed like a way for redemption. Perhaps not the best way but she didn’t know the full story of these bad things he’d done. “I suppose but…I don’t know it didn’t seem that way” she couldn’t describe it, how he spoke as if he was sorry.
“There are other ways he could leave, there’s ways to protect yourself from darkness without having to actually use it,” she explained plus why would he wear the coat if he couldn’t even use it? The Keyblade armour for one, if only she had that she could have left the moment she fell here. But of course if she’d done that both her and Terra would have been stuck here. Maybe if Riku could somehow get her armour back to her…foolish to think it would be that easy. Just as it was with Terra she didn’t know what became of her armour or her own personal Keyblade. “A…card?” Noting the jest in his voice but if it had been a joke it pretty much went over her head but she smiled in any case.
"No worries," he shook his head with a smile. "I don't think I'm about to forget you. Even if Sora and Kairi have forgotten, I'll remember so I can remind them." Just as Namine had told him before, forgotten memories were never truly lost, just buried in dark corners of their hearts. 'Remembering one thing leads to remembering another', something he'd never forgotten even with temporary holes in his own memory as Namine was busy fixing up Sora's memories. Now that he and Aqua had 'reconnected' (for lack of a better term), this memory would take quite a while burying itself in his heart.
No doubt of that, he muttered silently. He being one of them, Riku knew better than anyone Maleficent was no different from Xehanort when it came to acting through others. But having no experience with Xehanort himself (because he couldn't be sure Xehanort's Heartless acted exactly as his former self), he could only take Aqua's word for that. "No one can really...act alone. At least, no one can hope to pull off stuff like that working by themselves. Suppose there's no running away from it. Wherever there's light, there has to be darkness to balance it. So if we can do it, they can, too."
The cloak itself was just a guard against darkness, which suggested the man wasn't a being of darkness. But if one didn't have control over the Corridors, how would someone go about leaving the realm? When Sora and the others had been there before, they had help leaving because of the gateway Sora activated. He then had to wonder, did this man have a gateway of his own? "Well...when I found myself trapped here last time, I was floating in an empty void. Then someone helped me out by somehow sending what looked like a card to me. Once I grabbed it, I found myself in a weird castle that the Organization was using to trick Sora." His brow furrowed as he remembered his journey through that odd castle. "It was in a weird place...almost like perfectly balanced between light and darkness." Castle Oblivion, DiZ had called it. Such a strange name for a place slung precariously between light and dark.
