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@fuckthis (text)

hey
so me and wash and gene were gonna go on an adventure in the woods
see what we can find, you know?
but we're looking for a couple of people to bring with us
maybe two or three
gene's a medic, wash is a marine, and i'm a wizard with experience dealing with monsters and nasty magic
anyone that thinks they could round that out would be great
but no serial killers or anyone that would like
murder us in our sleep
and sorry, but no kids yet
i know some of you are gonna argue that, but we have no idea what we're dealing with and we don't want that on our consciences
anyway, let us know
thanks

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... I mean, none of us will say otherwise if you want to rough him up a little.

[ just saying. ]

I think he could handle that, yeah.

[ the replica can likely hear the wry smile in her voice. ]

I'm glad to hear that. I am sorry to have alarmed you. I know you have been through an... emotional rollercoaster, in this post.

My name is Wanda.

It's fine. I don't really care what anyone else thinks, Sora wanted to tell them our perspective and we just tried to help.

[ to be honest, this conversation is one of the few that actually went okay. ]

I'm Dawn.

It is nice to meet you, Dawn.

[ a beat. ]

For what it's worth, if any of you can fight like Vanitas... and if you work well together... they have missed out on something truly great.

I will not make that mistake.

[ it is nice to meet you, dawn.

it's strange, having that said to him. he's not riku and he never will be; he's second best, a stand-in and a replacement, something that has outlived his usefulness. he's never what people really want — who needs a fake when the real thing is still here?

things like it's nice to meet you, things like you're someone special to her, those things do not apply for someone like him. ]

Sora and the others have been fighting for a while. We can work well together because some of us have fought each other before, [ lookin' at you, vanitas. ] We know our strengths and weaknesses.

We're not trying to say we're stronger than everyone else here. But we're not going to just sit back just because some adults can't handle seeing someone younger going out to fight.

I have been fighting to survive since I was very small. I understand.

[ the intonation of her voice is soft, but deep. she is complicit with all of them in battle too young, not young enough — war and death do not discriminate between ages. ]

I want you and your friends to remember this, Dawn. No one has told you to sit back once and for all.

What others cannot bear to see, or cannot ask to take orders — that is their weakness. Not yours. Do you understand?

They used you, too.

[ war and death do not discriminate between ages, between species. he's two for two now and he's still kicking, somehow. less bitter, maybe, less angry, but even more stubborn now than he was before. ]

I get it. [ there are people i don't wanna see die in front of me either. ] We're still going to do what we think is right. Not what someone else told us to do.

You're a quick study.

[ she lets the rest of it lie, for now. how she asked to be used, at first. crawled on her hands and knees for it. ]

Good. —By the way, how have you all been eating?

Fine, I guess.

[ he makes an uncertain sound. ]

I didn't really need to eat before I came here, so it's been kind of weird.

Eating so you don't need to sleep, perhaps?

[ a soft hum, not teasing, but... fondly understanding. ]

I cook too much to eat myself. My roommate disappeared, and I have been... overcompensating. Come to room 303 for a meal sometime; bring your friends. Yes?

careful
you're gonna have five mouths to feed

That is just the number I was hoping for.

Fine, but only if you let us clean up afterwards.

I can agree to those terms. Sometime this week?

Let me ask them first and I'll let you know. It's not every day we get invited over for a home cooked meal.

I'll make sure Vanitas is on his best behavior.

[ a surprised bubble of laughter, quickly aborted. ]

No need for that. I think it would only rile him up, don't you?

He gets antsy when he doesn't have something to fight. Then he's twice as annoying.

He's like a small dog, you have to tire him out sometimes.

If you think it is wise — you have known him longer.

[ a beat. ]

For what it's worth, I am hoping he will be tired and have much to think about after I speak with him. Perhaps for a little while.

I just met him a week ago, actually.

[ hard to believe how much has happened since then. ]

But, [ and here's the funny thing: ] I used to be like him. I remember what it's like.

[ that— draws her up short. ]

Exactly... like him?

Not exactly.

You know his darkness, [ she has to, if she's connected to vanitas. ] I got that, too.

But I guess the difference is, he's real. I'm just a fake that won't stay dead.

[ she's quiet for a moment. not even the characteristic rustle of her fingertips interrupts the silence. then, calmly: ]

I do not believe you are a fake. And I have a nose for these things.

You don't have to believe it.

[ because it's the truth: if she passes the boathouse, if she ever wanders near the bonfire — if they come over for dinner, she'll see him. she'll see riku and she will know, just like everyone else in town.

you could be something more than just a copy, axel had told him once. but in the end, he was still hollow, empty. nothing. better to give that husk of a body to someone else instead; the world doesn't need two rikus.

you give a weapon trajectory, not autonomy. maybe one out of two isn't so bad. ]

I can't change what I am.

[ she could be talking to a reflection of herself, at so many different points in her life, wayward and isolated, fearful of herself and doubtful of what possible worth she could have or good she could do after so many wrongs.

but then had come clint. and steve. the rest of her patchwork, precious family. ]

Who says you need to change anything? I like who I'm talking to, right now.

You haven't even met me in person yet.

[ he sounds uncertain, doubtful. it's the first time anyone's ever told him something like it — the idea that anyone would enjoy his company, would enjoy just speaking to him as he is now and not just a byproduct of riku, is a foreign concept.

repetition is key to conditioning. old habits have always been hard to break. ]

locked.

hext - 2019-07-29 23:47 (UTC) - Expand

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