[ open ] Life is what our thoughts make it...

[darkcharge]

Who: Vanitas + You!!
When: All of April
Where: Various
What: Open + Closed Prompts
Warnings: Violence, PTSD, Fluff, and more to be added later



( Cometflies: 4/3 only )

[ Vanitas has already spent enough time watching the meteor shower. He's a little dazed and confused trying to walk back to the house and there's a reason for it, but that's neither here nor there.

He is soon distracted by all of the colorful little glowing things now fluttering around. The natives seem amused by it, but Vanitas does not. Red and yellow seem to want to linger close to him as well as blue, but he keeps batting them away before any single bug can actually hand on him. ]

Go away and bother someone else!


( Pile's Plantagorium: A )

[ Earning some funds by growing plants? Well count Vanitas in. It's not that he went out with the mindset that he is going to specialize in flora. In fact, it isn't as though Vanitas really finds any relaxation or enjoyment in this activity. However, he is good at it and he believes plants are easier to deal with than people are.

So, sure. Vanitas spends plenty of time helping out on that rooftop, tending to and growing what seedlings tare there. Vanitas can be seen putting his talent to use, standing above flower beds and soon seeds become greenery and leaves. Then they begin to bloom in an array of colors. ]

( Pile's Plantagorium: B )

[ Buuuut there's more to be had if he ventures outside, right? Vanitas is standing right at the edge of the Wall. His Keyblade, Void Gear, is strapped to his back. The problem is, Van sure doesn't know what is a deadly plant or what isn't. So maybe stop him before he goes out and offer a hand?

Or maybe Vanitas is encountered already exploring beyond the wall. He has a plant isolated, it's true. It doesn't look sick... But those are a lot of sharp looking thorns on it. That's probably not a very good thing to bring back, but it looks like Vanitas doesn't really care. Only... he's kind of circling it. Looking for how he can get a cutting of it. ]

( Out of the City )

[ Once again Vanitas takes the opportunity to not stick around the city. When the chance is offered to venture beyond the Wall to one of the settlements, Vanitas takes it. He makes sure to leave a note stating that he'll be out. Doesn't state why or for how long because who needs to know that? He played it pretty safe last month by staying within the city walls so naturally Vanitas needs to get out and actually do something.

To get rid of some of his restless, excess energy, Vanitas takes to patrolling around the settlement he is brought to. There are plenty of infected monsters in the area and the spar he had last month isn't enough. Thus he can be found engaging in battle, fierce grin on his face and laughing. It's almost like he's enjoying every single moment that he cuts down one of those monsters, hurling around Void Gear like it weighs nothing. There's no magic used, just brute strength.

And when Vanitas tires of this - not that he will ever fully tire - there is something else he can do. Don't get him wrong it's not that he cares about these people. He doesn't, at all. Vanitas isn't doing this for their sake, but for his own. He joins some of the other Witches that have set up healing stations. Vanitas, see, has been working on the healing artes for months. Now he's putting himself to the test to see just how much mastery he has over those skills. Feel free to bother him or tease. ]

( Book shopping )

[ Vanitas enjoys being self-sufficient. He doesn't like to rely on others, though there are at least a few people out there that... Well he'll let them help him out if he really needs it. Over all? Vanitas still is uneasy. Normally that would be his motivation for getting out and learning anything.

That's not the case this time, but he's going to keep that to himself. Instead he's at this bookstore, going through the shelves. However, Vanitas looks more and more irritated as he goes. ]

Augh. This one's useless too.

[ He's getting aggravated enough that he's not bothering to put all of the useless ones back. Nope. There's starting to be a book scattered here and there. ]

Why is this proving to be so difficult!?

[ All he wants is a ding dang recipe book. To meet certain Monster dietary requirements. ]

( Wildcard )

[ Anything that you wanna do with Van, of coruse. As always, feel free to contact me at jardaan

Comments

well hello!

[darkcharge]

[ It's not like there's anything wrong with doing it the old-fashioned way either. There's a time and a place for that as well. The reason why Vanitas, of course, does not engage in those practices is simply because he doesn't know how. He only knows how to interact with the plants directly.

Though it's hard not to notice the staring. It's like there's a set of eyes drilling into the back of his skull.]

Never seen magic being performed or something?

[ So he's still not the most polite person to run into. ]

howdy there pardner~

[piromare]

Maybe I'm still getting used to seeing it.

( would he have called his own burnish abilities 'magical'? to the unaware eye, maybe, but it's hard to pretend not to know something when one fully knows the origin of their power. it's something he can relate to; right now, he might as well just be human.

or... not-so-human, in time.

after rubbing one of his temples idly, lio matches vanitas' look evenly. )

Feels like it's cheating. Flowers and plants should take time to grow... it doesn't seem natural.

( he's not accusing anyone of anything. just an observation. )

this is a pleasant surprise

[darkcharge]

There's a lot here that's not natural. Just look beyond the Wall and you'll start to notice that.

[ Maybe they should take their time. Maybe they shouldn't. However the person that posted this quest or whatever hadn't really specified now had they? ]

Personally, I just don't want to get rusty.

[ Though an argument could be made that since magic is a natural phenomenon here, then using it would also be natural. Therefore the plants are still growing through naturally provided means. ]

i'm glad it's pleasant ;;

[piromare]

( 'natural' is certainly one of those words whose description will definitely change as time goes by, and even now lio is doing his best to adjust to what is and what isn't. then again, these plants aren't growing twenty times their sizes and trying to eat people, or growing random colors before exploding... )

I've seen. ( and it's unnerving to think about what lies out there. ) But unnatural isn't automatically a bad thing.

( it'll stay unusual until it becomes commonplace to him. )

Seems practical. ( a beat, then: ) I wish I could say the same.

( and he takes this time to get closer, to get a better look at the plants vanitas has been tending to. )

[darkcharge]

[ Van raises a brow and places a hand on his hip. ]

You sure made it sound like a bad thing just a second ago. Didn't you say that these guys should just grow on their own?

[ No, these things aren't growing tall and hostile. Vanitas isn't going to shape them in that direction. They are sustainable the way that they are. Van has at least made sure of that.

Then there's something curious about what this guy says. "Wish I could say the same?" ]

You're new I take it.

[piromare]

( taking a knee, lio reaches down to touch one, delicately rubbing a petal of a flower in between his fingers. they certainly would burn, and it would be tempting to do that if he could, but... he can't. it's sobering to think of that any longer, and he shrugs. )

They should. ( with a sniff, he again matches van's eyes and offers the smallest raise of his lips. he's toeing the line of smiling, for sure.

lio curtly nods. )

I am. It's been less than a month, and I'm still trying to figure out... things.

( at this point, he knows he's not a witch. )

[darkcharge]

[ What a strange thing, to rub those petals so. Vanitas watches the guy do so. He's not sure what to think on it, but Van isn't going to speculate on the reasoning.

"They should," he says. Van snorts. Going back and forth like that... How confusing. ]

Not a witch then. If it's an consolation, you'll know by the next full moon what you are while you're here.

[ It's not that helpful, really. Sure makes Vanitas glad that he doesn't have to deal with it. ]

Though you could already start to have different dietary cravings soon.

[piromare]

It is, but it isn't.

( though he should be thankful of having some clue as to what he should expect. that's some kind of blessing in disguise. it speaks to the number of mirrorbound who've had the same experiences.

he frowns lightly, raising a hand to his chin. )

That makes sense. ( lio sniffs, probably the lightest laugh he can have while facing such surreal possibilities. ) As long as I'm not searching the ground, looking for worms...

[darkcharge]

And why would you think you'd be looking for worms? Surely you don't think that's all that monsters like Harpys eat.

[ Or, rather, Vantias assumes that it is more than that. Probably would just become more carnivorous. Kind of like how Sora can't really process meat now and Ventus and Roxas can't have the things that would make dogs sick. ]

Otherwise... Changes vary, I believe. Not everyone transforms the same way.

[piromare]

No, but it feels safe to assume it'd be part of a future diet.

( and fish. probably fish? but going for straight up carrion seems ghastly and while lio isn't picky, surely he can avoid going full-on buzzard and find ways to somewhat enjoy food.

is there pizza--- he could do pizza. perhaps that's an option, and if it isn't? he could make it one. )

Then I'll hope mine will hold off in those ways. I'll gladly take anything else.

( he does his best to smile. )

Have you been here for a while? You seem to do okay.

( then again, he doesn't have to worry about the whole monster thing. )

[darkcharge]

You already know what you're going to end up being?

[ Vanitas eyes the other. That's a very odd thing to say if someone doesn't really have a clue about what they are to become in the future. Is there even a method to knowing beforehand? Vanitas doesn't know, but then again he hasn't really pried too much into the whole Mirrorbound becoming Monsters ordeal.

Why would he have need to?

He rolls his shoulders, moving on to the next little plot of land. There's no magic to be done in actual soil preparation so this is something Vanitas is going to get his hands dirty for. ]

How long have I been here. [ He muses over the question. ] Six months, give or take. So you could say I've somewhat adapted.

[ Not that it had ever been an option to do anything less. ]

[piromare]

( he shakes his head, clenching his jaw. not that he's trying to conceal what slivers of knowledge he has, but it's... too coincidental. does it hurt telling vanitas? probably not. there's not much that lio needs to hide, it seems, when no one knows who he is (or was) in the first place.

grabbing what he believes is some freshly gathered soil, he lugs the bag over. )

I had a dream. ( a soft sigh, and he opens the sack. ) I would've ignored it but I've already ran into some of the same people here that I met there.

( and despite it all, lio feels... dumb for believing the dream. )

Probably would've been nice to just wake up and not have to go through all of the steps in between.

[darkcharge]

[ Van clicks his tongue, rolling up sleeves so he can get at that soil. ]

I wouldn't ignore it then. Things from that dreamworld or whatever can and do carry over into here. It seems to be a hit and miss sort of thing, but if you were already dealing with your transformation in the dream? There's a good chance that it could be what you end up here.

[ He's met quite a few in that place himself. In fact, his Bondmate and Vanitas had met up in that dream world quite a few times. All of those conversations had been remembered. Though he doesn't recall the other being a Puca in them.

Would've been nice to just wake up and not have to go through all of the steps in between...

Vanitas huffs at that comment, amused even as he piles the soil onto the bed. ]

A lot of people likely don't want to go through the changes. I can't say if they are pleasant or not, but they seem to have caused many discomfort.

[piromare]

( honestly he can't imagine what the process is like. when will the feathers grow, when will his legs and feet and hands change? at least he felt like himself in that dream, and not compelled to do things that he normally wouldn't... but what if he was already of that mindset?

these thoughts and more, as he reaches in to grab some dirt and unceremoniously plop it onto van's hands. )

The way you put it, it sounds like those who don't have to go through it have some kind of advantage.

( which sounds awfully familiar. )

But witches and monsters need each other, right?

[darkcharge]

[ Honestly he doesn't know how extreme some of the changes can be. They seem to vary between person to person. The order does as well. It's not something that has a definite order and Vanitas has made an attempt to try to find out more about it. Of course it shouldn't surprise anyone that there's barely any information on the subject.

Frustrating, really. ]

I consider it an advantage. At least I know I will always be in the right state of mind. There are no concerns about Witches going feral after all.

[ In other words, Vanitas is quite content in being a Witch. He doesn't know what his mindset would be like if he would have been some kind of Monster. ]

Unfortunately, yes. Monsters need Witches to keep from losing their minds. Witches need Monsters to properly channel magic. It's one weird form of symbiosis.

[piromare]

( this is starting to sound incredibly and eerily similar to a point, and lio is... oddly comforted. the relationship of burnish to the promare is symbiotic, and if the bond between a witch and monster does something like it? maybe he'll be okay with that aspect.

the rest of it doesn't sit as well. )

Lucky you. ( it only hammers home the point that he'll need a bond and that thought leaves him quiet, continuing to lay dirt down until there's probably a little too much.

and when he realizes that most of the sack is emptied out, lio huffs. )

Sorry about that. ( the dirt, anyway. ) Oh, and I'm Lio.

[darkcharge]

[ He huffs at the sizable pile of unneeded soil. ]

Vanitas.

[ It's not like he's going to keep his name to himself. Really it isn't about manners or making friends here. Vanitas doesn't exactly care about either. He does, however, like to talk for whatever reason and doesn't think to hold things back. Until he does, of course. ]

If I were you, I wouldn't take too long. You have time, of course, but who knows when the clock will reach zero.

[ Vanitas himself knows this from experience. He had waited too long, nearly at the point of death, before making a proper Bond.

This time he does use magic to move the dirt back into the bag. At least the excess. No need to do that by hand. Gross. ]

[piromare]

I'll try not to.

( but he can't... doesn't someone he bonds with need to be important? or does it just have to be a brief partnership of some kind? either way, his first feels like it should have some kind of meaning to it. just like the mad burnish or galo...?

or perhaps he should be more professional? a little distant. besides, what if this was one big dream? why get too attached in the first place?

hm. )

... I guess we probably don't need any more dirt. You need anything else?

[darkcharge]

[ For Vanitas they definitely need to mean something. For him it's not just about magic regulation and not exploding or imploding or whatever the term is for Witches. In Vanitas' case, it is also about the condition of his heart. Bonds will, eventually, repair it and make him whole. So he's particular about them. ]

Probably should get the actual seeds or starters. Whatever they're called.

[piromare]

Okay. I'll go down and grab some, see if others need any as well...

( because he should be helping everyone's efforts, not just van's? but lio did enjoy their conversation, not to mention watching him use his magic, and there's something about van's directness that is a lot more palatable than someone being a little too optimistic. )

... but I'll be back.

[darkcharge]

[ Hey look... Many don't appreciate how direct Vanitas can get. Lio is lucky there is no reason for him to be nasty about things. Then again the environment doesn't really require Van to be. It hasn't in some time and, well. Van is more mellow for it. ]

I'm not the boss of you. Go do what you want.

[ Come back or don't. It's all the same. But hey Lio seems fairly tolerable. ]