[Closed] Snowball Fight!

[inlikethebrume]

Who: An idiot (Mira), a darkness child (Vanitas), a sleepy grandpa (Emet-Selch), and later on the crafting catte (Iryha)
When: During the Winter Storm Event
Where: House Darkness
What: Playing in the snow somehow turns into an all out snowball war
Warnings: Potential Shadowbringers spoilers but more than likely none. Dark weirdos being nerds.

[Of course there was warnings about the incoming storm. Everyone being told to stay inside and keep warm is what any sane or normal person would do in this situation. And yet there are some who are in the opposite direction. Such as one particular dark knight bundled outside in the front yard from head to toe in as much warmth as she could handle. Why is she outside in the freezing cold instead of curled up on a couch with a book and warm tea instead? Because she is bored. And being bored is always a bad thing when Mira was around. But the weather itself was a bit hectic that some activities could not be done without the risk of injury.

So that leads into what the woman is doing now: making very odd snow creatures in the front yard. Well, odd to anyone who isn't familiar with them. They're rough but Mira's more into alchemy, not art. As long as they have the shape and they look the part, then she's fine with it.

In fact, she's a little too preoccupied with making those weird things that anyone could possibly snap her out of her concentration even by the smallest greeting.]

Comments

[darkcharge]

They are the same person?

[ Okay, given Vanitas' little "issues" how could he not latch onto that? Mira is curious about this other Warrior and rightfully so. But Vanitas is curious as to how literal he should take that sentence...

All while going back to playing with Breezy's ears. ]

[unsundered]

They possess the same soul, which as far as I'm concerned, makes them the same person.

[As far as he could tell, anyway- but with so much else in common, why would that detail be any different?

The question about his own Warrior surprises him slightly, and he frowns.]

The Warrior that I know... heroic and selfless, like all the rest. More stoic than any of you, but not unfriendly. Taller.

[inlikethebrume]

[If that is the case, then...

Worry on it later. Be a little happy at Breezy purring from the attention.]

Taller than you? I am shocked.

[darkcharge]

[ Well he really doesn't have much to add to this line of conversation. Vani is listening, though. Taking in everything that he can. ]

[unsundered]

[He waves that off with a small gesture.]

Not what I meant. They're taller than any of you Warriors here, though that's not a difficult feat. But they're not like to match a Garlean. Average as this host is, it still towers over most Eorzeans.

[inlikethebrume]

I can name one shorter than you.

[Like Cid is a short Garlean compared to Lucia or Maxima. Same with the Warriors.]

And I seem to be the tallest of the Warriors here. Not by much but I am not used to looking down when needing to speak.

[That and all the others are tiny miqo'te.]

[darkcharge]

Host.

[ Usually that doesn't have a very good connotation, Emet-Selch. Why Van's master had quite a few of those... ]

[unsundered]

If this is an average Garlean, that implies there are shorter ones, yes? But true, you've got a considerable advantage over the miqo'te.

[Cats were so small. Vanitas' reaction gets a half-smile, a shrug.]

Ah, yes- my kind lacks physical form. To get around this, we possess mortal hosts. And, generally speaking, we do not return them.

[inlikethebrume]

[It should be awkward as hell but Mira already asked Emet about it while in Rak'tika. Or rather, asked her version but ever since Lahabrea took over Thancred long ago, it was very much a given.

While it may be answered for her, she can't help but wonder about Vanitas. Was he alright? Other than being awkward about touching.]

[darkcharge]

[ He clicks his tongue. ]

Do you possess them willingly or unwillingly?

[ Honestly he's just a bit curious. Somehow he doesn't really think Emet-Selch would care either way. ]

[unsundered]

Unwillingly.

[No regret or hesitation there. It was what it was.]

At least, I assume so. I've never asked, and I've no reason to leave their minds intact when I move in. Not that I change bodies very frequently- it's more tiring than you'd think, and the adjustment period is always a hassle.

[inlikethebrume]

[Why can Mira imagine any of the Scions make any kind of scathing comment on that? Or in Thancred's case, find his gunblade and try to yeet him into space? But what about her thoughts on it? She can't help but feel bad about the poor guy who more than likely was minding his own business and then suddenly gets taken over by someone else.

There's irony in Lahabrea's statement; in calling the Mothercrystal a parasite, he did not realize that he was one as well. Or maybe he did in all his madness. Thankfully none of this seeped through the bond but Mira is in thought. Did Emet have the same thoughts or has he grown accustomed to it? Did he have another form other than the one he fought her with?

Keep on going boys, she doesn't have much to contribute here but she's still listening.]

[darkcharge]

[ Honestly Vanitas doesn't really feel bad about it. After all hadn't he been about to do the same? Kick Ven's personality from the steering wheel? Whatever happened to his other half after that, well... Who knows? Who cares? ]

So it's just one person. Not multiple people at the same time...

[unsundered]

Now wouldn't that be a trick.

[An intriguing concept. Also an exhausting concept; possessing one life was tiring enough, nevermind controlling several.]

But alas, no. One host at a time. Though it sounds like you're familiar with the idea....?

[inlikethebrume]

[So many Emet-Selchs...the star may implode.]

It certainly sounds like it.

[Tell them more, Vani.]

[darkcharge]

Most of the Organization are somewhat possessed. My master thought that it would be easier to accomplish his goals if the Organization members were like-minded.

[ Yet some of them could act independently anyway, despite Xehanort's influence over their hearts. ]

As far as full possession goes, I think that was only one other person. Maybe two. If our final member had ended up being either Sora or Roxas, I think they would have had to been fully possessed as well.

[unsundered]

How can you somewhat possess someone? A bit like tempering, perhaps....

[It does keep everyone's goals on the same page. He mutters it half to himself, though the Ascian just shakes his head after a moment, focusing his attention back on Vanitas.]

And what are you? Full, half, or none?

[inlikethebrume]

...I don't think he is possessed.

[Just a gut feeling as she turns to the boy again.]

Remember what I mentioned to you upon our first meeting? I still believe that.

[darkcharge]

Define tempering and I could probably tell you. Just know that anyone with golden eyes from my worlds are either half or fully possessed by Master Xehanort.

[ Vanitas does look at the both of them. With a little smirk. ]

Save me, of course. And I know what you said, Mira. That doesn't mean I believe it.

[ Because she doesn't consider him an incomplete being, though he is. Mira probably would also think of Vanitas and Ventus as two different people instead of two parts of a whole... ]

[unsundered]

And is everyone from your world readily recognizable? [Dryly; he wasn't exactly intending on asking every yellow-eyed individual if they happened to be from this one weird kid's star.] Well- not that it makes any difference who or what they're possessed by.

[Though Emet-Selch was a smidgen curious about this Xena-whatsit fellow.]

Tempering is the claiming of one's soul by a primal- a god-like created entity. Those taken live only to fulfill the desires of said god- some with their old personalities completely consumed, while others maintain a measure of free will. [A small pause; he half-smiles.] I'm tempered myself, of course, by Zodiark- as are the rest of my kind. It certainly helps to keep us all on task.

[Without that, would any of them have given up by now...?]

So how did you avoid such a fate, when the others of your group were not so fortunate?

[inlikethebrume]

And I have seen the other side of tempering; consumed by the will of the god summoned.

[She'll never forget Ifrit's summoning and how she was the only one spared from the tempering. But perhaps because she was already tempered? Trust no god nowadays.]

...might I ask who this Sora and Roxas you mentioned are? Are they connected to Xehanort somehow that he would believe either to be a candidate for such a ritual?

[darkcharge]

I would think it'd be obvious, since we all have the same coat. True, they could change that, but not right away.

[ Not that he had ever expected anyone to go around asking such questions. It's just a heads up, some slight information that may or may not be useful. Though hearing the description of tempering... Yes that does sound awfully close to what Xehanort has done, in a way.

And frankly speaking? Vanitas isn't at all surprised to hear that Emet-Selch is tempered by his god. That explains the blind dedication. ]

Your tempering sounds similar, I suppose. Master would drive his Keyblade into their hearts and would force his own to overpower the original inhabitant's. What happens from there? That I don't really know since Master Xehanort doesn't tell anyone all the details.

[ Vanitas stops giving the furball in his lap attention. The answer as to why he hadn't been through all that is obvious, right? ]

He didn't need to do that to me for my goals to align with his. After all he made me what I am. What other choice did I have but to continue to follow orders after putting myself back together again?

[ He shakes his head. None of that matters. He had made the choice. Regardless of what anyone says, this is his choice. Vanitas had willingly helped and aided Xehanort and the Organization. Had attempted to create the most powerful Keyblade in existence. This is his path. ]

I mentioned this to the old man over there before. I am half of a person, but there are a grand total of five of us that share our existence with one another. Ventus and myself used to be one but were split apart. Sora connected his heart to Ven's and in doing so, connected himself to me. Roxas was the Nobody that was created when Sora lost his heart and Xion is the puppet created that was supposed to replace Sora and Roxas.

[ As he had said before too: it's complicated. ]

At one point in time I'm pretty sure all of us took up residence in Sora's heart. Master fully expected our guardians of Light to restore Xion, Ventus, and Roxas. So we had a body made, waiting for one of them to find their way there.

[unsundered]

[Zodiark-preserve-him, that was an awful lot of names, most of which he was unfamiliar with, and a few concepts that were new on top of it.

None of which mattered, but it was like a puzzle to solve, and he had nothing better to do. A puzzle with most of the pieces missing, and the few that remained formed nothing that made any kind of sense. Emet-Selch could feel the beginnings of a headache forming.]

I'm not sure if that makes you more or less broken than I originally thought.

[Seriously- split in half, but there were even more of them involved? Did they all have to fuse together? If not, then what was the purpose of the connection?]

...How does one even take up residence in someone's heart? I know your goal, but what's everyone else after in this?

[inlikethebrume]

[Oh hells, this is much more complicated. Mira needs more tea and thankfully the kettle is right there on the table so fuck it all. It's right when she finishes pouring her second mug that she has a thought.]

One moment. I need to get something.

[It takes only a minute for her to sprint upstairs to her bedroom and come down with a blank journal and writing utensil, already scribbling within the pages. How is she able to navigate back to her place without bumping into anything? Skill.]

My apologies, but I needed to write all of this down. It helps me try to understand more.

[She'll let Vani explain more because she doesn't believe all the pieces are there yet. She wants to think of Sundering as she recalls Emet's explanation back in the Ocular but there has to be more to it. Hence the writing.]

[darkcharge]

Please... Just because we're connected doesn't mean I'm less than a half.

[ He's not surprised that everyone in the room is getting a headache. The heart is a complicated thing. Not to mention his master has been at this a rather long time... All of this is a little over a decade in the making. So Van just gets comfortable as Mira goes to retrieve a sketch pad.

Though he supposes it he could make things a little easier. Apparently Van does have a knack for illusions so would it really hurt to illustrate some things? So up in the air goes two separate circles! One green and one blue. ]

Let's start with this: two separate hearts, or souls I guess you guys would say. One looses a chunk. [ So the green 'soul' in the air does! ] Sora, the stupid kid that he is, decides hey let me share some of mine with you.

[ And thus Vanitas sort of smooshes the two together. They are still distinctly blue and green, with a darker shade in the space that's being "shared." ]

That connection is already there, a bond of sorts. Over the years it becomes stronger. So when Ventus decides he was going to shatter us instead of becoming whole, this connection also served as a tether. The tattered remains of his half was able to find refuge within Sora. His soul coming to rest inside Sora's, attempting to heal I suppose. That's why he was in a coma for a decade.

[ He draws two more circles, but they are empty. One has a yellow outline and the other a purple one. ]

Roxas, being created from Sora's empty shell when "little brother" lost his heart, should have had all of Sora's memories. He should have ceased to exist the moment that Sora returned to himself. However none of that happened. Instead Sora somehow managed to wish Roxas into an existence unto himself.

[ So the yellow circle fills in. ]

Really that should have been the end of it. However the Organization doesn't like that which it cannot control so they created Xion. She was to be their tool and so she started to siphon off bits and pieces from both Roxas and Sora, in a sense.

[ Fragments of both yellow and blue circles start to tear away and fill in Xion's purple circle. ]

That upset a very delicate balance. Sora himself fell into a deep sleep and because he is oh so important, no one could leave that alone. So Xion and Roxas, two beings who shouldn't have a soul and yet do, had to give up and return fro whence they came. Back to Sora. So once again there's only one place they can go - back to Sora's heart. Which, again, should have been the end of it right there but because Sora wanted them to be independent from him, even though he didn't even know about them, they could continue to exist inside him.

[ Vanitas waves his hand about, dismissing the circles completely. It should have been impossible. But Sora is a rather unique person, he supposes. "Little brother" is confusing and even Van's last encounter with the teen has really only left more questions than answers himself. Vanitas only understands this because of his own nature. ]

As for the rest of the Organization? I don't know what their goals are. Never bothered to ask. I knew that Master was just feeding them lies and false promises. We're all just components needed to make the χ-blade. Nothing more.