Choose Your Adventure...

Today is the day.

You may have come to the Land of Departure seeking strength, skills or chasing a dream. Or maybe you came because you're trying to escape something: a desolate world, crippling self doubt, or had nowhere else to go. Either way, it's been a long journey with Sora, training and learning and fighting to earn the right to earn the right to wield the keyblade, to earn the right to travel the worlds, to earn the right to be called Master. It's the answer to everything, it's what you've wanted, and it's going to fix everything. It just has to. Everything you've done so far has led up to this moment...

Scenario 1 - Apprentice )

Scenario 2 - Wielder )

Scenario 3 - Master )


[ooc: Adult!Sora is an older Keyblade Master. And It's the day you become a Master/keyblade wielder. (Think of it as Sora's a knight and you're the squire/and or a fellow master}. No knowledge necessary of the KH universe. Feel free to deviate from the concept, change things in canon and wing it if you're unfamiliar, or even do multiple threads for each scenario! I'll follow your lead.]

All I want for Christmas is...

[Christmas isn't always a fairytale. It's not always about Santa, or getting presents. Not always about families, not always about togetherness.]

[Sometimes, Christmas equates to isolation. It's something Roxas has gotten used to.]

[Here in the orphanage, plenty of kids are getting excited over the season. It's the season to be jolly-- and the season for couples to feel that little pang of longing, to have a young one of their own bouncing into their room, ripping the colorful paper off presents and beaming up at the camera that will capture them for ages to come.]

[So the orphanage opens it's doors, lets more people in than usual and gives the children a chance to be at their best- playing, fighting, crying; laughing, in front of the many potential mothers and fathers that look their way. Roxas just doesn't understand it.]

[So he stays out of the way, under a tree with his little black book, and writes about far off worlds with disappearing cats and talking caterpillars, because when you don't know what you're missing--]

[How can you want it?]





[OOC: Meet a smaller Roxas than usual- around eight years old and brimming with confusion over the current events. Essentially playing up his lack of understanding to both christmas and family, so-- feel free to pull him from that isolation.]

oo2。 sleigh bells ring, are you listening??

[ The sound of bells ringing, the smell of cookies baking in the oven, and the over abundance of red and green decorating the halls and the like- all of these things point to one thing: it's that time special time of year called Christmas.

Kids with rosy cheeks from going outside in the cold and parents making lists to figure out what to get for their kids and their friends' kids and so on. Laughter and excited chatter is always in the air, warm wishes and the general "what are you doing for the holidays" is always the most frequent topic among the people. And then at the end of the day, maybe people would nestle in front of their fireplaces, drinking hot chocolate with a mountain of marshmallows on top of it or reading Christmas stories to their children before retiring for the night.

But that's only one side to this joyous holiday. The other side is so much more hectic. Wanna know what that is?

Christmas shopping.

Gotta get those presents for those loved ones before they're out of stock and then you'll be up a tree. A trip to the mall is in order of course, but going there just for presents is only half the battle. The other half is making sure your kid gets that chance to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what they want for that special day, squeezing in a picture or two with the man in the red suit and maybe with one of the Santa's helpers too.

And there's one elf in particular who looks absolutely happy to be there as he rings the bells in his hand while directing the next kid to go sit with Santa.

Or rather she.

Roxas is having a great time really, dressed in his costume. Why he's there, well. Let's just say he got volunteered by an "unknown" person and couldn't back out at the last second because the other elf volunteer had managed to bail before him. So he's stuck until he can clock out of there. ]


No cutting in line, please. You'll all get your chance to tell Santa want you want for Christmas.

[ Meet Roxas, aka Peppermint. ]


[ ooc; FAMILY PORTRAIT EVENT!! Feel free to have your character be whoever you want them to be to him. He's not going to be in the best of moods and wondering just why in the world he's dreaming this in the first place. Obviously he needs a spot of sunshine in his dreary life. 8) ]

And a merry Christmas to all

[It's that special day that comes once a year, when families gather together to spend the day making merry and exchanging gifts. And no one could be more excited than Sora. In fact, he's decorated the family home, preparing it just for today. And there are so many gifts under the tree, just waiting to be opened. In fact, he's sitting there, absolutely excited. He's just waiting on someone.

And that someone is his family: you.]




[[OOC: Be whoever you want to be to him! Just expect special presents and possibly fun in the snow outside after said presents.]]

four | beginnings (press start to play)

[ today, you've gotten a call from a nurse at Abbott-Alabaster Hospital. there's a family member currently occupying one of their rooms and as their kin, you're notified.

for some reason (to lecture, to scold, to make fun of, to be a good sibling, etc) you've found it in you to take time out of your very busy schedule (or maybe it's an empty one) to come down and see him.

and there, in room 301, he sits.

Riku covers his mouth as he coughs and looks over as you enter. his face is red and his eyes are dim, hair a mess. he looks somewhat damp--not surprising given what the nurse told you about his situation. apparently, he saved someone from drowning on one of the frozen lakes--the ice cracked and he fell in and then had to be fished out.

he slowly turns his back to the figure. ]


I told them not to call anyone.

[ he's a big boy. B( go away. ]

[ooc: if it's not too much trouble, i'm thinking of threads happening chronologically--first thread first and so forth. so far I have a stepsister for Riku and a dad (stepdad? idk Eleven does what he wants) so besides those, go ahead and throw any family member you want!]

[001]: Forget in the Desert River

The desert sun beats down in full force upon a river of sand. It looks uncrossable, at least by any normal means. Though it's clearly grains of dust and dirt, it flows naturally, rippled with small waves. Dead trees grow within it, with only barren branches.

A boat approaches, a ferry carrying a hooded and cloaked figure. It glides noiselessly atop the sand. Slowly, finally, the ferryman brings the vessel to a halt just nearby. Her face is still hidden as she waits, hand out, for her fare.

"Hop on," she offers, and the voice is clearly feminine. "And unburden yourself." In the dream, everything lost can be regained come morning.

"You have something you want to leave behind, don't you?" It's a shrewd guess; very few people are without regrets they'd like to forget. She makes it sound almost enticing.

Sora + Roxas // In the shadow of your heart

[Welcome home.]

[Maybe you’ve never been here before. Or maybe this place isn’t quite what you remember. But there’s something inside that tells you, you’re here to stay. You belong here. With Roxas. And with Sora. They have a very special story to tell you. One they haven’t told anybody else. No one except for you. Because you’re special. You’ve always been special, didn’t you know?]

[They do.]

Once upon a time- time, like the present.

[There are shadows, painted across the ground in long, dark strokes. The sun is high in the sky, casting rays onto the sandy beach, across the carefully hand crafted walkways and bridges.]

[The world feels small. Cold.]

[At the center of it all, like a mirage across the field, are two more shadows. Distinct in shape, anybody could’ve cast them; it’s the same matter that walks at your feet, crawls across the wall behind you, in every hour of everyday. Together, they clasp hands, reciting a story they both know well. It’s so hard to tell...but one could begin to think that they were smiling.]


There was a boy made of light, with a heart made of glass. A heart a little bigger, maybe smaller than some, than most. But so very precious. So very BREAKABLE.

[Hands squeeze, so very tightly. Even from a distance, it almost looks like they’re breaking each other’s skin, digging into the palms of their hands, sinking their fingers deeper and deeper, if only so they never. Let. Go.]

One day, he wandered into the wood, into the dark where the shadows wait and creep and reach.

Even a heart of glass can be filled with courage. So when the shadows pulled and pushed, and pushed. And pulled. He didn’t break. Instead, it laid out piece by piece, all the right things to let him break himself.

He shattered into two: One and another. But even though he was broken, it was still okay. Because a long as he held onto his other, he could still be whole.

But there was something in the water...

[A pause. For a moment, one of the voices stutters into silence. It feels guilty, the heavy weight of defeat and treason;a thick cloud seeping his very being. All across the ground, tainting the air.]


[He feels guilty. And so do you.]


A shadow. And it wanted to smother the light, hated how it shone wherever the two touched. So it waited. It waited for that moment when the two were not whole, when one ventured forth in search of everything for the other. It reached out, called, tempted.
Until there was no air.

One sank. The other watched. But one and the other never let go, one hand clasped around the other. Under the dark water, the shadow began to snap pieces off his light, began to devour them and make them a part of himself.
And when one became the shadow, he pulled the other down into the black and asked in one's voice, 'Would you be with me? Would you let me eat you too?'

The boy cried and struggled to bring the light back. He mourned his loss, his voice cried no. But his heart said yes.
And so together, they went into the dark. Piece by piece. Still whole, still together.
But the dark is vast. The water is lonely.

And the shadow is always hungry.

[The sand shifts under soft footsteps, Sora and Roxas move in tandem closer to their friend, beckoning you forward. Eyes linger in one spot, and one spot only, centering in on the beating heart pattering away under your chilled skin.]

So They asked their friend...

Would you be with us too?

[ooc: Roxas and Sora in the aftermath of this thread.]

three | make me your radio, turn me up when you feel low.

[ it is precisely 12:00AM on a cold morning and there is a parade. a large, lavish parade of black, orange, yellow, red--a parade. Alabaster, Alaska is currently celebrating the start of Halloween. Everyone's cheering outside as the parade marches through the main street of the town. Fireworks, sparklers, flashlights--there are children that're running around with differently colored flashlights and all. it seems like it's a huge gathering--

no wonder the cafe is completely empty.

Riku sits right up against the window, at a table. he's not dressed in orange or black; just navy blues and a white scarf around his neck. he has a few pastries in a box in front of him as well as some coffee. a gift-wrapped box and two cards are next to his other items, but his eyes are on the door.

he's expecting a visitor on his birthday. ]

oo1。 watching, waiting for something

[ A city seemingly consumed by shadows, sparse light only provided from empty buildings and the occasional street lamp, unless one counts the neon lights that line some of the edges of said empty buildings. There are some piles of rubble, blocking a number of the streets and the only way around them is through the alleyways that contain even darker shadows that than the whole city itself. The sole reason for the shadows overtaking the city- a bright moon in the shape of a heart lighting the sky, partially blocked by a towering skyscraper that seems to be in the center of the city, shining like some sort of beacon for all to head towards.

And at the base of it stands a lone person dressed in a black coat with their hood drawn, not moving for the moment.

Perhaps the reason for said coat is the block out the rain that's falling, a harsh wind blowing once in awhile in tandem with the thoughts going through said person's mind. Or perhaps it holds another purpose. Whatever the reason, he doesn't seem to be moving from his spot anytime soon, gaze turned upward to the sky and possibly looking at the heart shaped moon. Or maybe the castle that can be barely seen at this vantage point.

But if one could see into his thoughts, questions whirl in almost chaos, unrest there as he tries to piece a puzzle together despite all the pieces not being there. Fragments are missing and he can only do so much before needing to go off and find the rest of them. But will this place offer said answers?

Why?

What's going on?

How did it get to be like this?

Where's Sora?


He doesn't know but he's hoping that it will.

Because he's tired of not knowing, of being left in the dark. He wants to know and he won't stop until he figures everything out.

First step is always the hardest though. ]

Flip the Chessboard

The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes.


[But perhaps in this case, it was different. Prosaic and memorable as those words may be, they don't hold true to this moment.]

The closer you get to the light, the slimmer the chance you'll survive.

Isn't that right, Roxas?

[A pause, and the boy laughs, cold and chilling, staring about the dream world once shared by two close individuals with extreme interest. Roxas screams in his mind, but it's oh so easy to simply block him out- he'd learned to do that years ago.]

[There was so much here, so much to ruin, so much to-- break.]

[So many people.]

[So little time.]

[Lips curl upwards into a cruel smile, and the illusion of Roxas simply lasts but a moment. Then it's gone, and a shadow stands in his wake. Solid, alive... and with a stark, chilling resemblance to Sora that Roxas has never held.]


Let's go have some fun.


[OOC: all replies will be made with the journal [livejournal.com profile] endinsentiment. The flip of the chessboard occurs in the opposite other being in play-- and Roxas falling under possession instead of Sora. Please be advised violence and character injury is liable to occur-- please let me know if character death is okay.]

Jerry Springer: My Best Friend Left Me-- Then I Died!

Read more... )


[[ooc: Your character has the unfortunate honor of playing the host of the show. Rile things up more, or settle them down-- it's up to you.]]

one | nothing and everything.

[ the patterned silk cast shadows over the large cloth tent Riku sat in. he frowned as he watched the shadows of the dancers outside twist and stretch over the material, letting light and darkness settle over the cotton that lay beneath him and the stuffed pillows strewn about.

he'd had this dream--what, three times?

he glowered at the entrance to the tent, the flap blowing lightly in the breeze. then, his gaze flickered downwards, to the crystal ball atop the table before him. he knew there was really no point in trying to get up and leave. his ankle was already tethered to the bottom of the ball, like he was a prisoner in a cartoon. and, like the last three times, he was in costume, too, an orange tunic on his back with patterned pants tied about his waist, a shawl covering most of his body afterwards. ]


This is ridiculous.

[ what did recurring dreams mean? recurring problems?

ugh, he couldn't even remember, anymore. his mind hurt too much from the folksy songs the gypsies outside were singing and from the differed timelines each one of their steps took.

the dream always ended when he gave a guy his fortune. fine. he'd just wait until that moment came. ]


[ ooc: permissions post yet again! ]

Second Adventure // Hundred Acre Wood

Oh bother. Seems as if you've lost your way.

You've been meandering as 'whatever-you-are's tend to do quite often, if only because 'whatever-you-ares' are very good at meandering.

But perhaps it might have been better to do what 'whatever-you-are's do best some other time, since you are actually searching for a very specific somebody! They most certainly will help you today, you think. Help you find some hunny, or track down those dastardly heffalumps and woozles. Perhaps to help tend your garden, or build your house which will just fall over anyway. It always does. And maybe in the future, you'll need them to fetch you from that tree when you'll be blown into by a blustery wind on a blustery day!

Either way, you'll hear the pitter patter of footsteps approach from behind, perhaps a stranger, or perhaps a very good friend.

And when you turn, this maybe-friend-or-perhaps-stranger greets you!

Sora offers a hand. "There you are!" And a warm smile. "You ready?"




[ooc: Oh dear- you've been turned into a stuffed animal/person/creature in the Hundred Acre wood. But have no fear, whatever flight of fancy strikes you, Sora's here to help and protect! Action tags or prose, you can know you're dreaming or remain oblivious, have Sora take you on a misadventure, or take Sora on one of yours! Have fun and be as creative as you want - after all, it's what 'whatever-you-are's are best at. ]

ღ Seventh Keychain ღ Loss

[No. No, no, no, no, no. This can't be happening. This just can't be--

The dreamscape this time around is dark. It's a twisted world, a strange pit that loosely resembles his childhood home of Destiny Islands. And he's just... Sitting there. Injured, to reflect the hard battle he fought back in the waking world. But it hadn't been enough, and there's a rip in his shirt to show as much. And there, right on his chest, peeking out of the rip in his shirt, is a black and red symbol, though only a corner can be seen.


He's just lost for the moment, staring straight ahead.]


...I... He really...




[[OOC: The symbol is only from his own perceived state and a reflection of what happened to him. Yup, folks, he lost his heart, making him permanently here until it's gotten back.]]

Timeskip: Choose Your Own Adventure

Scenario A
Told to wait )


Scenario B

Told to seek. )


[OOC: Depending on the choice made, here, you’ll be tagging with either [livejournal.com profile] lockandkeyblade or [livejournal.com profile] vacationisalie . You can post more than once if you’d like to play out both!]

001 // icing on the cake

[They say that home is where the heart is, right? Appropriate then that one searching for a heart would end up dreaming of the place he had felt most at home.

You'll find yourself on the steps of a clocktower, mere metres away from the perfect place to sit and enjoy the view. The sunset's as beautiful as it always is in this place, the weather perfect and the atmosphere one of comfortable familiarity.

However, your seat is already occupied- a young man in a black coat sits at the edge of the tower, feet dangling. There's an ice cream bar in one of his hands and the other is splayed out against the bricks, holding him up as he leans back slightly, taking it all in.

You gonna join him? He is waiting for someone- after all, this is where they always meet after missions. Why should today be any different?
]

☆ she dreams of stars 001;

At a glance, this just seems to be a normal and peaceful dream. The sky is a bright blue color that seems to expand on forever. The green grass sways with a gently and comforting wind that passes through and the sound of water flowing through the creeks adds to the music that nature has created. There are trees off in the distance. The huge canopy of green is held up by the strong brown trunks and it casts a shadow to cool yourself from.

But something is amiss. ... There's something not right with this dream.

Upon further inspection, you notice that the grass is in fact not grass. It's long tubes of green pixie stix that you can pluck from the ground and devour. The water is actually blue kool-aid and the rocks around it are upside down cups you can scoop the liquid and drink. The tree trunks are actually made of chocolate that never melts holding up text book leaves that sway back and forth, flipping pages of college material that may or may not have to do with science and math.

...what the heck kind of dream is this? And where is the dreamer?

Where you appear in her dream doesn't seem to harbor any clues but if you search you'll sure find her. Perhaps she's laying in the field of wheat and mint staring at the sky or maybe she's under a tree munching on some chocolate and reading a book she may have plucked from a tree. But somewhere in this dream scape, she is alone. In this dream of childish whims and light, she keeps to herself. No one to talk to or to keep her company.

Will you be the one to relieve her loneliness?

001: watch for me by moonlight

[The road, if it can be called a road, is narrow.  So narrow that it would be hard to walk along it facing forward instead of sideways.  To both sides there's a drop off that seems to go down forever, layers of shadows and tendrils of mist that float disturbingly deep in that darkness.  Mountains rise on either side, catching the moonlight and showing cracks of pale blue and silver white but they're too far away too touch, their forms jagged and sharp in the night.  The path winds and twists back on itself, crumbling at the edges, hairpin turns and broken snake backed twists, a giant's dropped spool of gray thread leading upward.  Always upward.  In the empty night something's creaking, like old wood, loose and dry, the protest of frayed rope a higher counterpoint even if there is no wood or rope to be seen.  Just the gravel path, the moonless sky pin pricked with stars and the foreboding guardian mountains.  The wind's cold and sharp as it washes through the pass, and it cuts on each inhale, stealing away the warmth of exhales and turning them to white clouds promising snow.  It's an empty world, alone and lonely, coming from darkness and vanishing into darkness again.

Until the vibrating roar of an engine.

It starts quiet but the rumbling growl grows in volume quickly.  Something's coming.  Fast.  There's a light like an approaching star, falling too fast to be real, switching back and forth on the back trail, light vanishing on the turns before glowing even bright with each new appearance.  There's the skid and slip of gravel falling down into the endless night, whispering against the sides of the road as it falls and the sound of the engine is a purr, a warning, an inevitability. 

Run? 

To where?

There's not even a side to step off to.

The approaching form takes shape, slick, sleek black gunmetal with the stars washing silver over it and it doesn't care, a wolf on tireless feet as it speeds out of the darkness.  Run, walk, stand and wait.  There's no difference to it and no slow in it's breakneck approach.  One moment it's there and then, suddenly, it's here.  There's a flash of gold, of blue and of eerie, misplaced green as the motorcycle roars straight through -

And Cloud Strife suddenly acquires a new passenger.  A new package.  PC it's been marked in Tifa's clear handwriting.  Precious Cargo.  It's his job to see it safely delivered and Fenrir's engine thrums as the bike leans and sways down that impossible, narrow forever road into night.  Cloud's body moves with the bike as if they're one and the same, taking the insane turns at an insane speed, sometimes shifting the bike so far on it's side to make a turn that it's a straight look all the way down into the mist and falling dark.  Against the cold, he's warm and as solid as the mountains that never seem to pass on either side.  But Fenrir's tires skid in the gravel and the wind doesn't like sharing the road with anyone else. 

Hang on tight.  It's going to be one hell of a ride.
]

ooc:: anyone up for a little midnight ride? I'm back and catching up so posts will be slow at the beginning but pick up as I go.  Feel free to be the one latched suddenly on to our intrepid delivery boy or come up with your own approach.  Just realize he's not slowing down.  Adults in the back, smaller kids in the front for the ride.  And with that in mind - Cloud's got a weakness for kids.  Feel free to age your characters down physically or even mentally for this.  Trust us - you're in good hands.  He's a
professional after all...

Day 4-- Through The Looking Glass

[This is insane.]

Hey Roxas? I gotta tell you something… something important, okay?

I’m not what you think I am.


[This is wrong.]

You remember when you unlocked your heart to save Kairi? Well I do too.

[It has to be the world’s biggest joke yet, Roxas’ mouth set in a thin, pale line as his hands grip the keyblade, slashing into everything. Break it all, let it all go-

Shatter it. It wasn’t meant to exist.]


Yen Sid told you about Nobodies, right?

What would you do if you had one?

What would you do if it was me?


[An illusion, a fantasy playing on the most horrible of situations he can comprehend- confessing his existence. His lack of right to even having it, the concept behind his own birth, the thoughts and actions of so many others that have influenced Sora’s thinking.]

[Rolled up into one and reversed into something Roxas wouldn’t recognize if he hadn’t daydreamed this so many times, except he’s standing in the wrong role.]


Roxas.

[He’s the Nobody.]

I’m your Nobody.

[Not Sora.]

I figured you’d be angry; but I had to tell you. We’re friends, right?

[If only it was that easy. The first thing he did without even realizing it was to dash away that false image of Sora from his mind, and now- Roxas was taking his time. Letting out pent up frustration at the scenery, tearing up the earth, cutting down trees, watching as the world goes from beautiful to full of rips and tears, black spots flickering about the place as his subconscious struggles to hold its form. Let it break. Let it all break, this insult to everything he is, this insult to all the fears he has.]

[And most insulting of all was the fake heart, beating away in his chest for this one, any only, dream.]