towerofanimus | 005 | ❝Come back for the hope that you've stolen...❞

Entry tags:

005 | ❝Come back for the hope that you've stolen...❞

Characters: Yu and you ~~it will never get old~~
Setting: Starting in the morning of the return from Infighting on the dorm's second floor, wandering later on
Format: Your choice
Summary: Birthdays were had in Hell, so he decided to celebrate by flooding the dorms with origami cranes and do several other things.
Warnings: I sense a few New World Fools...

Yu wasn't one to say when he was hurting, nor was he the kind of person to simply ignore when others were either. It was hell, the last month... and according to the notes he'd received from Naoya and Zo the main portion of the tower hadn't fared well, either. So for remainder of the first day, all he did was continue making paper cranes in his shared dorm room. If anyone asked, he probably was too absorbed in how calming it was to respond much...

Floor One
After dropping off the little paper figurines at the doors of the other Persona users and his friends, Yu found himself wandering down to the cafeteria. He hadn't eaten much of anything for the last month and barely stomached whatever Ken and the others had brought him from the table, so finding all of these ingredients in the cafeteria?

It was like he was finally back in his element after what felt like an eternity.

The teen soon lost himself in the scents and mundane actions that come from cooking, probably making extra on purpose for anyone who wanted to try something that wasn't guaranteed to poison them. After all, he does know his way with a knife and a stove... even if it was a pain figuring out Fahrenheit-to-Celcius every now and then.

Floor Five
Yu tried to avoid this floor as much as he possibly could for reasons only a select few fully understood. He always ignored the red-collar workers as they went about their jobs, doing what they always did. Yet the sensation he had when coming here...

For once, he could recognize it. That emptiness and the suffocating feeling as though death were clawing up his legs again, trying to drag him down into the pits of hell. The crushing void within his heart to the point where he could almost hear their screams as death claimed them all over and over again.

He almost fell to his knees once or twice, taking hold of something before he could. A rail, someone's arm... he didn't know. All he knew was he wanted out of here before the despair that nearly claimed the spark of hope that still resided in his heart returned once more.

Floor Fourteen
Over the several months Yu'd been here, the media room had become a place of solace where he would meet with his friends and bond. Whether it was over music or video games didn't matter. He just enjoyed the time he spent with them.

This time, however, he was looking for someone in particular... someone he couldn't find at the "wrap-up party" last weekend. After a while of waiting, he sat down and began playing a little game again. Maybe they just decided not to come today...

Floor Twenty-Two
For some reason this week, Yu had begun to frequent the art gallery much more often than he normally did. After all, it seemed to be a place where a certain goddess kept finding him... and all it did sometimes was show him his fears. Oddly enough when he looked at the paintings now, it wasn't mostly his own world he was looking at...

It was of a surgeon cutting open a patient who remained awake, abominations and many grotesque creatures oozing out of the person's abdomen. Yet he didn't flinch, didn't so much as make any acknowledgement of what it was he saw. All he did was keep walking and enjoying the silence all the while hoping someone would soon break it.

Night, Your Floor of Choice
Cooking wasn't the only thing that was cathartic for the teen. No, there had also been a reason he had tried making a weapon for himself only to find a new friend giving him one instead. It had been a month, and his skills were a little rough around the edges, but he'd decided that it wouldn't hurt to stay out until around midnight and fight once the monsters came out.

If you're lucky, someone might even hear a single word being muttered before the sensation of electricity remaining stagnant in the air became more poignant: "Persona."

[ooc note: For Purse Owners Yu's met and seen their Personas, there is an origami figurine of them in their rooms somewhere (more than likely just at the door ~~unless you're his roommate~~). For close CR, there's an animal other than a crane for them of their choosing. He was in a giving mood. :c

ALSO! If you'd be so kind as to also state the day of the week in the comment as well, it would be greatly appreciated! You can also have your characters wander into him on accident on either lounge floors. It gets old saying "Yu sit here, wat do?" after a while... |3]

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[Sometimes answers can be had in the art gallery, amid the atrocity and horrors. He's seen portraits of himself, portraits of what he has a feeling are these other "him", the future that others are so mired up.

It`s been so quiet around the tower that hearing someone else`s footsteps seems loud and grating. He stiffens up, listening. They`ve stopped not far away. Curious about who it could be, Xehanort slinks towards the source of the sound.

Much to his surprise, it`s someone he hasn`t seen in quite some time.]

So you've returned?

[Yu is silent up until he heard the elderly man speak. Even before he began to turn around to face him, it is obvious that something had changed within him. Something that was so strong before... an obvious ability to repel the darkness from within.

After all, it was not Pabilsag that was returned to him. Rather, it was Odin. Yet Odin was not the one whose presence was the most obvious within his heart. Instead there is something cold about it, like a remnant of darkness the power had been pulled from. At least, before he thinks better of it and calms himself even further. It would not do to have another see the results of that month of torment, after all. He still had people who looked to him to lead, even if he had messed up and let a small amount of despair and emptiness reside so close to his light.]

So it would seem. [If he seems even more emotionless than the last time they spoke, it is most likely for good reason.] I take it no one who stayed behind was very fortunate either?

[The shift of light and darkness in the boy's heart is curious. Clearly he's been through an ordeal. That means now is probably not a good time to go looking, simply due to the false positive on potential candidates. In a couple months, after people have stabilized... then, maybe.

Of course, darkness as a bridge is always necessary...]

I dare say that we had it less unpleasant than you. We were simply... abandoned. With no power, the monsters were in full force, and of course no one was serving the tower at all so there was no provided food.

I believe a group of ruffians attempted to wrest control close to the end, but it ended... unpleasantly.

[Yu nods faintly, oblivious to what it is Xehanort is thinking. It had been hell,but even if the darkness had grown, that light had somehow remained almost completely unchanged.]

I heard... Those four ended their little game early because of it and the rebellions within the groups themselves. [He sighs, looking back at the paintings briefly before he mouths only one word: change. The darkness quells within him slightly, letting that light shine again. He was supposed to be a beacon of hope, but he couldn't even keep himself on his feet completely. How pathetic.]

The same thing happened with the labyrinth, right? They don't do well with others trying to usurp control or try to ruin their games.

Of course. When one has the upper hand, they wish to keep it. However, when one has the upper hand for a while, they quickly forget that they must work in order to ensure they do not lose it... those they keep under their thumbs are rarely going to sit by and be dominated without a struggle.

[Perhaps this is from personal experience, perhaps not.]

It's quite fascinating to watch. Uprisings, reprisals. Hasty measures in order to keep everyone compliant that rarely succeed, as the next time a chink in the armour appears it is once again targeted.

[He's silent either way, because there is indeed a thread of truth to it. Yet it is also telling. Xehanort had watched like a spectator at a game, waited while others acted rashly without considering the consequences. Yu isn't sure whether to commend him for patience, or to be skeptical of intent.]

Perhaps some of us are just too stubborn to stay down for long.

[...Was that a faint smirk? Either way, he seems slightly amused by something. Maybe it's just himself.]

[He's rather relaxed, up to his usual level of animation with broad hand gestures. They're not on a dangerous topic, and he does enjoy the conversations he has with Yu - there's few indeed who he can truly converse with, after all.]

There is merit to stubbornness. Revolution doesn't happen if people simply sit by idly. Of course, one must be wary when revolting. Those in power may employ rather unpleasant tactics to ensure their hold remains...

I wouldn't put it past those who manage this place to do so, at least. With what they've shown us they're capable of, there is little outside of the realm of possibility.

[What a shame... Because aside from the bad feeling at the pit of his stomach and a possible scream to change Personas all going on inside of his head, he'll have to admit it's... interesting.]

Believe me, they aren't above it.

[It's a short answer, but there is plenty of weight to the simple statement.]

Ah yes, your brief stay away from the Tower. As I said, it seems perhaps we fared much, much better here than the lot of you did. The general sentiment seems to be one of post-traumatic horror. I do hope everyone will be able to recover in time... or at least enough to fend off our most charming hosts' next playtime attempt.

Yeah... At least a third of us had it rather rough to say the least. [He sighs, not going into the details likely being a good thing... for his own sanity.] I hope so, too. ...It hurts to see everyone in such low spirits and in some cases, suicidal.

Perhaps it's a good thing that death isn't a permanent thing here. Those who cannot be helped initially may have to come to terms with the fact that they cannot take such an easy way out. It's a harsh thought, perhaps, but something of an awakening for those who think it will end their suffering.

Maybe... but there is also the possibility of the reverse as well. [Which is what both frightened and annoyed him most.] In some ways, they may find it as an excuse to stop feeling for a set amount of time, only to have it come back full force while paralyzed and sent into a panic.

Then it proceeds more into a sort of sado-masochism, does it not? The wilfful inflicting of such things on the self for a brief moment of catharsis... I do not think suicide has much bearing on that particular arrangement at that point. It is simply self-gratifying. Of course, one could say that suicide is itself the ultimate expression of self-gratification...

Edited (SHHH I'M SICK WHAT IS GRAMMAR) 2012-07-15 22:36 (UTC)

[...]
[Normally, he is a rather calm and collected individual. Normally, like his other self, he is more methodical and does not allow his emotions to hamper his judgement. It is incredibly rare to ever see him riled up, but with that choice of words, despite what merit they may hold...]

-the hell it does.

[...it's outweighed by his anger and worry.]
[Something automatically clicks within him, as though another voice is urging him to calm down.... but he ignores it because otherwise it will fester. One thing he learned in that hell is that it is sometimes best to let it go in measured quantities.]

When an individual goes through a trial they are not fully prepared to face, it either makes or breaks them. You yourself said that some of us had it worse than those who were left behind in this damned tower...

[He doesn't know when his hands turned into fists, nor when they began to spark as his knuckles turned white. What he does know is that it's incredibly hard to drown out their voices when he's this outraged; their cries.]

So don't you dare imply the wish for an end caused by what my team ['my closest friends...'] have gone through is-

Edited (damnit html) 2012-07-15 23:45 (UTC)

[... It hits him like a ton of bricks. The implications of what he's saying, as well as everything he's reacted to. 'The desire for an end...' Wasn't that what she'd tried to fulfill before they had all-]

...

[He shuts his mouth, turning away. He is indeed still sparking with that cold, cruel lightning when he stops to pull a small, golden orb from his pocket. Instantly, it's like a great deal of darkness in his heart is extinguished.

'Thou must remain calm...' even though he is still livid on the inside.]

...Sorry. [No, he isn't.]

[That darkness swirling around Yu is exciting, seeing him react to something outside of his usual calm and grace. It's almost disappointing to see it disappear, that plainness return. He gestures impassively towards Yu.]

No, you're not. For once, an ounce of emotion, extinguished so quickly by the necessity of platitudes. [He spreads his arms as though in regret.] The universe makes or breaks us all. It is the crucible and the forge, and it is utterly unforgiving.

Those who catch themselves willfully in a cycle of death for a brief moment of respite are addicts.

[He wouldn't exactly say that it's plain right now. After all, there's a reason his back is turned and the fact that the sparks are still there, especially around his hands and the metal within one of them. There's already a few stains on it, and after all that has happened, he isn't about to show sign of weakness. Or more so, in the very least. He has a promise to keep.]

World... mine. [It's quiet, probably too hard to make out for normal ears... but it's there.]

"For every thousand thou shalt kill, I shall revive fifteen thousand." [For every Death, there are at least ten of Life. It's something he's begun to take to heart, much like the one who is a part of him. Even if his voice trembles slightly, he remembers those words well...

He glances over his shoulder, only enough to see the elderly man. Odd, how he has yet to utter a single name.]

The same could be said for those who cling to life, despite the circumstance.

[How strange that such a passing comment from an upstart should hit so close to the mark... while he doesn't let on just how accurate Yu's comment was, his eyes narrow just slightly as he considers where to go from there.]

And yet, it's considerably more lauded for people to rail against their end. "Do not go gentle into that good night" ... whereas the suicidal and addicts of more "acceptible" notions are simply dismissed as suicidal or broken, unworthy of attention or help. A curious outlook, indeed... should we applaud those who remove themselves from life, those who fall into a cycle of self-abuse for the sake of fleeting pleasure?

[It's a skill, and the reaction to his words is something very telling. The silence lingers for a moment longer, but then he laughs under his breath. How completely ironic, considering the circumstances of his life before this place.]

You misunderstand me. [He tilts his head to the side, the sparks finally having died down. However, that anger is still there. He hates when others say such things.] The reason I still stand is because we do not dismiss those lost in Despair.

And perhaps some of us look beyond those in despair and not to see the bigger picture, and how it all plays together.

Damare!

[Oh, hello berserk button #2. How are you today? His fists clench again, having already heard this speech before more than enough times in his finite lifetime.

It doesn't help that the person he'd heard it from, who embraced that ideology, had recently arrived...]

Whether they do or do not matters little when it doesn't change the essential truths of their lives, nor how pitiful an existence is when they do not accept it and do their best to better the lives of those closest to them!

[Good thing having a keyblade means your linguistic follies aren't lost on him...

of course, he won't listen, but at least he knows what you were trying to say.]

No one looks beyond themselves or what is immediately around them. That is why the universe falls regardless of however many "heroes" are present. The truth is perpetually out of their collective grasp because they have blinded themselves to its presence with meaningless mores and platitudes. Believing in the power of Hope and Friendship is all well and fine, but at the end of the day, the scales are still tilted and the World asunder.

['No one looks beyond themselves-']

[...]
[Oh, he did not. He did not just say that.]
[Yu's eyes narrow into slits as he turns to face Xehanort fully once more.]

Who is the blind one, here.

[There is something about his tone. That icy coldness that doesn't match the light in his eyes, nor the wetness that threatens to leak out. He never was one to let his emotions rule him, but the blue light in his eyes seems to glow... and was that a card falling down until it spun before his face like a mask?]

You say that others have blinded themselves, that truth is outside of their grasp... but that is a lie.

[He takes the World into his hands, venom still dripping from his every word. Give him one more reason to crush it and show you his Truth.]

it isn't just a belief; I am that Hope.

[He simply wants to laugh at how grandiose this all is, this mere boy in the scheme of things, one world among many, even with the power of all the gods his world may have to muster...

instead it simply comes out as hollow, empty chuckle

and he turns his back, summoning a portal and walking into it silently.

Before he's consumed by the wavering darkness, he turns, looking over his shoulder to fix Yu right in the eyes.]

If you are Hope, where were you when I had no other choice but to extinguish my own light...

[One step. Two steps. Gone.]

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pitiedthefool - 2012-07-17 11:38 (UTC) - Expand

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005 | ❝Come back for the hope that you've stolen...❞

Tuesday-ish, Floor 22

It is a party on Tuesdays, it seems. /o/

better than a manic monday?

considering he passed out in front of a god of death, maybe

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it's okay- HOLY SHIT, DUDE. (1/3)

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