one passing night

life in the forgotten city

auncyenhalig — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 23:12:46 GMT

[ This is a city, but it might be hard to recognize that at first. The communal housing is set in giant shells; ancient coral lines the paths in between. The entire landscape suggests a sea was once here. It has greenery, but in a sparse sense, thin plants dotting the ground and sometimes reaching up to the coral. Still, there is life here, and where there is life there is routine, particularly in an aspect so crucial as raising the children.

There is schooling.

Aerith sits in on an outdoors lesson to a mixed-age group of children, looking just as fascinated as the lot of them as the matron plucks out notes on a small harp and tells a story along with the simple melody. It might be easy to miss her in the gathering as her customary pink dress is instead a flowing white garment with light green fading in near the bottom, tied close at her waist with a colored sash. And the usual ribbon in her hair is missing. But she laughs and talks with a typical cheerfulness, helping the teacher, up until she senses the new presence nearby. Then she looks over her shoulder with cautious eyes and rises in one fluid motion to meet the stranger, staff in hand. That at least is familiar, to anyone who's seen the Princess Guard. ]

Hmm? What a surprise, it's not everyday a traveler comes along... I hope we're well met. Hello there! [ The matron is subtle but efficient as she checks that her bow and arrow are in hand's reach. The children are less so. While some young ones cower and many look on, blankly or curiously, one teenager can be seen reaching for what might be a dagger, and a preteen has a fist around a fair-sized rock for his sling.

The Cetra were used to struggle. ]

[ for this month's theme: ... I was tempted to throw in a velociraptor stampede or something, lol. Seriously, Gaia has dinosaur-like creatures in the present day (see this gem and yes that is a triceratops merged with a tank, Zack wtf is wrong with your hometown), so I doubt a few dinosaurs 2000 years in its past is stretching it, if you want to include that somehow.) ]

[ETA: My e-mail hasn't been working for over two days now, orz--stopped some hours after I posted. It's definitely slowed me down, but I'm still going on comments! ]

1 || Half A Hero

ladyhyperion — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 03:23:56 GMT

This dream is set on a beach with ruins embedded in the cliff that rose from the sand, cracked stairs leading up to a building above that's also falling apart.

Seira herself sits on the remains of a pillar, bare toes curling in the warm sand. The wind off the sea tugs at the grasses and her hair, seagulls crying above and the smell of salt fill the air. Despite the lonely nature of the setting, the young woman seems almost happy to be there.

It's home; or had been once upon a time anyway.

There's a ragged photograph clutched in one hand, and she looks at it with a nostalgic smile. "I guess...there's no going back, is there?" She asks, not expecting a reply.

- 007 || high above the world.

hisdreamsmyfate — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 01:40:29 GMT

One wouldn't think a place like Midgar could be this cold, much less effected by such an intense level of snow and ice coating the once-lively city. The thick, winter sky above graciously littered the land in gentle, white flakes, resting upon layers of already-compacted snow on the ground, the buildings... and something else towering above.

On the highest section of the city, upon the highest building, rested a large black dragon. And from the layers of snow covering its prone form, it was safe to say the creature hadn't budged from that spot in ages. Feathered wings were tucked behind a spiked back, green eyes bright yet sorrowful, staring down at the crumbled memories below.

For half of his life, this city had been his home.

He'd fought for it, protected it... and now this very same city was destroying itself - the manifestation of the greed he'd been so ignorant to before. And now his friends were suffering from it as well, with very little a thing he could do. He rumbles lowly, shifting his head to the sky his spirit now occupied or was it the earth? the Planet could be both.

Little to his knowledge, there is a path of steel and rubble, leading to the structure above.

Interlude V - [The Fifth Dream]

rhapsody_onfire — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 08:10:29 GMT

[Everything hurt.

Genesis couldn't believe that even here, in her dreams, her body hurt. She remembered, fully, what had happened before she lost consciousness and fell into her dreams. For how long, she didn't know. She also didn't know if she would ever wake up this time.

In the waking world, she had decided to do more than work on the orchard and looked into fighting monsters for money. Mercenary work asked little questions, after all. And with the right outfit, no one would know who she was. But after the first few successful (and pricey) hunts, the experienced mercenaries had been getting suspicious of her skills.

Today proved them right. They teamed up for an exceptionally hard monster (though Genesis had known she could fight it off on her own) and intentionally sabotaged the job and she'd been injured severely. Before she could cast her magic to cure herself, they'd torn off her sunglasses and her hat, revealing her red hair and Mako blue eyes. Red hair was a bit of a rarity on Gaia. And her eyes gave away just who she was. Her injuries didn't stem from just the monster now and she had used up all of her magic to cast as many Protects as possible.

Last thing she remembered was lying in the snow near Icicle Inn. Were anyone to find her and help her, it would probably be a miracle. For now, she sat in the middle of Midgar, on LOVELESS Avenue. She sat, curled up in a bloodied and broken ball at the corner, being overlooked by everyone. Just like she had wanted in the waking world.

Now, she just wanted a potion or two.]

[[OOC: So yeah, Genesis got caught and beaten up. Unoriginal and all that, I know. But I needed to post something ;; I hope it's taggable regardless, though!]

[001] → the house

candyviolets — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 22:47:24 GMT

You're aware of a deep, chilling darkness that surrounds you. You're in an unfamiliar basement, and there's a terrible potpourri of dust and formaldehyde that creates the stench of the dank place. There's something like a whisper in your ear, voices speaking in undertones that you can't hear, even though there's really no one there with you. A chill runs up your spine, as if a wind has come through, but the air is still, and the silence all around hangs heavy.

Amid musty boxes, a claw-footed tub, and numerous other things, there stands a girl. She's dressed fairly typically for a girl her age in the 21st century, and for one who is trying to set herself apart. The teenager stands, staring off into the shadows of the room, holding her arms as if she's cold.

"Why am I... here?"

[015 ☿] Exercise in Futility

waterfell — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 03:58:47 GMT

Mercury waits for her prey, in the shadows. She does nothing to help the victim of an attack, even when a sandy-haired man in a shitennou's uniform extracts a blue crystal from her body and the girl becomes a monster of the Dark Kingdom, one of its seven great warriors.

Ah, there they are: the sailor senshi, just as she knew they'd come. She's done this so many times in so many worlds, after all; so many that she's even dreaming of it. Mercury gives a satisfied smirk; but she is not here for them, either. While they battle the youma, Zoisite and Tuxedo Kamen fight over the blue crystal. That is what she's after, and Mercury waits until they're immersed in their battle to dash in under the cover of her own fog and mist to snatch it up. It glows with a strong energy.

Sucess. They notice it, and both chase after her, but she's quickly away, leaving them to conclude it was her alternate. The blue rainbow crystal will never be seen in this world again - and thus, neither will the princess' tool of destruction, the ginzuishou, which requires all seven to come together.

It's while she's making her escape that a pack of youma, sent to reclaim the crystal, corner her and start to press in closer. Even she might have trouble with this many, and her eyes cast about for escape but find none. Fine, then.

"Dark Rhapsody!"

(ooc: help her escape, make her return it, catch her later to talk more about it, anything goes)

Fourth Entry

suewnsong — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 05:29:55 GMT

[There's no rule against having Christmas themed dreams a few days late, is there? If there is, it's not one River Song ever paid any mind to. Of course, all of the music and decorations are contained in a rusty space ship-looking room, but without windows it might be anything from an old warehouse to a submarine. An excessively roomy submarine without any of the proper movements associated with deep sea diving.

Whichever the case, the party seems lively enough, with a wide variety of human and humanoid species milling through the room and the din of conversation and celebration nearly louder than the music itself.

River herself stands at the refreshments table in a sparkling black dress holding a bottle of something that could probably knock an unwary man unconscious. Occasionally she'll portion it out into a daintier crystal glass, but often she'll simply drink it straight and grin at the people passing by.

A short distance from her, the three figures from her previous dream, the sandy-haired man, the red-haired woman, and ~~the geek in a bow-tie~~ the taller dark-haired man seem to be involved in their own miniature celebration (because it's stretching the truth a bit to call their flailing about 'dancing'). Their laughter and voices are loud enough to carry over the din, but none of their words are distinct enough to catch. She doesn't seem overly bothered by it.]

If he keeps flailing like that he's going to take someone's eye out, and then they'll all be kicked out. [She sighs] I could stop him, but I think we both know it'd be a waste of my efforts.

[ Report II ] The Library

plotdeviceturk — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 04:24:58 GMT

This dream has an old familiarity to it, almost homey despite the rather fantastic setting. It's a library, but not one that would likely exist anywhere. The shelves are formed of translucent ice, formed in to whorls and twisting pillars that hold countless numbers of books. As if to completely defy logic, flowers grow from the floor and the temperature is pleasantly cool.

Tseng can be found at one of the myriad of shelves, pulling books off and opening them before dropping them on the ground at his feet in his frustration. "I can't read any of these."

☆ she dreams of candy canes and silver lanes 006;

herlonelystar — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 05:58:53 GMT

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
But, unfortunately, St Nicholas was never to be there.

The dreamers were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of all sorts of adventures danced in their heads.
Each dreamer in PJ's or Nightgowns with caps,
As if they were already sleeping inside of a nap.

When out in the living room there arose such a clatter,
The dreamer sprang up from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away down the stairs, from their warm beds they bolted,
What they saw was something .. not quite what they expected.

Powdered sugar on the tree made it look like snow
There was a cup of spilt milk on the carpet below.
When, what to ones wandering eyes should they discover
A senshi of the moon, sprawled on the floor with her head under a platter.

She spoke not a word, but lifted the plate from her vision,
When she looked up to see she was caught, her cheeks they did brighten.
Scratching her head with the sheepish of smiles,
Her embarrassment matches the Santa hat on her usual hairstyle.

".. I guess you caught me." She said as she holds out a present,
The ribbon was all curls and the wrapping quite decent,
Now the question, for your Christmas dream pleasure,
Will you open it now or will you open it later?

(ooc: BEHOLD MY FAIL!RHYMING. Also MERRY CHRISTMAS GAIZ. This post is family themed, or it doesn't have to be. It's really all up to you~ Just to clarify, she IS dressed up as first incarnation of Sailor Moon... but with a Santa hat.. Yeah. C_C )

oo1 ≈ ❝ if we hadn't been sisters... ❞

memorywaters — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 08:37:36 GMT

A massive multi-faceted crystal made up of countless others looms over several smaller similar growths. It's a crystalline garden, but somehow the crystals that make it up seem possessed of life, especially two brightly-shining ones that seem newer than the others somehow. They're all like stars.

Beneath the huge structure, a young girl lays nearly motionless. Blood soaks her dress from an ugly wound visible through the tears in the fabric. Only the faintest rise and fall of her chest suggests she is still breathing, though labored. There's a resigned smile that touches her lips, now that she understands. It's over, for Sailor Lethe: No more battles.

Mnemosyne's hand covers her wound... one last effort to try and stop the bleeding -- though as anyone can see the situation is hopeless. She coughs -- blood beginning to trickle into her airway as she looks to the sky... Then down to the fallen soldier beside her. Until the very end, they'd fought together... a sailor team. Leaning her head to the side where Lethe lay, her body turned just slightly in her direction, her hand twitching slightly -- searching for the one at Lethe's side.

(( a result of the battle, here. warning for blood / violence -- replies will be coming from both lethe and mnemosyne ))

- 006 || eternity stares back.

hisdreamsmyfate — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 02:42:25 GMT

Is it dark? Are you still awake? Where are you? Is this a dream?

All of these thoughts and more would flutter through your mind, caught on the thin wire between consciousness, and being trapped within the confines of your own imagination. In time, it slowly dissapates, burning away as the universe reveals itself. You might find yourself standing on a tall, icly pillar, gazing at the stars that seem forever locked in twilight. Or perhaps you're deeper, nearly drowning in a pool of water that seems to have an almost green tinge, wouldn't you agree? and just barely managing to float to the surface. Planets are out of line, the clouds are tricoloured and thick, but no matter what.

The stars remain.

This land is open, free. Shattered. There are absolutely no restrictions here, and the asteroids have already grasped the concept. They shift and crumble before you, just before drifting into the great abyss. You might see those you know, wandering the stars - some with a confused stagger, and others with defined purpose.

Look down.

One of the asteroids is misshapen.

And there is the faint outline of a man resting upon it, sitting as if in meditation.

The will of this world guides you towards it.

002

stoleaherotitle — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 07:38:31 GMT

[Ah, family. Contrary to popular belief, it's not a foreign concept in the Netherworld. Mao, of all people, knows that very well, even if he doesn't have one right now. It was, after all, because of his love for his family that his father died.

"Love". He still couldn't quite grasp the concept, though it wasn't for lack of trying. It made up at least 70% of a hero's power, from the data he gathered, and could break down any obstacle in its way. Yet...he didn't know what it was, exactly. It didn't have an acidic formula, for sure, nor was it some kind of chemical that acted up when someone loved someone else.

And so it was, after a long day of experiments, that Mao crawled into his bed and drifted off to sleep, still thinking of love and family.]

[It's freezing, and Mao doesn't really mind it.

He's somewhere in the Nether Institute, in one of those places that are colder than cold and are infested with demons looking to beat you up and steal your lunch money. When he passes by, though, he gives them a glare colder than the snow crunching under his feet, and encounters minimal resistance.

Just the way he likes it, really. He's not in the mood to fight right now, he's in the mood for research. He settles down in some remote spot not easily seen at a simple glance, checks to see if anyone's followed him and flips open the comic book to where he last left off.

Unfortunately, you probably have something else in mind for the new addition to your family, which is probably why you're trudging in as well.

Hope you can get past the demons lying in ambush.]

[Closed Log]

silversouba — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 06:36:09 GMT

Kadaj couldn’t understand why he was sharing such information with a stranger. Dreams were funny that way. He suddenly became aware of what he was saying in the middle of his sentence. He had told her about Mother. About how she had arrived at Gaia 2,000 years ago. Her job was to rid the cosmos of anything she deemed worthless.

Humanity was a disease and Mother, Jenova, was the cure. The remnant had even gone into detail about the Geostigma, a sickness that plagued the planet. It was due to Jenova contaminating the lifestream.

He studied the other briefly before looking away again. Why was he even giving this worthless human being the time of day? It was aggravating! He had explained this so many times already! He was tired of doing it. They didn’t deserve his time anyway. It was just time taken away from Mother.

“I’m going to find her,” he said with extreme determination, not sure why he still spoke to the individual next to him. “I’m going to find her and when I do, she’ll finally be happy.”

[Closed Log]

silversouba — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 06:32:57 GMT

Finally! They had found their one lead. The single most important information into finding Mother’s whereabouts. After they found big brother it had been easy. All they had to do was follow him and inevitably he would lead them to their prey. The remnants had found Rufus ShinRa--the man who stole Jenova.

Kadaj narrowed his eyes at the city below. “You know,” he began as he glanced over at his hostage, “all you have to do is tell me where you’re hiding her.” He turned to face him fully, palms slightly raised. “Then we’ll let you go.” A less than honest smirk curled the corners of his lips. But Kadaj didn’t like liars and, thus, he never lied. However, there were many perspectives on the term ‘letting go.’

“You can save. . . this,” he gestured dismissively to the city below. “You can save the sick and your own corrupt company. Just tell me where she is. It’s not hard!” Frustration was slowly building. He couldn’t hurt Rufus, at least not yet. If he were gone then they’d only end up making Mother and Sephiroth wait long--and neither were keen on patience. “Well?” He added, irritation in his tone. “You can’t wait forever or else you’ll die of the stigma too.”

001st Promotion ♛ The eternal search

promotedpawn — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 13:55:57 GMT

[You're drowning. You must be drowning because you're surrounded by water, falling deeper into this vast sea, or are you going up? Whether you look up or down the sight is the same, darkness spreading while wrapped lovingly in the water's embrace. Is this how are you going to end? Drowning in an unknown sea, for an unknown reason? But that's impossible, this isn't your first time, is it? This can't be real. Or is it? But even so, there has to be a way out, there has to.

This is a strange sea though there are no fishes around, no type of life anywhere on sight. But if you pay more attention you will see them. Thousands, countless of them. Stars? They shine with an unknown light, some seem warm, beckoning, others seem cold, some shine in a white light, others in a blood red one. They are all around you, floating in this sea. Fragments of a huge crystal that must have been shattered for there to be so many of those around here.

And in the middle of it, in the middle of the vast sea full of fragments. Stands a young man with a red long coat, he takes one fragment and seems to examine it before letting it drift away from him and taking another. And every time, his face shows nothing but disappointment.]

This one isn't any good either, is it?

1st Reunion

silversouba — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 04:54:15 GMT

"Moth-her..." Kadaj rasped, sucking in deep breaths of air that seemed devoid of oxygen. The oppressive sun glazed the landscape with dry, shimmering heat, caking the remains of the lifestream to sweaty skin. The young remnant clamped his jaw shut and forced himself to take each new exhausting step over the debris. "Yazoo...Loz..." He cracked out, throat dry. He had to find them; he just had to find his brothers! This was where they had last been together, this was where Kadaj had had his Reunion and met Him.

Kadaj raised a forearm above his head to block out the blinding sun. It hadn't been fair! Everything could have gone just right had Strife not interfered. Even so, Sephiroth should have finished him off, but he didn't. He had a desire to play too much, just like Loz did. It was Sephiroth's failing flaw that put Mother in the position she was now.

"Oompf," he grunted, silver hair clinging to forehead. "Yazoo! Loz!" He cried out again, more needy and desperate.

One hand in front of the other, one knee before the other. Kadaj crawled through sharp shards of metal and other discarded pieces of the old ShinRa Headquarters. Emerald eyes panned the area looking for anything. Silver hair, a leather glove, Velvet Nightmare, Dual Hound, a foot, a body. Any sign of his brothers. Nothing.

Mother still needed them, their purpose still lived on. Yet the only lead they had on Jenova was now gone. How could they fulfill her desire if they didn't know where to find her? At least before, Kadaj had known she was somewhere. He had never been without her guidance until now.

The rush of emotions and confusion crashed wildly in his mind, overloaded with too many sensations at once. "SEPHIROTH!" he screamed out to no one. "This is your fault." Anger barged in, consuming all other emotions and thoughts, taking control and guiding his actions.

"COWARD!" He marched savagely to the top of the rubble, hands clenched into fists. "YOU DON'T DESERVE HER!" Kadaj spun about as if someone was there to listen. "I COULD HAVE DONE IT! I COULD HAVE BEEN HER FAVORITE!"

Bending down, he picked up a large sheet of metal and chucked it off into the distance. "You took her away from me." He growled, grabbing another metal piece as its jagged edges cut deeply into his hands. "You think you can do better than me!" Throwing and kicking debris everywhere, he barely acknowledged the blood that seeped down his wrists.

Exhausted, Kadaj dropped to his knees. The metal burned at his skin but the remnant ignored it. What was he supposed to do in a situation like this? "What do you want," he pleaded. "Mother, tell me." He looked up at the empty sky, the sun warming his face. "Talk!" It was an order, though a futile one.

Choose Your Adventure...

lockandkeyblade — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 13:30:58 GMT

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

... You just hope you're going to live long enough to see it. You and Sora are hidden, kneeling in a dark corner of the castle in the throne room. The world is shrouded in darkness, and powerful shadows are clawing at the stained glass even now, clamoring to get inside. You've managed to get out with some minor scrapes, but Sora seems to be doubled over, hand clutching at a grievous injury. There are powerful enemies about, and dispatching even one has taken its toll. Sora isn't the type to give up, not by a long shot. But all he seems to be concerned about is getting you to kneel with him, grasping your hand and placing it over his as he holds the hilt of the keyblade.

At first, you don't understand. This isn't important, what is he doing, you can't be messing around right now, both of you have to get out. But a slow realization sends chills up your spine. He doesn't intend on leaving, or escaping right now. He intends on passing on his legacy. His keyblade. And the heir is you.

Sora's voice is steady and strong even if his hands are not, "You're ready."

Scenario 2 - Wielder

You've heard so many stories about different worlds, listened as Sora and the other wielders spun wild tales about the worlds they've seen: Deep underground caves filled with glittering treasure, confusing forest mazes filled with temperamental Queens of hearts and courts filled with card-knights, towns of everlasting night or cities caught in perpetual sunset.

And now that the ship's landed, you're about to see your first. The others have always been the one to tell the stories, but now it's your turn. Your first world. Your first keyblade. This is your story now.

Sora flashes you an amused grin as you both stand in front of door. His hand finds your shoulder. "Ready?"

Scenario 3 - Master

As you peer over the balcony overlooking the beautiful landscape clad in your new clothes, you realize that everything looks... completely different. Better, somehow.

Master. That's what they call you now. The students bow to you, the other masters regard you with more respect. But another challenge awaits you. Today's the day you take on new pupils.

Familiar footsteps come up from behind and Sora's gloved hand gives you a comforting pat on the back. There's something very close to pride in his eyes as he grins at you, "You ready?"

[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.]

joint post: come on it, the water's fine!

findmyownreason — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 13:11:00 GMT

The weather report had forecast rain, but they'd been lucky. The sky had been clear and sunny when they'd picked out and set up their campsite earlier and it had stayed just as balmy on the long hike to the lake. It was his last chance to be with his baby sister before she went off to college (not such a baby anymore. Life seemed intent on forcing him to acknowledge that fact despite his best efforts to avoid it). Cloud wanted today, this whole trip together, to be perfect.

Which she was. Almost embarrassingly so. He could eat a little pride though to see Ami smile like that. He'd like to blame it on the fact one of his arms was in a sling and say it was slowing him down but - the fish really did just like her better. As he watched her reel yet another one toward shore, his blue eyes narrowed behind his tinted glasses and he just had to ask.

"Are you sure you didn't put some kind of girly hex on my lure or something?

"Of course I didn't," Ami returned easily. "I don't need to do anything like that to beat you in fishing." The spell was on her lure. Besides, it didn't take much to use the water to sense where the fish were. And it was, emphatically, not cheating. It was a part of her.

So Ami's innocent look as she pulled in her line was an entirely sincere one, really. It was amazing how much resistance fish could muster in the water, and she strained against the effort of bringing it in. From the way her rod was bent double, it must have been a decent size.

Given that his bobber wasn't doing anything but sitting there lamely in the water, Cloud turned his concentration on Ami's. Which was underwater most of the time thanks to the fight the fish was putting up. When she was younger, he would have helped her. She was too stubborn and half the time the fish would have pulled her in the water before she'd gotten the fish on dry land if he hadn't been there to anchor her. She was an adult now, or close to it, as he had to keep reminding himself and she could fight her own battles. As long as if was just against fish, at least. So he got the net ready for when she got the fish close enough but didn't try to take over what she was doing in any way. It was hard sometimes but he was learning. Or trying to at least.

"We keeping this one for dinner or are you letting it go back to its fishy family once it admits you've won?"

If she can handle demons, crazy genetic experiments, and manifestations of nightmares and death, she can handle fish. Ami brought the line in steadily, playing a little to slowly wear out her prey.

"That depends on the size," she pointed out. But from the way her arms were just starting to tire, it was probably a keeper. She glanced aside to note that Cloud was ready, and made a concerted final effort to bring it in. As it broke through the water, she grinned.

Cloud gave a whistle as the fish showed up, first under the water and then being pulled clear, thrashing. It was definitely a keeper and he caught it in the net with a smooth twist of his wrist. Not happy about being out of its element, the fish continued to fight as Cloud brought it back to the dock. Efficient, he got the hook out of it and dropped it into the bucket.

"At least we won't end up eating hotdogs tonight," he grunted. Which was when the first splash of water hit him, scattering across his nose and causing his head to jerk up in surprise. He hadn't noticed the already low clouds starting to send their darts of water across the lake, too busy with the fish and his little sister. Now though he was finally aware of the fast approaching storm. Too late to head back to the campsite. A quick look around revealed the lean-to shelter on the shore and he jerked his chin at it as he caught up his own pole and gear with his good hand.

"Come on."

She was still looking at the bucket, rather smugly, when the rain went from a few drops that weren't worth noticing, to a steady stream. No wonder the fish had been biting heavily; she'd read that they tend to feed most right around a rain.

She headed quickly to the shelter, though the rain didn't quite seem to reach her as they went; she was keeping it away and keeping herself dry. And probably waiting for this to be noticed, and to be asked, before doing the same for anyone else.

ooc. so - we're going with a bit of an AU ~~(an AU within an AU - we need to go deeper!)~~ with this post. It's pretty much modern day Tokyo, where Cloud and Ami have been brother and sister all their lives and they're getting in one last family event before Ami goes off for college. Feel free to jump on in as a late arriving family member, a friend, a stranger in the lean to they're taking shelter from the rain in, whoever you feel like jumping in as. Due to the HUGE difference in our posting speeds, ~~I'm a snail~~, put who you'd like to have tagging back in your subject line, either or both, together or separate threads and whether you're open to random threadjacking by the other or not. I've got a busy couple of days coming up but I wanted to get this up and out there now ~~before LJ updates and goes down again~~. Come join the rainy day fun!

2nd mission ☆ good with kids (?)

tasercopter — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 00:04:08 GMT

[Reno's sitting in a public park in the middle of Edge, dressed in her uniform, but decidedly off duty. That is, her superiors would probably prefer she be off duty when spending her time this way, as she's sitting sprawled on a park bench, eating french fries. Or fried potato strips, as the case may be in a world with no France.

She's not alone. There are quite a few people with her. Young people, aging in range from toddlers to teenagers nearing adulthood. Most of them are dressed in clothes that show signs of wear and tear; many of them look tired and hungry, their faces drawn: some of the numerous homeless of Edge. The majority of lost their homes and families to Meteor or Geostigma or one of the other recent disasters.

They may not be well-fed, but they're eating now, as Reno has distributed burgers and fries to all of them, and is leaning back and chatting with them in a personable manner. These kids and her have some things in common.]

I didn't have any family when I was your age either, and look how I turned out. [How can the world even contain all this amazing?] It ain't such a big deal. It makes you stronger, and the strong survive. You can make your own family, if you want. [She laughs as one of the kids asks for another burger in response to this and hands one over. He's got his priorities straight.] Yeah, you can have some more. Here you go.

[Another kid asks another question.] Sure, I can show you how to use the EMR later, not a problem. We'll have some fun. [She pats the Electro-Mag Rod she's got with her (as usual). Children + high voltage weapons = a great idea! She draws the line at guns, though. She enjoys talking to the kids, teasing them and laughing at their jokes. They're less annoying than most adults.

It really isn't bad, having no family, but sometimes she wonders if anybody related to her survived everything that happened to the Planet recently. She only has vague memories of her biological family, but she is famous, so maybe they'd remember and recognize her. With so much upheaval lately, it's hard to tell where everyone ended up, or when you might meet someone unexpected.]

[[OOC: Family event! Feel free to show up as an orphan, a Turk (the only people Reno does consider something like a family), or even a long-lost family member. Or just bother Reno; that's cool, too.]]

Interlude IV - The Fourth Dream

rhapsody_onfire — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:04:16 GMT

[She may have been small in her dreams again, but she recognized this place. It was the Forgotten City. The glowing trees, the lake,and even the men within. They looked just like Sephiroth, how could she not know that they resembled him? This time, she had her memories, she just also had the impulsiveness of a child. And sometimes the attention span of one.

But right now, she was watching the children walk into the blackened water, being told it was their cure for Geostigma. Genesis didn't have Geostigma, so she didn't know why she was here. She wasn't even armed!

She looked around, wondering how she could get out of here.]

[[OOC: This is Genesis as a child, yes I know her PB is rather obvious XD But it's the only one I thought that would match. Anyway, this is also for silversouba, threadjacking is encouraged! I'll be replying with lil_rhapsody.]

☠ like a memory long since passed

afewbonesloose — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 03:14:28 GMT

[ This new dream that begins is rather... tame when considering who the dreamer is. Inside of tower there is a room filled with windows and books, all in which are covered in Christmas decorations. Outside the windows are spirits floating by with presents in tow.

With a fire blazing in the fireplace the cold air begins to warm up. But no matter how many cheerful decorations and bright lights there are the room still gives off a very creepy and haunted feeling. To make matters even stranger, standing by one of the windows was a rather tall and very well dressed skeleton. He was looking out beyond the glass, below at a town filled with monsters and creatures, all that were busying themselves with putting up lights, decorating dead trees and tombstones, and wrapping what could be assumed to be presents.

But for anyone looking closely at everything outside of the window, everything seemed faded. Sometimes it would go out of focus for a moment like a projection reel. And as the skeleton man stood there and watched he pressed a boney hand to the window and watched, all the while humming along to a haunting melody that was playing in the room. ]

[ Report I ] Hearts and Stars

plotdeviceturk — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 23:27:18 GMT

Tseng smiled thinly as he watched the surprisingly large group gathered in one of Shin-Ra's ballrooms, he'd never realized quite how many people considered him family whether they were actually related or not. There was a smattering of brothers and sisters along with their kids, people he couldn't remember seeing but were somehow actually related to him and had come to congratulate him. Turks were there, of course, new ones who were just beginning to learn how to tie their ties and old ones who'd retired before his time.

He'd given a speech; speaking of loyalty and camaraderie, that they'd only need to call and he'd put his tie back on and be out the door for them. Once a Turk, always a Turk and he'd never abandon them or the tiny group of relatives he'd recently been informed of still having.

He knew he should talk to them, approach them and say something but he didn't know a thing about any of them these days. Family had been the company for nearly twenty years now, and while blood was thicker than water he'd shed an awful lot of it alongside the Turks.

It was awkward.

[OOC: Tseng's dreaming of his retirement party, and there's newly discovered family in attendance.]

All I want for Christmas is...

vacationisalie — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 16:08:22 GMT

[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.]

[014 ☿] Family means many things

waterfell — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 06:15:35 GMT

1. There's a slight burnt smell to the air of the bright, spacious kitchen. There's a slight burnt look to the tray of gingerbread cookies Ami is taking from the oven. She purses her lips, irritably, and scrapes them onto baking racks anyway; she'll throw them out once they're cooled. Help for the next batch... wouldn't be unwelcome.

2. The dining table is currently is full of papers and books; this is nothing new, all to be picked up and put away when she's finished. They all look rather simplistic for Ami's level, though, and there's a clear glass pot of tea to keep them awake and alert, as well as some light pop music playing quietly in the background. Tonight is the night she helps her siblings with homework. They should be home any time now, in fact...

3. There's something so much better about not being alone as Ami works on a knitting project, each stitch carefully counted. The needles move rhythmically, confidently. The shape of a mitten becomes distinct. The house is full of family; but she's given up secrecy for this project anyway, since it needs so much time. There'll be a pair of mittens and a scarf for everyone by the time she's done. She'd better hurry.

4. The sketch in Ami's hands is beautiful. It's a glacial landscape, perfectly portrayed and with the essence captured if not in minute detail, at least in substance. The chill of the icy waters can almost be felt. It's taken time and effort. It's also from her artist father. Ami rips it calmly into pieces and discards it without even getting up from her desk. She doesn't need anything from a man who abandoned her.

(ooc: one of these things is not like the others, heh. feel free to join in any/as many/all, as so desired, mark which as needed. family and non-relatives both welcome, also as desired)

Mission 002 || going back to my origins

mr_fix_em — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 02:55:16 GMT

[While everyone else is having typical, family-oriented dreams, you may notice this one in particular to be... a little unusual. First of all, Ratchet isn't quite Ratchet today.

First off, he's naked.

Second, he's not grinding away at one of his typical projects.

If anyone were to approach this creature out in the grassy field, they may find him lounging about - whether he's scratching at his ears, grooming himself, or just darting around trying to catch even more odd creatures roaming the wilderness. He might even have one in his mouth!

Oh, but don't piss off the little blue guys, either. Word to the wise.]