shiny canon update!

[got_it_memorized]

Who: Axel and anybody
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: On the Tourist, in quarters if you want
When: Thursday, 19March, afternoon

[Broadcast]
[He looks... really unsettled, like he just watched something awful happen and doesn't even know how to process it. In fact that's pretty much exactly what happened: he awoke with a start from a dream he's sure wasn't a dream--he remembers it like it happened, like memories... but it's been hours, not the year-plus he experienced in that dream. He's still trying to wrap his head around everything, and that's when it hits him: he died. And Roxas is gone. Not just gone from the fleet, he already knew that part, and it suddenly hurts a thousandfold more than it did before, because Roxas had been here and now he's not, and now Axel knows he's gone for good. Suddenly he feels like he wasted an opportunity, and he has no excuse other than ignorance.

[He rubs his arms--it's strangely cold in here, it seems--and regards the feed on his communicator. He just needs to get his mind off this.]

So, Fleet, I'm curious: is there ice cream wherever you come from? What's your favorite flavor? Gimme your best ice cream story, I'm bored.

Comments

[limitstorm]

Ob...

[ obtuse? how rude!

thanks for using math terminology, he gets it and is offended ]

Fine. I worked for a shaved ice stand one summer, and this crow hung around. They have crows in your world, right?

[got_it_memorized]

Crows? Sure, we had those where I grew up. One time Roxas and I actually found one locked in a cage while we were on a mission, so I broke it out. [Of course what he still doesn't realize is that was actually Maleficent's raven. Oops.]

So what happened then?

1/2

[limitstorm]

Hah, an animal lover? I guess that kind of fits.

2/3

[limitstorm]

Well, I guess it liked how shiny the blades were or something--it stuck around a lot, from when I opened the stand to when I left. I let it pick off some of the ice from a spare cone, since it's so hot during the summer. They say crows're really smart, they remember people's faces and can count--all kinds of stuff...

[limitstorm]

... and after a while, the crow picked up one of the cones someone threw away and brought it back to me. I didn't know what it was doing at first, but then I figured it out--it wanted more ice. Once I gave him a cup, it would just peck at it. I saw it toss it at a tourist who was pretty rude once, though.

So, I served a crow shaved ice one summer.

[got_it_memorized]

[There's a moment of silence, and then Axel just kind of laughs. Like a genuine laugh, not the usual sly I-know-something-you-don't-know laugh.]

See, now... that's a good story.

And yeah, I mean, I guess I'd say I like animals. They seem to like me, anyway. [He rubs the back of his neck.] You know I met the king's dog once?

[limitstorm]

--you met Pluto?

[ a pause, and then; ] I guess I'm not surprised. He gets everywhere somehow.

[got_it_memorized]

Sure did. [A shrug.] I guess if the king's dog likes me, I can't be all bad, so... maybe there was something to what you were saying about me. Maybe.

[limitstorm]

[ hah, that gets a real smile out of him. ]

You are good. You might not know it yet, but you are.

Ever tried making ice cream before?

[got_it_memorized]

[And there goes his hand to the back of his neck.] Yeah, yeah, if you say so.

[He's still not sure how he goes from 'dead' to 'Keyblader-in-training', but he'll just take Riku's word for it. Maybe some things are better left unanswered.

[He shakes his head then.]

Making it? No, I've never been much of a cook. I mean, I can boil water like a champ, and I make a mean PBJ, but ice cream feels a little outside my sphere of expertise.

[limitstorm]

Y'know, stepping out of your comfort zone's a good thing.

[ he's just saying. ]

You and Ro... [ he starts it, and his voice just drops for a second, and he clears his throat. ... with roxas gone and sora in cryosleep... ]

--nevermind.

[got_it_memorized]

[There's the barest hint of a flinch when Riku starts to say Roxas' name, and then there's a forced smile as he shakes his head.]

Not talking about him doesn't fix it. Talking's how you remember someone, right? [The smile fades, leaving behind something wounded, if only for a moment, before he rubs his forehead and regards Riku mildly.] Me and Roxas what?

[limitstorm]

... you went through a lot of ice cream, didn't you?

[ he's saying it slowly. ]

video; private

[got_it_memorized]

[There's a beat of silence before he fiddles with the filters, and then he regards Riku sternly for a moment.]

I think I owe you an... apology. [His eyes skirt off to the side, he's a bit ashamed of himself, really. Apparently you don't need a heart for that.] I dunno what happened, but I... remember. More than I did before, anyway. You and Naminé, you helped me out a lot, and you didn't owe me anything.

[He meets his eye again and sighs a little.]

So... s-sorry I was kind of a dick before. [Whether he means here in the Fleet or back home or both, he doesn't specify, but his face is about as sincere as Riku will have ever seen it.]

video; private

[limitstorm]

[ at first, he's surprised that the reply is locked. and then, he just looks confused, like being given an earnest apology is some strange concept that he can't quite grasp. ]

An apolo...

It's-- [ he exhales shortly and scrunches his shoulders. ] Back home, even when we were on different sides... I knew we had a few things in common. [ riku breathes in, looking anywhere but lea. ] So... forget about it. We're even, okay?

[got_it_memorized]

[Even? He grins a little.]

I dunno about that, but I'm not gonna argue with ya.

I'm still not... caught up. The last thing I remember is... helping Sora get to the castle. [Dying. The last thing he remembers is dying.]

It's frustrating, but I guess I should have believed you before. You didn't really have any reason to lie, I'm just not used to people actually being straight with me.

[limitstorm]

It's okay. I know the feeling.

[got_it_memorized]

Well, for what it's worth, lying's gotten me in a lot of trouble, so I'm laying off that for a while.

[limitstorm]

Good.

[ ... wait. ]

S--sorry. I didn't mean it like... [ he flounders, and then just sighs. ] I didn't expect you to keep lying.

[got_it_memorized]

[He snorts a laugh.]

Don't be sorry. It is good. I wish I'd figured it out sooner, I might'a saved myself a world of hurt.

[He regards Riku coolly then.]

So... truce, I guess? Not that you were being belligerent or anything, that was all me, really. [He smears both hands down his face, kind of abashed, then presses one hand against his chest, over his heart.] Tell me something... after I, you know... get over being dead and all... [He gives him an uncertain look.] What, ah... what am I like?

[It's been so long since he had a heart. It's been so long since he let himself actually feel anything. Does he even remember how to be Lea?]

[limitstorm]

[ ... ah?

riku blinks once, and then looks off. ]

You're... kind of obnoxious. [ but, he smiles with a quiet snicker. ] Not in an annoying way, though. You're still you--I don't think that you having a heart suddenly made you a different person. If what Xehanort said is right, you were growing one all along.

[got_it_memorized]

[Obnoxious? Here he is, asking an emotionally vulnerable question, and you're gonna say he's obnoxious? Now who's got no heart? Sheesh.

[He snorts a laugh.]

How can you be obnoxious without being annoying?

[What he says next, though, gives him pause.]

Wait, what? [He shakes his head.] Growing? Are you pulling my leg? [A beat, and then he shakes his head again.] No, of course you're not, you don't do that. [He fiddles with the zipper on his coat and holds Riku's gaze a moment, before looking down.] If we were growing hearts all along, though... what were we collecting hearts for in the first place?

[It's less a question he's asking Riku specifically and more just something wondered aloud.]

[limitstorm]

What makes you think I know? You're the one that does it, Dark Rescue.

[ riku's about to clarify that he is not, in fact, pulling his leg--

when axel goes ahead and does it himself. riku looks briefly surprised before his gaze softens a little, and he clears his throat. ]

I don't know that. He wanted vessels, that's what all of you were supposed to be, but... he didn't mention anything about that.

13 darknesses and 7 lights... ugh, what a mess.

[got_it_memorized]

'Dark Rescue'? [His eyebrow inches upward.] Never mind, I don't think I want to know.

[He's still fiddling with the zipper as Riku speaks, and his expression grows darker with each word. Vessels? 13 darknesses? What does that even mean?]

I'm no one's vessel. I had a feeling Xemnas was full'a crap, but I never expected this level of crap.

[... Was this how Roxas felt, when he found out he'd been lied to all that time? About something so important as his life, his past? No, he'd probably felt even worse. Axel had been lied to, but Xemnas wasn't his friend; what he'd done to Roxas was inexcusable.]

[limitstorm]

I know you aren't, [ he's almost apologetic ] and it's a good thing you never got to be.

[ but then... isa. he knows there's something going on there... ]

It's a big mess, but we'll get to the bottom of it.