expiationnet | [Video]

Entry tags:

[Video]

[At first, there's just audio as Aerith is figuring out how this little trinket works. A phone would be easier, wouldn't it? As video comes on, she lifts a hand and wiggles her fingers in greeting.]

Hellllooooo!

[If it seems like she's too cheery, that very likely might be the case. Despite the situation and bizarre circumstances, she's chosen to approach all of this with a great deal of optimism. Smile, and the world smiles with you, goes the saying.]

I understand a lot of us are kind of going through the same thing and it's probably very easy to focus on what we don't know, but I thought it might be kind of nice to have the reminder that we have a common goal. So whether you arrived here with friends or without them, you're not alone! You have the rest of us, too.

[Gesturing to herself, she continues.]

My name's Aerith and I didn't arrive with very much, but if there's something I can help you out with, make sure you let me know and I'll do my best! Also, if you're having trouble finding a place to stay, I'm sharing a room here with my bodyguard, but I'm sure he won't mind too much if we make a little more room for you.

[You're welcome, Cloud.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[One has to commend his insistence. If he put it someplace else, it'd probably be more useful, but somehow, Aerith suspects he might not take it well if she says it like that. Sometimes a little finesse has to be shown.]

I didn't say anything about it taking your destiny away from you. Just that this isn't your world. It isn't mine either. So you are just you here. And I am just me.

[In other words, maybe whatever's gone on at home doesn't quite matter so much. Of course, Aerith might not be saying that if she knew the depth of Vholran's ambitions, but eh, details.]

And who I am is a ruler.

[He taps the side of his head with a gloved finger.

If not a ruler then what? Vholran Igniseri stripped of his crown is just Vholran, the Dahnan slave who had been beaten and abused his entire life. He never wants to be that person again.]

That's not an identity to shed like....what was it? That of a flower girl?

[Who he could possibly be is delusional. Of course, such a statement is possibly unfounded and Aerith is supposed to be doing the opposite of causing trouble. The last thing she wants is to start something that Cloud thinks (or feels) he has to get into the centre of.

But. That's. Okay!
She can handle this.]

Aren't you the one who thought I was a ruler to begin with? You wouldn't have known I was a flower girl if I hadn't just told you. No matter what kind of title you're wearing—ruler, flower girl, chocobo rancher, weapons dealer—you aren't just that title. There's a whole person underneath that.

[That is to say—]

You aren't just a ruler.

That's right. I'm not just a ruler.

I'm a destined ruler.

[Despite how aloof he tries to act, Vholran has never been able to keep emotion out of his eyes. They gleam now with mad uncertainty.

Who IS he beyond his destiny? He'd lived every day as it came, desperately trying to survive. He's never been able to analyze the landscape of his own heart. How could he when he was always avoiding lashes or trying not to starve to death? Is there a Vholran who exists beyond the sad, frightened creature he used to be? And if so, is that person someone worth preserving?]

[He's not getting it.]

Yes, we've established that.

[She says very nonchalantly. She doesn't really believe this, but in the broad spectrum of things since they clearly aren't from the same world (probably), what she thinks of his future predestination as a ruler doesn't actually matter too much.]

I'm more curious about the guy beyond the ruler. What kinds of things you like. If you read books. If you listen to music. If you like certain kinds of food. What your favourite position to sleep in is.

[He's not getting it. But his expression shifts from madness to mild curiosity at her question.]

I read, though I do not see why this is important.

[It was only recently that he'd learned his letters, to read the writing of his oppressors, all to memorize an incantation or two that he'd been forced to memorize.

There isn't much literature that he's found that has broadened his perspective on things but he's at least broadened his vocabulary. He can feel that the skill has enriched his life in an insignificant way.]

Oh, you like reading!

[This is a start. A promising one? She's not sure she'd go that fair, but it is definitely a start and usually that first step is the hardest one to be taking.]

It's important because it's something that separates you from duty. [Or what he feels is duty. She's beginning to get the picture that Vholran has been so obligation-bound that he may have no idea who or what he is outside of that. That's not living, in her opinion. Maybe... she can show him...] What kinds of things do you like to read?

Whatever I can find.

[He shrugs.]

Why the incessant interrogation?

[Casual conversation and ice breaker questions are entirely foreign concepts to him. He almost feels like he is in trouble for something.]

It's not incessant or an interrogation. I'm just trying to get to know you. I didn't expect you to share with me about the books, so of course I'm interested in learning more. Haven't you ever had someone do that before?

[She's going to guess... potentially not. If it's true that he's a ruler, she's read books about how some rulers don't get to have friends like non-rulers do. If the same applies to him, then maybe that too is a part of what she suspects has been a good deal of loneliness.

Again, however, all conjecture. He'd hate to know she was thinking it.]

No. Nobody ever asked me about my interests.

[Why would they?

He ruled Ganath Haros with a violent, iron fist. If he wanted something people brought it to him. Nobody ever had to ask anything.

Thinking about it, if anyone had dared to ask him about himself as if he were somehow their equal, he would have gutted them on the spot.]

[Ding ding. Winner winner chicken dinner.]

And you don't think that's a little weird? We should want to know more about those who are around us. It doesn't mean that everyone here has to be friends, but there isn't anything wrong with getting to know those we're here with. You're only strangers until one starts asking questions.

[Which means Vholran is no longer a stranger. It also probably means he's not free from any future questions she puts against him.]

[Oh, is this how socializing is supposed to work? He's not sure he likes it.

As he stares down into the charm his thin lips twist into a scowl.]

Indeed.

But now you know more about me than I do about you.

Which makes you still a stranger.

Silly, you're supposed to ask other people questions about them, too. Like what kinds of things they like. What music do they listen to. What their favourite colour is. What kinds of animals do they like.

[She sure did just call this slightly intimidating man 'silly.' That's probably going to go over super well. Oh, well. Through the fire and the flames we carry on.]

But you're right. I keep asking you things about yourself and I should be a little more fair. I like books, too. I read a lot back home. I like storybooks. You know, the kinds that parents read to their kids. And I like books on plants! And I guess I like romance stories, too...

[Her smile is wistful and gentle. Is Vholran regretting this yet? He quite possibly could be.]

[Vholran listens to her speak, his brow starting to furrow at being called "Silly" and the scowl only deepening the more he listens.]

But I don't care about any of that! I don't care one whit about what you read or what colors you like, why would it matter to me!?

[Ohhhh, he's so angry. Most people would probably take some steps back at this point. Silly Aerith (silly in her own way), tries to look at all of this from a relatively understanding way.]

If you only ever care about one thing, you're going to miss out on everything else that life has to offer and just how beautiful life can be.

Life? Beautiful?

Life is nothing more than an endless cycle of treachery and pain.

[Said with the full confidence of someone who believes this with every fiber of his being.]

It doesn't have to be.

[It sounds so simple and she knows it isn't. She can understand, marginally, why someone might feel that way, however. She hasn't lived his life. She can only glimpse bits and pieces through what he's chosen to share with her, and she's not inclined to ask specific questions. Not yet.

But maybe when they're closer...]

It takes time. Patience. Understanding. Of one's self in addition to the others around you. But it doesn't have to be that way anymore if you don't want it to be.

Foolish prattle!

[Vholran makes a wide gesture with his fist then the image statics out and vanishes. He's gone.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Video]

no subject

Tales of Arise spoilers

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject