[OPEN] Days pass by as I watch from above

[lingeringwill]

WHO: Terra & YOU!
WHERE: All about town.
WHEN: Late September, Early October
WHAT: Catch-all log for Terra & his various activities as Fall rolls around. The leaves are falling, and it's harder not to snap back into old habits as the weather cools down.
WARNINGS: Death Mention?



I. Let's take a sec to think back

[Five years or six? Absolutely six...Time passes in a flash. Terra, clad in all back, sullenly skulks through the empty cemetery as the last gasp of summer's gentle breeze tickles his tanned skin. Occasionally stopping to peer at certain graves, he makes a few rounds throughout the cemetery, or at least, this section of it. In his hands is a small bunch of flowers--exactly the kind that you would expect to see someone holding in a place like this.

Eventually he settles in front of a very small grave. The grave itself has plenty of flowers surrounding it already. Terra crouches down in front of the grave and...starts talking to it? And he spends quite a while talking to it. If you're nearby, you may hear certain sad phrases about being sorry or asking for forgiveness. When enough time has passed, he gently lays the flowers over the grave stone and spends a few more moments crouched, just looking at the nameplate. Six years ago...]

I wish that I could've gotten to know you. [A gentle sigh as he stands, before briefly looking back at the grave.]

I'll be back, okay?

[Maybe you'll catch him as he's leaving, or you saw all that. If you're outside of the cemetery and in the area, you'll find him looking a bit sad with his hands stuffed deep in his pockets as he skulks back to the bus stop. A very dower boy today.]

II. Earthshaker

[It's a pretty standard day. The birds are singing intermittently between car horns and the idle chatter of neighbors. Terra is walking through the park, minding his own business as he does--it's not as though he's a social butterfly in general. A lot of things are changing for him though, it's a good time to clear his head, especially considering the earlier trip to the cemetery, and the anniversary of you know what. Is he really improving at all? Was that whole thing with Minako just lip service? And thinking of lip service, ugh...

Staring up at the sky as if to say "Give me a sign that I'm doing the right thing" Terra loudly sighs as his gaze drops back down to a tree top, the branches, and finally the drunk.

And the object leaning up against the tree. Wait. What is that.

Terra, as if suddenly possessed, makes a b line for the object resting against the tree trunk. A long, brown and brass looking metal object. A handle, a hilt, a blade...]

Holy...Holy shit.

[Terra stops as he's about to reach the tree, staring in disbelief as it begins to dawn on him just what exactly he is looking at.]

Holy SHIT! [Forgetting he's in public, Terra continues to shout obscenities as his arms and legs start to tremble slightly. Tentatively, he reaches out towards the blade, as if calling out to it.]

It's you...You're mine.

You're my keyblade! [In a flash of light, the keyblade disappears into thin air and reappears in Terra's hand. It's long and heavy, probably suited to be wielded with two hands, but definitely sized and suits to Terra's frame. It feels good, natural. It feels like he owns it--like it's part of him. Triumphantly, he raises it up, again forgetting he's in public, grinning wildly to the point of near-tears.]

Yes! YES! Finally! Finally, finally, finally!

III. Sunshine

[Had a long day? Looking to relax? You've come to the right place! Those coming into Club Sunshine in the later hours of the night may find Terra serving as your dutiful and attentive host. His outfit, probably much to Shuji's chagrin, is a bit more loose and discheveled than the rest of the hosts. His sleeves are rolled up to his biceps, and his tie is suitably loosened to match. He greets you with a warm smile as you sit down.]

Ah, forgive me for staring, it's not every day I get to serve someone who can manage to be so charming without even speaking a word, yet. I'm Terra.

IV. Life as a Tall Person

Here you go, Ma'am. [With a smile, Terra hands a jar of salsa to an older woman who couldn't reach it from the top shelf. Terra continues to go through the grocery store and do his shopping, however he notices he is being continually stopped by people who can't reach the obscenely high top shelf to help them out. Each time, Terra happily helps out with a smile or a grin or a laugh. After the fourth time though, he's starting to regret having this body.]

Seriously, why do they even make shelves this high if I'm the only one who can fucking reach them?

[LOUD SIGH AS HE TURNS A CORNER AND SMACKS HIS FACE INTO A HANGING SIGN FOR HALLOWEEN DECORATIONS.]

GODDDDDDDD!

Comments

CAMPING - Closed to ALISON

[lingeringwill]

[God, he's so fucking tired. And for someone who doesn't get tired very easily, he's fucking tired. Hiking up to the camping spot is absolutely the worst part of camping. Well, after the dumb catterpillars that are probably going to be trying to invade his personal space tonight. Still, they were getting closer, so he looks to Alison with a resigned smile.]

I think...I underestimated your overall fortitude, Alli.

IV

[thesettingsun]

[Shuji is on the shorter side of average, so he can only wince in sympathy when Terra smacks his face into the Halloween decoration.

Well, and offer one consolation:]

At least it wasn't a fake spiderweb?

I WAS CRYING OMG

[lingeringwill]

[Terra laughs sheepishly and gives a polite wave to Shuji as he rubs his nose.]

Fake spiderwebs are fine by me...You have no idea how many real spiderwebs I walk into...

[SIGH.]

I used to think I was lucky to be tall, but I think somewhere along the line, god went guy of overboard.

you brought this on yourself

[thesettingsun]

Yikes. I think I'd prefer to be short, at least I've never hit my head on a low doorway.

[And he never will.]

[lingeringwill]

...I can pick you up and smack you on one, if you want the experience?

[thesettingsun]

I'll pass, if it's all the same to you...

[don't hurt him please]

DATE - Closed to ARLENE

[lingeringwill]

[Reasonably well dressed, is probably the best way to describe him. Terra is more about leather jackets than suit jackets, so it's kind of a miracle that he's wearing a tie at all, especially outside of Club Sunshine. Terra leans down to meet Arlene's height, giving her a soft peck on the cheek. The two stroll through the moonlit park, after a nice dinner in Tisse that would have almost certainly been somewhat cumbersome to properly portray. He places a second kiss on her jaw before returning his head to the clouds where they belong. He wraps his arm loosely around her waist and pulls her gently against him.]

Sorry, it's getting colder, yanno?

[twelfthspark]

[Arlene is rather taken with her new coat, but she shrugged on a lighter sweater over her black dress tonight. It suits Terra's excuse well.]

Aww, are you getting chilly? [she says, a hint of teasing laughter in her voice. Being too dang short to kiss him properly like this, she reaches for his other hand, pausing in her steps to draw it towards her and ghost a kiss over his knuckles.]

[lingeringwill]

Obviously...[He smiles warmly. It's nice when things are normal and uncomplicated like this.]

Definitely not just saying that because I want to wrap my arms around my beautiful girlfriend...

[Smooches the top of her head.]

Absolutely not...

[twelfthspark]

[The novelty has yet to truly wear off; his compliments still fill her with a rising warmth, a sort of fizzing in her chest. She can't keep the smile off her face as she snuggles up as close to him as walking will allow.]

It couldn't possibly be that.

[lingeringwill]

[Her reaction doesn't go unnoticed, and he squeezes her tightly.]

You like that, huh?

[chu!]

Being called beautiful?

Aria's Place - Closed to VEN

[lingeringwill]

Knock knock, Blondie. [No, he's not actually going to knock, because last time he knocked too hard on Aria's door, she got mad.]

Open up!

[brokenlight]

Are you allergic to knocking?

[But he does open up the door, looking at Terra curiously.]

[lingeringwill]

I'm allergic to getting attacked by Aria and her dog, actually. [But he smiles genuinely. Even going so far as to put a hand on the shorter boys shoulder. Is that really him?]

Good to meet you in person, Kari.

Assuming you're real, and not a figment of my fracturing psyche.

[brokenlight]

What did you do to them?

[His own smile is softer, though, a bit more genuine.

But it soon becomes teasing.]

I can always pinch you if you'd like.

[lingeringwill]

What I had to. [Smiles and winks as he walks inside. He's been here before so he doesn't have to ask for Kari to let him.]

Weirder things have happened, so I'm just going to take your word that you actually exist, 'Kay?

[Looks back at Kari as he takes a seat on the couch like he owns the place.]

Any questions for me?

FOG - Elliot

[lingeringwill]

[Ever since he was given his new position, it had become customary for Terra to make late night trips to ReVA to put in some extra work to show how serious he is about helping out in his new department. Recolle, for all it's strange strangeness, is also that pedestrian kind of strange. It's not an intimidating city--after all, Terra has lived here his entire life, but...some of these street corners, no matter how familiar, harbor eerie, bad memories.

The Tribunal Terrace isn't usually this foggy though, is it? In fact, as the fog starts to clear up a bit it seems more like...an alleyway? A specific alleyway that sticks out in his mind. The same one where...that happened. The air starts to get thick, and the pavement starts to feel wet, sticky...Dark, brownish red reflects from the streetlights that sit mostly obfuscated in the fog.

Not only that but...Wait, is that...Elliot? Terra starts to jog up to the younger boy before slowing, and then coming to a complete stop as his gaze travels beyond the intern and behind him. A tall man, at least eight feet with long limbs and a face that can't be made out from the shadows surrounding him--only his wide, toothy grin is visible. In his hand is a long, thick knife--like an enormous kitchen knife. Slowly, it raises its long arm behind Elliot, readying to swipe into his flesh from behind. The way he's moving, it's like...some monstrous version of that guy. Terra bursts into a full sprint, summoning his keyblade into his hand in a burst of light and tossing the enormous hunk of metal headlong into the shadowman behind Elliot, smashing into its arm and causing it to stumble back slightly. Just enough time for Terra to run up to Elliot, grab his hand, and jerk him forward.]

We're running.

[fiddlestick]

[He really hadn't meant to stay late enough for the fog to roll in, but Elliot had been caught late doing intern work for ReVA. There always seemed to be one more job someone would pass onto the new guy or one more errand. By the time he was released to go home, it was already pretty late. Great.

To make matters worse, the fog is thick enough that Elliot finds himself getting turned around. He doesn't remember turning into an alleyway, and yet here he seems to be. He had no choice but to try to walk down it, hoping it let out somewhere near a bus stop- or even a reasonable place to call an Uber.

He doesn't notice the man behind him, beyond feeling the hairs raise on the back of his neck (but honestly, that's a normal occurrence for someone timid like Elliot, so he doesn't think much of it). It's not until Terra comes into view and starts charging at him, summoning a WEAPON, does he get alarmed.]

Eek!!

[He jumps out of the way to the side of the alley, covering himself as if that'll help against a guy coming at you and throwing a giant serrated blade. But when the keyblade flies past him and hits something else- does he look back and see what just nearly attacked him.]

W-w-wha-?!?

[Yeah, that is just FREAKY as all heck. What in the world is that?! It's terrifying enough that he'll gladly let himself be jerked and comply with Terra's order.]

[lingeringwill]

[Thankfully, the shadow man behind Elliot is just kind of lumbering forward slowly, and Terra and Elliot can easily outpace them. If either of the pair looks back, they'll just find it grinning as it lurks closer, but not close enough to continually get smaller.]

Are you okay? [Terra huffs out as they continue running. Why is this alley so long? Why aren't there any exits...?]

It didn't get you, did it?

[fiddlestick]

[Now that he knows it's there? He sure keeps glancing back, rather freaked out that thing almost got the jump on him. It looked humanoid but it really...really wasn't. He wouldn't be the least bit surprised if it showed up in his nightmares tonight.

But he keeps running. Elliot is not an athlete by any means. He can run, but he's not fast and he'll probably get winded well before Terra does. The fact that this alley seems to keep going does not help]

N-No...I'm okay!

W-What is that?

[lingeringwill]

A ghost from my past, I guess...

[He takes another look behind him as they start to slow down, noticing that the shadow man is completely out of view.]

I didn't think retrospec could make monsters that...

[Shakes his head]

We've gotta find a way to...ahaha....

[Terra starts looking through Elliot, as if again something is behind him. He touches his hand to his own face, continuing to laugh quietly. If Elliot looks behind himself, he'll see a the face down body of a teenage girl, surrounded by a small pool of blood.]

It's fake...They're--They're just fucking with me...

II

[destiny_key]

[There are about four dogs of varying sizes, all on leashes held by Sora. No matter how he'd felt lately, he still had an obligation to volunteer at the shelter, and that was something he couldn't give up. Dogs made him happy.

All four of said dogs start barking when Terra starts screaming about keyblades, and if there was ever a moment for a facepalm it would be now. But he makes his way over to Terra anyway.]

Okay, but, do you have scream about it?

[lingeringwill]

Sora! [THRUST THE KEYBLADE UP TRIUMPHANTLY. He has the biggest smile on his face.]

And his dogs! I did it! We're equal!

[destiny_key]

[The dogs are practically scrambling over each other to be the first to get pets from Terra as Sora leads them over. He looks over Terra's Keyblade closely as he approaches, and wow, that thing is easily twice the size of his own. But, it suits him.

He laughs a little at Terra's exclamation.]

I dunno, man. I've had my Keyblade for two months already. Doesn't that still put you behind me?

[lingeringwill]

Chronologically, yeah, but we're still at the same level.

[A grin.]

Are you challenging me?

I'll beat you up, Sora.

[GRINNING INTENSIFIES]

I'll beat you up for all the dogs to see.