sirenspull | Entries tagged with !: roxas

[The video feed clicks on to show a face that hasn't appeared too often on the network lately, and it's not so surprising that he looks a little pensive, a little thoughtful. He pauses to collect his thoughts before speaking.]

So...it's my birthday today. Oh, I'm not telling people to get good wishes or presents or anything. But it's my fourth one in Siren's Port, and that means I've been here a little over three years now.

Maybe it doesn't sound that long to some people, but it does to me. Except it went by really fast, too. I guess that's just from looking back at everything, though. Because a lot of stuff happened.

I'm eighteen today. There were times I never thought I'd get this far. I'm definitely not the same person I was when I was pulled, but I guess everyone grows up. Still...I think I wouldn't be who I am now if it weren't for all the people I met in this world. Some are gone, some are still here...some I still miss.

I dunno if I'll have a fifth birthday here or not. No one ever knows how long we'll be here, right? It's not supposed to be home for any of us. We're newcomers. But it has been for me, for a while now. Whatever happens, whether I have another birthday here or not...I'm glad I had this one.

[He fiddles with the NV for a moment before ducking his head.]

I guess I just needed to say that.

pullsheavendown

[A beaming Roxas is holding a ~~beautiful, sparkling~~ kind of dinky but well-polished trophy with a molded brass coffee mug on top. Classy.]

I wasn't going to say anything, but my friends said I should. [He looks sort of sheepishly embarrassed, yet proud.]

Anyway, yesterday they held the "King o' Joe coffee contest yesterday, and...I won. Well, I'm the one who competed, but I don't think I did it by myself. I owe everything I know about making really good coffee to you, Mr. Armando. [This is said with UTMOST SINCERITY because the visored one is both an excellent teacher and sort of scary when it comes to java.]

The prize is free shipping on imported wholesale coffee, so we're going to have a celebration this weekend with special sales and stuff—not everything's going to be really cheap, since we haven't actually ordered any new stuff yet, but it'll be a good time, I promise. Stop by the S.S. Kahve in Sector 3.

Oh yeah! Someone quit last week to go work at a bookstore or something, so there's a spot open if anyone's looking for a job. It's a pretty cool place, and we serve really good coffee. [He grins at the trophy.] See, proof.

madeinoblivion

So. [Joe sounds particularly cranky and irritated] Me and Roxas we were wondering...

Is it okay for a landlord to just like.... come in your apartment and show somebody else around- while you're still living there?

Who just does that? Let strangers walk around and say nasty things about all our stuff, and how it smells like cats. What if we weren't home, and they took stuff? Or if somebody was sleeping, or naked in the bedroom?

...who do we even go to and complain to about it?

We really need to get serious about moving someplace else. Between this and the rent going way way up for next month, and the heat not coming on till it freezes outside... it's getting crazy.

[Roxas chimes in, sounding nearly as perturbed as his friend.]

They said it was an inspection, but we've been here a couple of years now and I don't think we've ever had one of those. Except when we moved in, maybe.

We've never had a problem here, but they were acting like we're bad renters. But we're fine, we always have been.

...and it does not smell like cats. Xact and Blue are really good and we clean up after them!

mirroredmemory

[Xion looks dishevelled and pale, swamped in a hoodie that's too big for her and possibly pilfered from the wardrobe of someone much larger. She looks lost, a little bewildered, her hand hovering over the button of her NV as though she's having second thoughts about recording herself.

She looks aside, her eyes downcast, then after second she steels herself, squares her shoulders, and looks dead at the camera. Her voice is small when she starts to speak.]

I want to know... if there's any really good ways of remembering somebody. I don't mean memories, because those are precious and sometimes you just want to hold onto those and keep them in your heart forever and not share them... but if someone you love dies. If they go away from here and you know that they-

[Her voice catches.]

How would you keep them alive? How do you let people know that they made a difference, that they were special and that they couldn't be pushed around by anyone, no matter how hard people tried to- to-

[She swipes angrily at her eyes, brushing away tears.]

No matter how hard they tried to keep him from having a life, from having friends, from having a hea-

Xion...

[Roxas appears in the background and walks forward, pausing to place two mugs on a table quickly enough that cocoa slops over the top. He moves with purpose but holds himself a little stiffly, as if something hurts. When he reaches Xion, he crouches for a moment, looking her over carefully to make sure she's all right before pulling her close and holding her tight. She doesn't fight him and curls into the embrace, small and uncertain as she hides her face against his shoulder.]

Hey, it's okay. Don't...don't do this now, let's just have our cocoa. It'll be okay.

[He clings to her in return for a moment longer before there's some shuffling and strange angles as he gently takes the NV out of her hands and centers the camera on his face.]

Axel's gone from Siren's Port again. Since last night maybe.

[He hesitates for a moment longer, as if considering saying something else, but then just ends the video.]

[[ooc: black is Roxas blue is Xion. Due to magnificent timezone co-ordination failure and old ladies needing their bedtime, we didn't manage to get this up yesterday]]

pullsheavendown

[Roxas is kicking back at the just-closed S.S. Kahve tonight, hours after Grellzilla's rampage is over.

All the customers have been shooed out to get home before the siren rings and the darkness spreads, but there's no harm in enjoying an after-shift cup of java.]

So does anyone know what that storm was about earlier? Or...I dunno, some people said it was a monster, but I haven't seen pictures or anything. And there was something about flying cows. [He sounds skeptical. Yeah Keigo, he doubts you.] Whatever it was, I hope people are okay.

Anyway, we had kind of a slow day today—I guess storm-monster-whatevers make people nervous enough they don't want to get jittery on caffeine too. So in the shop we started reading our horoscopes and comparing them and I want to know—are these really real at all?

I know the writer's supposed to have a special power or something, but come on. "You need to climb out of the rut you've fallen into." What if I haven't fallen into a rut, what then? And everyone born around that time supposedly has the same problems? And the rest is really vague. And everyone's got personal problems. It doesn't take a lot of insight to put that in a horoscope.

Has anyone ever gotten anywhere from paying attention to these things and following their advice?

pullsheavendown

[It's a beautiful day and both Roxas and Xion look much improved from the last time they appeared on the network. Perhaps they're a little skinnier from suffering through their illnesses, but there's color in their cheeks and smiles upon their faces.]

Hey everyone. I bet most of you have been down to the block party by now, but if not, you really should—it's a lot of fun, and tomorrow's the last day.

And if you're coming down you should definitely come and see us!

[Roxas lifts a foam bat and nods.]

We've got a really fun game—it's called Struggle, and anyone can play using this.

It's really easy too! All you have to do is take your opponent's balls!

[Roxas gives her a somewhat hesitant sidelong glance before forging on.]

Well, kinda. Instead of taking them, you knock them off in a Struggle for victory! You can also play Grandstander by yourself and win a prize if you can hit a single ball in the air and keep it going for a while. But it's most fun when it's one-on-one.

[Xion grins, and if you know her at all well- or even if you don't know her that well- it's clearly mischievous. She picks up the other bat and beckons someone off camera. A moment later, Joe Fieldman appears, wielding a Struggle bat of his own and decked out in some ridiculous gear. He is covered in balls.]

Our lovely assistant is here to demonstrate. [smirk]

"Lovely" yourself, Roxas! [Joe taps the foam bat against the palm of his hand, impatient, before readying himself into a defensive stance, bat raised and legs bent, readying to spring into action.] C'mon, are we going to demo this thing, or are you guys gonna stand around all day?

[Xion has snatched up the bat from Roxas and is all over this one; she's clearly in high spirits as she gets ready to swing for him.] Ha! Your balls are mine, Joe.

[Roxas stares open-mouthed before snatching another bat from somewhere off-camera. And then they lunge at Joe, intent on taking his balls.]

And this is how you Struggle!

[ooc: Roxas is blue, Xion is purple, Joe is red.]

motioned

[The feed is pointed down at a plain blanket before it's swung up to show white walls, and finally a certain redhead who certainly looks like she's seen better days. The viewer can probably discern she's in a hospital, judging by the gown and the IV stand sitting by the edge of the bed. She looks positively exhausted and slightly pained, as well as dazed, but wears a smile nonetheless. Her voice, when she speaks, is raspy and somewhat winded, but still attempts to remain cheerful despite the circumstances.]

Hi everyone! Um, I just wanted to make sure everyone knew - [A pause, to cough heavily, that trails on a few seconds longer than it ought to. Fevered thinking is great.]

Knew, um... Oh, where I was! And that I was okay. Or at least, I should be okay really soon, I guess! And-

[She swings the NV, showing the other inhabitant of the room.]

[Roxas is in the other bed, staring vacantly into space before startling slightly when he realizes the camera is on him now. Right, right, they were going to talk to their friends.]

Hi. [He lifts the arm that doesn't have an IV in it and waves more or less in the direction of the camera. He doesn't look much better than Ahiru, although his friends might notice he's improved since arriving at the hospital. His face is blotchy and his spiky hair is a lot flatter than normal, but a tentative smile is on his face.]

It's been really crowded here, but it's not so bad if you know your roommate. [He coughs.]

[She reaches for his hand, and the feed tips slightly as she tries to regain her balance - she's leaned a little too far from the bed. She laughs, slightly awkward, but it dissolves into coughing after a moment or two.]

It's probably not bad at all! At least, it's better than the people who are all alone in their hospital rooms.

[Pause. Blink.]

Or with really mean strangers. I guess that'd be just as bad.

Yeah... [He drifts off for a moment, then shakes his head, sneezes twice, and squeezes her fingers lightly. The effort of reaching out to connect seems to have taken up a lot of their energy for the moment.]

I know we don't look so good. [He smiles feebly and a little sadly.] But we're getting better, really. We'll come home soon, I promise.

[She looks towards him, tilting her head slightly as she thinks. And scrunches her face up for a moment before sneezing rather loudly as well.]

We probably don't look that bad for being in the hospital, though, right? I mean, I haven't really known a whole bunch of people who've been in the hospital, I guess. But I think that's probably a good thing... [She trails off and looks away from him, staring out the window for a moment before she blinks and looks back towards the NV.]

But, um, he's right about us getting better!

[He nods.] And it's nice to have company. Not as boring. Ahiru told me a good joke today.

[She stares for a moment, her brow wrinkling.]

I did? Oh, oh, I did! That was before I fell asleep the last time, right?

Right. [He frowns.] What was it again?

It was, um... [There's a long pause; probably longer than it should be for remembering something so simple.]

Oh! Why did the, um, why did the chicken - cross the road?

Why? [He sounds like he genuinely wants to know.]

Because it... [And then she pauses for a while again. After a minute, she brings her finger to the side of her head, staring at the ceiling. Which somehow seems fascinating now.]

I never noticed that there aren't tiles up there the way there are on the floor...

Oh, yeah... [He stares up with her for a minute before seeming to remember the NV's camera, which has tilted slightly.]

Anyway...we really will be okay. [His expression slips into something sadder.] We're not going anywhere.

[She squeezes his hand, the smile fading for a minute as she looks towards him.]

And we'd really like to hear how everyone else is doing, too!

[ooc: Expect replies from both of them! Action is fine, though if you'd prefer an action thread with only one of them, here they are in the hospital log.]

pullsheavendown

Does anyone here ever feel like time doesn't move at the same pace all the time?

[Roxas is recording this post from the front window of his coffee shop, off his shift and therefore free to chat it up with the network. The (for now) light drizzle seems to have put him in a contemplative mood again.]

Not just when you're really bored on a slow afternoon and just want to skip ahead a few hours. (I know minutes are longer than 60 seconds then.) It's just...in a few days I'll have been here for two years. Two years. And I know that's right, but it doesn't seem like it's true.

[He chuckles and takes the last sip of to-go coffee.]

I remember when I counted time in days. Sometimes weeks. A year seemed like a lifetime. [A sadder expression appears on his face for a fleeting moment.] Maybe it was a lifetime, because I'm definitely living a different life than I was when I arrived. Sometimes I feel like a completely different person.

But it's been good. Even with the darkness, and even though really bad things have happened. Good things have, too. I've gotten to know people I never would have spoken to otherwise, and not just people from different worlds. I'm grateful for that. It hurts when people leave, but I think it's better than not knowing them at all.

So I guess I want to say...thanks. However long I stay here, it's been worth it.

[He peers out the window, then straightens up.] Looks like the rain's letting up a little. I'm gonna go get some errands done.

[ooc: Roxas, as an early victim of the Wiles of Memory plot, certain aspects of his memory have been removed or changed; however, he is not aware of this yet. Perhaps conversation in the comments will trigger a realization? Open to action.]

thehighcost

[The video turns on sometime in the morning, and the camera seems to be held up by unsteady hands. The video feed shifts, and shows off a familiar face; pale, black hair, a massive amount of eyeliner. She’s also wearing what appears to be a vest, with a blue light glowing from her chest. Moving the NV back, Death grins, showing off the Laser Tag gun in her hand, glowing the same color as the blue chest plate.]

Roxas and I decided to give his Christmas presents a try! I figured that since today is such a gorgeous day, it would be a shame to waste it in some coffee shop or some bar. Don’t you all agree?

[Roxas appears in the background, small and far back, holding the same gun as Death is, and wearing a vest with a glowing red chest plate. The gun glows red as well.]

We’ve been testing it out around Sector Four. And since we have so many of them, we’ve been doing teams! The Red Team and the Blue Team, and anyone who wants to come play can play! We’ll put you on a team and have you run around Sector Four all day.

[She pauses in thought, putting on her best gunslinger pose.]

Though maybe we should have different team names… The Red Rovers and The Blue Wombats? Oh! The Ripe Red Radishes, and The Babelicious Blue Bananas! Oh, we could do The Red Roses and The Blue Bonnets…

[While she’s talking, Roxas has been stealthily coming up behind her, a red dot aimed at her back plate, something that occasionally moves up and down on the camera unsteadily. Death is about to say more, when suddenly her chest plate starts flashing and it makes a little “Bloop Bloop Bloop” sound. Gasping, she turns around and looks at Roxas.]

I’m going to get you for that! [Roxas starts laughing, and then quickly scurries away, and Death turns back to the NV for a moment.]

We’re going to be down in Sector Four all day! Come on down and join a team, we’ll get you outfitted with a laser gun and vest as fast as we can!

[She winks at the camera and takes off running.]

I'm going to get you!

[ooc: The log is up here! Everyone who responds will be put on the red team or the blue team, and can play as long as they want in Sector 4!]

madeinoblivion

[There's a shift and crinkle of a soft taco wrapper, loosely covering an NV to hide it's sneaky planting. Through the low murmur of background noise, and something which sounds distinctly like Underground Mall muzak, two adolescent male voices are prominent. One sounds particularly bright with bravado and a little bit of playful goading.]

Okay, so! That is a pretty girl. Good, Roxas! You're finally getting somewhere with this.... Now. [Onward to step two and the ten thousand munny jackpot question:] What makes her pretty?

Sheesh, you don't need to talk like I'm a little kid. [But Roxas sounds more amused than annoyed.] Uh...she has nice hair. With the curls.

So curly, [Joe clarifies keenly, his voice leading] but not....frizzy-curly. Neat.

Yeah. The smooth curls. See that other girl over there? It looks like she has a bush on her head. [The boys dissolve into a brief round of shared sniggers.]

No bushes, right- and... light-colored, right? Red or Blonde? Okay, now what's better, skinner like her or curvier- not big, but...like that one-

What's it matter what color someone's hair is? Red and blonde are both nice. ...uh. That one, over there.

Does it matter what kind of clothes she likes to wear? Or what stuff she does- what kind of stuff do you think is cute? That's really important for finding your 'type' - (You know, for girls this part is so easy? It's not fair- they have magazines with these quizzes and they just circle answers and then you count up what letters you've got most of, and that tells them straight off what your 'type' is.) So anyway. If you had to use just five words for what you like in girls....Go!

[Roxas is starting to get a little annoyed with all the questions here, himself.] That stuff's not important. (And that sounds like a stupid magazine.)

Uh...nice...funny...active...pretty smile? I can't think of anything else, are we done?

Yep! That should give us some options. [Plucking up the NV, he swaps it to video and uprights the camera, revealing an brief upside-down view of an ideal girl-watching overlook on the second level of the food court turning the image on the spiky blonde haired victim of this attractiveness-scouting duo.] So! You heard it all right here, ladies! My friend Roxas needs a Valentine, and has just a few more days to find one-

[Roxas's jaw drops and his eyes go wide as comprehension dawns.] Did you...

Aaaaany takers? (Bonus, if you like coffee.)

Are we on the network?!

...Or Ice Cream! [A 'hah' of a laugh, our cameraman leaps up from his seat and swerves it quickly in front of him to block his aghast and embarassed friend's path] Or maybe skateboarding. Or you just want to come over and play with his cat-

[And then Roxas lunges directly at the camera. There's the fumbling beginnings of a wrestling match, a peal of Joe's laughter, and then the recording shuts off.]