cinderlea | (no subject)

(no subject)

[ Riku disappears first. Vanished in her sleep, in the middle of the night, collapsing in on herself in a shimmer of starlights. This isn't like last time. No warnings, no chances to say goodbye, no hesitation or resistance. She just isn't there.

Lea goes minutes after Riku, in the same way. But she's awake, lounging on her couch, having a conversation as she flips through her phone. Here and then gone, like a flame. This isn't the first time either of them have gone home, but it's the first time it's so abrupt. At least it isn't death. The last time Riku went home was seven years ago. She was gone for a month, and she came back with shorter hair and the Mark of Mastery. The last time Lea went home, no one really noticed. She thought she was used to it by now.

Things are different this time. Disorienting. Lea meets Kai in the training, for real this time. Riku has her memories, or at least most of them. They're hazy, dreamlike, but real. She has them all. She remembers how old she really is and how long she's been gone. She remembers everyone she cares about, and everyone that won't change here. She keeps her ice magic and takes what she's learned here to use there. But time is fluid. She doesn't feel like she's been gone for seven years.

Lea's are gone, for now. She lives everything new and fresh, with the dressing room appearing only in dreams vivid enough to unsettle her.

Things aren't the same for every world.

Things go better than expected.

The core story is the same. The heroes rescue the ones that need it, they bring everyone back, they defeat the darkness, and they go home. How and when and who — these things vary, but they do it all together and they go home together. And then their story is over, at least for now, and they come back.

Unlike how they went out, Lea and Riku reappear together on the beach. Coming back is just as disorienting, and neither has their phone, so they get their bearings and confirm memories with each other, of the dressing room and of home, and then separate to find their friends.

They've been gone two months. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[gmph. Isa's definitely settling into melancholy, for whatever reason, and she's basically through eating. she did have two entire pumpkin pies, after all.]

Unlikely, you sleep so much anyway.

[ Well fine, let her adjust her arm a little — it means Isa's going to have to bear with Lea's shoulder moving, but then she's going to throw that arm around her. ]

At least now I have an excuse.

[pbbbbbbbbbbbb, says Isa, but also thx.]

You didn't before? Seems to me you had plenty of excuses for it. They weren't always good, granted.

Yeah but now you'll believe me.

[ Num num pizza. She's going to save the rest of this, but a couple more pieces of sushi wouldn't hurt. ]

If you're lucky, yeah.

[...yeah, okay, she'll stretch out an arm without moving the rest of herself, and grab another piece of sushi. something with like, eel.]

[ Here, she'll move the sushi tray closer. The first one is almost totally gone, probably. ]

Sooo...

Buttons. You through eating?

[haha get it, "sew" buttons, gettit, it's a dad joke. or a dweebus joke, either way. Isa's either trying actively to go to sleep on Lea's shoulder, or inching stealthily toward kissing, it's hard to tell.]

Yeah. Better stop now, before all that rice kicks in and I feel stuffed.

[ But, y'know, worth it and all that. What is she doing, exactly. Don't they need to do something with all this leftover food, before either one happens? ]

[dude idk. but she heaves a big melodramatic sigh and finally straightens up so she can crawl out of bed.]

I thought I'd be tired after I ate but I'm not. I'll put all this in the fridge and then... I don't know, we could watch something.

[ Lea watches her, then dusts her hands off and hops onto her feet so she can help. There's no reason to make Isa do all the cleanup. ]

What're you in the mood for?

[Isa's first thought was sex, and she immediately aged like ten years as a result. like, fuck's sake, it hasn't been that long, fucking get it together.]

Something that isn't sad or depressing. Maybe something animated.

[u got any ghibli around here, she could go for some Princess Mononoke, maybe.]

You been through the DVDs any since I left? Let's go look.

[ Because, despite this thread's age, Lea hasn't been back IC that long. ]

Not really, it didn't seem like a good idea to sit around here by myself.

[breeding grounds for self-loathing, self-doubts, depression, etc. the food gets shoved into the fridge and Isa straightens up again.]

Yeah, sounds like a bad idea. I used to find random movies anyway, maybe this place'll be helpful. Y'know, for once.

[ She's gonna. grab Isa's hand and pull her over toward the couch. ]

[ c: she'll follow willingly! let's see, no romcoms, nothing with teenagers in it, nothing sad, probably nothing scary or violent... the options are ghibli or like. star wars.]

It's been helpful before. It just delivered free food within fifteen minutes for us.

Pretty sure you ordered that and the shadow guys delivered.

[ Action movies are also good. Let's watch Fury Road. But no, as soon as they're at the couch she'll give Isa a push that might or might not end up with her on the couch, it's a mystery. Now she's gonna dig through the DVDs, and it will probably be a Ghibli movie. ]

[Fury Road would work, but not right now. also oof. she'll just get comfy, then. more of their huge bag of candy would make sense here but they did just finish gorging on food, so fuck it.]

I just assumed they were extensions of the dressing room. Maybe I should ask one, but I don't think they can talk.

Yeah, I don't think any of them can talk. Shadow people, Heartless, Spirits and all that. I've never heard of one, anyway. Even the ones with like, personality.

[ Princess Mononoke it is. ]

[Lea's almost certainly missing the weird expression that crosses Isa's face, assuming she's putting the movie in and not actively looking at Isa.]

Xehanort's Heartless could, but she's an anomaly.

[boy could she talk. among other things.]

Still really confused about that.

[ The only time she really encountered her was during fight and/or rescue missions, and talking wasn't really the focus. ]

I think it had something to do with Xehanort willingly giving up her heart, I'm not sure.

[no, Isa's not unconsciously letting her body language close off with folded arms and crossed legs, why would you ever suggest such a thing.]

Does that work with anyone?

[ "Would that have happened with us?" She pops the movie in, then moves back to the couch to flop down and stretch her long legs out. Also she might be leaning the entirety of the rest of her weight on Isa now. Here you go, friend, take the remote. ]

[bnghhhff she's gonna take the remote but then also unclench and get an arm around Lea. she missed her best friend. ;o; ]

I think it has to be done with that keyblade made from the princes' Hearts.

Hm.

[ Losing her Heart is a really sore subject for Lea, understandably. She doesn't want to talk about that any further, and kind of snuggles closer like she would normally to be obnoxious, but this time is just because she wants to. ]

[and Lea's only lost hers once or twice, depending on which theory of hearts regrowing or not one subscribes to. imagine being Evan, who willingly was like "yeah do it to me boss" and then became a Nobody again. snuggles r good tho.]

I know more about that stuff than I'd like, at this point.