thevoidsdarkhorse | Heart Game (Continued)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

dirtydoll

It's not. It's...easier, for some people than for others. But people are too often selfish...and cruel.

Kindness has to be learned. It has to be taught.

From:

thevoidsdarkhorse

....I wonder who taught me.

I'm just....I'm so MAD about everything. None of it's FAIR. It's not like I wanted a lot. My family, a few friends, just allowed to live something like a normal life.

But I wasn't even allowed to feel safe.

Where did I even learn to be kind....?

From:

dirtydoll

...I don't know. You had your friends...you had your...mother. In a way. Maybe it was through them. Maybe it was something else...I don't know.

But I know that you have every right to be mad. You deserve to be mad. Because it wasn't fair. It wasn't right, none of it.

There is no shame in your rage.

From:

thevoidsdarkhorse

...even if I hurt people who don't deserve it?

From:

dirtydoll

Yes. Even then.

Mistakes happen. You can hurt people even if you are always kind.

But that's what I mean by controlling it. The same rage that can hurt someone innocent will also make you strong against those who do deserve it. If you only learn how to use it.

From:

thevoidsdarkhorse

And if I let a race die because of my rage?

From:

dirtydoll

That's not going to happen. Because they're already dead. They can't be hurt anymore. Not by you or anyone or anything.

She wants you to feel guilty about it, but this isn't your problem. If you want to try and help them, it's your choice. Not your responsibility.

From:

thevoidsdarkhorse

...hmm.

[And welcome to the WHIPLASH THAT IS RAGE.]

[You've appeared back in the Neighborhood.]

[There's a building collapsing near you, and an injured Carapacian is trying to get out of the way of it.]

[It seems unlikely you'll be able to save them unscathed simply grabbing and running/flying.]

From:

dirtydoll

[oh jesus christ what the fu-

I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON BUT? I GUESS I'LL TRY?? TO SAVE THEM ANYWAY??? TOO BAD I DON'T HAVE ANY WINDY OR VOIDY THINGS TO HELP ME THOUGH!!!

what kind of lame power is heart anyway]

From:

thevoidsdarkhorse

[RAGE IS TERRIBLE LIKE THAT.]

[Gosh, that wall is coming down on you two.]

[....and I dunno, you're a manipulator of Heart inside a heart.]

[I mean.]

[Seriously.]

[Ma-ti had terrifying powers if applied right.]

From:

dirtydoll

[Look, I'm not a very deep thinker. All I really want today is not to be crushed by a wall. Especially a bullshit memory manifestation wall inside this bullshit memory manifestation heart.

...wait, I'm literally inside a heart. And I'm a fucking Witch of Heart. What can witches do. Turn shit into frogs? Can I turn this wall into a frog?

...okay probably not. But if I CAN manipulate Heart than maybe I can manipulate this heart. Specifically, can I physically manipulate this wall - which, I emphasize, is literally made of heartstuff - to not crush me?

Because again, NOT being crushed by a wall today would be really great.]

From:

thevoidsdarkhorse

[The wall does, in fact, not crush you.]

[It also does, in fact, turn into a frog.]

[Your injured Carapacian has now done some flaily thing like a gasp and begun bowing to the frog.]

From:

dirtydoll

[........................................holy shit I can't believe that worked.

She just. Stares at this absurd frog-bowing display in shock for a minute before giving a strangled little laugh because this changes everything. Hey Roxy, what was that you said earlier? Something about not brute-forcing changes? I can't seem to remember over the sound of me putting out the fires!!

DON'T WORRY I AM A PROFESSIONAL SOUL MANIPULATOR. KIDS, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.]

From:

thevoidsdarkhorse

[...how many fires are you putting out?]

[Because this is a VERY BIG ROOM.]

[Like.]

[It's an actual city okay.]

From:

dirtydoll

[ALL OF THEM!!! I AM LIKE UNTO A GOD

Okay no. She INTENDS to put them all out (starting from the immediate area and moving outward, specifically) but the actual result will be, uh, whatever is actually possible.

If it makes a difference, because hearts are weird and it might, she truly believes in her ability to take care of all of them. Because she has suddenly become very aware that this is all an illusion of Roxy's mind and she DOES have practice screwing with people's souls. She is also ONLY focusing on the fires right now and not any other aspects of the buildings or the situation (she's not even thinking about the smoke, just the flames themselves).]

From:

thevoidsdarkhorse

[...you're a healthy person, Fade.]

[WELL, you do start putting out several blocks worth of fires.]

[But that kind of gets attention of some friendly twelve foot tall sorts.]

From:

dirtydoll

[the healthiest

Also screw those guys, I'll turn them into frogs too. They're not real they're just heart memories!! And I am the MASTER OF HEART

...

...or so I believe, anyway]

From:

thevoidsdarkhorse

[SO HEALTHY.]

[Well, you're turning robots into frogs!]

[Rollllll a 10 sider.]

From:

dirtydoll

[8, CAUSE I'M GR8]

From:

thevoidsdarkhorse

[Flashes. Faces, people.]

[Zelos, so frustrating, you know you've missed so much, but you're trying to understand, there has to be a way you can understand him, give him what he needs, and in a way that would stop breaking him in the process.]

[Sapphire, who you know is hurting, but she learned the truth, and she won't tell you, says you've been through enough.]

[Otacon who always looks down on himself and it seems like you can never get through those barriers.]

[Technic who you've realized shares so many of the same feelings you do, but he never listens, never let's himself be helped, and you've seen where that goes, but it's like Zelos, you can't reach out in a way that will let him reach back.]

[Hydra and Sparrow and you're afraid to tell them the truth, afraid that they'll do what Sapphire did, treat you like glass when that's not what you want, never what you want, and it's more important than anything else that they don't. You can't take the idea of someone so important looking at you with eyes like those.]

[Over and over, people you can't quite reach out in the way they need, and people pull back when you open up, and it's not what you want it's not what you want it's not what you want]

[You're by the Cove, at the edge of Kyriakos.]

[And there's Roxy, sitting at the edge of the void, staring at a book, tapping the page with her pen.]

From:

dirtydoll

[No wait, can I take it back, I'm not gr8 enough for this shit

AP...PROACHING, kind of wary this time because if the last room is any indication of what she's in for it's probably going to be another exercise in frustration.]

Roxy...?