#codebestowed

from here // accepting // thank you for the ask!

"I've got all the Disney songs, Utada's songs, Final Fantasy soundtrack, and some j-pop and j-rock for good measure. There's nothing you'll find boring on there."

@codebestowed

     It was a stark difference once you crossed the arced bridge, its faded and chipped red paint signifying the start of a safe haven. Lanterns that should have long since gone out, GLOWED in their magnificence as gentle flames flickered and danced within them, casting soft light amidst the dark of the village across the pond. Cherry blossom petals gathered on the ground in large piles, having accumulated over the years and seemingly never fading.

     This was a place they could breathe; This was a place where they were SAFE... so then why did Riku feel his heart try again and again to escape his chest, harshly beating against his ribs as if in a panicked state?

     A single look beside him said it all: Right... he had a ghost with him... The spirit of the camera which he held now, responsible for its burden and weight. It proved to be the only DEFENSE he had against the spirits of the old village, so leaving it behind wasn’t exactly in the cards. Still... the spirit       Sora        didn’t make matters any easier to bear. Unfriendly and aggressive, it hardly seemed the two would ever get along, but Riku felt that there had been some progress made along the way.

     Well... certainly much better than when they had FIRST met.

@codebestowed​​​ sent - 📱 ( Ryuji’s Contacts - Accepting! )

Data. 📧

Outgoing texts sent to Data:

[Ryuji]: We should go and catch another movie again together! That Spider-Boy movie ended up being awesome! 😃

[Ryuji]: You’ve gotta teach me your fighting game skills, man! I’m just no match for you! 🙏

@codebestowed sent in a meme! || “No, stop! Stay away! I said, STAY AWAY!” ( this can be from Obscura Data if you want, totally up to you OvO )

» — † — » A forgotten village, covered in snow. Alex stared down at it, and he felt Xael coil and writhe within his prison at the sight.

His home. The place in Alex's dreams. The demon hissed, scraping and clawing with a fervor to make his host turn back, but Alex firmly planted his feet and hissed a prayer under his breath. It had taken every last penny and favor he could scrabble together to get here, and he wasn't about to turn back just because of an anxious demon. Even if Alex wanted to, turning back would be nigh impossible anyway--the pass he'd cut through to get to this valley was buried under several feet of snow. A white fog had settled in, too, dense like cotton, and looking back, he could barely see the forest just beyond the village bounds anymore.

Something told him turning back now would mean wandering that mist forever.

Alex unwrapped one of the energy bars he'd brought with him, biting into the cheap, chalky brick and chewing it slowly as he took in the sights. The village was old, incredibly so, and could hardly be described as a village at all anymore save for a few rotted posts and weathered cornerstones, indicating where houses had once stood. Trees had sprouted up in the time since its abandoning, sparse, but clustered close enough together to somewhat shield the ground beneath from snowfall. No grass grew. No lichens, either. There were no signs of wildlife, either--no tracks, no cries, no marks, nothing.

It was just Alex, the moon, the snow, and the village--and whatever else lay in waiting in the old ruins. And he was just fine with that. Shoving the wrapper into his pocket as he finished the last of his energy bar, Alex stepped into the empty grounds, snow crunching beneath his boots. His breath rose in frosted mist before him, blending in with the fog that loosely clung to the surrounding air. But aside from that? It was utterly silent.

Even Xael was silent, something that Alex couldn't help but feel just a bit unnerved by. Granted, he hadn't exactly been favorable this whole trip. If anything, he had seemed more determined than ever to convince his host that this was a bad idea.

But now that they were here. . . .

Alex's foot bumped into something solid, and he looked down to see a snapped over trunk--or at least, that's what he thought it was. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was part of an old building. The lumber had long since rotted away beyond recognition, woodrot and weathering reducing it to little more than splintered bone, with stone inset strategically around it to anchor it.

Something lay discarded among the ruins, and Alex stooped down to pick up the glinting object. His fingers touched something cold and sharp, and lightning shot through his veins. Ice stabbed into his temples, chilling visions wracking his brain, and Alex cried out in pain as images invaded his mind.

A woman stood here, basket under her arm, her hips cocked to balance the load. Furs layer over a warm, woolly dress, her blonde hair braided up and away from her tattooed face. A little distance away, two children--a boy and a girl--bearing her heavy eyes and crooked nose run past, laughing as they chased each other through the square.

Another was watching them, hidden amongst the people milling about in the background, but Alex could feel his eyes. Dark, watchful, haunting--his manufactured boots and synthetic fabrics keeping him warm as snow goggles shielded his eyes set him apart from the villagers passing by and through him. In his hands was a strange device. A camera? It, too, belonged to a different time and place.

A boy appeared at the man's side, and the noise of the village became steadily louder, the people moving faster. Something was wrong. Alex covered his ears as screams and shouts in a forgotten language echoed all around him, fire scorching his bare skin where the deceased scrambled past in screeching blurs of panic. Pain cut across his back, and he stumbled forward as the man out of time and his companion turned their backs.

Another slash, followed by a cry that shook Alex to his bones, and he realized that the village was under attack. Something shot through him, driving back the source of the agony, and he stumbled after the stranger with his camera. Xael hissed in pain, low growls of discontent rumbling through Alex's core where the demon squirmed.

More spirits fled through him, more visions stabbing into his brain. The children, the children--! A little boy cried in his mother's arms as her body shielded him from the hail of arrows descending upon them. A warrior let out a vicious cry, his face a contorted vision of anger and ferocity as he charged.

Alex stumbled through the chaos assailing his senses, trying to pick out one ghostly pair of footsteps amongst many. But amidst the chaos and blurred spirits attacking from all sides, it was impossible to see anything. Where had they gone? Why wasn't it stopping? Damn it, if everything would just stop, for just a moment--!!

"No, stop! Stay away! I said, STAY AWAY!"

The voice cut through the turmoil, and for a second, the vision seemed to freeze in time. Splitting pain shot up Alex's foot, the ground hurtled up to meet him, and he shouted in pain as he hit the dirt face first. His hands went flailing wildly in front of him as he tried to break his fall, but all he managed was to further disorient himself.

"Shit!"

His hand landed on something strangely shaped and ice cold, too smooth and curved to be a tool, with ridges and an odd shape. What the . . . ? Alex raised his head and shook it, squinting at his find. An old camera lay on the ground beneath his hand, covered in a thin layer of frost. It looked . . . ancient. Relatively, anyway. Wasn't this the same camera that guy had been holding . . . ?

It took a moment to register that the onslaught of visions and spirits had stopped--but now stood before him was a boy. Alex jumped, sitting upright with a sharp inhale. What was a kid doing out here of all places? And dressed like that in this cold? And his eyes. . . . Alex's own unnatural blues widened at the sight of those red eyes, taking in the black scrawling over part of the youth's face. Another spirit. And yet . . . somehow he didn't seem entirely malevolent, unlike the ones Alex was used to.

It had been a long day.

After the Organization had fallen, Noctis found a new home with the restoration committee. Much of the work had already been done, but the group still remained together to ensure that Radiant Gardens didn’t return to its former state. Mostly it was just running security detail, making sure that no heartless or nobodies got through.

He didn’t mind it to be honest. It kept him busy and it gave him a purpose. He was pretty handy in a fight, after all. He’d have been useless to the Organization if he wasn’t.

After he got back to the small apartment he’d been allocated, Noctis had taken a quick shower, changed into some clean, comfortable clothes, and crashed on his sofa. It was too early to go to sleep so he pulled out his phone and opened up his favourite game.

     Temple visits weren’t normally something to be seen as an EXCITING adventure (not anymore), for Link had explored every nook and cranny of every temple, a hundred times over. It was old news after the fifth visit, but that didn’t stop the Hero of Time from doing it every day, PARANOID that should he turn his back for even a single day, darkness would grow and fester within, and Hyrule would be swallowed in evil once more. 

     It was a ridiculous fear, one might say, but Link wasn’t the type to take that CHANCE.

     Still, the temples have been relatively harmless enough over the course of his expeditions, and so when his little Flower bud asked to tag along, the green-garbed hero didn’t DENY his request. Link had already searched the Forest temple by the time Data caught him, and since Lake Hylia was closer to the forests, it was the Water Temple that was next on his list. Whether Data found the place to be exciting or... DREARY, well... that was yet to be seen. Hopefully, it was an interesting excursion for the boy, in the end.

     “There’s nothing too dangerous inside.” He began to explain, leading the boy on towards the temple’s entrance      they stopped at the edge of Lake Hylia. “But just in case, promise me you’ll stay close? I could never forgive myself if something ever happened to you.” Tapered ears seemed to DROOP slightly at the thought, an expression of concern being displayed for but a moment before he had brightened once more. “Fair warning though, it’s a lot of water. So we might need to stop by Zora’s Domain to get you a special tunic.”

@codebestowed​ asked ;  [ protect ] — for Sora ♡ // accepting

He isn’t all that surprised really, when darkness pools on the ground and heartless begin pulling themselves out from within. It’s just the fact he’d taken the time to take a walk with only himself, without any backup that’d really caught him off guard about the situation. He doesn’t fret however, beckoning his keyblade into his hand mere seconds after he notices the oncoming attack.

He’s just getting ready to swing at the first creature before the sound of footsteps approaching catches his attention. He’s quick to look towards the source of it, worry evident in his searching eyes - he didn’t want to risk anyone else getting caught up in this! His expression changes to one of confused, yet pleasant, surprise once he recognizes who it is, both because of familiarity and the fact they shared mostly the same features.

“Data! How’d you manage to get here?”