[Voice] Imagination 22

[ayao]

[He is tired and sad and more beside himself than he would like to admit.]

Xue Yang, answer me.

[That isn't how he wants to begin this broadcast, so he breathes in...and out.]

Has anyone seen Chifeng-Zun? I cannot find him and I know of no ill that has befallen him.

[Now, the part that really hurts.]

Huaisang, Zewu-Jun, I have failed you in not protecting him. I tried.

Comments

[voice]

[ayao]

You are very kind. [He is taken aback by the reassurance. He doesn't deserve it and he isn't sure what to do with it. Kindness has not been...plentiful...in his life.]

I suppose it is easy to get lost in what we have done and forget to look at the larger picture. If I can help, I will. I don't like to see anyone suffer. It just became...something I expected...in my world. I considered suffering inevitable and so I focused on protecting myself and achieving my dream no matter the cost.

I was blind.

Re: [voice]

[hotheadwarmheart]

Nah, not really. Just being honest, you know?

[Whether or not he deserves kindness, he clearly needs some at the moment, which is good enough for Lea.

And as he says, he's being honest. If there's one thing the Voidtreker's eclectic crew proves, it's that anyone can make a difference.]

Yeah... When you get too used to things being dark or empty, it gets to be... almost comfortable, I guess? Or at least familiar. You forget that things can be any other way. I know I did.

And when that happens, it's easy to get so wrapped up in trying to achieve your goals that you... kinda forget why you wanted to accomplish them in the first place. I mean, I didn't forget what I was trying to do, but I forgot... why it mattered to me. At some point it just became 'the Plan', and I worked on it because I didn't have anything else.

[Blind. Blind to the things that actually mattered, anyway.]

Looking back, I almost wonder how I could have thought like that, except... I know. And it's scary, how easy it was to fall into.

[voice]

[ayao]

[In terms of position and cunning, Meng Yao is more like Xemnas or Ansem. He is dangerous, using his pain to make doing horrible deeds okay (at least in his mind). He is too smart (too cunning) and too callous for his own good (or for the good of anyone else).]

I have seen my tragic future mistake. I can also see that I am in the process of making said mistake already. Small, seemingly inconsequential actions can build to a great and terrible outcome.

I don't want to be that man. I don't want to hurt Nie Mingjue or anyone else. I must be stronger and think of others before myself. I am not a victim unless I allow myself to be a victim.

Re: [voice]

[hotheadwarmheart]

[Lea does somewhat get that impression of Meng Yao, or at least that he could become someone dangerous if allowed to venture too far into darkness. Oddly, it also makes him wonder what Xehanort was like when he was young, before even the young version of him that was part of the new Organization. If he'd been able to see his future actions without the direct influence of Master Xehanort, or if he'd had a group of friends around him to keep him from wandering down a dangerous road, might things have been different?

No way to know, he supposed. But Meng Yao still has a chance.]

Yeah, that's one of the good things about the weird time displacement in places like this; the ability to have the benefit of hindsight for things you haven't done yet.

The fact that you've decided that that's not the kind of person you want to be is already a big step in the right direction, but if you need people to help keep you out of the dark, you can definitely count me in.

[If he can help spare another world from someone like Xehanort just by being friends with someone? He's definitely willing to give it a shot.]

[voice]

[ayao]

[A chance he wants to grab with both hands and hold onto for as long as possible. The future breaks his heart and he understands, frighteningly, that it also breaks his mind.]

Thank you. I will do all I can to repay you - to make sure you don't regret it.

[Meng Yao is a genius with an impeccable memory. He can serve anyone well and keep them out of danger by listening to gossip and ferreting out the right conclusion. He also isn't bad with his sword - or any sword for that matter - though he isn't particularly physically strong.]

Re: [voice]

[hotheadwarmheart]

[Lea's reply is a bit sheepish.]

Eh, don't worry about it. Just keep working on being the kind of person you actually want to become, and that'll be enough. I'm just glad I can be part of someone else's second chance, you know?

[He didn't offer to help with the assumption that he'd be repaid, or at least, that he'd be repaid with anything but friendship.

He then pauses briefly as he realizes something.]

And I just realized.... I should probably actually introduce myself, shouldn't I? My name's Lea. No title or surname or anything, though if you want to add one on to make it less awkward, that's fine; I know it might not be considered polite where you're from to call somebody by just one name like that.

[He's not certain of all the naming conventions in Meng Yao's world, but he's spoken to enough people from there to pick up a few things.]