[Open Log] Ch-Ch-Cherry Blossoms

[vianca]

Who: You!
What: Cherry Blossom Festival
When: April 10th - 18th
Where: All over town & campus. Wherever you find a cherry tree. Probably even up there on that mystery island for whatever reason, if you're so inclined.
Rating: Flower power.





Pink is everywhere. No matter where you look, you're sure to see the signs of soft pink and white blossoms. There's a fresh spark of life filling the air and just beckoning for everyone to come outside and enjoy the sweet scents of spring. Well, except for you, people with springtime allergies. They just want to make you miserable. But perhaps for everyone else, it was a wonderful amazing time to be had.



There are wonderful spots for picnicking! Frolic inducing atmosphere and the space to do it! Every so often you will see vendors selling treats for the event! Cosplayers taking advantage of their natural environments for photo ops! Hot date spots! Blossoms! Sparkles! Everywhere! Even when it rains.

This log is completely open! You can do whatever you'd like with whomever you'd like whenever you'd like. Just start up a thread and go!

Have fun! Don't forget to add your character to the entry tags! ♥

Comments

[awakeningwill]

Another nod. Nostalgic as he was at the sight of pink flowers, he wasn't going to let this beauty be spoiled by regret.

Speaking of reploids from a terrible future who could now make the most of this idyllic past... Zero was no longer the only person to fit that bill. And their state of being was a concern that had been on his mind as well.

"...Have you seen much of the two guardians lately?"

[megabuster]

"Not really," Rock admitted. "I think they've both got a lot on their minds... I kind of assumed they didn't want to see anyone."

[awakeningwill]

"I see..." That didn't particularly surprise Zero, but neither did it lay his concerns to rest.

"I ran into Harpuia... as for Fefnir, it's probably for the best I haven't." Otherwise a fight was probably going to break out, and all these lovely trees were going to get fireballed.

[megabuster]

"You must be pretty worried about your friends," Rock said. "They just need time to get used to a new place."

[awakeningwill]

Ah... what? Zero blinked, visibly taken aback by the word. To him, that assumption had come out of nowhere - when did he ever give indication that they were friends? It felt like an absurd word to use, even when they weren't at odds.

After a split second of confusion, the reploid furrowed his brows and stated very clearly, "We aren't friends."

It wasn't said with disgust or denial, it was just a simple fact. Never had he and the guardians ever approached anything like a normal, friendly relationship.

[megabuster]

The words... surprised Rock, to be sure. Zero had gone to a lot of trouble for them when they arrived. To him that implied if not friendship, then some degree of concern. "They're not? But you seemed worried about them..."

[awakeningwill]

"It's complicated..." He trailed off, before catching himself. Wasn't he going to try opening up more to Rock? Giving half-answers just came so automatically to him. Still, he wasn't wrong. It was complicated.

You didn't necessarily have to be friends with someone to worry about them. Zero's worry came from a number of different places - partially out of obligation, and partially as a security guard. Though he couldn't deny they didn't deserve the fate that was handed them, either.

"We've been enemies longer than anything else. They oversaw things I could not condone... and they've tried to eliminate me a few times each. Even when we weren't at odds, it was circumstance. Allying against a greater threat."

He paused, frowning. "But they died backing me up against Omega. They... were defenders of humanity and believe strongly in justice. But we were never friends."

[megabuster]

The news... disheartened Rock a bit. "I see..." Rock didn't know what kind of things Zero said they were overseeing, but from the tone of voice he knew it couldn't be good. He couldn't help imagining the enemies he'd fought in the past that either changed sides, or sympathized with him following their battles. Ballade, Sunstar... He'd even fought alongside Bass to help save the world before.

"I think I understand what you mean," he finally answered. "Allies of circumstance..."

[awakeningwill]

Good. Rock understood. It seemed like he must've been in such situations before. At the very least, Zero felt a little glad to know that his friend could relate, even if it wasn't always a pleasant experience to ally with one's enemy.

"That we all ended up here seems to be just one more circumstance," Zero said with a slight shrug, matter-of-factly. It didn't seem like it had even occurred to him that, things being what they were, they could actually begin to be friends. Even without a side to fight for, they all still had a soldier's mentality - it was too deeply ingrained to just shake off.

[megabuster]

Rock, conversely, wasn't a soldier. He did understand Zero's position, but at the end of the day, he was an optimistic boy. And while Zero may not have considered it, it was a thought that gnawed at Rock. How he wished things could be different, that those robots he had to fight against could just resist their programming, or refuse to follow Dr. Wily, or anything like that. When he told Bass that they were not enemies, he wished it were true. Bass didn't, of course.

"Be that as it may... you don't have to be enemies here anymore, do you?" Rock asked simply. "If your circumstances are all different here... who's to say you couldn't be friends?"

[awakeningwill]

Zero stared at Rock with a conflicted frown. It wasn't that he preferred to be enemies with the guardians, exactly... but at the same time, it wasn't easy to ignore the history they had.

"I killed their Master. And their... 'brother' died trying to take me down with him," he stated bluntly. With skepticism in his voice, the red reploid asked Rock, "Do you really think... they'd want to be friends with me?"

Not everyone was as forgiving as Rock. And Zero wasn't one to expect forgiveness either - not when his way of trying to do the right thing so often ended in even more problems for everyone.

[megabuster]

That definitely caught Rock off guard. As optimistic as he was, circumstances were determined to test his devotion to his peaceful tenets. "I... I don't know..." he answered, looking down. "But even so... do you still have to be enemies?"

[awakeningwill]

Zero was quiet for a moment, his eyes stern and cold. If only things had been different, then maybe... it was pointless to dwell on maybes. But things were different now, for whatever good it would do when so much was already set in stone.

Still, he couldn't quite bring himself to shoot Rock down. The tone in his voice, a mix of longing and regret and hope - it resembled the way Rock pined for Blues to reconcile with the rest of his family.

Which made Zero Blues in this situation, didn't it?...

With a small sigh, the red reploid looked away. "...I don't have anything against them personally," he muttered. "We're soldiers. We all did what we had to."

Frowning a little, he also added, "You might be able to tell, but I'm not especially good at making friends..."

[megabuster]

"I noticed," Rock replied, giving the understatement of the year. Zero's attitude and nature, his naturally distrusting state and seriousness... It all reminded him of Blues in a way. There were a lot of similarities between the Reploid and his brother. Perhaps Rock felt that if he could help Zero, there would be hope for Blues. He didn't know. But he knew that if there was ever going to be peace for them, if they were to ever move beyond their functions as soldiers, something had to change.

"You don't have to forgive them," he said. "But this is a new world, and you've all got a new start. Someone has to extend an olive branch first... Why shouldn't it be you?"

[awakeningwill]

"..." Seemed like a grand stroke of irony for a reploid designed destroy the world to be the one with the olive branch. Zero didn't point this out - after all, wasn't it rather the point to try and adjust to peace? He couldn't exactly argue against Rock, not without that same counterpoint to be handed back at him. But the incongruity did hang over him in his thoughts.

After an awkward pause, he crossed his arms and muttered, "So... what do you suggest I do?"

Which wasn't to say he was definitely going do it, per se, but he was open to hearing suggestions.

[megabuster]

"W-well... I guess... Just try to spend time with them...?" he suggested. He knew there was no catch-all solution to this problem. Especially not with someone as antisocial as Zero. "Find out what they're like off the battlefield?"

[awakeningwill]

Zero mulled on this course of action with great thought. It made a sense... in order to know how to best proceed forward, gathering data was necessary.

After much contemplation, he eventually nodded decisively to himself and uncrossed his arms. "Recon mission. I can handle that..."

Well, it was... a step?

[megabuster]

"Er... Yeah. Recon mission. Let's call it that."

It was a lot better than nothing. Not by much, but it was. Rock would accept it as a step forward.