002 // Video - Action // in which Sora lets his ice cream melt

[lockandkeyblade]

[Filtered // from Organization XIII]

[So Sora's sitting on the steps in front of the Vita Apartments eating ice cream, but he doesn't seem all that interested in it. It's just sitting there, starting to melt all over his hand. He's lost in thought, looking frustrated, bordering on confused or annoyed.]

... I got a question...

Is anybody out there some kinda hero where they came from?

[He hesitates.]

Or anybody, really.

... How'd you end up figuring the good guys from the bad?

Comments

[sweeperesque.livejournal.com]

[.... why is it always the ice cream-]

Simple. You don't.

No such thing as a 'good guy' and a 'bad guy', Sora. They're just labels to make it easier to distinguish the people in jail from the people who aren't.

Nothing but gray area, kiddo. My best friend used to be an assassin and killed a lot of people- but you know what? I'd still be willing to call him a 'good guy', even though other people would disagree.

[She laughs a little.]

We can talk this over some fresh ice cream, if you'd like? You've gone and made me hungry.

1/2

[lockandkeyblade.livejournal.com]

[Ice cream. It always makes people feel better. Most of the time. He scratches his head at her explanation.]

But that's not...

See it's like this...

[wayward-faith.livejournal.com]

Uh, well... [If you think about it, he's the extremes of both sides, but...]

I guess you could consider me a hero, but... I don't think of myself that way. There's a lot of gray area between just good and bad; everyone is a balance. It's...mainly from their actions that I learned how to tell the difference.

[lockandkeyblade.livejournal.com]

Yeah tell me about it. Sometimes I just can't figure people out.

One second you think they're a bad guy, and the next second they do something that messes it all up.

It was way easier with the heartless...

video;

[xlillackeykitty.livejournal.com]

[ Geez, what a question. ]

Well, I can't really say I was a hero back home but... let's put it this way. Heroes are all a matter of perspective.

You can't really have someone tell you what's good or what's bad. You just have to figure it out for yourself.

But the truth's always going to be the truth. The truth, as long as you're sure it's the truth will help with deciding for yourself what's good and what's bad.

video;

[lockandkeyblade.livejournal.com]

But what if figuring it out's the problem? What if you're not sure whether they're a bad guy or not- you're not sure about what's really the truth- and you need to be.

[shard-finder.livejournal.com]

Well I guess by their actions.

Good guys tend to fight for the people and bad guys are usually trying to find a way to take over the world.

Although I don't know if its so black and white though. Inuyasha was considered bad but he's helped a lot of people.

[lockandkeyblade.livejournal.com]

Yeah! That's what I thought too, right? If they're hurting people, they're the bad guys.

... But now I'm not so sure anymore. The more you figure out stuff about em' the harder it is to call em' a bad guy.

[Sora tilts his head a little.]

You know Inu-Yasha?

- voice -

[ceruleanvices.livejournal.com]

There isn't any real distinction between 'em.

- voice -

[lockandkeyblade.livejournal.com]

[Sora slumps. Argh. When he straightens again, he seems a little exasperated.]

You really think so?

[eatingwings.livejournal.com]

'Good' and 'Bad' are relative terms, boy. There is not distinction, their lines are permeable. 'Good' and 'Bad' are terms created by man.

Commit this to memory.

[lockandkeyblade.livejournal.com]

[Sora's taken back a moment when Alucard's low speech comes on over the SFC. He hesitates. Wondering if it's wise to even answer back at all.]

[He just swallows. And then dives right in. Like always.]

But ... what if I'm supposed to be stopping these people? Good... bad... if it's all relative, how am I supposed to know what to do if I can't figure out what's what?

[spanking-angels.livejournal.com]

....

'Good' and 'Bad' are terms created by those who have power or want to obtain power, dear. Relative terms. The world is not black and white.

[lockandkeyblade.livejournal.com]

[Bayonetta... Luka trusts her. Values her opinion. Loves her. Sora takes a deep breath. She must be someone special. So he doesn't hesitate.]

But it is black and white. It's Light, and Dark and... sure there's other things besides that, but...

I need to know. It's about keeping people safe. About keeping... the order of the worlds.

If I can't figure out if someone's a 'bad guy' or not...

[srsfaceassassin.livejournal.com]

Research, time, patience, consultation, observation.

[srsfaceassassin.livejournal.com]

And a thorough interrogation or two.

video;

[akihikos.livejournal.com]

At home, I had a few friends and we'd help to try and get rid of the dark hour in order to save the world. I don't know if that counts as being a hero completely, but Junpei would probably --

[Pause. He's rambling.]

It just depends on what you think is right. You may be helping to save the world in some way, but someone else may be going against it, thinking that them doing so is the right thing to do. There are many different types of good and bad, but just because you do things you think are good, doesn't make you a "hero".

video;

[lockandkeyblade.livejournal.com]

No.. no, you're totally a hero. You're exactly who I was hoping for!

[Aanndd then Akihiko's explanation sends him into turbulent waters again. There goes his certainty.]

So... what're you supposed to do... if you can't figure out who's who? How do you ever get anything done if you never know who's a good guy or bad guy?

[He feels like he's going in circles. Sorry, Akihiko. Things are complicated for Sora.]

video;

[ourshininghope.livejournal.com]

Well, in the beginning I actually didn't really know what was going on. I was just sort of thrown in and told to protect the innocent and find somebody really important. [ She's just going to omit that it ended up being her they were trying to find. lawl. ]

But, I don't think that all bad guys are really bad -- just like all good guys aren't really good. Everyone has their moments where they end up doing things that are either good or bad.

video;

[lockandkeyblade.livejournal.com]

Yeah! I was like that too! Protecting the innocent- You were trying to save everyone right? And it's your job to do something if people were getting hurt right?

[taxationwithout.livejournal.com]

'Good' and 'bad' are rather difficult to explain, as they terms differ from person to person.

[lockandkeyblade.livejournal.com]

... What do they mean to you, then?

[He's looking into the screen- it's not a sarcastic question. Sora's just looking for some sort of answer that'll mean something for him.]

[video]

[twotimingmutt]

Depends. Everyone's got their own versions of what they think good and bad are, but there're still some guys out there that anyone with half a brain can tell are pure evil.

[video] lol home from school

[lockandkeyblade.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I've run into some real jerks back home. They were bad any way you looked at em'.

[Still, he seems to be hesitating.]

Sounds like you ran into some too.

[pristinestar.livejournal.com]

... I'm not a hero at all.

And in the end, everyone just does what they think is right. People can either judge them or not. But when they do, they likely miss the whole point of seeing through the other side's perspective.

Even when someone does something that they think is good, it doesn't mean that it's a good thing for another person. Everything happens for a reason, after all. No one is completely right.

[lockandkeyblade.livejournal.com]

[Sora nods because he agrees. But it doesn't seem to be what he's looking for.]

That's what a lot of people think too. Even me.

Too bad that's the problem.

[He just sighs.]

[pastaismylife.livejournal.com]

There's good in everyone!

[lockandkeyblade.livejournal.com]

... I like to think there is.

Some people just... have more good in them than others, I guess.

[bound_darkness]

[Hello. If you don't want that ice cream, here is one blond who would love to have it.]

Having doubts?

[lockandkeyblade.livejournal.com]

[Oh thank the Light, someone who'll understand in earnest. He just slumps tiredly as his answer. Which would be yes.]

[ video ]

[silver-pipe.livejournal.com]

Hey spiky.

It's not as simple as heroes and badguys, y'know.

[ video ]

[lockandkeyblade.livejournal.com]

[Sora sighs. Yeah. He figured it wasn't...]

But it sure would make my job a whole lot easier.

voice;

[behisstrength.livejournal.com]

By their actions, and what you consider to be right. You should live by your own convictions.

What is your own answer? You must have one, or you would not look so conflicted.

voice;

[lockandkeyblade.livejournal.com]

[Sora's taken aback. In all this, he doesn't think anyone's asked him what he thought in return. It's come up in roundabout ways but... not so directly. Not so quickly. He has to stop and think for a moment.]

What... what I think?

[He exhales, speaking slowly as it comes to him.]

I used to think the way I did because people told me to think that way. I still think they're right. And I think I did the right thing back then.

But the right thing then might not be the right thing here in Vatheon.

[He rubs the back of his head, afraid he isn't making any sense.]

Sorry...

Video;

[keyword-bingo.livejournal.com]

"We will deal with anyone who makes Fuuto cry--"

-- is what Shoutarou would say.

Video;

[lockandkeyblade.livejournal.com]

[Sora isn't sure what that means, but even Sora feels like it carries a lot of weight.]

... Fuuto? Who's that?

[oh-neku-dear.livejournal.com]

There's good, bad, and then you've got the people in the shades of grey. Everyone's definitions of 'right,' 'wrong,' 'good,' 'bad,' 'light,' and 'dark,' are going to be different. Even if someone does 'bad things,' it doesn't necessarily make one 'bad' or 'evil' by default. At times, it's the ends that justify the means.

[lockandkeyblade.livejournal.com]

[He's with Joshua, not necessarily liking the answer, but still agreeing... until the end.]

I don't think the ends justify the means at all...

Sometimes that's just an excuse people use to hurt other people and get away with it.

[shibuya-rave.livejournal.com]

[Neku actually- pauses, to think about it, and in the end has to smirk a bit.]

I don't think I'm the person you're looking for advice from, since I'm pretty much....villain by proxy.

[A pause- he hides his lower face in his collar as he thinks of what exactly he's trying to say.]

But everyone exists in their own little world. You can't understand them, and their view on heroes and villains is going to be different every time. It's easier just to live with it and let live, most of the time.

Except with Enjin, but he's an asshole.

[lockandkeyblade.livejournal.com]

[Neku's view of the world makes sense but... He just can't get past one of the first things he said.]

Neku.. but I thought...

But you can't be a villain. How can you be?

[Audio] /HITS YOU WITH TL;DR

[alicepossessed.livejournal.com]

...Where I'm from, I'm supposedly the reincarnation of someone we revere as a hero.

[He pauses a moment to carefully choose his words.]

But, you know, everyone's going to have a different opinion about it. Jack was considered a hero because he saved so many people from getting sucked into the Abyss.

The real kicker? He had to kill his best friend in order to stop it. I don't think that Jack would say he was a hero because of the price he had to pay. He tried to talk him out of it, and in the end, he couldn't get Glen to see reason.

Some would argue that it takes great strength to do what Jack did, and maybe they're right. Glen thought that what he was doing was for the good of everybody, but can anyone honestly say that it's 'for the good of everybody?' Sure, saving everyone from total destruction can be said as 'good' for everyone, but there are some that would prefer it to whatever life they're leading right now.

You can't have light without dark, or bad without good. Even people who are extremely good or extremely bad have at least a speck of the opposite inside. It's a tough call to make, no matter what you do.

[Audio] /STRUCK ... <3

[lockandkeyblade.livejournal.com]

Sounds like... you sure got a lot to live up to.

And ... I know what its like having to fight with your best friend. But I don't think I could ever even ...

[He's glad Riku's here with him now. Faced with the same situation, Sora's not sure he would have been able to make the same call. To be put in the situation to choose one precious life over many.]

video.

[hollosea.livejournal.com]

Well, world orders – come along with the same here as well.

What makes a person bad in this world? What are Vatheon's rules in regards to that? Cannot kill, steal hearts, harm others?

A bad guy, to me, will always be someone that comes in front of me against my morals with the intention to harm myself or my friends. That won't ever change, no matter what world I'm on.

video.

[lockandkeyblade.livejournal.com]

And what about if those bad guys... change. What if they're not trying hurt anybody anymore.

Would you give them another chance?

[kagayakashi.livejournal.com]

That's a hard question. [Partially because she isn't sure herself what the answer is. Nobunaga is a bad guy in her eyes, but in the eyes of his retainers, he's not. It was weird. Why would they consider someone who killed and killed without remorse, good?]

I'm not sure what the answer is. I'm sorry. I know that bad guys are people who do bad things, but...but if their intentions are good, then does that mean they're not really bad, and they're just misunderstood?

[lockandkeyblade.livejournal.com]

[Hard question indeed. That's why he's having so much trouble with it.]

I don't really know. Everyone says that good and bad all depends on a bunch of stuff, especially the whole 'end justifies the means' thing, which I don't think is true.

If you ask me, people just use that as an excuse.

[Video]

[mothersunlight]

Hnn...

[Aww, Sora. She's a hero! But that's a tough question. Some are less obvious than others.]

[Video]

[lockandkeyblade.livejournal.com]

Look who it is.

[Sora's expression brightens- even if just a little.]

It's the Sun Goddess.

Wanna know something cool I learned the other day?

[meat-gum.livejournal.com]

Um...hmm. It's kind of a perspective thing, right? We knew the bad guys... because they were killing innocent people, but it's not usually that distinct.

It's a hard question, huh?

[lockandkeyblade.livejournal.com]

It is a hard question. But a really, really important one.

It was a lot easy back in my world to figure out who the bad guys were. But here in Vatheon things are... way different. Weird, almost.