RULES || VENITAS || NOT-VENTUS || DOODLES || HEADCANONS

                            ₵ØⱤⱤɆ₵₮. ł ₳₥ ₦Ø₮ VɆ₦₮Ʉ₴.

dual-muse ventus-vanitas and heartless au blog. canon-divergent. loved by kai. 21+ only. nsfw/dark themes. singleship. not spoiler-free. please read rules before interacting.

I want to say maybe Veni's internal; struggle--and what ultimately results from it (over a period of time). He's sort of similar to Roxas and Sora in the sense of two very distinct halves return to one whole, but in Veni's case, neither side is willing to relent, nor do they even share the same values after all they've been through. That, and the "battle" they still wage isn't a subtle, quiet one--both halves at this stage still actively hear and "talk" to each other.

But the most fun and unique thing about it is how this always eventually gives way to Veni, and how he eventually stops thinking of himself as either Ventus or Vanitas and starts seeing them as completely different people from himself. The mysteries and nature of the heart and what creates/defines them is a common theme in Kingdom Hearts and one I adore, and I think Veni's journey stands apart from others a bit, too, given that his is the result of two distinct hearts clashing, more or less.

@litoredeem wanted to know Kai's thoughts!

So, fun fact. I actually used to roleplay as Vanitas on Facebook before migrating to Tumblr, and I was originally going to roleplay as him when I did. But because of some bad experiences (the reason I migrated), I was extremely insecure in my ability to portray him, and at the time, oh boy, was there no shortage of Vanitas roleplayers. I didn't want to change characters entirely, though, so I fished around for some ideas, and after a little browsing around, I found pretty much no one played Ventus-Vanitas. And it ended up being so much more fun than I anticipated when I realized how much potential for nuance and depth I could give him, and it let me explore a new muse without having duplicate anxiety, and helped build my confidence back up big time. :)

The fandom is creative as fuck. Have you seen some of the fanart this fandom produces?? The zines??? The fanfics??? The music????? Like, holy shit! And I just discovered modding communities for the PC versions of the game, freaking Dissidia 012, and even Minecraft and Skyrim! That's not even mentioning the RPC we got going here. The fandom has some really passionate and creative people in it and man, sometimes it's legitimately awe-inspiring how one little story about a kid, a dog, and a duck has really spurred so many to make such amazing things. The story's not so little anymore, but still.

Definitely. Not accounting for the canon-divergence where Aqua doesn't beat him, one of the biggest tweaks I've given Veni is a more nuanced portrayal of two hearts fighting for control. In the games, Vanitas was shown to be the one completely in control of Ventus' body, but I personally disagree with this given that the X-blade's forging was supposed to be the result of two equally powerful hearts clashing--having one overpower the other, to me, seemed to kind of contradict that. That, and I very much was influenced by anime and other media such as Yu-Gi-Oh where a distinct light and dark side were both present in an individual and often fought for control over the vessel, which I've always found to be a fun dynamic.

He was lying there in the dirt, facedown. Useless. Weak. Pathetic. A boot connected with his side with a sickening thud, and he groaned pitifully, his eyes barely fluttering open. Thud. Louder this time. Louder he groaned. There would be bruises there come morning, but he was barely conscious enough to care.

His fist clenched as another blow struck him. "You're pathetic. Useless! You could've been powerful, but you're just a coward." Those words were the worst part, stinging like knives into his skin as Unversed twitched about like they were laughing. If only he'd been stronger, if only he'd been less afraid!

Why? Why? What do you want from me?! As much as he wanted to scream the words, they simply wouldn't come. Only more Unversed did if he dared, and he was tired of them. So, so tired.

And it was all Ventus' fault.

Vanitas readied his foot for another blow, but a hand seized him by the scruff and flung him aside. He glared up, and Master Xehanort glared back. Ventus lay motionless in the dirt, barely conscious as always, and Vanitas trembled with rage.

But the Master's silence spoke volumes. Even as the Unversed--his curse, because Ventus was weak and pathetic and cowardly and stupid, stupid, stupid!--twitched about, reflecting his eagerness to remove that stain from existence, Vanitas refrained.

Master Xehanort glanced at the creatures around him, then silently swept away with Vanitas' other half into a Corridor. And in the silence, Vanitas screamed.

He was weak and pathetic, just like Ventus.

"Ahhh! No! Sasaki--!" Curse him and his unfair height advantage! Veni tries and fails miserably to stifle laughter as Sasaki wrangles him into a hold, the smaller male struggling to break free as those knuckles dig into his scalp. A classic noogie. Veni wheezes with joy, cackles from deep in his belly making it harder to wiggle his way out of the brunet's strong arms.

And if that wasn't bad enough, Shadow seemed to be in on the game, too, as a tendril wrapped around Veni's waist. "Noooooo! No fair! That's cheating!" Veni protested, his grin never failing.

But Sasaki seems intent on holding him here and ruffling up his hair for a good long while. Veni has no choice but to submit to being pulled down on top his partner at the other's whim, and he half-heartedly kicks his legs in the air and continues to squirm. "You--! I'll get you for this!!" The blush on his face and the tears in the corners of his eyes from laughing so hard promise that he'll return the favor one day.

a tol held by a smol