[ There are others from his world that are able to suss out, at first glance, where someone falls on the spectrum of light and darkness. Vanitas doesn't have that gift. The void of his own existence demands that he fill it with anything he can get his hands on, and his teachings dictate that chief among them are the most negative of feelings. Grief, and anger, and jealousy— all of them are emotions Vanitas spills out into the universe in order to eat back up in an endless cycle of anguish.
But by his very nature, he craves that other half of him. He wants the Light to ease his pain. Even if by now, he's decided it's something he'll never have, it doesn't stamp out the wanting.
Nobody has ever offered him their hand before, just like nobody has taken that first step toward him, knowing full well what he is. A little thrill of excitement goes through him, and while Vanitas can only equate it to the anticipation of a fight, in actuality it's as simple as genuine surprise. Without an ounce of hesitancy, he reaches out to take Shadow's hand.
Everyone, in some form another, has Light in them. They are by their very nature, opposite to Vanitas. The pure of heart shine the brightest: people like Ventus, or Kairi. Vanitas has been so close to them that he's felt the way they can throw all the shadows back. Then there are people like Sora, or Riku, who choose it so steadfastly that it doesn't matter how insidious the darkness is, they only soak it up and make it their own, like a sunrise or a sunset.
Vanitas doesn't know how he could have possibly missed it before.
Maybe it's because it isn't the same as the light Vanitas is familiar with. Maybe it's that somehow, that great well of despair festers inside of Shadow, the one Vanitas had cleaved to so hungrily in the vision.
Their palms meet and Vanitas' expression changes immediately. The darkness in him surges, turning covetously toward Shadow. Vanitas' pupils blow and his grip tightens, reflexive and crushing, on Shadow's hand. The desire to put his unoccupied fist right into Shadow's sternum and take that light-filled heart for his own is almost overwhelming. ]
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But by his very nature, he craves that other half of him. He wants the Light to ease his pain. Even if by now, he's decided it's something he'll never have, it doesn't stamp out the wanting.
Nobody has ever offered him their hand before, just like nobody has taken that first step toward him, knowing full well what he is. A little thrill of excitement goes through him, and while Vanitas can only equate it to the anticipation of a fight, in actuality it's as simple as genuine surprise. Without an ounce of hesitancy, he reaches out to take Shadow's hand.
Everyone, in some form another, has Light in them. They are by their very nature, opposite to Vanitas. The pure of heart shine the brightest: people like Ventus, or Kairi. Vanitas has been so close to them that he's felt the way they can throw all the shadows back. Then there are people like Sora, or Riku, who choose it so steadfastly that it doesn't matter how insidious the darkness is, they only soak it up and make it their own, like a sunrise or a sunset.
Vanitas doesn't know how he could have possibly missed it before.
Maybe it's because it isn't the same as the light Vanitas is familiar with. Maybe it's that somehow, that great well of despair festers inside of Shadow, the one Vanitas had cleaved to so hungrily in the vision.
Their palms meet and Vanitas' expression changes immediately. The darkness in him surges, turning covetously toward Shadow. Vanitas' pupils blow and his grip tightens, reflexive and crushing, on Shadow's hand. The desire to put his unoccupied fist right into Shadow's sternum and take that light-filled heart for his own is almost overwhelming. ]