#“I'm not spelling anything out for you. Sora.”

[keischreiber]

Thank you for the offer love! Mine would be Levi in character as much as possible. I welcome creative liberties when it comes to portraying Levi in a relationship but I'm especially fond of his sardonic humor, which I believe he would use even in a love letter. Is it possible to make it a confession? Let me know if you need anything, or if you'd like one in return from Reiner 💜

Thank you so much for waiting, and I hope that you enjoy it. The Levi in my head being an awkward romantic. Excuse him. xD

[stardustpr1ncess]

Bonzle is 100% without a shadow of a doubt a trans allegory. People have been trying their best to say Sora isn't transcoded, but Bonzle is 2 scenes away from looking at the camera and saying "Hello. I'm a trans allegory." I shall now go into detail on every piece of evidence for this claim because fuck you.

EPISODE 5: Bonzle is afraid of how her found family will react to learning she's a spell (trans) and worries she will be rejected because of it. Easy parallel to trans people being afraid of revealing they're trans post transition. There's also her conversation with Bitch Boy Master Wu, with her saying she feels great loneliness, and only after gaining a physical form (transitioning) she feels happy and her true self. Very common trans experience. Gonna also put all of the quotes for my evidence as well since I know there's transphobes (filth) that like Ninjago and will be scrambling to deny it when people start coming to this conclusion too.

"Bonzle: I-- I was afraid of what you'd think if you knew about my past... Wu: It's called loneliness... Bonzle: I feel like, for the first time ever, I've become who I was destined to be... Bonzle: I was afraid if you found out I wasn't a real person, you wouldn't want me to be in our family anymore."

EPISODE 6: Bonzle is apprehensive about meeting with Gandalaria, seeing as how she's only known Bonzle as a spell, aka pre transition. She worries if she will respect her identity, much like how actual trans people fear how their family, more specifically a parental figure, would react. Bit of a light episode but an important aspect, here's the quotes;

"Bonzle: The Sorceress. She only knows me as a spell. What if she doesn't believe in me as a real person?"

EPISODE 7: This episode is the sauce. Bonzle is reunited with Gandalaria and their conversation is nothing short of magical. Gandalaria immediately recognizes Bonzle, saying she was her greatest creation and had always hoped she'd come home, shattering Bonzle's fears. It's a fantastic contrast, showing how this interaction can go well for some people, while others get an interaction much more akin to Sora's parents. When she's informed of Bonzle's chosen name, Gandalaria immediately starts using it, saying it's a great name. However, for that juicy authenticity, Gandalaria accidentally says spell before quickly correcting herself saying Bonzle. IT'S LITERALLY SO FUCKING OBVIOUS BONZLE'S BONES MIGHT AS WELL BE BLUE PINK AND WHITE. Oh yeah, here's the paragraph of quotes;

"Gandalaria: It's you! My dearest! You've come home! Bonzle: You... You recognize me? Even in my boney physical form? Gandalaria: Oh, I would know your true essence anywhere. Bonzle: I was so afraid you wouldn't accept me for who I am now. Gandalaria Are you kidding? I put my heart, my soul into every spell I weave... The most complex spell I've ever woven, and the first of my creations to ever come back to me!.. Bonzle: I'm Bonzle. That's the name I chose when I became a person. Gandalaria: Well, that's a splendid name... If this Ras times it right, he could reverse the power spell-- uh, Bonzle here--."

EPISODE 9: This episodes importance comes from Jordana, who acts EXACTLY how transphobes do. She constantly calls her a spell (some sort of derogatory term), says she's playing person (like pretending to be a girl), and says she's helping her do what she was made for, like transphobes very creepy beliefs in reproduction. Literally you half expect Jordana to ask which bathroom Bonzle uses since she was a spell. THE QUOTES;

"Jordana: Settle down, spell. I don't know what you think you've been doing, playing person with your fake family, but I know your true purpose... You should thank us. We're helping you to do what you were created to do."

In conclusion the silly lego skeleton girl is one of them spooky transgenders. Lmk if there's anything I missed. Thank you for reading.

[sparkanonymous]

Dragons Rising: Season 2

I'm a little bit more nervous to watch season 2; I like watching things that make me feel happy, and from the brief spoilers I've gotten about this season, this is probably gonna be more sad than anything... But I'll try.

I will be continuing to work on the two pieces I was working on before, so check the bottom of this post if you want to see my progress! (This goes for my season 1 notes post, too, by the way.)

⚠️ Spoilers for episodes 1-5!

Divider by cafekitsune

Episode 1: The Blood Moon

New Jordana look, huh? I don't really like it right now, but I can grow to get used to it.

So are the lines on her face just... permanent?

Good to know Raz has night vision.

Jordana is clearly scared about all of this... I wonder how long it will take for her to switch sides.

The bad guys always seem too distracted, intentionally taking their time to get to their targets. I kinda understand why it was that way for the little phone video in the beginning of the episode, since it's such a cramped space to work with and the movements might cause motion sickness. But with every other fight? No.

Wow, Ryu grew up quite fast.

Fugidove? In 2024?

Holy fuck, the news reporter remembered Pixal? Most of the ninja didn't even remember her. Actually, practically nobody in Ninjago city. He's either a super fan, or the writers completely forgot that fact for this season.

Is Intelligent George a parody on someone? I can't tell.

Did Sora really have to spell that out? Did they just... not think that that people watching the second season had already watched the first? I feel like spelling it out like that will make people not want to go back and rewatch the first season to see what they missed.

Also, with how much bigger Ryu is, I would've thought more time had passed. The way Sora had said that line makes it sound like she just unlocked her true potential instead of it being like... a few months ago or something.

Okay, so now we're on the "Arin really wants elemental powers" thing. He seemed mostly fine with that last season. What changed?

Arin, if you're looking for someone to be talking about those still lost in the merge, why the hell would you watch a Youtuber who only wants to talk about the ninja to sell merch? There are plenty of people that you could talk to; the people you're currently around would be far better to talk to about this. I know that they don't have the solution right now, but they are far more likely to come up with one before a fucking Youtuber.

Sora and Arin are such good friends. Even if their interests are completely different, they still partake in the other's activities, especially when the other is looking blue.

Poor Frohicky, lol

Zane would have already heard and figured out these figures of speech back in like... season 1 or 2. But he's still cute. I like that Kai and Zane are playing the video game together.

The layout of this game makes me think of the TMNT arcade game. Nice touch.

Hm... so Lloyd's getting more visions... or he's having a nightmare... or both?

So... Zane and Sora are gonna get taken down. Is Arin going to rebel, betray them? Beatrix is clearly coming back, which I figured would happen after she disappeared into that merge-quake at the end of last season.

Wu watching over his nephew is nice, but... where's Garmadon? Sure, Wu is probably more iconic and a better teacher, but Garmadon is Lloyd's father. I want to see him again... would he have the same golden glow that Wu's ghost does, or would he have a purple glow or be a purple void?

Also, where's Nya? I don't think I've seen her at all this episode.

Why is Arin's voice so soft now? It's like he's constantly whispering into the mic?

Kreel not even denying that she tried to make their mech explode back in episode 1 lol

Wait is the junkyard ghost Wu?

Wow, that was a small investigation montage.

I like Ryu's teenage model over the baby one, but he reminds me a little too much of Toothless.

That old lady shaming those throwing away a good dragon... but not taking the dragon? Oh, come on; she would've totally tried to take Ryu back home with her. It's an old lady thing.

Oh my god, Arin stop self-pitying; this is not the time.

Arin, they will be proud of you; you're a ninja.

Lloyd's gonna have a heart attack.

Woah, the camera during this fight is really wobbly. It actually feels like Arin, Sora, and Ryu are in danger.

The actual panic in Lloyd's voice.

Give me the smoke guy's name. I need it. He's really cool.

Episode 2: Shattered Dreams

Wait, the writers of destiny are still a thing? I would've thought that they would have disbanded after it was proven that writing the future didn't actually mean anything.

Their idea of fun is bagels? Yeah, I can see it.

Wait, so their entire religion isn't completely founded on made up bullshit?

Lloyd, why would you drink that?

Sora, you sound like Raven Queen.

Arin, that's robot-ist. In front of Zane? Really?

Y'all are in broad daylight. So much for being ninja.

Everybody judging Sora's graffiti, including Zane lmao

Hitting Zane in the head with a non-magic teapot lmfao

The Gong of Shattering is such a terrible name.

Poor Arin, lol

Oh, no. This is Arin's undoing. He's gonna hit the gong in order to try and get an elemental power, he'll turn evil, and then fight beside Raz. I'm calling it now!

I really enjoy Percival's character now. He's learning, he's helping out, and he seems to be kinder than when he was under Beatrix's rule. I think the rebellion was good for him.

The Master Writer was so scared, he didn't even try to run. Wow. Anyone will let the bad guys overthrow them, huh.

Euphrasia should seriously train with the other ninja; she's far too weak to be looking after a kingdom alone. (Yes, I know that they're making all the ninja really bad at fighting to make it look like the smoke ninja is way stronger than them, but still.)

It's not called the Blood Moon for anything good. Is it ever?

You're supposed to be sneaky; that glowing green spinjitzu is not sneaky in any way.

Why did Euphrasia have to say that? She could have looked relieved instead of saying that terribly said "Thank goodness your okay!"

Zane, that doesn't answer shit. A written language can't look evil. That's the dumbest shit I've ever heard.

Should Euphrasia even be here to save the Master Writer? She's using a crutch. Actually, does literally everybody have to be here for this? Bigger groups are hard to be stealthy with, and most of them aren't really being useful. They should've picked three to go in while everyone else stays behind as back up.

So Raz was the reason the worms turned evil last season. Hm...

I'm still not over it. Why is Ryu here? It should've been Lloyd, Arin, and Zane; Lloyd because he needs to confirm his visions, Arin because he's really foreshadowing something, and Zane to confirm the stupid language thing. Euphrasia would've been a good choice to bring if she wasn't using a crutch. Everyone else is just... here for no fucking reason except to just listen to the Master Writer. They're not really hiding, so any of the wolf-masked characters could easily find them. They didn't bother animating anyone except Lloyd and Arin going up the wall; they all just kinda teleported. This is bothering me so bad. (Not everyone has to be here to listen. The three that would've gone could've spread the information off screen so it didn't become too repetitive.)

See, I fucking told you. Now Lloyd's having another panic attack.

Why did the gong only affect the wolf-masks? Is the detail I missed that they have to be wearing the wolf mask to be affected by the gong? That seems dumb.

Lmao Kai

Woah, Zane glitching.

Episode 3: Beyond the Phantasm Cave

Wait, where did Kai's mech come from?

Of course when Lloyd asks for an answer, the source dragons come.

Wow, that source dragon from season 1 is so convincing, he convinced the other source dragons within seconds.

Why wouldn't Sora believe Lloyd after all of this?

Aw, Kai checking on Wyldfyre.

Nya, you trained under Wu for how long? You would know that, yes. He would bring you guys somewhere based on half-understood dreams.

Why is Zane always the one to keep an eye on the ship? Ugh.

"Now it sounds like the rotor sneezed!" Lmao Lloyd

It's sweet that Sora and Arin are talking to each other about fond memories, but... why? This came out of nowhere, and they just arrived at their destination. The writing here feels a little clunky.

Aw, now they all have grappling hooks.

Wow it sure took those snake things a while to come out to try and kill them.

Uh oh, Kai's powers not working very well...

Is this like the future telling ice thing in the original series?

Sora that is quite clearly static. How the hell did you think that was Kai?

Oh man, it's all their worst fears...

Oh, shit... The Jaya thing I've seen fanart for.

Poor fucking Nya... this is foreshadowing.

They have airjitzu. They could take the jump a lot more carefully.

Episode 4: Force From The East

Ooh, finally! Back to Cole.

God, Geo and Cole are so fruity.

That was a mouthful of exposition. They could've had a mini flashback of that moment from last season when Cole left and followed Wu. Sure, Geo didn't see that, but this show has never shied away from showing other character's perspectives during flashback sequences told by another character.

Geo being worried about Cole.

They're such an artistic family.

Bonzle is gonna make Geo panic.

Kai and Nya working together is sweet.

Me, too, Arin. Me, too.

The dragon speaking English instead of using telepathy or whatever.

"Should we... ask them what they want?" "Sure. What do you want?" *Gets obliterated* Lmao

Geo's so silly.

Finally; Cole comes to the rescue!

Bonzle's hiding something... I'm not sure what just yet. But she knew that they could leave when they previously couldn't.

Why does Zane have a Frohicky plushie? I'm so confused.

Why isn't Cole surprised to see Zane?

"- why do you have a frog-man-doll?" "It is a long and barely comprehensible story." I love them.

So that's why I thought the Glacier reunion was so... weird and terrible. They're in the middle of a chase scene.

I like how Zane tries to decipher what the problem is by examining his face... I'm so normal about this pairing, I swear.

I like how this episode is split into the stuff that Lloyd and crew were doing and Cole and family were doing, but I focus on just the Cole and family stuff. Mostly just Cole and Geo. They're family is really sweet and care about one another so deeply. Fritz and Spitz need more to do, though; they're kinda just... kids in the middle of everything, but they seem to be as strong and fast as the rest of their family, so... idk

Episode 5: The Spell at the Waterfall

Ah, the Zane and Frohicky side of the plot.

I understand what Frohicky is trying to accomplish, but Zane has already gone to him if he has a problem with the things he's doing. That's just the kind of guy Zane is. This tactic might have worked better with Kai or Lloyd.

Zane whacking the bad guy with the stupid fucking doll lmao

Why wouldn't Bonzle have told them earlier? Lmao what a mouthful.

Oh, so that kinda makes sense... kinda. For Bonzle to know when the could leave. But she would've sensed that opening a long time ago, and probably would have looked more worried throughout the beginning of last episode.

See? The entire Cole and Geo family is artistic.

Bonzle met Master Wu?!

Kai and Nya are so epic.

So, wait. i thought Wu would have taken her to meet the ninja, but I guess not?

Aw, Cole and Geo getting emotional about Bonzle's story.

"This reminds of the old days. Count me in." "That's what I'm talking about." Ugh... I love them too much...

So is one of the source dragons helping Raz? Or am I going crazy?

Of course, there are some critics I have. But I'm liking this so far, even with how often Lloyd was getting panicked and the amount of foreshadowing to future episodes I was getting. Still a little nervous about what's coming, though...

Current Progress:

[s10127470]

The New Kingdom Hearts Trios AU: Part 1

This is a little AU I've had in my mind for a long ass time.

We all know of the iconic trio of Sora, Donald and Goofy.

But a few years ago, I thought to myself.....what if all the other KH-original characters gotten their own trios consisting of themselves and two other Disney characters?

And since I haven't seen anyone else do something like this before, I basically went....

Anyway, here's two that I came up with

The Keyblade Master Trio (Riku, Mickey, and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit):

Their dynamic would be pretty complicated....to say the least.

I'd imagine that in the Kingdom Hearts, Oswald would not only be Mickey's older brother, but also a Keyblade Master.

Not only that, but our of the three, he would be the strongest, due to him to being the oldest and most experienced.

I'd imagine that Mickey and Oswald used to be very close, but they probably had a falling out a long time ago over......I don't know, light and dark?

(Yeah, I haven't exactly thought his backstory all the way out)

As you would probably expect, Mickey and Oswald are constantly at each other's throats due to their less than stellar history, with Riku acting as the peacekeeper between them.

Oswald himself has the ability to manipulate both light and darkness, making him something of a Ying-yang of Mickey and Riku, and wields two Keyblades.

Their team attacks include.....

.Double Duel (between Riku and Mickey)

.Reassemble Riot (an attack between Riku and Oswald, where the latter disassembles his arms, with a Keyblade in each hand, one coated in darkness, one coated in light, and sends them flying towards surrounding enemies. Riku does the same thing as well, except for the whole arm removal thing)

.True End (the attack between all three of them).

The Princess Trio (Kairi, Ariel and Jasmine):

Kairi and Ariel immediately became friends when they first met and are now partners in mischief. As for Jasmine, while she does like to have fun, she serve as the voice of reason for the trio and often has to keep an eye on Kairi and Ariel, making sure they don't do anything stupid.

Ariel fights with a magical trident that once belong to her late mother Athena, allowing her cast powerful elemental spells including Watera, Thundara, Aerora and Blizzara.

Jasmine fights with her acrobatic skills, martial arts, and a long wooden staff.

Their team attacks include....

.Mermaid Whirlpool (the attack between Kairi and Ariel, where the two combine their magic to unleash a massive whirlpool on enemies).

.Spiral Staff (the attack between Kairi and Jasmine, where the former wraps her legs around the end of the latter's staff while holding out her Keyblade, which is then followed by Jasmine spinning her staff around).

.Princess Power (the attack between the entire trio, where they all jump into the air and raise their respective weapons to form a giant heart of light, which then rains upon on enemies).

That's all for right now! This was a short post, but that's because I'm planning to explore this idea by specific groups for each post.

You know: one post for the Sea Salt Trio, one post for the Wayfinder Trio, etc.

This one was more or less dedicated to the Destiny Islands Trio, minus Sora for obvious reasons.

Let me know what you guys think! And if you have any ideas for a trio involving the other KH-original characters, let me know!

[houseofsannae]

So I noticed the other day that the Kingdom Hearts Ψ TvTropes page is being updated, with entries being created for fics that didn't have them and the already-existing ones being much more fleshed out. This is amazing, and I'd like to extend a huge thanks to the people who are working on it! It's a lot of ground to cover (and I'm only making it a bigger task the more I write), and I appreciate the dedication immensely! Quite honestly, watching it be updated is giving me a lot of motivation to write, so thank you very much!

That said, and I apologize for this, there are a few entries for the fic Land of Oblivion that make me think certain parts of the climax are being misunderstood, specifically regarding Larxene, Castle Oblivion, and how and why Larxene is still there two years after Chain of Memories. This is on me as the writer for not being clear, and even though LoO holds a special place in my heart, the fact remains that it's by no means perfect (because no created thing is, and also because I've gotten better at writing since 2018). So, I'd like to go over those circumstances and what's actually happened/happening, and then go over the tropes that I think aren't accurate to what's actually in the fic. (spoilers, obviously, for the fic in question, and this will be written assuming the reader has read the fic)

What Happened: After her apparent death in Chain of Memories, Larxene was revived on the top floor of Castle Oblivion by some magic (after the writing of the fic I decided it was the ReRaise spell from FF6) cast on her by Marluxia. Once she worked out what had happened to her, she tried to leave the Castle. However, her only way out was to descend all thirteen floors of Castle Oblivion. To do so, she'd have to pass through thirteen memories in the same way Sora and Riku did in CoM and Naminé, Aqua, and Kairi do in LoO. But Larxene abjectly refused to play by the Castle's rules. Rather than simply watch through the memories, she has spent the past two years trying to find an alternative way out, usually by murdering the memory constructs rather than letting the events play out. Thus, by the time Naminé's party reach her, Larxene has yet to pass through a single floor.

To answer why this is happening, we need to look at both Castle Oblivion's motivations and reasoning, and Larxene's motivations and reasoning

Castle Oblivion: At some point, and I forget whether it was in end notes or a comment reply, I said that Castle Oblivion has an "if all you have is a hammer" mentality when it comes to solving problems. The one thing it can do is force people to relive their memories, so it tries to solve all problems by forcing people to relive their memories. And that's what it's trying to do to Larxene. However, the Castle isn't trying to punish her, or contain her, or imprison her. It's trying to help her. It's trying to force Larxene to confront aspects of herself she'd rather let stay buried. Now, it doesn't matter to the Castle if Larxene actually learns anything from this experience; that's not its job. The only thing it feels towards Larxene is frustration and annoyance, for two reasons. First, because she's rejecting the help the Castle is trying to offer, and second, because she's been there for two years and (from the Castle's perspective) she won't leave. All she has to do to leave is pass through the memory floors. That's all it wants from her. But she just won't do it. As far as Castle Oblivion is concerned, Larxene is The Thing That Would Not Leave.

Larxene: Naminé posits towards the end of the chapter that by this point, Larxene has grown a new heart. She also summarily dismisses the idea, but she actually wasn't wrong. Larxene is genuinely experiencing feelings of anger, frustration, and most of all boredom. This is why she perks up immediately when her most recent punching bag arrives for another round. I also have to cop to the fact that this fic was the first, and still effectively the only, time I've ever written Larxene. Some inconsistencies in her character may be because I just didn't have a good enough grasp on her.

So with that groundwork in mind, I'd like to examine the trope listings that I feel are out of place due to what appears to me to be a misunderstanding.

And I Must Scream: Turns out that ever since her "death" in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories Larxene has been trapped in a Time Loop Trap inside of it, which has not done wonders for her sanity and her temperament.

The first thing that gives me pause here is the assertion that Larxene is in a time loop trap. I love messing about with time, but that's not what's going on here. While Larxene (or anyone else) doesn't need to eat or sleep inside Castle Oblivion, the only thing that's being reset is the state of the memory room. Let me put it this way: What's happening is that Larxene is playing 1-1 of Super Mario, and instead of jumping over the Goomba, she's running into it. Over. And over. And over again. Castle Oblivion desperately wants her to jump, but it can't make her, even if it directly tells her to press the B button. Every time she gets a game over, she restarts the level. Every time she restarts the level, she abjectly refuses to do anything except run forwards. Larxene's not in a time loop any more than a person playing Super Mario very, very badly is.

The second thing that gives me pause is the claim that something is happening to her sanity, but I'll address that in a little bit.

So does this count as the "And I Must Scream" trope? Well... I'd say no, but I could see how you could argue it. That said, Larxene's only being "trapped" by her own stubbornness. She'd be free to go if she was just willing to play along. The Castle isn't keeping Larxene trapped. Larxene is keeping Larxene trapped.

Ax-Crazy: Larxene is just as charming as ever during her fight against Namine, switching between being a Smug SnakePsychopathic Manchild to an arrogant Alpha Bitch with lighting speed. She actually might be worse as she does not bother to use her Faux Affably Evil façade. It's strongly implied that her fate at the hands of Castle Oblivion has basically shattered what little she had of sanity.

I don't take issue with the trope overall, just the final sentence of the description. "It's strongly implied that her fate at the hands of Castle Oblivion has basically shattered what little she had of sanity." Well... if it is strongly implied, it's not done so intentionally. The thing about Larxene's Faux Affably Evil façade, as it's put, is that it breaks down when she's not in control of the situation. She hasn't been in control of the situation in two years, so (as is noted) she doesn't act in that manner. What she is feeling, though, is incredibly frustrated and strained. The protagonists showing up is the only new and interesting thing that's happened to her in a while. So while I think the description of her charms is perfectly accurate, at no point was I ever trying to imply that she was losing her sanity. (This may be a case of my characterization being weak due to not having had much experience writing the character).

Pay Evil unto Evil: It's implied that Castle Oblivion actively delivered Larxene's And I Must Scream fate and facilitated her death at Namine's hand half in order to give Namine closure and half because it really personally hated Larxene. Brutal and ruthless? Without a doubt. Utterly deserving considering this was Larxene? Without contestation.

Hopefully from the preamble it's clear why I don't think this one is accurate. If this was implied by the chapter, it was unintentionally and entirely by accident, as the sentiment is completely against what I was actually trying to convey. And, as a pedantic asshole, I have to ask this: If Castle Oblivion was holding Larxene for Naminé to kill, how did it know Naminé was going to come back to it, ever? The answer, speaking as the author (a different kind of asshole), is that it didn't. It didn't know, because that's not what it was doing. Sending Naminé and her group into Larxene's path wasn't something the Castle did with any malicious intent, either; there's just only one set of floors (aside from the basement. But Naminé et al were ascending the floors to get to Ven at the top, and Larxene was supposed to be descending the floors to reach the exit). Ultimately, what the Castle felt towards Larxene was annoyance and exasperation, the same thing you'd feel towards a cat that you've disentangled from the window blinds twenty times today when you hear a plaintive "meow" and the rattling of plastic strips from behind you. It's holding up a big "THIS WAY OUT" sign next to an open door and Larxene is resolutely trying to dig through a brick wall with a spoon. It doesn't hate her; it's just annoyed.

Those three are the only tropes listed that I don't think apply (or give the wrong impression) out of the dozens that have been added to several fics over the past few days (Seriously, this has been amazing to watch happen in real time, and I'm in awe of and humbled by the dedication). I hope that this post is taken as it's intended, an effort to make sure the resource is accurate, rather than as complaining. The fact that a TvTropes page dedicated to my fanfics exists at all is an immense privilege, and it delights me in a way I can't fully describe to know that there are people who enjoy (over)thinking about the silly things I write in the same manner that I do. I have no idea if the people who work on the page will actually see this post at all (or if they're even on tumblr, for that matter), but all the same I can't thank everyone who's involved in the project enough.

[mirror-to-the-past]

BABY KAIRI, I REPEAT, BABY KAIRI, THIS IS NOT A DRILL

I'm so happy my hopes came true, I was beginning to get worried for a sec that she might be a no-show during this game. So happy to be proven wrong, boys. And now we have a solid answer for how Kairi's heart was preserved in KH1 aside from 'some magic ability Kairi might not have known she had!' Honestly, I get the impression that Aqua's spell of protection might even extend to that beyond Kairi's heart finding safety in the wannabe anti-darkness bunker that is Sora's heart- and that it doubled as a blessing to be a Keyblade wielder like what Terra did with Riku. I'm actually a pretty firm believer of this, given that directly after this cutscene finishes, oop, what's that? Destiny's Embrace? Kairi's Keyblade is one of the Keyblades only Aqua can wield? Ooh, how about that... (I quickly switched to my Ventus and Terra files to see if they had Destiny's Embrace, just to check :p).

It might be more of a stretch, but I could potentially utilize this blessing as a half-explanation for how Kairi acquired Destiny's Embrace in KH2. As Kairi was being overwhelmed with darkness once more while fighting in The World That Never Was, then wouldn't it only be reasonable for Aqua's spell of protection to kick in once more through Kairi gaining Destiny's Embrace? Of course, I still had to rationalize why Riku would be the one to give it to her, rather than Kairi manifest it in her own hand, but actually, I still think it lines up, especially if we hold that KH2 event up next to the story Kairi's grandmother tells once more (which I now assume is recontextualized to refer to that Keyblade War Xehanort mentioned- how does Kairi's grandmother know of this?) in the Birth By Sleep cutscene, as well as what Aqua told Kairi about the spell.

Aqua: "One day when you're in trouble, the light within you will lead you to the light of another. Someone to keep you safe."

Which... isn't something you would as readily ascribe to Riku as opposed to Sora, especially given his transfigured state in that part of KH2. But also...

Kairi's Grandmother: "But the true light sleeps, deep within the darkness."

And of course, I wouldn't necessarily need that line from Kairi's Grandmother to have that spelled out for me, as I was able to see with my eyes in the earlier Terra cutscene that Riku's evidently got enough light within him to power a crypto warehouse, as well as how Xehanort's Heartless was defeated by the "true light" within Kingdom Hearts in KH1, but anyway... yeah. Still a hell of an underreaction from Riku, suddenly getting and handing over Destiny's Embrace with little explanation, but it could totally be justified that Kairi's wielding abilities kicking in to hold a Keyblade of Aqua's was Aqua's spell of safety helping Kairi find solace in Riku. Damn, Aqua, you sure don't have the Spellweaver ability for nothing, making a multi-use spell that's lasted 10+ years. What a wizard. Also, I love the idea that Sora and Riku are Kairi's cosmically-designated bodyguards that do a very questionable job. I can imagine it now...

Aqua and Terra very sternly look at Baby Sora and Riku, and they're like "This is Kairi, she's very important, a Princess of Light. You must make sure to keep her safe from dark forces that attempt to harm her."

Sora: "Yeah, of course! Kairi's our friend, we won't let anything hurt her!"

Riku: "We're like, super strong. Nothing can get past me and Sora."

And they sigh with relief, only to pull their hair out 10 years later when Riku destroys Destiny Islands and gets manipulated by villains (although, in his defense, he still kept her sorta safe throughout KH1? Watching over her corpse and trying to get her heart back isn't nothing), and then Sora finishes the game by being like: "Okay Kairi! You're home? Great! I'll come back!" and then proceeds to leave to get the milk from the store as long as it takes for him to bump into Riku in the dairy section, leaving her to get kidnapped in the process while she is left alone by the both of them for a whole year.

Nice job boys, you're both fired.

Edit: Just noticed Destiny's Embrace has a Paopu Fruit on the end, which is interesting. Shows how Kairi is bound to Destiny (in more ways than one, poor girl), of course, but what's that mean for Aqua? Still don't know how she heard about the legend of the Paopu Fruit herself- I did think it was cute how she turned it into a friendship bracelet sort of thing, side note.

[review-anon]

Let's go team! Destroy that suit!

Alright everyone, we are suited up and Iruma you have those noise cancellation devices on us?

Yes those are on your suits which wasn't easy to mold on due to the weird materials they are made out of, but I'm a fucking genius so of course I did it.

That should be enough to help protect you from the music.

Do we have a plan?

Hmmm....let me think....

The dancers will be the first to attack us and there's 16 of them so they need to at the very least be knocked out.

Aren't there like some crazy powerful people still in there like Aliza and Sora? How are we gonna deal with them?

I'll handle Sahpree and Matthews.

Most of you don't have combat experience so I'll be the one to take them on.

H-How? Matthews I can understand...but Sahpree has MAGIC! I don't think anyone else here can deal with that.

Yumeno is under the spell of the music and I would NOT trust Sannoji under any circumstances.

Aliza is probably the strongest magic user here...and she's one of the brainwashed.

I will admit that I've not had much experience with fighting magic users, but I'm a quick learner on the battlefield.

But what about Sora? Doesn't she have Divine Luck?

I'm not a expert on this stuff...but if Divine Luck can do anything...maybe Sora is immune to the brainwashing of the music?

If she is, then she's probably willing to help us stop this.

If not...she's a dangerous foe.

We're wasting time here, the longer we stand around, the weaker our friends will get due to the music!

So let's go in there and SAVE THEM!

*Everyone cheers in confirmation and rushes into the dance floor fully willing to fight in order to save the concert and their friends*

[superstarlena]

Chapter 11 is about 60% finished, and due to the big freeze coming in, I'll be stuck at home for a few days. Maybe I'll be finished by next week.

In the meantime, I have done some revisions and additions to the previous chapters, here's a list:

Overall changes

-Made Xanthe's speech more formal. High Elves commonly don't use contractions often and speak more sohpisticated. Pretty much like Yusuke from Persona 5

Chapter 2

-Instead of Ella pulling out her mace in a 'purse' of holding, it now appears in a flash in her hand a la Sora's Keyblade in Kingdom Hearts

Chapter 5

-Xel's Codename is (going to be) mentioned in Chapter 11, and I forgot to drop it earlier! So this is added:

"We don’t know when Pizzahead’s gonna be listening in, or if he’s somehow got access to the Corp’s database to look us up. So call me Protean during this mission. Everyone else will tell you theirs."

Chapter 7

-Now that I found out that I can add gifs to Google Docs, The Taunts used for the trial will now have images!

Reason I wanted to add this, is because I have a friend reading this who doesn't know anything about the game. So I'm adding more visual references for them.

Chapter 8

-Changed Totaratskr's ananysis so the format matches all others used in the future

-"I'LL BEAT YOU INTO THE GROUND YOU RODITORE SPORCO E TROPPO CRESCIUTO (FILTHY OVERGROWN RODENT)!!!"

Deleted the translation to avoid redundancy, since Gustavo says it a few lines later.

-Added a part where Ella casts Mending to fix Peppino's torn shirt

“Hang on a sec!” Ella stepped up to Peppino and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Let me fix that for you.” The man’s heart skipped a beat at the contact as he then noticed his shirt and tank top softly glowing. The tears from Totaratskr’s claws were mending, repairing the garments to their original state.

“What was-a that?” he asked, looking at his clothes then at the Agent.

“I used the spell Mending to fix your clothes.” she explained. “Don’t want them to get ripped any further during your fight.”

“Grazie, Virtue!”

[agenericplaceholdername]

This is definitely a more negative take on Jay than I have, but on the other hand I'm certainly not gonna defend Jay's actions in Rebooted through the end of Skybound. It did make me think of something though -- what does "shattering goodness" mean?

We get two explanations, one from Hantro and one from Cinder. Hantro says that "once you shatter your goodness, you can learn all kinds of evil things ... Fighting techniques, mystical powers, all the stuff your goodness was holding you back from." Cinder says that he "can feel the gong resonate inside [him] shattering the parts of [his] soul that hold [him] back."

These aren't non-explanations - the lore established is that people can't learn certain techniques because of their innate "goodness," but the Gong fixes that. But beyond being able to learn Shatterspin, how might losing one's goodness affect them?

Ex. 1: Cinder

We barely know what Cinder was like before the gong, but even after he uses the Gong, he's still not totally evil -- see him being concerned after Ras announces five monks will be sacrificed to the Blood Moon.

(The Spell at the Waterfall)

We only see Cinder briefly before the Gong is first used, when he fights Arin and Sora in the season premiere. Does he act meaningfully different (nicer?) in that battle than later on in the season? No. And when he says the Gong is shattering the parts of him that hold him back -- what parts of him? When does his moral compass stop him from doing something?

Ex. 2: Jay

Jay has a bigger difference, namely that he goes from being a decent human being (at the end of Crystalized) to a villain. But how much of that was his memory loss and being trained by Ras, and how much was it the Gong of Shattering?

Memory-less Jay is certainly nicer to Bonzle after she starts talking to him, but he still wants to carry out Administration orders to arrest Bonzle and agrees with the Administration that Zane is a piece of equipment.

Ras is also an expert at persuasion (see Beatrix, Jordana, Arin), so I assume he convinced Jay to join him without forcing a wolf mask on him and hitting the Gong. Maybe he's more vicious in his fight against Nya, but given that he has no memories and has been trained to distrust anything the Ninja say, I don't think his "inner goodness" being intact or not is particularly relevant.

So where does this leave things? To go back to the original post... it's even more disturbing to think that these in-show actions are coming out of Jay independent of the Gong's effects.

Had she always been living with such a monster?

There are obviously questions of whether you're still "you" without your memories (long running philosophical debates) but it seems like the answer to Nya’s question here (contingent on believing that memoryless Jay is still "Jay”) is yes.

Conclusion:

Is it a missed opportunity that the true effects of the Gong of Shattering are never explored? Absolutely - maybe the Shatterspin comics will provide more. But if it's true that all the Gong does is enable you to use Shatterspin, but your actual personality is unchanged, not only does that have big implications for DRS3, but it means that "evil Jay" is a lot closer to this darker take on him than the show wants us to think (or will actually ever show).

Dragons Rising gives us evil Jay, but it's not that he's the bad guy, it's that he's just an awful person.

He breaks free of Ras's whole cohort, even joins the ninja in their fight. Everyone's excited, cuz you know, Jay's back! He still doesn't have his memories, and maybe we're back to square one on everyone's relationships with him, but he's here, fighting by their side once again, and everyone's glad to have him.

But things feel different. He's got even less of a filter than he used to, and things tend to get uncomfortable around him fast. All the underlying entitlement, and self serving tendencies he had before are on full display. He complains a LOT. Was he always this much of a buzz kill? And after they've spent some time trying to get him acclimated back into the group, the friction grows even more. All his sexist, unrepentant, self pitying mental manipulation boils to the surface, and the team has stopped trying to actively engage with him.

And Nya. Boy do they regret ever telling him about Nya. After finding out they used to be together, he's oddly pushy about it. He thinks he's discovered a short cut to getting a girlfriend. He already won her over once, it's as if he's earned her already. Why is she being so resistant about them?

She gives a definitive no to this version of Jay, several times, and he simply can not process it. He's caught on this stalker-like obsession with getting her to love him again, even though he knows almost nothing about her. Eventually he takes it a step too far. Crosses some physical boundary, or gets into some obscenely misogynist argument, and that's it. Nya doesn't even have to do anything, the team runs him off for her, Kai nearly kills him.

Everyone tries to comfort her by assuring her "it's not your fault, we should have dropped him sooner, he's clearly not who he used to be" and Nya is just left sitting there in terror like... "isn't he?"

She's seen this all before. His blatant disregard for her feelings and opinions, the refusal to apologize, his entitlement complex around her specifically, none of it is new. It's just so much more obvious coming from a mind that doesn't know her. He had done all of it, and she had still loved him.

Had she always been living with such a monster?

[pythi-the-drawing-writer]

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance From the Perspective of a Series Newcomer

So to explain, I've never played a Kingdom Hearts game before until now, I picked up 3D cause it was kinda my only option since with the power of 3DS Hacking and hShop it's completely free. I played it to the completion of the main story on Standard Mode and then put it down, haven't 100% the game or done any secret bosses or anything extra aside from hunting for most of the treasure chests. So with all that out of the way time to talk about the game. First

Gameplay

To start I think it's very solid and I like how customizable everything is. The basic controls feel alright. Flowmotion is really fun to just run around the overworld with and has some good utility in combat although it can be a bit annoying if you happen to accidentally trigger it when you didn't mean to, especially during a boss fight.

I honestly really like the Command Deck, I enjoy the customizability and being able to order how it scrolls for sorta quick combos, (Zero Gravity into Circle Raid or Quick Blitz into Aerial Slam for example). Admittedly it does have it's small issues, mainly not having a quick cycle or hotkey as far as I'm aware meaning it can sometimes be a bit panicky when you're on low health and need to scroll to Cure or a potion really fast. Still an enjoyable system none the less

Next the big part of this game's combat, Spirits. To start I really like most of the designs, they're all pretty adorable in their own ways for the most part and they're surprisingly important too, being able to grant you powerful spells and keyblade attacks earlier than you'd normally get them and the abilities come in really important. Plus their own unique abilities in combat are really helpful from Wheeflower's healing coming in clutch, big bodies like Zolephant blocking shots for you, or Jestabocky just flat out removing enemies from the field for a short time. They all became surprisingly more important and useful then I expected and tbh I honestly kinda grew attached to the ones I used the most.

Dive Sections. These are pretty alright, I at first kinda thought they were just gonna get annoying but in my options they quickly solidified themselves as just natural parts of the progression and they're a nice little gameplay mix up when traveling to new worlds with some fun visuals that in some cases add more to the worlds aesthetic and charm.

Also I guess I could talk a bit about the Flick Rush minigame? Eh, a nice little distraction but it really feels like you need to bring the exact right spirits to win any of the higher level cups, Which can mean a lot of grinding for materials. That's all.

Worlds

These are gonna have to be brief for each on what I think about their aesthetics, difficulty, and level design. The story comes later.

Traverse Town: a strong start, pretty good layout that allows for a lot of Flowmotion usage for fun ways to traverse(see what I did there) the area. I like the peaceful nighttime look and feel to the place and every room is very distinct so you're not going to get lost. For your introduction it's a good difficulty balance and the revisit is fine too although the boss rush is a bit annoying.

La Cité des Cloches(The Hunchback of Notre Dame): the place looks really good. Bright colors but still feels very downtrodden and somber, especially thanks to the music. Difficulty is overall solid although Riku's version of the boss fight can be tough for with it's ridiculously massive hitboxes.

Pranksters Paradise(Pinocchio): I'm not quite sure about this one. For what(in Sora's version) is supposed to be a massive carnival the place feels completely abandoned and devoid of any real sense of life. I like the circus aesthetic so it's a shame to see it fall flat. The inside of Monstro(Riku's version) meanwhile works pretty well, the walls and textures all slightly pulsate if you pay close attention and all the gunk make the whole Inside another creature thing work well. Difficulty is perfectly fine, nothing to comment on.

The Grid(Tron Legacy): I don't like the aesthetic here. The music is good but it sucks that everything looks exactly the same so if you're not using a map it is really easy to get lost. Difficulty is fine if the Guard dudes do present a slight jump with their bomb spam and long combos that feel inescapable. The Rinzler boss fight is really fun and I feel it deserves some recognition.

Country of the Musketeers(Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers): by far my favorite world. Every room is very distinct from the castle to the canyon and dungeon. It all works together quite nicely and it has my favorite music too. The difficulty here is a very smooth transition from the Traverse Revisit to here and all the boss fights are great.

Symphony of Sorcery(Fantasia 1940): this world is probably the one I dislike the most. This is the world where they start putting in enemies that can really easily stunlock you or run up to you in a split second so you have no time to breathe and barely any time to cast any version of cure let alone use a potion. Also everything here is just.. too bright, whether it's flashes of lighting acting like a flash bomb or pure white clouds making my eyes sore. And the constant classical music gets really annoying fast. Also you basically Require Collision Magnet for the boss fight if you want it over before your drop timer runs out.

The World That Never Was(Kingdom Hearts): this world presents a pretty sharp difficulty spike and you basically need to be level 30 or higher going in if you want to stand a chance. The mixed aesthetic of an ethereal city and some futuristic lab/liminal space or something works pretty well together, music is nice too. Also this world throws like 3 bosses back to back at you. You better have a good boss fighting deck and spirits.

The Story

I can understand why my friends warned me that this was a weird starting point for a total newbie, the story apparently reveals a lot of stuff that was set up in previous games, mainly what the Organization's actual purpose was, how the events of KH1 all started, and how Xehanort travels through time. Admittedly I think I followed along really well, I'm not gonna do a big story recap but I really like how the world's factor into Rikus character arc. Sora's version of The Grid made me actually emotional and I found Riku's little "all for one and one for all" moment touching. I understand better that ok the Organization was basically going to take all the people in them and turn them in Xehanorts by replacing their hearts with pieces of his own and it's part of a bigger plot to bring 13 Darknesses and 7 Lights together to reforge the Ki Blade because that's how it's fragments were split up way back when. I'll wholeheartedly agree the story is... A lot. I liken it to wires. You can follow one along but occasionally it's going to cross with other wires or tie into knots. But really just tackle em one cross and one knot at a time and you'll understand. It helps that the game itself contains a glossary of key words or things to help you better understand that you unlock at a steady pace as more things get revealed, as well as the essay long summaries of previous games (admittedly I didn't read those). But yeah. The story really does have it's moments, the worlds add up to have their own particular impact on the story even if the final world is where all the more important stuff happens, I love cute moments like Lea swooping in to save Sora from Xehanort announcing his name to the entire room and then 10 seconds later Riku calls him Axel anyways. But yeah like... When I went in here I didn't expect to have like the best writing, I expected to just laugh at it and have a good time so I was pleasantly surprised by what I got.

Conclusion

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this game. The combat was fun, the story held up better than I expected it to and everything works out very nicely. Soooo congratulations Dream Drop Distance, you've gotten me into the series, can't wait to try out more games in the franchise. Soooo that's all.

[rosewritesfanfics]

Reunited

Sora x reader

It had been exactly one year since you had last seen him, and you were beginning to lose hope that he would ever wake up. The updates you received on Sora's condition from Riku had suddenly stopped, and you couldn't help but fear the worst.

You wondered what he looked like now. There were certain things about him that you knew would never change, like how spikey his hair was, or the brightness of his smile. But a year was more than enough time for an appearance to change completely. You had definitely changed. Would he even recognize you?

Your open book of spells had long since been forgotten, open to a page you'd read about a dozen times before giving up and letting your thoughts wander. You weren't sure how long you had been there, since the sun did not rise and set in this world. Well, it wasn't really a whole world, just a tower. After Mickey had explained what happened, Yen Sid had been kind enough to let you stay here and improve your magic.

You were brought back to reality by the sound of a door opening. You turn around to see who else had entered the study, letting out a small gasp once you see him.

You can tell he's happy to see you by the look on his face, although your head is spinning too much to make out the greeting he's saying. You feel a lump form in your throat as tears burn in the corners of your eyes. He's back, he's safe, he's standing right in front of you.

You crash into him with a sob, and it's then you realize how much taller he actually is. Sure, you could tell he'd outgrown his current clothes, but now he was a whole head above you when before you'd been just slightly taller. You feel him return the hug, although you can tell you startled him.

It may have been a full year for you, but Sora hadn't thought about how much time he'd actually missed. He could feel it had been a while, but it wasn't until he got a closer look at you that it truly set in how much had changed. Your hair was completely different, and since when was he the taller one?

"Hey, I'm back now, it's ok." Sora said, trying to comfort you. You pressed yourself closer to his chest, wanting to make sure he was telling the truth, that you weren't just dreaming again, that he was here to stay.

When you pulled back, Sora could have sworn the smile you gave him had enough joy to fuel 10 different gummi ships at once. Tears still rolled down your cheeks, but they were happy ones.

"Hi," you finally spoke, "I missed you."

"Same here, sorry I took so long." He apologized.

"Don't apologize, I know you don't remember what happened but it wasn't your fault." You didn't need to forgive him, you had never been upset with him in the first place.

It was then that your two other companions decided to interrupt your reunion, as the embrace you shared with Sora quickly became a group hug. As Donald and Goofy pulled you away to greet you themselves, Sora found he couldn't look away from you. There was this feeling he had in his chest, he'd first noticed it towards the end of your last adventure but now it had returned stronger than ever.

"Sora?" You asked, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah!" He quickly replied, the word coming out more high pitched than he wanted. "I'm still waking up, ya know? I was asleep for a while!"

Donald was tempted to make a joke about how both him and Goofy felt completely fine and they had both slept just as long, but he decided to hold his tongue for once. Besides, if the blush growing on Sora's cheeks indicated anything, there was something far more fun he could tease him about.

The magician and captain hung back for a moment as you and Sora exited the room, giving each other a knowing look.

"Ya think he's figured it out yet?" Goofy asked, speaking slightly quieter than normal to avoid having the two teenagers hear him.

"Nope!" Donald replied, shaking his head.

"How long do you think it'll take?"

"With him? Probably forever." Donald snickered as soon as he said it, and while Goofy shook his head, he also had a smile on his face. Both of them knew he'd realize and confess eventually, but for now they (mostly Donald) would have fun watching Sora attempt to navigate his feelings.

[pan-fangirl-345]

Emails and Kids

Kazumi takes over for her father, and you have to care for Sora in your brother's absence.

TW: Mentioned/implied child abandonedment, swearing.

Katsuki had been staring at his open email for two fucking hours.

He had typed in the address, and he had been confident about what he wanted to say.

Unfortunately, Katsuki had never been the best with words that didn't sound utterly violent, and now he was trying to figure out how not to sound like an asshole, but still sound like himself.

Over the years, he had gotten better at sounding like a professional, but sometimes it took him a few minutes to find the right words.

He was having trouble with the introduction though. It had taken him an embarrassingly long time to realize that there was a specific way he needed to phrase the beginning of an email.

'Good evening' sounded too stiff, and not like him at all.

'Hello' sounded off too.

'Dear' was off the table immediately.

"Why is this so fuckin' hard?" he muttered, leaning back in his chair as he rubbed his eyes.

"Tha's a bad wor' Papa," Kazumi mumbled as she curled into his chest.

"Sorry mini me," he said, stroking her hair.

He had put her to bed three hours ago and she had come out two hours ago crying. Unable to get her to calm down, he had let her climb up into his lap.

"What are you doin'?" she asked, twisting.

"Emailing the friend Uncle Denki told me about. The one that might be your new babysitter."

"Yeah?"

He hummed, staring at his blinking cursor.

"Waz their name?" Kazumi inquired.

"(Y/N)," Katsuki replied, "she went to middle school with Uncle Denki."

"Can I write to her?" Kazumi asked, suddenly much more awake than she had been moments before.

"Maybe after I do baby," Katsuki told her. "I'm not entirely sure-"

"Well you're not going to do it," Kazumi said with a pout. "You've been staring at the screen for a long time now."

Katsuki hated that she was so perceptive sometimes, there were times when he really wanted her to oblivious to the world around her, especially when it came to him.

"I'm just thinking it out," he grumbled.

"Out of the way Papa," Kazumi said, shoving Katsuki's hands off the keyboard so she could type. "I got this."

"You've got to let me look it over when you're done though," he compromised. "Just so I know there aren't any spelling mistakes."

"Okay Papa," she murmured, typing furiously on the keyboard.

"Easy baby, don't break it," Katsuki muttered.

Kazumi was intelligent for her age, she had skipped her first year of elementary school and gone right into her second. Now, at eight years old and in her third year, Kazumi was still at the top of her class.

Katsuki scanned her email to the woman as she typed, surprised by how few mistakes she made.

Katsuki made a point to make it to every parent-teacher conference, and he tried to make it to most school activities, so he knew how amazing her grades were, but he rarely ever saw anything that expressed it.

Kazumi- unlike Katsuki when he had been her age- didn't like flaunting the fact that she was smarter than most kids her age. She didn't brag about her accomplishments, but she did tell Katsuki about her day at school whenever he asked.

He made a point to ask her about it every day at some point.

Katsuki had mixed feelings about how much better at this his eight year old was than him.

He was proud of her, and things like this reminded him that he hadn't completely fucked his child up, but it also made him a little aggravated with himself that he hadn't been able to do it on his own.

Asking for help was still something a little foreign to him.

"Done!" she declared, leaning back into Katsuki's chest.

Katsuki scanned her email again, then sighed. He had no reason not to send it, and Katsuki knew that he couldn't delete it in her presence.

Having a foundation for his own part of the email, Katsuki adjusted his daughter so he could type out his portion. He checked it for mistakes, then hit send before he could doubt himself.

"Time for bed you little gremlin," Katsuki said, swinging Kazumi up into his arms.

"Okay," she agreed.

He tucked her into bed again, kissing her forehead as he shut her lamp off.

He thought about the woman in the ramen shop earlier, wondering if his hunch was right.

Now all he had to do was wait.

Katsuki hated waiting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You opened your email, surprised that it seemed like Bakugou's daughter had been the one to send the email.

She did seem like a nice girl, curious in nature as you scanned through what she had written you. She seemed interested in meeting you, and apparently thought quite highly of someone she referred to as 'Uncle Denki' so she thought rather highly of you by extension.

After you had finished through her portion, it seemed like her father had taken over.

He was also interested in meeting you, and had suggested the small ramen shop that you been at earlier. He seemed professional enough, but the press and media had something else to say about him.

He had never been your favorite hero, but you had never met the man in person.

You glanced at where your nephew was currently chowing down on his ramen.

You hit the reply button, typing furiously before he noticed that you attention had been turned elsewhere.

Bakugou was one of Denki's close friends, and they had been through a lot together. Kazumi seemed like a sweet child, and no matter how you felt about her father, she was a child you could care for.

It wouldn't hurt to meet them, you supposed. Though if you couldn't bring Sora, it would be a bit of a problem.

He was in your care until your brother came back from whatever mission he had been sent on.

"Auntie, where's Daddy?" Sora inquired.

"He's away for business, Sora, but he'll be back before you know it. Until then, you get to hang out with me!"

He gave you a blinding grin that you couldn't help but return.

You were worried though. Your brother had never looked as nervous as when he had dropped Sora off with a quick explanation that he was going on a mission and didn't know when he'd be back.

You had known what he was talking about as soon as he said the word 'business'. He had always said 'work' when it referred to his current job. 'Business' was reserved for the part of your life you had sworn to try and forget.

You had thought your brother had forgotten it too, but here he was, giving his parental responsibilities over to you for the foreseeable future simply because a monster from his past had called.

"Auntie, can we watch a movie?"

"Sora, you may not be at home, but bedtime is still a thing. We can watch a movie if you go right to bed after," you said, hitting send on the email you had sent back to the Bakugous, and turned your attention back to your nephew.

You couldn't help the memories that poured forth at the memory of why you had to tuck your nephew in that night.

"Love you Auntie," he murmured.

"I love you too Sora," you told him, kissing his forehead.

If his father didn't come back, if the old life pulled him back into the darkness for good, you would care for his son like your own.

After all, no one had been there to do it for you.

Taglist:

@savvy-luna @ebiharachan @owl232 @clonewarssimp @bananasquash @kakiwrites @cloudsgathering @wifunozomi @jazzylove @pansexualproblemchild

[lightandfellowship]

Some other things it could potentially represent, because I like to cover my bases:

(1. The light/dark split of the chess piece's initial position represents how the winner of the chess game is still up in the air/undecided. When Xehanort admits defeat, the chess piece is lit up to show that Eraqus is victorious. This would of course be symbolic of both the chess game's conclusion as well as the conclusion of the Keyblade War.

I'm not too fond of this interpretation personally because it just tells us something we already know. We've just seen the literal conclusion of the Keyblade War and the figurative version of it represented through Xehanort and Eraqus' chess game, so why have an additional layer of symbolism conveying the exact same thing? It would be a little redundant, imo.

(2. This is Sora's chess piece, so perhaps the crown represents Sora's heart. The dark and light sides of it imply that Sora's heart was more evenly split between darkness and light throughout the game, equally capable of falling to darkness as he was capable of maintaining his light. But in the end he manages to keep his light burning strong despite the horrible things he had to endure in the final battle that could have tipped him over the edge.

I think this interpretation has a bit more going for it than point 1 because it says something somewhat surprising about Sora's heart (depending on who you ask), but to me this feels a bit disconnected and irrelevant to the events at hand. While it's true that the beginning of KH3 implies that Xehanort seeks to turn Sora into his 13th dark vessel once again, generally speaking throughout KH3's runtime we're never really under the impression that such a thing is genuinely at risk of happening (as in, it doesn't really get brought up again, and obviously Sora never becomes the 13th vessel). This paired with the fact that under this interpetation Sora just returns to the status quo of being mostly light, means that such symbolism wouldn't really be conveying anything radically new or interesting.

(3. It's just a cool visual to go along with Xehanort's words. At first it is unclear who out of Xehanort and Eraqus will become Odin's heir (thus the even dark/light split and the chess piece facing the camera), but Xehanort realizes through their chess game that Eraqus is the one who will be chosen due to his clever thinking and committment to the light, and shall one day become the true defender of the World (thus the chess piece now facing Eraqus and shining with light.)

I think this is likely at least one of the intended meanings due to how cleanly it parallels Xehanort's words. However, by itself, it's not nearly as intriguing nor as open to interpretation since Xehanort's dialog spells it all out. Like I explained with point 1, this doesn't really say anything new, it's just something that complements the text rather than conveys a hidden subtext.

I want to point out some absolutely ingenious symbolism from KH3's ending.

The chess piece in the center of the frame is one of Eraqus' "white" pieces, specifically the one that represents Sora. This piece has silver detailing on it, and in fact the crown perched at the top of it is silver as well.

However, the crown isn't completely flat, it has a raised edge that travels right through the center of it, meaning that when the light hits it just right, one side ends up darker than the other. As you would expect, the dark side is facing Xehanort's side of the board, and the light side is facing Eraqus' side of the board.

However, when Xehanort flicks the chess piece and talks about how Eraqus is the one who will be chosen to defend the world, not Xehanort, the chess piece shifts slightly, just enough to make the light hit it differently as it faces Eraqus more. Now the crown is mostly lit up.

So what does this mean? Here's my interpretation: though this chess piece is normally supposed to represent Sora, in this particular instance it more broadly represents something like "the person who's worthy of Kingdom Hearts/the X-blade", "the person who's worthy of protecting the world", or perhaps even "the person who's the true Child of Destiny". (That's why Xehanort talks about somebody else being more deserving of the title/being chosen over him as the defender of the world.) (Also recall that Xehanort's Keyblade Armor in KHDR is adorned with the very same crown that's on Sora's chess piece, so Xehanort is associated with the symbol, too!)

The chess piece's initial position paints it as being equal parts dark and light, which matches Xehanort's philosophy of balance. When the chess piece shifts positions, it becomes more light than dark (though crucially, the left side is still ever-so-slightly darker than the right) and this represents Sora, the hero of light. Therefore this is all symbolic of Xehanort handing over the X-blade to Sora in the scene that directly follows this flashback, and subtly explains to us Xehanort's motivations for giving Sora the X-blade.

[walks-the-ages]

Bleach VS Miraculous Ladybug Round 2!

Large cast of characters, AND characters have their own motivations outside of our Protagonist?

Bleach: I'm... I'm not even gonna try to list out all of the characters, because every named character is fully fleshed out with their own unique personality and motivations that drive them.

Here's the characters off the top of my head, in no particular order... And no particular correct spelling lol:

Ichigo, Ishida, Orihime, Chad, Urahara, Yuroichi, Karin, Yuzu, Kon, Rukia, Keigo, Tatsuki, Isshin, Byakuya, Kyorakaku, Rangiku, Renji, Hitsugaya, Yamamoto, Gin, Aizen, Toushen, Ganju, Kaien, Ikkaku, Don Kanonji, Hanataro, Mayuri, Unohana, Grimmjow, Harribel, Ulquiorra, Zangetseu (Hichigo), Ossan (Sunglasses), Nelliel, Dondochaka, Pesche, Nanao, Starrk, Lilynette, Kenpachi, Yachiru, Umichika, Tessai, Szaylaporro, Himamori, Soi-fon, Komamura, Ukitake, Yuichi Shibata, Sora, Jinta, Ururuu,..

And so. So so soooooo many more. There's 13 captains and 13 Lieutenants, 8 Visored, at least 10 Espada, numerous Nemeros and Fraccion, as well as unseated Shinigami that we meet... All of them are fully developed, interesting and fun characters. Oh, and you can double the numbers for every single Shinigami character listed, because each of them have their Zanpakuto spirit as well that I believe get the limelight in an arc as well, and they're all their own unique characters.

Meanwhile......

Miraculous Ladybug:

... well, sure, I could start listing off the characters off the top of my head. There's plenty of *names* in Miraculous Ladybug, but the list of actually, properly developed characters is. Barely 2, because everything gets retconned so much because of shitty writing that literally insists that no one and nothing can develope, because they want ML to be their cashcow they can draw out for 7 seasons and 4 movies while literally nothing happens of importance.

Whats important is:

1) do we actually know anything concrete about these characters that doesn't get retconned every other episode?

No, everyone's backstory and behavior changes to suit the plot of the week and to force the story along in a certain direction, even if it contradicts previous established behavior, with no explanation other than the writers don't care to make a consistent story. They'll say Luka is Juleka's older brother at his intro and then years down the line retcon is so that they're twins instead,with no explanation. Alya's ethnicity gets retconned multiple times... Not that it ever gets mentioned in the show at all to impact anything. One episode will establish that Adrien knows literally nothing about soccer, not even the basic principals. When... An episode that is set previous to this one establishes that he... Knows how to play soccer and scores a goal perfectly. One episode will establish something and then down the line it'll be retconned with no explanation other than the writers are too lazy to fact check their own work and just straight up don't care to tell a coherent, good story. That's how bad it is.

2) do these characters have their own lives and motivations outside of the protagonist(s)?

Nope, see above

3) do these characters grow and change over time?

Nope, all hail the mighty Status Quo, can someone please put these characters out of their misery? It's been 8 years and they've been retconned to hell and back, stuck in an endless time loop of nothing changes and nothing matters.

[palizinhas]

Namikai and 18 for the kiss prompt?

18. …as encouragement.

"I know I can't say anything about Keyblade stance since mine is weird," Kairi said, a bit amused but trying to not show it because Naminé seemed nervous enough. "But I think holding it like a pen doesn't seem a very good idea, Nami."

It was honestly kind of funny. Naminé seemed to be holding the handle like it was a very big pencil.

Naminé had hesitated to use her Keyblade after it first appeared, outside of Kairi, only Xion and Roxas had seen it, but Naminé said she felt too nervous to use hers in front of them since they had so much more experience with it.

Kairi didn't think she meant it as a slight on Kairi's ability so she didn't take it as one. She did have less experience than those two.

"Then should I do it like you and Sora?" Naminé tried again, and Kairi felt like that stance looked a bit weird on her - but it might just be the short dress she still hadn't changed out of.

"I'm not sure that one combines with the dress," Kairi said. "Not sure the dress combines with using the Keyblade at all, actually."

"Oh," Naminé said, and Kairi wondered if she hadn't gotten new clothes because it simply hadn't occured to her. Axel had said something about Xion wearing that coat for days before he pointed out she didn't need to.

"How about we do it like this for now," Kairi said, getting behind Naminé and changing her into Master Aqua's stance. "And after we get you a new outfit we try to find one you actually like. We just practice with magic today. That's what Master's stance is for."

"Alright," Naminé said. And then hesitated. "Kairi, I don't know any magic."

"Right," Kairi winced. "Try this."

Master Aqua had given several lectures on magic elements and what fit each person the most. Naminé was an artist type, so something malleable like Water seemed like the best option.

Even though Kairi had used a simply Water spell, Naminé seemed a bit spooked.

"Look, it's fine, alright?" Kairi got close to Naminé once again and fixed her stance she had already relaxed from. "You'll do great!"

Kairi gave her a small peck and got to a safe distance.

"Try it!!"

Naminé seemed weirdly motivated suddenly and got it in one try. It was the spell she was most suited for but it was still impressive!

Kairi cheered a little.

[chibi-mushroom]

Hey everyone! Finally get to post my piece for the memory of promises zine! check out the link here if you want to grab one of your own copies in the leftover sale! I was so happy to be able to join in on this zine, and I hope you guys enjoy all the work that went into it! (Also keep in mind this was written before MoM.)

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Namine rubbed her temples and looked at the clock. Midnight already. DiZ was not going to like this. The next time he came into the white room would bring on some lecture or punishment of some kind. She had been working furiously all afternoon trying to get past this one section of memory, but there was something that was keeping her back. Her pulse began to race. She was feeling sick. The door to the white room opened and with a squeak, Namine ducked under the table, fearing the familiar stride of the man in red.

"It's okay, it's just me. You can come out now." A soft voice sounded in her ears. "You're safe. DiZ said he needed to run an errand and wouldn't be back for a couple of days."

Slowly looking up, Namine could see the outstretched hand of the only comfort she had in this lonely place. "Riku. You're back."

She took his offering and stood up. He hadn't let go of her hand just yet, blindfold still covering those beautiful blue green eyes he had. She was glad it stopped him from seeing things like her girlish blush. He was only offering his hand as a friend. Besides, it was wrong for her to want to be with him- nobodies weren't supposed to feel anything. So why did she?

"You're shaking." Riku stated simply. "Have you eaten anything today?"

So he could even feel the slight tremor in her hands. "No, not exactly."

"Do you want me to get something for you? I think there are some leftovers in the fridge."

"No, I'm alright. I have to get back to work." Namine tried to take her hand from his, but he held onto it all the tighter, leaning down a little to be at eye level with her. 

"You were working when I left, and I can tell you haven't gotten any sleep. How are you expecting to take care of Sora when you can't take care of yourself?"

Right. Namine thought. He's just like DiZ. All he cares about is getting Sora restored. You're just a tool.

Still, she couldn't help but notice the way her breath caught in her throat as his blinded eyes sunk to meet her tired ones. Maybe she should take a small break. All of this stress was making her read too much into small gestures.

Namine simply nodded, and Riku left to warm her up some food. Sensing that going back to Sora's memories would be futile, she grabbed her sketch pad and turned it to the very last page. This was her secret page, covered in things she thought about. Mindless doodles she drew when she was waiting for the computer to check on Sora’s physical well-being.

The sketch pad was not necessary for her magic to work. She could rearrange memories- crush the hearts of her poor unsuspecting victims- without it. She used it though to help her concentrate. By visualizing the memories, she was able to make a more convincing edit or capture the feelings that were hiding beneath the surface. So many times she had drawn Sora, Riku and Kairi together. And sure there were strong feelings of both love and jealousy, but had she not had her sketch pad, she might have missed Sora's emotions of gratitude for two stalwart best friends, confusion about school topics they had recently studied, and hope that Kairi would want to go with him to the first school dance, even though he knew they would just go together and bail early to hang out on the play island like they always did whenever the school had some social.

"Here you go. It's nothing special, but it's better than nothing." Riku interrupted her thoughts with a plate of food.

With a gasp, Namine hurried to cover her sketch pad. Even though she knew he couldn't see it, he moved so gracefully that she sometimes wondered if he really was blind. Although those first couple of days made the mansion quite a bit louder with his cries of annoyance as he bumped into furniture. He even fell into the secret compartment that hid the computer lab, but luckily managed to land safely.

"Drawing something you don't want anyone to see?" Riku smirked. 

"No!" Namine replied a bit sharper than she thought. "Maybe."

Riku laughed as he set their plates down and pulled a chair over. "I'm only kidding. You don't have to be working on Sora nonstop. If you want to take a moment for yourself, then do it."

"No, I need to be working on Sora. It was my fault he's like this in the first place. I want to keep my promise." Namine picked up the white plastic fork. For once would it hurt to have some color around here?

With a sigh, Riku held his hand out for her to hold. "We've been over this, Nam. What happened wasn't your fault. You were being used." Softly Riku muttered "you still are."

Namine looked at him for a moment and then looked down at her food. She picked at it for a few moments before softly sliding her hand in his and taking a couple of bites. She ate in a comfortable silence, simply feeling the pressure that came from the gentle touch. This sort of thing wasn't unusual for them. They could usually be found in silence with their hands connected. But the mountain of pressure from the recent block in memories and lack of self care was threatening to squish Namine with its enormous weight.

"How's the restoration going?" Riku asked.

Namine's stomach began to twist around itself. "I'm….not sure." 

Riku squeezed her hand, urging her to explain. Namine sighed, unsure of how to continue. Would he get mad if she told the truth? He had slowly been becoming more like DiZ, after all. He used to be there with her when she was getting told off. These days, Riku was never usually in the white room for more than five minutes unless it was late at night.

"You remember what Sora's mom used to tell him all the time, right?"  Riku recalled.

"Never talk to strangers on the play island?"

Riku chuckled, remembering a secret promise. "A problem shared is a problem halved. If you tell me, it might relieve some of the pressure on you."

There was no avoiding it, not as long as he held her hand. 

 "It's just that, well-" Namine fumbled for the words. "There's been a bit of a roadblock. I've been doing my best to sort it out, tracing the connections, but it's like the memories slip away as soon as I think I have a grasp on them. I may have gone through half a notebook trying to find a solid piece."

There was a pause, as if Riku were considering what to say. 

"I'll go get you a new notebook tomorrow, then. As for the memories, we'll get it figured out. You need to take a break, anyway."

"No!" Namine swallowed back further emotion. Maybe she really did need some sleep. She was being more irrational than she expected. "No, it's fine. I'm sure I'm doing something wrong."

"Don't say stuff like that. If there's anyone who can make this situation right, it's you. Please, just take a few hours to rest tomorrow, okay?" Riku squeezed her hand again.

"I don't really have a choice here, do I?" Namine sighed.

"You always have a choice. I'm just asking you as someone who cares a lot about you."

Someone who cares? Namine thought. She slowly nodded in reply. Maybe a break was exactly what she needed.

"Thank you, Riku."

One Year Later

Again Riku tried to beat Marluxia, and again he was defeated. He only had this last battle to finish, having started against the organization members he recognized or had personally fought against. Which, admittedly wasn't many, but after several attempts, he was down to the last. It frustrated him that he still wasn't quite used to the keyboard controls, and Sora's moves were much less based in strength and relied much more on magic. Riku had never been very good with magic, focusing on perfecting his cure and dark firaga spells instead of learning the large array of magic that his friends had mastered. 

Some keyblade master I turned out to be. Riku thought, sitting back in his seat and folding his arms. I can't even stop my two best friends from leaving me again. This is just like back then…

His mind began to drift away with thoughts of Castle Oblivion and Twilight Town. He heard the door open and gentle footsteps move toward him.

"Hey Aerith. We can work on that scarf in a minute. I have to get some more ethers for data Sora first."

"I take it the fight didn't go well then?" A soft voice walked closer.

He closed his eyes and shook his head. Not Aerith. 

"Hey Namine. How could you tell?"

Namine placed a hand on his shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. "You're really tense. Besides, I could feel your frustration from a block away."

What anger and annoyance had once plagued Riku's mind had since washed away. All he could register was how reassuring Namine's hand on his shoulder felt. She smelled nice, too. A faint blush warmed his cheeks. Ever since Kairi had insisted on going to sleep and Terra had left for the dark realm with Aqua and Ven, Namine was the only person Riku shared everything with. She had heard him vent several times, and she had been helping Aerith teach him how to knit. It was her delicate fingers that had lead him through the steps of a cable.

"I guess I need a little bit of a break." Riku said with a sigh. "Wanna go get some ice cream or something?"

"Sure." Namine smiled, stepping back so he could get up and stretch. They began to talk as they walked to their usual ice cream shop. 

Since Scrooge, Huey and Dewey had returned home, the ice cream shop had been manned by one of the local citizens. He usually gave Riku a discount, so Riku usually put some munny in the tip jar. It had become routine over the past year to go whenever Namine came to visit from Twilight Town.

"How is everything going with Roxas and Xion?" Riku asked, sitting down and unwrapping his fruit bar.

"Slow." Namine replied, taking a small lick from her chocolate cherry ice cream cone. She wanted to try all of the flavors, and this was the last one. "Not too bad, but I think I preferred the strawberry cheesecake the best."

"That was a flavor Kairi always liked." Riku smiled softly. 

When he saw the way Namine looked for just the hair of a second, he realized that was probably the wrong thing to say. He inwardly cursed himself and his inability to be the suave guy all the girls had thought he was growing up. Kairi and Namine didn't get much of a chance to talk after she got her replica body, as Kairi had almost immediately asked to be put under. Riku wondered what it was like living inside a heart of pure light. Just like Castle Oblivion, she didn't talk about it much.

"We should get some for her when she wakes up." Namine continued to eat her cone. There was an uncomfortable silence for just a moment before Namine spoke up again. "Who were you fighting when I came in?"

"Marluxia. He was the head of the castle, right?"

Namine nodded.

"I never really got to meet him as I was down in the basement back then. I'm sorry you had to deal with a guy like him."

"It's alright. I...had some support. There was Sora and Donald and Goofy. And despite everything I did to him, there was your replica, too." Namine spoke slowly, choosing her words with care. "But don't feel bad. He made his decisions, like everyone else."

This time, it was Riku's turn to nod in agreement, taking a bite from his treat.

"After the data battles are all said and done, what happens next?" Namine asked softly.

"I...don't know. All I know is that I've been having these weird dreams lately."

"I wondered. You look tired." Namine grabbed on to Riku's hand, intertwining their fingers.

Maybe it was a reflex, maybe it was a force of habit, like how they used to sit back in the old mansion. Either way, the touch on its own was enough to pull Riku away from the dark thoughts that usually sat at the horizon of his mind. He squeezed her hand in response.

"Don't hesitate to call me if you ever need someone to talk to. I miss our little midnight chats." Namine admitted.

"I do too." Riku smiled softly. "They really helped clear my mind back then."

"A problem shared is a problem halved, remember?" Namine was glad she could actually see his eyes as she recalled back to his words that helped her through her time at the old mansion. "Care to share anything?"

Riku paused. He sighed before starting to speak. After he told her of the recurring dream he'd been having with the buildings and the feeling of being watched, he also admitted to the weight that had been pinned on his shoulders. 

"I know it might sound silly, but I can't help but wonder if these dreams are connected to Sora somehow. I just wish I could understand it more." Riku finished his bar and set the popsicle stick on the bench beside him.

Namine had just finished her ice cream as well, wiping her face with the napkin. "Maybe it's time you take another journey."

"With the data battle still to fight and Kairi still asleep? I can't leave now."

"Maybe not now, but after the last battle is won." Namine gently pulled his hand close to her and began massaging it. "But that means I can't follow you. Will you be alright on your own? Maybe you can check Kairi's dreams."

"I...don't know. I haven't used my dream eater powers in a long time and the process is still kind of fuzzy for me." He could feel his muscles relax as she worked at his weary hand.

Doubt was rising in his chest. Maybe she was right. Who was he kidding? He wasn't ready for this kind of thing. He wasn't like Sora or Kairi who could follow their hearts at a moment's notice. He couldn't always feel the way it was trying to lead him.

But as he saw Namine patiently working on his hands, the stiff muscles being brought to relax against her fingers, a light shone through the storm of his doubt. How he hadn't realized it before was a mystery. Ever since they had met, she had been the light in the dark, just as he had provided shade for her in the brightest situations. As she finished the massage, she tenderly squeezed his hands, reassuring him that she was there and willing to help. Surely that was love.

He felt love for her, no question. But with Sora and Kairi gone and asleep, there never seemed to be a good moment to tell her what his heart really wanted to say. 

"We...we should be getting back." Namine sighed. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"No, but then, I'm not really all that sure of anything anymore."

"If there's anything I know, it's that things will get better. We'll find Sora. I don't know how or when, but we will." Namine took his hand again, standing before him.

Namine took a quick breath and then leaned over, placing a quick kiss atop his head. Ordinarily, she wouldn't be able to reach, but since he was sitting down, she could offer a small token of her affection and confidence in his abilities.

She and Riku's faces filled with blush, although a smile tugged at her lips. Namine didn't have enough courage to kiss him on the lips like she had wanted to for so long, but this was safe. He couldn't spurn her for a harmless kiss to the head. After all, what was some reassurance between friends?

"Thank you, Namine." Riku had a hard time looking at this angel of a woman without his heartbeat increasing.

To think she was willing to be by his side after all this. He decided there and then that he would listen to his heart and tell her of his feelings...after they set everything right. Once Sora and Kairi were home and together, then they could sort out their own relationship. It would give him yet another reason to bring his best friend home. 

He could still feel the kiss on his forehead, and it brought a genuine smile to his face. He stood up and began walking away from Merlin's house.

"Don't feel like you have to stop working on the data battles on my account. I just wanted to make sure you were doing alright." Namine stopped for a second.

"We can get back to those soon enough. I need a little longer before I get back into it." He took his trash and threw it into a nearby can. "There are some fountains that are really pretty this time of day nearby if you want to check them out with me."

A smile formed on Namine's lips. "I'd love to, Riku."