#“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:

[goth-automaton]

@wyked-ao3 tagged me in a pretty peculiar game, where, as she explained:

you go through your wip or a previously posted work and find a sentence that starts with the the letters in the word given that you are comfortable sharing T could be anything that starts with "The,To" ECT you use sentence to spell out the word …names can count anything that begins with the letter your looking for counts lol

Ngl, it looks fun! ^^ I'll go with "Obituary..." (as always, lol).

The word I was given: dictatorship

D – Doubts, which he voiced to Marluxia, when the latter was doing make-up.

I – If gaze could kill, Kou would have already been murdered by Echidna.

C –“Coming!” Sora yelled back and the video ended.

T – “Thanks.” Marluxia went to the exit, before turning back to Sion just by the door.

A – “And I wish I could slap past me for being such an idiot.”

T – The summer was passing by with nothing remarkable happening.

O – “On my own, she’s off today,” Kou replied.

R – “Riku is organising a sleepover at his place. Can I go?”

S – “Silver,” Sion replied after a while of thinking.

H – “Happened to my classmate once,” Marluxia explained, rummaging through his bag.

I – It had strawberry filling and was very, very sweet.

P – Passion, that had lasted till today.

Word I'm giving: moonlight 🌙

No-pressure tags go to: @interstellarvacuumcleaner @lnights @tymniemniej @thetentaclecommander @captainbobbin @punk-gremlin and whoever else wishes to join! 💜

[venjamin-kingdomhearts]

I have an idea, but I don't know if it fits the 2000< requirement, but what about Ventus talking to Roxas about his time in daybreak town and how alone he used to feel?

OK hello first off. THANK YOU for the prompt!! I kinda. branched off from what was asked a bit cause i got ✨ Inspired ✨ SO I hope you enjoy regardless! I also got another prompt from @/fangirling-heart that I'm working on SO in case they see this 👋🏻 hi! That one will probably be a LOT shorter. If anyone else is interested in throwin some ideas my way check out this post and then feel free to hit me up in my inbox 💚 No beta, only one or two re-reads, so if there's any mistakes here... pretend you didn't see them LOL Summary: Roxas is sent on a quest into Ventus' dreams, and makes a new (?) friend Word Count: 2892 Relationship: Roxas & Ventus (friendship)

Others had volunteered to go there, to the space where the Sleeping Realm and individual Dreamscapes met, but in the end, Ventus had chosen Roxas to investigate his dreams.  Not Terra or Aqua, nor “literally-a-Dream-Eater” Riku, but Roxas. Sure, he wasn’t alone -- this experiment required a Dream Eater to accompany him, so Sora’s Meow Wow was by Roxas’ side -- but he’d been picked by Ventus above anyone else to literally walk into his mind and look around. Him! They hadn’t even been friends for that long, with the battle against Xehanort having been just over a year ago, yet here Roxas was, standing on the edge of Ventus’ subconscious mind, petting his Dream Eater companion.

“. . . I don’t know if he’s really dreaming yet,” Roxas admitted. “This is dark. Ventus’ dreams can’t be dark.”

The “world” around Roxas currently was nothing but an odd black void. There was no true ground, nor walls, nor sky, which was all a bit disorienting. But there was something beneath Roxas’ feet, or else he and Meow Wow would be drifting off somewhere. Roxas chose to focus on that feeling of standing, ‘cause he was pretty sure if he didn’t, he might feel so disconnected from this reality that he really could drift away.

Roxas had a job to do. He couldn’t let himself get too intimidated by all… this.

This was to help Ventus recover the memories he’d lost, that were apparently buried so deep than even Naminé and the scientists working in the Radiant Gardens couldn’t reach without some help. Admittedly, Ventus wasn’t really gung-ho about remembering anything (apparently the last time he’d touched his forgotten memories, the migraine he’d been left with was enough to make him scream), but he had to put that fear aside for the good of the mission.

(Of course, Ventus had still been scared. An hour prior, he’d been laid down in a hospital bed and told that he’d be put to sleep. That’s not exactly easy for someone who’d spent 12 years in a magical coma to chew. Certainly not someone who’d developed insomnia because of the fear he might fall into another decade-long sleep. Ventus was clearly miserable, but it was getting to the point that Ventus’ memories might be the missing key to finding Sora after his disappearance a year prior. Ventus may have been scared, but when it came to Sora… he’d do almost anything to help him.)

(Roxas remembered catching a glimpse of Ventus holding Terra’s and Aqua’s hands tight as Dr. Even and Ienzo prepared the sleeping spell Ventus would be put under. The magic was distributed to Ventus as if it was anesthesia, as a clunky plastic dome had to be put over his nose and mouth. Roxas and Meow Wow had watched from behind glass doors as Ventus’ chest heaved slower, as his eyes grew heavier, until finally his hands went limp and Aqua pressed a kiss to his forehead.)

Roxas had 24 hours. That’s how deep the spell was. Hopefully he’d be able to get a good lead sooner than that, but he had a lot of leeway. Okay. Ventus and the others were counting on him… especially since Ventus wouldn’t be able to wake up until Roxas and Meow Wow were outta his head. 

“...C’mon, Meow Wow,” Roxas whispered, standing up straight and taking another good look at the empty space before him. “We’ve gotta find where Ven’s dreams are. Or… something.”

“Meowf!” Meow Wow barked, and Roxas couldn’t help but laugh. 

With that, their mission officially began. They walked off into the darkness, steps echoing as though they were walking on glass. It really was unsettling, but Roxas kept his nerves under wraps. What an interesting place this was, this time between sleep and dreams. Mysterious. Dark. But not too cold.

Slowly, some semblance of color and light began to seep into the world. Ventus’ dream began forming, and suddenly Roxas was inside the Land of Departure’s castle. Of course, things weren’t even close to being a perfect recreation. The stained glass windows weren’t symmetrical, and the colors of their glass kept shifting, meanwhile some of the thrones making up the throne room were replaced with bean-bag chairs. It was almost like looking at one of those “spot the difference” puzzles, as dream-oddities popped up left and right to add differences between reality and dream.   

Okay, this is definitely a Ven-dream, Roxas thought as a small herd of numbered sheep crossed a distant hallway. Meow Wow went up to sniff them, but that just frightened a majority of them into running into the throne room. 

“Meow Wow! Over here, buddy!” Roxas called. “Those aren’t Tama Sheep. Don’t bother them!”

Meow Wow waddled back to Roxas’ side, sniffing his shoes. Meanwhile, Roxas gave the room another look-around. Okay, now he just had to… find anything that might not belong. Anything that could be a hint to where Sora was, or something from Ventus’ past. Anything Naminé could use as a branching-off point. 

He chose me for this. Ventus chose me, ‘cause he trusts me to see all this.

Honestly? That was still a pretty big deal. There was a chance Roxas could come across anything here, even stuff Ventus wanted to keep a secret. It was a bit more responsibility than Roxas really wanted, but at the same time, being picked out at the one to take care of all this was oddly flattering. It was ike Roxas was being handed a part of Ventus no one else had access to.

(“It… kinda came down to you or Xion,” Ventus had admitted before he’d been put under. “You two… I mean, I know we’re not all connected in the same way, but I know you guys would understand if you saw anything weird, in my head.”)

(Ventus had taken a shaky breath, trying to get his thoughts to words. Eventually, he just settled on smiling up at Roxas, and thanking him.)

(“I know you’d be the best fit. You’re the best at figuring out stuff like this. If anyone could find out what secrets I’m hiding, it’d be the guy who always calls me out for lying, eheh!” Ventus laughed and gave Roxas’ arm a light punch. “Just promise you’ll… stay with me, when you get back, if I’m still sleeping. I don’t… wanna wake up all alone.”) 

Roxas took note of a sheep labeled ‘7’ sniffing around the thrones/bean-bags at the north of the room. Number 9 was lying under the shifting stained glass window, while sheeps #3 and #14 were munching on a patch of grass that had spawned on top of wood flooring. Meanwhile, one of the dream-sheeps decided that Roxas was of interest, and approached to nuzzle his leg.

“...Course. Number 13.”

Roxas gave the animal a gentle pat on the head. Okay, if all the sheep are numbered… maybe this is a test. You count sheep to get to sleep, don’t you? So….

“Great. All the sheep are outta order,” Roxas muttered. “Maybe we should--”

“GO AWAY!”

Oathkeeper and Oblivion appeared in Roxas’ hands reflexively.

Who the hell was that? Roxas thought, sending Meow Wow a glance. The Dream Eater had its back arched, growling lightly and staring ahead at one of the unchanged thrones across the room. Roxas crouched down, ready to stealth his way across the room. 

Meanwhile, the mystery voice snapped again:

“Get outta here! L-leave me alone!”

Sheep #7 gave a startled “baa!” as it dove past Roxas, who was already on his way towards the center throne. This voice wasn’t one he recognized right away, so Roxas’ first thought was Nightmare, though he couldn’t sense any Darkness lurking around the corner. Regardless, Roxas snuck up to the chair, while Meow Wow prepared a bouncing attack.

On three, we attack. One, two--

Roxas held his blades tight, listening for that mystery voice. He could hear some light breathing, so unless this was a trick of Ven’s mind, something had to be hiding behind that throne.

Three!

Without a sound, Roxas dove out from his hiding spot, Keyblades in hand. He didn’t make any move to strike, not yet, but he did hold his Keyblades offensively, ready for whatever he found--

“A--ahh!” 

--well, he certainly wasn’t ready to realize he had Oblivion raised in the face of a child. 

The boy yelped again, raising his arms to cover his head. Roxas felt his heart drop past his stomach, to his feet. That was a kid! That was an actual child! For a moment, all Roxas could do was freeze.

“Please-- don’t hurt me!” The child cried out. “I-I didn’t do nothin’!”

Roxas had never seen a child before, not really. Not this close.

Actually, Roxas hadn’t even been one himself. A Nobody came to life the same age their Somebody had been, and with Roxas’ strange state of being, that meant he couldn’t even remember what it’d been like to be any younger than 16. So to see someone so young (Roxas didn’t really have a great judge of age, but this boy was younger than a teenager) with blonde hair the same style as Roxas’ own, and big green eyes that reminded Roxas of Ven, was a bit disorienting.

Oblivion shook in Roxas’ hand, and he lowered the blade.

“Please, please, please…” the blonde child whimpered. “Don’t… don’t hurt me….”

In two flashes of light, Oblivion and Oathkeeper vanished. 

“I’m not gonna hurt you.”

The child didn’t seem convinced.

Alright, off to a great start already, Roxas thought sarcastically. He took a breath and a knee, holding his hands up in surrender, to show he wasn’t making any moves to lash out. The mysterious child looked between him and Meow Wow suspiciously, then scooted back. He’d been hiding behind this throne, hadn’t he? Poor thing.

(Funny, how the throne he’d hid behind was the dream’s reflection of the chair Ventus had slept on for 12 years….)

“Hi,” Roxas started simply. “I’m Roxas. Sorry I scared you; I thought you were a monster.”

Was he doing this right? Kneeling down to be at eye level, keeping his voice soft and being honest. Was that how people talked to children? Roxas licked his bottom lip in thought, furrowing his brows. Meanwhile, the little boy hugged himself tighter, glaring up at Roxas.

“Monster? I’m not a monster! I’m just… me. ‘M just Ventus.”

Roxas’ eyes went wide. “Ventus?”

“Umm...m’yeah?” 

Of course. That explained the resemblance. Roxas felt something odd stir up in his heart. This kid… was Ventus. Or at least, who Ventus had been, as a child. Roxas had never been a kid, and Ventus had no memory of his past. So to see someone so young wearing the same face they shared was odd. It almost felt like looking at a stranger, and the feeling reminded Roxas of what it was like to meet Sora for the first time, and realize “this is who I used to be a part of?”

“Ventus,” Roxas echoed. “You’re Ventus.”

“Yeah, that’s what I said,” the child affirmed, before he suddenly grew defensive. “I’m-- wait! You-- you’re gonna make fun of me, aren’t you?”

“Make fun of you? Why would I--’

“Because everyone does. All the Big Kids, in the other Unions!” That look of fear the child had been wearing earlier was quickly replaced by an angry pout. “W-well, I’ve had it! If you’re gonna try anything….”

The child lifted his hand, and in a flash of light, summoned a Keyblade Roxas hadn’t seen in a while.

“Missing Ache?”

“That’s right! If you’re gonna be mean to me, or call me names, or anything, I’ll fight you! I’ll… I’ll….” 

But as quickly as the determination had come, the fire began to fade. The young boy’s lip trembled, and Missing Ache grew heavy in his hand. The boy scooted back, pulled his knees to his chest, and became shy once more. He didn’t say anything, didn’t raise Missing Ache again, he just hid his face and hugged himself with one arm.

. . .Oh.

Roxas felt a rush of something between pity and affection. He had to put aside how weird this was (but it was a dream! Dreams are meant to be weird!). Roxas bit his bottom lip, trying to plot out how to go about this. A kid… what was he supposed to say to a scared little kid?

Well, he should be gentler than the Organization XIII members were to him when he joined. That was the closest he’d ever been to being a child, so it was his one point of reference. The only other experience he’d had was seeing Peter Pan’s lost boys playing from a distance, or being harassed by Locke, Shock, and Barrel in Halloween Town. But Roxas wasn’t sure he could count any of that as actual experience taking care of a kid. 

“. . . It’s. Nice to meet you. Ventus.” Roxas took a moment to let that name settle. To let that identity settle.“I’m here on a mission. I’m looking around this drea-- this place with my friend, Meow Wow.”

The “Little Ventus” didn’t react with the same excitement real Ventus would’ve. He just peeked up, looking from Roxas to Meow Wow. Roxas watched as the little boy’s brow furrowed, before his eyes lit up with recognition.

“A Dream Eater?”

“That’s right. How’d ya know…?”

Before Little Ventus could answer, Meow Wow bounced up eagerly. The little boy held his arms out, sitting cross-legged, as if opening up to give Meow Wow a hug.

“Bwarf! Mrreowf!” Meow Wow leapt onto Little Ventus, giving him a ton of slobbery “kisses”. Despite his previous hesitance, Little Ventus laughed. It seemed the focus keeping Missing Ache by his side was diverted, so the strange Keyblade returned to light, while Little Ventus pressed his face into Meow Wow’s fur.

“Smells like cotton candy….”

“Haha… yeah,” Roxas said, scooting a tad closer. “I think Meow Wow just had a bath too, so his fur is extra soft.”

Roxas rested a gentle hand on top of the Dream Eater’s blue fur as if to demonstrate. Little Ventus watched shyly. Roxas tried to keep a small smile on his face as he pet the cat-dog, hoping that maybe he could earn the child’s trust by showing that Meow Wow trusted them both. Green eyes followed Roxas’ hand…until eventually, a small hand joined him in stroking through the Dream Eater’s fur.

“You’re right!” Little Ventus’ voice was an eager gasp. “So soft….”

Roxas felt a smile tug at his lips, but he said nothing. Maybe it was nerves, or just his quieter nature coming out. He tended to let Ventus fill the air when the two of them were together. Guess that instinct kicked in around Little Ventus, too. The two sat in silence for a moment, while Meow Wow began to purr.

Little Ventus gasped. “Just like Chirithy!” 

“Right. Just like Chirithy.”

“...Roxas.”

“Hmm?”

“That’s your name, right? It’s weird. I’ve never met a Roxas before!”

“Well I don’t know many other people named Ventus,” Roxas smirked. “Only the one….”

“W-well, that just means I’m u-unique.” Little Ventus mispronounced the word as if it rhymed with “quiche”, and that made Roxas laugh. “Hey! What’s so funny? You said you weren’t gonna make fun of me!”

“I’m not! I’m not, I just… I think Ventus is a nice name. Weird. But nice.”

Little Ventus huffed, and Roxas had to hold back another laugh. Were all kids this… funny? Was that the word? Roxas didn’t know how to describe this. He just felt happy, in a very curious way. 

“Well, I guess Roxas isn’t a bad name, either. Weird. But… not bad.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome!”

Another moment of silence, but there was something warmer to it. By now, Meow Wow’s tail was wagging so hard, it was thumping against the floor. 

“Are you a cat or a dog?” Little Ventus asked the Dream Eater. “Anyways… what Union are you in?”

…? Was Little Ventus talking to Meow Wow, or--?

“Hello? Roxaaas. Roxas! What Union are you in?”

“Union? Uh. None?” Roxas shrugged. “I don’t really know what you mean.”

“You don’t have a Union?! Like some… some wanderer?” Little Ventus leaned over Meow Wow as if the pet were a pillow, and he didn’t seem to mind. “Well, I’m in the Leopardus Union! And I’m the fastest member there. Honest!”

Roxas chuckled. “Is that so?”

“Mmhmm!” Little Ventus was looking more eager by the second. “I’m gonna be the best runner in Daybreak Town! Faster than the wind!”

Roxas had a feeling there was a bit of a story to this. He also had a feeling that it’d be a lot of work convincing Meow Wow to leave this spot. It looked like they’d have to put a ‘pin’ in their mission for now.

…Well, Roxas did have 23 hours before Ventus would have to wake up. Maybe he could spend a little longer in this dream, not just to figure out more, but to keep this forgotten part of Ven company. He’d promised Ventus he wouldn’t leave him alone… and that applied to all parts of Ventus. Even the ones that were exceptionally well-hidden.

“Tell me all about it,” Roxas said gently. “I’d be happy to listen.”

 ‘Cause that’s what a good friend does.

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

If you know the medal system from Kingdom Hearts Union cross:

What type of Keyblade wielder would Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy and Shadow be?

Do you mean like...what kinds of medals would they be or what kinds would they use?

Honestly, while I played khux to the very end, I almost never looked at strategies or worried about what kinds of medal combos I had. Largely I used my strongest medals and changed them out only if I needed a specific typing or specifically either uprights or reversed medals for missions. So I don't really have ideas for what medal lineups they'd use or anything, but I can perhaps talk about what kind of medals they could have/be, which khux keyblades would be interesting to pair with them, and how I think they'd fight as keyblade wielders?

ㅤ

Sonic

As a Medal:

Now, since there are multiple kinds of medals involving the same characters for khux, I'm not arguing that this is exactly what he would be like if there was a medal based off of him. Rather, I'm sort of coming up with an idea of a medal depiction of him I could see happening

A medal I can envisioning of him would be an upright medal with him doing the Sonic adventure pose

So upright, speed type attack medal

With that being said, I can also very well envision a medal for his special form induced by prism energy at the end of prime s2 as well

Khux Keyblade:

All in all, he'd probably have Starlight. But, for no particular reason, I think Missing Ache lvl 25 would also be cool for him to wield

Fighting Style:

Like Sora and Riku, I think Sonic would be the type who learns to fight on the fly. No real basis learning from another wielder, he just develops a style by fighting others or getting out in the field. With that, I think Sonic would very well combine his natural speed and abilities with the usage of his keyblade for melee attacks, and I think he wouldn’t practice or use magic attacks especially often. I'd probably use his fighting in satbk as a reference while also factoring in how keyblades are able to disappear and be resummoned, which would give Sonic a bit more freedom when fighting with them.

ㅤ

Tails

As a Medal:

While there would undoubtedly be speed type medals of him as well, I envision a upright, magic type medal for him with this pose/image (2d SA2 render)

I can also see there being medals of him holding the Miles Electric as well (for a general medal) or with the Cyclone

Khux Keyblade:

Stroke of Midnight (either lvl 20 (pictured below) or lvl 25)

I don't have a lot to explain for this other than that I'd be purposely tying Tails to the concepts of dreams and beliefs in the context of Cinderella and kh.

Fighting Style:

Tails can fight more up close, but I largely see him doing this when he's doing combo or trio attacks (such as with Sonic or with Sonic and Knuckles for example). More often than not, I see him utilizing magic attacks with his keyblade and growing far more proficient with spells than Sonic.

ㅤ

Knuckles

As a medal:

Upright, power type. There are a number of Sonic Adventure renders I liked, but to keep with the pattern of the other two, I'm gonna go with this pose

There would undoubtedly be a medal where he's standing/posing with the master emerald in some way I think😂

Khux Keyblade:

Hmmmm I know this is probably a bit of a cop out

But I'm going to go Olympia (lvl 3). I'm not really choosing Olympia for the Hercules angle as much as I'm going at it from an aesthetic point of view. I feel like he's someone who would have a bigger keyblade, being a power type fighter.

Fighting Style:

Like with Sonic, I think most of Knuckles' keyblade experience would be out in the field or from just sort of practicing against homemade dummies on Angel Island.

However, he seems like the kind of guy to me who opts to use his knuckles and raw power more often than not, only resorting to using a keyblade when the situation calls for it or he has no other choice.

ㅤ

Amy

As a Medal:

Upright power type as well. Like the others, I'm going with this specific pose type from the Sonic Adventure 2d renders

I think there would also be at least one medal of her in a fighting stance with her hammer as well

Khux Keyblade:

I know that Divine Rose is the easy choice, but with my (admittedly small) collection of keyblades to choose from, I decided to go with Fenrir. Like with Knuckles, I saw her having a bulkier keyblade, but (even though it would match her aesthetic a bit better) I didn't want to repeat keyblades in this list, which is why I didn't go with Olympia. Fenrir (lvl 25 in this case) does NOT match her aesthetic, but I think it would be hilarious if she pulled it out.

Idk maybe it's a different color or she decorates it or something 😂🤷

Fighting Style:

I'm not sure how comprehensible this is, but something like Lea's.

I'll explain the best I can.

A friend of mine explained Lea's fighting style in kh3 as a style clearly influenced by his chachram wielding muscle memory. So, like that. I think Amy would be a piko piko hammer wielder first, and a keyblade wielder second, so you'd be able to see this influence in her style. Like the others, I think she'd sort of learn and develop her style on the fly rather than being taught, but I can see her doing a bit of research and replication of fighting styles to add to her keyblade wielding after the fact.

I think she'd primary be a melee fighter, but (unlike Sonic) I think she'd try to develop at least basic proficiency with most well known magic types/spells with her keyblade. So she can do basic cure and does have some spells she likes over others, but Tails is by far more knowledgeable and experienced when it comes to this.

ㅤ

Shadow

As a Medal:

While there would undoubtedly be power type versions of him, I'm going to go with reversed, speed type.

Khux Keyblade:

Dark Maw (lvl 35 (pictured below) or lvl 20). This one could be a cop out too, but I honestly just like the aesthetic of it with him😂. If I had more choices though, I'd actually go with a pair of keyblades that resemble Roxas's pairing of Oathkeeper and Oblivion

Fighting Style:

Honestly, while he'd be another character who develops his style in the field on the fly by fighting a number of opponents (and taking advantage of raw talent), I can see him being a dual wielder in my mind's eye. Ik ik if this was some specific au I'd have to determine how (in this case, whose heart is living within his), but it’s not. So suspension of disbelief in use, Shadow would be a dual wielder to me.

Like Sonic, I think he too would make use of the ability to summon his keyblade at will, and so would combine his natural speed, power, and chaos energy skills/attacks with his usage of melee attacks.

Unlike Sonic, he also would become proficient in some magic and make use of it occasionally. Due to his high healing factor, he wouldn't bother learning cure magic until taught later, but I can see him becoming proficient in magic he's naturally adept with or likes specifically. He probably knows dark firaga.

ㅤ

So...yeah! Thanks for the ask, anon!

I apologize if this wasn't exactly what you were asking for, so feel free to shoot me a follow up ask if that's the case 😅😊

[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.

[worldwright]

good evening ! im more and more early nowadays but that's bc i have shitty days and i love our asks <3

the strong will to kill myself is still here full force and now i want to slit my throat open :) what a great way to start today's ask BUT GREAT NEWS I CAN STILL GET ANGRY

yay

it's been over a fucking month at least that i corrected someone's spelling in a fic because they butchered a bit too much a french word and I -a native french speaker- thought it'd be good to say to the guy to correct it, i was nice and all -normally i don't really care at all but it was too bad not to correct it yk LOL WRONG THE WRITER HAD THE FUCKING STUPIDITY TO RESPOND TO MY COMMENT AND NOT CORRECTING THE FUCKING SPELLING

FUCK YOU

it's a fucking spelling, everyone misspells from time to time for fuck's sake, just correct it ????? BUT NOPE. KEEP BEING AN IDIOT

and why would i remember that now ??? because a fucker that i don't even know, the only thing Im sure about him it's he's a friend of one of my friends by the fact he's on a friends' discord server where we all know each other IRL. we were all debating about AI videos (OpenAI Sora exists and that's hell) and i was talking about nsfw deepfakes and he went "never saw that", which isn't a fucking argument, and we were debating

and i said so, because that's not a fucking argument. and he said he knew that and i just went "okay /gen" and he didn't understand, so i explained to him what it meant what id just sent, because we use tone indicators in the server to avoid any misunderstandings, and a friend dropped a link to the most used tone indicators, so a short list, because she's nice and because we're all here to learn and all, AND THAT FUCKING ASSHOLE JUST WENT "LMAO IM NOT READING ALL OF THAT" WELL YOU FUCKER JUST GET OUT IF YOU WANT TO FUCKING ACT LIKE THAT

SO I INSULT HIM, RIGHTFULLY OR NOT IDFC I JUST LISTENED TO LEO GOING "INSULT HIM" AND I WAS LIKE "YEAH", BECAUSE YOU GO AND SAY THAT IM NOT UNDERSTANDABLE AND THEN SOMEONE PROVIDES YOU AN EXPLANATION AND YOU REFUSE ????? AND OH, YEAH, MAYBE I SHOULDNT HAVE SAID "IF YOU KEEP BEING MEDIOCRE IN YOUR COMMUNICATION YOU CAN GO AWAY" AND "DONT COMPLAIN ABOUT NOT UNDERSTANDING ME AND THAT YOU SEEMED LIKE A DICKHEAD WHEN YOU ADD A 'LMAO'" THEN YOU DARE TO ANSWER WITH "IT WAS JUST A MESSAGE, NO NEED FOR EASY INSULT" YOU MOTHERFUCKER

so. i didn't know i could still have the energy to be angry, but apparently i can :))))) my favorite feeling :)))) like it is not one of the FUCKING reasons i have so many traumas because my family FUCKING REFUSES THAT I HAVE NOT EVEN A BIT OF A LOUD EMOTION BECAUSE IM THE FUCKING PERFECT CHILD AND THAT I TRIED TO FUCKING KILL MYSELF ON A FUCKIN WHIM

so, to be short, ive never learned to live with emotions :))) normally that's Leo's and A.'s job to have strong emotions :)))) and now we all understand why my main occupation of the day is to fucking flee from my emotions because im a fucking mess

SO

have a wonderful morning my friend im gonna go and read some fics, wanted to continue mine today but that's not happening if i can feel anger (it can lead to self-harm pretty easily and fast, so that's a big no)

oh god, many sympathies, that sucks :'))))))))))

ugh some people just aren't worth arguing with. they're not trying to discuss anything, they're just trying to be a dick and refuse to change their views on literally anything

I'm in my friends' apartment!!!!! trip took a lot longer than planned last night due to train delays, but I made it!!!! had some alcohol and had a fantastic time :33333 we're going out to do fun stuff today :3333333333

gonna get groceries, get food, perhaps get ice cream, there's a really good bakery we can go to....... I'm havin a great time :3

my friend is doing better now!! still not fully recovered, but able to hang out

headed to the farmers market now!! hope you find a good fic to cool off with <3 <3 <3

[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.