#also just to be clear this is not meant as eraqus hate he is a complicated man who made mistakes

[haunted-xander]

BBS is a tragedy in many ways, but one of the things that gets me is that the catalyst, the one big thing that caused this mess to begin with, is so avoidable.

Like, the story starts primarily because Terra starts to fear himself (because of the darkness he has unwittingly 'used') and this causes a spiral of doubt and obsession. A spiral which he could've escaped from or maybe not even started if he just 1) had been taught the balance between light and dark properly (that darkness is more than just unquestionable evil, that light is more than unquestionable good, that they can and should co-exist in balance), and 2) had consistent socialization from more than the same 3 people.

Like. BBS is a cautionary tale about what happens when people aren't exposed to a wide enough variety of people and, therefore, end up naive and overly trusting because they never learned that people have ulterior motives. Terra is consistently manipulated and used by people literally everywhere he goes, because he can't see that they might not have the best intentions! He can't see the red flags because he doesn't know there are red flags to look for!

Xehanort knows this. It's why he targeted Terra to begin with: because he would be susceptable to his words. The main reason he couldn't use Aqua is because she was too confident in her own values, she didn't have the seed of doubt that Terra had. It's the only thing that prevents her from being used the same way he is, even though she is just as naive and trusting as he is.

Ven probably has it the worst socialization wise. Unlike Terra and Aqua who, presumably, has/had a family and life outside of the Land of Departure prior to beginning training there, Ven doesn't remember anything before then (not that he had much he'd be happy to remember anyway). And since he's the youngest and most 'fragile' one (due to being in recovery for most of his time here), he gets somewhat coddled and shielded by everyone else. Not to mention the way Eraqus completely forbid him from leaving and never intented for him to ever see worlds outside the Land of Departure. Sure, Terra and Aqua aren't typically supposed to leave either, but at least they'd be allowed in certain situations. Ven wouldn't.

Ven isn't allowed to interact with anyone outside of home. He's not allowed anything that involves the outer worlds. (He and Naminé are a bit alike in that sense. Though at least the people he's stuck with are nice to Ven and do genuinely care for him, unlike Naminé...)

BBS happens largely because Eraqus failed as both a teacher and a parental figure to all of them, but Terra most of all.

[oveliagirlhaditright]

Setting to Work

Author’s Note: Since... for some reason, I can only seem to write Terqua--who I desperately want to write for--when I cross them over with another series, that's what I did here. This is a crossover with the old TV show "Roswell", that hopefully you don't have to have seen to get at least some appreciation out of this. Don't know if I'll finish or not... but it's essentially about Aqua, Terra, and Ventus dealing with a new threat--based on Roswell--where people in the multiverse are getting possessed by this consciousness.

Aqua ran a hand through her hair that had recently been lengthened by her friend and wondered. …According to said new friend, Isabel, this was the hair she should have had after spending a decade in the Realm of Darkness—if normal laws had applied there, that was—and after meeting that alien, and seeing the amazing things she could do to her own locks via magic, Aqua had been eager to give a new look a try. Especially since as she understood it, Isabel could instantly turn it back if she didn’t like it. But she wondered if Eraqus, if he had still been around, would have been a fan of it. And if not, Aqua hated the idea of defiling his sacred place (for they were at the Land of Departure now)—and his teachings to her—with long hair everywhere. At the same time, however, Aqua didn’t know if she cared. As sad as it was to admit… Master Eraqus was gone now. And how long had it been since Aqua had lived for herself? And she was certain that Ven would love her tresses! He was still very much like a little boy, after all. But more than anything… it was Terra who Aqua worried about responding to this, and she had no idea why But she had a funny feeling, that if she talked to her new friend Liz… That, well, the new girl would be able to explain it all too well. Earlier “Anyway, I’m not an alien like everyone else here pretty much is,” this new girl to the Land of Departure, Liz, said to Aqua, Terra, and Ventus, as she kept moving the drink she carried into the sun, so that it looked more green than blue. “…But I guess you could say, that after Max saved my life in the Crashdown Café, our lives became intertwined.” And as Liz had said this, the image that had come into Aqua’s mind for whatever reason had been when Terra had broken free of Xehanort’s control and saved both her and Ven from the Guardian. But Aqua didn’t say that, of course. And just muttered a “That makes sense,” as she tried to make sense of this entire story and thought of Sora and Kairi with their “intertwined destines” some. “We never- we never know where we’re going to find our family,” Terra inserted after hearing Liz’s story, as he came towards the girl and slapped her on the shoulder once before smiling at Aqua and Ven. Aqua grinned back at him. “Like, there was a time I was doubting Aqua and Ven… but I could never find anyone better to share my life with. And even my new friends, like Sora, Riku, Kairi, Roxas, Xion, Lea, Naminé, and you name it… I don’t know where I’d be without them. So I definitely get why you’d make Max, Isabel, and Michael a part of your family, despite everything.” To Aqua, it looked as though maybe Max was going to say something to all of this—clearly eating up all the praise that his girlfriend was getting for her sake—when a short girl with curly, blonde hair and sharp blue eyes came into the conversation. “So, the reason we’re here now is to try and find the last of the Antarians responsible for the Collective Consciousness. You see, our planet has some sort of… afterlife that their thoughts can go into. And the alive Antarians can access it… And some alive ones even had to become a part of it in order to survive a certain trial. But one such one can become… seduced by the voices of their loved ones, and stay there forever… I know Max almost did. The Consciousness possessed him and tried to use him to make the Earth ‘Antar Two’. But now it’s escaped into what you call the ‘multiverse’, so that’s why we’re here.” Wow, all of this was absolutely horrifying, Aqua thought as she summoned her Keyblade into her hand for good measure. This sounded like the kind of thing that Master Xehanort would have done. And she was so sick of anything having to do with him, that she could’ve written a book about it. And there was even a part of her worried now, that her wanting her hair to be similar to the Antarian Isabel meant that she was somehow falling into the Collective Consciousness, but she tried to wave it away. “We’ll do everything we can to find this threat and combat it. Thank you. All of you,” Aqua said, as she reached her hand across the table she sat at so she could shake Max, Liz, Isabel, and Tess’—she thought it was Tess, anyway—from across the table. There was also a Michael, Maria, and Kyle somewhere here Aqua knew, but they hadn’t been too keen on repeating their story it seemed, so they hadn’t done that. “There are also rooms all over the castle that you guys are free to, as you do your investigation!” Ven piped in now, as he handed everyone a plate of burnt pancakes. If she hadn’t been trying to be serious in this moment, she probably would have laughed. It was clear that Ven was trying to cook like she did for everyone else, since she was otherwise occupied at the time, but had somewhat failed. “Oh, dang!” Ven deflated as he took in all the burnt pieces, that were thankfully on all the edges of the chocolate chip cakes and could hopefully just be cut off. “I swear those can be cut off. Let me go get some knives to go do that now. But umm… I swear you can each have a room to yourself. I think this place used to have a lot more Keyblade wielders, when it was a part of Scala Ad Caelum, but now it doesn’t. So…” “It’s fine, Ven,” Max said with a wry smile on his face, as it was his turn to clap someone on the shoulder. “The pancakes will be fine… But if you guys want someone to cook around her, I’d suggest Liz and Maria because they can do it… but moreover, you guys should choose Michael—who can also cook—so that he’s actually doing something productive here.” Aqua was about to tell Max that that was fine… but then she thought better of it. Not so much because it would be nice for these people to somewhat end their keep—though that was certainly slightly true—but because Terra and Ven usually refused to help her in the kitchen (unless nuts were involved, in which case Terra was always there to help her bake banana bread or whatever), so maybe it would actually be nice to have a guy alongside her for once and to see how they cooked. But still… Aqua didn’t want to be too pushy here, so she chose for something hopefully in between as she bowed at Max, Liz, Isabel, and Tess. “Thank you, Max. I can handle it for now… but if that happens, I swear I’ll keep that in mind.” “…I can also cook,” Isabel threw in reluctantly, it seemed, as she threw her hands up into the air. “Usually I think that kind of thing is below me, it’s true—especially since the only one I ever wanted to cook for left me—but I’m trying to act like less of a princess lately, and I like you Aqua. So I’ll also help you if you need it. But right now, I’m going to see if I can Dream Walk anyone in this world and see if they’ve seen the Collective Consciousness.” “Okay,” Terra answered Isabel—somewhat stealing Aqua’s thunder here, but she was trying not to judge. Especially since Master Eraqus had moreso left Terra in charge. But Aqua was just so much more extroverted than he was—“and while you do that, I’ll have our friend Naminé do something similar as she tests our friends memories.” And they all set to work.

[omness-yamarik]

Yakuza 13 AU Epilogue 2: Ava and Ira

Summary: Approximately 16 years after Xehanort’s death, Zexion and Aqua’s children don’t always get along.

Word Count: 1945

   Ava and Ira were the kind of siblings who got along by not getting along. They constantly squabbled, complained about each other regularly to their individual friends, frequently told each other they hated each other, and if they got wind of anyone talking smack about the other, they would hunt said person down and use certain skills their mom hadn’t approved of them learning from their aunts and uncles. After all, they had to live with each other. Based on that, they had earned the right to not get along. Anyone else who intruded on that needed to be taught a lesson.

    Aqua sometimes worried about how often their kids fought, but in one of the few moments where Zexion actually mentioned his childhood, he said he too had found his sister insufferable. Some siblings just didn’t get along. Ira and Ava were like that.

    But at times, the two kids, teenagers now, took things a bit far. Like the time when Ava brought an air horn to Ira’s orchestra concert. Or when Ira retaliated by getting his uncle Vanitas to teach him to make slime so he could cover Ava’s bed with it. Or any time their parents ended up getting involved. One of the few things Ava and Ira could agree on was that their parents were formidable. Particularly their mom. She didn’t get mad very often, but when she did, even their dad felt it best to lay low for a while. Plus her cooking was pretty deadly.

    Still, their family was a happy one. Mostly.

    Ira stabbed at his mashed potatoes. Ava was doing that thing again. That one where she reported his every single shortcoming to their parents. If he got an A- on a test rather than A+, Ava would be quick to tell on him. If he tripped and fell during PE, who would rush home to tell dad right away? Ava. And when cousin Invi let him try out her slingshot at school and he accidentally hit the principal’s sports car with a grape, tattling on him to their parents would be the highlight of Ava’s day. It certainly seemed to be the case now.

    “Well I’m sure your brother didn’t mean to,” Aqua said.

    “Maybe not, but since the window was open it ended up on the inside of the car. And it spattered all over!” Ava said. The infuriating part of this all, for Ira at least, was that he had no way to retaliate in kind. Ava was practically perfect. Polite to all teachers, perfect grades, graceful, never failed at anything she tried, never made mistakes; the only way Ira ever had anything to report on Ava was if he engineered it himself, and there was no way he wouldn’t get caught. He’d tried. Her only fault was her rotten personality, and even that was only towards him. Talk about unfair.

    “Ira, are you going to eat your potatoes, or are you just planning to maim them?” Zexion asked. Grumpily, Ira took a bite of his potatoes.

    “Plus, yesterday Ira forgot his music for orchestra. And he always talks about being a big-time musician someday.” Ava laughed.

    “I had it all memorized, so it was fine,” Ira snapped back. And then it occurred to him. The one thing that would get her to shut up. “But anyway, Ava, when are you planning on introducing your boyfriend to mom and dad?”

    If Ava had turned any paler, she would have become see-through. Got her.

    The thudding sound was Ira’s first clue that maybe he had gone a little too far. The slapping sound of his mother face-palming was the next. After that, he didn’t need any clues, because he’d looked over at his dad and started to sweat because he had just done something terrible. Zexion’s eyes were ablaze and one hand still clenched the dinner knife he’d stabbed the table with. Ira knew without checking under the table that Zexion’s other hand was at its habitual place at his pocket, where back in the day he’d kept razor-edged wires that he used in fights.

    “What’s this about a boyfriend?” Zexion asked, his voice deadly calm.

    “Dad, I, uh-” Ava stammered.

    “I-i-it was a joke. Just a j-joke. L-l-like Ava has a b-b-boyf-friend. Haha,” Ira squeaked, knowing that he was going to get hell for this unless he straightened things out.

    “Was it?” Zexion asked, his attention turning on Ira, who qualmed.

    “Uhhhhhh.”

    “Dear, Ava’s already 15 years old. It’s normal for her to start thinking about dating,” Aqua said mildly.

    “Thinking, yes. Not doing.”

    “Zexion,” Aqua sighed.

    “You didn’t start dating until you were 20.”

    “So, what, you’re going to make us the basis for when our children can date? Does that mean Ira’s going to have to wait until he’s 35?”

    “No, I just meant-”

    “You’re being overprotective again. Stop it.” Aqua’s word was final.

    While the conversation was over, Ira didn’t relax. He wasn’t out of the woods yet. Sure enough, his dad finished first and left the table, and his mom picked the topic back up again.

    “So, you have a boyfriend, Ava?” Aqua asked. Ava instantly turned on her brother.

    “Ira you little gremlin, you’re-”

    “That would be a yes then. Is it who I think it is?” Aqua continued her line of questioning.

    “Um, well, that is, uh-”

    “Oh come on. It’s not like we didn’t all see this coming,” Ira interrupted in spite of himself. “The two of you have practically been conjoined since elementary school.”

    “By that argument, you and Invi should be dating since the two of you are thick as thieves. Emphasis on the thieves, since you’re a couple of little troublemakers!” Ava snapped back.

    “Invi likes girls, and you know it! Pardon me if I haven’t succumbed to any raging hormones yet!”

    “Both of you, please stop before your father comes back in here to complain about the noise. You know he hates it when people start shouting,” Aqua said. She was completely unphased. “Ira, in the future I would advise you to think a bit more before speaking, as your father is quite excitable. Ava, I’ve told you before that your brother doesn’t need you to tell us his every move.”

    “But mo-om-” Ava whined.

    “No buts. If he really did something wrong or was in trouble he can tell us himself. Furthermore, if you have a boyfriend, you really ought to tell us. Better for us to find out right at the beginning than for it to be revealed suddenly in a way that is rather inconvenient for you. I mean, imagine if your Uncle Demyx saw you with your boyfriend and called everyone over to spectate. Or- or something like that. Point is, be careful what secrets you choose to keep, okay?” Aqua blushed a little as she gave her suspiciously detailed example.

    “Yes, mom,” Ava grumbled.

    “As for your father, I’ll talk to him. So go ahead and invite your boyfriend to dinner on Friday.”

    “But mom, Dad will kill him before he even gets through the front door!” Ira protested. If anything happened to his sister’s boyfriend, Ava would take it out on him in spades.

    “No he won’t. Like I said, I’ll talk to him. Now, try not to fight too much as you finish your dinners,” Aqua said as she stood up and cleared her place at the table. She paused to sigh over the new scar in the table from the dinner knife, but then she was gone, leaving just an irate Ava and an apologetic Ira.

    “Look, Ava, sorry, I-”

    “Save it,” Ava snapped. She shoveled the rest of her food down, still managing to look as dainty as always, and then she too was gone, leaving Ira to wonder if maybe he could get one of his uncles to help him move to Antarctica. Or maybe another planet, just to be safe.

    Friday night came and an air of unease fell over the house. Ira wouldn’t come out of his room, he was that scared. Ava was by the door, pacing and trying to keep a lookout for her boyfriend while also trying to keep an eye on her dad. Zexion might have appeared to be reading, except that he was scowling at the book in his hand as if trying to urge it to combust, and had not turned a page since he’d picked the book up almost half an hour previously. The only person who seemed unaffected by it all was Aqua, who hadn’t had work and had spent the day cleaning the house and humming along to the music playing through her earbuds.

    And then the doorbell rang.

    Ava sprang for the door. Zexion slammed the book shut, a behavior he never tolerated, and got to his feet with a glint in his eye that spelled trouble. He’d spent the previous evening talking to Eraqus about speeches one gave to one’s daughter’s boyfriend, and was well-prepared. Back in his room, Ira cowered underneath a blanket.

    “Gula! Hey!” Ava greeted slightly breathlessly.

    Zexion froze, uncertain.

    “Oh, is he here already?” Aqua asked. “Come on in, Gula. I was really glad to hear you two are finally dating. I was worried the you and Ava were going to be like your parents. I don’t think any of us ever understood why it took Sora and Kairi so long to get together.”

    “Mom! Stop that! It’s embarrassing!” Ava cried.

    Zexion was still frozen.

    “Well according to my dad, he kept getting interrupted whenever he tried to ask her out, but according to my mom, he was just super dense about it and then he chickened out too easily so she had to ask him,” Gula responded, shrugging.

    “Both sound pretty likely,” Aqua laughed.

    “Uh, mom,” Ava whispered, and jerked her head at Zexion, who still was in a state of suspended animation.

    “Dear, did I forget to mention that Ava’s boyfriend is Gula?” Aqua asked a little too innocently. Zexion finally moved, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

    “You think this is funny, don’t you?” he asked sourly.

    “Uh-huh,” Aqua said.

    “Hmph.”

    “Don’t be like that,”Aqua chided. “Here, I’ll help you make dinner to apologize.”

    “Why don’t you get Ira to come out of his room and help me instead,” Zexion sighed. “We want the results to be edible, right?”

    As both parents left the room, Gula swallowed nervously.

    “Uh, what just happened?” he asked.

    “My mom has a twisted sense of humor sometimes,” Ava replied.

    “Oh, okay,” Gula said, accepting that he wasn’t going to get any more explanation than that. But really, didn’t he deserve to know why his life had flashed before his eyes when he’d entered the room?

    But it wasn’t like Ava really could explain what had just happened. She didn’t quite understand that, as Sora’s son, Gula held a special place in the hearts of the Yakuza 13, and as such, was one of the few people who would ever be able to actually be considered an acceptable match for Ava in her father’s eyes. She also was still trying to process the way her mom had just gotten away with trolling her dad so supremely. She knew they were in love, but to think it was to that extent was unbelievable to the girl, and to pretty much everyone, really.

    All Ava knew for sure was that she supposed she would forgive Ira for this one. Mostly, anyway. She was still going to sprinkle a little salt on his toothbrush later, just for good measure. After all, she couldn’t let the pranks uncle Vanitas had taught her go to waste, now could she?

[singingcookie]

Break me with Aqua and Terra please?

Why must you all send me the sads for them?

Leave a “Break Me” in my ask, and I will write an angsty drabble.

Terra tried his best to givehis all in everything he did. It was mostly because of his fellow Keybladewielder. Sure, he wanted to impress their master. And he knew Ventus looked upto him a lot once he had started to come out of his shell. But it was differentwith Aqua. He admired her so much. He envied her too. It felt like she wasleagues ahead of him in everything they did.

Yeah, it had always felt thatway to him.

He remembered that Aqua hadeven been the first to be taken under Eraqus’ wing. Way back when Eraqus hadasked him to come to the Land of Departure in order to nourish his potential,he had been informed that there was already another pupil about his age and thatthey ought to get along swimmingly. She had been reserved, but still kind whenthey met. So it wasn’t hard to become friends.

Theyhad trained with wooden Keyblades that Eraqus made for them, until they managedto summon one of their own. After every practice, Terra would wander off byhimself, taking care to be sure that the girl wouldn’t follow. He wouldalternate in practicing his technique and his attempt to call his real Keyblade.The toy lay in the grass behind him, disregarded to his eyes.

Eventually, Terra would makehis way back to the castle, his jaw clenched and dragging that prop by hisside. She was always sitting on one of the benches along the mountain path, nottoo far from the steps. They would walk back the rest of the way together—oftenin silence. She never asked what he had been doing; and even though he wascertain that she hadn’t been able to follow him, he could tell that she didn’task that because she already knew the reason.

It had been infuriating for himwhen they had been sparring and it happened. He had knocked her prop weaponaway from her. There was no way for her to dodge as he hefted his own back totake another swing. She only had time to raise a hand, bracing herself for theimpact. But there was a bright flash between them, and Terra felt his makeshiftweapon collide with something that could not be a part of the human body—no, itcouldn’t be! He drew back immediately, squinting his eyes to try to see whatwas happening before him.

Oncethe light had faded, it was unmistakable. Grasped in Aqua’s hand was her own real Keyblade.Her mouth had fallen open, frozen in mid-breath, but her eyes were drinking inits metallic appearance. He felt as dumbstruck as she looked. They had a briefpause in the match so Master Eraqus could help her get used to how it feltcompared to their fake ones.

He stood a distance away andwatched; but he could only observe them for a minute before he felt his stomachtighten, so he looked away from the two. Instead, he glared at her weapon thathe had knocked away earlier. It was abandoned there, dented and absolutelypointless. He opened then clenched his right hand, willing with everything hehad to have his real thing appear too. But it wouldn’t.

Hisheart wasn’t in the practice after that. And once they were done, he went offby himself as usual without even sparing a goodbye to his fellow pupil. Hedidn’t bother to practice technique that evening. It has to come, he thought, clenching and unclenchinghis hand over and over. She couldn’t be so much better than him! He stretchedhis arm out desperately in front of him just the way she had done—it has to come! Hiseyes stung until he eventually broke down, sitting on the ground with his facehidden as angry sobs overtook him.

Hemade his way back when it was nearly dark, his eyes rimmed red and feelingpuffy. She was sitting in the same spot as always but this time she was hunched over. Herhands were covering her face and her shoulders were shaking. Terra was livid.

He stomped over to her and his voice was hard as he asked her,“What’re you crying for?” She had finally gotten the thing they had beendreaming of. And she had done it with no effort at all! She had no reason tocry!

“I’m—sorry I…!” Her speech was so broken in her sobbing. Sherefused to look at him, ducking her head down even more. “I made—you—you sad!”He recoiled as she continued to speak amidst her wails. She confessed toknowing he was upset after training. She also admitted that she always knewwhere he went afterwards. And how hard he was working. She said she hated thathe was feeling so bad. She felt like a horrible friend. Aqua shook her headafter saying that, her hands pressing harder on her face as she insisted thatshe was a horrible friend.

But no. He was the horrible one. He had cried forhimself—but here she was crying someone else’s tears. She was better at being afriend, too. But like everything else, this just meant he had to work harder toimprove. He took her shoulders in a firm grasp. “Aqua. You’re not a horriblefriend. I’m mad at myself, not at you!” His eyes were burning again. “It’s greatthat you got it. I just wish I did too!”

By the time they had bothmanaged to get all their feelings out, it had grown dark. Eraqus had beenbeside himself when they finally got back home. But neither told him about whatexactly transpired.

Thatwasn’t the first time Terra had been overcome with envy for her. And itdefinitely wasn’t the last. No, it could never be. Because Aqua was sospectacular. Sure, he was physically stronger than her. But in terms of overall skill, shesurpassed him in every other way.

Heragility. It wasn’t even just comparing their speeds. Aqua was so nimble. Shewas able to dodge and make it look effortless, it was like she wasn’t even inbattle. She was merely dancing around him. She had even learned how to cartwheelwith only one hand, so she could have her Keyblade summoned and swing as soonas her feet had landed back on solid ground with no lag in between.

Herjudgment. Over the years as they sparred together, it started to feel like hecould never knock her off balance. She always had her mind clear and focused.And it felt, to him, like she came into every session with a plan. He neveractually found out if that was the case, or if she was just very good atthinking on her feet.

Hermagic. When Master Eraqus had first taught them basic magic skills, they hadboth struggled. He had insisted to them that it was a difficult concept for anyone in the beginning. But once Aqua gotten a taste of it, it was like she hit theground running. The way she worked with magic was like how he had practiced histechnique way back when. She wanted to understand everything about it. Anddamn, did her hard work show.

He hadevery reason to be envious of her. The feelings were just always buried underthe surface, never expressed. How could he possibly let those feelings showwhen she was one of his closest friends? When she was always so concerned overhim? Checking in to make sure that he was okay. Her light hid his darkness. Hisshadow was tempered when he was around her; but the second they were separated,he lost all semblance of control over it.

Hisenvy drove him to be better. He had no idea that it would also lead to hisself-destruction.

[a-crack-in-the-universe]

Terraqua: An Analysis

Note: This is an extremely long half-summary, half-exploration, half-creative piece on the development of Terra and Aqua’s relationship in the series. I really wanted to post something for Terraqua Day but I couldn't think up any good Terraqua fic ideas, so I decided to write a thought-post about Terraqua instead.

-------

Once there was a boy and a girl. They were best friends, long before Ventus came into the picture, and they lived together with their master (and adoptive father), Eraqus, in the Land of Departure.   

They lay underneath the stars together every night and dreamed of becoming Keyblade Masters together. When Ven arrived their dream became his too. (The two of them likely looked after Ven while he was recovering from his heart-trauma, and helped train him to wield a keyblade. That probably helped bring them closer together.) 

Only Aqua showed the Mark of Mastery, however. It was probably a huge surprise. Neither of them (or Eraqus) predicted that Terra wouldn't pass the Mark of Mastery exam. (They didn’t know that Master Xehanort had rigged the test so that Terra would fail.)  

Their relationship was bound to be strained by this. Aqua probably felt guilty for passing when Terra didn't, and Terra probably felt the sting of his dented pride.  He behaved pretty well though, compared to what could have been. He only lost it at her in Radiant Garden, and only after she'd admitting to spying on him. And even then he never swore at her, never insulted her. 

Shortly after Terra left the Land of Departure, Eraqus told Aqua about Terra's darkness, that it was deeper than he expected. He tasked Aqua with keeping an eye on Terra, and bringing him back to the Land of Departure if he got into trouble/couldn't handle the darkness inside of him. Aqua didn't want to spy on Terra, but Eraqus convinced her it was for the best when he told her that he didn't want to lose any of them to the darkness. Because Aqua was also afraid of losing Terra to the darkness, she agreed. She promised that she would bring him back.

Aqua and Terra were briefly reunited in Castle of Dreams. It was awkward between them at first, but before he left Terra told Aqua about his encounter with Cinderella and how she taught him to believe in dreams. Aqua however never told him that she was tasked with spying on him.  

In Radiant Garden, they, along with Ven, were reunited again. Everything was fine between them, until Aqua heard Terra mention Vanitas. It’s unclear how she knew about Vanitas at this point, but she looked scared when Terra revealed that he knew about ‘the boy in the mask’. So she snarked at him. Terra didn’t react badly to this. I like to think that he knew that she was reacting that way because she was scared, even if he didn’t know why she was feeling that way. I mean, they’ve supposed to have known each other for so many years, you’d expect them to be able to tell what they’re really feeling. But this is just speculation.

It wasn’t until Aqua accidentally admitted to spying on Terra that Terra finally snapped at her.  It might have gone better if Aqua had told him about her orders the first time they reunited. But she didn't. As said in Days by Roxas, "Friends are supposed to be honest with each other!" Aqua wasn't honest with Terra and Terra had to be angry and hurt about that. Terra was also angry about her lack of trust in him. That she didn’t trust him to handle his own problems.           

(I find it interesting that Aqua assumed that Terra was hurt that Eraqus didn’t trust him, because it’s clear in this scene that Terra was angry about Aqua spying on him and not trusting him. He certainly was not thinking about Eraqus.) 

Later, when Ven told Aqua that Terra had left the world, Aqua was dismayed and immediately turned her attention to going after Terra. She didn’t even take Ven back to the Land of Departure like she promised Eraqus she would--she just told him to go back home and left. (It doesn’t explicitly state why she wanted to chase after Terra, but I think it was probably to explain herself. And maybe she still wanted to keep an eye on Terra?) 

 After the Radiant Garden fight, Terra and Aqua’s relationship was even more strained. Terra was feeling angry and betrayed; Aqua guilty (and probably still worried about Terra). Terra thought that he was done with their friendship; Aqua thought that Terra thought poorly of her and that she had lost his friendship and trust for good. 

In Deep Space, Terra realised that he still cared about Aqua and their friendship. When she went to Deep Space, Aqua learned that Terra had called her his friend, and that he cherished the wayfinder she gave him. It gave her relief and hope. Terra didn’t hate her like she thought he did. Maybe she could still mend their fracturing relationship.       

On Destiny Islands, Terra met Riku, and rediscovered his main reason for wanting to be stronger: to keep the people he cared about safe (ie. his friends). When Aqua found herself on DI, she too met Riku and also met Sora, and compared them to herself and Terra. Aqua thought a lot about her and Terra’s relationship while on Destiny Islands. She regretted the conflict between them, and acknowledged that part of it was because they were both keyblade wielders. Then she also showed her vulnerable side, asking Terra, ‘What’s to become of us?’ We don’t really know what she meant by that--though she was most likely thinking about her and Terra’s relationship, seeing how her Destiny Islands segment was heavily focused on her and Terra. (Of course, she may also have been thinking of TAV’s friendship as a whole, but since this post is about Terraqua I’m going with the first option.) 

Straight after leaving Destiny Islands, Aqua found Mickey drifting in the Lanes Between and took him back to Master Yen Sid in Mysterious Tower. There, she heard about Eraqus’ death and Terra’s role in it. She refused to believe it, at first, and got angry at Yen Sid. That anger though was meant to cover her fear. She was terrified of losing Terra (or anyone in her family) to the darkness. In the end, she decided to go after Terra and get the truth out of him. I daresay part of her knew already, but she wouldn’t accept it until she heard it from Terra himself.

She met Terra in the Keyblade Graveyard. Terra admitted to his role in Eraqus’ death, but also told her that he’d been tricked by Master Xehanort. Assuming that Terra had come to the Graveyard to get revenge, Aqua warned him that darkness was just hate and rage and that he would go astray again. Which ended up being true, but she worded it so badly that it sounded like she had no faith in him and believed the worst of him (when she clearly didn’t). 

Ven arrived, and later Master Xehanort and Vanitas, and the battle began. Terra fought Master Xehanort and Vanitas, and later just Master Xehanort. Aqua was defending herself and Ven from Braig. When MX ordered Vanitas to kill Aqua, Terra reacted by running after Vanitas, fully intending to jump off the pillar after him. He would have, if he weren’t stopped by MX. Vanitas almost did kill Aqua, but was stopped by Ven. (We also saw Aqua reacting to Braig’s taunt about Terra by angrily defending him and charging into battle against Braig. And there was also that moment when she put Terra in that barrier bubble to stop him from plummeting from the sky.)

After the battle was over, Ven and Aqua were unconscious and drifting in the Lanes Between. Mickey found them and took them to Mysterious Tower. Upon awakening, Aqua was told that Mickey couldn’t find Terra, and that Ven’s heart was lost and sleeping. Mickey thought that Terra was dead, but Aqua refused to believe so. She believed that her wayfinder could help her find Terra. After hiding Ven in the Land of Departure and turning it into Castle Oblivion, Terra’s heart/spirit/whatever it was called out to her, telling her to put an end to him. Because this is Aqua, we know that there was no way she was killing Terra; she would 100% try to save him. No matter that putting an end to Terra’s body would be best for humanity. He was her friend, damn it, and for once she would follow her heart.

She tracked him to Radiant Garden. In the square, she was met with someone who looked like Terra (except for the eyes and hair) but was not Terra. It unsettled her. She had lost one friend already--she’d hoped that she wouldn’t lose Terra as well. They inevitably fought--herself against the Xehanort controlling Terra’s body. She won. But Xehanort stabbed at his own heart after Terra began fighting back inside of it, which inadvertently opened a portal and dragged them into the Realm of Darkness.   

She followed Terranort into the darkness without a second thought. When she realised that she couldn’t bring both of them back into the Realm of Light, she chose to sacrifice herself and stay behind in the hopes of giving Terra a chance, knowing that Terra was fighting the darkness inside of him. During that bittersweet, heartbreaking scene, Aqua finally showed that she did love Terra, no matter what, even if Terra couldn’t see it. 

(It may have been a morally grey choice, but there wasn’t anything else Aqua could’ve done that would make sense, story-wise. Most of the story had had Aqua and Terra at odds with each other. There needed to be a moment where at least one of them showed that they truly cared about each other despite the conflict and misunderstanding between them. The BBS portion of their friendship arc culminated in that one moment.)

So, Aqua gave Terra her keyblade and armour, told him that she was with him, and sent him back into the Realm of Light in her place. She was left stranded in the Realm of Darkness because of this, unable to return to Ven to safeguard him and eventually wake him up. 

If she hadn’t cared about Terra that much, she might have chosen to leave him behind in the RoD. Though, seeing as this is Aqua, I’m not sure she would have left any innocent person there. But still. Because it was Terra she sacrificed herself for, Terra who she’d had conflict with and (understandably) doubted for a lot of the game, this moment became very significant and poignant.       

ooooo

After the events of BBS, ten years passed. Aqua wandered the Realm of Darkness, while Terra was first in Apprentice Nort, then split into Ansem Seeker of Darkness and Xemnas. For the longest time, Aqua thought that she had saved Terra and refused to believe otherwise. (Aqua's reactions to the Terra illusion in Castle of Dreams and Phantom Aqua's thoughts ("I couldn't save Terra") in 0.2 suggest that she knew the truth deep down and was really in denial.)

(I always find it interesting how Aqua acts when she sees the Terra and Ven illusions. When she sees Terra, she panics and then almost breaks down when she realises that he isn’t real. When she sees Ven she smiles a little and tells him that he’s what’s keeping her going. I don’t think it’s romantic, because her reaction to the Terra illusion is comparable to Sora’s reaction to seeing Riku again in KH2.)      

Aqua then met the real Terra in Enchanted Dominion. She was happy to see him, but confused because Terra was acting strangely. He told her that he was ‘lost in shadow’, that she was seeing him the way she remembered him. He also told her that Xehanort was searching for Ven. Because she trusted him, she told him where she hid Ven. This was a mistake, because Xehanort had hijacked the conversation and heard what she said. Before Xehanort could cause more trouble, though, Terra (Lingering Will) appeared and restrained him, but not before Aqua was thrown into darkness.                  

(Now this scene is my favorite 0.2 scene, because it gives us some sweet Terraqua interaction and is just plain angsty. Their interaction was… pretty sad. Aqua seemed so desperate to believe that Terra and Ven are safe in the Realm of Light. And Terra seemed depressed. There was just something about them meeting again, after ten years of hardship that had changed them.

Also, Aqua trusted Terra with the location of Ven’s body. He was the only one she trusted with that secret. She never even told Mickey when they met after the Enchanted Dominion scene. It speaks volumes about how close Terra and Aqua were, that she would share this secret with him without hesitating.)                  

After Enchanted Dominion, Aqua drifted in the darkness. She was about to finally give in to it, when Mickey found and saved her. (Maybe I’m just biased, but I like to think that Aqua’s despair was at least partly because she’d had to face the fact that she hadn’t saved Terra and that he wasn’t safe like she hoped he was.) She told Mickey that she wanted to give Terra a fighting chance and that was why she sacrificed herself for him. She sounded so sad and hopeless, during those few moments. 

Aqua eventually perked up though, optimistically telling Mickey that Terra would beat his darkness, showing that she still had faith in him. 

(You get the feeling that she always will have that faith in him. No matter what.)

ooooo

We don’t really see much of Terraqua from Terra’s side of things. Probably because he isn’t featured much in games other than BBS. We see in KH2 that Xemnas kept Aqua’s armour—that could be a sign of Terra’s influence. We don’t know for sure, though. We know that Terra cherished the wayfinder Aqua gave him at the beginning of BBS. We know that Namine asked him to guide Aqua in the Realm of Darkness and even encouraged him by saying that Aqua was still believing in him and that they would both make it to the same place (would Namine have really said that if Terra didn’t care so much about Aqua?).   

ooooo

To me, Terraqua isn't memorable just as a romantic ship. Yes, I like shipping it, because I think they'd made a great couple, but to me Terraqua is more than a romantic ship. Terra and Aqua care about each other so much, and are willing to make sacrifices to help each other. Even though they have this conflict in their story, in the end they show that they still care a lot about one another.  

I find their arc very compelling, because of the conflict they have. Aqua and Terra start off as friends, then their friendship becomes strained because of misunderstanding and their innate differences and flaws. And before they can manage to come to a place where they could begin to mend their relationship, Terra is possessed. So Aqua shows her unconditional love for him in the only way she can—by sacrificing herself.

They are so close that I can fully believe that their hearts could be connected in a special way (I'm not trying to exclude Ven because he is important to them both too but Terra and Aqua's relationship with each other is different than what they have with Ven. Equal in love, but different.) I don't really see that sort of connection as much in Sora and Riku's relationship (maybe because platonic Soriku is a male/male friendship and not male/female). Soriku is the typical ‘best friends’ pairing and they don’t really rely on each other like Terra and Aqua do. Terra and Aqua seem to depend on each other emotionally, though not in an unhealthy way, and there is deep unconditional love between them. I think that’s part of why I love Terraqua so much: they show unconditional love for one another in a way that isn’t shown as much in other pairings.

Now, seeing how (to me, anyway) they've built up Terraqua in BBS and 0.2, I personally think that Aqua should play a major role in saving Terra. Aqua is the one who is most closely connected to Terra (Riku is probably second), and it'd feel weird if they chose not to focus on Aqua and Terra's bond after so much time building it up and also Aqua's determination to save her friends from their fates.

Their relationship/friendship arc started out in BBS, KH0.2 continued it, and KH3 needs to conclude it. And what better way than to have Aqua play a major role in saving Terra?

I will be furious if Nomura sidelines Aqua and Terra's bond just to give Terra and Riku some screentime. I wouldn't mind if Aqua and Riku save Terra together but I don't want Aqua to be left behind in RG just to put focus on Terra and Riku's connection (or even Terra and Ven’s friendship). And besides, Lea will probably be the one to try to save Isa from his nortification, so it’d be unfair if Aqua never got a chance to save Terra herself.

(though even if she doesn’t get that chance, she really needs a moment with Terra to conclude their relationship arc. Like what Riku and Sora had at the end of KH2. There’s so much between them that needs to be resolved.)

ooooo

So, to conclude:

I hope I've shown clearly enough why I love Terraqua, my interpretations of how it's been developed in the games, and my hopes for it in KH3. Terraqua is a beautiful pairing and I enjoy posting about it. Thank you to anyone who's read this far! :) I know this post is extremely long and I appreciate anyone and everyone who takes the time to read it.