#and they all sit around and talk shit about Riku

[holleighgram]

Shitty KH Canon Divergence #12

At the end of KH2, Sora and Riku arrive at the Dark Margin to see Aqua, Ansem the Wise, and the ghost/remnants of Riku Replica playing hangman in the sand.

[lilyswritings]

fate — xviii

synopsis: Keep your head down, focus on getting through your classes, and try not to die. That had always been your plan of attack when it comes to attending Kings Dominion School of the Deadly Arts. But your life plans get thrown out the window as you find yourself growing attached to the new kid who refuses to lose his compassion and moral code, despite the ruthless curriculum and vicious social cliques he finds himself surrounded by.

author’s note: okay, here’s the next bit! in truth, i wrote the cafeteria scene ages and ages ago and i’m very happy with it, so i’m glad you guys can finally read it! a little bit of angst and action, a little bit of romance... what more could you want. ;) enjoy!!

wordcount: 3,972

part i || part ii || part iii || part iv || part v || part vi || part vii || part viii || part ix || part x || part xi || part xii || part xiii || part xiv || part xv || part xvi || part xvii || part xviii || part xix

Marcus Lopez Arguello x Reader

     Lockdowns at the Academy of the Deadly Arts are rare and very intense, demanding obedience in their strictness, and there is no getting out of this one. You groan against the door, smacking your palm one last time against the wood and resting your forehead on it in defeat.

     When you turn around, you realize you’ve been pushed into a dorm with two Kuroki students, both of whom are glaring at you from their beds. You think you recognize one of them from your Poisons class — Hana, you think her name is? — and offer her an awkward nod. She raises an eyebrow but nods back, and you breathe out in relief, aware that the only reason you’re not in danger right now is because they’ve seen you with Saya before.

     You take a moment to thank whatever heavenly forces that be that you didn’t end up in a dorm with the Soto Vatos — especially Maria — and sit down on the floor in the corner of the dorm as your two temporary roommates begin to talk in rapidfire Japanese, no doubt talking about you. You grimace and fish one of your butterfly knives out of your boot, practicing flips with it to pass the time.

     After what seems like an insufferably long period of tense silence, you hear Madam Gao in the hallway announcing lunch. “You will eat in shifts,” She orders, and you lean closer to the door to hear her better. “Your groups will have five minutes to gather your food. If you utter a word I’ll have your tongue. If you so much as brush past another student, I’ll take your hand.”

     You hear the sound of a key turning in the lock, and you scramble to your feet. The door swings open to reveal a Monk, and beyond him, Madam Gao. Her stony gaze falls onto you and she lifts a pristine eyebrow, and you attempt to suppress the shiver that racks your body at the sight of her. Your shoulder wound throbs again at the memory of your time spent with her, and you quickly drop your gaze to the floor.

     The two Kuroki students file out of the room first and you follow all the way to the cafeteria — freezing when you spot Maria and Juan not too far ahead of you. You glance behind you nervously only to find Riku, and behind her, Saya. 

      You have just found yourself sandwiched in between two of your closest friends who both want to murder each other — and one wants to murder you, too. Saya catches your eyes and shakes her head at you, and it’s then that you notice the shiv clutched in her palm.

     Oh, shit. You shake your head back at her, in turn, but Riku steps into your line of vision with a glare before turning her back to you. This cannot be happening right now, you don’t have time for a fucking gang war right now. The Monks are watching, Madam Gao is already eager to have your head, and if you step out of line, you’re giving her an excuse to round up all of you and send you back to the interrogation room.

     You try to step out in front of Saya as she begins moving up the line but Riku kicks you in the ankle, and you whirl around to glare at her. She has no idea the shitstorm that is about to rain down on you all.

     You duck your head, your brain screaming at you to just mind your business and not get in the middle of this, but you cannot watch your friends kill each other. Fuck. You curse mentally, and then whistle loudly, making Maria turn around — and spot Saya advancing on her.

     Saya still tries to attack, but having lost her advantage, Juan dodges immediately and knocks the shiv out of her hand, and Maria glances between her and you, slowly seeming to piece something together. You realize suddenly that Saya was going to attack Juan, not Maria, and your heart sinks.

     Saya looks at you with betrayal in her eyes, and then turns to try and attack Juan again, but Maria pushes her to the side and turns to look at you. The look of rage on her face tells you that the story in her head is not the one where you are trying to save her life.

     Oh shit.

    “Maria, wait—!” You attempt before ducking as she lunges at you, dark eyes narrowed.

    “I can’t fucking believe you!”

    “I was trying to warn you!”

    “Warn me? Or distract me?” She accuses.

    “I’m sorry! I didn’t want—” You hold up a plastic tray as her hair pin arcs downwards in an attempt to protect yourself, but the blade stabs right through it, forcing you to toss the two halves apart and try to back up. “I didn’t want you to get hurt!”

    “Hurt? Oh, we’re well past that, boyfriend stealer!” She kicks a leg out, attempting to knock you off balance, but you dodge and continue to back up — until your back collides with a wall.

    “Please, you know it’s not —” You gasp, ducking just in time to avoid the needle-sharp point of her hairpin as it flies at your head. “It’s not like that!”

    You manage to sweep a leg out, knocking her off her feet, and going to jump over her to escape — she’s faster than you, though, and snatches your ankle, sending you tumbling to the ground alongside her.

   It’s a mess of punches and blocks until you manage to climb on top of her, pinning her wrists to the ground and leaning your weight onto them as she attempts to wrangle free.

    Maria keeps struggling, waiting for you to make another move — grab her pin, pull out one of your knives, something on the offense rather than defense. But you don’t. You lean into the hold, waiting it out, not wanting to hurt her, and she seems to realize that.

    “Fight back, traidora!” She hisses, brow furrowed and eyes blazing with fury.

    “No.” You bite out, focusing on trying to keep her down as she attempts to wriggle free.

    “Fight back!” She insists, and you notice a sheen of tears in her eyes. You feel the sting of incoming tears in your own, prompted by the sight, and you bite your cheek and shake your head.

    “I’m so sorry, Maria.” You manage, and her expression wavers between fury and heartbreak. 

     You inhale deeply and let go of her wrists.

     Predictably, she knocks you over and scrambles on top of you in seconds, hairpin in hand and blade poised precariously at your throat. You breathe deeply, eyes flicking between her hand at your throat and her face.

    “I’m sorry.” You repeat, hands coming up beside your head with your palms out, a motion of surrender, and her expression scrunches up as you feel her hand begin to shake.

    “You —” She starts, the blade digging into your skin ever so slightly. “You —” She tries again, eyes glossy with tears. “You stole him.”

    Her words seem to reinvigorate her fury. She grits her teeth, leaning more heavily onto you and letting the tip of the blade break the skin of your throat. Your eyes squeeze shut involuntarily, a panicked last resort of self-preservation, as if not seeing the danger will make it go away.

     Just it seems like she might push the blade fully through the skin and end this fight for good — your mind spares a brief flash of panic and pity for Marcus who will have to hear that she killed you, have to deal with that —

   You feel her weight being lifted off of you. You gasp, lungs refilling with air you didn’t realize you’d lost, as your eyes open and you notice Monks rushing towards you — as well as Madam Gao, her expression stern but betrayed by her eyes glittering with delight at the opportunity to punish you.

     Another Monk grabs you by the arm and yanks you harshly upward, twisting your other arm behind your back and holding you firmly — the bullet wound in your shoulder begins to throb violently at the position, but your own fear takes over as Madam Gao begins stalking towards you Out of the corner of your eye, you spot both Maria and Saya being held tight by Monks, and you swallow the bitter taste of panic rising in your throat.

     Madam Gao grips your chin between her nails and smirks at you before glancing over at the other two girls. “Leave that one.” She says, eyes focused on Saya, and the Monk releases her and steps out of the way. The headmistress’ dark eyes shift back over to you and she lets go of your chin, one eyebrow raised, before turning and focusing her attention on Maria. “I have found the poison coursing through King’s.”

     You risk a glance at Maria and find that her expression mirrors your own — one of apprehension and fear.  

     The Monks drag the two of you out of the cafeteria and you risk one final look at Saya, but she’s already been surrounded by her Kuroki subordinates and you can’t catch her eye. They march you down the hallway, Madam Gao in the lead, and your heart pounds louder against your chest with every step you take.

     “I know it was you,” Madam Gao starts, speaking without turning around, and you can’t tell whether she is referring to you or Maria, or both. Somehow, the ambiguity is even scarier than it being pointed at one of you. “All of it. Chico, Yukio... You’re lethal. Normally I’d commend you. Perhaps offer you to the Green Temple. Only you are not just lethal...”

     At this, she stops in her tracks and turns to face Maria, causing you to hold your breath. “You are a cancer spreading rapidly. Saya, Marcus... Everyone around you succombs—” She flicks Maria’s hoop earring, causing the girl to flinch, and you furrow your brow — Madam Gao is toying with her, with both of you. “—to the infection.”

     “The only remedy for your type of malignancy,” At this, Madam Gao turns her attention to you, and you freeze. “Is to cut it out.” The final words are no louder than a whisper, but they seem deafening in the silence of the hallway.

     Then, the Monks shove you both forward, and Madam Gao stays where she stands. Your heart thuds against your ribcage as they lead you towards the interrogation rooms, a sinking dread filling you as you begin to dig your heels into the ground and resist — but it’s no use, the Monks just drag you along like a ragdoll. Maria is lead to the left, you to the right, and when the door opens, your heart sinks.

     The interrogation room is exactly as you remember it from that night after Vegas — damp, cold, dark, and thoroughly chilling. Thin beams of dull light filter through the ceiling, illuminating the chair in the middle — one that you are forced into, your wrists and ankles fastened into the leather cuffs on the arms and legs. You tug at them in futility, dread rising up your throat like bile.

     The door slams shut behind the Monk and you are left in the dark with only your fear and the sound of your own heartbeat as company.

     It isn’t long before you hear the door unlock and you steel yourself for the torture that is about to ensue — until it creaks open and reveals Saya on the other side.

     “What the fuck?” You whisper-yell, obviously completely lost, and she sighs as she approaches, immediately going to undo your left cuff.

     “There’s no time— I saw Riku headed into the room where they took Maria.” She explains, and you curse under your breath. As soon as your left hand is free, you wave her off and begin to undo your right cuff.

      “Go, I’ve got this.” She hesitates, and you widen your eyes. “Riku is going to kill her. I can do this. Go.”

     Saya nods and turns on her heel, sprinting out of the room, and you curse your hands for shaking as you untie yourself and stand up, bolting out of the room. By the time you reach the other room, Saya and Riku are going hand-to-hand. Knowing your friend and her proficiency in combat, you rush past them, crouching next to the chair Maria is buckled into.

     Her wild eyes meet yours, perplexed and panicked, and you nod in an attempt at reassurance before beginning to unfasten her cuffs. By the time you’re done with the first one, Saya has defeated Riku and the Kuroki underling has sprinted out of the room, no doubt to tell on you to the Monks.

     Saya joins you in freeing Maria but simply cuts away the leather buckles, and you sigh and lean back on your heels, the adrenaline catching up to you.

     “Is it true?” Saya asks Maria, and you glance between them — eyes widening as Maria nods.

     “Yes.” Maria, eyes brimming with unshed tears. “Yukio betrayed you.” She explains, and her voice sounds desperate.

     “Then why didn’t you come to me?” Saya’s face is full of concern, falling as Maria glances away and says all she needs to with her expression. “You don’t trust me.” She fills in, glancing at you before sighing. “I was just trying to help you.” She tries, a plea, but Maria’s expression turns cold as she steps out of the chair.

     “Don’t.” The brunette glances between the two of you and the lack of affection in her eyes breaks your heart. As she pushes past Saya and leaves the room, you realize that you’ve just lost your friend for good.

     You hang your head for a moment before standing fully. “We should go.” You utter, eyes trained on the floor, and you hear Saya sigh before she stands up and nods. The two of you leave the room to find the lockdown over and students milling the halls, and you plan with Saya to meet her on the rooftop later — first, you need to find your other friends.

     When you get back to your room Petra isn’t there, but her bra is lying on the floor, along with... Is that Lex’s necklace? You cannot even begin to unpack whatever went down here, so you push it out of your mind and head back out, stopping in front of and knocking on Marcus’ door.

     Silence greets you, for long enough that you’re just about to turn and search elsewhere, before the door cracks open.

     Marcus’ eyes light up at the sight of you, that trademark lopsided smirk of his tugging at his lips as he pulls the door open further and invites you in. In the dim lighting of the hallway you didn’t see them fully, but in the brightness of his room, your eyes catch on the fresh bruises that litter his face. You gasp softly, fingers immediately reaching to ghost over the watercolour splotches, and he grimaces and catches your hand in his own.

     “It’s nothing, really.” He tries to diminish their severity, but your expression makes him sigh. “I got caught sneaking out during the lockdown.” He admits, and you frown.

      “You snuck out?” You smack him lightly on the shoulder, brow furrowed and mouth agape. “Marcus, that was incredibly stupid.” You scold. He huffs out a laugh, aware of his own antics, and glances up at you through his lashes.

      “Will you go easy on me if I say I was trying to find you?” He asks, and your scowl of frustration melts at the gesture. 

      “Ooh, how romantic.” You tease, cocking your head to the side, but the jovial atmosphere disappears as soon as Marcus’ eyes land on the fresh cut on your neck, his eyes going dark and his hand reaching out to cradle your neck and get a better look at the wound.

      “What happened?” He asks — no, demands — and though you are endeared by his protective streak, you need him to calm down a little. He can’t get murderous every time you so much as get a scratch on you.

     “Ah. Well...” You take a deep breath, unsure how much you want him to know, but due to the fact that Saya was there, you know it’s only a matter of time until he finds out, and he’s going to be pissed either way — maybe you can soften the blow a little. 

      Still, you rush all your words out at once with a grimace, as if saying it faster makes it less of a big deal.

     “I sort of tried to stop Saya and Maria from killing each other in the cafeteria and then Maria sort of kind of tried to kill me but then Madam Gao and the Monks hauled me off to one of the interrogation rooms—” 

      Marcus’ eyebrows shoot into his hairline and he opens his mouth, but you hold up a finger and rush the rest of the explanation out. “But nothing happened in there because Saya came and got me and then we both went and saved Maria from being killed by Riku.”

     Marcus lets you finish, obviously displeased at pretty much everything that just came out of your mouth, before sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose.

     “So this was Madam Gao?” He raises an eyebrow, and at your grimace and the slight shake of your head, he fills it in himself. “Maria...” He sighs, expression pinched, and you reach out to smooth the crease that forms between his eyebrows. “This is all my fault.” He plops down on the bed, head hanging low, and you sigh.

     “Hey, it’s okay. We’re...” You plan on saying ‘good’, but you’re not sure that’s the truth anymore. “She’s not trying to kill me anymore.”

     “Anymore? Oh, well then that’s just swell.” His words drip with irony, and you roll your eyes

     ���Look, it’s sorted now, and besides, I have something else to tell you. It’s... Important.” You sigh and sit beside him and he turns to look at you, your breath still stolen every time you lay your eyes upon his features.

     “Yeah, actually, me too.” He sighs, propping his elbows on his knees and flexing his fists.

      When neither of you speak for a moment, you huff out a laugh and nudge his shoulder. “You first.” 

      He raises an eyebrow at you in amusement, but his expression turns stern again and your heart sinks at whatever news he’s about to share. “Maria killed Yukio.” He grimaces as the words leave his mouth, and you lean back on your hands.

     “Huh.” You utter, and he frowns.

     “What?”

     “That was my news too.” You offer, and he sits up dead straight.

     “What? When? How?” His rapidfire questions tumble into each other in their haste to be asked. 

      “When we got her out of the interrogation room. She told Saya that Yukio had betrayed her, but... I don’t know. It didn’t feel like the full story to me.” You sigh, shrugging slightly. 

     “That’s because it isn’t.” Marcus sighs, and you sit up straight and match his pose. “El Alma del Diablo thinks Yukio killed Chico, and ordered Maria to kill him. Now, the debt is repaid. Or so he thinks. She did it to get him off our tail.” He turns to you, dark eyes full of emotion, and you curse. She did it for you guys. You should have known.

     “Why didn’t she just—?” Tell me, you’re going to say, but there are a million answers to that, none of which you want to hear. “Okay. Alright. So we stick to that story.” You begin to nod, a plan piecing itself together, but Marcus grimaces, and your heart sinks.

     “I...” He takes a deep breath, and when you notice the tears that begin to fill his eyes your heart falls even further into the pit of your stomach. “I got caught sneaking out by Master Lin. He took me to an interrogation room. He had a video of my parents.” His voice catches on the last word and you reach for his hand, squeezing gently.

     He utters your name so quietly, so shakily, and then his face turns incredibly solemn. “I told him everything.”

     You freeze, heart pounding against your ribcage in the deafening silence of the room. He watches your expression carefully as his admission sinks in, his own expression one of desperation.

     “He already knew so much, and... He threatened to kick me out, to put me back on the streets, and I couldn’t— I couldn’t—” He continues to explain, as if imploring you to understand, but right at the end he breaks and you spot a tear fall. “I don’t know what this means for us, but he let me go. And he hasn’t come after us yet, I  can only assume—”

     You nod along as he speaks, slowly overcoming your shock. Better him than Madam Gao, you think, and squeeze his hand. “It’s okay.” You reassure, and he seems to crumple at the realization you’re not... Angry? Disappointed? Whatever he was expecting from you, forgiveness is not it.

     You rest a hand on his cheek, looking deep into his eyes. “We’ll figure it out.” You reassure, smiling slightly as his expression softens, but the pit in your stomach doesn’t leave — you don’t believe the words coming out of your own mouth. 

      Once the two of you have sorted everything out with each other, recounting the details of the day and coming up with a plan, you find yourself right back on the roof, back with the same friends you’d been with the night before.

      You and Marcus stand at the edge of the roof, hand in hand and peering out over the glittering skyline, steeling yourselves for the conversation that is about to ensue. He looks to you, questioning dark eyes practically sparkling with the reflection of the city lights, and you nod at him. He sighs, nods, and turns around. 

      “I got to talk to everyone about something — it’s important.”

      His words cause your friends to all turn to look at him with bated breath, his serious tone eliciting an atmosphere of tension and anxiety. You sit down on the ledge, peering up at him as he continues. 

      “Secrets got us into this. Holding onto bad feelings, not being honest, not trusting each other. All this back-biting and shit-talking and drama.” He hops down from the ledge, coming to perch beside you. “You guys are the only family I’ve had since my... My folks died.” His eyes drift over to yours, raking over your face as if memorizing your features. “And I can’t lose you.”

      “Come on, man.” Willie breaks the tense silence and you laugh lightly as Marcus breaks his gaze away from yours, turning back to face the group. 

      “Yeah, well, in the spirit of full disclosure, I want to tell you all the truth about me.” He looks at each of his friends, taking in their expressions, before his gaze drops to the floor.

      “I didn’t kill all those kids at the boy’s home. But when I escaped, I let loose the guy who did. I had this roommate, a psycho named Chester...” 

      You brace yourself for the next part.

      “He followed us to Vegas, and he found Chico’s body.” You watch Marcus’ words seep into your friend’s expressions, all of them going through phases of shock and fear. “And that’s not the worst of it. He... He has this deadline,”

      “And we’re running out of time.”

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[unidentified-ending]

"Out of the Shadows"

Aizawa and Class 1a x ftm!bullied!student!reader

Part 2

Tw: violence, purposely deadnaming and misgendering, internal transphobia

"Oh shit, I'm gonna be late" You curse and quickly run to your homeroom class, when you got there you took a deep breath.

You slowly opened the door, forcefully pushing down the anxiety inside of your body. Everyone looked towards you, you thought you were going to collapse on the ground from the embarrassment.

"Everyone look at me, not at him. Y/n, sit down at your desk." Aizawa says, keeping an eye on you for for your body actions and behaviour.

He thought it was incredibly surprising, you haven't been late for the whole year you'd been there, though the curious-ness wasn't even slightly portrayed on his face.

After homeroom, Mic walked in energetically, ready to teach class 1a. Aizawa signaled for you to come outside with him, Midoriya saw and looked at you from across the classroom.

You hesitated, but you got up in the end and went outside with him. Nobody else saw because they were too focused on what Mic was saying.

"Let's walk and talk" He said as he started walking along the corridor, you walked beside him, confused as to what he wanted to talk to you about AND where you were going.

"I'm not going to beat around the bush Y/n, Midoriya told me yesterday that there was a dispute between you, Minato and his friends. I need you to be honest with me here, is something going on?" Aizawa said as he slid open the door to the staff room, revealing Vlad, Midnight and AllMight doing work at there computers.

"Nah, I'm fine really. It was just a little argument but it's been sorted. I'm fine" You say, lying straight to your teachers face though it was worthit, you didn't want anymore problems than you already had.

Aizawa knew you were lying to him but still said

"Alright, could you help me sort out these papers please, they're kind of stacking up?" He asked, just trying to make you stay away from the class, knowing they would pester you about what happened.

All the teachers looked up in amazement that he was asking you to help him do something. Aizawa never asks anyone to do anything let alone a student. Even at your own amazement you still agreed to do it, how bad could it be to help out a teacher.

For the next hour or so, you and Aizawa sorted out some paperwork and had a nice conversation then before you realised it, the lunch bell rang and you were about to leave but Aizawa stopped you and said

"If you ever need any help just come to me and I'll be open" he gave you a small smile and you smiled back at him and left, going to meet Midoriya and Uraraka who were probably eating in the cafeteria.

You hurried towards the cafeteria, enticed by the delicious smell of food. Hoping for a less crowded lunchtime, you walked with urgency until someone called out to you.

"Hey! You fucking female. Turn around and face some real mean for once." You recognised the voice of the person, Riku. And standing right behind him was Asahi. Though you weren't going to back down.

"What the hell do you want!" You shouted at them from across the corridor.

"We want your money" Riku says as he advanced upon you, with a big smirk on his face.

"No way, get away from me" You said as he stood right in your face and tried to grab you but you elbowed him in the chest and ran....again. you were so weak for doing that, even a real man could of fought.

You snapped right out of your thoughts and kept running, startled, you hurriedly made your way forward, turning corners quickly, until you unintentionally ran into the entrance of the men's locker room.

You heard a couple boys talking around the corner and you thought you were safe until you saw Minato and Haruki talking and laughing before Haruki spotted you peeking around the corner of the changing rooms.

He pointed to you and Minato turned to you, you quickly exited the locker rooms but Riku and Asahi were about 10 meters away from the locker room and they saw you.

They ran towards you, you stood there for 5 seconds pondering your options, they were going to do something to you anyways so you ran back into the locker rooms, where Minato and Haruki were waiting for you.

Just then Riku and Asahi ran into the locker rooms.

And then you realised, you were doomed.

"Riku, you brought him for me. That's nice." Minato said as he pushed you down against the floor of the locker room, you sat up, looking scared but hateful at them.

"Go on then, do whatever you want with his stuff but just don't hurt him, that's my job" Minato laughed and the rest of the group pounced on you like some sort of animal and started searching your pockets for cash flinging you stuff out the way and harassing you.

!The scene isn't finished there so the next part will be a continuation of the end scene!

Hey guys, that was part 2. If I think about it, they're may be a part 4 if not then enjoy the last part that's coming tomorrow.

This hasn't been edited and I was so tired when I made this so don't expect it to be great and good.

By the way, some smut is approaching so stick around for that.

If you liked it drop me a follow and a like

And remember

Drink some water and wat some food, you deserve it :DD

It's 2:43 am, Zyler signing out

[system-of-a-feather]

When u get a good moment, could u talk some more about ur fronting acknolegement? U had like, a call and responce thing coming off anesthesia w Chuun in front.

Do yall do that every time u front? What was the beginning stages of developing that tool like? Is there somewhere we could lewr

Hope ur recovery is speedy:))

-kosmo

(Disclaimer: We might be a little incoherent cause meds and shit)

Not typically these days (at late stage DID recovery) as we tend to much more actively choose to be at the front or near the front these days so its rare anyone is ever not able to just be up at the front and its rare anyone is front when they weren't expecting to be.

I think the anesthesia made our brain slow to wake up and, for the lack of better words, "load the other parts fully" so I was the only one who could actively take good executive control on shit - I just wasn't expecting it so I was like "Oh shit aight got it"

I'm considered a frequent fronter in the system but I'm one of the least common frequent fronters as I tend to either fuse with XIV or float co-con.

As for it being a tool, its not something we actively worked on beyond just practicing and working on "loading" more parts in the front. Just getting used to having 2 parts cofront and cocon, then 3 then 4 then 6 then 8 and what not Cause if a lot of parts can casually sit near the front and are habitually near the front, its just a matter of asking for help.

XIV, Me, Ray, Riku and Aya are like always a simple "Hey can you do this" away from the front. Like right now, if I really wanted to, I could go "Riku Im over it can you deal with shit" and 9/10 times theyd go "oh yeah bet i gotchu" OR turn to XIV and ask if hed do it and what not

Its pretty useful but its nothing really special or anything developed beyond being accustomed to holding a solid core 5 up and around here at all times. The only reason we arent always commentating and influencing things when we are up here is cause we tend to tune out the front both out of respect and just laziness so like.. Imagine all of us with at least one headphone in and being on our phones unless the person in front asks us for something or we over hear a thing We Like that catches our attention /hj

Riku might go over this more clearly when we are less medicated and more focused but ya know, I wanted to give an answer

-Chunn

[motheatenscarf]

I beat the base-game story for FF14! Yaaay! \o/

I have... SO many thoughts, I just kinda powered through the last bit after the Scions got got, most of my thoughts are relatively positive, but also I have some very mean, very stupid opinions about some of the writing choices happening here.

I'll probably make a few posts in greater detail later, but for now my strongest opinions can be summed up as follows;

Holy fuck, I hate Minfilia, the literal child was a better leader than her. She's weak and indecisive and written as a terrible leader without the narrative addressing that fact at all. So it's not just irresponsible misogynistic writing, it's just lazy and laughably incompetent writing.

I wound up liking the villain quartet more than I thought I would, namely the big dude you have to kill first. His devotion to his men and belief in the empire due to his ability to rise to his station really stood out. That was probably the most nuanced this game has been so far, I was impressed, I genuinely felt bad I had to kill him. He was written from a perspective of empathy with the full breadth of emotion, like a real human being.

I had not come to expect that from this game!

Namely because all of our villains until this point were cartoons who wanted to blow up the moon and all of our heroes were made of unflappable cardboard. That's not to say they don't have their charms, I love a good "Mua ha ha!" as much as the next person, but y'know, largely forgettable. The worst example of this comes from Cid and Thancred. Like. Hey, Cid, these are your childhood friends we're slaughtering. You really gonna no thoughts, head empty your way through this?

Yeah?

Okay... cool...

god forbid someone have an interesting reaction.

The WORST example of that, however, is Thancred. I really thought we'd get something out of Thancred being possessed by Lahabrea. Like, even if he didn't make a choice or a deal to get possessed and had no agency in that, he would at least have a reaction to knowing he'd gotten his people killed or tortured. That's going to at the very least cause reflection in a character and an interesting change in his perspective if not outright trauma he's going to have to work through, and that's a good emotional hook to have someone your character needs to look out for. Real vulnerability, maybe, if we're lucky.

Haha,

NOPE!

Like. I've played Kingdom Hearts. I'm getting big Organization XIII vibes from the Ascians, and I'm looking at Thancred like, oh, okay, you're just... older Riku. Sure. I can work with that, that's a good source of angst, at least someone's feeling SOMETHING in the narrative at that point.

But fucking lol, no, he's just like "Thanks for saving me, I've been a real inconvenience, I should take some time off to recover so nobody has to help me again."

ANd like...

Buddy, that is the reaction you have when you're hangry and you get kinda snippy before somebody hands you a candybar and tells you to calm down. You're REALLY not gonna talk about this?! I have a whole subsequent sidequest to help Minfilia find her MOMMY so she can grow the moral fortitude to refuse bribes, but Thancred spends months being possessed by THE bad guy and gets the Scions nearly wiped out and he's FINE and we're MOVING ON!

REALLY?!

I know I JUST compared it to Kingdom Hearts, but it's not even that! Kingdom Hearts, for being TERRIBLE, at least understood that the way to get people invested in a narrative was to give them characters who CARE about things and react accordingly! Oh my god, Kingdom Hearts was more competent than this! OH MY GOD, it's so bad, I'm so ANGRY! It was starting to show promise, how did it turn around and do itself this dirty, who was responsible for this?!

GOD.

That said, the things I like are, like, everything else about this game so far. My god was I frustrated the entire time I was sitting through some of this shit storywise, but the gameplay was very fun. The game is otherwise the single most functional, deep, and FUN mmo I've ever played gamewise. I'm ASSURED the story gets better, and like, frankly, it wouldn't take much effort for that to be true, but if they can also make the story GOOD, I will be pleasantly surprised because right now we're in "so incompetent I burst out laughing" territory.

And then after all that they called it the 7th Astral Era like, job's done, go home team, ignore the multiple other looming threats! We're admitting Lahabrea isn't dead even in-text among the Scions and there's still countless Primals being summoned and I'm pretty sure somebody needs to talk about these giant talking crystals, but NOPE, 7th Astral Era here we go!

I give it ten months.

Anyway, I'm gonna go read up on how to kill the Moogle King so I can progress this narrative, but I'm in like, humorously SHOCKED disbelief at how bad this was. Like, the FUNNY kind of angry, not legit angry, the "Oh, here's a new rant I could go on about for ten minutes EASY" kind of angry, it was so bad.

[keyblade-kid]

BOOM!!!

Sora jolted up from his game (he was currently working through Dream Drop Distance, very excited to play as Riku,) and rushed to the window. He couldn't see anything yet, but it sounded like it was coming from the arena.

“What was that?” Magnus was sitting on the edge of the couch, and he got up and rushed over, too.

"I dunno, I can't see… We should go out there! What if someone's hurt?" Sora looked up and towards the rest of the White Boys. "Right?"

Percy got up, nodding, “It could be trouble.”

"Wait. We should do a headcount first," said Riku. "Pretty sure everyone's inside, but still."

Firestar said, “Graystripe and I were just outside, we didn’t see anyone.” His muzzle was stained with blood.

Sora decided not to comment on it. After all, he didn't see any cat food around here. It was probably some kind of critter blood. Circle of life.

"Alright." Riku nodded. "Sora, do you know where it was coming from?"

BOOM.

"Shoot- The arena!" Sora summoned his keyblade and ran out the front door without waiting for anyone. At the very least, Riku was behind him. He knew he was.

There were dirt clumps all over the ground, and in front of him, near the entrance to the arena, he saw two figures locked in a heated battle- it- That was Xigbar! And- Oh, no, Showie! But why? He thought they were friends!

He tried to pick up the pace, and as he got closer, he heard:

“How could you?!” Showie shouted, her cloak billowing behind her, “I-” CLANG (sparks!!), “I should’ve known!”

"Yeah, you should've! What were you expecting?!" Xigbar had an evil grin on his face. Not like when he killed that guy, Paul Matthews, but more… Excited. "I showed up just to fuck up your plans!"

A blow connected with Showie’s- keyblade?!- sending her flying back several feet. Her feet made gouges in the grass. Her hood was barely staying on her head.

“And then- it was you who let him into the force field, wasn’t it?!” She charged him- sparks!

"Ansem made things interesting!"

"Ansem?!" Riku gasped.

"I needed a replacement after Matthews turned out to be such a failure! I should have known you would be hard to kill!" What? But that didn't… That didn't make any sense. Sora himself had seen the rage in Xigbar's expression during the execution (no other way to name that, really). Maybe he had just misjudged where it was directed?

Showie let out a cry, and landed a blow on Xigbar’s keyblade (WHAT?) that sent him stumbling, “I THOUGHT YOU WERE DIFFERENT.”

"YOU THOUGHT WRONG!"

They were getting close now, maybe 30 seconds away- He had to help his friend!

“CLEARLY!” Something was going on with Showie. He saw a strange flicker at the tip of her keyblade, a purple spark not connected to any blow.

She had a sort of grin on her face that he could barely see under her hood.

She ran back at Xigbar, lifting her keyblade and jumping into the air, coming at him from above-

Sora leapt out between them, holding up his keyblade to block the blow-

Showie’s face flashed with alarm, and she dropped her keyblade midair and twisted, crashing into the ground in a heap. Her face landed in one of the dirt gouges, and she slid a few feet before stopping and rolling over onto her back, her stark-white face stained with mud and grass. She coughed, the air apparently having been knocked out of her.

"Ah, shit- You okay, doll?" Before Sora had a chance to react, Xigbar had dismissed his keyblade (again, what?) and went over to help her up.

What in the world was happening here???

She wheezed, looking over at Sora in mild alarm-

He bolted between them, holding his keyblade threateningly.

"Back off, Xigbar. I'm not gonna let you hurt her. This is low, even for you."

He heard Showie make a noise somewhere between a gasp and a laugh.

"Right, because I'm the big bad villain guy, right?" Xigbar shook his head. "As if, kid. I'm not gonna hurt her."

"Likely story!"

"And what the hell did you mean when you started talking about Ansem?!" Riku snapped. Oh, yeah. That was something that got said. Sora had been so focused on stopping the fight, he'd completely forgotten about it.

"What do you think, we tell 'em what's up? They look about ready to tear me apart." Xigbar leaned over to look past Sora and talk to Showie.

Seriously. What was going on.

Still unable to talk, but catching her breath, Showie gave a thumbs up but then spelled something out in finger signs. He knew what they were, but not what they said.

"What do you mean behave? I haven't even done anything!"

"... Okay, what?" He didn't dismiss his keyblade, but Sora broke his stance to stand up fully.

She spelled another thing out.

"Yeah, well, aside from the confusion they look like they wanna kill me, so."

She spelled something out again.

"What- No, I'm not mad at you. I'm just trying to figure out what to do here-" He shook his head. "Might as well tell them now, right? The jig is basically up."

She gasped for breath, “I- already- said- you- could-” She moved her arms above her head, breathing deeply. She looked at Sora, almost said something, and then coughed, turning on her side.

"... Right. Okay. Yeah, all of you can calm down. It wasn't a real fight, we were just havin' a little fun with it. Just training."

"But you said-" Riku started.

"Dude. Ansem's dead. Besides," Xigbar scoffed, "I think you of all people would've been able to feel his presence if he was actually here."

Okay. Yeah, okay. This made sense. Sora had seen the way they were with each other back when he and Riku had gone to pick them up from that other tournament. Of course they weren't trying to kill each other just a few days later.

Now he felt silly.

Showie must’ve seen it on his face, because she said, “We were- playing up- on purpose-” She paused, breathing, “Not silly- rational-” She looked at the sky, “Looked bad- on purpose-”

"..." Sora finally dismissed his keyblade. His face felt hot. "I guess… but why?"

"Just having a little fun, kiddo. Fuckin' around and finding out."

“Keyblade training- just summoned- mine and- got silly- with it.” She summoned it back to her from where it was laying on the ground. It was pink and ornate, with a stripe going all around the stem that looked like Xigbar’s hair. There were spikes on it, too. She wiggled it slightly, showing him.

"You have a keyblade now?" Yet again, What? "I- I have so many questions."

"Yeah, I do, too," Riku said, stepping forward and crossing his arms. "I thought I was the only master around here."

"Yeah, guess again, kiddo."

Showie sat up, supporting herself with her arms. Her hood was down, but Xigbar reached over with his keyblade and flicked it back onto her head, then gently bonked her on the shoulder with it. “There’s at least two I think,” She said, then looked at Riku, “You’re a master? That’s so cool.”

"It's, uh, kinda recent-" He looked embarrassed for a second (cute!!), then regained his composure. "But what do you mean there's more?"

That's what Sora wanted to know, too.

"Well for one, there's me, then ther-"

"WHAT?" Sora and Riku shouted at the same time. Showie laughed quietly.

"What do you mean you're a master?! Last time I checked, you didn't even have a keyblade!"

"Yeah, well. There was a lot going on back then." Xigbar waved his hand dismissively. "Newsflash, Kiddo. I've been a master this entire time. And there's not just me, either. There's also my old teacher, who's… I dunno, somewhere around here. I still need to go talk to him."

“Now there’s someone who snuck into the force field,” Showie said, “But Xigbar didn’t have anything to do with that.” She looked at Xigbar with a silent ‘RIGHT?’

"Yeah, that had nothing to do with me. No idea how he got here, but… He's mostly behaving, so, it could be worse."

She nodded, staring at her keyblade. Then she turned a little… gray? And dismissed it.

"I…" Sora frowned, the confusion fading and annoyance setting in. "What were you two thinking? You freaked everyone out!"

Xigbar looked like he wanted to say something, but just covered his mouth and looked away.

Showie said, “Got a little silly with it, admittedly. Didn’t want to scare anyone. Sorry,” She smiled apologetically. She had a massive green smear on her face- the grass stain.

"Just- Please don't pull something like that again." Sora pleaded. He was pretty sure this whole event knocked a couple years off his lifespan. Maybe gave him a gray hair. Who knows. It was a lot of stress and confusion all at once.

Not that most of his life lately wasn't stress and confusion, but still.

"I thought it was funny."

"No one asked you, Xigbar." Riku muttered.

Showie threw her head back and cackled, “Get his ass.”

"Who's side are you on?!" Xigbar gasped in mock hurt, putting a hand over his chest. "I thought we were friends!"

“You thought wrong!” She joked, pretending to get up before flopping back on the grass.

"See, this is why you're getting pretend assassinated."

"So… Are you two good? Not gonna kill each other?" Riku asked, looking very annoyed. Sora hadn't seen that look in a while, even longer since it wasn't directed at him (good times haha).

“Ah, no, that’s ancient-” she laughed, “ancient history.” She looked like she was holding back a joke.

"Okay." He shook his head. "Then I'm going back to the cabin."

"I'll meet you there in a minute, okay?" Sora smiled at him. After a beat, Riku nodded and returned it, albeit a lot softer.

He really, really loved that guy.

Sora turned back to Showie and Xigbar. "So, what exactly made you two think that was a good idea?"

Showie looked at him with something between fondness and amusement. “Didn’t really think before doing it. Got a keyblade and immediately got possessed by the spirit of mischief.” She tilted her head, smiling at him, “It won’t happen again.”

"I just thought it was funny. And it absolutely was." The comment made Sora shoot him a look. "What?"

"Okay- If it happens again, uh…" He paused. "I'll, uh- make sure no one comes out to see all your drama!" Yeah, that was a good threat!

Showie smiled at him warmly. “Yes, sir,” she said, her voice joking.

"Alright. Good." Sora crossed his arms. Something about all this made Xigbar look like he was about to lose it. "I'm. I'm gonna go catch up to Riku. Be good."

Showie grinned at him.

"Yeah, sure, little man." What is with all the nicknames??? Wait. Has Xigbar EVER called him by his actual name??? Does he even know his name??? He has to, right???

“Alright, Sora. Take care,” Showie said warmly.

"Yeah… You too."

"That means stop trying to eat the floor, doll," Xigbar joked.

“MEAN TO ME!” She shouted. “I could be broken into little pieces and this is what you say? Oh, packing my little rucksack and running off with Stanley, oh woe.”

"Oh, please. As if you could run off with a guy in a coma."

“MEAN TO STANLEY!”

Sora turned and started walking, leaving them to their bickering. It was getting hard to hide his smile.

As he walked away, he heard Showie say, “I’ll run off with the Narrator then. Or maybe, hmm, who’s cringest? Xaldin? I’ll fuck Xaldin.”

Ew.

"Listen, just because he's hung doesn't mean he's worth it."

EW.

Showie cackled, and he heard her fall back on the ground, “Ew!!”

Running away. Running away immediately. He did not need to think about Xigbar hooking up with anyone, much less Xaldin (especially since now that he was Dilan, he was actually a pretty nice guy).

He heard Showie laugh before her voice faded as he got out of earshot.

Honestly speaking, Sora probably would've broke out in a run regardless. Riku was waiting for him, and so was his game.

Things were quiet and nice for him, for once.

SHE FUCKIN DID IT

[quennie93]

How they Ruined Inuyasha/ Yashahime pt. 3?

Lmao I literally keep up with this show. Just to talk crap about and to See Moroha Outcone

Well here we go again... okay first

Wtf???

Jesus Kilala...

☆Let's go back a little. So Moroha whole lesson in ep. 16 was to not use the Rouge so much... yet she using it now more than anything.. just screw what the lady was tryna teach her.

☆Also inuyasha facing the tree... Whyyyyy

Ugh yall annoying

☆ The Episode with Princess Aiya... just why? Lmao it was not needed at all.... wasn't even that funny...

☆And here we go.... Shiori.... they literally kept her childish face and stretched her body...

☆ Her human night they literally whitened her skin.... just why... also people claiming " oh it her demon side" hmm okay then why her eye design stay the same. Those weren't human eyes... bye!

☆ I've already stated before but the Twins benefitting from InuKags adventures

☆ Setsuna sudden personality change

☆Also.....🤣🤣🤣 I....

☆ So miroku put a seal on Setsuna to control her Demon power... why didn't he do this to Inuyasha then.....

☆So we find out even after getting with Sesshomaru... She still living in a hut with Kaede

☆How Kaede? Just how

☆ The Tree of Ages moving around so stupid...

☆So Towa just handed over her Pearl... like why tf would you do that. How she even know how to take out. She barely even know its there.

☆Why she gave him the pearl when just before totetsu showed up. He was trying to take it from her

☆Riku and Towa is so damn forced. They've only met 3 times and it seem like they tryna make them a thing. Talking about she like him. Girl you don't even know him!

☆Once again Miroku shows the utmost concern for Setsuna but what about your friends who've been missing for 14 years!? Or their daughter!? Why do you care so much about Setsuna!? He don't even seem concerned about his own son that much....

☆ Make these make sense. There's absolutely no reason she should have them without being connected to naraku...

☆ Also why is setsuna side burns so damn long!?

☆ Also what's up with the wings?? The dream butterfly giving her wings makes no sense

☆Also Sesshomaru has no reason to not be taking care of his kids. He used everyone around him to raise them. all so he can sit there and stare at Rin ass in the tree!

☆Don't even get me started on this Scene cause this ridiculous. There's no reason that Moroha should have the life she does... inuyasha and Kagome helped to many....

This... is sad...

☆Why Rin look younger?? Hmm?? Like her kids look and Sound older than her us it because they are??

☆I'm still mad she just let sesshomaru walk out with her daughters that she just gave birth to...and not say shit. She so submissive to him.. thats not cute....

*let that had been Kagura. She would've cursed his ass out.... as a matter of fact he probably wouldn't have even done it! He know he'd have to explain it*

☆☆☆ WHY DO THIS SHOW HAVE SO MANY NARAKU AND KAGURA REFERENCES??? IS IT CAUSE THERE'S NOTHING INTERESTING ABOUT RIN SO YOU NEEDEED TO PULL FROM OTHER CHARACTERS TO MAKE THEM EVEN REMOTELY INTERESTING?? THERES MORE CONNECTIONS TO KAGURA THAN RIN. ☆☆☆

THE ONLY THING CONNECTING THEM TO RIN IS THAT THEYRE HALF HUMAN AND TOWAS KINDNESS WHICH TECHNICALLY CAN BE LINKED TO KAGOME SINCE SHE GREW UP AROUND THE HIGURASHI FAMILY SO SHE DIDNT EVEN LEARN IT FROM RIN..

I'll be back for more bs when I can think straight

[themadauthorshatter]

... I think you guys are going to like this.

358/2 Days REWRITE Part 2

Riku is around, but he's all over the place, and he has a mission: Find and capture either Roxas or Xion, unless he CAN manage both, so DiZ can use them to help Sora recover. He's on a time limit, though, because Sora's heart is damaged and the longer Roxas and Xion are around, the less likely Sora is to waking up or even sleeping; I mean, he'll BE sleeping, but it'll be much quieter and it will be absolutely pointless to try waking him up.

For the first few days or months, he keeps his distance, trying to decide who he's picking, sadly.

Pros of bringing Roxas to DiZ: He has the closest connection to Sora, being his nobody, he's got the keyblade, Riku can probably take him one v. one, if there are any problems, he just needs to get a reaction out of 'Sora.'

CONS of bringing to Roxas to DiZ: Have fun trying to run from the remaining Organization members, he'll have to avoid Non-form or he'll get beaten all to Hell, he runs the risk of hurting his friend for reals, Roxas is rarely alone, Roxas is one hell of a runner and fighter, he'll just feel bad.

Pros of bringing Xion to DiZ: She has more 'keyblade' potential, maybe her voice will help wake up Sora(?), she looks and sounds like Kairi, Naminé gets a new friend(as long as DiZ doesn't decide to throw her away).

CONS of bringing Xion to DiZ: She looks and sounds like Kairi, she's crazy skilled, she hits hard, she's laughable when she's mad, but it's gut wrenching to see her cry or be hurt, she looks and sounds like Kairi, Naminé is probably getting Thanosed when DiZ is done with her because he's a dick right now, so giving Xion to her as a friend will mean nothing, the connection to Kairi, he'll feel bad.

As you can tell, Riku is great at making decisions(sarcasm)

While he's too caught up to do anything, let's check on the sea salt trio, who are getting closer as friends, i.e. seeing Hayner, Pence, and Olette do stupid stuff a KH equivalent of TikTok, which the trio repeats on their own without a phone recording them, eating ice cream, talking, and exploring the Disney worlds for fun, both old ones and new ones that will appear in future games.

In this time, Xion becomes a mix of Kairi and Naminé, outspoken, but careful with who she runs her mouth to, smart, but still open to learn, protective and still needs something if a protector, etc. She is also a wickedly fast learner.

We also get organization shenanigans like Demyx being lazy on missions, Roxas getting annoyed at Xigbar for calling him tiger, dealing with  Saïx, trying not to annoy Xaldin, even getting head pats from Xemnas, and, for fluff, Roxas and Xion finding Axel asleep on the floor of the clock tower and the two scaring him away for shits and giggles. 

Yes, a lot of time passes, about 9-11 months, give or take.

Roxas and Xion also become closer as well with Axel being something like their chaperone, only he reports to Xemnas and Saïx.

Speaking of Saïx, he meets up with Axel one day and expresses disdain with the fact Axel would rather be friends with an unstable Roxas and a literal puppet that doesn't even exist.

Axel, on edge already with Xemnas on his back, tells Saïx to put a cork in it. Saïx only pushes back, asking if Roxas even KNOWS what Xion is, even what HE is. To both their credit, the two are wonderful at playing make believe and Axel, being the child he is, is a great at being their playmate.

Axel shoves Saïx back, snapping for him to shut his mouth before he says something he'll regret. Saïx, losing his composure, shoves back, asking if he should because Axel can't handle the truth; he never has been good at it, so it's not surprising.

Ring a bell, someone, please, because Axel throws a punch into Saïx's cheekbone. Saïx returns with a left hook directly to the side of the neck and knees Axel, who grabs his leg under his knee and rolls, making them both fall and throw more punches on the ground, bruising and bloodying each other in full view of the remaining organization members. Maybe we get a gag of Xigbar and Luxord placing bets on who will win, Demyx worrying because they should probably be stopped, Xaldin scoffing at the immature display, and then Roxas and Xion walking in and instantly getting worried because Axel is not winning this fight, as evidenced by Saïx slamming his head into the floor.

When the two stand up to keep fighting, Roxas and Xion race between them, the boy in front of Saïx and a very nervous Xion in front of Axel, who tells her and Roxas to stay out of this or they'll get hurt.

Roxas obviously refuses, but Xion leads Axel away from Saïx, who asks if Axel really needs children to protect him.

No, he needs to protect these two idiots, especially Roxas, who hasn't moved and his eyes have gone Non-form-y, like he's about to transform.

Saïx returns with berserker eyes and smashes Roxas into the wall by his neck, daring him to try it.

It draws a gasp from EVRYONE, even Xaldin, but Saïx scoffs that they shouldn't try pretending to be worried, what with how unstable and how much of a nuisance Roxas is, not too mention weak, which he says while watching Roxas try to break free. He kicks at Saïx, and misses, but Saïx smirks and summons his claymore, wanting to see how tough Roxas really is.

There's a reason Xion pulled Axel away and is so nervous, because said reason puts a hand on Saïx's shoulder and asks him if he enjoys this façade of a life and would rather not disappear.

Yep. Xemnas is here, and everyone backs down, including the the bet making Xigbar and Luxord, who so they can have deniability.

Saïx snaps out of berserk mode in the blink of an eye and begrudgingly lets go of Roxas, i.e. lets him drop down.

Axel and Xion start toward him, but freeze when Xemnas eyes them, like scary eyes.

He has an announcement: There's an imposter and he could be anywhere. He's in a coat just like everyone else's, but his hood's usually up. When he's not wearing it, he's a silver haired teen. Oh, yeah, and his name is Riku.

Axel, Roxas, and Xion all gasp, Axel because Riku was in Castle Oblivion and probably knows where Sora is and Roxas and Xion because it brings back memories from Sora.

Xemnas sees the reaction, but only focuses on Roxas, asking softly if he's okay and if he was hurt.

He's fine and he wasn't and he shakes his head to chase away Non-form.

Xemnas still helps him up and orders everyone to keep their eyes open and report ANYTHING on this imposter because the sooner they catch and... well, just catch him, the better, that part being Xemnas not wanting to upset Roxas, make him go into Non-form, and have everyone need to knock him out to calm him down.

Xemnas takes Roxas away to be checked on, in case he was really hurt and doesn't know it, and Roxas asks what will happen to Saïx and Axel for fighting. He didn't see a lot of it, so he’s not even sure who started it.

They’ll be 'interviewed' and reprimanded accordingly, but they won't die, so relax.

What about the imposter? Who's Riku? And who's Sora??

Xemnas stops checking on Roxas and puts a hand on his head, which he doesn't need to worry about because the organization can deal with it. All he needs to do is keep doing missions and giving his 100%. Roxas sighs that he IS, hell he's giving 150% because Non-form's acting up, but he's kept it calm, even with the hallucinations of Sora, Ven, and now Non-form.

Xemnas finishes checking for any wounds and commends Roxas, saying that is why he chose him. Before Roxas can ask, Xemnas tells him to go in the lobby because he has a mission with Xaldin.

Roxas does so and passes by and reassuring Axel and glaring Saïx, though Roxas glares back.

Xemnas has the two sit down and that warmth he had with Roxas is GONE IN A SECOND, asking both of them what they were thinking, picking a fight in front of everyone and endangering the two most vital components to the plan. Saïx jabs that Axel is letting himself be distracted while Axel states he's doing his job and doesn't want either of them to get upset or angry to the point of dysfunctionality. Besides, He did not start that fight, which he didn't even WANT to partake in.

Does Axel have legs? For now he does, yes. Can he stand? Yes. Can he DEMONSTRATE that he can stand? This is getting tedious, but sure, and Axel stands. Now can he walk from where he is to the far wall? Again, this is tedious, but yes.

If he did ALL OF THAT, why didn't he actually do it?

With no words, Xemnas dismisses Axel, telling him to accompany Xion on their mission.

Axel nods and leaves Saïx to be scolded.

We cut to Riku as he watches Roxas and Xaldin fight of heartless and some knights in Beast's Castle, maybe even go toe to toe with Beast himself, who manages to catch Roxas off guard and momentarily confuses him with Sora.

Xaldin knocks him away and the two leave, Riku coming out and asking if that smaller nobody really was Sora.

Beast admits it was a spur of the moment, but he could have sworn it was Sora.

Meanwhile, Xion and Axel fight hard in Hollow Bastion, squaring off against Squall, Yuffie, Tifa, and Cloud, where we see both more of Axel's gymnastics and Xion's ability with a keyblade.

The fight ends when Xion stops who she believes is Riku the imposter and chases after him, Axel following her in case shit hits the fan.

Xion follows Riku to a cliffside and he gives her an offer and a warning: either give him Roxas or hope that they never meet face to face again. Xion arms herself and demands to know what that means, but Riku also arms himself right as Axel throws a chakram between them and tells Riku to fuck off before he gets hurt.

Riku gives Xion one last glance before falling off the edge and leaving through a dark corridor, making it look like he just disappeared like a badass. They’re both confused, but still call it a day, Xion asking if Axel is okay after that fight with Saïx, because he’s still a little banged up. He expresses he’s fine(he’s a big boy!!) and tells Xion not to worry. 

She’s going to anyway because Riku is after Roxas, and threatened her with a fight if she didn’t bring Roxas to him. Axel, although he’s shook, tells her everything will be fine.

LIES, because Xion is sent on a mission to defeat Riku. All she needs to do is knock him out and they’ll come collect him, no problem.

Xion IS strong, but not strong enough because Riku wipes the floor with her and is about to take her to DiZ when dusks, samurai, and Non-form Roxas, who also gets whooped, but at least fairs a little better. 

The two wear Riku out enough for a lance to graze his arm, an arrow/bullet to hit his leg, and a few cards to distract him. 

The rest of the organization arrive, even Saïx and Xemnas, the latter using thorn/vine things to bind Riku’s hands behind his back. 

He remarks that Riku’s a lot bigger than he thought he would be, stronger too, and we get one of those creepy manga Xemnas moments as he grabs Riku, pulls him close by the jaw, and states he’ll have fun seeing just how strong he is; he knows that Riku is hiding Sora, Kairi, DiZ, and his witch, and will tear him apart with his bare hands to know where they are.

With Riku thoroughly freaked out, Xemnas stands and everyone returns, all tired and ready to find Sora. 

Xion, however, isn’t. Because Riku said some very interesting things to her during their fight. 

She considers telling Roxas, but he’s too worried making sure she’s okay, because Riku was tough. She goes to Axel instead, knowing he has a key to the dungeons, and he’s instantly skeptical; she asked if he could take her to see Riku. Xion lies through her teeth and says she just wants to rub in Riku’s face that they won and he lost.

Axel agrees, but decides he’s going to follow her, just in case.

They arrive as Xigbar leaves, asking if they’re going to welcome the new arrival and need help in doing so.

Xion counters that she’s actually going to return a favor and would like to do it alone. 

Axel’s surprised and Xigbar whistles for her to stand down; he was just asking because she got kicked like a soccer ball, no harm in asking for help.

He leaves and Xion goes toward Riku’s cell, asking Axel to stay by the door until she’s done.

He does so and Xion walks towards Riku’s cell, where she and we the audience see Riku is banged up from being interrogated; looks like Xemnas is taking his time.

Riku asks what she wants and Xion responds with a deal:

Tell her about Sora and she’ll give the organization a good enough lie to let him go so he can help Sora. During their fight, the two had an argument, Xion saying she was going to protect her friend and Riku snapping she had no idea what friends were because she’s a nobody and a replica, and the reason Sora can’t wake up.

 Spark Notes of the deal: If Riku tells Xion about Sora, Xion will give the organization an answer that will buy Riku enough time to get back to Sora.

Fair, but he has one condition: If he tells her, she was to decide what she will do; he’s not refusing because she genuinely wants to know more about Sora.

Xion agrees and Riku tells her to take a seat, because they’re going to be here for a while.

[quirklessidiot]

Title: coward :: coming clean Pairing: Y/N x Miya Atsumu Genre: angst, romance, and very slow burn [ex to lovers au] Warnings: Cursing, alchohol, mentions of unprotected sex, unplanned pregnancy, and mentions of abortion

Synopsis: You try to push him away from you but he isn’t taking any of it, the much long-awaited confrontation is there but you’re still finding a way out.

notes:

have yall seen the new season?? mY FUCKING HEART MAN NSNDNND it got me so stoked i literally wrote something about kita after that trailer skdjjdm kita is so underrated. I love him.

also, a huge thank you for the 200+ followers. Ma’am i literally only had this tumbler a month ago and im already celebrating a lot of milestones, hence i present you a more angsty chapter! I hope you’ll love it <3

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“You’re on gossip sites.” 

“Tsum-tsum, why are you so close to L/N-san? I thought you hated her.”

“Riku-chan’s calling me-”

“Everyone shut up.” The setter throws the ball on the ground, “It’s not what it fucking looked like.”

“Can we talk, ‘tsumu?” Osamu’s voice resonates the most and Miya Atsumu knows where this is going already by the sound of it.  He was surprised to see his brother come by today but when he sees why, he takes it back.

No wonder.

He follows him to the quieter side of the gym, he notices the tense air between them and he knows what's about to follow. He hopes that Osamu does this quickly, he has to practice well since he needs to impress those brats when the game comes up and try to let them have their eyes on him and not on Tobio and Shoyo.

“What the hell are you thinking?” His brother growls, “You have a fucking girlfriend. Y/N has kids and is very much in love with the dead guy who isn’t yo-”

“Why the fuck are you all getting up my ass when its about Y/N?” he suddenly cuts his brother off, eyes narrowed and jaw clenched, “It's been that way since you met her eight years ago. Just tell me that you didn’t like her from the start. You didn’t like her because she was different.”

“I didn’t like her because she wasn’t good for you.” the grey-haired twin barked back in reply, “In case ya don’t remember, You were a fucking mess after she left, Atsumu. You were almost not able to make it into the jackals because of what she did!”

Osamu wasn’t calling him by his nickname anymore, it seemed that the weight of the situation was too serious for him.

“Well, I’m here now aren’t I?”

“And you’re getting involved with her again. Can’t you give it a fucking rest already?” 

“No.”

“Miya Atsumu.” He glowered, grabbing his brother by the collar of his jersey, “Don’t throw a good woman and your career away for someone like her.”

“I’m not throwing shit, ‘samu.” He hissed, slapping his hand away but before he could walk out, the younger twin grabs him and yanks him back, swinging a fist right at his face. The team members of the black jackals are immediately thrown into panic and chaos with what’s happening. Hinata and Bokuto grabs onto Osamu restraining him from damaging the setter even more while Shion and Meian hold back the blonde setter from throwing a punch, “Stop acting like a fuckin’ brat, ‘tsumu.” The twin yelled while Atsumu flipped him off with a middle finger, clearly showing no signs of restraint. 

Sakusa remains far from them and snorts underneath his breath, completely indifferent,  “Fuckin’ idiots.”

The twins end up at the infirmary right after, Atsumu lets out a heavy sigh as he recalls the feeling of his brothers fist. They’ve never fought this bad since high school and Osamu was never one to be triggered easily.

This just showed how grave the situation was.

A curtain separates them both as they lay on their separate beds, “You’re stupid, ‘tsumu.” Osamu calls out his twin as he lays on the bed of the infirmary, a patch on his forehead and a bandaged hand. Atsumu, on the other hand, has a busted lip and swollen cheek.

“I’m not fucking five, ‘samu and whatever you saw in that picture wasn’t what it looked like.”

“But you still love her very much.” 

Silence ensued between the pair and Osamu breaks it off with a long sigh, “Ya gonna be some scrub that chases after her again or something? Break off with your girlfriend right now who looks and acts better than her-”

“Stop.” Atsumu cuts his brother off, sitting up to open the curtain to face him head on, “so, so what if I still like her? So what if I want to break off with Riku and be with her and try to take that bastards place?”

“Yer outta your mind.”

“It’s my fuckin’ life.”

“It is but I’m not watching you throw yourself away for that woman.” Osamu paused, “Just what the fuck do you see in her? She feels nothing for ya, even when you dated-”

“Now that’s a fucking lie.” Atsumu defended you, eyes glowering right at his twin, “You didn’t see how Y/N would take care of me whenever we were alone. You don’t see how selfless she was most of the time and how she doesn’t expect me to be some character that everyone expects, shit,  you don’t even see how she’d patiently sit down and just listen me babble off about how bad my day was when I didn’t even know she was from a fucking bad family with a bad life back then!”

Atsumu is panting from that long explanation and he’s shaking because why couldn’t they see it? Why couldn’t they see how much you tried back then? How relationships were so out of your comfort zone but you force yourself to try it because he asked you too. He feels sick, he feels sick that they couldn’t see. That they could only see the tip of the iceberg.

“Yet she doesn’t feel the same for you.” Osamu points out,  “Not anymore. So stop clinging onto her with those past memories of yours and move on, ‘tsumu. Fuckin’ suck it up, life isn’t fair.”

“Nope, don’t wanna.”

“ ‘tsumu-”

“I-I’m breaking up with Riku. I want Y/N back in my life, I want her. I-I’ve never wanted anything so badly since volleyball, ‘samu. If I have to wait again, shit, I-I don’t fucking mind.”

Osamu sees the glint of conviction in his eyes and lets out another hefty sigh, god, he feels like he’s aging faster because of his twin, “I know you won’t listen to me.” he settled, he knew that if Atsumu wanted something, he wouldn’t stop until he got it, “Just know that I fucking told you so.”

You’re wary.

After that little stint your mother had pulled, she kept calling you and bothering you. It also didn’t help that you ended up on tabloids because someone had caught wind of that little moment you and Atsumu had. If it weren’t for your kids' over-excitement on Atsumu’s promise, you wouldn’t be here, “...Y/N-san? Are you alright?” Sugawara asks, tilting his head in curiosity as you enter the arena.

Some people seemed to have recognized you and the kids that you had to hold onto them tightly in case anyone did try to approach you.

“I’m good.” 

“Kaasan, kaasan, I saw a super big picture of Hinata-san!” Youta called out, pointing at a rather big banner of the orange-haired blocker.

“I think I saw Kageyama-san buying milk, can I follow him, kaasan?” Yuuto adds, blinking innocently as he looked at one of the stalls.

Sugawara is absolutely in awe by your calmness in this situation, he knows that you’re probably feeling far from alright after all those gossip articles came out. Atsumu, of course, tries to lessen your burden by letting out a public statement that you were his good friend back in college but it didn’t really help since someone tweeted a picture of the both of you back in college with the caption that you were exes.

“Could you do me a favor, Sugawara-san?” you turn to the man, “Do you mind switching seats with me? Stay with the boys in front while I just stay at your seat?”

“Sure but wouldn’t Atsumu be-”

“Please.” You frowned, giving your ticket to him, “I’ll take the kids right after the match.”

The boys looked at you in complete wonderment when you didn’t follow them to the front row. You maintained a good distance as the game started, the players being introduced on the big screen. Your eyes narrow when Atsumu gets out of the dugout and gazes at your kids in confusion then around the crowd as if he was looking for someone.

“Don’t be silly.What feelings would there be but hatred?”

“It’s anything but that, L/N-san.” 

You felt your fists clench as soon as the game started, you wanted to direct your focus to the game but Inunaki’s words kept bothering you and pestering you throughout the whole thing. Why did Atsumu like doing this to himself? Was this some sort of premonition? Were you going to have to tell him?

What if it ended up like your parents?

Would your kids end up like you?

Cold, untrusting, and anxious?

Would you end up like your mother?

A borderline alcoholic, desperate for a man’s love?

Would Atsumu wake up and realize one day that this was all a mistake and call you one too? Blaming you for every single bad thing in his life?

You held your doll tightly on your hands as you held your breath behind the pillar, you had just come home from Daiki’s house as you heard the loud voices of your parents arguing again. For the past years, it seemed to have worsened and you spent more time around your friend’s house rather than this cold and big empty place you called home.

“...are you doing? It's the middle of the day! Stop drinking!” you hear your father bellow.

“What’s it to you? Shouldn’t you be around with that young woman? That whore you proudly call your business associate?” 

You flinch as you hear those harsh words and the sound of a bottle breaking, it seemed like the argument was particularly bad today. You shakily make your way up to your room, wanting to avoid this ordeal and skip dinner but fate wasn’t on your side today. 

Despite your light footsteps, they seem to have noticed your presence.

Your father’s eyes soften just a bit while your mother’s remain cold. As much as possible, you grew up wanting to avoid those scary and expressionless eyes. At the young age of five, you feared your mother and loathed your father at the same time but that didn’t stop the fleeting feeling of wanting them to change. Wanting to feel the warmth and youth that every child craved for.

You suck in a deep breath, “I-I’m home, okaasan, otosan.”

“You’re always out these days, Y/N.” her voice is cold, far from the warmth that a mother should have.

“I-I was out with Daiki.”

“With that boy again?” a frown immediately paints her features, a small tsk under her breath to signal how disappointed she was of you yet again, “Aren’t you supposed to be studying? You said you wanted to skip a grade this year.”

“I-I am.” you replied, “B-but Daiki-”

“All you need to do is study and get good grades, Y/N.” she cuts you off, walking close to you, the smell of alcohol growing stronger, “Is that something too hard to do? Are you being ungrateful now?”

You turn to your father for help but he remains unmoved, was he really going to watch your mother do this to you? You hold onto your doll tightly, trying to control yourself. You shouldn’t cry, especially not in front of them. 

“N-No, okaasan…”

“Then why are you crying, Y/N?”

Your eyes widen as you feel the wet substance flowing down. No, no-

“Answer me.” she repeats, you feel the tears flowing down faster, “Why are you crying, Y/N? Are you feeling ungrateful? Is that how it is-”

“(M/N) That’s enough!” Your father finally says but your mother continues to ignore your father.

“Don’t you think we should tell her that she shouldn’t feel sad?” she expressed, telling your father as if you weren’t standing there, “After all, we didn’t have her aborted, she should be grateful we let her live well with three meals a day and expensive clothes and belongings. Even if she was a mistake.”

You're shaking so hard at the moment, you didn’t like where this was going at all. Your father can’t respond to your mother’s blank tone, did he agree too? Were you, were you really just a mistake? Countless questions flooded your head as she walked close to you, her cold presence looming over you even more so today. With the same blank and expressionless tone, she says, "if you probably hadn't been born, we would've been happier. We'd have better lives, Y/N. So don't go around and cry and think you got it bad, you hear me? Your sadness is nothing compared to ours. It's nothing, Y/N. So stop being ungrateful."

You watch as the game comes to an end. You had zone out for the most part, the fleeting memory of your past and your anxiety bubbling up couldn’t keep you still. You texted Sugawara that you’d meet him and the boys at the front.

You were about to leave your seat when you saw the blonde approach the kids after the game, ruffling their hairs and pinching their cheeks with a huge smile. Why couldn’t you be as open as Atsumu? Why couldn’t you express yourself well? 

You shut your eyes tight and turn to the exit, right, you were a coward. You didn’t face things like this head-on, you ran from them because in all your life, the only thing you knew was fear from people you expected love from.

“Y/N…” 

You turn to find Atsumu standing there, still in his jersey and a towel hung on his shoulder like he had just ran out to chase you. Where was Sugawara and the kids? Why weren’t they here yet? What is he even doing here? You grab his wrist and immediately pull him towards a private area.

“Are you out of your mind? What are you doing? You have a girlfrie-”

“We broke up.” he cuts you off.

“W-what?” 

“We broke up.” He repeats, “I couldn’t stay with her anymore, Y/N.”

You clenched your fists, what was he even thinking? Wouldn’t the rumors worsen if he broke up with her now?

“I-I can’t let you go again.” Atsumu confessed, throwing all his pride out the window again for you because damn it all, you are worth it,  “I can’t keep pretending that I’ve moved on when I’m clearly hung up on you.”

“What are you doing?” You spat, anger slowly creeping in, all the pent up emotion towards him being released, “Why would you do that?”

Atsumu notices the change of emotion, you’re getting angry. It’s a complete contrast to what he was expecting, he’d expect the calm and cool exterior, even expected you to cooly reject him like the past but this, this was new, “Why can’t I?”

“Are you out of your mind?” You exclaimed, “I left you! I have kids from another man-”

“So?” He asks, walking closer to you. The familiar smell of perfume and sweat invaded your senses, something you were accustomed to when you were dating him back then. He traps you between the wall and him. You can see the busted lip, what happened to him? Did he got into a fight? You feel like your mind was turning blank by the sudden events. You want to say something, anything but he’s rendering you speechless again, “What if I tell you I don’t care? What if I tell you that I still feel the same even after all this time?”

“Y-You're insane...I-I’m in love with someone else-” you tried to lie but you remember this is Miya Atsumu, he doesn’t give two shits and was willing to work as hard as he could to get what he wanted.

“Y/N, your kids told me that the bastard left. Why didn’t you tell me?” he cuts you off, this time, his voice seemed disappointed and angry yet you didn't know if it was towards you.

“W-what would you have done then?”

“If you’d come back to me then,” he paused, voice turning soft, “I would’ve helped you. I would’ve been there to stand in as a father if you even needed one.”

You’re trembling at his confession, were those words really from the heart? 

“Y/N, I don’t know what happened between you and that guy.” he laughs, he didn’t expect it to be like this, that even after six years he’d still be pinning over the same woman who repeatedly broke his heart, “I don’t know what happened between you and your fucked-up family. All I do know is that I’m still in love with you and I’m willing to wait here until you’re ready. I won’t ever leave, Y/N. I-I don’t think I ever will.”

“You’re crazy.” You shakily point out, you’re in a fit of rage. You’re angry at him, you’re angry that he still lowers himself to you when he could do so much better, you’re angry that he still feels the same after all the shit you put him through, most of all, you’re angry at yourself because you couldn’t own up and tell him about everything.

Atsumu slowly holds up his hands, wanting to cup your cheeks but it is immediately swatted away. He notices that you’re trembling now, your facade, slowly crumbling.

“What made you think that I’d come back to you?” Your voice was trying to maintain it’s cold and emptiness tone yet your eyes showed the complete opposite, “Please be selfish for once, Miya-san. Just because you give your all to me, does not mean I’ll return it. I hope I really don’t see you again.”

taglist [taglists are sadly closed now, thanks guys <3]

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@misosamu  @Etherynaw  @ryaaaax @differentballooncollection @keniloveshaikyuu @allysasteaparty   @syzygymai [hi, i can’t seem to tag u guys, i think you need to open your tags uwu]

[nobodies-png]

How would Sora, Riku and Axel argue with thier s/o and make things up to them afterwards?

Sora :

Arguing with Sora is rather tricky. It never escalates to more than a silly fight between you two over the smallest of things - hogging the blanket, losing the remote, forgetting to do the dishes. It’s all mundane problems you two often laugh off. HOWEVER, if it’s something BIGGER and SERIOUS ? He’s taking the FULL blame for it, this is the way Sora operates 24/7 and OH HONEY

I’m trying to say that Sora’s developed some heavy ass martyr complex and he’s an unconscious hypocrite whose first instinct is to shoulder the blame for absolutely EVERYTHING that happens in his general vicinity and who cannot listen to reason at times, especially when his constant optimism stops working. So when a REAL argument breaks out it’s ENTIRELY because Sora cannot fix the problem at hand with empty sweet Disney promises, so he immediately blames himself. Like, please go argue with Xenahort INSTEAD of Sora if you can, cause holy shit there’s some layers and baggage here. 

I got carried away thinking about Sora’s mental health. EITHER WAY. The argument between you and Sora doesn’t EVEN feel like an argument - because he’s just there taking the blame, saying yes to absolutely everything you say and somehow making you feel like you're overreacting. Chances are you’ll pop a vessel and LEAVE because talking to him is just so infuriating. And it’ll be EVEN more infuriating when you see Sora trying to make amends without giving you space or time to process what happened. 

He leaves you heartfelt voice messages or texts apologizing, shows up with gifts at your doorstep, you name it. Sora is stubborn and persistent, probably asking Kairi and Riku for more ways to show you that he's sorry - so he's not going to stop until you go and actually tell him that you need him to back off for a bit. And maybe sit him down and force him to talk things out for real, it's going to be really difficult for him but he'll try for the sake of making the relationship work.

Riku :

Contrary to popular belief, even if Riku is/was (depending on how you look at it and who you ask) the edgiest of the trio, he is the most emotionally mature of them, too - since he’s had time to come to terms with all of his emotional baggage and work it out (while everyone he loved fell asleep/got lost/etc, yikes). Arguments with him are scarce, since he’s learned how to be more rational and calm, rather than just a frat boy with an inferiority complex. You're important to him, so he takes your feelings and thoughts into account and strives for a happy middle ground.

Buuuut even with all of this maturity, Riku still has his moments of paranoia where he might overreact and become overbearing, claiming it's for your "sake". Making something out of nothing. You know it. Perhaps he insists that you miss out on some big opportunity because "there's gotta be a catch". Something like that might cause a big argument between you two. Riku, always a pessimist at heart, will tell you about all the things that could go wrong, confess the fear of losing yet another loved one to something he could've easily prevented, etc - which only fuels his fears even more !

If you ignore his warnings, Riku would most likely try really hard to ignore you, in a "if you wanna be that way, then fine, go on" kind of way. Play it cool or whatever lmao. But he'd be checking up on you either way through social media or asking any mutual friends you might share if you're doing alright - cause there's no way he can confront you right off the bat (even though yknow, you've most likely been dating for a while but ok Riku). Until he calms down, stops getting embarrassed at his cringe behaviour, realizes he's overreacted and finally asks you to talk, face to face.

Not the type to bring any gifts to apologize, though - Riku feels that's a very awkward thing to do, as if he's somehow forcing you to forgive him just because he brought nice flowers. Gifts should be given to celebrate, not beg for forgiveness. His apology is very direct and honest, but if you leave him talking for too long, Riku will toted start to stutter out of embarrassment and oh boy. If possible he'd like to find a solution that respects both his and your feelings on the matter, so it doesn't happen again !

Axel :

This guy is all about full on confrontation, quite ironic for someone who was meant to be a sneaky assassin. He likes to rile people up for fun, because seeing everyone's reactions is interesting and you're no exception - you're no stranger to Axel's constant teasing. But sometimes, it can get out of fuckin' hand, maybe with a poorly timed joke, a comment that was meaner than intended, maybe you were just tired that day and didn't have the energy for his shenanigans. Either way, the argument totally starts because of Axel's oblivious ass and lack of touch.

Again, to him it's all fun and games - if he's offended you, he will apologize and make it ip to you with light touches and kisses. But if you continue being mad after he's apologized, Axel would just leave and let you calm down. He's not around the age range of Sora and Riku, sometimes people want to be angry and he gets it, catharsis is good. Still, Axel is impatient, so if you're not over it in a few hours, he WILL start complaining - again jokingly, to test the waters - but that will just escalate shit even further.

And that's when he starts being defensive. He's not above bringing up things in the past, and trying to one up you when it comes to volume if you raise your voice at him. Deadass like those dramatic couple fights in teen movies. Usually, it either ends with you two crying while eating ice cream together or making out, but the REALLY serious fights often end with you guys not talking to each other for weeks. And EVERYONE always knows whenever you two have a big fight.

Axel never apologizes openly, since he believes actions speak louder than words. Instead, he shows up at your house at 3 am, mascara running like the drama queen he is, waiting to be let inside so he can hug it out with you. And also make mental notes in his brain to be more mindful next time. For the next few days, he'll treat you to anything you'd like - from great dates to helping you around the house with any chores until he feels he's finally made it up to you.

[mimiplaysgames]

Terraqua Week Day 1 (Weak Spot)

Summary: We all have to make peace with the past. (In which Terra returns in Xemnas’s body and I scream SIZE DIFFERENCE.) || Word Count: 8,319

Read on AO3

A/N: AAAAAHHHH I’m so excited that we’re doing a whole other @terraquaweek !! I have to apologize ahead of time, my fics this year are super long and super packed, but I’m pretty proud of this collection and I can’t wait for y’all to read! I can’t wait to hear what you think! <3

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When Time Takes You For Granted

Terra looks so different. 

No matter—Aqua has to fight. She can’t hold back when he summons red sabers of light from his palms, can’t falter when he hammers them against the staff of her Keyblade, can’t blink when canyon dust is kicked into her eyes, can’t be fooled by his face because this man is not Terra and couldn’t ever pretend to be.

He opens his arms to conjure a fatal blow—but he underestimates her speed. She’s grown up fighting large men. He is no big deal. 

The man with Terra’s face withers when she strikes his midsection. One arm grips his stomach to hold himself together and he brings his other hand up. Dark tendrils evaporate from the leather of his gloves. 

“As you wish,” he says to her, richly voiced, smooth as a river stone. “Friend.” He staggers to his knees, groaning as he flickers away.

“Terra!” Ven calls, too fast for Aqua to hold back. The man still wears that same black cloak that marks him as a member of the Organization.

The man shivers when Ven shakes him awake, a quiet “Aqua? Ven?” escaping his lips. He huffs out a hoarse chuckle that clutches out of pain, with a voice that sounds like a morning at the summit of a mountain. “Ven, you’re so short.” 

There he is.

“Terra.” Aqua rushes over. “Can you hear me? How do you feel?” she asks, checking for signs of physical injury, a refusal to use a limb, the inability to breathe. 

His breath stutters. “Aqua?” There he is.

“I’m here.”

He pants, opening his eyes—now blue again, his hair dark again, there he is. He jerks forward as if desperate to find her, but it’s like he can’t see her. In a drunk and feverish whimper, barely with the strength to sit himself up, he stumbles back. “Aqua. Aqua, I have to tell you something.”

“Don’t worry about that,” she says, checking his temperature with the back of her hand, “just rest.”

“No, I have to say it,” he mumbles. “I have to. I didn’t last time, I didn’t and look what happened—”

“Okay,” she whispers. “Go ahead.” 

He pauses, moaning, “I’m sorry. I love you.”

“What?”

Ven bursts into a fit of hysteria. “Perfect timing, Terra. Ten out of ten.”

But Terra seems unaware, straddling between the drift to sleep and the fight to stay awake. He nods as if to confirm, mumbling to himself like a baby.

Aqua stares at him, her heart itching to hear it again in case she misunderstood. She has daydreamed of this moment—not like this, anything sweeter than this but genuine all the same—and yet it comes to her like a splash of ice on the face. Terra is older. He has more pronounced cheekbones with less elasticity in the skin, folds of dimples and knowledge when his lips twitch, a thicker jawline, a stronger nose. A glimpse of the future, his long brown hair stretching past the shoulders, oily and excessively gelled up for ridiculous bangs. Aqua brushes his cheek with her fingers.

She should have said something years ago, too. 

“What’s going on?” a voice calls out. Riku’s. He skids to a stop when he sees them. “Is that Xemnas?”

The man Aqua fought never introduced himself, but he sure liked to talk a lot. Whoever he was, he’s not relevant anymore. “He’s delirious. We need help picking him up.”

“Wait a minute,” Riku says, approaching them with a smidge too much caution for Aqua to appreciate. “I’ve been fighting Terra all these years?” 

“Xehanort,” Aqua says quietly, wrapping Terra’s arm over her shoulders. She shuffles her knees. He’s too heavy. “You’ve been fighting Xehanort.”

Riku nods. It’s his way of apologizing. “Well. That sucks.” He offers to take the other arm. “Xemnas was the leader of the first Organization. A self-inflated piece of work… I didn’t know who he really was. I didn’t recognize him.” He pulls a smile to his face and nudges Ven with his elbow. “Sora and I made sure to give him a hard time.”

Aqua wants him to stop talking. 

Footsteps approach them, crunchy with the sound of sand and dirt, and Aqua braces herself for what’s to come. Riku whips around to prepare an explanation, but it’s none other than Kairi. 

She sees them with wide and round eyes. Brings her hand to her mouth. “Riku?” Kairi says specifically, asking him questions with her eyes in a private language Aqua can’t understand. 

He shrugs. “What do you want me to say?”

Kairi sits on her knees, her skirt too short to cover them from the dirt. “This poor boy. It’s not fair.”

Aqua purses her lips. Ven stares past everyone else. 

“We’re all getting punished,” Kairi continues like the sting of knowing that after all is said and done, Sora is gone somewhere and here are Aqua and Ven picking up their own brittle, little pieces. “Look at him.” 

Riku sighs. “I have space in my Gummi ship for him. But we need to be quick about it.”

Kairi gasps, wide-eyed. “That’s right.”

Aqua doesn’t want to ask why. Ven does it for her. “What’s up?”

“We can’t let the others see him,” Riku says.

Too late. Roxas appears on the other side of the clearing, heavy in breath. He’s sweet and gentle even when it seems like his mind is a distance away. He looks exactly like Ven but nothing like Ven, a grimness to his smile and a thoughtfulness to his speech like he’s seen and knows too much. 

Roxas frowns. “What are you doing?” 

“We’re helping him,” Aqua says as a matter of fact, flexing her ankles to stand up with Riku, shouldering half the weight. Terra stumbles on his feet, mumbling something about not wanting to step on any mice. “This is Terra, by the way.”

Roxas stares. “Why?” he asks accusingly. 

Aqua stammers. How this boy who has been ripped away from his own friends could ask such a thing— 

“Come on, he’s our friend,” Ven says. 

“You call him a friend?” Roxas points at Terra. “Do you even know what he’s done?”

Xehanort. What Xehanort has done, but Aqua stops herself from snapping. She says softly, “Terra would never—” 

“What if Terra saw what happened? What if he knew? Is he the type to be okay with that?”

She glares at him. No answer comes to her, except when Xemnas called her a Friend.

Kairi steps forward, arms out like a barrier. “He needs medical attention. We don’t have to talk about this right now.”

And they won’t have the chance. Xion slowly comes up behind Roxas. They’re both dressed in the same black cloak that Terra wears like it’s a mark, a forced tattoo. She has her hands cupped into each other, bringing them to her chest like they’re a shield. 

“Roxas?” Xion asks. She looks terrified.

“Forget it,” Roxas says, turning over and tugging her by the elbow. “This is dumb. We don’t need to care or be here.” 

Aqua refuses to fight this battle, not when Terra is wheezing and flinching as if he’s being crushed under mineral and earth. 

“Kairi,” Riku says solemnly, “just guide us back to the ship.” He says to Aqua, “If it’s any consolation, I think he would’ve done something if he knew.” 

Aqua nods, choosing to create solace out of his delicate comfort, if only to find the strength to drag Terra across the desert.

It’s a laborious but peaceful walk, what with Kairi talking about healing potions (I’ve learned some during training, maybe I can make Terra one?), and Ven excited about the first meal they’ll have together as a trio again (Pancakes, Aqua. Pancakes.), until they find Lea standing in front of the Gummi ship. He has his hands in the pockets of his cloak, and Aqua wonders if he’s concealing weapons. 

Lea is a double-sided coin. One side a mask with a running end of jokes and playful jabs designed to hide the other, steely and scrutinizing. 

“I promised myself I would never see Roxas that upset again,” Lea says, as if to blame them for breaking it. “I’ve never seen Xion that upset.” That brand of Lea-lilt in his voice, the one he uses every time he spits out Got it memorized?, is gone, and Aqua admits she respects him more for it. Lea nods over to Terra. “Shouldn’t we leave the trash where it belongs?”

“You’re really going to ask that when you’ve been pining all this time for Saïx?” Riku snaps. 

Lea laughs. “You might as well shave my entire head and tell people I’m ugly.” He chills over. “I’m no saint either, but don’t compare us to”—he points at Terra, not Xehanort or Xemnas or whoever—“him. You want to know what I think of Xemnas? He doesn’t deserve an ounce of the worst. The core of rotten fruit. The smell of ass after a trip to the bathroom. The pits of the ocean where all the fish shit clump together and the bloat of dead flesh float around.”

“Don’t mind him,” Riku tells Aqua and Ven. “He likes to exaggerate.”

“I like to make a point.” Lea steadies his breath, hot petrol on the verge of exploding, letting the steam lose pressure. “I like to tell the truth when it matters.”

Aqua glares at him. She doesn’t know Lea that well, and doesn’t know what matters of truth are supposed to mean. But she holds her head high. Her truth screams from the inside of her head. 

“Terra would never,” she announces. 

Lea scoffs. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ven trips on dragging fabric. They’re taking some of the Master’s old robes to Terra, who can’t fit into any of his own clothes anymore. The castle at the Land of Departure is stiff and quiet, like a long-lost stranger. Home isn’t home but a dream, a memory, a trip through aged photos.

“I don’t think this is going to work,” Ven says in a sing-song voice.

“The Master was a large man,” Aqua insists. 

“Yeah, but Terra’s bicep is bigger than your head now.”

That’s true and… not something Aqua wants to think about—his body though, it’s impressive—not if she wants to hide the blush in her cheeks. Terra is huge now, the crown of her head reaching the base of his diaphragm. He’s so broad that if he hugs her, she’d disappear into the flesh. 

Aqua and Ven turn the corner and enter Terra’s room, who has a towel wrapped around his hips. He’s fussing with the wet roots of his hair.

“So much grease,” Terra complains, scratching his scalp with the pads of his fingers. “What the stars was this guy thinking with all this hair gel?”

Aqua stares at the wood of his dresser—not at how sculpted his muscles are (more than ever, actually). Not at the chisels and grooves on his back as he breathes and moves to grab a robe from the rumpled stack is Ven’s arms.

“That one will look nice,” Aqua says, eyeing the ivory color of the robe Terra chose.

“Might,” Ven corrects. “Might look nice.”

Terra snorts. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re bigger than a rhino.”

He laughs. He sounds the same. “All the more to terrorize people with,” Terra says and it wretches at her chest. 

“Glad to know you’re still an idiot.”

Terra slips his arms through the sleeves, pulling the robe over his shoulders and across his chest. It’s not flattering. The seams are stretched, the threads exposed, and it wears on his shoulders so tightly that the muscles form hills under the fabric. 

Ven points and laughs. “I told you. No one listens to me.”

Aqua pulls the robe off Terra’s shoulders when he slouches into his chair. She tosses it with the rest of the Master’s unfittable artifacts onto Ven’s arms. “Can you take care of these? I’ll stay and help Terra.”

Ven eyes her. With a knowing grin. Like an imp that should be slapped. “Do what? Put his pants on?”

Terra gapes. “What?”

“You’re obnoxious,” Aqua says to Ven.

“You’d miss me if I wasn’t,” Ven says with his nose high to the ceiling. He leans forward, the imp smile stretching to reach ear to ear, curled upwards. “But Terra would like it, wouldn’t he?”

Terra coughs and clears his throat. “Ven, get out.” He waves his arm—and a crash explodes before Aqua can understand what happened. Everything in his room—his shoes, the coat rack, the lamp by his bed, his pillows, books from the shelf, dirty laundry that hasn’t been washed in a decade, dust collected from the same amount of time—fly at Ven. The comforter in particular is what knocks him over.

“What was that?” Ven squeals, sitting up from the rubble. “What was that?”

Terra’s lip quivers. He stares at his hands. “I don’t know.”

“It’s okay,” Aqua says, bending over to stack books in her arms. “Ven, get a broom and some rags. We’ve got some cleaning to do.” 

Ven trips before heading off, like he couldn’t wait to get out. Aqua has a feeling he’s going to bug her for details later. 

“I’m so sorry,” Terra whispers, balling his hands into fists and shoving them into his lap as a preemptive measure. 

The Organization’s cloak sits thrown on the floor, still dusty. Aqua pads the excess off. 

“Don’t worry,” she says, pulling cheer from somewhere inside to lighten the mood. “I’ll sew you a new robe.”

Terra won’t look at her. He mumbles her a word of thanks when she hands his dirty cloak over.

“Leather can’t be scrubbed like everything else,” she explains. “I’ll clean it later.”

“It’s fine,” Terra says, holding it in his giant hands. He doesn’t move to put it on, and instead stares at the large mirror hanging over his desk in front of him. Aqua stands by his side. She’s tall, but she never once considered herself as thin, her frame skeletal by comparison. 

By comparison, she hasn’t changed.

Well, she has. Her smiles are not the same. 

Terra’s hair is messy, now with much more for her to brush her fingers through. She doesn’t try. “I don’t remember any of these,” he whispers. 

The scars. Knicks in crossed-over patterns across his chest and biceps. A rippled scorch mark by his elbow like a crater, a gouge on one side by the stomach, a deep ravine on the other, near the ribs. More on his back, a textured map for nowhere to go. 

“Not a single one.” His voice cracks. 

Aqua caresses his shoulder. Those scars are not stories he needs to hear. “What do you remember?” She actually doesn’t want to know, in case Roxas was right. 

“Nothing.” 

She wants to be relieved, but she isn’t. “Nothing at all?” In twelve years?

“No.” 

Aqua wraps her arms around his shoulders from behind him, aware of how he tenses at first and relaxes after, a puzzle piece fitting in exactly the right spot. “Where were you?”

“I don’t know.” He sighs, leaning his head onto hers. “I wasn’t anywhere, I… I don’t want to talk about it.”

“That’s fine.” Twelve years of nothing and twelve years living with nightmares; there’s not much to talk about. She traces a divot on his shoulder. “I know this one.”

“Yours,” Terra says. When he smirks that way, he looks the same as he always had.

“I stabbed you with a wooden sword.”

“My wooden sword.” He brushes his fingers on the scar. As if he’s reminded of something, Terra frowns. “I was just a kid.” He studies his skin on the reflection, pulling on his face with his fingers, watching the way the skin ripples, the sharpness of cheekbones, the dips and dimples that didn’t used to be there. There are thick streaks of silver underneath the outer layers when he brushes his hair back. He never asked for this. “Can we get rid of every mirror in the castle?” he whispers.

Aqua lets him go. The way he asks makes her want to try memory alteration, to slowly erase what haunts him so he doesn’t have to deal with harsh reminders or sudden blows to the mind. She forces herself to smile—if she shows distress, it would only upset him more. There is nothing they can do about the past and there won’t be a mention of what it’s robbed from them.

“Maybe just the one in here. I’ll help.” 

Terra stands up and takes one of his old, simple cotton shirts that he prefers when he goes to bed while Aqua tests the bottom part of the ornate frame. It won’t budge, heavy as lifting a boulder. 

“I look ridiculous,” she hears Terra say. The shirt is as tight as second skin, what used to sit on him loosely now gripping for dear life across his upper stomach, his belly button exposed. 

Aqua purses her lips, heat to her cheeks. “Do you remember waking up?”

“Where?” He’s layering the cloak over the scandal. 

“At the Keyblade Graveyard.”

“No,” he says. She’s known him for years. She can tell he’s sincere. “Why?”

“Just wondering how far your memory goes,” she says, playing serious. She’ll have to figure out a different way to bring up that conversation. “I can’t lift this alone.”

“Not a problem.” Terra grabs his side of the mirror and lifts it off its hook like it’s a single piece of paper.  He clears his throat. “Um—wow.”

“That’s impressive,” Aqua says, and Terra blushes purple. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Aqua makes it back home in time for lunch, and finds Terra sitting on the bar that splits the kitchen from the dining room, wearing his cloak with the zipper open, no shirt and leather pants. It must be blistering hot in those considering the sunny weather. He’s complained about having to sleep naked. 

She presents him with several bags on the counter. Rolls of fresh cotton shirts and pants for lounging, nylon for sparring and wool for the winter. He splits a warm grin when he feels how soft they are. It almost brightens his deep dark circles. 

“I also found these gorgeous fabrics,” Aqua says, showing him the silk she means to make him a new robe in that same ivory color, with embroidered, rust-colored strips that she’ll use for the borders and trims. “This will look good with your armor.” 

“Let me show you what I’ve been working on.” On his lap are a set of the Master’s old hakama. Terra is attempting to tailor it…all through hand sewing, the needle swallowed by his thick fingers. The threads are bunched up and knotted over, if they don’t skip some parts. “What?” he asks. She must be making a face. “It’s ugly isn’t it.”

“Nothing that skill can’t help,” Aqua says, taking the pants from him and not apologizing for anything.

He taps the counter with his fingers. “Riku told me about Xemnas.”

Aqua stops the urge to groan, folding over the fabric carefully and pretending that name doesn’t boil her blood. “What did he say?”

“Xemnas was a telekinetic.” 

That explains some things. “Okay.”

“Apparently he could lift entire buildings.”

Aqua snorts.

Terra leans forward. “Hey, you can’t blame me for the back door.”

“But it makes sense.”

Terra has blown open said door. He has also destroyed historical statues and windows that are difficult to replace. He has even ripped a tree from its roots when he practiced his powers outside. The more he gets scared of these abilities, the more destructive he becomes. Terra’s body is not entirely sane on its own either—he’ll step on pebbles, on glass barefoot, and he can’t feel a thing. 

“Can you answer Riku for me?” He pulls the Gummiphone from his pocket, the device smaller than his palm. “The buttons are too small. I’m thinking of asking Chip and Dale to build me a custom-sized one.” 

She takes his phone, the screen smudged with his round fingertips, larger than her nails. “Are you going to stop training your new powers?”

He flinches. “They’re not mine.”

“Well...” she says gently, cradling his phone in her hands. It’s warm from his touch. 

“Not that I can control them.” He huffs, frustrated enough to crack the counter in half if he tries. 

“Why don’t you show me how far you’ve come?”

He glares at her. 

“The oranges.” She points to the kitchen on the other side of the room. Oranges, pears, and apples sit in a wooden bowl by the sink. “Pick one of them up.”

“That’s a little too much to ask for.”

“One tiny orange?” She smirks. “You can balance it on your pinky.”

He scoffs. “You talk as if you like me like this.”

Aqua clears her throat, suddenly deep in a trench that she can’t climb out of. “You can’t help what happened to you, but you can help yourself.”

Terra rolls his eyes. “Yes, ma’am. Stars, it’s like being in class again.”

“I’m pleased with that. Try sliding the bowl over.”

Terra leans his elbows onto the counter and opens his palms, his fingers curled like claws. What surprises her is how fast the bowl responds, like it’s channeling an emotional reaction, immediate and neurotic. It rattles, as if it weighs several tons under an ocean. 

Aqua looks over at his furrowed concentration, sweat glistening as though he’s wrestling instead of picking up fruit. “What’s stopping you?”

“I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

She smiles. “There was a day when we didn’t know what our Keyblades would look like. That was exciting and terrifying at the same time, remember?”

“You sound like the Master.”

“I take that as a compliment.”

Terra grunts. “Fine, I’ll try harder.” Though he doesn’t have to prove anything to Aqua. Ever.

Terra waves his hands to the right and—disaster.

The bowl flips over and crashes into the fridge. 

Plates and mugs burst out of the cupboards, shattering when they hit the floor. Pots and pans soar, crossing the entire kitchen and slamming into the grandfather clock, destroying the glass casing and tearing apart the inside as gears sputter to the floor. 

The clockface nearly lands on Ven’s head when he enters with a glass of water in his hand. He freezes. It cracks when it hits the tile. Forks, spoons, and other utensils spin past him and stab the wall, the knives wedged into it. 

“Ven!” Aqua calls, running to him. He’s fine. If anything, he’s shivering from shock. 

“Ven,” Terra starts, scrambling up from the stool but he flicks his hands too quickly. The water from Ven’s glass splashes him on the face. “Stars, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t,” Ven says, wiping his face. “Worry about it.” He inhales. “You nearly impaled me.” 

“I’m sorry—”

“Sit,” Ven says, pointing at Terra. “On your hands.”

Terra does as he’s told, slumping his shoulders over as if to shrink. But it’s a parody, an elephant hiding behind a palm tree, a giant monster puppy rejected.

Ven looks over the destroyed grandfather clock—it was one of the Master’s newer ones, who developed a fondness for them late into his life. “This one was a stars-damned eyesore, anyway.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Aqua is dressed in her shorts and shirt, preparing for bed when she hears another crash, this time a dull crack, breaking apart right outside her bedroom. 

Terra is carrying a door handle, still attached to shards of wood. He is furiously shivering, wearing the new clothes she bought for him.

“Terra, are you okay?” she asks gently.

With effort, he calms himself, the handle shaking in both of his hands, a hole in his door the only other thing amiss. “I can fix it.” His undereye circles are getting awfully puff, his voice broken by static. 

“You should really get some sleep,” she says, stepping out. 

He sighs forcefully, as if to ask her to stop. “I can’t.”

She nods. “It’s hard for me to sleep, too.”

“I can’t help but feel like my body is going to sleepwalk without me knowing.”

“I don’t think it would.” She smirks but it doesn’t comfort him. “I take rounds around the castle sometimes. I would notice if you’re a zombie.”

His lips quiver, and he squeezes the handle as if to snap it on purpose. He doesn’t. Terra turns to her but stares hard at the floor. In a voice so quiet that he sounds like a small boy, he asks, “Can you stay with me tonight?”

Her heart jumps, trying to wretch itself out of her chest. “Terra?”

“I want to sleep. I can’t. I think it would be easier if…” He fiddles with the door handle, a shy boy unable to speak. “If you were with me.”

Aqua smiles. He’s braver than her for asking. “I’d feel safer behind a locked door. Come in.”

On her desk is her sewing machine, the pattern of his new robe designed, his measurements already taken, the fabric put together in pins and ready to be weaved with thread. 

But there is a mirror in her room, and when Terra enters, he stops in his place. 

“I’m sorry,” she says, moving to pull one of her bedsheets to cover it. 

“It’s fine,” Terra says, but she’s too fast, balancing out the coverage. He slouches on her chair and leans back with a grunt. His fair falls behind him like a cascade. It’s always been wonderfully thick and dark. Aqua indulges this time, brushing it with her fingers, tempted to braid it. He audibly relaxes, and says, “Riku told me what happened in the Graveyard.”

Aqua swallows. “What did he say?”

“How Roxas and Lea reacted.” He gets quieter the more he speaks, words slipping into weak whispers. “To me.” Tears drip out of his eyes, running to his ears and down his neck. He sniffs. “Xion is terrified of me and I don’t know how to live with myself.”

“It’s not your fault, Terra,” she says softly, lightly rubbing his scalp when she sweeps his glorious hair, brown and silver like silk on her skin. It soothes him. 

“Kairi said the same.”

“Kairi is wise.”

“She wants to find a way to get us all together.”

“I think that’s a great idea,” Aqua says, and he groans. “Let me figure out how to set that up. I’ll coordinate with her.”

“I don’t think that will end well.”

“We should try. We all have things in common and have faced similar hardships. We need each other as friends.”

“But look at me.”

She does. He’s beautiful. “I’m looking.”

“What am I going to do?” Terra has always been too sensitive for his own good. Aqua thinks about who she’d possibly call to help me. “They’ll never talk to me.”

“You’re already trying your best.”

“Aqua, I’ve been a beast since I’ve been home.” He rubs his thumb and fingers together. A body that fails him. 

“Terra, please, you’re fine the way you are.”

“Two more grandfather clocks under my belt and all the vegetables in the garden in my pocket,” he reminds her.

“Let’s try one more time,” she says, taking his hand. “I think if you could outwin your powers, you’d feel better.”

“Your room is too immaculate for me to mess with.”

“Not my room. On me.”

“Why would I do that?” Terra stands up. 

“I think if there’s a parameter that you’re forced to work under, you’d improve the way you want to.” 

Terra pauses. “And put you in danger?”

“If that’s what’s going to work.”

“I care too much about you to do that.”

“I know you love me,” Aqua says, startling herself. She shouldn’t have said that, especially now that he’s staring at her wide-eyed—but they’re best friends. Of course he loves her. Of course it’s the most natural thing to say. There’s not much more to imply. “You won’t hurt me.”

“Intentionally,” his voice croaks, looking everywhere around the room except at Aqua.

“What do you want out of your training, Terra?”

“I want to feel less like a freak.”

“Here I am.” She widens her arms. “Hit me with your best shot.”

“What if I fling you out the window like a rag doll?”

“You won’t.” Now she’s nervous he will.

“Or burst your skull open?”

“Then don’t.” Aqua swallows.

Terra sighs and runs a hand through his hair, the silver glistening from the light of her ceiling lamp. 

“Be gentle,” Aqua suggests.

Terra hesitates, one step too far behind necessary confidence. She takes both of his hands in hers, and he gives her a feathered squeeze in return. 

“Promise me you won’t break,” he says.

“Promise you won’t break me.”

He blinks back tears when he holds her waist, his hands a hearth through her thin shirt. He’s about to pick her up but he lets her go instead, intentionally widening his hands as if pulling strings. As though gravity has shut off, the air around her loses all weight. Her feet lift off the carpet and she’s suspended above her dresser, her limbs moving slowly as though she’s underwater. Terra trembles from so much concentration. He’s worried, delicate with her, lifting her up like a cloud drifting over a mountain, her desk distant like it’s inside a doll house, her bed too small for a body to sleep in.

She gasps. “Wow.”

Terra wrestles with a smile but every muscle is engaged as though he’s picking up a boulder. 

“You’re doing wonderful,” she says. When he looks up at her, he cries. “Now put me down. Gently.”

It’s like she’s asking him to drop that boulder, all collateral be damned. He groans, a vein throbbing on his forehead. He’s hesitant at first but he exhausts when he finally relaxes. The threads that hold her snap. Aqua falls. Terra catches her by her bare thighs. 

“You did so well,” she whispers, holding onto his shoulders. Dust collects on the top of her door frame that she’d never notice otherwise. “You’re so tall,” she laughs.

He sighs. “I’m so tired.”

“Oh, you can put me down.”

His arms stutter when he slides her off him, and he plops onto her mattress, the adrenaline making him tremble. But he smiles. That’s the most Aqua could ask for, and yet that’s the thing, for some reason, that unplugs the dam. 

“I know what it’s like,” she starts, resting a hand on his head. “I wish it never happened. I wish I didn’t have to meet Xemnas, or that I fell into Darkness. Or that anyone hurt you. We wasted all those years.”

“Don’t say that,” he says softly, tucking her hair behind her ear. “You came back the same and you can redo all that time. Enjoy it.”

“But you?”

Terra sighs. He’s aged. He lays on her mattress, knees sliding off the edge and feet firm on the floor. “I’m okay. I’ve made my peace.”

When she settles next to him, she has to curl her legs in, fitting right into his side, her head on his shoulder. She relaxes to the way he strokes her hair. Peace shouldn’t have to be made. It shouldn’t be bargained for, it shouldn’t be difficult to win in a twisted game. But it is for most people, isn’t it? It is for anyone who’s been betrayed, who has suffered misfortune, who has been robbed or tortured, who has been fractured into pieces with no reason to justify it. 

Terra and Aqua have kissed before out of curiosity, years ago. It left her wanting more. And the wanting has led to yearning. And the yearning lingered on, Aqua choosing to wait for the right moment, for the right hour, for the right occasion, letting it all slip her by each and every time for the most mundane reasons. Terra and Aqua have napped together in the woods, in the shade of a tree after hours of sparring, shoulder to shoulder, one of them promising to wake the other before they’re late for their lessons. 

“If I ever get up in the middle of the night...” Terra starts. 

“Where is this conversation going?” 

“And I’m not actually awake—”

“That’s not going to happen.”

“—and I’m walking around like a zombie—”

“Pfft.”

“—please hit me as hard as you can.”

Aqua chuckles. This shouldn’t be a joke at all and yet what else is there left for them to do? “As you wish.”

“Promise me you’ll wake me up. No matter what.”

“Of course.” Aqua nuzzles her face into his shoulder, feeling the way his pec curves over rock-hard muscle. “Always.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

They’re in the study, where some of the most outdated books in the castle find their home, for decoration more than anything.

Terra has new suspenders and hakama pants. The robe she’s designed for him, ivory with rust-colored trim, has one proper sleeve. The other is more of an open cape that curls under his armored arm, pinning at his shoulder like a shawl, made to show off the metal, burgundy and shiny. He’s elegant, tall and intimidating, respectable and warm. 

“I love it,” he says.

“You almost look like the Master,” Aqua says.

“Do you think he would have liked it?”

“I think he would have been proud.”

Ven knocks on the door frame, holding up an Okay gesture. “Nice getup.” 

Terra smirks. “It makes me look less scary.”

“Are you going to throw away the black cloak?”

Aqua flinches, pinching the robe and straightening it, though not because it needs it. 

“I’m still thinking about it,” Terra says. “It depends on how today goes.”

“Speaking of,” Ven says, and Aqua sighs. “Aqua, he’s here.”

As though all breath has been sucked out of the air, they fall quiet. The crackle of the fireplace snaps. 

“You doing okay?” she whispers to Terra.

He nods, but his skin turns green. 

“Just relax and get comfortable,” she says.

Ven follows Aqua to the entrance hall, where their guest has welcomed himself inside. Isa stands with a poise that demands to be matched with a level of professionalism. Aqua crosses her hands together and keeps them to herself.

“Thank you for coming,” she says. When she messaged him to be a mediator, she wasn’t sure what to expect. Lea and Isa may seem to be opposite but they are two peas in a pod that way. Lea is a book of riddles, one page contradicting its own backside depending on which version of him shows up that day. Isa’s book is blank.

“I appreciate your invitation,” Isa says, though an instinctual tick deep in her stomach tells her that appreciation was a difficult word for him to use. 

“Hey there.” Ven waves. 

Isa raises his eyebrows. “Hello, Ventus,” he says… and nothing else.

Ven glances at Aqua and blares a tight, awkward smile. “Okay. Well. I’ll leave you to it.”

After Ven leaves, Isa breathes, like he’s been holding it. “I suppose the rest of this visit will be similar.” The grin on his face is sudden whiplash for Aqua, his strict posture now with blurred edges. 

“In what way?” Aqua can’t quit the habit of letting go of her hands.

“Roxas usually wears a scowl. To see the same face greet me so warmly, it was quite the surprise.” 

“Ah.”

“But a welcomed one.” His intense green eyes drill a hole into her. “Believe me when I say that I’m more than happy to come here and see him for myself, though it puts me in a fickle position with my family.”

Aqua brings her hands to her heart. “I think Sora would want us all to get along.”

“If that’s the angle you want to approach this with, I’d say you have a moderate chance of convincing them.” 

She nods and leads the way. “He’s excited to meet you.”

Isa doesn’t reply. Terra is waiting on one of the lounge chairs in the study, telekinetically spinning pages on a book floating in front of him. He snatches the book as they approach him, and drops it on a nearby desk. 

Terra doesn’t say anything. Neither does Isa, who sits himself on a comfortable chair opposite and crosses his legs. Aqua, not knowing where to go or what to do with her hands, stands by Terra. She’s hoping for an amicable meeting, anticipating an interrogation.

Isa smirks and it’s not exactly inviting. “Shall we skip the pleasantries?”

Terra nods like a dog scolded. “I’m glad you’re here,” he says with a shaky voice. 

Isa hums, interlacing his fingers as he stares—rather studies Terra with scrutiny. “Do you remember me?”

Terra shakes his head, choking on a cough. “You’re asking the wrong person.” 

“Are you certain?”

“I know of you.”

“What do you know of me?”

“You’re with Lea.” Terra licks his lips and balls his hands into fists. He only gets this way when he’s being tested, when he wants to get every answer correct. “You’ve had a complicated history with Organization XIII.”

“Complicated,” Isa repeats. 

“You were a Nobody.”

Isa smirks coldly, much like how Aqua would have imagined from the stories she’s heard about Saïx. “We were brethren.”

Terra hangs his head. “I don’t know much else.”

“How is that possible?” 

“I don’t know. I resigned. It was so painful not to. I was nowhere. Nothing to have, nothing to see, nothing to hear. I waited for an opportunity for it to stop hurting—” Terra croaks. “And I woke up.”

Isa uncrosses his legs and anchors his elbows onto his knees, cupping his chin into his hands. “You’ve no memory of the command to manipulate Sora into vanquishing Heartless for us?”

“Why wouldn’t he?”

“To gather enough energy to summon Kingdom Hearts.”

“That doesn’t make any sense to me.”

Isa sighs, and Aqua swears it sounds like anticipation. “And the scar on my face?”

The way Isa asks demands an explanation, and Terra—sweet, sensitive Terra, whose eyes grow hollow—can’t handle the implication. 

“No. I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He grits his teeth, staring at the armrest. Aqua stops herself from speaking and holds his shoulder. There isn’t anything for Terra to be sorry for. 

Isa closes his eyes, trembling. After a moment, he jams his thumbs into his eyes and stills, silence befalling all of them, settling among the gentle presence of the fire and the movement of the clouds outside. 

When Isa sits up, eyes glassy but kept together, he summons a smile. Softly, he says, “You look nothing like him.”

Terra, at a loss for words, nods meekly. “Did you keep it? The black cloak?”

“Of course not.” Isa scoffs. “We burned ours.”

Terra offers no condolences or congratulations. He smiles, exhausted. 

Isa stands up. “Please don’t tell me you enjoy white wine with red velvet confections.”

Terra recoils, popping into a laugh as though he’s cracked under the pressure. “That sounds like it tastes awful. I don’t drink. I don’t like losing control of my body.”

The sound of Terra’s laugh shocks Isa. “Sensible.” He addresses Aqua with a look. “I must go. This has been… rather cathartic, and I’d prefer to release it in private.” 

Terra bolts out of his chair, reaching out to cradle one of Isa’s hands in both of his. 

“Thank you,” Terra says, and though Aqua is behind him, she could hear the tears. “Please come back whenever you feel comfortable. I’d love to have your company.”

Isa nods, turning over his shoulder for the door.

The abrupt exit leaves Terra pleading Aqua with his eyes. “Did I say something wrong?” he whispers, slapping his forehead. “I couldn’t honor his experiences. I should have figured out a way to remember.”

“That’s not your burden to bear. It wouldn’t help you anyway,” she whispers back, gently gripping his elbow. “I’ll be back.”

Aqua trails Isa back downstairs, skipping steps. It’s as though he’s in a hurry to get back home. 

“Isa,” she calls. When he stops, she almost trips on herself. Her hands return to their crossover position. Something about Isa makes her so self-conscious, it’s indescribable how he can unravel her like this. “I wanted to thank you again for taking the time to come here.” 

His eyes are pink. “I will tell the others there is nothing to fear.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Lea is unbearably stubborn, but he is intelligent. He already knows Terra is not to be blamed. He simply hasn’t buried his demons yet and that is his responsibility.”

Aqua sighs, relieved. “I needed to hear that.”

Isa doesn’t smile. Instead, he traces a finger across the X-shaped scar over his nose. “Terra and I are forced to face our mistakes in the mirror for as long as we breathe. If we are ever to forge a new life from the ashes, we would need to throw our transgressions into a pyre.”

“I think your presence makes him feel less alone.”

“I want to apologize, Master Aqua.”

“For what?”

Isa considers his words. “Lea and I have lost so much of our youth to a worthless cause. It is not natural for us to enjoy freedom. We expect a harsher punishment to catch up to us any day now, to steal more time from us. Perhaps we deserve to live in fear of that every day. I certainly do.” He watches her. “I can see the story you’ve endured this past decade in your eyes. It’s horrific.” 

Aqua stays quiet.

“And Terra,” he continues. “He will age and die long before you and Ventus. I’m so sorry for that. The rubble we’re left with, it is such a weight for us to bear.”

She wipes a tear from her cheek, too proud to let them continue. “That’s why we need to make the best of it.”

Isa smiles; this time it’s warm. He holds her bicep. “I agree.”

“Will you and the others join us for dinner? Terra speaks for all of us, we’d love to have you around.”

“Bribe Lea with an extravagant experience and he will surely say yes. The children will follow once we assure them.”

Aqua nearly jumps to hug him but she keeps herself composed. Instead, she bows to him. His eyes pulse open.

“That was not necessary,” he says.

“You need to understand how deeply I appreciate this.”

“Lea was right. You old-fashioned wielders are certainly an odd bunch.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

On her way back to the study, Aqua breaks into a sprint, desperate to fly so she could get to him as fast as possible, see his face when she delivers the news.

Terra sulks by a window. Before he could say anything, Aqua jumps and throws her arms around his neck in a clash of grunts, her legs dangling. 

“They’re going to join us for dinner,” she says. She can’t tell if she’s the one who’s trembling or if it’s Terra. Because her arms are wrapped around his neck, she drags him down with her when he relaxes. He rests his forehead on hers as he leans over her, his hair falling around her like a curtain. 

“Stars,” he whispers. “It’s happening?”

She smiles into his cheek. “He wants to bring everyone with him.”

He squeezes her by the small of her back. “We’ll have to invite the others too. Riku and Kairi. Naminé. It will be a feast.”

At the sound of his own words, Terra straightens out, and their fleeting moment of excitement vanishes as quick as it graces them. He nervously clutches a handful of his hair. “Wait, how soon are they coming?”

“Is something wrong?”

“I want to wear it in a ponytail.” He brushes his hair up, exposing the silver near the scalp. “Do you think it’s possible to dye it?”

That’s what makes him so insecure? Aqua stands on her toes to fiddle with the hair. “Come on. It’s a little tedious, but it can be done.”

Aqua snips the necessary plants from the garden, and after grinding them, she dumps the blend into a mix of water and animal fat. Terra slips his robe off and bends over the kitchen sink, letting her sweep the dye with a paintbrush and pinch it across the strands of his long hair with gloved hands. This is the tedious part, separating his hair into thin chunks and being diligent enough to leave nothing untouched. 

“It won’t last for long, right?” he asks, shifting his weight.

“I can find a spell to seal it and make it last longer.” She nudges him to turn his neck over so she can work the other side. In this direction, he can look up at her.

“This feels like I’m cheating.” 

“I think we all cheated. We all came back by some star’s blessing.”

Terra frowns. “When Isa wanted to know if I remembered anything, I felt like I was playing a rigged game. Like I had gotten away with it so easily when he’s stuck with them on his own.”

“Bend your neck forward,” she says, and he follows so she could brush the dye into the back of the scalp. “Well, Isa doesn’t blame you and no one should. And you do get away with certain things.”

Terra flinches but she keeps her hold on him. “Like what?”

Aqua pinches more of the dye into the hair at the neck, wrapping a towel around his shoulders. He will have to pass the time needed for the color to sink in. She can’t wait until he sees it for himself in the mirror. She can’t wait until he smiles more, until he can walk with seeded confidence. 

“You can stand up,” she tells him, instructing him that it will take almost an hour for the dye to settle. She pulls out her gloves and considers an answer to his question. “You get away with what you say sometimes.”

Terra gapes. “Did I offend you?”

“No.” She smirks. This has never been the way she daydreamed it would go—she had prepared a scenario where they would talk about it under the stars in a clear night, in the spring where the flowers have blossomed. Not with yet another shirt that they’ll have to replace.“You told me you loved me that day in the Graveyard.” He doesn’t flinch. “And you don’t remember saying that either.”

The bowl of dye rattles and Aqua catches it from falling over, spilling the excess into the sink and rinsing it. “Terra?”

“Uh.” The cupboards shake as if about to spill open. Terra grabs the knife block and throws it into the fridge, just in case. “Well.” He splays his hand over the handle and burns it with a fire spell, molding the metal together so it can’t burst open. “I’ll fix that later. Um. It’s—” He tips over the fruit bowl so nothing will fly out in different directions. He can’t look her in the face, taking deep breaths. “I mean. It’s not—it’s not a lie.” 

Aqua waits a moment, afraid another word is going to make the oven explode. “I should have told you the same.” She bites her lip. 

“What are you saying?” The burner grates of the stovetop blow up and hit the cupboard over it. “All this time, I could have known?”

“Maybe you should have done something about it.” 

“I’ve been driving myself crazy wondering how you felt. Ever since we came back home.”

“And you said nothing?”

Terra stares at her. “You know what—I’m not protecting you from the oranges.”

“What are you doing?” She chuckles.

He flips the bowl back and waves his arm, five oranges punching her on the arm that she’s using to shield herself.

“Terra!”

She stumbles as the oranges bounce back from the floor and arc over to hit her again. Terra squeezes his fists and the oranges unpeel themselves, sputtering juice all over her face, a tart taste filling her mouth.

Aqua laughs and runs into the dining room, ducking behind the table.

“Get back here,” Terra calls. He rushes into the dining room, clumsy enough to be caught off guard when she charges at him. 

Aqua has to jump higher, kicking off his chest to flip over. The goal is to slam her foot across his face—the best sparring trick in her arsenal. Terra catches her by the ankle but his balance is tested when she bends her knee to throw him off. He’s stronger, a tight grip on her calf. They both fall onto his back, a tower broken in two and collapsing on itself.

Aqua rests her head between his chest, giggling so much that her chin digs into his thorax. 

Terra groans, his soaked hair leaving brown tracks over the tile. “You got some on you.” He rubs a thumb on her temple where it meets the base of her hair. “Hmm, you’d look good as a brunette.”

“In your wildest dreams.”

“If one can come true, then you never know.”

Aqua holds herself up on her elbows. Terra is so large, he’s a mattress in the middle of the dining room floor. Streaks of dye draw across his cheek. They leave what look like slashes across his neck. It’s going to take some scrubbing power to remove them. She sweeps some of the hair off, not caring about the stain it leaves on her fingers.

The next move is natural. A touch of lips to lips, careful and giddy, puckered and softer than she expects, two hands on her back and a powerful jaw under the grace of her fingertips. 

Ven opens the door and gags. “Ugh, all the stars in hell, could you do that in your room?” He turns on his heel and stomps off. “I’m too young for this.”

Aqua snorts into Terra’s mouth and he spits. “I’m sorry,” she says.

Terra licks his lips of juice. He leans up for more. “You taste tangy.”

[physicalturian]

Why don’t you listen to me? Law x GN! Reader - Part 6

Spoilers for : Punk Hazard and Dressrosa arcs [No gender used for the reader, no physical description, everyone is +18] Words : 5386 Archive of our own Blood, exhaustion, fighting, violence, despair, blood, flirting, tension, hope If you feel like I should put more warnings, send me a DM or an ask

… Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5

Before hitting the ground, Luffy blew himself large enough for all of us to bounce on his belly but I was a bit off to the side. I tried to reach him, but couldn’t. In the seconds it took for me to reach the ground, I saw my life flashed before my eyes, I heard Law yell at Luffy who reacted in no time and enlarged his hand enough to grab me in time. I hit the pirate’s hand with a loud thud and apologized to him, quickly getting off of him, stumbling as I did so. My head was feeling dizzy but I couldn’t take a break, everything was only starting and I had to be there to help.

 I could sit down for a bit, it wouldn’t hurt, right? As everyone debriefed, I walked up to Law and sat by him, in silence. He was the first to speak.

“Sometimes I think you’re deaf.” He stated.

“I’m not, if that’s any reassurance.” I told him off-handedly, licking my thumb to brush some dried blood from my arms. I looked like the main character of the movie Carrie after her prom, it was a real sight.

“Then it just means you’re an idiot-“

“Exactly, but guess what? I’m an idiot because you make poor choices, so I think it’s on you.” I said in a light tone. Being next to him alleviated some of the stress my body was feeling, it wasn’t a cure at all but a small part had left and it felt nice.

He was about to answer something witty, probably, when I saw pure fear in his eyes. “It’s started… the birdcage.” He said in a weak tone. I looked up at where he was looking and saw the strings, Doflamingo’s strings, reaching towards the sky only to fall back down somewhere far away. I listened carefully as he explained what was the Warlord planning and panic came rushing back in, I hated this. I hated him, this man was atrocious and we needed to get rid of him, I was not going to say no matter the cost… but considering what was going to happen if we did not take him down… I was willing to sacrifice a few things if it meant taking him down.

 We started talking about what we should do, when we heard Doflamingo’s voice all across the country. I didn’t want to listen to him, I couldn’t bear to hear his stupid voice nor see his face, so I helped Law sit up off his seat and sat across from him. “If we lost the key, it’s on Luffy.” I stated as I rummaged through my pocket to find anything that could help unlocking the cuffs.

“You’re not going to be able to pick it, stop trying.” He said as a matter of fact, his hands tied behind his back.

“I’m starting to think you like being tied up, Law.” I said jokingly, grabbing his hands to take a look at the lock. I was surprised when his hands grabbed mine, but it wasn’t to stop me, it was to hold them.

 I looked up at his back, confused. But didn’t let go, instead I smiled for a moment, tightening my grip on his hands. It must have made him realize what he was doing, because soon after, he let go and uttered my name in a scolding way.

“What? I’m checking the lock. Unlike you, I would rather have you free than chained up-“ I paused and moved back in front of him, grinning, “Or do I? You are much calmer like that, it’s also a sight really.” Stop talking, god stop talking. Is this what you call flirting? Why would you flirt with him? Stop it.

He raised a brow, the faintest smirk on his lips. “I’m only calm because I lost a lot of blood, but if you’d like I can start telling you how idiotic it is to be here when I told you countless times to get out of the Dressrosa.” His smug expression was replaced by some sort of disappointment, a tinge of frustration tainting his tone.

 “Right, I’m the idiot, right. Remind me who got in a fight with a Warlord a lot earlier than planned-“

He frowned and leaned forward, his face closer to mine now, and gritted through his teeth, “For the information, I’m also a Warlord, I could have handled him- But you had to be there and make things worse.”

Tilting my head to the side, I quirked a brow, it was a bit painful to hear him say that if I hadn’t been there, he could have taken him down. I knew he wouldn’t have been able to, but part of me thought it was true. “I’m sorry to hear that, I’m sure the beating you took was for the show, right? That doesn’t look like handling well, to me. But I could be wrong.” I shrugged, giving him a deadly glare as I spoke.

 He was taken aback and scoffed, “Why were you even there? Why did you not follow the plan? Are you trying to make me mad?” He asked.

“Uh, not everything revolves around you. I make mistakes, ever heard of that?” I said in a defensive tone before continuing in a lower one, “I lost Zoro and Luffy, so I thought I should find you at Green Bits.” I didn’t want to make him mad per say… All my actions just happened to not be what he wanted me to do. A loud sigh escaped his lips. For a moment he let his head hang low before lifting it once more and looking at me with what I could only describe as tenderness.

 “How are your arms?” He asked.

“How are my- How are my arms? How is your stomach?! You got shot three times! Don’t mind me, how are you, let me-“ I ignored his complains and scooted closer, taking a look at his wounds. I was not professional, but it was a bit strange there wasn’t a lot of blood there. He told me he was fine, that he was managing it well and had a plan but I was still worried. “You look so bad, are you sure you’re fine?”

He nodded and explained how he had made it through, and what he was planning on doing to get rid of the bullets then paused and looked at me intently. “Show me yours arms, I can’t do anything right now but I have to know if it’s bad.” He explained in a gruffy tone.

 Grumbling, I rolled up my sleeves and showed him my bloody arms. Most of it was dried blood, but some cuts were deeper than others, especially the knife wound. “It’s not that bad, it just a scratch really compared to what you’ve been through-“

“Press around the wounds, does it hurt?” He asked in all seriousness.

Chuckling, I said half-jokingly, “Well if I press it, of course it hurts-“ He gave me a deadly glare and said to just do it. So, I did, and winced, but hid it the best I could.

“You probably have an infection, just from looking at it it’s not good. You’re not going to lose an arm though. Go back to the Sunny and get it treated,” I saw what he was doing, but I was not going back to the Sunny until everyone was going back. This was not over.

 “You almost had me there, but no. I’ll help Viola look for the key.” I said with a mischievous grin as I stood up. Law called out my name in a warning tone, and stood up too, he almost lost balance but caught himself and looked down at me with a frown.

I asked, “How does it feel to not have things go your way? I can see you’re a bit tensed there, Captain-“ I felt a tension built between us at the words, the small fight we had before coming here came rushing back to my mind but I tried my best to ignore it. Suddenly I felt a weight on my shoulder, Law was resting his head on it and let out a loud breath.

“Glad to know I’m still your Captain,” My breath hitched at the words, what did he mean by that? Hadn’t he told me to leave, was he regretting his words?

 “As your Captain, I’ll ask but one thing…” I tensed at his words, was he going to tell me to go again? I didn’t want to leave, and I was not going to. “Since you don’t want to listen to me, then… Be careful, don’t try to come for me if things go to shit.”

I gasped and put a hand on his cheek to lift his head and look at him in confusion, “I wasn’t going to- more like, I… Hey it’s for Bepo and the team that I’m doing that. They don’t know that you’re being a complete idiot right now, you’re going to get killed-“ I shut up when he stared at me, not believing what I was saying. I felt my face heat up and looked askance, my hand falling back to my side.

“The only thing that can kill me is Luffy’s stupidity, not Doflamingo,” He paused. The silence made things a bit too intense to my taste. We both know he was wrong, but I played along, just this time.

 Meeting his eyes once more, I couldn’t look away. The pull I’ve been feeling this whole time came back in a powerful way and I wanted to pull him down and kiss him, but I couldn’t. He seemed to be thinking of what to say, opening his mouth only to close it again. Instead of saying anything, he leaned in and pressed a kiss on my forehead before leaving and joining Luffy’s side. I stood there in shock, how come such a simple action could make me turn into such a mess? It did not alleviate my worry of him getting killed by Doflamingo, if he went to find him in such state, but it sent a weird feeling in my stomach.

 I heard Luffy yell in determination, it was quickly followed by Law’s complaints and Zoro’s questioning. Turning around I saw the way he was carrying both men, like they were weightless, two bulky men under his shoulders. The sight was a funny one to see, even more so when I heard Law’s scream when Luffy threw himself, along with the others, towards the ground. Once they were out of sight, I exchanged a few words with Viola, offering her some help to find the key. She politely refused, saying she knew where to find it and she was going to bring it to them in time.

 “Then, what do I do?” I asked her, pulling my sleeves down. Both her and the two other men made a thinking face, Kyros said he was going to help people in the centre of town and did just that. King Riku said he was going to join them but was told to stay here. According to Leo from the Tontatta, help was coming and since King Riku was there years ago when they were allies with the Tontatta Kingdom, Viola said he should stay, just for that. She then looked at me and gave me a small smile, “You should stay too-“

“Hey, I’m not royalty or anything like that, I don’t need to be put on the side.” I stated, straightening my back. For some reason the look she was giving me made me think of one of pity, I didn’t like it. So, I tried to look at confident as I could.

 “Look at you, you’re bleeding all over. I see the way you wince when you move, you should rest.” She said politely. I didn’t need polite, I needed this to be over with. But being told I should rest, hit my pride, I didn’t know why. I wanted to be useful.

“Luffy and Law are in a state just as bad as mine, and they’re going for Joker.” I gritted through my teeth.

“But they’re fighters, from what I gathered your devil fruit is one of teleportation. Is that correct?” She asked softly.

“Yeah.” I simply replied. I had no idea where she was getting but I was willing to listen for now.

 Humming she tore a part of her dress, there was an underskirt underneath which left her still fully dressed. Approaching me, she extended her arm, asking me to show my arms. And I did.

“Then we’ll need you to rest until the Tontattas arrive. Your power will be useful to evacuate the citizens.” She explained, all the while wrapping, the best she could, the fabric around my wounds. I don’t know if it was going to be of any help, but I let her do it. When she stopped, she held my arms and looked at me fondly.

“King Riku, my dad… He’ll need a lot of help; He cares for his people. He can lead them, but he can’t save them all on his own. Please help his people, our people- we’ll need all the help we can get.”

 Sighing, I supposed it was all that I could do. I was not looking for greatness, I was not looking to take down Emperors and Warlords, I just wanted to stay alive. And maybe I wanted my Captain to stay alive… if only to tell him how I felt. How egotistical was that? Moving my arms to hold her hands just for a moment, I nodded.

“Alright, but please find the key. Bring the key back to Law, if he stays chained up, he won’t survive and- and I don’t know what I’d do if he…” I couldn’t even finish that sentence, my breath hitched at the mere thought of him dying and I couldn’t bare it.

 A soft giggle left the woman’s lips and she tightened her hands around mine for a second before letting go. “I’ll bring him the key, but don’t worry, I’m sure he wants to stay alive just as much as you want him to be.” I’m sure she meant something more from those words, but I ignored it and laughed.

“No, no. You don’t get it… He’s ready to die out there, and that’s what worries me.” I let out a shaky breath, but grinned tiredly, “If you see him, tell him he’s a fucking idiot and I’ll be waiting for him to come back, that- the crew is waiting for us at Zou wait no that’s too much, just tell him he’s an idiot.” I closed my eyes a moment, reflection on what I had said.

 Right, an idiot but an idiot I’m worried about. An idiot that had no sense of self-preservation. An idiot that was willing to go down swinging if it meant fulfilling someone else’s will. But fuck, it was an idiot I loved.

 Looking back at the princess, I nodded, “Right, right. Well, good luck with the key.” She thanked me and took off the moment we were done. I was left in the company of an old King who was believed to be dead as we waited for the Tontattas to arrive.

 I didn’t know him, he did not know me, it was fair to say the mood was very awkward up until other people arrived. Viola returned after a while, and Usopp from the Straw Hat arrived too. I think I may have dozed off at some point, I did not know how, because I did not hear him arrive. However, I heard him scream when he saw the two Samurais. Then chaos ensued. I couldn’t quite follow their conversation; They were worried about someone name Manshelly but I did not know who it was except that she was very important to the Tontattas.

 I tried to close my eyes once more, to rest, but it didn’t sit right with me. I wanted to move, do something. Which is what I did when I heard Viola say that Sugar was awake and that she had seen how things would happen in two minutes if we didn’t do anything. Usopp said he knew what to do, but as much as my Captain trusted the Straw-Hat crew, I had not fought with them. They owed us nothing, I did not owe them anything either. And if both Captains’ fate depended on one man, I did not want to bet everything on it. So, I jumped off the platform we were on and started making my way towards the castle, my jumps weren’t as far as they could be from one point to another but I tried to get there as fast as I could.

 When I left everyone, I think I heard Viola called out my name but I ignored it, or tried to, at least, she was pretty insistent.

 It’s only when it was far too late for me to turn around, that I realized I wouldn’t get there in time. I stopped dead in my track and looked up at the castle, letting a frustrated groan escape my lips as I fell to my knees. I felt like all I was doing was running around, a pointless repetition of actions that lead me to nothing. I was fucking useless.

 Still staring at the sky, I saw something fly through and crash through one of the castle’s window. I could only hope it was Usopp’s plan and that it had work because at this point, I was too disheartened to go on. But screams were echoing around me, people running around, for their lives even though nothing much was happening yet.

 Swearing under my breath, I placed my hands on my knees to catch my breath and sighed before turning around and making my way towards the extremities of the birdcage. On my way there, I bumped into many people, most of them were running away from the deadly sharpness of the birdcage. I let the healthy people run and helped out the one who seemed to have a harder time, or those who tumbled. I couldn’t carry many people at once, at best two or three but I was going to make a difference no matter what. The idea was to steal as much time, while keeping as many people alive, right?

 I didn’t have to do much else, but run around once more. “Oh, fucking hilarious.” I thought out loud as I helped an old lady who had tripped. She looked up at me, curious and I gave her a curt smile and apologized for swearing before dropping her at a far distance from the bars of the birdcage. I did that for a long time, I did not see time fly by, not that I had any way of keeping track of it.

 At some point, people joined in and started helping putting others to safety, from what I overheard they were helping in the name of King Riku. I was grateful for the help, even more so when I heard a loud crash coming from the castle.

 Looking towards the building, I made sure the person in my arms was stable and stared directly in the direction of the crash. Very, very slowly, the corner of the castle slid off. Then I saw, from afar, two forms in the air. Taking a good look, I couldn’t hide the fear on my face. Someone must have seen me and understood, since I heard them say that I should go, they were handling everything. I didn’t see who it was, I was too distraught by the sight of Law hanging in the air by Doflamingo’s hands, as I started running towards the castle. I bumped into someone who held me in place for a moment before scurrying off. Not paying them any mind, I thought, I was closer than before but it was never enough, was it?

 Seeing the scene from afar I was wondering where was Luffy, why was Law alone against Doflamingo? Sure, both were warlords but there was clearly a different in level between them, not that Law would ever admit it. He was too stubborn for that. I was too low on the ground to see what was going on up there, I couldn’t run and stare at the sky at the same time but when I did one last time, I saw Doflamingo raise his foot just like he did when he was going to take down the soldier. Except he was doing it on Law this time, he did not hesitate to slam it down his arm.

 My heart caught in my throat and I kept running forward, bumping into people as I did so and ignoring fights, I could not participate in. Don’t do it, don’t do it, please let him live. Don’t do it. My legs were starting to feel shaky, I had to yell at myself to keep going. Exhaustion was taking a toll on me, exhaustion and stress, pure panic too. I couldn’t read lips, and even if I did, I couldn’t see well enough what was being said but I think there was a scowl on Law’s face. Now is not the time to be bitter, I thought, but I didn’t think too long on it and kept running.

 He was in no state to take a beating, he had bullet wounds that needed healing. He took a beating right on the bridge, he was locked with Prism stone cuffs not too long ago. If he was to take a hit as strong as Joker’s, he wouldn’t get out of it alive, I just knew it. If he- I did not have time to finish my thought that Doflamingo pushed his leg, he slammed it into Law’s arm as he held him high in the air.

 Then they were both crashing down.

 I was close enough to hear to agonizing screams of my Captain.

 My heart broke. It felt like a physical pain so much it hurt. He could still be alive, right? I paid attention to the moans of pain but soon enough, they stopped. No, no, he’s still alive, right? “The vivre card! I need- I need to see, if- no, not if, he’s doing great, he’s okay, he’s alright.” Patting the outside of my pockets, I desperately tried to hear the scrunching noise of paper in it only to hear nothing. “Fuck off, don’t- it’s in there, I know it.” I muttered, and pulled my pockets out, they were now upside down and out. “No, no, come on!! Come! On!!!” I cried out, my voice was hoarse but I did not realize it, I couldn’t hear much. My head was filled with a mantra, a hopeless attempt to believe he was alive.

 Everything was leading to him being gone. If I did not have his vivre card, it meant it was used up, it meant he was, “Dead…” falling to my knees, I hit the ground and starting hitting with my full strength, hurting the side of my fists in the process. “Fuck!” I didn’t stop until I felt content, repeating over and over that I should have told him it was madness, I kept swearing, letting out all my frustration. The dread of the birdcage was forgotten, all I could think about was his body lying on the ground, motionless.

 I jumped when I heard gunshots and paused, staring at my bloody fists. This was it. This was the only remaining proof that I needed to be sure he was gone. I scoffed, feeling gross from the running tears on my cheeks and the dripping blood from my hands. I couldn’t feel anything and yet felt soreness all over my body. I couldn’t keep pushing on, I couldn’t do anything.

 I couldn’t save him. I couldn’t be of use. I couldn’t even get a hold of myself. I couldn’t fight.

 I tried to tell myself that it was not the time for self-pity. I tried to shove away in the depth of my mind what I had just seen, to erase that scene from my memory but I couldn’t. I was going to sneak off to some other place, quieter, where I could gather my thoughts when I felt myself being thrown away by an explosion.

 The only thing that caught my fall was glass debris under myself, and onto my hands. The strength of the blow came from Luffy and Joker’s fight. I was going to get up when I heard a loud sound. Looking around, I gasped, squinting my eyes, “Is it… moving? You must be shitting me…” I uttered; my voice shaky as I looked at the birdcage. Observing long enough, I came to the conclusion that it was indeed moving and sighed. Seconds after, I remembered that if it was closing on itself, people might be in danger. My body was telling me to stop, to get away, but people needed help.

 I had to ignore my own stupid feelings and help them, I couldn’t stay here, even less so considering the intensity of the fight that was happening up there.

 But I couldn’t reason with how I felt. I felt heavy, not from fatigue but from knowing I had lost him. There was no going back, I would have to survive and go back to Zou to announce everyone I had failed. I had promised to look over him, I had promised to them and to myself, but I failed.

 Dusting off everything off my form, I stumbled when trying to stand up but held my ground. I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing but I could ignore it and hold back my sobs. Maybe I could replace this sadness when something helpful… like, anger, anger was nice.

 Looking up I could see Luffy fighting and something sparked in my chest, it was because of him that Law was taken down. Where was he when my Captain was being held so high above the ground, he probably went rushing into danger as expected and ruined everything- “Everyone!! Get out of here!” I heard someone call out, it interrupted my inner monologue but perhaps was it for the good. I did not want to get mad at Luffy even though I still wanted to. Just a bit.

 I looked around to see why did they want to move so desperately, but I did not have to wonder long. Fast enough, or was it fast? I don’t know how long I stood on that same spot, no one around me, but now I had to get moving. Fast enough, Doflamingo came crashing down somewhere in town. I almost lost balance at the quake it sent through the ground when his body smashed into the ground with full force from Luffy’s blow.

 For a second I thought it was over, but as I approached the place where the Celestial Demon had fallen, I could see he was grinning. His fingers moving. Was it not enough? He looked so bad, he seemed in an ever worst state than I think I was and yet he was still up for more. Slowly, he stood up and I was not going to stay there long enough to see him standing, I couldn’t waste more time here.

 As I ran away from the Celestial asshole, I almost got ran over my Luffy’s bouncing form. I used the little energy I had and teleported out of his collusion course. I could hear their fight going on, and hear it finish too. That’s when I stopped in my tracks and turned around, there lied on the floor the body of the Straw-Hat captain. Luffy, on the floor? Luffy, was defeated? I reacted out of instinct and teleported to his body, calling out his name.

 “Luffy! Luffy get your ass back up, Mingo is still alive.” I shook him, at least tried to. His only response was to tell me he needed ten minutes. But we did not have ten minutes. I didn’t tell him that, fortunately someone had more trust in him than I did. He was dressed like a gladiator; I did not know where he came from but he helped Luffy onto his back and said we’d get him ten minutes.

 Watching them go away, I called out, “I’ll-“ no it’s stupid, but stupid and improbable is what we need right now. “I’ll try to stall him! Even if I need to get him to the highest point and throw him off of it myself!!” I screamed from the top of my lungs.

 Shuffling to my feet, I couldn’t teleport yet, I had no energy but I did start running to where Doflamingo was. He was a bit far away, but when I reached him, he was stumbling but still threateningly-so. In front of him, I could see the form Viola, she was standing right in front of him and took her cape off, showing her daggers.

 I winced, highly doubting the damage she could do on a Warlord with simple daggers, then she started attacking. It was beautiful to watch, it was almost like she was dancing. When she went for his face, I smiled. The smile on my face did not stay long when Joker was now right behind her and he kicked her to the ground. I was surprised to hear a voice not far away and turned towards it. There was a girl with pink hair standing there, horrified to see Viola on the ground.

 Looking back at the seer, she was rising from the floor, her hands behind her back. It was not from her free will that she was doing so, Doflamingo was pulling literal strings. “Hey asshole!!” Why did I call him out? He hadn’t seen me but now he knew I was there. Great way to use surprise as a way to get him. “You. You’re still alive. Ah, well, don’t worry. You’ll join Law soon enough,” He shrugged and moved his fingers, but I teleported out of his reach. I had to be able to get him one way or another, but since I got out of his reach, he attacked the pink-haired girl instead.

 I heard Viola call her ‘Rebecca’, and calling her she did. She was trying to reassure the girl who now had her sword raised, I was confused at first until I saw the tears running down her face. She wasn’t in control; she was being manipulated by the blond fuck. I was trying to come up with a solution, anything, but I hardly believed those strings were cuttable nor did I have anything to cut them. But maybe by bringing his attention back on me, I could at least stall him or distract him.

 So, I jumped from my spot, onto his back just like last time. He groaned and unlike last time, I did not have the strength the play rodeo and hold onto him for dear’s life. I was weakened, and couldn’t keep up with him. Grabbing me by the throat he lifted me, still manipulating the two women. “When will you learn to stay in your fucking place?” He grunted before slamming me into the ground.

 A loud huff was all that escaped my lips, I couldn’t move anyway. The ground suddenly felt comfortable. The conversation that was happening in front of me was muffled, I couldn’t understand what they were saying but as Rebecca held back from making her way to Viola, Doflamingo was grinning. He was happy from all of this, but it didn’t last long.

 The moment Rebecca was about to strike down Viola, the latter was replaced by Luffy- what? How did he get there? I was agape at what had been displayed in front of me, trying to comprehend. The only person I knew could do that was- “Law?” I sobbed in hope. Looking around to catch a glimpse of him, I felt desperate, I felt stupid. He was not here anymore, they somewhat managed to switched place- There he is. On the roof of that building.

[Part 7]

[atomic-taco-muffin]

Sora x Magical Girl!Daughter: Lolita Pretty Cure

Warnings: me combining KH with Date a Live and Pretty Cure

Rating: SFW

You loved to read magical girl mangas. Mangas like Sailor Moon, Puella Magi Oriko Magica, and much more. One day, you were walking to school in Destiny Islands, just admiring the view, when all of a sudden a cat plush thing hit you square in the face. 

“Owww...” you groaned. You looked at the cat plush and got a good look at it. It had grey fur with a pouch in front of it and was wearing a pink cape. 

“Wow, was not expecting to land like that,” it said. 

“It can talk?!” you exclaimed. 

“Of course I can talk! It’s not everyday a cat like myself bumps into people!” You looked at the cat and remembered that this was almost exactly what your mangas were like. 

“What’s your name?” you asked.

“My name is Chirithy. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to find the Lolita Pretty Cure.” Chirithy jumped into the air and disappeared in a flash. Woah...what’s the Lolita Pretty Cure? You heard the bell ring and freaked out.

“Oh no! I’m gonna be late!” you said. You gathered your things and ran over to the school. Meanwhile, a woman with long lolita style dress (you can tell who it is) watched as you ran over to school.

“So, Chirithy is out looking for the Lolita Pretty Cure. Not for long she’s not,” she said. A group of Heartless summoned behind her and she turned to look at them. 

“You know what to do,” she smirked. 

~~~~

“There you are! Class is about to start!” your best friend, Ava (Riku’s daughter) said. 

“Sorry about that! Got held up with something!” you said. 

“Alright, now come on!” You giggled and headed over to your seat and class had started.

~Le Time Skip b/c I’m A Lazy Piece Of Shit~

You and Ava walked out of school and headed over to the library to do some studying. On your way there, the two of you saw the town running frantically for their lives. 

“What happened?!” you asked.

“I don’t know. But we should check it out,” Ava said. 

“Right!”  You and Ava ran into the town and saw Sora and Riku trying to defeat the Heartless. 

“Dad!” you and Ava yelled. 

“Girls, get out of here! It’s too dangerous!” Sora said. 

“But, what happened?!” you asked. 

“We’ll explain later! Now go!” Riku said. You and Ava ran and ran until you entered an antique shop. 

“Wow...this place is amazing!” you said as you looked around. 

“I never thought that an antique shop would be so...cute,” Ava said. As you were looking around, you spotted a mirror that had what looked like two greek goddesses holding each side. 

“Woah. Huh? There’s writing there. Let’s see...’Protectors of the χ-blade, guardians of the wielders, lost children of the city of Daybreak...Kingdom Hearts’,” your said. As soon as you said those words, you were pulled into the mirror and into another realm. 

“Woah...” you said. You looked around and saw that you were in room surrounded by statues of Greek gods and goddesses. You suddenly heard mewing and saw a sparkle trail down to you. It was Chirithy!

“Huh? How did you find this place?! Only the Lolita Pretty Cure’s are allowed here!” it said. “Unless...You are the Lolita Pretty Cure!”

“Huh?!” you asked. 

“Wow! Took you that long to figure that out? I already knew when I first saw her!” someone said. The three of you looked over and saw the woman with the long lolita dress sitting on top of Zeus’s head. 

“Kurumi! Get off of Zeus’s head right now!” Chirithy said. 

“Hmm, nah! If you want me off so badly, then you’re gonna have to fight me for it.” Chirithy gasped and turned to you.

“We have to stop Kurumi! You must turn into the Lolita Pretty Cure!” it said. 

“Hey, we just discovered this place! We don’t know how to turn into this Pretty Cure!” you said. 

“Just follow these words: May your heart be your guiding key.” 

“Okay. I’ll give it a shot.”

“You might wanna do it quick, ‘cause Kurumi looks mad,” Chirithy said. You searched deep in your heart and a compact appeared in front of you. 

“Woah...” you said. 

“So, you are the Lolita Pretty Cure. Well then, give me a show,” Kurumi said. 

“How do we use this thing?” you asked. 

“You gotta search deep in your hearts,” Chirithy said. You nodded and suddenly, the compact opened and you changed into a pretty Lolita Pretty Cure. 

“Guardian of the night, protector of the Fates, I’m Cure Nyx!” you said. 

Cure Nyx:

(I love Rory!)

“Woah! You’re Cure Nyx! The first Lolita Pretty Cure!” Chirithy said. 

“Ahh! What happened to my clothes?!” you asked. 

“It’s okay! It’s normal!” 

“I’m waiting!” Kurumi said. You looked at Kurumi and gained a bit of confidence. 

“Let’s do this!” you said. Kurumi jumped off of Zeus’s head and the two of engaged in a battle. Since you were still getting used to being a Pretty Cure, things weren’t as easy. 

“Nyx! You gotta use your special attack!” Chirithy jumped. 

“Huh? Of course! Every magical girl has one!” you said. You took your compact and concentrated all your energy into it. 

“Pretty Cure! Eclipse Attack!” you yelled. The Eclipse Attack attacked Kurumi and she was defeated. 

“Grr, this isn’t over!” she said as she disappeared. Your clothes returned to normal and you fell on your knees. 

“Why didn’t you tell me that being a Pretty Cure takes a lot of energy?” you groaned. 

“Don’t worry. You’ll get used to it,” Chirithy said. After discussing the history about the Pretty Cures, you exited the realm and back into the antique shop to see Ava still looking around. 

Later that night, Chirithy landed on your windowsill and you spotted it while you were getting ready for bed.

“Chirithy, what are you doing here?” you asked. 

“I’m here to stay with you. Since you’re Cure Nyx, it’s my job to make sure that you’re safe,” it said. 

“Okay. But if my dad finds out about this, then I’m dead.” 

“It’s actually best that he doesn’t find out about any of this. We can’t put him at risk of being in danger.” 

“Alright.” You finished getting ready for bed and fell asleep, dreaming of the Pretty Cures. 

[system-of-a-feather]

Gatekeeper Talk

(Disclaimer: This is entirely based on how our system works and should be taken as 'these are notes on how I do what I do and is not meant to represent how 'most' DID appears in any way'. This is shared mainly as a 'here is how we operate and you can read and take it as food for thought')

Parts keep talking about me and I needed time in the front and had been meaning to ramble on this a bit but just some gatekeeper talk about how I do some of my shit and all for the system.

To start I am the Primary Gatekeeper which is our system just means that I stand at the top of a large structure of gatekeepers hierarchy and that is mostly based on respect from the rest of the system. I am technically only slightly above tied in hierarchy to the gatekeeper of "the other side" but she doesn't work with me and is a child and also tends to work "in mysterious ways" because the other half of the system is structured in "mysterious ways" and thus she keeps an eye on those parts and area for me. It also means that I am basically always at least somewhat co-conscious in the sense I am basically always listening (and because I'm always listening, I am also typically good at choosing not to front even with positive triggers or people calling me out) I largely handle system dynamics and structure since the "lesser" gatekeepers tend to have a handle on memory shit but I also do that if something slips by, but usually it's not my "specialty" beyond "looking information up" and comparing and contrasting questions then deciding what to tell the rest of the system based on what they need to know.

Thanks to the fucking shit ton of gatekeepers around to handle keeping trauma shit where they need to be, I really just get to largely focus on system stability, structure, and coordinating parts with one another and honestly, thats stuff I find a lot of fun thinking and talking about.

Usually that means I sit back and observe and keep a good idea on the "profiles of each part" and where they stand on certain topics, what traumas they are generally attached to, what they state they want, and key personality traits and what not and I use that information to create dynamics and plans for parts to be paired or set up for a dynamic change and what not.

If there is a new part, I keep a note on them and figure out what we are going to do with them - whether they are prone to going dormant again or if they are liekly going to stick, whether we are going to try to incorporate them into the "functional unit" and main fronting set of the system or if we are going to mark them as more of a part that needs to be taken care of and thus - rather than focusing on "finding their place in the system" and finding what responsibilities to give them, we focus on who we can pair to be responsible for them, support them, and help them get to a place where they can function independently.

If there is a part that fused, need to fuse, or has split, I tend to take those parts in and see what that does to the overall system web and how things might adjust.

If there is a part that has grievances with the structure and/or wants a change to be made as they are unhappy with their place or what they are seeing with the system, I will go ahead and handle that grievance and see the best way I could try to remedy and make that fit.

If there is a part that needs a break, I'll provide a temporary dynamics shift and protocol for what parts move where to handle what.

If there is a part that needs more time near the front to processing something or communicate with the fronting crew more, I'll provide a temporary dynamic shift and protocol to make sure they get that.

If a part has a large scale or existential system need to be met, if they have an idea of what might help them, Ill work with them on that; but if not, I'm honestly not that great at helping parts figure what they need out so usually they'd have to go to Lucille, Riku, or XIV for 'therapy' and figure it out then come to me. I'm not very good at being emotionally available.

Overall my job is knowing how to adjust the system in accordance to whatever struggle one part may be going through, whatever changes happen, and whatever life throws at us and to do so, I have to be well in touch with the functions and jobs of each part as well as why they originally split.

There is a lot to managing the system dynamics and connecting parts to work with one another that I really couldn't list here off the top of my head as its very case-by-case, but here's a small list of things I like to keep in mind when figuring out dynamics within the system.

Mainly sharing this in case it helps others in trying to figure out stability in their system.

Innate Synergy / Compatibility / Resonance between Parts - It's not inherently obvious and doesn't always make sense, but as gatekeeper I can generally tell - like a sixth sense - what parts are most compatible for one another and "compatible" is different depending on what we are asking. For fusion, usually it is due to the alters having similar emotional wavelengths, views, experiences, and/or dynamics with the rest of the system that make them compatible. In term of system dynamics, it is often just an innate closeness of the parts; generally this innate connection is like a judgement for how easy it would be to actually get those parts to click (For example, XIV and Riku had negative synergy and compatibility so shit was hard for a while, where as Riku and Lin have a pretty high compatibility so working those two together was easy)

Counterparts and Balance - DID tends to form alters that are extremes and - in our old therapist terms - parts tend to split in ways that balance one another. Instability, system conflict, and unsustainable dynamics tends to happen when too many alters of a similar type tend to have too much say over life or tend to conglomerate together. When setting parts and the system to work with one another, it's good to spread out opposing views and functions with one another as to keep any part from falling into too far extremes and so that each part can keep the other in check. Unfortunately this tends to be inverse with the innate compatibility. Additionally, when considering fusion paths, you need to focus on making sure the parts have good synergy and compatibility, but you also don't want to exacerbate one part's extreme more extreme than is healthy - thus why I don't support the suggestion of XIV fusing with Chunn (XIV had suggested it and I laughed cause Chunn is extremely misanthropic and easily annoyed but functions by his preference to flight over fight; XIV is society-hating and easily annoyed and very aggressive, but actually enjoys people; god forbid we get an uber misanthropic, uber easily annoyed, HYPER aggressive alter)

Consent and Interest - Any part that is not at least interested and onboard is not on the table to play and organize with. If they are too far into trauma space, do not want to work with the system, refuse to work with a specific part, do not want to fuse or whatever, they are off the table. While you theoretically could try to force a plan to happen, most of the time not having enthusiastic consent with system dynamic changes with the parts involved ends up in more instability than it is worth and an increase in persecutor-y behavior within the system. Stability is built upon satisfied and cared for participants - disregard and breed resentment within the system and you'll end up with issues.

Strengths and Weaknesses - This just generally informs what parts are capable of doing and what they struggle with. Beyond just skills and personal outlooks on life, there is important notes on what parts are aware and in contact to other parts and any other unique quirks and traits that come with them. Trying to match alters that have strengths that counteract the other's weaknesses is the goal. (Riku is a hedonophobic, workaholic, perfectionist who is avoidant of trying new things in favor of sticking to what they know and things they know they do well. XIV is a hedonistic, sensory adrenaline seeking revolutionary personality that loves shaking everything up and causing chaos to rebuild shit in his vision. Both are prone to self exploding independently and while they innately didn't work well together, once they got a better synergy going, they perfectly cover one another's major flaws and enables both of their major strengths)

[idolish7rabbitchats]

Nanase Riku: Birthday 2020 RabbitTV Part 1

Staff: …That’s all for “RabbiTube”s outline.

Staff: We are planning to pick a part of the video and show it in “NEXT Re:vale”!

Staff: I’m thinking they could show their other side that we can’t usually see, on TV. Please take care of us!

Momo: Looking forward to it, huh everyone!

Yuki: You can bare everything and show us this part and that part.

Mitsuki: Ahahah, please don’t be hard on us! I need to research a lot…!

Gaku: Oh right Tenn, you were watching “RabbiTube” videos that time right. Don’t you know something that would become a reference?

Tenn:  … I was just watching cat videos that time.

Gaku: What, cats huh. That’s not a reference.

Ryuunosuke: … No, cat videos could become a reference too! Like how they behave to entertain or comfort people… 

Gaku: Wait, Ryuu. Only a limited number of people can refer to that…

Yuki: …Gaku-cat, nice.

Tenn: …Pff…

Gaku: Oi, Tenn, why did you laugh?! 

Riku: Cats huh…! Like a video of Iori going to a cat cafe?

Iori: Please stop, why is it me?!

Yamato: Hold on, I don’t want to do that kind of video…

Tamaki: I want to do a pudding taste test!

Sogo: …Then I wanna do a taste test of 100 kinds of spices from around the world…

Nagi: I’ll do a Kokona appreciation gathering!

Mitsuki: That’s the usual for you guys isn’t it!

Iori: … No…. Even though it’s basic, a video of us petting animals would attract people…

Riku: Iori, d’you say something?

Iori: No, nothing.

Momo: Ahahah! Nice, a lot of ideas came out huh!

Momo: That kind of feeling is good! I want you guys to show your usual selves for “RabbiTube”!

Yuki: So then, please take care of it for a year.

IDOLiSH7&TRIGGER: Please take care of us!

[Scene Change]

Riku: This year’s birthday project is being a “RabbiTube” creator huh…!

Sogo: It’s fun to chat with everyone in Rabbit Chats so this might feel a little lonely huh. 

Mitsuki: ...Yeah. I’m happy that we can reach the fans with videos but I want to celebrate properly together too!

Yamato: Well, we’ve always done it up until now.

Nagi: ...We’ve started to get more individual jobs. I understand that it might be hard to match our times...

Tamaki: We can’t eat Mikki’s cake?

Mitsuki: We’ll definitely make a cake! Right, Iori!

Iori: Right. I’ll help.

Riku: Hmm… Celebrate… Celebrate...

Riku: Ah! Then, how about taking the birthday person somewhere? Everyone decides and we all go out. 

Riku: Actually, it might be hard for everyone to go out so… We’ll ask Manager to adjust our schedule and people who are able to go would come with us!

Mitsuki: Going outside huh… We’ve celebrated a lot in Rabbit Chats up until now so it might feel new and good!

Yamato: It’s too bad we can’t go altogether but, deciding where to go might feel like a celebration. ...For my time, I want to go to a beer factory.

Mitsuki: You already decided?!

Tamami: Then, for the people who can’t go, let’s take lots of pictures and videos. I’ll send it in the Rabbit Chat.

Nagi: OH! That’s wonderful. That would make us feel like we went there too.

Iori: Posting them on Rabitter would make people happy too.

Sogo: That sounds fun…! How about we try consulting with Manager tomorrow?

Riku: Yes! ...It seems like they’ll become fun birthdays this year too!

[Scene Change]

Riku: Uwaaah…! Cool, cute! What is this place?!

Iori: It’s a glamping facility.

Tsumugi: Seems like glamping is the trend because we can freely enjoy camping!

Nagi: Riku, did you go glamping when you were a kid?!

Riku: When I was a kid… I don’t really have any memories… 

Iori: ...Let’s enjoy today like you would’ve as a kid.

Nagi: There’s a lot of meat and fish prepared! Of course, snacks too..!

Nagi: The night is long, Riku!

Iori: I’ll allow you to enjoy the whole night. Right, Manager.

Tsumugi: Yes! I’ll support you with all my might!

Riku: Thanks, Manager..!

Riku: To be forgiven by grumpy Iori, it seems it’ll be an amazing day!

Iori: Isn’t it fine sometimes. To have a day to enjoy...

Riku: Thank you too, Nagi! Let’s eat a lot of things together!

Nagi: YES! A small party in the woods!

Riku: Right, then  it’s glamping now!

Nagi&Iori: Yeah…!

Riku: Hey hey Iori, how do you start a fire using charcoal?

Iori: Aah, I’ll do it so please sit for a bit.

Iori: Since it would be dangerous for you to breathe in the smoke...

Riku: ...Right. I’m sorry, to get in the way.

Riku: Hey, Nagi. Is there something I can help with?

Nagi: OH, right now, I’m fighting against the evil that is onions! My eyes are…! Riku, run…!

Riku: G-Got it…!

Riku: ……..

Tsumugi: Riku-san.

Riku: Ah, Manager.

Riku: Somehow, it seems it might be better if I sat down. Even though I wanted to have fun with them...

Tsumugi: Riku-san, today you have a nice coloring. Your condition has been stable lately too...

Riku: Eheheh, yeah. Right.

Tsumugi: ...Let’s do it, cooking! Something to surprise them!

Riku: ...Is that fine, I...

Tsumugi: Of course. We came glamping to celebrate Riku-san.

Tsumugi: Just don’t overwork yourself please. It’s a promise with everyone!

Riku: ...Yeah. I’ll cook something to make them happy!

Riku: ...I might fail a little though….

Iori: Nanase-san? What are you talking about?

Riku: A secret! Iori, you’ll cook something right?

Iori: That’s right but...

Nagi: WOW, Riku will also make dinner?

Riku: Ahaha, yeah! ...Hey, let’s compete over who can cook the most delicious food!

Iori: Haah? Do you think you’ll win against me?

Nagi: Fufuh…. Don’t underestimate my tongue, which I have developed for a long time.

Riku: Then the time limit is one hour!  ...Aaaand start!

Riku: ...Huh… Should I add this in like this...

Iori: Oh come on, at least peel the skin! Don’t put it in directly...!

Nagi: Oyah, Iori. Is it fine to look the other way? I can smell something weird...

Iori: ….Eh? Aaah..!

Riku: ...Hm? I smell something burning… Iori, you’re burning the meat!

Iori: Shit, what I have done…!

Iori: ...I mean, Nanase-san, you poured the sauce in while the meat is uncooked!

Iori: You didn’t even peel the vegetables… I worried so much, I couldn't focus at all!

Riku: Eh?! Iori, are you making it my fault that you burned the meat?! Isn’t that wrong?!

Nagi: OH, I thought today would be a calm glamping trip but actually it’s become lively huh.

Nagi: It’s like a BGM. Please watch me cook elegantly while putting Iori and Riku on in the background.

Tsumugi: A-Ahahah...

Riku: I did it!

Nagi: It smells really nice!

Iori: Somehow I made it something. Everyone, please introduce what you cooked.

Tsumugi: Please look at the camera to say it!

Riku: OKAY! I made stewed hamburg steak!

Nagi: Hamburg steak! That’s wonderful, Riku!

Riku: Eheheh, right? Nagi likes hamburg steak right?

Iori: It’s an elaborate food for Nanase-san.

Riku: I just stewed it, of course I can make that!

Iori: You mean you’re saying that anyone could do it...

Riku: ...Actually, I just stewed frozen hamburg steak and a ready-made sauce.

Nagi: Fufuh. It’s a bold COMING OUT huh.

Nagi: What did Iori make?

Iori: I made beef stroganoff. 

Nagi: WOW, this is quality that wouldn’t make me think of glamping.

Riku: Somehow, it’s cooking that’s more like Yaotome-san than Iori!

Iori: What even is that… It doesn’t need too much preparation, I just fried and stewed, so you can make it easily.

Riku: Nagi, what did you do?

Nagi: I made hot sandwiches with ham, cheese, and eggs.

Riku: Uwaah, it’s roasted bread! It looks delicious!

Iori: The color is also pretty huh.

Nagi: YES! I grilled the bread and put ingredients in-between. Even I can do it.

Riku: Maybe glamping makes even simple dishes look super good?!

Nagi: Fufuh. Don’t you think it’ll be the best dinner?

Riku: Yeah, the best...! Let’s eat quickly before it gets cold! 

Iori: Right. ...Nanase-san, it's a short amount of time, but the air in here is clean, so please take a rest.

Iori: Let’s call all the members next time.

Riku: ...Yeah! You two, thanks a lot for doing this for me. I can definitely never forget today!

Iori: You exaggerate. 

Nagi: Iori, Riku! Please smile your best! I’ll take a picture!

Tsumugi: I’ll do it! Okay, cheese..!

[douwatahima]

Turns out I have some more feelings about the manga I finished yesterday. Not naming it so this doesn’t end up in the tags. Please don’t read this, lol. The fourteen year old version of me jumped out.

I think the thing that bugged me most about this last stretch of DN Angel is how much it felt like Yukiru Sugisaki was just...done with the whole thing. Like everything felt very rushed towards a specific, easy conclusion that didn't address a lot of the interesting pieces she had previously laid down.

Like, I remember reading those last few chapters before the eight year long hiatus and HOLY SHIT there was so much! The Dark/Risa relationship all of a sudden becomes an actual threat, not just to Daisuke/Riku, but to Daisuke himself! Satoshi completely lets his guard down around Daisuke, trusting that the person he loves will make this huge sacrifice for him, and when Daisuke refuses he POINTS A GUN TO HIS OWN HEAD. AND THEN WHEN HE GETS CAUGHT HE GOES OFF INTO THE FOREST WITH. THE. GUN!!! AND THEN!!!! RIKU FINDS OUT DAISUKE IS DARK!!!!!!!! IT'S WILD AS FUCK!!!!!!!!

And then we come back and a lot of this is immediately dealt with in a comedic fashion and we just move on. Dark and Daisuke don't talk about that Risa interaction. No one goes after Satoshi. Daisuke comes up with some excuse and Riku is satiated for now.

Then we got the whole dream circus arc. Which was honestly alright. I enjoyed Daisuke coming to terms with the fact that he cannot separate himself from Dark. They are one and the same, for better or worse. And honestly, at first I thought this arc was going to lead us somewhere interesting. Because if Daisuke and Dark now understand that they are a package deal, how do they deal with the whole Riku and Risa thing???? (The answer is they basically don't but I'll get there). I was 100% ready to love this arc and then they did...the thing and I...

Okay, look. Full disclosure, I've been a DN Angel fan since I was like, fourteen. It is linked to me in a way that can only happen when you're obsessed with something at the height of your awkward teen years. And the thing that continues to be my favourite part of the whole story is the relationship between Satoshi and Daisuke. They were my number one ship, not just at fourteen, but...honestly probably through all of my teen years. Like, remember when people used to make jokes on this website about someone asking about your otp and you pull out your binder of reasons? I literally made a Satodai binder. That's not a joke. They were it for me.

And, don't get me wrong, there was never a point where I honestly thought the manga was gonna have Daisuke leave Riku and end up with Satoshi. I dreamed about it, but didn't honestly expect it. BUT I loved the way the manga addressed Satoshi's feelings for Daisuke. This is someone who Satoshi treasures above all others. The person who makes him believe the world can be better. The person he would do ANYTHING for. Like, Satoshi LOVES him.

Which is why it's so frustrating to me that Yukiru Sugisaki decided it would be better for Satoshi to have a two second dream about Risa that changes all of his feelings instantaneously. Like, I'm not here to shit on Satoshi/Risa fans, and I'm happy y'all got your ship. Honestly. But, the two of them have barely spoken before this and then Satoshi has a dream and literally says, "oh I guess my feelings have changed now" like...two volumes before the end! AND THEN THEY DON'T EVEN TALK UNTIL THE VERY END OF THE SERIES. FOR WHAT????

It honestly just read to me as, the mangaka wanted to end the series and Satoshi continuing to be into Daisuke was too emotionally complicated to quickly wrap up so he loves Risa now. And hey, that clears up the whole Dark/Risa thing, right? I'll get to that.

ANYWAY, so then we jump into an elongated story about some past Niwa/Hikari drama which would've been fun if I hadn't been growing more and more confused as I noticed how few chapters were left and we were STILL ON THIS. Like, I love when DN Angel gives us fun new characters to talk about. Hell, the Freedert arc and the Argentine arc are two of my favourites. But, when you only have a limited amount of time...It just felt like this was something Yukiru Sugisaki was maybe sitting on for awhile so she didn't want to skip it, but she also wanted to finish the story as soon as possible so the ending comes IMMEDIATELY after which makes this whole arc feel...weird. Like...we could've spent our last few chapters on the characters we know and love but...instead...

Then we get to the endgame. So, quick poll, do we think the mangaka already had this ending in mind before the anime came out or do we think she decided to do the anime ending because she had no idea how to finish the story. I'm really not sure, but either way it felt soooo anticlimactic given that we've had the anime ending for almost 20 years. Like...what was I waiting around for if you were just gonna do the same thing????? And look, I honestly never finished the anime because I couldn't stand the way they chose to characterize some of my favourite characters (most notably Satoshi and Risa) and I'd read what the ending was and hated it lol. But I digress.

The thing about the ending that gets me most is that it all comes on so fast. Like, you wanna do the anime ending? Okay. Don't love the idea, but okay. BUT it all happens in like... 2-3 chapters. Like, all of a sudden the Black Wings is sucking up power from the artwork and, oh no, here comes Krad ready wreck shop. And then we, randomly at THE END OF THE MANGA find out Satoshi's adopted Dad is actually his real Dad and also he's a piece of artwork which makes Satoshi half a piece of artwork???? Why are you telling us this now???? Then Satoshi and Daisuke seal Dark and Krad into the Black Wings the end. Like...????? That's it?????

OH ALSO I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT THE HARADA TWINS ARE MOVING TO ANOTHER COUNTRY. HONESTLY PROBABLY BECAUSE IT FEELS LIKE YUKIRU SUGISAKI FORGOT TOO SINCE THERE'S NO CLOSURE ON THAT?????? (Honestly, I'm laughing because I literally forgot about this fact until just now. AGAIN WHAT WAS THE REASON LMAO!!!)

Okay, so the story's done but where does it leave our favourite characters???

Daisuke and Riku have figured their shit out and are...presumably going to do long distance??? Idk, they never really address whether they're staying together or not as far as I can remember???? Like, this is the relationship I thought we would get the most closure on but ?????????

Risa just gets to be sad for awhile I guess. It's honestly so infuriating to me that we got this awesome moment before the hiatus where Dark asked Risa if she would love him no matter what and she says yes with her WHOLE CHEST and that's enough for Dark to almost, like, take over Daisuke's body permanently. Like, her love for Dark is as real as Riku's love for Daisuke but she's not allowed to have a happy ending like her sister. She gets to see Dark one last time where he kisses her and hopes she'll always be his best girl and then he flies off into the night while she begs him not to leave. Then, she gets to cry in the street, trying to remember him while everyone else is forgetting. Well, at least she has Satoshi, right????

But like, we don't even know if she likes Satoshi that way. There's been...no indication that she does as far as I know. And as he's hugging her, Satoshi is having these thoughts hoping she'll be able to remember Dark because he knows how meaningful he is to her. So their ending is LITERALLY Risa gets to be horribly heartbroken and Satoshi gets to pine for someone else who, at this point, doesn't love him back.

Like, once again not to shit on Satoshi/Risa fans but...is this the ending y'all wanted????? Because as someone who stans them both this just felt horrible. It reads as a feeble attempt to "pair the spares" (since in the story the mangaka wanted to tell, neither of them could be with who they originally loved) but, like, even then this is the saddest way to do that. OH! And once again, if Risa is moving, ARE THEY EVEN GOING TO BE TOGETHER????? Like, what are we supposed to get from this what is the REASON??????

And then there's Dark and Krad being stuck in the Black Wings for eternity. The biggest reason I didn't like this ending in the anime. Like, look. I get that you have to end your manga somehow. BUT if your plan was to reunite Dark and Krad in this way I don't understand why you would write a whole interaction, mere chapters before, having Dark say that that's the LAST thing he wants to do. HE SAYS THAT THEY AREN'T THE SAME ANYMORE AND THAT HE DOESN'T WANT TO RETURN TO HIM. AND THEN HE'S FORCED TO DO JUST THAT. FOR. WHAT?????

Like, Dark isn't a villain. He's one of our main protagonists and has been this whole time. I get that in stories sometimes characters have sad endings. (I've already argued that I think both Satoshi and Risa's endings were bittersweet at best). But to have Dark say mere chapters before it happens that he categorically DOES NOT want to rejoin Krad and then force him to do just that feels like such a needlessly cruel thing to do to this character we're meant to love.

Once again, it just felt so much like Yukiru Sugisaki wanted to end the series as quickly as possible. I get her wanting to come back to it; she's kinda notorious for not finishing things so I get the impulse to just drive through and get at least one story done. But, it felt like so many things were skipped over or changed just because it made getting to the end goal easier and less complicated. Not addressing some of the cool shit she laid down before the hiatus, completely morphing Satoshi's feelings in a dream, writing off Risa's feelings for Dark, telling us all of the Satoshi backstory stuff at the last goddamn minute, giving Dark his worst nightmare as an ending, so many of these things done just to move things along towards a specific end goal as fast as possible.

Honestly, there's a part of me that wishes she hadn't come back and finished it at all. I was happy enough with the ending I had written in my head and would've preferred it to what we ended up getting ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Anyway, to anyone who actually read this (and a part of me hopes no one does lmao) thanks for listening to me ramble. And if you're a Satoshi/Risa fan, uh, sorry I hated on your ship lol. You're cool.