#i am trying to be just as cool and worthy as you both!!!! please don't ever leave me! you keep me going even if I don't show it well!!!

[tchotchkez]

😮‍💨

[sorry for the hardcore tag rants, y'all]

[luvvictoria]

- 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝 // 𝗗𝗶𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗹𝗼

( ♡ ) pairing : at the ball of his birthday, he invites you to dance

( ♡ ) warning : f!reader, demon!reader, fluff, random talk, Diavolo pick me choose me love me please

( ♡ ) 🗒️a/n : i actually got this idea when I was in hospital 💀 anyway, fluff with Diavolo <33

" Hello there. " Diavolo, the Demon Prince, greets his guests " I'd like to thank you all for coming here tonight on my behalf. " he smiles. Oh God, that smile of his. " It would seem that today's my birthday… By the way, could anyone here possibly tell me how old am I now ? Because I'd like to know myself. " he said and the people demons start laughing at his joke.

Diavolo smiles " All joke aside, I'd like it if you all used my birthday as an excuse to have a good time. So enjoy yourselves! " he finally said and the others cheer.

You sigh and go sit by yourself, but not before grabbing a drink. You examine the room, looking for someone to judge in silence. But then someone got in front of you. Frowning, you look up " Could you f- " Diavolo smiles at you " Shall we dance ? " your mouth opened in shock. Damn, this man, the Demon Prince, wanted to dance, but not only that, he wanted to dance with you.

You look at him nonchalantly, trying to look cool " Your Majesty- *ahem* yes, of course " you say getting up and taking his hand.

And then slowly, he grabbed your waist with his big hand and took your left hand in his. You moved to the rhythm of the classical music that was playing and oh my Goodness, this man knows how to move and you, of course, followed his steps.

" You dance very well " he compliments. You try not to looking away and take his compliment " I'm just copying the steps you're doing " you say in a low tone " Pardon ? " you look at him " Ah, I said 'thank you' " he chuckles " You can't fool me, lady. " you raise your eyebrows " Lady ? And what if I'm older than you ? " he was taken aback from your reply and you can't help but smile.

Seeing the light in your eyes he, somehow, wanted to smile too. He then let a relieved chuckle " You fooled me. " you smile " I didn't mean to, Your Majesty. Is just that you believed me right away " you say " So you're saying that I shouldn't trust you. " Your smile " So I'm not a worthy person to have the Prince trust ? " " Of course you are. "

" Oh, and, thank you. You told me I dance well. But to be honest, you're the one who leads " you say " I don't know how to dance " he admits, looking at you face " You don't know how to dance?! " you wishper smiling " Don't look at me like that. I sing your paycheck " he said but you didn't ask about the last part " You've been on this type of parties for years, and you've never learned how to dance? " you ask titling your head " I'm excellent at coming up with excuses. " he smirks " Would you like me to teach you ? " you ask with hope " Actually, that's a good idea ! And I'm also free after the party. "

Diavolo then starts looking through the room himself. And you found yourself staring at him. You look at every detail of his face. From the sharp jawline, to te way his red hair looks under the light. People may call him dangerous, but for you, he was a comforting place .

" You're staring again " you blink " Huh ?…what do you mean again " you try not rising your voice " It's not the first time I catch you looking at me " you couldn't feel more embarrassed right now " But I'm not complaining. I love the way your eyes look at my every move. " you smile awkwardly, and he could feel the tension " But, I'm telling you a secret now " he leans in and you just look in his eyes and nod " Time to time, I find myself staring at you too " he wishpers and you fake a little gasp, covering your mouth with your hand " Really ? " you playfully ask. The both of you giggle. But inside, you were burning flames. Diavolo just said that sometimes he stares at you !

Your giggles finally died down, and you look at him again, but now he wasn't looking at you. He was looking at some girl over. Oh. Maybe he already grow bored of this conversation. It wasn't interesting at all, so you don't blame him but maybe, were you the reason ? She was so pretty and you couldn't help yourself. But after all, he's a Prince. Royal blood. He deserves someone as good as him. When you two turned to face each other, the music stopped. You bit your cheek and step back a little " You, should dance with others too, your Majesty " you bow a little.

The music started again.

Diavolo frowns " I want to dance with you, [name] " ah, the way he says your name makes you shiver. You look at him again " No, I'm fine, I'm not worthy of such attention-" he grabs your hands and place them on his chest " Of course you are. You're worthy of my love " he firmly said "…Love? " you repeat shocked, your eyebrows raised and your lips slightly parted " I'm saying I like you "

back to materialist

[mcu-fan-fics-blog]

Remember a Time XI

Series:  (Pt.1), (P.t 2), (P.t 3), (P.t 4), (P.t 5), (P.t 6), (P.t 7), (P.t 8), (P.t 9), (P.t 10) Wanda Maximoff x Fem! Reader, Natasha Romanoff x Fem! Reader ;) (High school Au ) No Powers Word count: 1904 A/n: Things are starting to get serious. I am trusting the process, everything will fall into place, hopefully. I hope you peeps enjoy the story so far I appreciated you all. Some love to the annon that sent me a message. (U know who you are <3)

Your first year of college was rather uneventful. Well that's what you liked to tell people, but in all honesty it was absolutely horrible. You and Natasha had entered this new chapter of your lives together and on the same page. You couldn't help but feel that by the end of the first semester you guys were reading two completely different books. Natasha was a go-getter she was impeccably amazing at everything she decided to put her mind to. She had chosen a very demanding Law major and on top of that she would give her all to train and practice to be the best. You didn't choose the easiest major, but it was lax compared to Natasha's 3 hours worth of reading each night. Business management was something that you felt somewhat passionate about. Your father had a somewhat large company that he built from the ground up. And you were fond of the idea of picking up the mantle when your time came. But you also had fun, a lot of fun. 

Once your mother found out you would be attending UCLA she made sure that you got everything in order to pledge to her old sorority. You'd never been the type to think that you would try out let alone fit in and thoroughly enjoy being a part of. You only pledged to your mothers old sorority and once the fact that you were a legacy came up you were welcomed with relatively open arms. "How's pledge week going, please tell me you're not being hazed by some weak blonde bimbo." Natasha said as you walked into your apartment. "No... I'm being hazed by a hot blond bimbo." You joked, chuckling at Natasha's disgruntled look. "Not cool.." She huffed "People don't do that anymore, but I think that I really like it there." She smiled. "I'm glad that we’re both finding our place." She said walking towards you and engulfing you in a tight hug and giving you a chaste kiss on the lips. 

That would be one of the last moments you had with her that didn't end up with the both of you fighting. You absolutely hated having arguments with her but the universe just seemed to want to pull you apart. Freshman year was a year of discovery, you learn a lot about yourself and your limits unfortunately sometimes you can get caught up in all that freedom to grow and and honestly lack of adult supervision. You'd become an avid party goer and maybe a tad bit of an alcoholic. Natasha was busy most days, her schedule was packed and you couldn't complain all the contrary you admired her dedication. But the lack of seeing each other was creating friction because when she could see and spend time with you, you were at a party or hungover, or busy yourself trying to catch up with school work. "We can't keep going like this Y/n what's happening to us?" Your tears were muted, you felt her sadness and yours. This was only going one place and you both knew it. 

Natasha was having a hard time. It took a long while for her to adjust to not being near her family, then it took her even longer to adjust to being with you in this new phase of her life. School was stress inducing to say the least of course she had things under control but that didn't mean she didn't stress all the contrary she only had it under control because she stressed. Soccer was as good as it could get. She only really pushed herself so hard because it relieved some of the stress she was feeling. All of her teammates were likable and trust worthy. There was one teammate in particular though that she could really see as a good friend and that would be Maria Hill, team captain. She had taken Natasha under her wing and taught her the ropes. There was something more there and she could feel it. A small wince or a clench of the jaw every time she mentioned you. There was something there and it was driving Natasha crazy. She'd promised Wanda and herself she wouldn't hurt you, and here she was considering it. 

It always came down to Wanda didn't it.

"I-i Natasha, maybe we should..." Your phone rang in your pocket with the last number you'd think would call you. It was Pietro, you were shocked to say the least. "I think that I should take this..." You motioned to the phone in your hand. Natasha nodded, wiping a tear from her eye too busy trying to compose herself to notice who was calling. "Is this Y/n's number? " The voice on the other end sounded unfamiliar. "Yes, I'm sorry but who is this and why are you calling from my friend's phone?" The person on the other end sighed. "Um, Y/n It's me Vision. Listen, you might want to take a seat or something." Your heart rate picked up and your shoulders tensed. Natasha noticed and she herself began to brace. "Pietro he um, he's been in an accident Y/n." Your heart ached, your hand moved to your chest, tears immediately welling in your eyes. "It's not looking good." His voice was heavy with sorrow. "She told me to call you..." Your heart broke at that, Wanda. "I'll get the next flight out, I'll be there as soon as I can. Please keep me updated." You urged. "I will just please come."   

The line dropped and your eyes finally met Natasha's. "Pietro's had a- He's been in an accident." You barely managed to get out. Natasha tried to step forward with her arms reaching for you. You moved back, your mind still reeling with what was about to come out of your mouth before you answered that phone, and the phone call itself. "I need to call Tony, He'll get me there in no time." Natasha's surprise was thinly veiled. "Y/n you're in the middle of the most important part of the semester, finals are around the corner, you can't just up and leave." Your eyes pierced hers. "I can, and I will. My friend could very well be dead right now." Calling him that felt wrong, he was more than a friend, sure things were rocky after Wanda. But you still cared immensely for him. You left her standing there in the tense silence you'd created. You dialed Tony he answered on the first ring. "Finally, my jet's waiting for you and Nat." You winced at her mention. "Just me, I'll be on the plane within the hour." Natasha drove you to the hangar, the drive was silent. It was uncomfortable, but you appreciated her being somewhat reasonable and not bringing up your conversation right now.

"I'll let you know what happens when I land." You said when you'd finally pulled up to the plane. "I think maybe you shouldn't." She said quietly, her eyes on the ground in front of you. You scoffed out a laugh, wiping the tears in your eyes. You nodded. "Noted, Goodbye" You didn't give her a chance to reply boarding the plane as quickly as possible. That flight was the longest four hours of your life. You weren't mad at Natasha you'd seen this coming just not like this. Never like this. It hurt but It would've hurt more if you'd both waited until it was too late. Tony was there when you landed . He gave you a crushing hug, which you returned. "What happened?" You asked, your voice breaking slightly. "Pietro was hit by a drunk driver on his motorcycle." You winced. "He's still in surgery. They're trying to stop all the internal bleeding." You nodded already trying to steady and strengthen yourself. Either way it was going to be hard. "Wanda, how is she?" In any eventuality it would be a lot to deal with. "No one thought this would happen, you never think something like this is coming." You only nodded. The drive there again was incredibly silent. 

Your eyes searched frantically for her, you definitely looked worse for wear no sleep and a prior maybe relationship break up was definitely taking a toll on you. When your eyes landed on her you knew she needed this... you. She looked pale, her eyes were dull, she was a ghost. You didn't look or feel any better but you knew she definitely was feeling it. Vision saw you first and quickly motioned you into the seat next to her.  He didn't bother stopping you for a greeting, he just let you be. Seating next to her was overwhelming to say the least, she still hadn't knocked out of her mind. Only thing you could think of doing was reaching for her hand. When you finally built the courage to, you reached out for her, her head barely turned to acknowledge you, but when she did it was almost an immediate her reaction. It was like the dam had finally broken and her breathing was erratic and her tears were overflowing. You pulled her up with you and into you. You put as much force as you could into the hug until she calmed down. You were just holding her. "It's not a dream..." She said into your chest. 

Your eyes watered. "It's not, but everything is going to be alright. Pietro is strong, he'll pull through." She nodded. "He has to be okay, You're here. He has to be okay." You could only hold her tighter.

Something had changed when you went back to California. Your apartment felt empty, it didn’t feel the same. It was hard to pinpoint at first but then you noticed it. Her things that were always somehow splayed in your apartment were gone. Even the most mundane things that she’d leave there were gone. Her drawer and closet space were empty. That’s when the dread came back. She'd left… 

Christmas was as bleak as it could be, it felt wrong to feel happy. You kept your word and celebrated with your parents. There wasn’t much to do, you and Tony spent a lot of time together during the month you had off of school. Surprisingly you survived and passed the semester. Things were grim, and Tony respected your space and left it alone as much as he could. Which meant that you third wheeled Tony and Pepper for the better part of a month. You avoided any and all contact with the Romanoff’s and they seemed to understand. Well all but one. “I told you not to fuck up.” You sighed. You were currently trying to open your front door. “I didn’t.” It angered you that she was letting this narrative run. You turned to look at her. “I came back, and she was gone.” You were about to continue when you heard the steps coming up behind Yelena. “I told you not to bother her.” Her voice washed over you like a bucket of cold water. 

Yelena was about to argue with her but quickly shut up when she met Natasha’s gaze. You didn’t bother shifting your gaze from your keys. Instead, you choose to turn and finish opening your door. You could hear Yelena talking from behind you. “You’re just going to let her walk away like that?” You closed the door before Natasha could answer, but you still managed to hear what she said. “Yes…”

Tag-List: @when-wolves-howl, @alyciaddict,​​ @username23345,​ @arixxxxxxxxa, @justyourwritter69, @picnicminded, @swiftdazer, @alphawolfchicago1124,​​ @sojo154, @xxxtwilightaxelxxx, @marvelogic, @wandasmistress, @alwaysgoodnight, @chickenlittlsblog

[34saveme34]

thinking about 3 and him making friends

I don't know how everyone handles him but 4 is definitely not the only one who cares about him

also I wish they showed it more but Meggy definitely considers 3 a friend

Mario also cares about 3 in his own way

He gets along well with Bob when they both want to

he can be nice to Boopkins

we don't see him with Melony which is a shame, they should touch on that more ugh

but yea like Idk the idea that 3 is isolated in 4's grasp to justify the idea that 4 could be abusive-

Sure, he revolves around 4 but it's not really fully his fault, they're cosmically assigned as a pair so like, the fuck can he do but make the most of it?

Like I'll say, he's definitely not fully integrated in the friendgroup and he still has a lot to work on in that regard but he's far from having only 4 as his friend

I think it's just rather that HE thinks that but like he doesn't even know if he should cuz his stupid ass is constantly scared, got them trust issues

You know who has that problem though but doesn't appear a lot so we don't think about it too much? Kaizo. Bro only really knew Saiko and like, that's all we really know of him besides like being irresponsible as hell

but we didn't really like, see him bounce off with anybody else

3-Meggy bouncing off works, similarly to how honestly 4-Meggy works, it's the competitive shittalking kicking in with both, although we saw less of it, since the 34 dynamic really took over

I bet Kaizo could have a great dynamic with someone other than Saiko but he doesn't get enough screen time for that

anyways I'm still fucked over the whole 34 thing. There's so much of them. I don't know, if their whole gay little thing is gonna forever stay a bit and nothing more, it's- gonna get boring real quick

like you can try and dangle the treat in front of us, the animals, but at some point after waiting for it long enough, we'll grow bored.

But really, it feels like such an odd writing decision to focus on them so much if they're just meant to be a bit and they don't want to progress their relationship further. Like it's not like that's what people prefer. Sure, there's a minority who would want only that forever but then it's just pleasing a tiny crowd which could drive others away. It just feels like it wouldn't worth going through so much trouble with them all for that

Like if they just wanted to keep it a silly bit, they shouldn't. focus on it so much. Like, logically if they put so much emphasis on them and tease the hell out of us with things like the end of wotfi23, forced hold hands, elevator, the god damn titanic scene, squidbob34, Perfect, them bitches always being next to each other, like you'll find them mostly next to each other in most scenes they're present in

like, logically, LOGICALLY, this shit's supposed to become more than a god damn bit. Why would you put so much in a ship, the actual like, majority of your fanbase doesn't really care as much about (see: that one youtube ship popularity poll on another yt channel) and some (although a minority) even despise and call the idea of making it canon the end of the world

I am just, you know, left wondering, what the hell is it for- if not for them to make it fuckin canon at some point?

Honestly, I think I said it before, maybe not publically but I'd find it really fun if wotfi24 somehow drove them to be canon

not like as an arc thing, just a fun thing yknow.

but then again, this pair has been a thing for a really long time now

like it makes you think about like, what would even be grand enough to match them, the anticipation that is if those 2 could ever get together, what could match that?

Or would it become like the Puzzlevision movie where it's like, it's fine but still kind of weak. Like sure, but, eh, I expected it to be more cool and like making the wait worthy

then again it would be really funny if they didn't make them canon on camera, we'd just see kiss them in the background while other characters get focus. Like Idk, maybe some random characters we don't see enough, getting together in 3's cafe and like. In the background we see 4 walk over to the counter and very clearly kiss 3 and then them talking. But like they aren't the focus so imagine people actually missing it LJLKLFFL

imagine being a shipper, missing the scene and then losing your shit when people post screenshots of them kissing and you have to go back and check and lose your shit even more

Idk I'm just rambling at this point

[mariana-oconnor]

The Abbey Grange pt 3

I'm fairly confident I've pieced this one together correctly. I'm a little annoyed that it appears that Lady Brackenhall didn't do it herself, but I suppose I'll allow it. I feel confident that she could have done it herself, though, had the narrative allowed her to.

...our door was opened to admit as fine a specimen of manhood as ever passed through it. He was a very tall young man, golden-moustached, blue-eyed, with a skin which had been burned by tropical suns, and a springy step which showed that the huge frame was as active as it was strong.

I stg, every time Watson describes someone in this story he gets hornier. 'As fine a specimen of manhood as ever passed through it.' Put your tongue back in your mouth.

He's looking respectfully.

I've always thought that how horny literally every version of Watson seems to be was just exaggerated, but no. Reading/rereading these as an adult shows me that Watson is exactly that horny on main.

And by 'on main' I mean 'in a widely distributed publication'.

"I know so much already that if you go one inch off the straight I'll blow this police whistle from my window and the affair goes out of my hands for ever.” The sailor thought for a little. Then he struck his leg with his great, sun-burned hand. “I'll chance it,” he cried. “I believe you are a man of your word, and a white man, and I'll tell you the whole story."

First, the captain's kinda racist, I guess.

Second, this is an exact template of what not to do when being interviewed regarding a crime you have committed. Never believe that they know everything. Never agree to tell them anything. Say nothing.

Captain Croker is kind of an idiot.

But then, given the racism, we already knew that.

"So far as I am concerned I regret nothing and I fear nothing, and I would do it all again and be proud of the job."

This is also exactly what you should not say in this situation. He's just determined to be a waking talking exemplar of what not to do, I guess. And he's doing a great job of it.

"...many a time since have I kneeled down in the darkness of the night watch and kissed the deck of that ship because I knew her dear feet had trod it."

That seems unsanitary. Sir, please desist.

Is this why they transferred you to another ship? So people would stop coming across you licking the deck? People walk on that. Sir. Sir, please.

This is yet another example of things you shouldn't do. Just in case you were wondering.

If you want to kiss her feet and you're both into that, go for it. But don't just, like... kiss the dirty deck of a ship where hundreds of people have walked because she walked there. Not only is it unhygienic, it's kind of stalkery.

Yeah.... no.

This guy is giving unhinged vibes.

"One day out in a country lane I met Theresa Wright, her old maid. She told me about her, about him, about everything."

Theresa 100% knew what she was doing here. There is no way she looked at this guy literally kissing the ground Mary walked on and didn't realise that he would be down to murder. Theresa wins the prize here. Excellently executed. Get the dumb stalker to kill the abusive husband. A+ work. She deserves a raise.

"This drunken hound, that he should dare to raise his hand to her whose boots he was not worthy to lick!"

Was not expecting to tick off 'foot fetish' on my Sherlock Holmes bingo card, but there we go.

"Theresa was always my friend, for she loved Mary and hated this villain almost as much as I did. From her I learned the ways of the house."

My dude, my dude. Theresa fucking played you.

"At first she would not open to me, but in her heart I know that now she loves me, and she could not leave me in the frosty night."

That's a really quick turn around from 'it was only friendship for her and I was happy with it' to 'I know she loves me now'.

"Theresa was as cool as ice, and it was her plot as much as mine."

It was all her plan. I bet she made sure the husband was awake at the right time.

"...since she was trying hard to shield him and so showing that she loved him."

Really? Was she though?

"See here, Captain Croker, we'll do this in due form of law. You are the prisoner. Watson, you are a British jury, and I never met a man who was more eminently fitted to represent one."

I guess Watson has enough horniness in him for 12 people.

I mean, I don't have a problem with the guy being allowed to go free, the victim literally burned a puppy alive. Also, I'm pretty sure he was manipulated into being there at the right time. Because there's no way a maid who has been frequently mentioned to be really good at her job, just blurts out her mistress's private business to a guy they met on a boat in the middle of the road. She knew what she was doing. And the husband just happened to come along?

"Come back to this lady in a year, and may her future and yours justify us in the judgment which we have pronounced this night.”

I note that this is as much of a 'happily ever after' as we get for this story. I choose to believe Mary had already moved on in a year and had given up the pretence of being in love with him.

But I am cynical, as we have previously discussed.

[my-thirteenth-reason]

gah OK I've been thinking about something that happener on thursdya. lengthy recount ig (im learning from aita posts)

so i was on my way to the school gate after club and ran into my seniors from club. they were going in the direction i came from so we were just crossing paths. and i'm friendly with them, we don't talk a lot because i have my friend my age in club (but shes a lot closer to them than i am to them due to her extroverted nature - this matters later), but not that seldom either. so i said bye to them and they were all saying bye to me as i passed them. including this one senior, let's call them R. and i was pleasantly surprised because im pretty sure R dislikes me.

so, R is sorta close to my friend i mentioned earlier, who ill refer to as C, and they always gossip during club cus theyre both in the student council. im not, so most of the time im just sitting there awkwardly listening, but im not involved in the conversation, so im really not close to R.

anyway, R always waves or says hi to C, and recently i noticed that she just acts like im not there when im always next to C. the other day when C was late to club, R saw me and asked "where's C?" im sure she didn't think twice about it but it doesn't feel great to know that the only person i am to anyone in club is C's best friend, not even worthy of receiving some sort of friendly greeting. also on Thursday, i was standing in front of one of the big fans to cool down, and R was nearby. R came up to me and stood in front of the fan, facing me, so we were just awkwardly standing there for some reason idek. R is a head or so shorter than me so i was just awkwardly smiling down at her because im nice like that /j. we didn't say anything and she just left like five seconds afterwards...

so back to the main point. my seniors and i walked past each other, and they said bye to me, even R. at that point we were turning a corner, so i could still hear them talking past the corner, and i heard the other seniors teasing R, saying "who are YOU to say bye", while laughing. obviously to me this implies that R told them that she didn't like me, making it ironic of her to say bye to me, and hence the other seniors said that. i heard them very clearly btw they were not even out of earshot. im trying not to let this bother me because i may be wrong but i cannot think of any other explanation :/ if she dislikes me then so be it but i don't want to be disliked by my other seniors who are really nice. and i want to know if ive done anything wrong other than being lanky and awkwardly standing around.

yea that's it i guess the lesson i need to learn from this is that something something you cannot please everyone and that being nice isn't enough yada yada. i initially wrote a long rant about C below this but then i realised it was longer than my main rant lmao ok buy

[studentinpursuitofclouds]

"You are Amethyne..."

I decided to start writing little stories about Ridgeside Village too, because why not? This one is about conversation between Madame Maive and my OC Farmer Julian. ⚠️ Warning: domestic violence and angst

_________________________________________

"I must say, I'm very pleased with how you're doing with the farm. You have even exceeded all my expectations, and you never cease to amaze me so far."

Maive and Julian stood on the cliff near the cable car station, watching the horizon as the sun set behind the distant mountains, painting the clouds and the whole land with gold, orange, and bright red colors. In early fall, such a sunset creates a truly stunning and mesmerizing view, a dream for any photographer.

Sonny stood not far from them, also keeping his eyes on the magnificent view, on the beauty that Yoba had bestowed. He dared not interfere with the conversation between the Madame and the young farmer, for he felt it was something very personal. But still he looks at Maive for a moment, like a faithful dog, waiting for her to call him and take orders.

"Thank you, Mai- Madame", Julian quickly corrected himself, remembering how the head of the Amethyne family doesn't tolerate being addressed informally. He was usually shy when he was praised by someone (even though there was much to be praised for), believing that his actions and rich harvest spoke louder than words. And still, Maive's praise was very flattered, for it was hard to surprise noble madame.

Her own offspring can't accomplish that...

"Your hard work has helped in the development of not only Pelican Town, but also Ridgeside Village, and I am deeply happy that you are trying for the benefit of not only yourself, but others as well." The old madam spoke again.

"I want to thank you for that, farmer. On behalf of myself and the entire Amethyne family." Maive looked straight into Julian's multicolored eyes as she said the last phrase, with proud, as if he were her own child for having succeeded in exams.

Julian was slightly taken aback by such a frank admission, and only smiled broadly and sincerely, bowing slightly to Madame. This answer satisfied Maive quite well. "His parents have raised the boy to be a gentleman. Good to know", Maive thought with some relief.

"Between you and me, I'm amazed at how much patience you have with me. A lot of people I talk to usually think I'm callous when I'm not afraid to be honest about them. I thank you for that patience, for all of us."

They were both silent again for a moment, returning to contemplating the beautiful sunset. The rustle of leaves underfoot, the gentle cool breeze, and the smell of mushrooms-Julian loves autumn with all his heart, but after Maive's words, he couldn't concentrate on the scenery any longer. Memories come rushing into his head...

.................................

It seemed that Aria's crying was never ending and would soon escalate into a more loud, hysterical cry. "Gra- Grandmother..." "Ariah... You're Amethyne, now act like it!"

"Grandmother, stop! Don't say that about our family!" "How. Dare you?!" A loud slap was heard in the huge hall of the manor, and after a second, a shocked Zayne covered his cheek with his hand, feeling his skin reddening and burning. "So many children and grandchildren, and not a single worthy candidate! You are pathetic, all of you." Compared to Maive's cold words, the slap didn't hurt her grandson that much anymore.

"Don't even think about it, Louie! Your last exams had a score of less than 90%, and that's something I won't encourage. You will stay home to study", Louie shifted his gaze from his older brother to his grandmother, and he tilted his head, saying a little more quietly: "Yes, Grandmother. I'm sorry..."

"Living under constant pressure is unbearable." "I miss my parents and my brother so much..." "Ms. Ariah is very stressed today." "I'm such a coward." "Can we ever break this our family curse?! "Your father is just selfish, arrogant - "Mother, stop it!" *Sniff* *Hic* Grandmother...

"You're an Amethyne, now act like it!"

....................................

Julian took a deep inhale and exhale. The picture of the most famous family in the entire Republic was a very contradictory one. And yet it was these people-the ever-cranky Louie, the ever-busy Ariah, the ever-workaholic Irine and Sonny, the ever-impatient Maive, the ever-condemning Zayne, who was always judging himself for being a coward-they were the very people who had become his first friends in Ridgeside Village.

Grandpa and Grandma wouldn't be friends with bad people. And can you call a person exceptionally bad? It's much easier to look at the world as black and white. Except the world is all shades of gray.

Patience. This world need patience.

"Your grandparents were my best friends. They were there for me in joy and in sorrow", Maive once again raised her voice, catching Julian's attention. Her face expressed an unaccustomed sadness, it was rare for anyone to catch her like this, beyond her usual impassive expression, anger or annoyance.

It was as if the noble old lady could read minds, for she guessed what Julian was thinking. Even after everything, he gave her family a chance to get to know them better.

Just like his grandparents gave her a chance when she was young.

...............................

"Maive, explain yourself! Our servants saw you in the arms of those two peasants! Do you think that's how a young lady of your status should behave?"

"Mother!", Maeve was surprised at how defiant her voice sounded, "They are my friends!"

"Friends? Your "friends" are always walking around in dirty, filthy clothes like pigs, poking their noses into other people's business and hanging out with those strange men with swords! And you cal them your friends?"

"Don't you DARE say that about them!" Maive immediately regretted her raised tone when her mother quickly walked up to her and gave her a loud and painful slap.

"How dare you speak to me like that?! To your own mother! I put so much effort into protecting you, keeping you safe. I do everything for you. And this is how you thank me?!", Her voice was already breaking into hysterical notes, but she immediately quieted her fervor as her daughter fell to her knees and began to sob quietly, holding her right cheek with her snow-white hand.

"Maive..." The mother's heart clenched at the sight of what she had done to her own blood. But her gaze quickly changed, and she uttered a phrase that had haunted all members of the Amethyne family for generations. Like a curse, like an executioner's axe cleaving the air, making the walls of the old mansion tremble every time:

"Y o u a r e A m e t h y n e, s o a c t l i k e i t !"

.........................................

Following the young farmer's example, Maive also slowly took a deep breath in and out. Her whole life was a lifetime of service for her family, of striving for excellence and sacrificing so much for success, including her own happiness and mental health. The endless darkness of the golden cage of Amethyne, into which rays of light break through only occasionally, allowing them to feel free for a moment.

That ever-annoying farmer and his girlfriend became the very light in Maive's life. Just like their grandson became a ray of light for her and her descendants.

The Madame carefully, on her high heels, stepped closer to Julian, gently took his face and kissed him on the forehead. Poor Julian was, to say at least, shocked - he did not expect this from someone like Maive, how she looked at him tenderly, as his own mother looked at Julian...

"All the wealth of our family is not enough to thank you for all that you and your family have done for all of us", Julian could have sworn that when Maive pulled away from him, Madame's wrinkled eyes showed sparkling drops, like the purest diamond, that were about to run down her face.

[humming-pokemon-helpers]

A Vision in the Mirror Masterpost (OOC)

Taking the same concept from my old masterpost, this one will start out with a few FAQs and follow with a plot summary of what's going on under the cut, to keep up easily! Tags for this arc include #a vision in the mirror and for previous leadup posts, #vision prelude. Posts will also be tagged with appropriate stakes for the scene/consequences of what's going on, but on average, stuff is high stakes.

What should I know going in?

Similar to my last high stakes arc, this arc will cover some sensitive topics (all of which will be tagged alongside the arc tag and stakes)! Among them are mental health topics like anxiety, paranoia, depression, suicidality and self-injury, happenings like impersonation, defamation/blackmail, violence/death, fire (natural disaster), and general philosophizing in the "are humans and Pokémon actually equal" direction. A lot of these will largely only be alluded to on here, but better safe than sorry! Feel free to block the tag if it's not for you, I'll probably have a few lower-stakes posts somewhere in there (or maybe some ask games to break stuff up).

Also, this time, not everything is going to be RP'd live on-blog. If you're interested in seeing the behind-the-scenes you're welcome to the planning server (I can shoot you a link), but it'll be a bit heavier. The reason I'm doing this is both to reduce the intensity here, and to not flood everyone's dashboards. I'll still make summary posts of what's going on and am happy to answer asks about that! And of course, Vanilla or Cross will still be liveblogging everything crucial.

How can I participate?

Honestly, just send asks! Reblog stuff! This is pretty open, though if you'd like to be involved in anything in-person, DM me so I can add you to the planning server. I'd love to hear anyone's ideas along the way!

Know also that you can be as involved as you want in this. Some parts of this event will have wider-ranging consequences (city-wide, tops) but also, I absolutely don't expect people to get involved in that unless they want to! (If you do decide to dash-commentary things, please tag it with the arc tag so I can see it? Pretty please? And also use the appropriate stakes tags?)

Who's important in this?

(Not listing my friends' blogs in this, though they're welcome to reblog!)

Vanilla: Vanilla (26, any) is the guy on the blog, a Hisuian Zorua hybrid, and probably a bit well-known for his own good at the moment. They've currently just finished their Unovan Gym Challenge (badge-gathering), and are trying to investigate what has caused their impersonation across several situations.

Colress: Colress (39, he/him) is back from wherever he was, and certainly not better than ever. His aims are unclear, but Vanilla has been keeping tabs on him via a pager gifted by Cheri, and holds some key information from his laptop. He currently has expressed intentions to reclaim his Klinklang from Rune.

Vision: A strange being (?, ??/??) who seems to be impersonating Vanilla perfectly. Believed to be tied to Colress, but in what way? Has a soft spot for Wolfgang, and has met with Cheri and Vanilla's parents.

Cross: Vanilla's Rotom, Cross (5, she/her), is a sweet, non-battling Pokémon whose main goal is Vanilla's safety. While she's normally sworn to secrecy, she'll break that in the name of saving her "boss". She's also quite nervous, pzzt.

Wolfgang: Wolfgang, or Wolfy (27, he/him) is a Hisuian Zoroark, Vanilla's half-sibling, and the father of four adorable Zorua kits with his mate, Mozart. He's currently serving as the interim leader of the Lostlorn Zoroark pack, but he's in frequent contact with Vanilla thanks to the power of cheap cell phones.

Cobalion: One of the Swords of Justice, Cobalion (many centuries, they/he) is convinced Vanilla will one day be a worthy chosen for their aims. As it is, however, they've left Vanilla to find her own answers. Unless the answers involve using the cool sword they've been gifted, in which case Cobalion is all in.

Cheri: Cheri (28, she/her) is the perpetual thorn in Vanilla's side, who also happens to be their recent ex and current "rival" after selling them out to Colress (and apologizing endlessly after the fact). A strong battler, she gifted Vanilla Chibi (formerly Fluffybutt) the Shiny Vanilluxe, and has expressed every intention of protecting Vanilla. As much as Vanilla insists he's really fine without the help.

Aspear: Aspear (28, he/him) is Cheri's twin, also a "rival" of Vanilla's, and perfectly happy to stay out of this situation, thank you.

What's the plot so far?

(Plot kept under the readmore for previously mentioned potentially triggering content.)

Prelude: After a battle with Cheri, Vanilla was bestowed with a pager Cheri had previously used to keep contact with Colress. Over the past few months, they've heard Colress speaking from the pager, but, frustratingly, nothing crucial. Lately, though, they've been hearing strange noises much like their own voice...

These strange noises seem corroborated by Wolfgang claiming to have seen somebody who looks, speaks, and even smells exactly like Vanilla, and by Cheri's own claims that she has talked to Vanilla's doppelganger.

At the same time, Colress has begun taking action, reaching out to Rune to demand the return of his Klinklang, to which he received a solid refusal. And at the same time, the Swords of Justice seem on edge...

Main Arc: Vanilla, with his increasing concern about being impersonated, begins to lower contact with others, and eventually, decides to return to their adoptive parents' home to lay low. When she finally returns, though, she learns that Maamaa, who was in her parent's care, was taken by her copycat to some unknown location. In order to figure out where, Vanilla tries working out who they're dealing with, before finally settling on making themselves distinguishable from the copy when in-person (fun fact for the summary people: what they settled on was 'way too much body spray'). This doesn't solve their problem though, and so they finally decide to try and make contact with Colress and this mystery person via Cheri's pager.

On the other side of things, we learn that this person's name is Vision, that she seems to have some sort of high title... and that she intends to be the one to respond to Vanilla's message, it seems. But what will come of that...?

[To be continued!]

[cartoonfanaticmonsterrobotalien]

Solar Opposites: The Rise of The New Order Ch. 9 (by @avaveevo)

Korvo moans as he wakes up and gasp upon seeing himself back in the New Order Room

Korvo: Wh-what’s happening?! Terry?! Kids?! Jessica?! Teraformus?!

Tortus chuckles evilly as he approaches Korvo.

Korvo: You…

Tortus: Why Korvotron. You’re awake. Love the new collar?

Korvo: YOU BASTARD! *tries to attack but then gets shock*

Korvo falls to his knees and cries

Korvo: *cries* You monster…. how could you? You were my favorite teacher. You were my idol. My whole life, I looked up to you… I wanted to be you…

Tortus chuckles evilly as he touch’s Korvo’s face.

Tortus: I have enough for your excuses! Terald is an unworthy partner! You should’ve known that he is the worst Pupa Specialist on Shlorp and-

Korvo: snapping Enough! Terry is the best specialist and the best husband I ever had! He is worthy! You’re however aren’t! I refuse to leave my family!

Tortus: Korvotron, you're angry, I get it. Believe me, I know what it's like, but you are making a dangerous decision!

Korvo: No! I am done debating this! What is your problem with my Terry?!

[TORTUS] The path of hate is a dangerous track You take one step and it's hard to turn back It pulls you along, and though it seems wrong it feels right Don't you see this path you're on leaves a permanent mark It feels good at first, then it slowly turns dark With each passing day you're further astray from the light

Suddenly, you lose your way and lose the thread Lose your cool, then lose your head Every loss is harder to excuse Then you'll see you'll lose your faith and lose your soul 'till you lose complete control And realize there's nothing left to lose Nothing left to lose

Tortus: Korvo, trust me, becoming part of Earth isn't the answer!

Korvo: Is that what you think I am?

[KORVO] The path I'm on is a path paved in black I'm taking that road and I'm not looking back Each twist and each turn leads straight where I'm yearning to go Yes, it's true, my path is dark but I see where it ends My rivals will fall as my power ascends Despise me, that's fine I'm taking what's mine even so

Not like you, you lost your nerve, you lost the game But you and I, we're not the same I'm not lost, this fate was mine to choose So I chose to lose my doubts and lose my chains Lose each weakness that remains Now that I have nothing left to lose Nothing left to lose

Tortus: You have so much to hold onto

Korvo: I only want my rightful dues

Tortus: Listen please, you've lost your grip and lost your mind

Korvo: Lose? I'm not gonna lose

Tortus: All's not lost, don't be so blind

Korvo: I refuse

[TORTUS]

Cut your losses, drop the IOUs

[KORVO] I refuse

[TORTUS]

Oooh choose

[KORVO]

I lose no tears and lose no sleep What I want I'll take and keep

[TORTUS] It's time for you to choose

[BOTH]

You can't stop the turning of the screws

Korvo: I’ve fucking had enough! I am returning to Earth...

[KORVO]

Now I have nothing left to lose

After Korvo confronted Tortus, he went up to Kim-La.

Korvo: Kim-La! Kim-La, wait!

Kim-La: Talk soon, Korvo.

Korvo: Hey, wait a minute! grunts Kim-La, wait! I understand you’re trying to be helpful in your own pushy self-absorbed way.

Kim-La: Thank you.

Korvo: But I don’t want to be part of the New Order.

Kim-La: I think you do though, because when you came here, I can tell you were having fun.

Korvo: Yeah, but I am not joining another team to have fun, because if I don’t get back to my family now, I never will.

Kim-La: So, don’t be part of the New Order.

Korvo: But, I have to!

Kim-La: Why?

Korvo: Because if I don’t, I that means all the damage I got isn’t good damage. It’s just damage. I got nothing out and all those months of being miserable was for nothing. I could’ve been happy this time and could have been with my husband and three kids and had a good life! Is that what you’re saying, what is it all for?!

Kim-La: I… sighs I don’t know Korvotron. All I know is that this whole time is about that New Order is fun! I like it! I like thinking that my Replicant can be back in a world with a team like that, or if my Replicant is not a mission leader.

Korvo: No when I was a Replicant, I thought that everything all the abuse and neglect has made me special. And I decided to go back right now and save my family. And if I don’t go back and save them…

Kim-La: Then maybe go back to your family. Maybe this family does that too.

Korvo: Yeah.

Kim-La smiles. Then, Korvo has become determined to save his family.

Korvo: Now if you excuse me, I’m gonna go save my wonderful husband and three wonderful kids of mine!

Korvo runs off to save his family and then Kim-La decided to go after him to help.

Kim-La: Hold up, I am coming too!

Korvo: What do you mean?

Kim-La: I’m gonna help you get out of here. I would do anything to stop Tortus from threatening me and trying to harm my Replicant!

Korvo smiles

Korvo: Thank you.

Kim-La: Good. Now, what is the plan? What do we do?!

The scene then cuts to Terry awakening after he moans. Then, he looks around for Korvo.

Terry: Korvy?! KORVY?! WHERE ARE YOU?!

The Replicants, AISHA, Teraformus and Jessica came in.

AISHA: Terry?! Where’s Korvo?!

Terry: Ugh! Tortus!

Teraformus: *gasp* Tortus?! He was here?!

Jessica: Oh Terald…it’s okay-

Terry breaks down in tears as he cries hysterically and runs off. His parents, children and AI grows concern follows him. Then they manage to find Terry, crying behind a tree.

Jessica: Terry?

Terry: Go away!

Jessica and Teraformus comes up and consoles Terry as he cries into Teraformus’s chest.

Teraformus: Ssh…ssh…

Jessica: Shh…. There there Terry… mommy and daddy are here… you must be so scared… huh?

Terry: *sniffles* Yeah…

Jessica: Oh sweetie…

Terry hugs his parents closely as flashback appears when they arrived with baby Terry still crying.

Jessica: It’s okay Terald… this your new home…

Baby Terry stops crying

Baby Terry: *whimpering*

Jessica kisses baby Terry on the forehead

Jessica: Don’t worry Terry, we won’t let anything bad happen to you. Because, we love so much.

Another flashback is shown of Korvo and Terry having sex for the first time

Korvo: *moans lovingly* Whoa Terry! You are really amazing!

Terry: *moans lovingly* Oh yeah! I must say, your pudgy body looks so beautiful! *moans in ecstasy*

Korvo blushes and suddenly goes faster

Korvo: OH YEEEEESSS! THIS FEELS SO FUCKING GOOOOOOD!

Terry: OH FUCK YES! KEEP FUCKING YOU BEAUTIFUL STUD!

The two husbands cum as the flashback ends. Terry weeps a little but then starts to feel better as he feels the warmth as he feels the warmth of his parents’ love.

Terry: I gotta find Korvo and bring him back...

Jessica and Teraformus smile as they nod and give Terry their support.

Jesse: We’re going with you too!

Pupa: Korvo!

Teraformus and Jessica: Oh! *laughs* You must be the Pupa!

Pupa: Granny!

Jessica: *gasp in joy* Aw, that’s right I’m your granny, you cute lil squirt!

Terry stands up with determination

Terry: Korvo, don’t you worry! We’re coming for you!

All: YEAH!

The family then rush over to save Korvo. Meanwhile, back with Korvo and Kim-La, Korvo notices Kim-La staring at a picture of her wife.

Korvo: Kim-La, are you okay?

Kim-La: No...

Korvo notices the picture of Kim-La’s wife.

Korvo: Is that… your wife?

Kim-La nods

Korvo: What’s her name?

Kim-La: Juma.

Korvo: Juma? Tell me more about Juma?

Kim-La sighs as a flashback plays

Kim-La: *voiceover* A long time ago, when I was replicant, I was all alone and picked on.

A few of the Replicants picked on Replicant Kim-La, until Replicant Juma sees her.

Replicant Kim-La: Hey! Stop it! *has stuff thrown at her* Leave me alone!

Replicant Juma kicks a replicant bully in the face

Replicant Juma: Leave her alone you bitch!

The bullies leave. Replicant Kim-La blushes as Replicant Juma helps her up.

Replicant Juma: Are you okay?

Replicant Kim-La: *blushes* Yeah. Thank you.

A few years later

Kim-La: *voicover* Juma was an amazing kind person. She and I started going out after we graduate from the academy. Then, right after that it was time for us to tie the knot.

Kim-La: *brings out a small box and opens it with a ring* Juma, will you marry me?

Juma: Oh my Shlorp! YES!

The two fiancés embrace in a kiss as they moan. The scene then cuts to their wedding as they seal their vows with a kiss.

Kim-La: *voiceover* The wedding was the best day of my life...but my happiness didn't last long...

The scene then cuts Kim-La and Juma meeting their sproutling for the first as they smile as their baby coos. Then it cuts to their Replicant laughing. Kim-La and Juma kiss while Juma heads out the door and blows her wife a kiss.

Kim-La: Bye, honey.

Juma: Bye sweetie, I love you.

Juma shuts the door. The scene then cuts to Kim-La waiting for her wife. Kim-La tries to call her wife on her holographic communicator

Kim-La: *to herself* Where are you Juma?

A knock is suddenly heard at the door

Kim-La: Oh thank goodness she is home!

Kim-La opens the door

Kim-La: Juma-

Kim-La then frowns upon seeing a group of Shlorpians with sad worried faces.

Kim-La: What's...going on?

A Shlorpian comes up to her sadly.

Blue Male Shlorpian: Kim-La…. I’m so sorry… Juma passed away today…

Kim-La gasps

Kim-La: *shedding tears* No… it can’t be…

Kim-La falls onto her knees as the Shlorpians leave

Kim-La: *sobbing*

Kim-La’s replicant comes up and comforts her. The scene then cuts to Kim-La mourning, until she sees Tortus at the door.

Kim-La: Tortus?

Tortus: Looks like someone lost the love of her life, huh?

Kim-La: Yeah. I did. What do you want from me?

Tortus: I would like to give you a job in the New Order.

Kim-La: The New Order. That sounds amazing.

Tortus: *snarls* But I must warn you. You mustn’t fail me or be against me or else?!

Kim-La: Uh, yes sir...

Kim-La follows Tortus while her replicant looks in worried. The flashback ends.

Kim-La: *sniffles* I never saw Juma again since that day… it broke my heart in pieces… that’s when Tortus threaten to harm my Replicant if don’t obey his orders…

Korvo: What’s the name of your Replicant?

Kim-La: Her name is Karna. She has the sweetest soul.

Korvo: I'm so sorry...

Kim-La: No, I’m sorry. I should’ve realized Tortus’s true colors.

Korvo: It's okay. As long as we don't-

Kim-La: *gasp* That’s it! We can find a way to change the New Order!

Korvo: What? How?

Kim-La: We can show him the truth!

Kim-La: We can show Moran, Bee, Gadget and Xinna the truth!

Korvo: *gasp* And then everyone!

Kim-La: YES!

Korvo: But how do we get proof?

Kim-La: I don't know...

Korvo and Kim-La tries think of a plan.

Korvo: Hmm…

Kim-La: Hmm? *suddenly notices Korvo developing a grin* Korvo?

Korvo: Don’t worry! I got an idea!

Meanwhile with the others

Terry: You ready guys?

Jesse: Hell yeah!

Yumyulack: Let’s do this!

Tortus is then heard laughing. Terry and the kids get into a fighting stance, only for some guards to grab them.

Teraformus: Tortus, stop this!

Then, Jessica and Teraformus gets grabbed the guards as they gasp. The guards chain up the others as they grow shock.

Tortus: Jessica. Good to see you again.

Jessica: *snarls as she and Teraformus get taken to the dungeon*

Terry: MOM! DAD!

Tortus: Silence! Terald, your time has come.

Terry: What are you...

Tortus: It’s time… for your EXECUTION!

Jesse gasps

Terry: Oh no! Wait till Korvy gets here! You’re gonna be sorry!

Tortus: I already had him taken care of.

Terry: *gasp* You fucking psycho! You put a shock collar on him, didn’t you?!

Tortus laughs

Tortus: Yes! He is mine now! Guards, start the execution!

Terry: NO!

The guards take away Terry and the kids as they growl at Tortus who laughs evilly.

[ashtheva]

[UNDERSWAP] Quotes For Every Character

I went ahead and wrote some character quotes for every significant character in Underswap (Including some characters who never initially had any concepts.) Hopefully whoever ends up seeing this enjoys them! Some characters will also include headcanons (Which I will explain along with their personality as you read.)

I'm going by the logic that each character retains some of their personality, while still giving off a swapped vibe.

Temmie Quotes:

“h0i!!11!1 im temmie! Temmie da t3m!!1!”

“By my temmie fwakes for 1g!!!”

"Dey totez don't hurt u!!111! :3"

“BUY. THE DAMN. FLAKES!"

"In this world, selfish desires are the only solution!"

Asgore Quotes:

“Do not fret, dear fallen, as it is I, Asgore, Caretaker of the Ruins.”

“If I may ask, do you prefer Golden Flower Tea or Sea Tea? I am not sure if you've had them before, but choose the one that sounds most interesting to you.”

"Would you like to try a piece of pie? I'm... unfortunately not the best at baking, but I try!"

“I am sorry, dear child. As the Ex-King of the Underground, I shall see if you are worthy of the outside world.”

Mad Dummy Headcanon:

Considered "silent, but deadly." Doesn't speak just like the Ruins Dummy in UT, but still attacks you.

Mad Dummy Quotes:

"..."

"..."

"... >:("

Mettablook Quotes:

“You’re a fan.. of me? That’s flattering, darling.. But I’m just a nobody..”

“Oh, my..”

“Oh, how I wish to be a star, but the dream seems so far.”

Papyrus Quotes:

“greetings, i'm a totally ordinary human being.” (When greeting you w/ Groucho Glasses)

"call me frank, and to be FRANK with you, i'm happy i saw another human today." (Still wearing groucho glasses)

"nah, i'm just pulling your leg bones." (After taking them off)

“hello, the name’s papyrus, but you can call me papyrus.”

"guess you should put more BACKBONE into it."

"i don't have the GUTS to stop smoking. heh heh."

“uh oh. i suppose you’re gonna have a rather unpleasant experience.”

“don’t worry, in the end, i still believe in you.”

“you really thought i’d just stand there and eat it up?

how naive.”

“human, don’t smoke. It’s bad for you. we skeletons have no lungs, so we do what we want, you know?”

“junior jumble is way harder than crossword, amirite?”

"you really think crossword's better, brother? un. believable."

“YOU’RE JUST SPINELESS.”

“YOU’RE DEAD MEAT.”

Sans Quotes:

“I’M SANS. THE MAGNIFICENT SANS!”

“SERIOUSLY, BRO? YOU’RE SMOKIN' AGAIN?”

"THAT STUFF'S BAD FOR YOUR LUNGS, QUIT IT!" “I’M PRETTY SANS-ATIONAL, EH?” *audible wink.*

“MWEH HEH HEH!!!"

"YOU REALLY WANNA BE MY FRIEND?"

"LISTEN, I HAVE A TON OF WORK TO DO TODAY. A SKELE-TON!"

"HEH, I GUESS YOU'RE LAZIER THAN I THOUGHT, BRO."

"PAPYRUS, YOU'VE BEEN UP ALL NIGHT. DON'T YOU THINK YOU NEED SOME REST?"

“I’LL STOP YA IN YOUR TRACKS, KID! I’M THE MAGNIFICENT SANS, AND I’LL CAPTURE YOU!”

“AND I SAID TO CAPTAIN ‘ALPH, YOU DON’T GOTTA BE SO ‘COLD BLOODED’!”

"HUMAN. TURN AROUND, AND FACE MAGNIFICENCE IN THE EYE SOCKETS!"

"i guess this is goodbye..."

"imma.. imma go home and take a nap i suppose."

Burgerpants Quotes:

“Hey there, little buddy! Care to try one of my burgers? I call ‘em smiley patties!”

“Be careful what you wish for, little buddy.”

"Once, I dreamed of becoming a famous actor.. But, I unfortunately aimed for something less ambitious, and got stuck here."

"I'm still staying hopeful though, never give up on your dreams! Stay positive!"

“Smoking? What do I look like, I run a burger shop for a stuck up robot? That's bad for your lungs, kid!"

Muffet Quotes:

“Papyrus, you gonna pay your tab soon?”

“Please, come again soon~!”

“I should introduce the both of you to my pet~”

"That's gonna be extra for the honey that you drink everyday, Papyrus!"

Asriel Headcanon:

Asriel is older than he is in Undertale.

Asriel Quotes:

“Howdy, Chara!”

“Don’t you think Alphys is so cool?”

“Let’s be friends!”

“Here, have this locket. A symbol of our friendship!”

Flowey Headcanon:

All of the Floweys are innocent and goofy, but speak normally. The Flowey replacing Bob would be named Rob, (to reference an Underswap co-host who went by "Coastrobbo") who speaks like Undertale Temmie. Each Flowey has a distinctive personality.

Flowey Quotes:

“Howdy! I’m Flowey!”

“Hoi!!11! im rob!!”

“Look, I have a sprout!! I’m such a proud parent!”

“DIE.” *insert struggling to wrap around Chara.* “Nevermind..”

Alphys Headcanon:

Alphys is often insecure about the way she looks at times, but she deals with it, it helps with intimidation. She still stutters due to having a speech impediment, not due to shyness or nervousness.

Alphys Quotes:

"Y-You'll have to try harder to beat me than t-that, human!"

"Oh my god, Mew Mew Kissy Cutie is on right now!!"

"O-Oh, that Dr. Undyne person? S-She's.. so cute!"

"Darn it! I'll keep you at bay with a ton of lightning strikes if I need to!"

"I-I'm always afraid of hurting people with my insane strength, or scaring them with the way I look..."

"I'm done hiding, I'm coming right for you, human!"

Regular / Ruins Dummy Headcanon:

Regular Dummy can speak, and fights you out of boredom rather than getting angry. They leave rather rude/snarky remarks towards Chara. Their attacks consist of boring things. (Idk, like dust particles, newspaper articles n' junk.)

Regular / Ruins Dummy Quotes:

"You really don't know how to keep a guy entertained, do ya?"

"You're boring me here, buddy.."

"I'm out, you're too boring."

"Wow, didn't see that attack coming, again."

"Are all humans this bland?"

Undyne Headcanon:

Less shy than Undertale Alphys, she more so just likes to keep to herself. She's nerdy and she likes to keep her things organized.

Undyne Quotes:

"Please, don't mess with any of my stuff, I worked hard to keep them organized."

"Hey, human! I'm Dr. Undyne, the Royal Scientist of TORIEL."

"Well my schedule is r-ruined now, hope you're happy..!"

"I installed a totally cool bomb-defuser thing on your phone, try it out!"

“Anyways, uh.. You want some soda?”

“Anime is amazing, I absolutely LOVE Mew Mew Kissy Cutie 2! I love it for it’s more mature themes!"

"

Napstaton / Napstablook Quotes:

"WHY DON'T WE GIVE THE HUMAN A TRADITIONAL WELCOME, DUDES?"

"LET'S GET THIS STREAM ON THE TRACKS!"

"REALLY NOT FEELIN' UP TO IT RIGHT NOW. SORRY."

"YOU KNOW I'M AN IMPENETRABLE ROBOT, RIGHT? HERE, I'LL JUST PRETEND YOU BEAT ME..” **DIAL UP SOUND NOISES, ERROR SCREEN.**

"SOMETIMES I LIKE TO RELAX ON THE GROUND AND LISTEN TO SAD MUSIC WHILE FEELING LIKE GARBAGE. IT'S A FAMILY TRADITION, BUT I DON'T DO IT AS OFTEN NOWADAYS."

"GET ANY QUESTIONS WRONG ON MY SURVEY, AND YOU'LL BE.. uh, eradicated? uh.. HAHA, YES, UH, ERADICATED!"

"oh.................. you flipped my switch."

"I totally feel up to it now, dudes!"

"I'll punch you with these awesome arms!"

Grillby Headcanon:

Grillby can speak, but just chooses not to. He has a Heat's Flamesman who says whatever he might be thinking on his shoulder.

Grillby Quotes:

"..."

"..."

"..."

Heat's Flamesman: "The boss thinks you should buy his food, OR ELSE!"

"...You're in debt, human. You owe me your soul."

Nice Cream Guy Headcanon:

Nice Cream Guy hates his life. He works in NTT's radio station room and does the sound work. He doesn't necessarily hate Napstaton, he just finds him obnoxious at times. He has a lisp, and is made fun of the way he says ice cream, "Nice Cream"

Nice Cream Guy Quotes:

“What do you need now, Naps..?”

“OH!!! Someone came to see me?”

“I’m always made fun of for the way I say ‘Nice Cream’, I have this dumb lisp.”

"Want some advice? Don't be like me. I gave up trying to own my own Nice Cream shop long ago, now look where I am in life."

Catty & Bratty Quotes:

"We're like.. SO hyped to capture you and stuff."

"Hi, my name's Catty, and this is my rival, Bratty!"

"Hi, my name's Bratty, and this is my rival, Catty!"

Catty: "Really, will ya stop finishing all of my.."

Bratty: "SENTENCES?! I think not!"

RG01 & RG02 Headcanon:

RG01 & RG02 own the shop dump. They resemble typical video game nerds who review Video Games (e.g. Nostalgia Critic and AVGN), they're still a couple and bicker about their favorite games.

RG01 & RG02 Quotes:

RG01: “Dude, like, we both know that Deltatale is better than Underrune!

RG02: “Really, brah? You have no taste.”

Toriel Quotes:

"My child, would you perhaps like a piece of pie?"

* Toriel stands silent as if she doesn’t want to do this, but she must.

MK Quotes:

"Yo, dude! It's me. Your best friend!"

Frisk Headcanon:

Frisk does not speak. They communicate using sign language. Frisk will stand there silently, and randomly jump scare you before everything goes black.

Frisk Quotes:

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

RANDOM JUMPSCARE.

Riverperson Quotes:

"Tra la la.

I heard the old song from the sea.

It was chanting towards me.

It drowned me in… darkness.

As if I have reached the bottom of the ocean.

I yelled… and I yelled.

But no one heard me."

??? Quotes:

"✋︎ ✌︎💣︎ ✌︎☠︎ ⚐︎☼︎👎︎✋︎☠︎✌︎☼︎✡︎ 👍︎✋︎❄︎✋︎☪︎☜︎☠︎📪︎ 👌︎🕆︎❄︎ 🏱︎☜︎⚐︎🏱︎☹︎☜︎ 👍︎✌︎☹︎☹︎ 💣︎☜︎ ✌︎ 💣︎✌︎☝︎✋︎👍︎✋︎✌︎☠︎📬︎"

"❄︎☟︎☜︎ 👍︎⚐︎💣︎☜︎👎︎✋︎✌︎☠︎ ✌︎💧︎😐︎☜︎👎︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 👍︎☼︎⚐︎🕈︎👎︎ ✋︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✡︎ 🕈︎✌︎☠︎❄︎☜︎👎︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☟︎☜︎✌︎☼︎ ✌︎ ☺︎⚐︎😐︎☜︎ ✌︎👌︎⚐︎🕆︎❄︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🏱︎☜︎☼︎✋︎⚐︎👎︎✋︎👍︎ ❄︎✌︎👌︎☹︎☜︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✡︎ ☼︎☜︎🏱︎☹︎✋︎☜︎👎︎ ❻︎☠︎✌︎❼︎📬︎"

"👌︎☜︎🕈︎✌︎☼︎☜︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 💣︎✌︎☠︎ ✋︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 👌︎⚐︎✌︎❄︎📬︎"

Annoying Dog (PopcornPr1nce) Quotes:

"Bork!"

Hatsune Miku Quotes:

"Why am I even here?"

"What's an Udderwasp?"

"I am nothing more than a simulation."

[lv-iceprince]

@talpois

Okay let's get the obvious out of the way, sorry for the hella delay, I'm also working on your other request(s?)at the time of posting this, so yay progress!

I decided to post this one first, for the reason that god damn girl I love your music taste and this was such a fun ship to do for you. Plus I love doing a ship like this for the person I ship you with, it's just good vibes all around.

So please enjoy and strap in I got some good ships coming up for you!

And side note, I accidentally let the inner Aussie out with a nostalgic 5sos song for your couple song.

~Stray Kids~ Chan

~General Analysis~

Man okay I will say it again I was so pumped doing this ship, the energy you have as a person is spectacular, I can't describe it but I just really like you and your playlist just confirmed that I am in the presence of someone cool, iconic, thoughtful and fabulous. I knew who I wanted to ship you with, I can't lie, I won't lie. I don't even remember the last time I shipped him with anyone so I was so excited. I want to say this is an everyday sweetheart type of love but it really isn't. There are so many spectacular things about you, the same thing goes for Chan, you both worked hard to have what you have and you see the world through a lens where fair judgement is key. Neither of you hesitate to tell a person how you feel, similar to how you both worked hard for what you have you don't waste time in people pleasing. You are both incredibly realistic with your goals and aspirations, you know love isn't all happiness and rainbows yet you still want to experience it, you're fearless.

Since this is an old request of mine I have added the playlist below so you know which songs I used to dictate the idol I shipped you with and the aesthetic:

— no fun by joji; — polaroid love by enhypen; — i hate u by sza; — i'm gonna love you' by d.o.; — die for a man by bebe rexha; — do it for me by rosenfeld; — i am woman by emmy meli; — melody by ash island; — do it like this by p1harmony; — oh my god by adele; — she by harry styles; — date ur fada by ebony; — do 4 love by snoh aalegra.+

This ship isn't for me to rank your playlist but a solid 8/10 I really liked the vibe and the energy. The inner musician in me latched onto this and I really feel like I know you, people who listen to music like this, they slap, like they're just cool people. If we just address the playlist the composition of each song (the rhythm, lyrics, tempo, texture etc..) held a sense of familiarity even though I wasn't even familiar with some of these songs. But what stood out to me was that each song seemed to touch on realistic scenarios, ones where life experience encourages us to revaluate ourselves and adapt. Essentially your playlist came across as an anthem for those who persist with life in general and acknowledge who they really are along the way.

So I would like to give you and Chan the title of being 'the Realistic Dreamers'.

It is no secret that this feels similar to Chan. He is worthy of the praise he receive since he really has transcended expectations from everyone, only to come back on live and remind us that he works through things and that he is a human. That's the connecting point, Chan would honestly feel relieved to bump into a person who understands. That's important, not even because he expects you to understand his career and his train of thought. It's more that he found something in you that reassures him that he is on the right track in life. Especially when you decided to stick by his side.

The honesty in the playlist is so nice to see, it addresses love, heartache, inner strength and everything in-between. I alluded to it earlier but that really was the bonding point for you and Chan. It was a friends to lovers situation but with a difference. Neither of you were trying to be the best friend in the whole entire universe, you were just being yourselves. This basically kickstarted Chan's crush on you (some would call it an infatuation but that's besides the point), he didn't have to be overly polite he could sigh in frustration, he could swear, he could be honest and instead of criticising him you laughed with him or you decided to rant with him. That's the key thing that progressed your relationship with him into a more romantic one.

Chan is a pretty sentimental guy when he is in love, so you really don't have to over exert yourself or make yourself seem more charming or intelligent because he already sees you in a biased way. He loves also has a soft spot for your behaviour, more so the fact you are so nice to children yet manage to appear as a strong authority figure in your own right? He is on his knees. Chan is also amazed at how you're so certain about things, maybe you could argue with someone and turn out to be wrong but your confidence is really something he is in awe of. He likes that you don't back down if someone is questioning either of you, he likes having a headstrong, tough little girlfriend.

Chan remains somewhat private over your relationship, it's not that he doesn't love you but he is aware that you are both feeling intense periods of absolute love and devotion. Plus he just wants to keep it as a "the less others know about our feelings and what we do the better" type situation. He feels emotions pretty deeply as well, he too is another one that focuses more on ones personality/ soul/ vibes rather than their appearance. He does admire people's style but he fell for you based on your personality, which amplified the beauty you already possess.

Now the moodboard is pretty straight forward considering what I had mentioned above. It really just shows the duality that the two of you have. Maybe you are both more casual and more laidback with lowkey eshay vibes but that's besides the point. Chan likes to experience random moments in his daily life with you, but he also loves to play the part of a good boyfriend. He isn't against being a little lovesick and goofy with his love for you. All in all he would gladly break his mainly black wardrobe with some cute pink items if you bought it for him. He isn't a push over but he is just more happy to do cute things for you if you wanted him to or if the moment felt right.

I relied less on colour theory and meaning for this one because honestly basing everything off of your personality, the playlist and my confidence that you and Chan would be an amazing couple I decided to make like the playlist and be 100% honest. Your moodboard represents how the relationship is, period. Others can judge and it is open to interpretation if looking from the outside in but you guys really have a take-it-as-it-is vibe. You don't hide things from each other since your relationship would be widely built on the friendship you have with him. If you guys want to be a bit goofy funny, if you want to be serious , if you want to have a heart to heart, if you want to speak through music when words are too heavy, it's all okay. It didn't take long to come to the conclusion that your relationship needed to be as genuine as your friendship and you did that.

If anyone can take anything away from the little that they know about your relationship it is that when you both set your mind to something, it will always, always work out for the best. Even if you feel like you're both about to mess up and stray from the best possible path in your life, it will always work out because you have each other.

~Moodboard~

Okay, to be fair, I listened to your playlist on a loop and somehow these Chan pics were the only way I could visualise your playlist? I'm confused too mate.

~Your Song~

~Shufflemancy Reading~

Can't help myself but count the flaws Claw my way out through these walls One temporary escape Feel it start to permeate

We lie beneath the stars at night Our hands gripping each other tight You keep my secrets hope to die Promises, swear them to the sky

[dzthenerd490]

Kingdom Hearts: The Brightest of Hearts - Chapter 8: The Melody of the Ocean part 1

Sora, Donald, Goofy, Chip, and Dale all sighed in relief as no overpowered Heartless Ship showed up this time to ambush them into a random world. Instead, they were now back in Traverse Town with Leon and Sid waiting for them. With Sid being their Chip and Dale left the ship as well, they hitched a ride on Sora's shoulder. 

"Hey, Rats! How did the missiles work?"

"I really wished you would stop calling us that."

"And yes, they worked greatly, the new Heartless ships were taken out in the blink of an eye!"

"Haha! Those Dark Army Bastards can try all they want but my upgrades will always be one step ahead!"

"Heh, anyways how's your guy's progress?" 

"We didn't do it alone, but one of the Lord of Darkness is gone!"

"Two actually, remember Sora, Oogie told us that Jafar was a Lord of Darkness as well." 

"Well, I'll be! You kids managed to take down Two Lords of Darkness! Even if you didn't do it alone, it's still amazing!" Sora scratched the back of his head in embarrassment but still felt proud of himself for liberating another world, defeating more members of the Dark Army and getting more Ansem reports. However, that's when Sora realized it, he never actually got any Ansem reports from Halloween Town. Sora couldn't help but put his hands on his head in frustration.

"Hm? What's wrong Sora?"

"We never got any Ansem reports from Halloween Town!"

"Oh, don't worry Sora, remember we went looking all around Halloween Town. Not once did either me or Goofy find any Ansem reports. Besides, there are an infinite number of worlds in the multiverse, it's not like every world we go too, will have them."

"Uh, Sora, you got a present in your hand." Sora looked at Goofy confused but then looked at his hand and sure enough, he was indeed holding a present. Sora held it in front of him and saw there was a note on it stating, I think any child that saves both the multiverse and uses their wish to help a friend from another world celebrate a snowy Christmas deserves to be on the nice list. Sora couldn't help but smile in excitement and quickly open the present only to find several papers of Ansem reports. 

"Haha! Thank you, Santa!" Sora then ran into Traverse Town to find Merlin leaving Goofy, Donald, Leon, Sid, Chip, and Dale confused.

"Dang, has that kid always been that fast?"

"He's been getting faster and stronger every time he locks a world away from the darkness. I wonder what it means."

"Hey if he can keep smacking down the Dark Amy then what's the issue? After all Duck, if you got something good in life then why question it?"

"I'm not complaining, I'm just worried, all energy comes from something else, but where is Sora getting his strength from?"

***

Sora joyfully ran to the alleyway, down the stairs, and into Merlin's house. Sora accidently barged in causing Merlin to drop his watering pot he was using to water his plants. 

"Oh! My boy I'm glad to see you but please mind your speed, you could hurt a horse running that fast!"

"Oh, Sorry Merlin."

"It's quite alright, my boy. Honestly, I'm more jealous rather than disappointed. I miss the days I was as young and energetic as you. Oh, the joys of youth."

"I think being old can be cool too."

"Really? How so, my boy?"

"Well, you're old and you're cool, what more proof is needed?" Merlin looked at Sora confused for a minute or so, then Merlin started laughing out of joy. 

"Hahaha, my boy! You truly are worthy of the title of Champion of Light! If Yen Sid and Santa met, you would be thrilled!"

"Oh, that reminds me! Santa Claus says hi!" Merlin then looked at Sora wide eyed and nearly fell to the ground. Sora tried to help him Merlin instead used his magic to quickly float himself over to his seat and he sat. Merlin then covered his face as he cried tears of joy.

"Merlin? Are you ok?" 

"Oh, just fine my boy, in fact I am overjoyed. The idea that the friends I feared who were gone after the Great Keyblade War are actually alive is wonderous news. Good enough to make this old man cry, even after all these years. But of course, I should be ashamed for doubting him, of course Santa Claus survived. Tell me what he is doing now?" Sora smiled as he blushed in excitement.

"Have you ever heard of Christmas?"

"Christmas? I don't believe I have, my boy. What is it?"

"It's a holiday! You see everyone is supposed to get a Christmas tree, milk, and cookies. Then on December 25th, that's when Santa comes down the chimney and gives you lots of presents! The more of a good kid you are, the more presents you get! However, if you do lots of bad things then you only get coal. But most people think it's a childish holiday, so the older kids never liked celebrating it. I never knew Santa Claus was actually real, so I was starting to believe them but then I actually met him, and he was just as amazing as the adults said he was!"

"Hahaha! Milk and cookies, you say? Santa always did have a sweet tooth, and not only does he still use his magic to travel to other worlds, but he even made a holiday? You said that he gives gifts to good children and coal to bad ones, yes?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Hahahahaha! Santa you loveable devil! I tell you my boy, Santa was always rebellious even in our younger days! Always going to other worlds to give gifts to good children while hiding coal in inconvenient places for bad children! It drove the Keepers of- ahem, it drove our masters insane! But he did it anyway because he always believed that even when we are from different worlds the one thing that should make us all similar is joy."

"Oh, that Santa was certainly a joy to us all!" Merlin jumped from his seat, and Sora looked to the dark corner of the room to see Fairy Godmother entering the room. Merlin blushed at the sight of Fairy Godmother and instantly started panicking.

"Ah- Mary! I- uh- how- I- uh... How are you?"

"Oh Merlin, it's Fairy Godmother now. Do respect other people's titles and names, please."

"Oh, uh yes of course."

"Fairy Godmother? Like in the fairy tale of Cinderella?" Fairy Godmother then noticed Sora and was wide-eyed to see the keyblade in his hand. Fairy Godmother then smiled warmly at Sora. 

"Oh, dear child, while in your world it is a fairy tale, in mine it is very much reality. I am Fairy Godmother of the Castle of Dreams." Sora's eyes sparkled in amazement, first he met the real-life Santa Claus then he met a famous character from a book he found in Deep Jungle. This was all so much like a dream, but then again in order for Sora to have met any of these people a lot of bad things needed to happen. Kairi needs to be kidnapped and have the fragment of light stolen from her heart. Riku had to be chosen as the Champion of Darkness. Then there was the part where their world and so many other worlds were destroyed and are being destroyed by the Dark Army. Sora loved all the things he saw and learned but wished he did so under better circumstances. 

"Is something wrong?" Sora then blushed in embarrassment as he was letting his mind drift off while someone had just shown up and he rudely didn't even say hi. 

"Ah! Sorry ma'am! I am Sora, it's a pleasure to meet you." Sora then bowed respectfully to Fairy Godmother.

"Oh my, such a kind and respectful young boy!"

"Indeed, he is. He's even the Champion of Light."

"Ah, so that's why you have that Keyblade, awfully young to have such a large destiny wouldn't you agree."

"... Well, it wasn't up to us, was it?"

"Ah... no I suppose not..." Merlin and Fairy Godmother both looked sad for a moment which confused Sora but also filled him with concern. However, before Sora could ask them if they were ok, Fairy Godmother then smiled again and walked up to Sora. 

"Now then, let us see if you are prepared for the dangers ahead. Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo!" Fairy Godmother then cast a spell on Sora and with it he started glowing with blue magic flowing all around him. Then the magic manifested into magical glyphs similar to what was written on the Ansem reports.  

"Let's see, you are very strong and fast, agile too. oh, you have proficiency in magic, with your current range extending to fire, ice, lighting, Earth, and- Oh! Time magic as well, now that is amazing. I do believe that I am convinced you are in fact the true Champion of Light." Sora smiled and bowed again to show his thanks, however he quickly looked back up when he finally processed something Fairy Godmother said which confused him.

"Wait, Earth and Time magic? I don't have those."

"Well, magic isn't about what you have and don't have, it's about what you are able to learn. So, if you were unaware, you could wield these kinds of magic then I would suggest that it's time to start learning. Now, do you already have a magical teacher."

"Uh, yes! Donald, Head Wizard of Disney Castle."

"Oh him, a clumsy little fellow but one with a very strong and determined heart. I can imagine no better teacher when it comes to magic. However, for now, please allow me to be your master." Sora looked at Fairy Godmother in awe, and then bowed.

"I would be honored."

"Oh, you don't need to be so stern like that dear child, there's nothing wrong with loosening up. Ahem, now raise your keyblade." Sora then stood straight and did as Fairy Godmother asked. 

"Use your heart to call out the magic within yourself and within your keyblade." Sora wasn't sure what this meant; instead, he just imagined magic flowing in his heart and magic flowing around his keyblade. Suddenly he felt his heart and his keyblade getting warmer as if they were being filled with a powerful energy. 

"Good, good child! Now, focus that magic on the ground and imagine it being lifted up like a pillar." Sora then did as Fairy Godmother asked and imagined it, he could feel the magic leaving himself and concentrating on a spot of the ground in front of him. 

"When you're ready, unleash it with force!" Sora then smiled and stabbed his keyblade into the ground. Suddenly to Sora's, Fairy Godmother's, and Merlin's shock, a pillar of earth blasted from the ground and punctured into the ceiling. 

"Uh... perhaps restraint should be practiced next."

"Ah... Sorry..."

"Oh, it's alright, I'll take it from here. Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo!" Just like that the earth pillar retracted back into the ground and all the damage it caused was repaired. 

"Wow, can you teach me to do that? You said I had time magic too right, does that mean I can control time?!"

"I think that's enough dear; you should do well with earth magic for now. Perhaps soon you will be ready for time magic but be warned, such magic is difficult to control. Magic is a tool after all, use it well and it can fix what you need but use it incorrectly and it can cause great damage to yourself and those around you." Sora was a little shaken by what Fairy Godmother said and nodded to show he understood.

"Oh, that reminds me, I forgot to inform you Merlin, I uh... I'm afraid it's bad news." Merlin was originally just drinking his tea while leaving Fairy Godmother to evaluate Sora for herself. But upon being called he quickly put his teacup down to listen.

"Ahem, what is it?"

"I'm afraid it's what we feared, the Dark Army is kidnapping Princesses of Heart and harvesting the light in their hearts to make fragments of Light." Merlin then sighed as he covered his face in defeat, Sora on the other hand was reminded when Kairi reached him and told him what she knew about the Dark Army.

"Kairi said that too..." Fairy Godmother then looked at Sora in shock as if he said something he shouldn't have.

"Where- where did you learn that name?"

"Huh? What do you mean? Kairi is my friend; do you know her?"

"I- I do... Do you know where she is right now?"

"Uh, she got kidnapped by the Dark Army, why?"

"Oh no, then all hope really is lost."

"What? What do you mean? Is this about the fragment of light they stole from Kairi's heart?"

"I am afraid it is, your friend Kairi, she's very special. You see, she's a princess of Heart and she was supposed to be safe in the world you were originally from but now she is in the clutches of the Dark Army. Which means there's nothing stopping them from obtaining enough Fragments of Light to get to Kingdom Hearts. If only we kept better protection over the Princesses." Sora was confused by what Princess of Heart meant but now he knew for sure Kairi was one. But that confused Sora, as far as he could tell Kairi wasn't a princess so how could she be a princess of Heart. Then again, while Sora and Riku wanted to leave the island to see the outside world, Kairi wanted to find her grandmother who she was convinced was out there somewhere. Maybe where her grandmother was, she was a princess there. Then an idea popped into Sora's mind, and he looked at Fairy Godmother full of wonder and curiosity. Fairy Godmother noticed this and looked at Sora confused. 

"Is something wrong dear?"

"Are- Are you Kairi's grandmother?!" Fairy Godmother looked at Sora confused at first but then she smiled warmly while chuckling to herself. 

"Oh no dear, I am not. In fact, I don't actually know Kairi very well, I just know of her. Her grandmother on the other hand was a well-respected Keyblade Master but like the rest of us retired after the war ended. I'm afraid we lost contact with her while Kairi was still a little girl, too little to have to be torn away from her home. But unfortunately, when the Dark Army had their resurgence that's exactly what happened. I heard a rumor that young Keyblade Master Aqua managed to save her and take her to a world that could never be reached by the Dark Army. But it seems that now her efforts were in vain, such a shame." Sora should have been shocked by all this but in reality, he was excited. This is exactly why Kairi wanted to leave the island, this is what she was looking for and now Sora had the answers. He was definitely going to tell her everything once he finally rescued her and restored her heart. 

"Hm, anyways, if you know Kairi you might have noticed her abilities."

"Abilities?"

"Yes, the fact that her singing can heal, she is good with animals and can even talk to them, or that she has a strong sense of joy, devotion, and justice." Sora thought hard about this; healing through singing, talking to animals, and a strong sense of justice. Sora never really heard Kairi sing, there were no animals on Destiny Island for her to talk to, and most of the time she was just a goof ball. Sora just laughed if anything Kairi got the sense of joy part, but he wasn't so sure about the rest. But then, Sora realized that he knew two people that were quite close to the list. Alice knew the Cheshire cat and faced the Trickmaster Heartless bravely. Then there was Jasmin who had a loyal pet tiger and was not afraid to help face the overwhelming threat of Jafar. 

"Are there princesses of the heart in Wonderland or Agrabah?" 

"Hm? I believe there is one in Agrabah but Wonderland no... unless you're referring to the world that is closely connected to Wonderland in that case there might be one." Sora then smiled proudly which only confused both Merlin and Fairy Godmother.

"I already liberated those worlds and locked away the darkness! There's no way the Dark Army can get their hands on all the princesses of heart now!" Merlin and Fairy Godmother then both looked at Sora in shock, a second later they looked at one another in disbelief. Merlin then started laughing in joy while the Fairy Godmother sighed in relief.

"Hahaha! Well done, well done my boy! Winning the battle before the war even begins! Truly magnificent!"

"On behalf of the multiverse I thank you Sora but be warned this is not the end. True you halted the plans of the Dark army now but I'm afraid you only delayed the inevitable. There are infinite worlds out there in the multiverse, which means the Dark Army still has the chance to get what they need, it will just take longer now." Sora couldn't help but pout in disappointment but rather than continuous sulking he instead faced Fairy Godmother with determination. 

"Then I'll just have to liberate the universe that much faster!" At this point Fairy Godmother couldn't be surprised by Sora's optimism anymore, so instead she just smiled as she gently and playfully poked his nose. 

"Even the darkest Abyss World couldn't contain the brilliant light within your heart." Sora smiled while blushing from Merlin's praise. 

"Now run along now child, you have a multiverse to save after all." Sora nodded and ran off with Fairy Godmother smiling but Merlin looking confused.

"What's the rush? He might have had more to ask about Ma- ahem, Fairy Godmother." Fairy Godmother then sat down on the other seat to face Merlin.

"The next thing to talk about is actually something only you and I could discuss, Merlin."

"Oh? What is it then?"

"I know who the leader of the Dark Army is... his name is Ansem." Merlin was about to take another sip of tea before he heard that name.

"Our Ansem? He was a traitor?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but... They call him Ansem, Seeker of Darkness. His court is made up of the original staff of the Land of Departure and Radiant Garden. I'm afraid all the evidence points to the same conclusion."

"... Do you know where he is?"

"No. So long as the Dark Lords remain his position can never be found. Our only hope is to rely on the Champion of Light."

"So, we are veterans with years of magical training and combat experience from a war that happened decades ago and yet all we can do is wait for a child to fight our battles for us...? Oh how the mighty have fallen, are we so useless that-." Fairy Godmother then raised her hand to stop Merlin from taking anymore. 

"Remember what Yen-Sid said, one must not be active all the time but at the right time. Now is merely not the time Merlin, besides have faith in the boy he's clearly more than up to the challenge." Merlin pondered this for a little while then he smiled as he felt silly for being so down earlier. 

"Heh, haha. On that, I think you are right, Fairy Godmother." Merlin then used his magic to make a teacup and cup plate for the Fairy Godmother. 

***

Donald and Goofy were watching Chip, Dale, and Sid review and repair the ship to see if any other upgrades were needed. Goofy was scratching his head not getting any of the technical stuff they were saying while Donald was deep in thought. Goofy then noticed Donald pondering and was about to ask what was wrong.

"What's up Donald?" However, Donald and Goofy jumped when Sora showed up right beside them, seemingly out of n"Wah! Sora, where did you come from?"

"I just got back from Merlin's, why?"

"You did? That was quite fast. A-hyuk! Hey Sora, are you feeling, ok? You've been getting huge boosts in strength lately."

"I have? ... Well now that you guys mention it, ever since I liberated Traverse Town from the Dark Army, I felt that my body has been getting lighter and stronger after every world I liberated."

"So, in other words, you've been getting stronger by liberating worlds. correct?"

"Uh, well I guess? Why is that bad Donald?"

"No Sora it's not bad it's just... odd. Granted I'm not a keyblade wielder so I'm no expert but even I'm sure it shouldn't be normal. I just wonder what's causing it."

"Well, I mean my dad always said if something's good in life there's no need to question it." Donald then wacked Sora on the head with his staff, shaking his head in disappointment while Sora rubbed the sore part of his head in annoyance. 

"That's too naive Sora, all energy comes from something. Those physical upgrades have to be the result of something else other than you or liberating the world. Sora, can you think of anything that's been bugging you, perhaps something weird and shouldn't be there?" Sora wasn't really sure how to answer that since technically all of this was weird and abnormal to Sora. Sora shouldn't even know that any of this exists in the first place: keyblades, the multiverse, Guardians of Light, Dark Army, Magic, and that Dark voice in his head, none of it should be in Sora's life in the first place. Then Sora realized something, there was a dark voice in his head, always mocking him and telling him he was a fool to rely on the light instead of the darkness. If anything was abnormal it would have to be the voice. But then again, should Sora really talk about the voice, even if he mentioned it, what would Donald and Goofy be able to do? Besides, the voice hasn't bothered Sora in a while so maybe it wasn't something to worry about anymore. Sora then turned to Donald and Goofy and smiled but did so while twitching, leading to a broken smile in his face. 

"Nope!" Donald was a little confused but shrugged it off while signing in disappointment knowing he still had no answers for Sora's growth in speed and strength after every liberated world. Goofy on the other hand looked at Sora in disappointment while Sora started sweating in fear, Sora wasn't looking at Goofy, but he could feel Goofy staring at him. Chip, Dale, and Sid then announced that the Gummi ship was ready for flight, so Donald was the first to walk to the ship. Goofy on the other hand stopped Sora from following which led to Sora being even more nervous. 

"Wha- what's up Goofy?"

"Now Sora, did I ever tell you about my son Max?" Sora then looked at Goofy with a hint of shock because of how he heard that name before. 

"No. You have a son?"

"I might not look at it but yes I'm a dad, A-hyuk! And gosh, do I love my son. But as time went on, he wanted more space, while it hurt, I had to respect that. My little Max was growing up after all, but if there's one thing that never changed it was that I could always tell when he was telling the truth and when he was lying. A dad knows these things after all, A-hyuk! Now you are quite different from my Max, but you still lie like he does." Sora was shocked but then looked down in disappointment. Sora didn't like lying but he really wanted to avoid talking about the voice if he could. He was afraid of bringing it back after it finally left him alone. But before Sora could change the subject, Goofy got on one knee and placed his hand gently on Sora's shoulder.

"Sora, you know me, and Donald are you friends, right? Now, we'll never be like your childhood friends Riku and Kairi. Especially since we haven't known each other for that long, A-hyuk! But don't forget, we got your back, and we'll never abandon you for any reason. All for One and One for All. So don't you ever feel like you need to keep secrets from us, no one should be shamed or abandoned for their faults." Sora couldn't help but feel that Goofy was the most trustworthy person in the multiverse right now. As such Sora actually managed to relax a little.

"It's... it's nothing, really Goofy, I'm fine." Sora still couldn't do it; he still didn't want to bring up the voice. Goofy looked at Sora in disappointment again but then sighed as he patted Sora in the shoulder while getting back up. 

"Whenever you're ready to talk about Sora, I'll be ready. Just don't let it eat at you, ok?" Goofy then looked back at Sora and winked at him, Goofy then started walking toward the Gummi ship. Sora sighed in relief; he was glad Goofy was still forgiving despite the fact he could tell Sora was still lying. Sora then breathed in and out, then stood tall and full of confidence as he walked toward the Gummi ship.

***

Now calm again, Sora took the controller with a determined smile on his face ready to dodge and fire at the Heartless Ships. However, to everyone's shock, not only did regular heartless ships show up but so did a giant eel Heartless. The giant eel Heartless had cannons all over its body aimed right at the Gummi ship ready to fire in a frenzy of lasers. Sora hesitated a second out of fear but quickly aimed the missiles at the eel Heartless and fired. The eel Heartless was hit with all the missiles and screeched in pain, but quickly started firing in retribution. Sora tried his best to dodge the barrage of lasers while trying to fire back with Gummi ship lasers and missiles. This quickly ended up being easier said than done with the regular Heartless ships firing as well forcing Sora to focus on them first. 

"Sora! We're getting hit too much!"

"Do you wanna take over?!" Sora didn't mean to raise his voice, but Donald was yelling at him when Sora really needed to focus. Donald quickly realized this and shut his mouth. Sora aimed the missiles at the regular Heartless ships and fired, destroying them all. Sora would have rather focused on the eel since the magic missiles take a long time to reload but he was desperate to get out of the barrage of lasers. The eel roared in anger and continued to fire its cannons at the Gummi ship. The ship was still getting hit but Sora found it much easier to dodge now that it had no back up from the other Gummi ships. Sora just kept dodging and firing back at the eel Heartless while hoping that the magic missiles would reload faster. Finally, the magic missiles reloaded, Sora quickly aimed and fired at the eel Heartless. However, once again all the Giant eel did was screech in pain before firing its cannons again. Sora continued dodging and firing back at the eel Heartless now hoping they could reach their destination faster so the eel Heartless would have no choice but to retreat. Thankfully Sora's prayers were answered when the eel Heartless retreated and they made it to the world.

Sora expected to be flying over a forest again but instead the Gummi ship instantly landed inside water. The Gummi ship shook as if it crashed but it was actually hitting the water of the ocean hard. It wasn't long before they started sinking into the ocean of the world.

"Uh... Chip and Dale. Where are we?"

"We Sora, are in Atlantica! The underwater kingdom!" Sora was confused at first, but then he went to the front screen of the Gummi ship and saw Atlantica. It was underwater yet so crystal clear and very beautiful, the sight of the underwater castle was awe inspiring. Donald and Goofy went to the window beside Sora and were awestruck as well. Sora then smiled in excitement; he couldn't wait to see what this world had to offer but then he realized a big problem. 

"Uh wait, how do we get out? If we open the ship, we'll let the water flood in."

"Don't worry Sora, the magic around the Gummi ship will keep the water out, but uh, this world is commonly populated with mermaids so don't be surprised if you guys experience another extreme transformation when you exit the ship." Sora figured that was the case since it was a world under the water, though he wasn't sure about the idea of becoming a fish person. Sora tried picturing the idea in his head, but one idea made him nauseous while the other left him giggling. Sora then shook his head and remembered how Halloween town was full of scary and nice people, if this place was even slightly similar to that, then he would be ok. Sora then joined Donald and Goofy as they mentally prepared to leave the ship and be transformed by the Gummi ship's magic. The three of them then held hands and stepped out of the ship but instantly lost grip as they started floating into the water. However not only did the water surround them but so did the Gummi ship's magic as it transformed them. Soon Sora was no longer floating uncontrollable but now it was like he could swim more easily than ever before. Sora wondered why his legs felt so weird but after looking down he saw that he didn't have legs anymore instead he had a tail, he was a merman now.

"Wow what?! I'm a mermaid! or a merman in this case and you guys-! ... uh, are you guys, ok?" Sora looked at Donald and Goofy in confusion as Donald was now a Squid merman and Goofy was a turtle. Sora knew the extent the magic of the Gummi ship would go to, to transform them according to the world, but Sora never expected it to this degree. Goofy looked quite happy despite his form and so did Donald, so Sora just smiled and left it alone. 

"Well, I guess we're good to go, we just need to find out where the Dark Conduit is." Suddenly several Sheltering Zone Heartless appeared from the shadows around them. 

"Aw man, since we were underwater, I was hoping there were no Heartless in this world."

"If there's anything to admire about the Dark Army it's their imagination when it comes to making new forms for the Heartless. Now enough blabbing, let's liberate some hearts!" Sora was then swimming forward to slash the Shelter Zone Heartless but unfortunately fighting underwater was not something Sora was used to. Sora could swing his keyblade easily, but the force ended up moving his whole body around the water making each swing feel like it had more force in it than intended. Sora looked back at Donald and Goofy to see if they were having trouble as well. Donald was a magic caster so he didn't have to worry about recoil force and could just swim in place while casting his spells. Goofy seemed to be swimming naturally and bashing into the Heartless with his shield that was on his turtle shell back. Sora sighed as this was not going to be as easy as his previous fights, but before Sora could ponder anymore the Sheltering Zone Heartless slapped him in the back with its tentacle. Sora couldn't help but cry out in pain, the zap from the tentacle was agonizing and nothing like Sora ever felt before. 

Sora glared at the Sheltering Zone in anger and swam past it while holding out his keyblade to slash it with his swimming force. To Sora's delight, it worked out greatly by actually hurting the Sheltering Zone Heartless. It was going to take a while to get used to this kind of fighting relying on moving your whole body and keeping your keyblade straight rather than swinging the keyblade at the target, but Sora knew better to complain. Instead, Sora smiled in pride as he swam past the Sheltering Zone Heartless as fast as he could while ensuring each time his keyblade would slash right through it as he did. Eventually Sora defeated the Sheltering Zone Heartless however instead of releasing the cursed hearts within it split into three Sea Neon Heartless. The three of them then slapped Sora on the face with their tentacles zapping him and filling him with pain. 

Sora was nearly knocked out from the attack but as he floated back, he saw how Donald was casting a lighting spell at the Sheltering Zone Heartless. The lighting did extra damage underwater and after being cast a few more times, the Sheltering Zone Heartless was defeated. However, unlike the one Sora defeated it didn't split into Sea Neon Heartless; Instead, the three cursed hearts were instantly liberated as the dark body faded away. Sora didn't have any proof, but he believed that using magic prevented the splitting. Sora then saw that Goofy was close to defeating his Sheltering Zone and quickly cast an ice spell to land the final blow. 

Just as Sora predicted, the ice ball rammed into the Sheltering Zone Heartless and liberated the three cursed hearts without splitting into Sea Neon Heartless. However, Sora ended up using the last of his strength. Sora couldn't recover with the Sea Neon Heartless still attacking him, so he floated in the water while getting more and more hurt.

"Wah! Don't worry Sora I got you! Cure!"

"Donald! Don't!" Too late, Donald cast the cure spell and once again it redirected and healed the Sea Neon Heartless. Since the Sea Neon Heartless were already at full health they instead got a boost in power. Donald was left floating there dumbfounded while Goofy just started off into space as if he was recovering from something extremely exhausting. Goofy then charged up his shield and swam right towards the three Sea Neon Heartless both stunning and heavily damaging them all. Donald then used lighting and shocked all three, finally freeing the cursed hearts within. Donald tried to cast cure again but Goofy slapped him in the back of the head with his win and swam to Sora with a health potion. 

"Ah, thanks Goofy." Sora and Goofy smiled now that the fight was over, however the both of them stopped smiling when they looked at Donald who was sweating out of guilt.

"Uh, Donald? Maybe you should stop trying to cast the cure spell. You're really bad at it." Donald's eyes then started becoming teary due to overwhelming sadness. Now Sora felt bad while Goofy just had a tired expression on his face, since he felt it was about time Donald faced the music. Sora then quickly swam to Donald's side and gently placed his hand on Donald's shoulder. 

"But hey you're amazing at all other forms of magic, and it was because of your magic I found out that if those heartless get defeated without magic they split. I'm glad to have you by my side Donald, just focus more on what you're good at ok?" Donald still looked teary eyed but was now out of joy rather than sadness, Donald then wiped his eyes and smiled brightly at Sora. Sora then smiled back, glad knowing that Donald was feeling better. However, the moment was ruined when Ariel swam past them, seeming upset about something. Sora wondered what was wrong, worried it might have to do with the Heartless he swam after her to see if she was ok.

"Wha?! Sora, where are you going?"

"Oh dear, there he goes again, chasing after another girl." Donald then swam after Sora with a bored expression while Goofy followed. They eventually managed to catch up to Sora who was with Ariel and Flounder in her secret place.

"Are you ok, miss?"

"Oh hello, I'm ok I just wish my dad would understand."

"Your dad?"

"Yes King Triton, you don't know him?"

"Oh! sorry I uh... I'm not from around here. I'm Sora by the way."

"Oh, I'm Ariel, you're really not from here?"

"Uh no, I actually just came here recently. So, what's the problem with your dad?"

"I just don't understand why he hates the surface world so much; how can they be bad when they made so much amazing and beautiful stuff." Ariel then swam up and Sora saw all of her collection and couldn't help but stare in awe. Donald and Goofy swam forward and saw the collection as well, they became just as speechless as Sora. Sora saw so much stuff that his parents told him about: jewelry, toys, large paintings, books, and so much more. This was the stuff that his parents promised he would see and get when he was old enough yet here it was right now. Ariel smiled at the sight of the three of them having their breath taken by her collection. Ariel then started singing her song which knocked Sora out of his speechless awe and focused back on Ariel. 

As Ariel was singing about her collection Sora smiled in excitement and swam beside her to look at all the things she was showing off to Flounder. Sora couldn't help but smile the entire time, he could relate to Ariel wanting more out of life and wanting to go beyond one's limitations in life. Then Ariel started singing about how she wanted to have legs and walk on the surface with other humans, to dance and play with them. Sora couldn't help but be filled with sadness, Granted Sora wasn't a mermaid that wanted to be a human. However, Sora did want to go to places he wasn't allowed to yet and experience all that life had to offer. It was the same with Riku wanting to see new worlds and Kairi wanting to find her grandmother. Neither was supposed to be possible, but they still wanted to make it happen with all their hearts, and Sora was ready to help them.

Ariel was then finishing off her song with a wish to be part of the surface world alongside the humans. Like a spark going off, Sora felt determination build up in his heart as he just spoke out loud.

"I'll help you get there." Ariel then looked at Sora surprised, but then she smiled at him warmly. Ariel didn't actually believe Sora could do something like but still liked the idea of him trying for her sake. 

"You will do no such thing young man!" Suddenly Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked around wondering where that voice came from. Then Sora saw a tiny red crab named Sebastian swimming up to his face with an angry expression. 

"Ariel is to stay away from the surface as under the order of King Triton!"

"Ah! Sebastion I-"

"And you Ariel! If your father knew you had a collection of things belonging to those surface barbarians, he would go berserk!"

"Please Sebastion don't tell him!"

"Why shouldn't I! I was ordered by your father to ensure that you stayed away from the surface!" Sora then grabbed Sebastian by the shell and held him up. 

"Hey relax! She's not hurting anyone, and neither are any of the objects in her collection."

"Hah! Kids these days don't respect elders like they used to! Worst off they like to play around with things they don't even understand! You have no idea of these surface world items could kill you!" Sora then glared at Sebastian in disappointment. 

"You don't know what they do either..." Sebastion then went wide eyed as he realized Sora was correct.

"Uh... Well yes, but that's why I want to get rid of them before they cause any potential damage! That's what a responsible person does, they don't meddle in things they don't understand. You should be taking notes boy!"

"Yeah, except I actually know what these things are, that's a candle holder, that's a painting, those are books, that box has bottle openers and those things in the sky are fireworks." Sora was pointing at the sky to prove his point but went wide eyed in shock when he realized there really were fireworks going off in the sky. Ariel was amazed by the fact that Sora gave names to the objects in her collection with such confidence. This was enough to convince her that Sora was right in stating that he knew what these objects were. Ariel then swam to Sora, took his hand, and swam to the surface as fast as she could. Sebastion was shocked and tried to swim after them while Flounder joyfully followed. Donald then followed as well wanting to see the firework show while Donald followed but with a tired expression being reminded of Wonderland again. 

Sora and Ariel were the first to reach the surface, it wasn't bad but for some reason to Sora it felt unnatural to not be in water. Guess that's just part of being a mermaid, Sora thought to himself. Sora and Ariel's gaze then turned toward the giant ship where the fireworks were firing from. 

"Woah! What is that?"

"It's a boat! People use it to travel over the ocean, you know because swimming over the ocean is impossible... Ah! For humans I mean." Ariel looked at Sora confused while he laughed it off nervously. Sora then swam over to the boat and climbed on the side of the hull, Sora then turned back to Ariel and smiled as he extended to her his hand. Ariel smiled in excitement and took it in his hand and quickly started climbing the hull with Sora. The both of them reached a small opening for them to look out and see everything.

"Wow, Humans. Real humans, and they're all dancing too."

"Yeah, it looks like some kind of party. I wonder what kind of party; I've never seen a wooden boat this big before."

"You've seen boats before?"

"Oh well yeah but they were never this big, only big enough to carry a few people. Have you?"

"No, only sunken ones, that's where all my stuff comes from. This is my first time seeing one with live humans." Just then the dog Max then showed up to them and licked Sora on the face. Sora pushed Max away while laughing joyfully, Ariel giggled at the sight. Eric then whistled and Max ran up to him on command. Sora looked at Eric with Max, he couldn't help but feel envy. Sora, Riku and Kairi always wanted to see a dog and take care of it together. Sora then shook his head trying not to get negative now of all times; however, as Sora shook his head, he noticed the spark in Ariel's eyes. Sora then looked at Eric then back at Ariel, Sora didn't know a lot about love but even he could tell what Ariel was feeling as she looked at Eric. 

"Hey! Ariel! Quite the show huh?!"

"Scuttle! Be quiet or they'll hear you." Scuttle then flew down to their level to watch with Sora and Ariel. Sora was surprised to see a talking seagull, but he was a merman right now with a mermaid princess who's friends with a talking fish. Sora then shook his head, disappointed in himself for still finding such things weird after all he had experienced. 

"That human there, wow is he handsome."

"You sure? He looks pretty hairy and slobbery to me."

"Haha, Scuttle, right? That's a dog, their pets to humans."

"Also, I wasn't referring to that one, the one playing the sargalsnaff"

"sargalsnaff? Pfft! Haha, Sorry Ariel but that's uh... I think it's called a flute. My dad told me about them once, but he never showed me one so I'm not too sure."

"Wow Sora, you dad knows a lot about humans." Sora then realized that he might have said too much and scratched the back of his head while smiling at Ariel in embarrassment. Maybe this is why Donald wanted to preserve the natural order, Sora thought to himself with guilt. Just then Sir Grimsby presented the statue as a present to Eric which both he and Max clearly didn't like. 

"Wow, that's a big statue."

"You see. This is why I want to know more about humans, look at what they can create. My dad always says they're barbarians, but barbarians clearly aren't capable of making something this amazing." Ariel then quickly hid which confused Sora but then he realized Eric was heading their direction and hid as well. Eric then started talking with Grimsby about finding the perfect girl, Sora then noticed that Ariel was smiling joyfully as she listened as well. Though he still didn't know how Sora wanted to help her experience a new life with humans. As someone else who wanted to go to new worlds and have new adventures, Sora couldn't help but relate with Ariel. 

Before anything else could happen, a lightning storm was quickly approaching and starting to rock the ship harshly. Sora and Ariel quickly left the boat but unfortunately were surrounded by Sea Neon Heartless. Sora raised his keyblade but surprisingly the Sea Neon Heartless swam past them and started attacking the ship instead. 

"What are those things doing?!"

"Their are trying to sink the ship! Ariel, go get Donald and Goofy! I'll handle them!" Ariel was scared but did as Sora asked and quickly swam to look for Donald and Goofy. Sora smiled and faced the Sea Neon Heartless and manifested his Olympia Keyblade. Sora quickly swam past all the Heartless while slashing them causing them to stop attacking this ship and leaving them all stunned. Sora smiled as he activated a lighting spell to finish them off, or at least he would have if a Screwdiver hadn’t slashed his back. Sora was now hurt and left off balance but surprisingly despite being hit by a spear Sora felt barely hurt. Sora then swam toward the Screwdiver Heartless too but the Heartless proved to be faster. Sora tried to swim as fast as he could, but he just couldn't keep up. The Screwdiver Heartless then charged suddenly at Sora with its spinning attack again hurting Sora further. Sora tried to block and dodge the attacks, but the Screwdiver was too fast, Sora didn't even have enough time to cast a magic spell. 

As Sora grunted in pain, he remembered back in Halloween Town on how Jack was able to manifest flaming pumpkins and throw them at his enemies. Sora then remembered the power of his keychain; he then remembered all that he could about Halloween Town until his keyblade glowed in golden light. Sora then smiled and raised high his new Pumpkinhead Keyblade. Sora then pointed his keyblade at the Screwdiver and without even thinking about it, several flaming jack-o-lanterns manifested and launched right toward the Screwdiver. Try as it might, the Screwdiver Heartless was not fast enough to swim away and was hit by the lantern projectiles. Sora smiled in delight but unfortunately not only did the ship start sinking but the Sea Neon Heartless surrounded Sora quite quickly.

Sora frowned but raised his Keyblade in determination to fight all of the Heartless head on. Thankfully, he ended up not needing to when several were hit with lightning and defeated instantly. Goofy then swam forwards and rammed into the remaining Sea Neon Heartless as they tried to scatter. Sora smiled at his friends but Donald quickly whacked him on the head with his staff. 

"You said you wouldn't run off again after the whale incident and yet you did it again!"

"Well... technically I swam off." Donald then glared at Sora unamused to which Sora smiled nervously but then bowed his head and apologized. Donald knew they had bigger things to worry about, so he just dropped it and accepted the apology. However just when things couldn't get worse, the ship started sinking and the story was getting worse. With the remaining Sea Neon Heartless defeated there was no reason to stay so Sora, Donald, and Goofy swam away to safety. However, Sora stopped when he realized that Ariel was nowhere to be found. Without warming Sora went back to the ship to look for Ariel which shocked Goofy and angered Donald. 

Sora swam around the wreckage of the ship and couldn't find Ariel anywhere; all he did find was the other humans escaping on the emergency boats. Sora was glad that they were ok but right now he still needed to find Ariel. Then Sora finally found her, but she was currently carrying someone and swimming away. Sora's instincts kicked in and he just followed her without a second thought. Donald and Goofy finally managed to catch up with Sora only for him to swim away again. 

***

Sora finally caught up to Ariel as she swam up to the shore to place Eric gently on the beach. Sora saw that Eric was waking up and tried to stay out of sight, however Sora quickly noticed that Ariel was singing to him instead of hiding. Sora sighed and decided to leave Ariel alone, or at least he would have if Sir Grimsby and Max weren't quickly heading toward her direction. Before Eric could wake up Sora quickly swam toward Ariel, grabbed her hand and pulled her back into the sea. Before Sora could say anything, Goofy, Donald, Flounder, and Sebastian swam right in front of them, Donald in particular hid Sora on the head with his staff. However, before Donald could lecture him, Sora noticed Ariel swimming up to the surface again to see Eric one last time. Sora couldn't help but feel happy for her, not at all noticing Sebastian's and Flounder's shock or Donald's seething rage.

***

Sora, Donald, and Goofy spent the next few days taking out any heartless that appeared in Atlantica. As such they quickly gained the favor of King Triton who was quite happy to not only have new protectors against the Heartless threat but to hear that Ariel was in love. Of course, neither Sora, Donald, Goofy, Flounder, or Sebastian brought up the fact that Ariel was in love with a human. Donald in particular was angry that Sora was partly at fault for Ariel's crush on Eric and didn't do anything to stop her.

"I mean your her friend, right?" Donald then cast lighting on a large Aquatank Heartless, but the Aquatank used its lure to absorb the lighting and cast it back at Donald. Donald quacked in fear, but Sora used his Three Wishes Keyblade to reflect the magic back at the Aquatank Heartless, not destroying it but heavily damaging it. 

"Ah... ahem! If you're her friend, then you should tell her why her love for Eric is misplaced!" Sora sighed and manifested his Jungle King Keyblade and seemingly shot several vines at Donald making him quack in fear again. However, Donald quickly realized that Sora was actually aiming for a Screwdiver Heartless behind him. Sora then swung his keyblade around to force the captured Screwdiver to ram into another Screwdiver Heartless, stunning them both. 

"Oh, come on Donald, she's in love, what kind of friend would I be to get in the way of that?" Sora then manifested his Pumpkinhead Keyblade and shot several jack-o-lantern missiles to destroy the stunned Screwdiver Heartless. Donald then grunted but noticed Goofy who rammed into several Sea Neon Heartless destroying them all instantly. Goofy was then confronted by a Sheltering Zone Heartless and manifested his aura and it shot out as a light clone of himself and hit the Sheltering Zone Heartless, destroying it instantly. 

"Goofy! Back me up here!"

"Sorry Donald, But you and I both know whether or not Sora interfered, Ariel would have still fallen for Eric." Donald then sighed in annoyance as he was clearly not getting anywhere with this. 

"Look, King Triton is on our side now but what's going to happen when he finds out we were there when Ariel meets with one of the humans he hates, and we did nothing to stop her! He'll have all our heads before he can liberate this world from darkness." Donald then felt a painful zap on his back and turned around in anger to see a Sea Neon floating behind him. Donald then placed his staff on its head and cast a fire spell, incinerating the Heartless instantly.

"Besides, even if we're not the ones who will suffer, Ariel will surely be under his wrath!"

"Oh, come on Donald, King Triton wouldn’t do something so cruel to one of his own daughters." Just then the Aquatank Heartless showed up again and opened its large mouth while swimming toward Sora and Donald. However Goofy rammed into it head on and managed to destroy it instantly. Donald sighed in relief but faced Sora again with a stern look.

"Don't be so sure about that Sora, as an aristocrat King Triton has to be both a king and a father. That kind of responsibility can warp a person's sense of reality."

"Is King Mickey like that?"

"Oh no! King Mickey is the best king any subject could ask for but bear in mind not all leaders are alike." Sora just pouted in annoyance; he was determined to keep Ariel's secret, but he was sure that even if he didn't King Triton would find it in himself to understand. 

"Well done boys, once again you've held back those vile Heartless." As if on cue, King Triton appeared before them. On command Sora, Donald, and Goofy bowed in his presence. 

"Please, please. rise up, I feel like I should be the one bowing to the protectors of my Kingdom." Sora, Donald, and Goofy did as King Triton asked.

"Good, now I hate to separate you, but I have a question for Sora." Sora was surprised by this but Donald and Goofy nodded and swam off. Goofy winked at Sora while Donald gave him a look as if to tell him "Mind what you say." Sora just smiled to show he understood. 

"Now then Sora as you know my daughter has recently fallen for one lucky Merman." Sora's smile became broken due to him knowing it wasn't actually a Merman that Ariel fell for. 

"The only one that Ariel has recently been around is actually... you, so Sora I ask. Are you-"

"Pfft! Hahahahaha!" Sora knew who Ariel was really in love with so he couldn't help but find King Triton's assumption of him being the one, funny. However, Sora quickly realized that he was laughing rather loudly and rudely in front of King Triton who was staring at him in confusion. Sora then straightened himself up as he cleared his throat but blushed in embarrassment. 

"Ahem! No, your majesty, I am not the boy Ariel is in love with."

"Really now? Then who?" Sora then smiled in joy as he faced King Triton.

"You'll have to ask her yourself." Sora then swam off leaving King Triton confused, he was mad that Sora just swam off but felt Sora deserved a pass since he fended off the Heartless for the kingdom. Sora swam around looking for Donald and Goofy but instead found Flounder, Flounder was looking for something that he needed to find quickly. 

"Oh hey, Flounder, right?"

"Oh Sora! Just the Merman! I need your help!"

"Uh, sure. What's up?"

"I got a surprise for Ariel, come on and help me out!" Flounder then swam out into the open sea in excitement, Sora was confused but followed the fish. Sora was getting increasingly worried as they got farther from the kingdom but still assured himself if more Heartless showed up, he would protect Flounder. Eventually the two made it to a deserted area where they found the giant statue of Eric. 

"Wow! The statue survived the storm?!"

"Yup, Ariel's going to love having this as a part of her collection! But it's too heavy for me to lift, can you do it?" Sora wasn't really sure if he could but opted to at least try. Sora then swam to the statue and used both hands to lift, expecting it to be unbelievably heavy. However, to Sora, it was more like lifting a rock, it was a little heavy but nothing he couldn't handle. The real trouble was the overall size of the statue, Sora had trouble keeping his balance while taking it to Ariel's cave.

"Uh. You know Sora if it's too much its fine, we could always-"

"Nah, I got it *grunt* It's just going to take me a while. Go get Ariel in the meantime! She'll definitely love this." Flounder still felt like he was asking too much of Sora but liked his determination to make Ariel happy. As such Flounder did as Sora asked and swam away to get Ariel. 

***

It took quite a while, but Sora finally managed to get the statue into Ariel's cave of collections. Sora had to lift it all the way up the cave and gently lower it down the top of the cave where the only opening big enough to fit it was. When Sora was finally done, he just let himself float to the ground and rest despite how uncomfortable the ground was. 

"Man, it would have been nice if Ariel had a couple pillows as part of her collection." However, now was not the time to rest because Sora could hear Ariel getting closer. Sora quickly got up and got ready to see the look on Ariel's face when she saw what he brought for her. Once Ariel showed up, she was filled overwhelmingly with joy at the sight of the statue, she quickly hugged Flounder and Sora while giving them both a kiss on the cheek. Sora just stood there proudly as Ariel swam around the statue with joy. Just then Goofy and Donald show up and Sora waves at them to come see however to Sora's horror King Triton is behind them and he looks angry. Goofy and Donald are confused and turn around only to feel the same horror Sora did, King Triton swims past them to face Ariel who was shocked as well. 

King Triton states how disappointed he is in Ariel for keeping such a vast collection of human objects. Sora was confused on how King Triton was acting so aggressively. To Sora's surprise King Triton stated that he followed Sora when he carried the statue hence how he found this place. Sora's heart sank when he heard that; however, before Sora could try to at least reason with King Triton he started to blast at everything Ariel owned. Sora tried to stop King Triton but Goofy and Donald held him back so that he wouldn't be hurt. Soon King Triton turned his triton toward the statue of Eric and destroyed it despite Ariel pleading to him to stop. 

Sora couldn't believe what just happened, Triton used his magic to destroy everything Ariel had never collected. So many beautiful, cool, and shiny tools and trinkets, all gone. Sora remembered one time where he disobeyed his father by keeping a collection of his dad's bullets in his room. The punishment was that he had to give them all back and had to listen to his father's lecture about how dangerous bullets are and how stealing is wrong. Afterwards his dad promised him he would show him how guns work one day. However, this was nothing like that, Triton could have just forced Ariel to give up the statue or told her to stop increasing her collection. Instead, he did the unthinkable, he destroyed all her stuff in front of her and left without a single word. Sora looked at how sad Ariel was, rage instantly filled his head as he swam as fast as he could out of the cave and toward King Triton.

"Your Majesty, stop!" Sora swam right in front of King Triton and faced him with determination.

"How could you do something so cruel to Ariel?! I know you hate the surface world, but you don't have to enforce that same hate on Ariel!"

"Watch your tongue boy! I am the king of Atlantica and therefore my word is law!"

"Your Majesty, I know you're the King of this world, but I still think you went too far!"

"Sora, her obsession with surface objects is not healthy! It's time she abandoned her desire to be a surface walker and accept her place here!"

"But she's not even hurting anyone! The only one who's hurt now is her because YOU destroyed all of her things!"

"... Sora you don't know the surface walkers of this world like I do! When I was your age, I saw them wage wars on each other and invent terrible weapons for the sake of more power. It's in their nature to conquer and steal all that they find, even from each other. The last thing I want is for Ariel to be a part of any of that and if you truly are her friend then you'll help me keep her safe by keeping her far away from the surface!" King Triton then swam off, King Triton knew more of this world than he did, but Sora still thought that what he did was wrong. Sora then huffed in anger as he swam back to Ariel to check on her. Thankfully when he got there, she was still inside but she was crying as she was surrounded by fragments of what used to be her collection. 

"Ariel?" Ariel with tears in her eyes looked up at Sora full of sadness, she then swam over to him and hugged her friend. Sora didn't hesitate to hug his friend back tightly to comfort her the best he could. 

"Ariel, I'm so sorry, this is my fault. When Flounder and I found the statue, we wanted to give it to you right away, we didn't know Triton was following us."

"This isn't your fault Sora, it's my stupid father! Why is he like this, why is he so cruel! I just want to know more about the surface! I want to interact with humans and learn their ways of life! Their ways of fun! Their way of love! What's so wrong with wanting more out of life?! What's so wrong in wanting to be part of another world?!" Ariel then continued to cry while hugging Sora, Sora gently brushed her hair, not knowing what else he could do or say to comfort her. Sora knew exactly what it was like to want more out of life, but he also knew he wasn't the best to give advice on the situation. Besides, even if he tried, he would just make the situation about him, and Ariel didn't need that right now. 

"How sad..."

"Oh, so very sad..." Sora and Ariel then looked up to see Flotsam and Jetsam swimming into the cave. Sora knew they weren't heartless but felt something dark and evil within their aura, Sora then raised his keyblade at them and guarded Ariel. The two eels just Ignored Sora and swam around him and past Ariel's face which clearly made her uncomfortable, this only angered Sora.

"Who are you and what do you want?!"

"Easy child."

"We only want to help princess Ariel." Ariel then wiped away her tears and faced Flotsam and Jetsam with a stern expression.

"Help me with what?"

"You said you wanted more out of life?"

"You want to be part of another world?"

"Ursala can help you."

"Ursala has magic beyond your wildest dreams."

"If you desire it."

"Ursala can provide."

"Ursala, the sea witch? No! She's a monster! Go away! I don't want help form a sea witch!" Ariel then went back to crying while Sora glared at Flotsam and Jetsam in anger. The two eels just smiled as they turned the other direction. 

"Suit yourself."

"It was only a suggestion." Jetsam then slapped a piece of Eric's statue, specifically the part that was of his face. Sora caught it before it landed anywhere near Ariel and looked at it, Sora knew what they were trying to do but still showed it to Ariel. Ariel looked at the piece in sadness and then to Sora. 

"What should I do, Sora?"

"... May your heart be your guiding key." Ariel didn't get what Sora meant at first, but after thinking about it, her expression hardened with determination.

"Wait!"

"Yes?"

"What is it dear?"

"Take me to Ursala, I at least want to hear her out!" Flotsam and Jetsam smiled as they both giggled sinisterly. The two eels then saw out to lead to the way to Ursala, Ariel first looked back at Sora, he didn't like the idea of meeting a sea witch but showed his keyblade to Ariel to confirm he would be ready to protect her. Ariel smiled and swam after Flotsam and Jetsam as Sora followed. When the swarm outside Donald, Goofy, Flounder, and Sebastian saw them and swam after them.

"Ariel where are you going?! Those eels belong to Ursala!"

"Why don't you tell my father then?!" Sebastian then floated there as the guilt filled him up. Sora continued to follow Ariel but Goofy and Donald quickly followed him. 

"Sora what are you doing?!"

"You can't let Ariel go to a Sea Witch! Maleficent is a witch! And she's the one who cursed Kairi, remember?!"

"Yeah, and do you remember how I said that King Triton wouldn't hurt Ariel? I already made a decision for Ariel once, there's no way I'm going to do it again. All I'm going to do is make sure that she's safe." Sora then continued to swim after Ariel, Donald sighed feeling sick and tired of all of this.

"Donald come on, it's not like we were making any progress earlier, maybe this is like Wonderland. Maybe we need to go along with what's happening, to make some decent progress. Besides you know we can't liberate this world without Sora, so we might as well help him." Donald just grunted due to the fact that he couldn't argue with Goofy. 

"You're right, what kind of friend would I be to abandon Sora when he needs us the most." Donald and Goofy then swam after Sora and Ariel to catch up with them. 

***

Finally, they made it to Ursala's Cave, Ariel was too busy being mad at her father to notice all the victims of Ursala turned into the creatures on the ground. Sora swam to them and could almost see their hearts; their hearts were imprisoned in darkness weakening both the heart and the body. The creatures were all shaking their heads, trying to tell him to leave and take Ariel with him. Sora's heart was telling him the same thing, but his mind also told him that if anything went wrong; he, Donald, and Goofy would be there to protect Ariel. So instead, Sora kept swimming forward but not before calming down the victim's weeds.

"Don't worry guys, I don't know how yet but I'll help you all one way or another." The victim weed looked at Sora in shock not expecting a promise of help, but then nodded to show it would patiently wait for him. Then they made it inside the case and there was Ursala, she was a squid mermaid at first. She was smiling and moving around like she had all the power in her hands but then she saw Sora and grunted at the sight of him. Sora had a hunch on why she did that but felt that it was better to keep quiet for now. Ursala then broke into song about how she can help Ariel become a human and thus be with Eric without ever having to worry about King Triton. However, in exchange Ariel would have to give up her voice and never be able to return to the ocean. Sora was shocked and quickly pulled Ariel back from Ursala.

"Ariel, wait! Ok look, I don't want to tell you what to do, but please listen to me! Getting a life with prince Eric in exchange for never seeing your home again! I... I lost my home, and right now I'm doing everything I can to get it back, so please don't end up like me." Ariel was shocked by the pain in Sora's voice and face; however, she gently placed her hand on his cheek to comfort him. 

"Sora... has your dad ever destroyed a collection of things you love." Sora's eyes widened but he then shook his head.

"Has he ever made you feel that to follow your heart is directly disobeying him?" Again, Sora shook his head while looking down in sadness.

"Then I'm glad your dad isn't like mine; I hope you find a way to return home soon. But as for me, I just can't take it anymore. If I can't be free here, then maybe I can be free up there." Sora couldn't bring himself to push this any further, instead he just let Ariel go as she faced Ursala again. Ariel then agreed and Ursala presented a magical contract, Sora was confused by the contact since it seemed to be made with light magic rather than darkness. However, before he could ponder anymore Ursala left one last warning stating that if Ariel couldn't get Eric to give her a kiss of true love within three days, she would become one of the victims weeds Ursala keeps in her garden. Sebastian and Flounder tried to stop her, but Flotsam and Jetsam stopped them. Sora and Donald on the other hand stood by Ariel to try to stop her.

"Ariel don't! Witches never play fair, especially with contracts!"

"Listen to Donald Ariel, if you sign, Ursala will have full control over you!" Ariel smiled at Donald and Sora, she then gently placed her hands on theirs and made them let go of her. 

"It's ok, this is what I want, but you don't have to follow me. This is my choice so I should face any consequences alone." Donald was actually quite moved by Ariel's determination and instead swam back to let her choose. Sora smiled warmly at Ariel despite there still being sadness in his eyes, like Donald, Sora just swam back to let Ariel choose.

"Whatever choice you make, I promise I'll stay with you. So chose without fear." Ariel just smiled and nodded, she then faced Ursala with a stern look and signed the contract. Then under Ursala's command Ariel started singing in order for Ursala to steal her voice. After she lost her voice Ursala then started the spell turning her into a human. Sora was horrified at the pain Ariel was clearly in however as she was slowly changing Sora noticed she was choking on the water she could no longer breathe in. 

Sora grabbed Donald and Goofy then swam as quickly as he could to the surface. They were ready to help Ariel up and out of the water as soon as she got up. When she managed to reach the surface, Sora helped her up so that she could catch her breath. However, Sora quickly realized that Arien was naked; Sora turned red and closed his eyes as he helped her sit on a rock. Ariel then started looking at her legs in joy, Scuttle then showed up and was unaware of Ariel's legs until Sebastian yelled at him. All while Sora, Donald, and Goofy turned the other direction out of respect.

"This is horrible, we need to go back to that witch and convince her to give Ariel and her tail back this instant!"

"And have Triton yell at Ariel again and destroy more of her stuff?! No thank you!" To both Sora and Goofy's surprise, Donald was the one to stand against this.

"Believe me I hate the way things ended up too, but there's no way I'm helping you after what happened last time. Besides, even if we don't tell Triton he'll find out eventually and he'll punish Ariel for OUR wrong doings! Do you really want that? Worst off that Ursala was definitely evil! Even if we begged, she would say the same thing, ether get the prince to fall in love with Ariel or suffer eternal enslavement." Sebastian realized that Donald was right and no matter what they did, things would be bad for Ariel. The only way to help her now was to get Ariel and prince Eric together.

"Ahhhh. Alright! Alright! I'll help!" Ariel then picked up Sebastian and kissed him to show how grateful she was for him. As Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked the other way Ariel realized something and couldn't help but smile in excitement. Ariel then tapped on Sora's shoulder to get his attention, Sora shuttered as he slowly turned around making sure to keep his eyes on her face and her face only.

"u- u- uh yes?" Ariel, blissfully unaware of the awkwardness of the situation, pointed at Sora while smiling in amazement. Sora stared at Ariel in confusion but then looked down and saw that not only did he have his legs back, but he was back in his clothes. Sora was amazed but also glad because this meant that he could help Ariel even on the surface. Sora then looked at Ariel in joy but quickly realized he almost saw ALL of her and quickly looked away. Sora then ran toward another rock on the shore and rammed his head on it which shocked everyone. 

"Sora?!"

"Why did you do that?!"

"Ugh... My mom always told me that... a boy should never see a girl naked unless he's going to marry her... so if he does one without the other... he deserves a rock to the head..." Donald and Goofy then looked at each other in concern.

"Uh, Sora? I don't think she meant that literally. Or at least I hope she didn't."

"Well either way this is getting ridiculous, Ariel needs clothes and now!" Donald then looked around for anything that could help, he then noticed that there was a ship with lots of old fabric tarps and ropes sticking out of it.

"That's it! Ok, Ariel, go over there! Everyone else, go over there and don't turn around until I tell you to! I got some magic to do!" Donald was about to follow Ariel but before he did Goofy grabbed him by the arm.

"Remember Donald, you have Daisy." Donald was confused at first but then got angry and punched Goofy on the nose.

"What do you take me for, Goofy! I'm a grown man and she's a teenage girl! You really think I would sink that low?!" Donald just huffed in anger as he stomped over to a confused Ariel. Goofy just rubbed his nose in pain as he walked to the others. Goofy then saw Sora who still had a bump on his head from the rock impact. Goofy sighed as he got two healing potions out of his bag and gave one to Sora. Goofy then held out his hand and looked at Sora hoping he would do the same, Sora then did out of confusion. Goofy then clinked his healing potion on Sora's and downed the entire potion in one gulp. Sora was confused but still smiled as he drank his healing potion as well.

"Ta-da!" Sora, Goofy, Scuttle, Flounder, and Sebastian then turned around and to see Donalds work. There they saw Ariel trying to pose while wrapped in old tarps and rope. Donald looked proud, Scuttle looked impressed, while everyone else looked at Donald hoping he was not serious.

"... What? Magic isn't omnipotent! I can't make fabric out of thin air. I have to work with what I got! Do you jerks have any better ideas?! Besides, look at us! We're already at rock bottom so we should just make do with what we got. At least things can't get worse." Suddenly several Screwdiver Heartless manifested all around them. Flounder and Sebastian quickly swam back into the water, Sora guarded Ariel with his keyblade, and both Donald and Goofy got their weapons out; Goofy in particular looked at Donald in a tired expression. 

"I didn't jinx it, Goofy!"

"I didn't say anything Donald." Sora, Donald, and Goofy braced themselves since they knew the Srewdiver Heartless were fast and hit hard. However now quickly calmed down when they realized the Screwdiver Heartless were actually quite slow on the surface. Because of their flipper feet they couldn't run or even walk properly, instead they were taking every step as if their feet were heavy. Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked at each other and quickly started laughing at the hilarious situation. However, they quickly stopped laughing because sooner or later the Screwdivers would reach them with their spears. Sora then manifested his Olympia Keyblade and slashed three of the Screwdiver Heartless, forcing them to fly into the air. Sora then smiled as he manifested his Pumpkinhead Keyblade and launched his Jack-o-lantern missiles at them, destroying them instantly. Donald then cast an ice spell on three followed by a fire spell and a lightning spell. the Screwdiver Heartless were frozen then fired out of the ice and finally destroyed by the lightning. Donald then finished off the last three by throwing his shield in between them and letting his shield bounce and hit between them until the repeated damage destroyed them. 

Ariel clapped at the sight of their flawless victory but suddenly she was grabbed by another Screwdiver Heartless. The Heartless was threatening to stab her with its spear if Sora, Donald, and Goofy didn't back off. Ariel then slapped the Heartless in the face, making it growl at her in anger. However, before it could attack her Max the dog showed up and started biting at the Screwdiver's leg, the Heartless couldn't be hurt by the dog's attack but it still focused on the dog due to how annoying it found it. However, this proved to be its mistake as Sora summoned his Jungle King Keyblade and manifested a jungle vine to catch the Heartless. Sora then swung it into the air and towards Goofy who bashed it with his shield on impact causing it to fly into the air. Donald finished it off with another lighting spell, finally they were done, all the Heartless were defeated. However, their problems were not over, for Prince Eric was heading their direction. Donald and Goofy quickly jumped back into the water to transform back to their ocean forms. Sora was about to do the same but hesitated and instead stood by Ariel. 

"I promised to stay with you, I'm not about to break a promise." Ariel then smiled and hugged Sora, however they both then noticed Donald trying to get their attention.

"Hey! Don't forget, Ariel is a princess and Eric is a prince. Try using that to your guy's advantage! and Sora, don't forget Ariel's freedom is one the line! And if you find the Dark Conduit of this world don't hesitate to take them down!" Sora frowned as Donald and Goofy swam away, essentially leaving him to do all the work from here on out. However, it was Sora's choice to stay by Ariel's side so he simply had to reap what he sowed. Sora then sighed and got ready to introduce Eric to Ariel in hopes that a relationship would blossom between the two. Max quickly started barking and ran up to Eric to show him where exactly they were. Eric then noticed Ariel and approached her wondering if she needed help. Sora then went to Max and started petting him while smiling, both were glad that things were seemingly going well already. 

"So, wait, who are you two? Where did you come from?"

"Oh uh, I am Sora, and this is uh... My sister! Princess Ariel!" Eric looked at Ariel in confusion then back to Sora. 

"Wait, why are you both wearing rags?" Sora looked at Eric then to himself in confusion, Sora was wearing the same clothes he wore when Destiny Islands was destroyed. Sora figured it was probably the magic of the Gummi ship making Eric think he was wearing rags and left it at that. Man, the magic of the Gummi ship sure is weird though, Sora thought to himself.

"Uh ahem we uh... we have no choice we uh... our ship crashed, because of a storm!"  Sora had just realized he was not good at lying and therefore braced himself for Eric to shoot down everything he said.

"Oh yeah storms can be pretty bad, I got hit with one the other day. Hey, are you ok, miss? you must be scared from having your boat destroyed." Sora was surprised it worked but just sighed in relief that it somehow worked. Sora then smiled in delight when he saw Eric and Ariel looking into each other's eyes.

"You... you look familiar do I know you?" Ariel nodded in delight and Eric smiled in joy, Sora then held onto Max and started petting him again relieved that things were going so well so quickly.

"I knew it! You're the one I've been looking for! Your brother said your name is Ariel, right?" Ariel nodded and tried to confirm but alas she still couldn't talk. 

"Wait, can you not Speak?" Ariel nodded in disappointment; Sora and Max were filled with sadness, things were going so well only for it all to fall apart. 

"Oh... Sorry, then you couldn't be who I was looking for." Max and Ariel sighed as they blew their own hair in annoyance. Sora on the other hand, facepalmed he could already tell how difficult this was going to be. However, Ariel was not willing to give up and tried using her hands to tell Eric how she knew him. But she ended up losing her balance and Eric had to catch her making the two of them even closer than before. Sora smiled in delight again, maybe this won't be so hard after all. Eric then escorted Ariel to his castle and Sora followed. Sora then looked back at the ocean and saw Donald and Goofy smiling at him and giving him a thumbs up. Sora was still kinda mad at them for leaving this all on him but rather than complaining he just gave them a tired look with a thumbs up back. 

***

Upon being handed to the servants within the Castle, both Sora and Ariel were sent to separate areas for a bath. Ariel was escorted by a maid while Sora was given a room to wash himself. Sora looked around and saw a bathtub and next to it a chair with prince clothes on it. 

"I guess I have to dress the part too." Sora then looked at the bathtub which was no different than an overgrown barrel. Sora actually felt kinda nostalgic seeing it since it reminded him of home, his parents weren't poor, but they never believed in wasting money on anything other than essentials. Sora quickly undressed and got into the tub and quickly started to relax while washing himself. Or at least he would have if he hadn't transformed back into a Merman. Sora was shocked at first but then sighed in annoyance.

"I guess getting Eric to fall for Ariel isn't the only hard thing to accomplish today."

***

Sora grunted in annoyance as he put on the prince's clothing, it looked presentable but felt really uncomfortable. Sora looked at his old clothes that he left on a chair, he then touched them, and they disappeared into light. Sora was confused but suddenly he was wearing his old clothes again.

"What? What happened to the other clothing?!" Then suddenly Sora was back in his prince's clothing. Sora then realized he was able to manifest his clothes in either his original attire or his prince attire. Sora then couldn't help but smile in excitement. 

"Man, magic is so cool!" Sora then left the room and entered the hallway but as he did, so did Ariel. Sora couldn't help but stare at her in awe as she was in a beautiful pink dress. 

"Oh my you both look absolutely lovely! Ariel, yes? The prince is sure to fall for you! And Sora, oh don't be surprised if every girl you pass swoons over you." Sora blushed and scratched the back of his head at the compliment Carlotta gave him. However, Sora quickly cleared his throat to focus for right now it was not about him. Sora then extended his hand to Ariel so that they both could meet prince Eric and Sir Grimsby together. 

As soon as they entered the room Sora stood aside so that Eric could focus on her and hopefully how beautiful she looked. Sir Grimsby was not only delighted but made sure to seat her closer to Eric and sit Sora alongside her. 

"Well then you two are siblings Princess Ariel and Prince Sora? Tell me which kingdom you hail from?" Once again Sora was annoyed that Donald and Goofy weren't here with him, Sora then sighed and tried his best to make a good story.

"Uh yes were from uh... Disney Castle." Donald is gonna be mad again, Sora thought to himself.

"Disney Castle? I'm afraid I'm not familiar."

"It's uh... It's a world away from here. So, you know, please let me or my sister know if we-" Ariel then noticed the fork and used it to brush her hair but quickly noticed that Sir Grimsby, Eric, and Sora were looking at her in confusion.

"Do something... unusual..." Ariel then quickly put down the fork and looked down in shame and embarrassment. However, the moment Sir Grimsby pulled out his pipe Ariel looked at it in excitement. Grimsby had no idea why she was looking at his pipe but she seemed happy to see it, so he assumed there was no harm in letting her have a closer look. However, he quickly regretted it when she blew into the pipe and covered Grimsby's face in ash. Sora and Eric were quick to start laughing, Ariel then looked at Sora in confusion and gestured to show she thought it was an instrument. 

"An instrument? Uh no Ariel that's just a smoking pipe." Ariel then sighed in disappointment as she handed the pipe back to Grimsby, she thought that she was wasting her time relying on what Scuttle told her about the human world. 

"You know Eric, I haven't actually seen you smile like that in quite some time." Eric then looked at Ariel and smiled again causing her to blush in joy. Sora lightly nugged her shoulder to show her how happy he was for her. 

"Oh right, Carlotta, what's on the menu for this evening?"

"Oh, you'll all love it, the chef Louis is preparing stuffed crab!" Sora and Ariel then went wide-eyed at the sound of that. Sora on one hand was excited as he loved seafood, he used to eat it all the time back at Destiny Islands. Ariel on the other hand was startled as she was reminded of Sebastian, she then wondered how her friends and Sora's friends were doing now that they were still in the ocean. Carlotta then brought in the food and after lifting the domes Sora saw that Sebastian was in his food. Sora then quickly grabbed Sebastian and hid him from the sight of Eric, Sir Grimsby, and Carlotta. Sora was then about to dig in but the more he looked at his food the more he was reminded by all the friendly fish and other ocean life he met. Obviously, the food he was looking at wasn't them, but he still felt like this was a horrible betrayal if he ate. Sora then looked over to Ariel and she was looking at the food the exact same way. 

***

Because they thought that Ariel and Sora were brother and sister they got rooms close to one another. Sora first changed into a sleeping shirt and pants while Ariel changed into a nightgown. After waiting long enough to be sure they were both done changing, Sora left his room and went over to Ariel's to check on how she was doing. Sora quickly went over to her bed and collapsed while his face was green.

"Ugh, that was probably the first time I felt sick eating seafood. I'll never be able to look at seafood or meat the same way ever again. You ok Ariel?" Sora looked around but Ariel wasn't actually in the room. Instead, she was out on her balcony where she was watching Eric who was with Max in the garden. Eric then noticed Ariel and they waved at one another; now embarrassed, Ariel leaves the balcony and enters the room only to see Sora smiling at her.

"Heh, Ursala said you had only three days, right? I think you only need one and a half." Ariel then smirked as she got out a fork she collected and used it to brush her hair. Sora then sighed, got up, grabbed a hairbrush and used one hand to give it to Ariel while extending the other hand for her to give him the fork. Ariel then reluctantly gave the fork up but then looked at the hairbrush in confusion. Sora smiled warmly and extended his hand to show that he would help her how it works. Ariel then sat on the chair so that Sora could start brushing her hair. While doing so Sebastian slammed the door open and entered the room while still covered in bits of lettuce. Sora and Ariel couldn't help but giggle at the sight. Sebastian then climbed up to the top of the table while Sora continued to brush Ariel's hair. 

"Well then what is the plan?!"

"Plan? For what?"

"For what?! To get the prince to kiss Ariel!"

"Do we really need a plan? They seem to be hitting it off quite well on their own. I saw the way Eric was looking at Ariel." Ariel then blushed and smiled in joyful embarrassment, but she made sure to stay still so that Sora could keep brushing her hair. Though as Sora brushed, he realized that Ariel's hair was extremely soft and didn't need much brushing at all. 

"Naive Child! Too naive! Listen if we are to ensure Ariel's freedom and her love, we must plan on how to secure both! And who better than me!"

"Oh, you're married?" Sebastian then stopped and froze while his eyes widened in realization. 

"Uh... no."

"You have a girlfriend then?"

"Ahen! No, but I am older and therefore wiser than you both." Sora paused for a moment but just shrugged as he couldn't deny that despite size, Sebastian was the oldest of the three. Sora then stopped brushing to let Ariel see, she seemingly loved it to Sora's confusion since he saw no difference than before. Again, Sora just shrugged and smiled glad that Ariel was happy. 

"Now then, let us begin first if you want to get a prince to like you. you must show it." Ariel then got up and hugged Sora out of joy while not listening to Sebastian. Ariel then yawned and started walking over to the bed.

"First you have to brighten your eyes, like this!"

"Uh Sebastian." Ariel then got on the bed and was surprised at first by how soft it was but then quickly fixed herself.

"Then you need to pucker your lips, like this!"

"Sebastian..." Ariel then yawned again and closed her eyes as she went to sleep.

"Then you-" Sebastian then noticed what Sora was trying to tell him, Ariel had already fallen asleep. Sora and Sebastian then nodded at one another, Sora then left the room while Sebastian blew out the candle and went to sleep on the pillow next to Ariels. Sora went to his room but upon opening it for a second it looked exactly like the room he had in Destiny Islands. Sora sighed, he knew that the only way to get his home and friends back from the Dark Army was to stop their invasion on the multiverse. Still though if he could, he would have his friends and family with him right now. He wished he could still do these amazing adventures with Donald and Goofy, but he also wished he could occasionally go back home to his mom and dad. 

Sora then realized he was getting negative dwelling in the past, so he slapped his cheeks to get his mind to stop. Sora then fell on his bed and tried to get comfortable which was surprisingly hard. The bed was soft, sure, but it was something he was not really used to. As Sora laid on the bed, he realized his sleep schedule was extremely inconsistent. In some worlds he did sleep but in others he didn't sleep at all which made Sora wonder if that was ok. However, quite quickly Sora ended up getting very tired and just went straight to sleep.

***

The next day Eric agreed to take Ariel and Sora on a tour through his kingdom. Both of them were excited because of the news. Ariel because she always wanted to see the surface world and Sora because he never got a chance to see a full kingdom before. Sora saw a little bit of Agrabah and Traverse Town as well as other worlds but never got too full exploring them, now was his chance. Sora knew Donald would be mad, but Sora still smiled for two reasons. First, Donald wasn't here. Second, Sora was Ariel's bodyguard, so he needed to come and see the sight with them to be sure she was safe. Ariel quickly changed in her room while Sora in his room simply looked in the closet given to him, and he picked out some clothes that looked similar to Eric's clothing. Sora then touched it and like before it disappeared as his clothes transformed into it. Once Sora left his room, Ariel was outside waiting for him. She quickly pulled him into her room because she wanted him to brush her hair again. Sora was surprised but then snorted at how funny Ariel was being right now. Sora then got the brush and started brushing her hair until it was perfect which didn't take long at all. Sora then noticed a blue ribbon on Ariel's desk, he got an idea and tied it into a nice bow on Airel's hair. Ariel loved the look of it and kissed Sora on the cheek to show her appreciation. Sora blushed but was happier about how happy and beautiful it makes Ariel. 

The two of them then went to Eric where he was waiting for them outside with a carriage. Ariel and Eric rode in the front of the carriage with Sora in the back, Sora didn't mind since he was able to see everything around them better. Every once in a while, they stopped to see something new in town. Sora was delighted to see a puppet show, but then Ariel grabbed one of the puppets out of nowhere. Sora had to give the puppet back and apologize while Eric and Ariel went to other places for sightseeing. Despite having to cover for Ariel from time-to-time Sora still had a fun time seeing such a lively town and all it had to offer. Then as the day was coming to an end Eric took them to a lake where he had a boat prepared. Sora quickly encourages the two to go together while he hangs back.

As the sun was going down, the moon became full and shined beautifully, Sora knew this was perfect and so he got out Sebastian who was hiding in his pocket the entire time. At the same time, Scuttle showed to see how things were going.

"Check it out, Sebastian, Ariel and Eric are on a romantic boat ride together."

"Hmph seems romantic enough, but it would be better set with the right music."

"Aha! Read you loud and clear. Luckily as a bird I got the right stuff." Scuttle then cleared his throat but then started singing the worst kind of music Sora or Sebastian had ever heard. Sora didn't want to be rude, so he just covered his ears and waited for Scuttle to be done which took a minute that felt like hours. 

"Uh, Scuttle that was... unique, but maybe we should do something else."

"More like to rely on someone else, Sora you are in the presence of the greatest composer in all of Atlantica! I can arrange a good song."

"Wait really? That's awesome Sebastian! Alright let's go with that. I mean I'm not really sure how good I am with singing so I'm not sure I can help."

"Hm, quite a shame I work better when I have others to coordinate but I suppose desperate times call for desperate measures." Sebastian then walked off into the lake to get started, Sora wished he could do more but had nothing. Then Sora noticed some frogs and a flamingo wandering close by, Sora instantly smiled and walked over to them. 

"Excuse me, my friend over there is trying to sing a song but he can't do it all by himself, could you guys help him out please?" The animals all looked at each other but quickly nodded in agreement and went over to help Sebastian. From the distance Sora watched while blushing in excitement as he saw the animals singing and setting up a beautiful scenery for Ariel and Eric. Scuttle tried joining in on the singing again to which Sora quickly closed his beak to shut him up. Thankfully it was finally starting to work as Eric was now getting closer to Ariel and she to him, they were only a second from kissing one another. Then the boat fell over and ruined the moment.

"NOOOOO!" Sora slammed his fist on the ground in disappointment, Ariel was so close but somehow it got ruined. Sora then fell on the ground and sighed in annoyance.

"Well on the bright side this is only the second day, we still have ALL of tomorrow."

***

Later that night, now back at the Castle, Sora was in Ariel's room again, brushing her hair for her. Both of them weren't really sad but they weren't happy about the situation either. Ariel was so close and yet the boat just fell over at the worst possible time, almost like someone did it on purpose. Sora didn't want to suspect the animals in the area since they all were kind enough to help out Sebastian but still, who was it? Sora couldn't think of anything else so rather than pondering he just focused back on the present. 

"Hey, don't let it get you down Ariel you still have tomorrow. You were so close today so tomorrow is definitely a guarantee." Ariel then managed to smile again; Ariel didn't know why Sora was so nice, but it wasn't really something she could complain about. Ariel then noticed that Sora was helping with her love life, but she didn't know anything about Sora's love life. Once Sora was done brushing her hair, Ariel turned around and smiled brightly at Sora.

"What's up Ariel?" Ariel then made a confused expression, while using both her hands to form a heart. 

"What? Love? What about it?" Ariel shook her head; she then pointed at Sora and made her hands into a heart again and again showing her confused face. 

"Am I in love? uh... well... it's complicated." Ariel then smiled at Sora to show that she was curious and ready to hear with no judgment included. Sora then blushed and chuckled in embarrassment. 

"Hehe, ok, ok! I'll talk. Well back home there were two people who I care about a lot. I love them both because they're my friends but then, Riku mentioned sharing a Paopu fruit with Kairi. It's a legend back home that if two people share the fruit then their destinies become intertwined. I guess when Riku brought it up I've been wondering how I stand with Kairi and... realizing how pretty she always looks." Sora then realized how much Ariel was staring at him which made him turn red in embarrassment. Sora pouted and looked the other way while Ariel backed up but also started laughing, or it looked that way, as she still had no voice. 

"Argh! Anyways, I can't do anything about it now since my home is gone but-" Ariel then looked at Sora shocked, Sora quickly noticed this and looked back at Ariel in confusion, not realizing what he said. Ariel then tried to use her hands to ask Sora if his home was really gone, once the message got through Sora was shocked but then became sad.

"Uh, yeah, you remember those monsters that attacked Atlantica? They're called the Heartless and they work for the Dark Army, those guys are the ones that destroyed my home." Ariel then covered her mouth as she looked at Sora with eyes filled with sadness. Sora then let out a tear from his eye but quickly wiped it away and looked at Ariel to show his determination. 

"But it's ok, After I make sure your world is safe, I'll be one step closer to stopping the Dark Army. After that I'll be able to get my home back. At least that's what Donald and Goofy says." Ariel then cried a tear while smiling because of how admirable she found Sora's bravery and determination. Ariel then stood up from her chair and hugged him to show him how amazing she thought he was. 

"Thanks Ariel, and don't ever think you're a burden, I like helping you because it takes my mind off of the hardships of this mission. Besides I have a suspicion that Ursala is in league with the Dark Army so if you beat her and get that kiss from Eric, I will use the opportunity to see if she really is with them. If she is, I'll stop her and ensure the Heartless never come back to this world." Ariel was confused as to why Sora said world but still, she clapped for Sora to show him her appreciation. 

"Heh, well that's enough for now, try to get some sleep, ok? We have a big day tomorrow after all." Sora then left Ariel's room and went to his room. Sora just fell on his bed, but his head and arm hung on the edge of the bed. Sora was now looking on the ground and with his hanging arm was able to touch the ground. Sora noticed how dusty the ground was and quickly drew a heart in the dust out of habit.

"Kairi... I will get our home back and I'll set you free. Riku, after I kick your butt, I'm gonna free you from the Dark Army's control. I promise you guys. you drive me crazy, but I love you both." Sora then got comfortable on his bed and finally went to sleep.

***

The next day Sora woke up but was still half awake, so he wanted to sleep more, as such he refused to get up. However, Scuttle had rammed into Sora's window making him drop onto the ground. Sora groaned and got up to open the window allowing Scuttle to get in.

"Heya Sora! Where's Ariel?!"

"Ugh, Scuttle, can you not yell so much? Also, Ariel is in the other room right beside mine."

"Ah got it!" Scuttle then flew away from Sora's window and flew to the right.

"To the left, Scuttle!" Scuttle then flew to the left and was able to enter through Ariel's window and started telling her the news he heard. Sora assumed it wasn't anything major, so he just yawned while he lazily got up and used the magic to have his clothes reform to his prince attire. Sora then lazily left the room only for Ariel to run past him seemingly excited as if she received the best news in her life. Sora then noticed Sebastian walking by so Sora gently picked him up in his hands to talk.

"Sebastian what's up?"

"I'm just as confused as you are Sora. Apparently, Eric wants to marry Ariel today!" Sora was wide eyed and now fully awake. Sora should have been overjoyed but in reality, he was confused. Eric had only met Ariel two days ago, regardless of how well they are together and how close they were to kissing, asking for marriage so soon is odd behavior. What made this even more weird was how Ariel, Sebastian, and Sora were the last to hear of this news.

"Somethings not right here, come with me Sebastian and keep a lookout for anything unusual." Sebastian nodded and Sora put him on his shoulder as he ran after Ariel. Something in Sora's gut told him that this was the doing of the Dark Army which means that Ariel was in danger. Sora made sure to run as fast as he could to keep up with Ariel without forcing Sebastian off of his shoulder. 

When Sora finally reached Ariel, he was shocked to see down the stairs, a girl who looked quite similar to her. Worst off, she was with Eric who was demanding they be married today and as soon as possible. Sir Grimsby tried to talk him out of it, but Eric wasn't having it, almost like he was under some kind of spell. Sora didn't need to confirm anything, whoever this girl was, she was with the Dark Army, and they were helping Ursala on purpose. Sora was about to charge at them but then Ariel left crying in pain. Sora knew it would be better to ignore Ariel and stop the girl, but Sora just couldn't and went after Ariel.

***

It turned out to be a good choice to leave the castle as Eric gave the order to have Ariel and Sora arrested. Thankfully Ariel and Sora had enough time to get Ariel back to her room to get out of her nightgown and into her regular clothes. However, that didn't change the fact that they were now stranded and abandoned by everyone. Worst off, the wedding was happening on a boat that already took off so there was no way to stop it. 

Ariel and Sora were just left there on the dock, Sora was just looking at the boat in frustration. He no longer knew what to do, Sora could get on the boat and stop the girl but that would only fix one issue. The boat was already in sea and there was no time to get another for Ariel to get on the boat. What if the Heartless show up and sink the ship, what if the Dark Conduit appears and reveals it's a trap, what if the Dark Conduit takes Ariel while they're separated. Sora's mind was filled with anxiety, he hadn't felt this bad since Deep Jungle, it was a feeling he really didn't want to remember. Sora couldn't help but just curl up into a ball but before he did, he noticed that Ariel was curled up in a ball and out of hope first. Sora then realized that if he just fell into sadness now nothing would get better. If he kept falling apart every time things became too much to handle, he would never get his home or his beloved friends back. Sora then slapped his cheeks, stood up tall, and huffed loudly.

"THIS IS NOT OVER! NOT BY A LONG SHOT! I DON'T CARE HOW HARD IT GETS! I'M STOPPING THE DARK ARMY NO MATTER WHAT!" Sora then went over to Ariel and extended his hand to her. 

"Come on! Let's go stop that weird girl and save Eric." Ariel smiled and took Sora's hand with determination, but before any of them could do anything Scuttle showed up, seeming panicked.

"Sea witch! Sea witch! Ariel, you won't believe it, but Eric is getting hitched with that Sea Witch!"

"Ursala?! ugh! Of course, she cheated! Donald was right we shouldn't have trusted her to hold her end. Doesn't matter, she's going down today! Sebastian, get a boat or anything you can to get Ariel to the boat. Come on Scuttle, we're stopping Ursala!"

"Aye-aye, Captain Sora!" Sora then jumped into the water and turned into a merman, as he swam toward the ship, he saw several fish swimming by him. Sora then got a great idea.

"Hey! Princess Ariel is in trouble! Get everyone who can survive on the surface and tell them to follow me! I'm trying to stop the sea witch who is hurting her! Please!" The fish were shocked at first but quickly nodded and swam away to get as much help as possible. Sora smiled as he swam faster towards the boat, upon getting close he quickly swam up into the air. While in the air, Sora was able to turn back into his human form with hir original clothes back. Sora then grabbed onto the boat and climbed as fast as he could toward the deck of the boat. 

"I object to this marriage! ... I don't know why, but always wanted to say that!" Sora then cast a fireball right at the disguised Ursala hoping to set her on fire and stop her. Unfortunately, one of the nobles sitting in the chairs stood up, manifested a Keyblade of Darkness and used it to deflect the attack. The older boy's clothes then turned into darkness and remanifested into a dark cloak like the rest of the Keyblade Wielders of Darkness. His Keyblade was dark blue with golden details, there were golden string details along the stem of the key making it look like the fretboard of a guitar. There was a silver spear at the end of the stem of the key and another where the bit of the key should be. The handle also looked like a thin version of the bridge of a guitar and the ring guard around the handle was detailed to look like the body of a blue, silver, and gold guitar.

"Haha! Nice try loser but you're not ruining this concert!" Soon all the guests started getting up and running away in fear, Ursala grunted at first but smiled as she took the hypnotized Eric away. However, Sora still smiled because he knew backup was on the way. As Sora predicted, Scuttle flew in with several seagulls as backup, all of them attacking Ursala to keep her from Eric. The Keyblade Wielder of Darkness turned around in confusion and screamed in high pitch horror at the sight. 

"Lady Ursala! Let me help you!" However, before he could reach her, he realized Sora was still behind him and quickly turned around only to see a fireball heading right towards him. The Keyblade Wielder of Darkness managed to deflect the fireball but right afterwards Sora was falling down toward him with his Keyblade, ready for a strike down. The Keyblade Wielder of Darkness only barely managed to raise his own Keyblade to block the strike.

"Grrr! You're the annoying brat that's ruining everything!"

"Yeah! I already liberated six worlds and defeated five Keyblade Wielders of Darkness! Oh yeah and Jafar and Oogie are toast!"

"Ha Jafar was a joke of a Lord! And let's be honest you only beat the both of them because you got some outside help! But right now, your all alone!" Just then a bunch of seals with starfish riding on their backs all of them immediately started attacking Ursala and throwing her around. Sora then managed to push the Keyblade Wielder of Darkness away, giving him the chance to talk to the seals.

"Guys throw her to me!" The Seals then nodded and used her noses to lift Ursala in the air and toward Sora. Now she was on the ground and covered in starfish trying to attack her; however, Ursala at the moment, was more concerned about Sora who was standing over her with a look of disappointment. 

"Uh... you wouldn't hit a pretty lady, would yo-?" Sora then punched Ursala in the face with all his might and anger. Thanks to his increased strength not only was she sent flying to the other end of the ship, but her face was now badly bruised. The recoil of the punch even caused the starfish and her amulet to fall to the safe floor.

"That was for hurting and manipulating Ariel while trying to cheat like a sore loser! Oh! Sorry you guys I didn't mean to-” While apologizing to the starfish Sora noticed the amulet and strangely enough it was also imbued with light magic. However, Sora was more focused on the fact that it was clearly using said magic to bind Ariel's voice. As if on cue Ariel managed to get on the ship and get Eric away from Ursala. Sora quickly picked up the amulet, crushed it in his hands, and smiled as Ariel's voice returned to her. Sora cheered as not only was Eric free from the mind control but now recognized Ariel as the girl he loved. Unfortunately, before they could kiss the sun had set, and Ariel was forced to transform back into a Mermaid. 

Ursala laughed in joy as she turned back into her true form. Ursala then used her dark magic to grab Ariel and force her into the ocean. Sora quickly manifested his keyblade and tried to go after Ariel and Ursala. However, the Keyblade Wielder of Darkness appeared and stopped him before he could do anything. 

"Hey loser, where do you think you're going?" Sora raised his keyblade and was filled with ever-growing rage, Ariel was so close and because Ursala cheated everything had fallen apart. 

"Sora! Let me help you!"

"No Eric! Go help Ariel! If you find two people named Donald and Goofy, tell them Sora sent you! They'll help you find Ariel!" Eric didn't understand but he trusted Sora. So instead of wasting time, Eric nodded and went to get a spare boat. However soon Sora and Eric were surrounded by Search Ghost and Darkball Heartless.

"Never said you could leave pretty boy! No one is escaping this concert!" They Keyblade Wielder of Darkness then manifested his Keyblade again. Sora couldn't let Eric lose any more valuable time that could be spent on saving Ariel. As such Sora cast a lighting spell but focused more mana within the spell than normal. As doing so Sora ended up shocking all the Heartless and the Keyblade Wielder of Darkness. Eric took the opportunity to get onto a boat and sail into the sea in hopes of finding Ariel.

"Arrrgh! that hurt! But too bad, loser! It's not going to do anything!" The Keyblade Wielder of Darkness then flipped his Keyblade around and held it like a guitar. He then started waving his hands around it as if playing an actual Guitar and to Sora's surprise it sounded as such. The enchanted music then reached the Heartless and each of them were given a Dark Aura making them all into Darkened Heartless. 

"Hahaha! oh don't look too sad! Even if I hadn't done this, you can't win alone! But then what else could be expected from a kid!"

"Sora's not just a kid!" Goofy then jumped up from the water, transformed back into his normal form, and threw his shield at the Keyblade Wielder of Darkness, hitting him in the face. 

"And who says he's alone?!" Donald then jumped up and transformed as well, he cast a fire spell at the Keyblade Wielder of Darkness, pushing him to the ground. 

"Donald! Goofy!" Sora then ran toward the two and hugged them both, the three of them laughed joyfully. Sora was overjoyed for being united with his friends for so long and faced the two of them with a big smile on his face.

"Haha! I missed you guys! What took you so long?!"

"Sorry Sora, the Heartless didn't stop attacking Atlantica and thus needed someone to protect it."

"Besides, it seemed like you were fine on your own. If not, you need us to come with you to the surface."

"Heh, I guess that's true but still I'm glad you guys are here now let's take down this Keyblade Wielder of Darkness jerk!" Donald and Goofy nodded but before charging into battle Sora hugged the both of them still feeling relieved to see them again. However, upon letting them go Sora looked them both dead in the eyes. 

"But Seriously, don't ever abandon me again or else I'll set both your butts on fire." Sora then looked at the both of them with a judgmental glare, making both Donald and Goofy sweat in fear. Sora only ever looked at the Dark Army and the Heartless with any form of hatred. Granted what he showed now was judgment but still, the fact that he displayed such an emotion toward them, scared the two. Goofy was the first to apologize while Donald followed, however it seemed that Goofy was actually genuine while Donald just apologized out of fear. Sora then smiled brightly as he forgave them both, Sora then raised his keyblade and charged at the Darkened Heartless, leaving Donald and Goofy frozen in confusion. Goofy was the first to move and then turned to Donald in skepticism. 

"You should be careful how you address Sora from now on, Donald."

"Sh- Shut up, Goofy! He was mad at you too!" Donald then manifested his staff and Goofy his shield as they both charged forward after Sora toward the Darkened Heartless. Sora was fighting a Darkened Darkball, it was biting hard on his Keyblade and held strong thanks to its increased power. Sora then got a terrible idea; he charged a lightning spell and released it within his keyblade, shocking both him and the Darkball. Surprisingly the shock didn't hurt him that much though his body still felt fuzzy because of it. Goofy charged up his aura and shot it out toward several Darkened Darkball and Search Ghost Heartless. The aura manifested exploded as soon as it reached the middle of them, causing them to fly in all directions only to land hard on the ground while extremely hurt. Sora smirked in excitement but before he could run forward to help finish them off Donald held him back. Sora looked at Donald in confusion, Donald Smirked at Sora and raised his staff, Sora then realized where Donald was going and smiled in excitement. Sora then placed the tip of his Keyblade next to Donald's staff.

"Alright, Ice spell!" On command Sora started casting an ice spell with Donald, with their magic now combined not only was it manifesting faster but also becoming stronger. The Keyblade Wielder of Darkness noticed what they were doing and tried to stop them but before he could use his magic Goofy threw his shield at him, knocking him out. Donald and Sora then released the spell toward the Darkened Heartless, freezing them all in giant ice blocks as well as the Keyblade Wielder of Darkness. Donald then cast by himself an overcharged lightning spell releasing the Heartless from the ice but also frying them with the lightning. Half of the Darkened Heartless were defeated while the others were just badly injured. Since the Keyblade Wielder of Darkness was down as well Sora and Goofy had nothing else to distract them from defeating the remaining Heartless. 

Finally, the Keyblade Wielder of Darkness got up while groaning pathetically but by the time he did he was confronted by Sora, Donald, and Goofy. He screamed a little in horror but then realized they were surrounded by water and smiled sinisterly. He raised his Keyblade in the air and suddenly giant kraken tentacles made of water raised up and surrounded the boat. The tentacles quickly swung down trying to hit Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Goofy was able to deflect them with his shield, Sora could slice off bits of water with his Keyblade, and Donald started freezing the tentacles with ice spells. However, Donald had already used up a lot of his mana today and was getting weak quickly. Sora noticed this and decided to strike the problem at the source before things got worse.

Sora charged at the Keyblade Wielder of Darkness, he in turn noticed this and turned to have the water tentacles attack Sora alone. To Sora's surprises, despite being outnumbered by the tentacles, they were surprisingly slow. Perhaps it was because he was getting faster and stronger, regardless Sora smiled and quickly dodged the tentacles while cutting down the ones getting in his way. From Sora's perspective it took several minutes to get past all the water tentacles but from everyone else's point of view he was slashing through them in seconds. Sora finally managed to reach the Keyblade Wielder of Darkness and slashed through his chest; or at least he would have, instead the Keyblade Wielder of Darkness dodged it and used a water clone to take the strike. The Keyblade Wielder of Darkness then manifested several other water clones and used them to surround Sora. 

Sora slashed at a water clone then another and another, however more and more just kept showing up. Soon they were close to ganging up on Sora and would beat him from all sides. Sora braced himself as he knew this was going to hurt a lot and his chances of getting out of it were extremely slim.

"Big mistake!" Sora then caught Donald and Goofy, Goofy had just given Donald a mana potion allowing Donald to cast another lighting spell. Since all the water clones were close together and close to the Keyblade Wielder of Darkness all of them including him were electrocuted. The Keyblade Wielder of Darkness tried to get rid of the water clones, but it was already too late, and he fell to the ground, now badly injured. Sora then walked up to him and pointed his Keyblade at him to keep the Keyblade Wielder of Darkness from getting back up. 

"Let me destroy your Keyblade and cut all ties with the Dark Army."

"Ugh... he... hehe.... hahaha! ... you really are a loser... you think defeating six of us changes anything? There's hundreds of us throughout the Multiverse. Besides even with all this power given to me I could never... beat the Lords of Darkness... Worst off... They could never Beat Master Ansem..."

"Wait did you say Ansem?" The Keybalde Wielder of Darkness then used his remaining strength to raise his Keyblade and pointed it toward himself. 

"I'd rather die than... go back to him as a failure." He then stabbed himself and turned the Keyblade like unlocking a lock. The Keyblade Wielder of Darkness then exploded into darkness, causing Sora to raise his Keyblade to block out the force. Afterwards, his Keyblade then disappeared as well, showing that the Keyblade Wielder of Darkness was gone. Sora just looked at where he last was in disappointment, Sora then grunted in anger and started slashing toward the spot.

"Argh! You moron! You'd rather die?! Why not try to make things better?! Why not do that you idiot?!" Sora then sighed in anger, he noticed that Donald and Goofy were there looking at him with concern in their eyes. 

"I'm ok guys I just... Why does everyone in the Dark Army, even Riku, believe that destruction, pain, and death is the only answer."

"... I wish I knew Sora, but as far as anyone can tell that's just how the Dark Army is. Always choosing destruction over creation, not because its right but because its the easiest path to power."

"Hm, rotten jerks. Anyways, is Ariel ok?"

"Ariel? Oh, don't worry we heard from the fish about your call for help and told King Triton. He should be defeating Ursala right about now!" Just then Ursala rose up from the sea now enlarged to a colossal size thanks to both her Dark magic and the Light magic within the Triton. 

"Uh... Unless she somehow stole the triton from him and his powers as well."

"Ugh! It's just like Oogie all over again!" Sora wasn't even sure how they were going to be able to beat Ursala now. However, Sora then saw that Ariel and Eric were in the water in front of Ursala and she was looking down on them ready to kill them both. Sora's instincts kicked in as he jumped into the water and swam toward Ursala as soon as he transformed back into a merman.

"Ursala!" Sora quickly cast an ice spell, freezing all of the water surrounding Ursala, she was stuck but received no damage even after she started breaking the ice to free herself. 

"Is that all you got boy?" Ursala not only focused on Sora but manifested large orbs of Darkness to shoot at Sora. Sora then smiled as he manifested his Three Wishes Keyblade.

"Not even close!" Sora slashed the orbs as they were inches away from him, Ursala grunted in pain as her own projectiles shot her. She glared at Sora with seething rage as she raised her tentacles to strike him down. Sora realized he couldn't reflect that and swam under the water out of her sight. Despite her large size, Ursala's tentacles were incredibly fast and nearly stabbed or slashed Sora to bits because of their speed. Sora really needed a new plan but couldn't come up with one with all this happening. Sora needed breathing space, so he quickly manifested his Pumpkinhead Keyblade and launched several jack-o-lantern missiles at several tentacles. With then thrashing around in pain Sora was able to swim away. 

Sora swam a great distance from Ursala then toward the surface to get back on the ship but then saw that it was gone. Sora looked around and managed to find the boat that was now being sailed by Eric. Sora quickly swam to the boat and climbed onto the hull as he transformed back into a human.

"Eric! What are you doing?!"

"I couldn't reach Ariel Sora! Ursala is covering too much area! I'm gonna stop her by stabbing her with the front of the ship! Keep her distracted so she doesn't stop me!" Sora nodded but before he left Donald agreed to go with him and Goofy gave him a mana potion. After drinking the potion, Sora and Donald went into the water and transformed. After reaching Ursala to their horror, Ursala had Ariel in her hands ready to crush her any time she desired. Donald cast a lighting spell while Sora launched more jack-o-lantern missiles. The damage from both attacks badly burnt Ursala's face, making her roar with anger. Before Sora or Donald could attack further, Ursala used her Dark magic to grab them too. 

"HAHAHAHAHA! YOU LOST BOY! DID YOU REALLY THINK YOU COULD BEAT ME? A LADY OF DARKNESS!"

"Ugh! ... no... your right Ursala, I could never beat you. At least not alone." Ursala looked at Sora in confusion, however her confusion quickly turned into anguish as she felt the ship stab into her back. Now free from her grasp Donald, Sora, and Ariel were falling toward the ocean but thankfully landed safely. As she ship was sinking Goofy and Eric jumped off the boat and Goofy swam Eric to the shore after turning into a turtle. 

With Ariel safe Sora and Donald quickly swam under the water to see if Ursala was really gone. Sure enough not only did the plan work but all the merfolk she cursed were slowly turning back to normal including King Triton. King Triton then swam over to Ariel and hugged her, he then noticed that Sora and Donald were there as well.

"Thank you, all of you. But I also owe you all an apology. Sora you tried to warn me that my hatred for the surface was making me the enemy of my daughter, you couldn't have been more right. Ariel, your collection with the surface world was beautiful and surely wasn't as dangerous as I thought it was, I never should have destroyed it all."

"It's ok daddy. I'm sorry I tried so hard to leave you and everyone else behind I just... I just felt so trapped down here and wanted to experience new things in the surface world. But now that I have if you really want me to stay down here, then... I'll listen this time. I just want Eric to be safe and happy and with Ursala gone, he is." Sora and Donald were shocked to hear this, but neither of them said anything. It was sad to know that after all that effort Ariel was still stuck as a mermaid but at least now it was her choice.

"... You really do love him, don't you?"

"yes daddy."

"... Then I'm really going to miss you." Ariel, Sora, and Donald looked at King Triton in confusion but before any of them could question Triton used his magic triton to cast a spell on Ariel.

***

Eric and Goofy were now on the beach, Eric was pacing around while Goofy was trying to calm him down. 

"Prince Eric, calm down. Ariel is safe, I'm sure of it."

"She was supposed to be safe here but that- that- that monster still managed to curse me and attack Ariel!"

"Sora is watching over her and so is Donald. She'll be fine."

"Yeah, that kid really is full of surprises, and so is Ariel. to think she was not only the one who saved me but a real mermaid!"

"You don't seem too surprised about that last part."

"I mean, I heard legends, but I never thought they were true, yet she's one... will we ever be able to be together?"

"Uh prince Eric."

"I mean we're two different species. that's not too big of a deal, right?"

"Prince Eric..."

"Then there's her family, I lost mine a while ago, but she still probably has hers. Would they even approve?"

"I'd say her father has; otherwise, why would he do that?" Eric looked at Goofy in confusion, who was currently pointing at the ocean. Eric looked toward the ocean and saw Ariel standing there in a beautiful shimmering dress running toward him. The two embraced in joy and quickly kissed one another out of true love. Sora and Donald followed Ariel out of the water and reunited with Goofy, the three of them then smiled at the couple. Sora then noticed a strange light on the beach, once he realized it was the world's keyhole, he quickly ran up to it and locked it. Then the usual magic shot up in the air and created the magical barrier around the world. 

"What was that?" Sora then looked back to Ariel and Eric as the two of them still had their arms around one another but were now looking to the magic barrier in the sky.

"That's just the last part of the mission to ensure Ursala or the people helping her will never bother you guys again."

"Well, I can say for certainty that today is a day I'll never forget."

"And we'll never forget you, come on guys, our work here is done."

"Wait, you're leaving?"

"Don't you at least want to stay for our wedding?"

"We'd love to but... there are other people out there who need our help and are in danger of being attacked by the Dark Army. Ursala was just one of the many bad guys we've taken down. There's bound to be lots more."

"Well... if you three are together then there shouldn't be anything to worry about." Eric was the first to wave goodbye and Donald and Goofy waved back. Sora was about to wave goodbye, but Ariel quickly ran over to him and hugged him tightly with teary eyes. 

"Goodbye Sora, you were like a little brother to me." Sora blushed hearing this but then hugged Ariel tightly as a single tear left her eye.

"... Goodbye Ariel, I'm glad that unlike me you got to experience a new world without having to lose your old one. Please live a happy life wherever you go."

"I hope you do too." Ariel then kissed Sora on the cheek and let him go. Sora, Donald, and Goofy then started walking away and Ariel and Eric walked back to the castle. However, Sora suddenly stopped in his tracks and quickly ran back to Ariel but stopped halfway.

"Ariel!" Ariel and Eric then looked back in confusion.

"I'm gonna save my friends Kairi and Riku! then I'm gonna share the paopu fruit with Kairi! After that! I don't know when, but I will come back here! Then we can all go on adventures and discover new things together! It's a promise!" Sora then raised his pinky finger in the air to show how serious it was. Ariel then smiled warmly and laughed joyfully as she raised her pinky finger in the air as well. Sora smiled with great joy and then ran back to Donald and Goofy. Now the three of them were ready to leave the world, unaware that Morgana saw everything and was already plotting her vengeance.

.

Part 9

Part 7

[pastafossa]

So... Dominant Reader, your thoughts? Just wondering. 🤔

*crashes in* BOY DO I HAVE THOUGHTS, I HOPE YOU’RE READY BECAUSE I AM PASSIONATE AF ABOUT MATTHEW AND ANY D/S DYNAMICS WITH READER.

Here's my thoughts on reader taking the reins sometimes (and why I kind of think Matt needs it some days), cause I was wondering if this topic would come up. I've hinted a little at the dynamic in TRT but I haven't come right out with it yet.

So sometimes Matt and Reader just want chill sex, with no in-control/let-go vibes. And that's cool, will prob be the majority because sometimes you just want sex before your waffles in the morning and you don’t have time for a Big Thing.

Likewise, feral Devil Matt is occasionally a tornadic whirlwind of sexual fucking energy who is here to EF-5 you down to your basement, so just hold on tight. And Reader is good with that too cause aren't we all?

HOWEVER. Personal headcanon on this is Matt also wants Reader to own his ass. He wants someone to care about him, love him, and find him so worthy of that affection that they want to stake a claim.

I see Matt as switchy as fuck is what I’m saying (may not surprise many people considering I’ve had Matt express interest in Reader trying to chain him down). It continues the theme of the duality: Lawyer versus Vigilante, Matt versus Daredevil, Desire for Softness versus Urge Towards Violence. So, I like to think then, you also have Matt sometimes needing to be in control, and sometimes needing to give control, and even he’s not always sure which one he’s feeling. So I’m down with Dom or Switch Reader, because it means she can work with that duality.

Matt is ultimately someone who's desperate to be cared for (but afraid to ask for it), and at the same time he is absolutely willing to put his own needs aside in an attempt to please Reader (stemming from his 'please don't leave me' fear). We know he's reckless, a bit martyr-y, and thinks he deserves jack shit. So, at least how I’d generally write it, Reader will absolutely need to take control some days JUST so she can care for Matt the way he needs. Not just sexually, either. I toyed with this a tad bit when Reader had him strip so she could check his wounds and rebandage him (he basically handed her the reins in that moment). Matt is, essentially, not great at taking care of himself. So I see this as translating over into sex. Reader will have to, at times (consensually) force him to sit back and just feel good.

I’m also gonna play a little with Matt sometimes getting stuck in Devil-mode, adrenaline at 100, overstimulated and with his senses all over the map, shaking with it, touch being agony-toomuch-good-bad, and needing Reader to walk him out of that.

In other words... at least in TRT, Reader will sometimes be the dominant one, because I think that might help Matt a lot to have. And also it’s fun, because then we get to have both, and I like both.

[elysianslove]

hi, hi, hello!!! i love, love, love the way you write and portray the jjk characters—i've read all of them and they're so good xiejdbbdhd (i've recently made a new writing blog and one of the people i'm studying closely to help improve is you— like pls spare some talent 🤲)—i know you're probably swamped with other requests, so if you don't want to do this, please feel free to ignore!! i've seen a lot of people headcanon megumi liking a chubby s/o, but not much of anyone else, so may i have some hcs of yuuji and toge with one?? (+ you might also add some for sukuna in yuuji's part too if you want). thank you!! 💖

oh my goodness hi!!! that is the most flattering thing anyone’s ever said to me; i am so, so incredibly honored oh my goodness. thank you so much for your words on god imma cry. and yes, you absolutely may! i really hope you like these, i love you mwah <3

also, only if you’re comfortable with it, dm the url to your blog!! i’d love to see and read your works, mwah <333

itadori yuuji

okay omg i saw this panel from the manga on instagram once of yuuji being asked who he’d date from his class or something, and he pointed out this chubby girl and he was talking about her personality and how cool she is and i genuinely believe that really is yuuji’s perception towards his s/o

like yeah he says he wants to date a girl that looks like jennifer lawrence but when it really goes down to it, yuuji does not care what his s/o looks like

if anything, i think yuuji would be more into curvier or chubbier people, idk why but i see it so perfectly well? he seems like such a cuddly person and his excuse would 100% be something like “you’re just so. soft. and nice to cuddle with.” like he absolutely adores cuddling with his s/o, and this isn’t just because of his general touchy personality. 

the same way he likes cuddling, he absolutely loves hugs. they’re like the perfect preview of cuddling. absolutely the type to just barricade towards you when you’re at a distance and leap at you when he finally comes close to you. it does not matter if you end up on the ground with him on top of you. the strongest he runs at you, the more he loves you

yuuji’s crazy strong, and we’ve already established that, so he’d definitely be the boyfriend that picks you up, carries you around, lets you sleep on him, and if you ever mention anything about being too heavy for him, he just holds you tighter against him and says you feel like a feather against him and to shut up he wants to cuddle rn shhhh

he also definitely pushes you out of your comfort zone to wear a certain clothes or specific clothes that you really like. he’s super encouraging, especially because he doesn’t say things like “it looks good for a big person” he just starts frothing at the mouth at how good it is, period

loves to share clothes with you. he’ll give you his hoodies, and he’ll steal yours. might as well exchange closets at this rate

if you’re feeling particularly insecure, and you don’t really wanna go out or anything like that, he understands and won’t force you to leave the house, but he will definitely spend the entire day trying to make you feel better and won’t let you wallow in pity for a minute. absolutely strips you and him to your underwear and just dances with you until you’re both out of breath

ryomen sukuna; i really think he doesn’t care either. probably prefers it if a woman is more plump cause to him it’s just a sign of healthiness i guess? he just trynna fuck rip. but yes, that would probably be his way of eliminating your insecurity. like oh you don’t think you’re worthy? here’s some body worship and praise <3 also is the type to encourage you by belittling your insecurities? does that make sense? like just scoffs at you when you stand in front of a mirror and pick at yourself because why would you think like this of yourself? why would he be with you if he thought that way of you, you know? all this is weirdly motivating like he’s so dismissive of it all that you kinda forget it, or just don’t understand why you ever considered it. king of reverse psychology lol

inumaki toge

now i think toge would be more of a “this person’s looks captured my attention” and then “damn their personality makes them a thousand times more attractive” but not in an objectifying way, you know? and it’s definitely not in a societal norm or standard of beauty. it’s just what he finds beautiful or attractive 

he doesn’t have a preference when it comes to looks, he just wants to be attracted to the person to want to get to know them, you get me? if you happen to be chubby, that doesn’t matter in the least to him. he’ll deadpan like “does being chubby not make you pretty like????”

toge’s not necessarily the cuddliest person on earth, but he would be lying if he said he doesn’t absolutely melt the moment he falls into your arms. he just loses his mind. you feel so soft and snuggly he’s in heaven

he’s a very soft lover. while yuuji’s louder in his actions that you’re overwhelmed and bursting at the seams, toge’s calmer. he makes you feel loved in that you wake up to see him tracing your figure calmly, caressing your body and skin softly, admiring every curve and every stretch mark.

speaking of stretch marks, he definitely did that thing where he grabbed a gold marker and lined all your stretch marks with glittery gold, and then proceeded to kiss all over them

he does that a lot. kiss your skin, i mean, especially if you’re feeling a little insecure, or even if he just wants to. loves to settle by your side and kiss all along your body, leaving you so flustered and with your chest bursting with love

if you want to try a certain style but are a little nervous to, toge would dress in that same style with you. yeah, it’s not exactly the same, but it’s a lot more encouraging than one would imagine, honestly, especially if it’s a really different style than what’s considered normal or basic

he really doesn’t care if you’re on the chubbier side, because at the end of the day, he found you and all of you attractive, and your personality’s golden, so why wouldn’t he stay? 

[sword-brainrot]

If it's okay, can I request a platonic matchup? I'm not attracted to men but I'd love to be friends with these swords or the kind of person these swords represent. They/them pronouns please!

I would say my person is somehow of a huge contradiction? (Albeit everyone is multifaceted) Ever since I was a child I've been sort of masculine/gender non-conforming in the rough sort of way if you get it? But ever since I was fed this certain [toxic] mindset by media that it'll be taken away from me/I'm not worthy if I didn't act masculine in some sort of cool, suave, elegant sort of way, I tried to be that but ended up simply obsessing over it more than doing anything and felt like I've "failed", so the rough and refined parts of this kind of just mushed weirdly. I'm trying to get over my insecurities and the toxic mindset of not being enough for not fitting perfectly into one category and just accepting that I can be masc in the way I just am and I don't need to please anyone in my gender expression. I was also cheerful as a child but due to life I have just became more quiet and aloof, at some point I didn't want to be friends with/close to anyone, but eventually I regained friendliness and grew a sort of "cursed" type of humor, though I'm still more quiet. I'm generally a negative person but won't hesitate to think positive or be determined if it's to help others or for my success. I'm also generally nice or kind, but also quite irritable which makes me wish I was also more patient and less "selfish". I'm pretty envious/jealous, but am now improving with it by focusing on improvement itself and trying to change those feelings into inspiration and admiration. Lastly I'm quite contemplative and geeky, have making art, video games, and consuming other media as a main hobby, but I don't mind doing sports or exercise especially since I've always wanted to do them as a kid but was gatekept from them.

In a friend I'd just like someone who's nice or kind to me? Someone who can listen and give me sound advice but is honest about it. (I have no idea if this is important but I also tend to be drawn to similar people in that they're quiet and/or negative admittedly, but are still nice nonetheless.)

I Match You With...

🌸 Yamanbagiri Kunihiro 🌸

♡  I believe that you and Yamanbagiri would be a great match for each other. Your friendship would improve the both of you to become the person you wish to be. 

♡  The two of you are very similar. From having your own struggles with your self identity and trying to conforming into what they “should” be. However no one has to fit into that box to make others happy. 

♡  Yamanbagiri’s whole life was being labeled as a fake to a famous sword who killed a witch... But never being that sword. The copy that was trying to be something that he isn’t. It caused him so much distress that he decided to wear that cloak to hide away his face from the world. Not even cleaning because he never wanted to be seen without it and thinking he deserves something ugly to fit him.

♡  However that isn’t truthful for either of you.

♡  The two would lift each other. As much as Yamanbagiri hates himself, he could never hate you. You are the saniwa that saw something good in him and trusted him so much. In time... slowly growing that bond into a friendship. 

♡  Yamanbagiri isn’t outspoken but if he ever saw you speaking badly about yourself, he would try to speak up and try to defend you. Because you really are an inspiration to him. 

♡  He likes every side of you. Even the ones that you may call flaws. 

♡  Even if you aren’t as elegant as you would like to be, he would try to praise you. You would hear him stammering, blushing, and mumbling trying to get the words out, but when he does... he means it. 

♡  Yamanbagiri really enjoys having someone that he can relax with. He is often around people that are high energy and that can get very draining. Being around you, he can relax. He doesn’t feel like he has to talk. Instead enjoying the pleasant silence between the two as they sit together.

♡  Yamanbagiri thinks he is very untalented to ever do any of the hobbies that you have interest in. You can totally convince him. Don’t be surprised that if he isn’t a master at the activity, he will think he absolutely sucks.

♡  He would still try if you asked him and encouraged him. 

♡  I believe you would be the main reason Yamanbagiri would grow that courage of going on his kiwame journey. He would see you trying every day to break out of the past thoughts that now plague you. You want to change and so does he. You were the main reason he wanted to change because you showed him that it was possible... No matter how slow or how healing isn’t a straight path forward. 

♡  When he returns from the kiwame, he will show up before you without his cloak.. and a smile he often hid. 

♡  You were always there for him, supporting his journey of change, and allowing him the change to leave the citadel to figure out who he really is.

♡  This time, he is back with for confidence and ready to be the support pillar that you may need in your journey to become the person you could love. 

♡   And he would not leave his friend behind. 

[darkdevasofdestruction]

The Tigress of Wrath and the Golden Dragon ~ Yin Zhen x Reader

This is a little fic in which the reader is a girl whose father is an important War General for the Emperor Kangxi, and since he has no sons, and the girl shows great aptitude in fighting and strategic thinking, he chooses to present her to the Emperor and requests to treat her as a man and use her skills accordingly.

When she was a child, she got along well enough with the 3rd and 4th Princes ( Yin Zhi and Yin Zhen accordingly ) yet, due to her more tomboyish personality, and the legend of a Tigress Warrior, they nicknamed her "The Tigress" both as a nickname, and a teasing too, as she seemed to be terrible at being feminine as well, as we know how life was like in the 17th-18th century.

Just like the 14th Prince, she was then taken by her father to train in martial arts and returned to the Palace many years later, when she was of age, and to prove herself, she has to go through some challenges…

---

"Father...? Do you think...Those two will remember me? It's been so long, and I've changed so much and...I don't know." the girl asked her father awkwardly, as they walked casually towards the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the place where the Emperor would talk to the people requesting an audience, and solve paper businesses. "Y/N, dear, you may be scared that they won't recognise you, sure, but remember that you are about the same age, and if you've changed so much, imagine that you may not recognise them either. You know very well men change quite a lot when they grow. You were taller than them when you were a little munchkin, but now, I'm sure they will be towering over you." her father chuckled, seeing the horrified look on her face, only to pat her head reassuringly. "That's...So not cool...I'm sure that, with my eternal luck, I'm going to pass by them, and not realise who it is...Ah, father, look at that boy over there, in the red outfit! Do you think it's one of them? Yin Zhi used to like red, that much I remember! Ha, and he didn't grow up too much, I'm sure he's around my height!" the girl grinned triumphantly, her chin held high, which made her father laugh even more mirthfully. "Why don't you go ask him, then? Who knows, you may just be right!" he encouraged her, and with a smile on her face, she ran up to the boy with no inhibition whatsoever, convinced she was talking to her old friend.

"Hello! Sorry to bother, but are you, per chance, the 3rd Prince? I haven't been in the palace since I was very little, so I'm trying to find my friends." she asked the boy in the most carefree manner possible, only to have him chuckle at her and shake his head. "You're about 11 princes down the line, sorry to disappoint you, miss. I'm the 14th Prince, although, I have to say, I'm rather surprised to hear that my brother actually had friends. He's not the most sociable, as far as I'm concerned, but I'll give you a little tip on where to find him. Both him and the 4th Prince are busy devising some kind of plan or something with our Father, the Emperor, so that's the safest bet if you want to find him." the boy explained, as the cricket in his little cage made a cute, almost happy noise of confirmation. "...Yin Zhen is there too...? Oh boy, that's very exciting...Well, thank you for the information, Prince, I appreciate the help. See you around." she bowed quickly to him, in a manly mannerism, which confused the boy garbed in red, yet didn't quite question anything, as she bolted off to her father's side, quickly telling him what she found out.

And so, they arrived in front of the doors, and the Eunuch announced their arrival, allowing them to step inside and kowtow to the floor to greet the Eye of Heaven.

"May the Emperor live eternally." the two chanted in unison as they bowed down in reverence. "General Nian, I pray you have arrived safely. And I see you've finally brought your daughter with you as well. Just as expected, she grew up a real beauty, just like her mother."the Emperor smiled at them, as they nodded their heads as a thank you. "Your Majesty is kind and benevolent above all, yet I dare not receive just praise." the girl raised her sight so she could look at the old man, feeling awkward, yet unstoppable. "A humble one she is, General, you've raised her well. As I see it, she is of age. Are you here to request a good marriage for her? Perhaps with one of my sons?" the Emperor asked, earning a silent yet startled gulp from the girl. "Your Majesty, I dare not. My daughter, bless her soul, is not the most feminine one, yet, since she left the palace, she showed incredible aptitude in martial arts and fighting, and her teachers deemed her intelligence above average. While she is hopeless with a needle, I can proudly say that she can stab with a sword infinitely better than many of our soldiers. If you may have it in your heart to forgive such an obvious stray-away from our usual traditions, please consider using her skills, for she learnt a great deal and she wants to serve our country and the Emperor with her very brain and life.” her father pleaded, and it seemed like the Emperor was actually considering this move. “Very well, I understand your wish, and it makes sense, however, you will have to prove yourself in front of everyone. There are prejudices everywhere, and close to nobody believes in the resurrection of someone like Princess Pingyang or Lin Siniang. Should you prove them wrong, I shall grant you the title of Apprentice Detective. I believe you remember my sons here, the 3rd and 4th Princes – They, too, were here to volunteer to help solve a case in a province away from the palace, and you may join them.” The Emperor explained, making both the father and the daughter bow gratefully. “Your Majesty is kind and benevolent above all. I shall prove I am worthy of this position and make you and my father proud.” She spoke, and thus, the Emperor raised. “Today, you may rest, as you have come here from a long and tiresome journey, yet tomorrow, you shall be fighting the soldiers in training at the Academy, and depending on your performance, I shall make a decision.” Was the last thing the old man spoke, and then, he dismissed the young ones, as he wished to talk about the situation of the Army in the North-East province.

And so, the Eunuch guided them outside and guided her to the Palace of Everlasting Wisdom, which was awfully fitting for her, but she thought nothing of it, instead, quickly befriended the maids and had them tell her anything of relevance about life in the Palace.

But…Those two Princes…The Emperor said they were her old friends…But they were so grown up and looked so sharp and mature! How could that have happened? She still looks soft and youthful, while they look like hardened adults! How is that fair in any way? Not to mention…They’d be working together? On a journey, away from the palace? That’s insane! So exciting! …Hopefully.

That night, she slept like a baby, both eager and anxious for the next day’s challenge, whatever that may be…After all, she MUST get everyone’s respect, should she wish to have a nice life in the palace and not be constantly pressured into marriage or into becoming a concubine.

Y/N dressed in a nice, light blue dress, like those worn during the reign of the Empress Wu Zetian, since she found those kinds of outfits the best for martial arts, and styled the top of her hair in a simple bun tied in a blue ribbon, letting the lower part sway with the wind. Taking her sword in her hands, she unsheathed half of it, seeing the reflection of her beautiful eyes in it, and grinning, to hype herself up, she slammed the sword back and put it at her waist, rushing to the fighting area.

In the middle of the court, she bowed to the Emperor, who was there to watch the show, yet her gaze was nowhere close to him, but her eyes caught Yin Zhen’s ebony eyes watching her, and she could only smirk, very smug and proud of herself.

As she kneeled like a warrior in front of the Emperor, her eyes averted to His Majesty, as he started explaining what she had to do, as a few boys who must have been fresh out of the Academy, went on either side of her, in perfect sync, 3 on each side, 4 meters apart from her.

“I am aware that one must carry a sword to protect themselves and their allies, yet today, you must show that you are capable of doing so without using your blade in such a manner. Discipline, strategy, reflexes, wit and martial arts shall be what you will be tested on today. You may begin.” As he rose from his throne, he extended his hand up in the air, then abruptly let it fall to his side, as if to highlight the beginning of an entertaining show.

As soon as the loud “BEGIN” was heard from the echoing voice of His Majesty, the girl quickly made a few backward tumbles in a way to get out of the men’s way of harm, then got in a fighting stance, ready to take everyone out. The first 3 were easy to defeat, and ultimately, she grabbed the 2nd one’s arm and swung him around, kicking him into the 3rd, making the three of them fall to the ground – But then she got ambushed by the last three, and as she felt herself get grabbed by the light jacket over her blouse, she quickly twirled around, letting the attacker remain with the jacket in his hands, while she dropped to the ground, sweeping her leg over his own, making him fall to the ground. As she finished the 4th, she twirled around again, kicking the 5th in the jaw, then taking out the ribbon from her hair and choking the last one standing, and thus, she was standing tall surrounded by a pile of beaten up men who stood no chance.

However, no day is short of surprises, as she notices Yin Zhen’s sword get unsheathed and him walking towards her with an amused smirk, and she could only tsk in annoyance – This game of proving the others wrong seemed rather unfair all of a sudden – Going against a sword barehanded? Not exactly wise, she reckoned – And thus, she took out her own sword from her waist, extending it for the Prince to see.

“I believe what you are doing will go against the rules set by the Emperor, Y/N. Are you willing to point a sword towards the Crown Prince?” the 4th Prince chuckled very amused, but now, it was the girl’s turn to grin. “Who said anything about a sword? The Emperor told me not to use a blade, and as far as I’m concerned, I’m merely using its scabbard, correct?” she continued parrying the Prince’s swings with perfect accuracy, but she knew he wasn’t actually going full strength on her, she could feel it in the force behind each strike. “I’m not sure if I should be offended that you’re not taking me seriously in this fight, or if I should be concerned about the gold possibly getting whisked away.” She laughed merrily as they continued to dance the waltz of swords, each strike going harder and harder. “If it does, I will make sure the Imperial Blacksmith forges a much better sword for you, and the scabbard will be embellished fit for an Empress.” Their weapons were crossed while their faces were so close to each other that they could almost feel each other’s breaths, and their words, merely above a whisper, needn’t be any louder, for their conversation was meant to be intimate and away from anyone’s ears. “I’d be much happier if it was fit for a Prince.” She laughed in his face, ready to prepare for another strike, but somehow, the Prince’s hit made the scabbard fall off and rotate far away from their positions, looking at them as if mocking. “How rude and unfair of you, Princeling! How am I supposed to fight you now that I can only use the sword’s handle?” she shook her head in mock annoyance, as he sheathed his sword and stepped in front of her. “I win.” He spoke in a simple, teasing manner, flicking her forehead – An endearing and affectionate habit he used to do only to her when they were young and would sneak out of the palace to play around in the Plum garden. “You win nothing, Yin Zhen.” She scoffed, only to notice a glint of silver sparkling in the Sun, and realizing what it was, she jumped, twirling the sword around to pick it up by the blade’s edge, and stepping on his chest, she propelled herself in the air, hitting away a flying arrow sent into the Emperor’s direction. “…Was that planned too?” she asked, not even noticing the running blood coming from her hand. “No, it wasn’t. Father, are you alright?” the Prince ran to his father’s side, while the girl looked back in the direction from which the arrow was sent flying. “The five of you, don’t move! Guards, keep them still!” commanding the royal guards who obeyed her orders, she examined each of the protesting men who either cried out their innocence, or hollered it out. “You were the one who sent the arrow flying. You have a horizontal line across the middle of your fingers, which means you didn’t use a bow, since it would have attracted attention, but instead, most likely, a mini crossbow that many assassins use – Which makes sense, considering how the arrow is about half the size of a normal one. And the two of you are accomplices. You have the crossbow under your clothes – You’re not actually fat, you just stuffed your clothes to appear so, and you provided the arrows, there is a fragment of a coloured feather part which is used for arrows to fly properly.” She explained with ease, which made the Emperor and the other Princes gather around behind her, listening to her reasonings. “Yes, very well, that does make sense. Yin Zhen, Yin Zhi, what do you make of this situation?” the old man looked at his two Princes, who seemed to ponder the situation over, but came up with no other solution by the end of their brief investigation. “It seems to me Miss Y/N came up with the right solution, Father.” The 3rd Prince answered quickly, not wanting to stay there more than needed, but also being rather intrigued by what was happening. It wasn’t often that a court case would find itself before their very eyes so easily. “Very well, very well indeed.” The Emperor nodded in agreement, stroking his beard. “Father, if I may – I wish to express my opinion on Y/N’s

arrival here, at the Palace. I believe she will be the perfect Detective Constable. She expressed skills in combat, intelligence, tactics, wit and charm – I believe men will find it easier to confess to her, should they be found in a precarious situation. It will prove to be very useful in our mission in the Jiangnan province.” Yin Zhen’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts and spoke without realizing. “Jiangnan? That’s pretty close to Hunan, where I spent most of my time. I heard it’s a rather interesting and developed city. What’s the problem there?” she asked, and it was then that the Emperor truly decided to assign her the case. “There has been a string of rather bizarre murders, Young Detective, and I would like you and my sons to go investigate and put a stop to the injustice taking place. You will be on the road tomorrow, these two will show you the book with the written statements about each singular crime that took place. Rest assured, I will inform your father of your departure, and later tonight you will be provided with the imperial token and any weapon you may be in need of.” The Emperor told his scribe to write the declared Royal Decree and had his personal eunuch give her the Imperial Token that will ensure her access to any place or information that she may otherwise have difficulty reaching. “Your Highness is kind and benevolent above all. May Your Majesty live eternally.” Young Y/N kowtowed in front of the old man, who chuckled and patted her head before leaving the place, and with him, the rest of the crowd…Sans the two eldest princes. “I thought tigresses would grow with time, not regress so much. How amusing.” Yin Zhi chuckled, making light of the height difference that was now reversed. “It’s not my fault I was born in the wrong body, is it now? No matter now, I can accomplish the same things with no difficulty or impediment. A tigress will forever be a tigress, be it a cub or a celestial one.” She smirked at the older prince, who could only scoff and walk away. “Great seeing you again, Y/N. As annoying as always.” He grumbled, leaving his brother alone with her. “It may be my imagination alone, but I believe he became grumpier than ever – Correct me if I’m wrong, though.”Y/N shook her head in disbelief, only to get her forehead flicked once again. “And you are as reckless and airheaded as always. If I don’t take care of you, you’ll die before you realise. The Palace life is a harsh one, especially for a woman, be it one in the harem, or merely one with ties to anyone from the Imperial family. Don’t be foolish thinking you are exempt from harm.” Yin Zhen warned her with a sharp and serious tone – She almost couldn’t recognize him, remembering how much of an air head HE used to be, and she had to scold him every time he’d get hurt by being careless and falling down a tree, or falling in the lake. “You don’t have a fever, do you, Yin Zhen? I don’t recognize you! Since when have our roles been reversed, anyway? Besides, what’s the harm done to me, considering I could prevent any from coming to you and your Imperial Father?” Y/N shrugged simply, before getting her hand taken in his and realizing his concern – Her hand was actually slashed and bleeding from when she held her blade tightly in her hand to deflect the stray arrow ready to claim an important life. “You, dummy. Good thing I learnt from the Tigress how to take care of my cub, otherwise, this little kitten would have been much tamer in the future…And that wouldn’t be fun, would it?” The prince took a handkerchief from his pocket and held it tight against the wound, waiting like that until it stopped bleeding altogether. “Marigold ointment will take care of it. Hopefully, no scars either.” She muttered, looking down at her hand with resentment at the idea of scarring. “Even if it does scar, it won’t take away your beauty and worth in this world.” This comment – so charming, spoken in such a suave way, as he drew closer to her – Made her heart beat like never before, and she was sure her face must show the warmth she felt. “I

didn’t realise you’d become such a smooth talker. Little Yin Zhen sure grew a lot since we’ve last seen each other. Undoubtly, you must have a lot of ladies swooning over you. Ladies with skin as smooth and pale as milk, that is. You don’t have to make me feel better, I am aware of this society’s beauty standards, and how people look down on women with scars. But thank you. I will be going now. Make sure you are well rested for tomorrow’s journey…It will be a long one.” With a small smile, Y/N drew back her hand, taking the handkerchief with her as well – She couldn’t possibly return it all bloody, right? – And went back to her assigned palace, not giving the prince any chance to speak back or refute in any way. How could he possibly find the woman he’s been pining over for so many years – In any way, shape or form – Disgusting, just because of some scar? He knew – It was true – He knew how people were…But not him, and not when it came to her. For so many years since she’s been gone from his arms, he’s been thinking of her and her alone. He wasn’t like his elder brother, so dissolute and indulging in his own pleasures, as far away from the Imperial family as possible, while also ensuring his favouring to their father…But He was different. Yin Zhen WAS going to be the next Emperor, and he WAS going to marry Y/N, no matter what. He just got her back…No way in hell was he going to let her go again.

When he saw her again, he couldn’t believe his eyes – She grew up so much, she looked so beautiful, like a woman – It was only now that he saw her with different eyes, it wasn’t just the old fondness from their childhood…But now, his heart was beating faster looking upon her face.

Stars were twinkling brighter in her eyes, than on the bright sky of Summer, her gorgeous visage rivaling even the Moon Goddess Chang’e – And she was as stubborn and nonconformist as always, wearing dresses from so far back – The Tang dynasty, ages ago – And they suited her so well, he was mesmerized watching the loose fabric fly around her so graciously as she spun around so gracefully, swinging her sword and taking down her enemies with perfect precision and stance…

And her expression…Gods, her expression…

It reminded him of his own.

She oftentimes looked to be ruthless, stoic, sharp and unforgiving…And yet, every so often, when not surrounded by people, he would see her eyes soften to the littlest of things, be it a beautiful flower, or a cute puppy yapping at her, wanting to be petted and played with.

He saw her that night – She couldn’t sleep, perhaps? Or maybe it was the night coming faster, awakening the lovely moon, in her honour – She saw her next to the lotus pond, bathing in the silver light of the Deity, as her finger so gracefully glided over the strings of the zither that she played with such nostalgia, that he felt his own heart weep.

Why was she so sorrowful, he wondered. No person who lacks a certain degree of a broken heart would be able to play with such vibrating emotions the instrument that holds the soul of the player, and of the listener. The fourth prince felt connected to her – A heart to heart and soul to soul connection – Solely through the sounds coming from every pinch of the strings…

He knew he would never again feel something so powerful with anyone else. It was his mother who once told him so many tales of heroes saving princesses and falling in love, and yet, those stories never explained in such detail what either of them felt. It was clear to him now that those authors were never actually in love to begin with. God forbid men feel or act with any vulnerability towards the woman they vow to protect and cherish for the rest of their days.

He wanted – Oh, how much he needed – To go to her, to accompany her melody by playing the flute, for those songs are meant to be played together, as a couple, in perfect harmony – And yet, he was afraid that, as soon as he’d approach her, the little tigress would flee from him. He was aware of how frail and afraid she was of admitting she held a more romantic side, and yet, this very fear of her was what was causing her so much distress, even if she was aware of it or not.

Perhaps, this woman wasn’t just a tigress, but a fawn as well, choosing which side of her to show to the world, depending on what her heart and mind dictated…In a world ruled by men, being a deer would only get you to become dinner, so play the role of a fiery tigress and make everyone flee in fear.

It was the perfect strategy, clearly, and yet…

Yin Zhen never showed fear.

“I never imagined my first case would involve something so complex.” Y/N spoke, almost without realizing, as she went over the case file once again, bouncing absent-minded in the horse saddle. “We immediately sent word to the constables in Jiangnan so they won’t touch the body more than needed. Congratulations, your first case will have you look at something gruesome.”Yin Zhi mocked her, and yet, he was shocked hearing her laugh lightly. “That’s gonna be fun!” she grinned, trying to imagine the way she’d find the bodies and whether she’d be able to make heads or tails of everything. “I hope all three of the bodies will be left in perfect shape, otherwise it would be such a pity, don’t you think?” she mused, a confident kitten-like smile creeping on her face. “Any man who hears you speak with so much glee about dead bodies will flee for you. I’d be more careful about what I’d say out loud before it’s too late and I end up all alone, old and ugly.”The 3rd prince’s comment made his younger brother frown in anger, shooting him a warning look. He didn’t want the girl to become even more sorrowful than she already was. Not being the stereotypical feminine woman wasn’t as popular now as it was hundreds of years ago, when the bravest women were, in the end, praised and beloved by everyone, going down in history, tales of their bravery being sung at events all over the country. “Then…Think I’ll find a pretty woman? If I can’t find a man to love me, protect me and cherish me, like in those nice stories our mothers told us when we were young, then might as well become the warrior seeking a beautiful, young maiden who would willingly sooth my soul and tend to my wounds. Doesn’t sound half-bad, does it? Women are very beautiful, maybe I can find the appeal a man feels when seeing one, if I imagine it long enough.” She chuckled carefree, but the prince knew that, deep down, she was used to such harsh comments being made about her, and in her heart, she held no hope of a future with someone by her side. “As if that would happen.” The prince scoffed at her breeze-like comment, only for her to laugh at him, tauntingly. “What is it, Zhi Zhi? Afraid I’m going to be more popular with the ladies than you? With how rude you are, I think it’s safe to say I would win, if that were the case.” A tigress, a fawn…And a smirking fox. Yin Zhen wondered whether he would come to discover more spirit animals residing inside her heart – He was fascinated, and also, satisfied with how she turned around to taunt back his brother with such perfect ease, that it angered the elder one. “We shall see…” oh, look at that, the 3rd Prince actually took that as a competition starter – How very serious of him! “Enough bickering, you two, we have arrived.” The 4th Prince scolded those two as they trotted inside the city of Jiangnan, admiring the provincial beauty and simplicity of the place, until they were greeted by the main constable of the place, who guided them to their quarters, offering them information about each case, only for then guide them to each of them, in the order they were done.

“Good golly, I never would have imagined a human could end up so fat!” the girl exclaimed, her jaw dropped in horror at the mountain of a man that sat in front of a table, his upper body engulfing the wooden furniture with the layers of fat as he was hovering over it entirely. “Be more respectful of the dead, Y/N…”Yin Zhen sighed softly as he went ahead to look around the room. “I’ll wait for you outside.” The constable muttered, doing as he told.

The girl then put a veil on her face to cover the bottom half of it, protecting herself as much as possible from the possible diseases and, most of all, from the stench of rotten food and flesh. With help from the two imperial brothers, she had the corpse lay on the floor completely, so she could perform an autopsy and see the cause of death – Not only a failing heart, as it was completely engulfed with a scary amount of fat, but…His stomach was burst open, and a concoction of digested and undigested food was disgustingly splayed all around his entrails.

Clearly, he ate himself to death, and yet, she wondered how come the constable didn’t deem this simply a heart failure, considering his appearance? Perhaps signs of forced entry would explain everything – But why would this one be killed in such a way? Wouldn’t it be more satisfying to have such a glutton starve to death? P’haps, even more…Cruel?

Maybe it wasn’t a hate-crime after all, but a way to teach this one that gluttony wasn’t, in fact, good…A twisted way to teach someone a lesson – Don’t steal away the starving people’s food - Y/N realized that, what he may eat at one meal, would be something she’d need for a whole week, and the thought of it had her stifle her chuckle at the irony.

Glutton…Gluttony…Interesting concept. Truth be told, she never met anyone so unhealthily, so morbidly obese – Especially for food was scarce in many provinces, and while there was abundance at the Palace, not even there, did she see anything more than slightly chubby.

Perhaps people who stood out with their wrong-doings were to be eliminated. This one was already an outcast from the rest of the citizens of this place, nobody would miss him, so he was a fair kill.

“Did you find anything relevant around the room?” she asked as she got up and went to wash her hands from the disgusting body juices she had to dig into. “No signs of forced entry, however, the culprit was definitely sitting in the chair opposite of him. What did you find from the body?” the younger brother asked as they all left the room. “Mr. Constable, have you seen anything out of the ordinary in this city lately? A new person, an event, uhm…People acting weirdly, or I don’t know, anything that would stand out from the usual.”She asked, not yet answering the prince. “Nothing that I would think from the top of my head, no…Things have been normal for the past weeks…Until these tragedies started happening, so quickly, one after the other…” country constables really are useless, the girl realized, as she merely smiled at him and put her hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, we’ll bring justice to the victims and this city. Until then, stay vigilant and tell us should you find out anything new.” Saying that, she decided to go on ahead to the next victim’s house, letting the running thoughts take over her mind.

Hurrying down the busy streets of Jiangnan, they found their way to the second house of the day – Once again, no signs of a forced entry – Yet this body was different. This man was built normally, so the chances of an accidental death due to natural causes was out of question. He was sprawled over his bed, his clothes dyed with his own crimson blood, his hands and feet impaled with golden ornaments, as melted gold was poured over his face, melting it, and in turn, killing him in such a gruesome way…And piles of golden ingots, silver taels and jewellery were piling over the rest of his body, almost suffocating him.

There was nothing to dissect here, the cause of death was obvious, so the last thing to wonder about was the reason for this atrocity.

So much wealth put everywhere on display…If this was the same person, then maybe…The lesson they wanted to teach this man was humility? Or…Altruism? Temperance? To give away his wealth to those less fortunate?

Perhaps this culprit thought he was trying to protect his city from these people who may taint it. Those who are too…Greedy…

Gluttony…Now Greed…

I wonder what the next lesson taught will be – Y/N thought to herself as she searched around the bed, throwing away all the riches from it, then finding a small, yet fat book that held stray specks of gold on its cover.

‘Bible’ it was called.

“I found one like this at the fat guy’s house, on the table. It certainly is the same killer, then.” Yin Zhi said, taking out the food-stained book from under his clothes. “…I’m onto something. Let’s go to the next one.” Y/N muttered, slamming open the door and bursting through it, going to the 3rd house.

This one, instead of being piled up with the obvious signs of their addictions, it was…Empty? Completely empty?

The victim was laid on the ground, on what looked like a comfortable bed with a pillow, but upon closer inspection, the person was heavily malnourished, looking like a rotting corpse, with its skin barely there anymore, and…

Hold up…

The corpse…Has a pulse…?

As Y/N touched her fingers to the veins on its neck, the corpse’s eyes shot open – They were blood shot, desperate, in complete agony - The girl let out a startled yelp as she fell back on the ground as she watched the…Victim’s chest heave up and down, a guttural scream let out as…The sown-together lips were torn open to allow the man to yell out his pain.

“What do we do?!” Y/N looked back and forth to the brothers, as Yin Zhen knelt and quickly slit his throat, making him go quiet. “Any complaints?” he muttered, watching the girl quickly shake her head. “What the hell was that…? Didn’t the constable say he was definitely dead? That means no pulse, no heartbeat, no vital function…Nothing! This wasn’t nothing!” putting her hand to her chest to calm down her breathing. “Someone wanted us to see him in this state. To act as a warning to us. They knew the constable here was good for nothing, and the culprit wanted to scare us away from this city. Too bad this won’t have the effect he so desired.” Yin Zhen scoffed as he brought his hand under the pillow, finding another book with the same name. “What a sadist…Whoever the killer is…Is sick. Very sick.” But…Why was this one killed? He was humble enough not to lavish himself in riches, not wasting food, or objects…Maybe his behaviour to other people was bad? Maybe he was a jerk? “Any idea about this one?” the 4thprince asked, as the girl shook her head. “No…This time, no idea. Let’s go out, I have to think.” She muttered, going out of the house, looking up at the bright sky and watching the fluffy clouds go by which way the wind wants them to. “I keep thinking on this…I have a feeling that…I read about this somewhere…Some long time ago. Someone is trying to teach these victims a lesson. Don’t be a glutton. Don’t be greedy. But…I can’t figure out what this one did…What did he do so wrong that he had to be induced in a coma and suffer so long…You could see his muscles, and they were in such a horrible state, from not moving…How could he have ruined this city that he deserved this punishment-lesson?” she tried to think out loud, hoping that somehow, the answer will come by itself.

As she walked down the cramped streets of this place, the two princes trailing down behind her, trying to make out their own theories, she got snapped out of her mind palace by the angry shriek of a woman, fighting a weird-looking man in front of a big house.

“You will never get us out of business, so leave already! Spread your mindless indoctrination in another city, you’ve already angered everyone else in this one!” the woman, very beautiful, despite the twisted expression of rage on her face, shouted at the man, who, instead of having matching anger…Looked rather…Serene? “Miss, what is the problem, please? May we help you in any way?” the girl rushed to the woman’s side, holding onto her to calm her down, which worked well. “Ah, yes, you can help me by getting that stupid foreigner out of our city! We never wanted him, but those useless constables let him spread the word of his false God around this place, and now, look at him! Walking around as if this is HIS country! The audacity!” she scoffed, before shaking her head and inviting the trio inside, which made Y/N realise this house was a brothel – In fact, a pretty rich one – “You three are new here. What brings you to our city? The blooming cherry blossoms, perhaps?” the woman, Ying Yue, asked them, as she poured tea for them. “We came here to investigate the series of peculiar murders that took place in this city…But I never imagined, in my life, I would see a foreigner in the flesh! My father and the professors I learnt under wanted me to keep a broad mind, so I am somehow familiar with some literature from Europe, and yet…This man looked…Out of it.” Y/N explained, taking a sip from the aromatic tea, as her eyes were fixated on the visage of the beautiful matron. “Ah, yes, him. His name is…Difficult to pronounce. Alexander, he insists on calling himself. He is from a different religion, worshiping this Deity called ‘God’, and he wants to convert us. He is truly shameless…He keeps preaching how we are all sinful and need divine retribution. Honestly, I don’t understand him at all…Sometimes, he starts talking in a weird language, and waves around that wooden cross of his. He’s creepy. And he’s trying to get our brothel to close down and all the women become nuns and repent.” She shuddered with indignation as Y/N gasped in realization. “Oh…Heavens…I think I know what’s going on…He carries around a book with black leather covers called “Bible”, correct? Does he have any copies?” the girl asked, feeling the fire of understanding surging through her bloodstream, remembering the three booklets found at each scene of the crime. “Gosh, yes, he does. In fact, he spent months translating it in Chinese and handing out copies to every household, and all that. We tossed it into the fireplace, but…I believe there are some who still have it.” The matron explained, and just then, Yin Zhi pulled out the three books from his bag. “Like these ones?” The prince handed the woman the books, but she refused to touch them, disgust splattered all over her face. “Yes, like those. I don’t know what written in them, as I said, I never bothered with them, but hopefully, they will help you in some way.” The matron sighed, as she heard many of her girls giggling, and looking back, they were on the floor above, leaning on the bannister, looking down at the two men bashfully. “You two, it seems my girls have taken a liking to you. Why don’t you go have some fun? It’s on the house. Miss, if you want, we have a few men too, very handsome.” The matron rose from the table, trailing her hands down the men’s shoulders, trying to allure them in. “Not bad…” Yin Zhi muttered, looking up at the beautiful young girls waving at him. “Ah…Hahaha…U-Uhm…Thank you, I’ll pass. Thank you for the offer, I-I have to go now. I’ll see you two at the inn. Bye.”With that, the young girl didn’t wait to see whether the 4th prince accepted the offer or not, instead, she bolted out of the brothel and continued walking around the city, admiring the light from the many colourful paper lanterns hung around the place.

Instead, for the remaining of the evening, and dead into the night, she hovered over the book, skimming through it, this time, more attentively for any key word, or phrases that may get her to understand what was going on.

And then, she remembered her own words – Sinful, gluttony, greed – she said to herself, and there, she found the meaning of those words.

The Seven Deadly Sins.

Pride, Greed, Envy, Wrath, Lust, Gluttony, Sloth.

That means…

The fat guy was forced to eat until his stomach exploded – That was Gluttony. The rich guy was literally buried under his own wealth – That was Greed The coma guy…He had nothing in his home, except for a bed…And he didn’t move for months on end… - That must be Sloth.

Pride, Envy, Wrath and Lust remained…

Lust?

LUST!

The brothel!

That’s why the Christianity envoy wanted to shut down the brothel! God didn’t see lightly any sin committed, and lust was a sinful indulgence!

She had to warn them!

As she ran out of her room, back to the brothel, she noticed smoke rising from it, as it was engulfed in flames… Shocked, Y/N ran inside the burning building, covering her face with her long sleeve so she won’t breathe in the smokes and die while trying to make rescue attempt. She bolted up the stairs, searching every room and evacuating the fainted women who didn’t have the time to leave…But did she really want to see them fainted, on the ground? But maybe seeing them would bring her a certainty that at least they aren’t in a place even more dangerous than this one.

But he saw them, and all her worries were bundled together in the pit of her stomach – The closest escape was through the window, even thought it was to far up, she was confident she could manage to drag them somehow, despite how heavy they were, to safety, outside.

Thank goodness I learnt martial arts – She thought to herself – As she picked the 4th Prince first, jumping down the window, then climbed back up for the 3rd prince to bring back to safety. She hovered over both of them, trying to find out if they breathed in too much smoke, since they passed out like that, as she coughed a bit to eliminate the smoke she inhaled, and thought how Yin Zhi seemed to be okay, but…Zhen Zhen wasn’t doing as brightly…He was barely breathing… So she attempted a procedure she learnt from the monks – To press on the chest at a patterned pace, and the lift the head up a bit and breathe air into their mouth – If it was a different circumstance, she would have been very flustered, considering their lips would touch, but now, she had no time to think twice, as she took deep breaths and exhaled, praying to the Heavens for him to wake up already.

And after a few procedures repeated, he slowly opened his beautiful dark eyes, and Y/N could only sigh, collapsing on his chest, breathing in relief.

“Thank Heavens you’re awake…I thought you were going to die…” she muttered more to herself than to him, before feeling a hand on the top of her head. “Thanks…” the prince spoke out in a tired voice before he, with some help, got in a sitting position. “Your clothes are ruined. And you’re covered in ashes. Come here.” Taking out a napkin once again, he cupped her cheek as he gently cleaned her face, as she looked away awkwardly. “What happened? Neither of you would get caught in a burning building. You could have jumped out of the window. I know you, of all people, wouldn’t get distracted by anything.” She asked, frowning and putting one of her hands over his, stopping him from moving his hand – And he did, shifting his gaze, looking right into her eyes – He could see the worry, the gentleness, the wonder…The love and relief – And the lingering feeling of her soft lips on his own was worth everything, and yet, he’d have rather taken the initiative and kissed her in a more fitting place. “The sake and tea we got served was drugged. We didn’t realise until it was too late. We thought at first it was only the alcohol, but the girls fainted faster than either of us. By the time we felt hazy, we thought it was from the alcohol, Yin Zhi is much more of a lightweight than I am…But when we smelt the smoke, we tried to get up, but found out we couldn’t. But how did you get here? I was sure you’d stay at home and analyse that book the whole night.” He spoke, and the girl cleared her throat awkwardly, chuckling and scratching the back of her head. “So, uhm…That’s what I was doing…And then I realized what the crimes meant. All of them represented one of the seven deadly sins from the Christian Bible. Gluttony, Greed and Sloth being the ones already committed…And, well…Lust was one of them, and I remembered the missionary trying to close down the brothel. And since you were here, I was afraid the perpetrator might try something, attempting to get rid of his pursuers…And when I came by, the brothel was already aflame, neither of you was anywhere to be seen, the matron and many of the citizens were just standing by, screaming, but nobody was trying to put out the fire…I had to do something, you know.” She explained, unconsciously putting a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Give props to the tigress to figure out something like that and to be brave and reckless enough to risk her own life to save a bunch of people that don’t have anything to do with her.” The prince chuckled, only to see the girl’s brows furrowing. “You’re making it seem as if I did a bad thing. Besides…Don’t just say there were people who didn’t have anything to do with me, as if we are strangers to each other. It’s rude.” She muttered, getting up and turning to his brother and slapping his face. “Get up, Zhi Zhi. I know you woke up by now. Don’t just eavesdrop on people’s conversations, you, jerk.” “At least don’t hit so hard, damn…Don’t hit your future husband like that too, he’ll leave you.” The 3rdprince rubbed his now red cheek, only to have the back of his head slapped by his brother as well. “I don’t need to bother with a husband, anyway.” She muttered, walking ahead at the front of the brothel where the matron sobbing, hugging her girls who were crying as well – But at least they woke up, all alive and well – Unlike the crumbling building that couldn’t resist the forces of nature…Induced nature, that is.

The women jumped on their saviour, praising and thanking her for saving their lives, but Y/N’s eyes were glued on something else – The foreigner holding a Bible and a cross in his hands, as his eyes were fixated on the fire while his lips were constantly moving – Was he preaching, she wondered?

No matter – Her rage was bubbling inside her heart so badly that she pushed aside the women and stomped to the foreigner, yelling at him and picking him up by the neck of his shirt, shaking him roughly.

“HOW DARE YOU TRY TO BURN PEOPLE?! HOW DARE YOU KILL THOSE OTHERS JUST LIKE THAT?! YOUR RELIGION IS SUPPOSED TO BE ALL ABOUT LOVE AND CARING FOR YOUR PEERS, NOT ABOUT KILLING AND OPRESSION!” she screamed in his face only for the man to blink in confusion and fear, but…He didn’t seem…Guilty…?? “M-Miss, I’m sorry, I know I am a foreigner and I’ve been trying to convert people and show them how great our religion is…But I’d never kill! The Lord is against harming others, at all costs!” the foreigner tried to explain himself to the girl, but she didn’t stop until she punched him to the ground, only to stop abruptly. “…So…You’re claiming you are innocent? For all 4 crimes? Even though the concept of seven deadly sins is a Christian thing?” she muttered, looking down at him. “Yes, miss, yes! After all, everyone in this city could have read the Bible, I translated it in many books, and delivered them to all households. I made sure to do that for all of them!” Alexander explained himself, and the girl could only nod, seeing the innocence in his eyes. “…If that is true, then, you have my apologies for misjudging you and accusing you of such atrocious crimes. I am sorry that some evil-doer is using your religion is a misguided way, and speaking your God’s name in vain. I don’t believe there is any believer in any faith that would appreciate their belief being treated this way.” Sighing, the girl helped the man up, only for him to take both of her hands in his, looking up at her with delight in his eyes. “Miss, you understand what my religion is all about! I am so happy to see someone so open to new things! Miss, wouldn’t you consider converting to Christianity for the greater good? I would gladly guide you through the path of redemption and make sure no trace of wrath lingers in your blood!” the girl’s first thought was to snatch her hands away – Touching was an intimate thing only lovers should do, not someone like him! – And yet…Her mid was somewhere else, and it wasn’t until Yin Zhen came to slap away his hands that she came back to. “Don’t touch other people so lightly, foreigner, especially women. It’s an act of intimacy in our country, and it shouldn’t be engaged in unless both parties are familiar with. Better get more accustomed to our ways before you decide to act so freely.” Poison dripped from Zhen’s words as he put his arm protectively around the girl. “Well, what do you expect from foreigners, any way? Especially one so outspoken? They come here, trampling our lands, as if they own the place, then they take away our lands, our women, and then will demand to be kings. Tsk.” Zhi spoke, which made the girl snap her head up at the foreigner. “Alexander, I need your opinion! Just now, you said wrath lingered in my heart, correct? Other than wrath, there is only Pride and Jealousy left. Do you think there is any possibility that either of these two would be a victim to the Seven Deadly Sins criminal?!” the girl’s voice was evidently worried, thinking back at the brothel incident. “The culprit could have put the brothel on fire at any time, and yet, they waited until both Yin Zhen and Yin Zhi were there, and they were drugged, along with the girls. This can’t be just a coincidence, can it?” Y/N spoke out, worried for her two friends. “Miss, this one here reeks of pride and vanity, that much is obvious, while this one’s jealousy can be seen from miles away. Maybe people from around are used to such behaviour, it may be normal for you, and yet, from someone from abroad, with a different kind of lifestyle and society, everything is different. If you think either of you may be in danger, then please, do be careful, and please protect this city. It’s a beautiful place with beautiful people, but it’s been tainted by this killer’s darkness.”With a small smile, the foreigner left the place, as the girl’s hand fell to her side. “…Well, future Emperor, how does it feel to have escaped your first assassination attempt?” she asked dryly, walking back to the inn, while the other two were behind her. “Tsk, are you really going

to listen to that guy? Who does he call vain, anyway?” the 3rd prince scoffed, only for the other two to look at him with a bored expression. “Honestly…” they sighed in unison, not wanting to address the Envy part on Yin Zhen’s side – Why would he be jealous, anyway? And the foreigner only said that after the prince pushed him away from her…

The room was silent for the longest time, and they were ready to go to sleep, until the girl decided to go on the roof of the inn and look up at the moon, as she felt it helped her think better. Being alone always made her feel much better and to think clearer. The moon was full, and she could even see the bunny of Chang’e, the Moon Goddess, and she smiled, resting her chin on her knees.

“You shouldn’t be out alone.” The familiar voice of the 4th Prince came up from behind her, but she could only shrug simply. “I can take care of myself. You’re the one who got drugged and almost died. You were careless and distracted.” She didn’t look at him – In fact, she didn’t shift her gaze from the moon at all. “I admit my mistakes. I was careless. I hoped that I would find out vital information on the people around here – Brothel girls are always the best people to ask for dark secrets, since men are intoxicated and speak freely around them – Alas, all I found out was that the constable is a frequent guest there…But never as a client. They said he was concerned about their well-being. They also said the ones who died deserved to die, since they were dead beats. And the last victim was a lazy who never in his life worked, so his lesson was to contribute to society in any way.” The prince explained, but the girl already figured out as much. “You would know best about being intoxicated and being vulnerable around women, wouldn’t you?” she muttered softly, but her mind was in a complete other place. “Do you blame me for remaining there with my brother?” he asked, sitting down next to her. “No.” her answer was simple and blunt, but he could tell, it didn’t come from the heart. “You should.” He admitted his mistake without a second thought. “…You’re a man. That’s what you do. Besides, you should get used to having lots of beautiful women around you. You’ll be the Emperor one day. You have no choice.” She said in a cold, rather impersonal tone, not wanting to dwell further into this awkward and tragic discussion. “One man can only love a woman alone. His heart is his own, while his body is the country’s. Men who truly love more than one woman are feeble, and should not be trusted.” He explained softly, but the girl didn’t spare him any glance. “In Europe, a King has only one wife, who is the Queen…Only their child is legitimate and the heir to the throne. Any…Mistake the King might do is swept under the rug, and the bastard is hidden from the world, or even killed. And the Queen…The poor Queen is all alone. Her sole role is to bear children and continue the lineage. They are not allowed to do anything, while the country abuses her body and soul, but the King can do anything he pleases, for the whole power is in his hands. Meanwhile…Here, the Emperor is forced to have multiple women as wives, and all can bear legitimate heirs…And yet, ask any woman, and you will see just how lonely and desperate for affection they are. They are not truly loved…But the Emperor goes to them when he remembers them…And sometimes, doesn’t even stay the night. The visits are brief…And when she grows old…She is forgotten, just like a wilting flower. I wonder…Which fate is more cruel? And also…Why should it be cruel at all? The Sun and the Moon are both beautiful, and yet, all alone. Maybe it’s better to be alone than heart broken.” She sighed, getting up and turning to leave, only for the man to stop her by embracing her from behind. “Y/N…Can you feel my heart beating? This heart belongs to you and you alone. It has been that way since we were children. I won’t deny, what you said is true in its whole entirety, but I never felt and thought the same way about a woman as I do for you. I am a man of my word, Y/N, and I vow to you – I vow on this country, and on my name as the next Emperor, that to me, there will never be anyone more important to you. So please, allow me to protect your heart, and I shall gladly give you mine for you to hold. Please trust me as much as you did when you let me catch you whenever you’d jump from the top of a tree, or when you’d find out a secret from your spying around the palace, and you couldn’t help but tell it to me, and me alone. I am yours for the rest of my life…So in turn, be mine, and mine alone.” His embrace tightened, and the girl felt hotter and hotter, her face became flustered, and she could feel her heart beating faster from emotion…And worry. “You are asking a great deal, you know, don’t

you? Something like this can’t be given away so lightly. It’s my heart, and I have only one. Only I know how to protect it…If I give it to you…Any wrong move can make it fall to the ground and shatter. And trust me, there is no remedy for a broken heart. What will you do then…My dear Zhen Zhen?” the term of endearment that she hasn’t used since they were children…How melodious and loving it sounded…The little fawn came back to him. “I would never let that happen. If it falls, I will fall with it, so I can catch it before it reaches the ground. If water rains on it, I will cover it with my own self, so it won’t get wet. If it’s too hot, I will fan it myself, and if it’s too cold, I will make sure to warm it until it’s not trembling any longer. So trust me, just one more time, and I promise you, you will never regret it.” He kissed her temple softly as his hands reache her own, intertwining his fingers with hers – He could feel her trembling softly – He knew the effect he had on her, and of her conflicting thoughts. “…Let me think on it, and I will tell you my answer by the time we reach the capital. Until then…Let’s catch the culprit and be rid of this pestilence. Actually…Let’s visit the constable, for a change. I believe that…He is not as innocent as he seems…And his uselessness may be just an act. If you can’t trust a constable, then who can you trust, the saying goes. So, what do you say? Are you in?” she turned around, failing to meet his eyes, but she could see his smile…As beautiful and confident as ever. “Let’s catch him.” He nodded, and together, they went around the house, their sword in their hands, carefully, and they were going to meet at the back of it, while they investigate every little bit of it – And yet, by the time the prince got to the back…There was no sign of the girl at all. “Y/N? Where are you?” he tried to look around for her…And yet…The only clue that indicated the girl was ever around this place was the blue ribbon that used to hold her hair up.

However, the darkness of the night became an even darker abyss for the prince as well, as he was hit in the head with a metallic object, which had him hazy enough to be dragged into the warehouse just behind the constable’s house. There, he got tied to a chair in the back, as the place was illuminated by a bunch of paper lanterns – And then he saw her – In the same state as him, only she seemed much…Out of it?

“What did you drug me with?” her voice sounded like a drunk man – Slurred and groggy – And yet, his eyes were only set on the small, shiny object in the constable’s hand. It was foreign, and strange…It was…Weird. “It matters not what I did to you, Miss Detective. What matters is that here, you and your dear Prince will face your demise!” the constable, Rui, grinned creepily at her. “…A constable from hell. How unlucky for the people here. Why bring us here?” she continued asking, trying to keep a grip on reality. “Once the verdict is done, I will execute the law. Imperial Detective Constable Y/N. You protect the law. But what have you done wrong? Go on, tell me. I know you know. That friendly foreigner already told you.” He insisted, crouching down to her level. “…My heart is filled with Wrath.” She muttered, feeling her head swimming and spinning in a vertigo mixed with a hurricane. “Yes, good, good, the sinful wench acknowledges her evil-doings! Then, you know that I have to kill you, just as I killed the others! They only brought misfortune to our beloved city! And you…You are the worst of them all. Wrath is the reason everything good gets destroyed. Women, of all people, should be gentle, calm and understanding. You? You behave like a mad war criminal who seeks blood alone!” he screamed in her face, as she could only roll her eyes at his stupid allegations. “Oh, spare me the bullshit. You are the one who bent the law, punish yourself first. You are stupid.” She groaned, feeling a headache creeping. “SHUT UP, BITCH! Who do you think you are, speaking like that to me?!” he said, slapping her face and snatching away the Imperial Token given to her by the Emperor. “You think if you have this token given away from that conceited fraud you call an Emperor, you will be protected from anything? NO! In fact, you and your two silly princes just signed a death sentence coming here! But, alas, I couldn’t do away with them when I wanted to, you just HAD to folly my plans! Very well, then, I shall do away with you first, while he watches you physically feel the very same wrath you inflicted upon this world!” and thus, he took a syringe and, despite all her struggling, she was still bound to the chair, and he had no problem injecting her with more of whatever that horrible liquid was – It made her even hazier than before, and her vision became blurry – Not even by straining, could she see well in front of her anymore – And it made her panic, trying to breathe faster, as she felt the cold metallic barrel of the weapon placed cruelly on her forehead – It only made her skin feel even hotter than it already was. “So, I’m guilty…For being alive. For trying to save people. And you…You are…Innocent. You are a hero…For killing. You are no God. You have no right to take away the lives God gave to those people. You are not the Judge, nor the Executioner. If you so firmly believe in Christianity, you would know that God hates no one – In fact, he loves all he created, equally – And would never approve of such senseless killing. You just chose to pick apart a few paragraphs that suited your narrative… And you went with it, using a foreign Deity as your scape goat. You are absolutely pathetic and a sorry excuse of a man and a constable. You should be ashamed of yourself.” Her words shocked the prince, but also made him afraid for her – Unlike her, he could see the twisted look of anger on his face – And he could anticipate his next move – As he saw the culprit strike down the girl once again, with such force that the chair tipped over and she fell on the ground with it. “I shall now pass my verdict to this witch! Those who are foolish and arrogant are unreasonable. It is from excessive arrogance, for deceiving the holy court and committing falsehood…I declare Y/N, the Imperial Detective Constable, to be executed at exactly 2:00 in the morning.” He declared, looking at the sand falling down in an hourglass, and leaving the room just briefly. “Yin Zhen…Is there any way out for us?”Y/N asked, hoping she was loud enough for the prince to

hear. “Yes, there is. I just need a little more time. Y/N…Do you know what that metallic object was?” he asked, trying to cut away the ropes with a stray nail he found on the chair. “It’s a gun. Horrible European invention. Honestly…I’m so tired. I just…Want to rest for a while…And get this over with…I want back home…I want to see the mountains in Hunan again…And the flowers bloom. I want to play in the river and catch fish…And pick fruit from up the tree…And make wine and cakes…And have them with you….Yin Zhen?” she let her head back on the chair’s seat, looking up at the wooden ceiling, as she sighed deeply. “Let’s get the hell out of here, I’m so done with sins and whatever.” And thanking herself for training to be flexible, and that the ropes were tied as neatly as they should have been, she bent down enough for her tied up hand to reach into her hair and pull away the hair ornament that had a very sharp needle, so she could cut away her restraints with moderate ease.

However, as soon as she got up and tried to take a step forward…She stumbled and almost fell down. “Is this what it’s like to be drunk? Because if it is…I hate it.” She groaned, gripping her head, as everything began to spin in around her at an even faster pace, so badly, that she had to catch onto something. “Y/N, look out!” the prince yelled at her, as the constable came back, ready to pounce on her, but she turned around, slamming her needle hand into his flesh, as she tried to pull away his gun-hand from her as much as possible.

However, the needle was very old, and it broke from all the commotion – Her drugged self was none the better either – And with just a bit more strength put into it, the constable wrenched his gun arm from her grasp and he punched her to the ground, knocking out the air from her lungs. It really pissed her off, and she wanted to rip him apart limb from limb, but the drugs were too strong still to allow her to do anything that she wanted to do.

As she struggled to get up, she heard the unfamiliar sound of the gun cocking, and then, a demonically loud explosion – Was that the sound of the gun shooting? She wondered, and yet, why didn’t it hurt her? Why didn’t she feel anything? She was sure that, should he shoot, he would shoot her – He wanted her to be in pain and feel the physical consequences of implied wrath.

“Y/N, are you alright?!” ah, that’s Yin Zhen calling out her name like that! And he was struggling…Yes, he must be wrestling the killer. “Yeah, I’m good, but be careful with that gun! One shot and it could kill you!” she called back, and got on her knees as soon as she heard the sound of the heavy, metal object fall to the ground.

As she heard the two men struggling to take the other down, she searched around almost blindly for the gun, and after some time, she finally managed to catch a hold of it, and with shaky hands, she properly held it in her hands, the barrel pointing forwards. The killer was dressed I dark colours, while Yin Zhen’s whole outfit was a bright gold, so, as Y/N strained her eyes to see better, she took a deep breath and pulled the trigged – And then static – Her ears were ringing, and she groaned, the gun falling from her hands as she gripped her head, covering her ears, hoping the horrible ringing noise would stop already.

“Yin Zhen, are you okay?!” she called out, struggling to get back to the shaky reality, hoping the drug’s effect would go away faster already. “…Yeah. You killed him. It’s finally over.” He sighed, going to her side and picking her up bridal style, leaving the place and going back to the inn. However, instead of going back inside, the prince made a detour, and chose to go to the highest hill, where the flowery trees were untouched by the city. “How did you know where to shoot, despite being drugged and not seeing well?” he asked, very curious, as they sat down on the grass, at the bottom of a tree. “…I may sometimes make fun of you for wearing such bright and colourful clothes…But if it was Yin Zhi, I wouldn’t have been able to pick apart the two silhouettes. So, to answer your question…Pure luck, I guess.” She shrugged, sighing and leaning her head on his shoulder, looking up at the moon, seeing it fall down, as the dawn was beginning to come, and the sky was painted in the most beautiful colours there were – And even better, her vision was beginning to clear up. “Let’s hope we won’t have to deal with anything foreign again. This was more of a drag than it should have been.”The prince said, and the girl could only grumble in agreement. “Ah…Right. Uhm…This…It broke. I don’t think it can be repaired anymore.” She muttered sadly as she took out the broken hair pin from her pocket. “This…I didn’t realise you still had this. It’s been so long since I gave you this pin.” He gingerly took it in his hands, but it wasn’t sorrow on his face – No, instead, he was smiling, realizing the feelings she had for him were as strong as ever. “…It’s the only piece of jewellery I wore since then.” Her voice was soft, the little fawn was brave, and speaking. She was honest with herself, with her heart…And with him. “No matter. I can give you any jewellery you want. This was old and I’m surprised it lasted as much.” He chuckled lightly, but the girl shook his head, confusing him. “…I don’t want any jewellery, Yin Zhen. You don’t get it. This…You picked this, thinking of me. You wanted this hair pin to be mine. To wear it. You thought it suited me. You thought it would make me think of you…And it did. And I only wore this one, and every day. I knew it would keep me safe…So I put it on again just before approaching that house. Guess your heart will always protect me. So, you understand? I don’t want just any jewellery. I want a piece of your heart, soul and thoughts to be in anything you give me, otherwise, it’s completely worthless to me.” She explained, snatching back the pieces of the broken accessory, making the prince smile fondly at her. “Very well, I understand what you mean, and I know just what to do. So, for the first gift I will give you…Have this jade pendant. I had it made for me a long while ago. It’s been mine, so, it’s a part of me. And now, I give it to you, to watch over you and protect you. I held it on my sword’s scabbard, I think it suits the black and gold of it very well…And so will yours.” He declared, taking both his and her swords, and trading the two pendants on each sword. “And I shall take yours, as a gift, so I can have a piece of your heart with me as well, wherever I go and you’re not next to me.” His teasing smile crept on his face as he heard her chuckle, snatching her pendant from his hand, tying it to his sword by herself. “That’s much better. It counts when the other gives it to you themselves, dummy.” She let him hold her to his side, as they watched the sky in silence.

When morning finally came, they got up, ready to wake up a very grumpy 3rdPrince, then went to the brothel matron to tell her they will be leaving, and who the real killer was, so they can find themselves a new law enforcer…This time, not a homicidal one.

“Are you sure you won’t be staying one more night, cutie? I mean, we didn’t even have the time to get acquainted with each other…It’s pitiful.” The woman whined, but the prince was indifferent. “There is only one woman alone who owns my heart.” He chuckled, waving the girls goodbye as they got on their horses and went back to the capital. “Very smooth, Princeling.” The girl laughed at him, kicking the horse to go faster, almost as if she was challenging him for a race. “I know what I want in this life.”He declared, and for the remaining long journey, they’ve been teasing each other enough for the 3rd prince to curse them regularly…More so than usual.

“I am very proud of the three of you for solving such a horrible crime. And to think the constable himself was the perpetrator all along! To attempt to commit such a horrible act of regicide…I am glad he got killed by his own weapon.” The Emperor sighed, stroking his beard and shaking his head in disbelief and disappointment. “Father, without Y/N, we couldn’t have done it. She played the crucial role in all the mystery-solving and having the courage to fire such a dangerous and strange contraption. It was lucky she was versed enough in foreign culture and literature for her to pick up on the hints given by the killer at each crime.” The 4th Prince praised the Detective girl, who merely cleared her throat awkwardly. “Your father will be very proud of you when I tell him of your brave deeds! I will have to think of a reward for you, but if you have something in your mind, do tell, and anything shall be granted.”The Emperor spoke, dismissing them. As they bowed, ready to exit the room, the girl smirked, turning around playfully. “I want to marry your son.” She laughed, running away from the Palace of Mental Cultivation, back to her own small place, leaving the two princes and the Emperor to blink and gasp in shock at her boldness. “About time.” Yin Zhen huffed, smirking, as he rushed to catch up with her as well. “Those two are such idiots…But I guess…Together, they will be good rulers in the future. Don’t you think, Father?” the 3rdPrince smirked in amusement, looking out at those two. “This youthfulness and open-mindedness is sure to be a great addition to this country in the future. Until them, let them be children at heart, for just a little while longer.” The Emperor chuckled whole-heartedly, closing his eyes and reminding his own youth, as it was so long ago.

Back at her palace, she hid behind the heavy drapes as she quickly and very skillfully fidgeted with a red rope – She’s been practicing it for a long time, and by now, she could say she was sort of an expert at this – And before she realized it, the drape was strongly pulled away, and in front of her, an amused prince towered over her, not caring about the poor maid’s pleas to get out.

“Found you.” He watched carefully as he noticed her face raise, and her eyes directly look into his – She got more courage, this fawn – He wondered if she really was just a sweet fawn anymore, or if another spirit animal found its way inside her heart. “Found me.” She mused, holding up the red knot for him to take. “This…This is the Love Knot, isn’t it? I’ve never seen it before.” He spoke, taking it from her hands. “And now, you give it to me. When did you even have the time to make something so intricate and complex, anyway?” he asked, looking at it with adoration. “I practiced it a lot when I was in the mountains, training. And besides…You sure took your sweet time getting here. Were you really so stunned by my statement that it took you so long to move?”she teased him, only for the man to quickly cup her face and kiss her – Her lips were as sweet as the last time they touched, and yet, now it was a proper kiss, and now, he felt her slender, small hands over his, as she deepened it with even more love, not wanting to let go of him any time soon. “I’m not the only one who loves to surprise.” The prince let out a soft, content breath, as he watched her eyes sparkle brighter than the moon itself…And she looked very much kissed – And her lips…They were plump, and in very need of more attention. “Clearly.” The corner of her mouth sprung upwards, very amused by his statement. “So, princeling, if your Father decides not to kill me after the stunt I pulled at the palace…Then, you got your answer. But, be very aware, I am not afraid to commit regicide on you, should you be a jerk to be at any time, understood?” she glared at him, more or less seriously, as she grabbed the front of his clothes, dragging him down to her level. “Crystal clear, darling.” He chuckled, nodding in understanding. “Good. Then, kiss me again.” She ordered, and he could only comply. “Any time, Y/N. Any time.”