#i just assumed the guy was rapunzel his whole life

[justsomeunsurefancat]

W-W-Wait- I haven't been keeping up with Ever Crisis. WE GOT YOUNG SEPHIROTH??

[thefreshprinceofjunes]

soriku endgame: an imagining

OKAY WELL HERE IT IS

TEN WHOLE PAGES OF HOW SORIKU ENDGAME MIGHT ACTUALLY PLAY OUT

i was rewatching vin play RE2 and fsr this invaded my thoughts and wouldnt leave

this is barely proofread and i reused a lot of the same words/phrases BUT its just meant to be an outline/abridged version so keep that in mind

(if i got any lore wrong tho pls let me know)

btw if you dont want to read this on tumblr for whatever reason, heres a link to the google doc

note: this is going off the assumption MoM saw everything (or at least everything soriku) through the gazing eye

scene is quadratum probably. master of masters (or whoever the bad guy in kh4 is) has sora and riku caught in a bad situation (for temporary visuals im picturing something similar to the dark guardian restraining aqua and ven in kh3)

sora and riku are struggling to break free, while the MoM just laughs. some kh dramatic banter occurs, before MoM changes the subject and starts monologuing (with sora and riku probably interjecting here and there)

MoM: [to sora] you still havent figured it out yet, have you?

MoM: dont you ever wonder why rikus heart holds as vast of a darkness as it does?

MoM: its not because of jealousy, or ansem, or even his desire for strength since you were children.

MoM: no, its much simpler than that.

MoM: remember that dream you had, sora? before the islands were destroyed?

MoM: there was a voice speaking to you, from deep within your heart:

MoM: 'the closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes.'

MoM: well, the road goes both ways, kid. the deepest of darknesses can only come from the brightest of lights.

sora: wh-what are you saying?

MoM: its been in front of all along, but you were too blind to see it.

cut to voiceless flashbacks of all the times sora encountered the brightest light: when receiving the keyblade, when almost pulled out of sleep by the memory of aqua on DI, during the dive to heart at the beginning of kh3 (assuming it really happened and wasnt just for gameplay purposes), and after using the power of waking at the KBG (the tunnel scene)

sora looks at riku, then back at MoM. riku is grimacing.

sora: that… that was… that was rikus light?

MoM: bingo!

MoM: but theres even more to it than that.

MoM: theres another force of power in this universe that keeps light and dark in harmony

sora: another…?

MoM: you feel an unfathomable depth of it in your heart for, well, pretty much everyone youve ever met.

MoM: what lies in rikus heart, however, comes from the same place, but is also very, very different. its something you claim to not understand, even though youve encountered it many times during your adventures.

rikus eyes widen and he tries to interject, but the MoM physically stops him; sora calls out for him

MoM: its more than just friendship. its hearts that are really, truly connected between two people.

MoM: think about it. think about all the times when everything seemed hopeless, but something, something, kept the bad guys from winning. it wasnt light.

cut to voiceless flashbacks between many of the disney couples sora has met: the beast arriving at hollow bastion out of sheer force of will in his search for belle, flynn sacrificing himself for rapunzel and her tears bringing him back to life (some shit with will/elizabeth and sam/quorra too maybe idk), and finally, herc gaining his strength back as he rescues megara from styx, followed by herc saying, 'people always do crazy things when theyre in love.'

sora stares ahead at nothing in particular, before wincing in pain; suddenly, a forgotten memory surfaces in his mind (if the convo with NS confirms he hasnt completely forgotten, then its the key details that have been missing):

rikus sacrifice in the KBG

riku calls out for him and struggles, but MoM just laughs so more.

MoM: there, now its coming back to you. and that wasnt the only time riku sacrificed everything for you, yknow, although it was probably the most heroic instance. remember him taking on ansems form to beat roxas? and his dive into your heart to wake you from slumber, despite the tremendous danger? you only met her briefly, but one of the princesses of heart experienced something very similar.

MoM: aurora. maleficent placed a curse on her when she was a baby, causing the princess and the rest of the kingdom to fall into a deep sleep on her 16th birthday. but the heir to a nearby kingdom, prince phillip, valiantly fought his way to the castle, and woke up the sleeping beauty– through a kiss. a kiss, of true… 

MoM trails off and looks at riku, then back at sora, expectantly. riku is still struggling to free himself before the truth is revealed, but its no use.

sora stares off again, before looking MoM in the eyes.

sora: … love…?

MoM does jazz hands and poses.

MoM: ding ding ding ding! we have a winner! it only took you, what, 12, 13 years to figure it out? honestly, i just couldnt stand watching it go on for any longer.

MoM: but, hey, i still have my honor. if im wrong, im more than happy to apologize.

MoM turns to riku then.

MoM: well? am i wrong, riku?

riku doesnt respond, and MoM sighs dramatically.

MoM: still no answer? okay, guess well have to do this the hard way.

MoM starts hurting sora, causing him to cry out in pain while riku watches helplessly 

MoM: come on, riku! do it! use your true strength! unleash the power hidden within your heart!

sora gasps and winces, barely getting out rikus name 

suddenly, theres a bright flash of pink energy (maybe rikus eyes also turn dream eater pink too?)

(if the power of love is too cheesy even for kh, then maybe its a black and white darkness/light combo attack)

riku breaks free of whatever MoM did to him, and then channels the energy through his arm, blasting it through soras restraints.

unfortunately, sora was being held in the air, and starts to fall– but in the blink of eye, riku is there to catch him in his arms.

MoM laughs in triumph and draws back slightly.

MoM: there we go!

MoM then shrugs.

MoM: well, this was fun, but ive got places to be. and im sure you two have a lot to talk about. toodles!

MoM disappears, leaving sora and riku in stunned silence.

after a moment, riku sets sora down and turns away from him, avoiding soras gaze.

sora meanwhile takes a second to catch his breath, before staring at riku with wide eyes.

sora: r… riku… is… is that...? is that really… how you feel?

riku clenches his fists at his sides and stays turned away. after a pause, he responds.

riku: … even if it is, it doesnt matter.

sora: what do you mean?

riku: i know… im not the one for you.

riku takes a deep breath.

riku: … when you were put to sleep for a year to fix your memories, some of them found their way into xion. they happened to be your most important memories– the ones you couldnt wake up without.

riku: those… were your memories of kairi. and xion took on her appearance because of them.

sora is stunned, only having been vaguely made aware of what happened in that year.

sora: k… kairi?

riku nods solemnly.

riku: yeah. and the only reason your memories got messed with in the first place is because the organization forced namine to make herself the person most important to you, instead of kairi.

sora pauses.

sora: you mean… castle oblivion.

riku nods again.

sora watches, before feeling a pain in his heart and grabbing at his chest instinctively.

underneath his hand, he can feel the cold metal of his crown necklace.

and thats when it finally clicks.

everything blurs, and theres a sudden rush of memories.

(maybe a memory sequence that you actually play through?)

sora, holding kairis wayfinder in castle oblivion. suddenly, the memory gets static-y, like during soras memory restoration.

cut to namine confessing to sora shes not the girl he cares about– but every time the word is feminine, its distorted by video static. (this is how we fix the aitsu thing)

"no. the g̸͓̦͙̫̮̦̠͗͐͗̊͑̕͝i̷͖̝̝̱̐ͅͅŗ̸̄̆̓̆̊̄̿l̶̮͉̦͓͔̹̀̂͗͝ͅ you care about...the one who was always with you... its not me. its ḧ̴̳͔̻̾̇e̵͚͂̀r̸̺̣̠̓̂̀̚."

cut to namine speaking to sora before he goes to sleep.

“but theres another promise you made—a promise to someone you could never replace. s̵̹̀͗͜h̷͇͇͌̆̐e̷̡̛̱'̷̦̆s̵̫͖̦̄̈̄ your light. the light within the darkness. if you can remember h̷̼̼̜͚͒e̸̢̡̤̹̬͖͐̒͒̾r̸͓̣̜̼̜̠͚͂̋̃...all the memories lost in the shadows of your heart will come into the light."

cut to a flashback of repliku talking about their shared promise. again, the feminine words are indecipherable.

"there was a meteor shower one night when s̶̳̄͑̆̅̆͗h̴͍̞͖͙͑̔̋̈́̎̈̾ę̷̧̰̰̖̝͆̆̕̚ and i were little... n̸̨̙̼͑̽ả̴̗͕̮́͊͝m̴̻̳͚̒i̸̳̟͑n̶̡̥̋̑̌é̸͍̦͑͐͋́ got scared and said, what if a shooting star hits the islands? so i told ḧ̷̡̬̽̅͆̊ė̸̙̩̠̥̿̃̚͠r̶̛̥̻̖̉̾̽͝, if a shooting star comes this way, ill protect you! and then—"

cut back to the memory pod.

"look at the g̴̬͛̄̚͘ŏ̴̞̙̰̍͂̀ö̴̘̥̗̱̐͋͆ͅď̷̨͙̙̩̓́͝ ̸̢̋̈́̂̚ļ̷̯̥̲̪̐̋͌̾̚ṵ̵̼̥̥͖̎c̸̱̟̹̚ķ̸̭̱̖̓̇ͅ ̷͇̳̃̑́͑͐͜ͅc̸̢̤̈̈́̊̚̕h̵̙̗̓͊̾ͅ��̷̣̮̞̾̈́r̶̜̜͓̥̀́͋͝m̸̺̖͈̖͓̊̀̕. i changed its shape when i changed your memory. but when you thought of ẖ̴͚̙̆ȅ̴̡̛̞̲̥̼̋͐r̸̹̱̐, it went back to the way it was."

finally, a few more lines from namine.

"remembering one thing leads to remembering another, and then another... your memories are connected, like links in a chain. those same chains are what anchor us all together. i dont destroy memories. i just take apart the links and rearrange them. you still have all your memories."

cut back to sora in the real world. everything is still blurry, but now rikus voice can be heard in the background calling for him, distorted.

and then, a flash of light.

nighttime. its still. everything is quiet and peaceful.

young sora and riku are walking back from the beach.

suddenly, theres a bright streak across the sky. 

sora and riku both gasp.

then, another. and another. and another.

the night of the meteor shower.

riku watches the sky in amazement– until he feels a tug on his arm.

he glances at his side and sees sora, utterly terrified and clinging on to him for dear life.

sora: wahhhh!! r-r-riku, the sky is falling!!

riku laughs.

riku: no, those are shooting stars. theyre way up high in the sky.

sora however is not convinced, and keeps shaking as tears start to well up in his eyes.

sora: b-but…! theres so many of them. and theyre so fast!! what if a shooting star hits the islands?!

the reality of soras mood finally sets in, and riku is left staring as he tries to think of what to do.

hanging from his pocket is his wooden sword.

the words of the man with the real sword echo in his mind:

“no more borders around, or below, or above, so long as you champion the ones you love."

riku grabs his sword then and holds it up to the sky as he looks at sora, courage glinting in his eyes.

riku: if a shooting star comes this way, ill protect you! ill hit it right back into outer space!

sora sniffles as he watches riku swing the sword around.

sora: r-really?

riku nods his head confidently.

riku: i will. i promise!

after a moment of thought, riku reaches into his pocket and pulls out a silver chain with a crown dangling from the end.

riku: here. take this. i found it the other day.

with the magic of cutscene, riku somehow turns the chain into a necklace, and then reaches over to hang it around soras neck.

riku: whenever you get scared, all you have to do is look at this, and remember that ill always be there to protect you. no matter what.

tears run down soras face as he looks at the necklace.

the voice of the strange girl theyd met before rings through his mind:

"so then if something happens, and riku is about to get lost—or say, he starts wandering down a dark path alone—you make sure to stay with him and keep him safe. thats your job, sora, and im counting on you to do it, okay?"

sora gulps and then reaches out to grab rikus free hand in both of his own. riku is surprised by this.

sora: ill… ill protect you too! i-i know im not as strong as you, but ill… ill try! i promise!

riku is taken aback for a moment, before he smiles gently at sora.

riku: … thanks, sora.

afterward, a multitude of quick flashbacks to all the times sora and riku protected each other, culminating in seeing the KBG sacrifice one more time.

fade to back.

in a hotel room (or smth similar), sora suddenly sits up straight in a bed, heart beating rapidly.

sora: riku!

(paralleling when riku called out for him after waking up from the dive into his heart in ddd)

riku has been seated at the edge of the bed, waiting and worrying. when he realizes soras awake, he scoots down the bed towards him.

riku: sora! youre okay!

after catching his breath, sora looks around the room, confused.

sora: … what… happened?

riku: you passed out, so i brought you here. how are you feeling?

sora puts a hand to his head, grimacing slightly at his pulsing headache. but that doesnt matter right now.

sora: im… im fine. listen, riku… i saw… i saw some of the things that happened at CO.

rikus eyes widen.

riku: you did?

sora: yeah. i saw you… well, a version of you. and namine. namine…

sora looks into rikus eyes.

sora: she… she was wrong. or… maybe i was wrong, and she just played along for my sake…

riku: huh? what are you talking about?

sora swallows as his voice starts shaking, just a little.

sora: kairi… kairi wasnt the one most special to me. you were. i remember… i remember the night of the meteor shower.

sora clutches at the crown necklace.

sora: all this time, id thought id remembered everything important… but i forgot about it. [sighs] im sorry, riku

riku stays quiet for a moment, before putting on a forced smile.

riku: its fine, sora. we were little kids.

sora frowns.

sora: but… you never forgot, did you?

riku shrugs, and theres a moment of silence between them, before riku speaks again.

riku: maybe i was the one most important to you back then, but its not the same now. thats alright. im just happy to be your friend. i know how you feel about kai-

sora suddenly moves forward, closer to riku, now yelling as he cuts him off.

sora: i get to decide how i feel, riku! its my heart!

riku is taken aback at the shouting, and stares in shock. sora realizes hes gotten loud, and takes a moment to calm down.

dearly beloved starts to play in the bg

sora: i… i know now. maybe it took me a long time, but… i figured it out. the person most important to me… all along, its been you.

riku freezes up in pure shock. he cant believe what hes hearing. hed talked himself out of hoping for this day long ago.

sora finally smiles again.

sora: youre the one i love.

(paralleling prince eric with ariel)

BOOM FIREWORKS MAGIC SORIKU ENDGAME

riku is absolutely speechless, staring at sora with his mouth agape.

sora gives riku a sheepish grin, now growing nervous at the lack of a response.

sora: and… im the one you love… right?

after a second, riku returns soras smile– and, for the very first time in the series, starts crying.

he nods, shakily.

riku: … yeah. yeah, i do. i always have.

riku wipes at his eyes to stop crying, but its futile. the tears flow even harder.

sora feels himself start crying, too, but hes laughing at the same time.

he pulls riku into a hug, grabbing his upper back tightly.

without any hesitation whatsover, riku returns the embrace, holding onto sora in the same way.

(like so [sora in orange, riku in teal])

fade to black.

then they kill the MoM, get married, and live happily ever after. the end. :)

love balancing light and dark is largely taken from these tags by @osrinlore on this video of mine btw:

[atopearth]

Norn9: Last Era Part 1 - Prelude

I have been wanting to play this fandisc ever since I finished the main game, but I had to finish Amnesia: Later first so I literally had to stop myself from dropping everything for it hahaha. Anyway, to say I'm excited is an understatement because I am SO ready. Personally, I'm planning on starting with Senri or Heishi because they're my least favourites but I'll see, I might alternate with guys I kinda like so I don't get bored haha. Nagisa is pretty! I'm actually so glad we're getting more background on Masamune and the island because we basically knew nothing about it in the original game. As for Masamune's uncle, definitely a genius scientist for making the hiyoko-san! Who doesn't want adorable little chicks cleaning and cooking and even navigating a ship?! I mean if it's going to be functional and practical, why not be cute as well?! I believe in the importance of cuteness and I approve. Anyway, it's nice to finally see "adults" in this world aside from Yuiga. Lmao at Masamune being surprised at how many hiyoko there actually were on the ship hahahah. I find it amusing that the Hiyocook wasn't actually good at cooking tasty food until Masamune gave it a cook book haha. It's also interesting but sad to know that the hiyoko actually can't remember too many things and that Masamune actually has to delete recipes if he wants Hiyocook to cook something else. They're robots, but seeing stuff like Hiyocook getting dejected that Masamune didn't like its' cooking and then becoming happy when Masamune said the food is delicious, isn't that enough for you to care about them?

I guess it's nice to know that just as everyone else came on the Norn unsure of what to expect and how to interact with others, Masamune was also worried about talking to people outside of the island. I think it was sweet of him to be considerate towards Kakeru and want him to be able to relax here. Ooh so you have to go through the whole Prelude with all the characters perspectives before you can go to the individual story! I like that because it's very interesting to me right now. Is the sister Masamune is talking about Nagisa, and her brother is Natsuhiko? I never thought about it until now but their hair colour is the same isn't it! I know people aren't that fond of Masamune but I really love him. I love how he prioritises others before himself without any hesitation, and I think it's exactly because of that, that Kakeru can't help but open up and like him for who he is as well. Since there's only nine squares, I assume we won't get to the girls' perspectives, which is sad because I would have liked to see their initial impressions too even if some bits and pieces may have already been shown.

Even though Mikoto is harsh as usual, seeing her so concerned and worried about Sakuya reminds me of how much I liked them together. I can see why Kakeru has always been irked by Mikoto considering her attitude when she first arrived on the Norn, especially when he cooked for everyone and she didn't appreciate it at all and instead said pretty harsh words. I can't blame him for disliking her at all haha😅 Both Sakuya and Mikoto are stubborn, but I like seeing Sakuya who usually dotes on Mikoto and would do anything for her be strict with her and not budge on her ruining her health by not eating. Mikoto is a true tsundere that cares about people too much for her own good even if she doesn't express it well. Honestly, I never really thought too deeply about the story of Rapunzel but I do agree with Sakuya to an extent that the witch was "protecting" Rapunzel in her own way whether those were her true intentions or not. Natsuhiko, Setsu and Ron chilling on the ship together was such a nice CG, I actually quite like their relationship. I didn't expect Ron and Natsuhiko to have known each other for eight years! It's sad to think about how tough Natsuhiko's life was after leaving the island and how his desire to stop the Reset was the only thing fuelling him. Lmao at Natsuhiko being so sweet and packing Ron's bags for him when he leaves for the Norn, it's so funny how he packs stuff like cold medicine haha, he's too cute! Natsuhiko really is like a mother or wife haha, I love how he told Ron to keep his hands to himself and wear pajamas to bed🤣 I thinks it's nice to see that just as Natsuhiko was interested in Mikoto after seeing photos of her during his investigation, Ron was also interested in Nanami even though it's mainly because he knew she had the power to erase memories.

Personally, I will always agree with Natsuhiko's thoughts and feelings towards the Reset because it's ridiculous to control how the world should be, it's egotistic and forces your own ideals on the world itself. Also, in the end, the fact that they keep doing multiple Resets already goes to show it does nothing but merely reset things to a certain time but humans don't change how they act and the decisions they make. If they don't remember, they won't learn and if they don't learn, they will always do the same thing thinking it's the right way. Ron throwing away the bag Natsuhiko so thoughtfully prepared was so sad but so him. I didn't expect Ron's name to come from Mahjong though lol. Lmao, I can't help but love Hiyocook, it's so dedicated to cooking and gets dejected when it's Akito's turn now that he's come aboard the ship hahahaha.

I really enjoy seeing the guys interact and learn things from each other considering their various different backgrounds, especially Sakuya, I'm happy for him that he gets to experience a bit more of the world with Kakeru and Akito teaching him things. Lmao at Akito scared of cracking eggs because he's worried a little chick will come out of it🤣🤣 HAHAHA, Akito being scared of birds because he met a peacock who ended up trying to court him by following him 24/7 and leaving him bugs and stuff on his doorstep is so silly!!🤣🤣 Akito meeting Senri for the first time in six years and not being able to call out his name because Senri didn't remember him broke my heart. It was obvious that Akito was good at cooking because he wanted to cook delicious food for Senri but hearing him say it really warms my heart. He's always done everything he could to protect and love Senri but they were forced to be separated in such a terrible way. It was so sweet how Akito actually talked to Hiyocook and swapped shifts so he could cook for Senri, poor Akito faced his fears did Senri! Even though I do acknowledge that Kakeru can go a bit too far sometimes (also Senri's fault sometimes tbh), when he got Senri to say that the food was delicious louder so Akito could hear it, I was so happy for Akito. And honestly, if Kakeru wasn't so drastic, Senri really might just stay in his room forever being babied by Masamune and them who would bring him food.

I feel bad for Mikoto, can totally understand why she was scared of Itsuki, his first impression is definitely the worst haha. Lmao, I love how Ron's comment about thinking that Itsuki was some sort of prostitute made all the girls avoid him🤣 Legit ruined his reputation with one word. HAHAHA, Itsuki definitely deserved the flying kick from Sakuya when he asked Mikoto to meow🤣 LMAO at Itsuki thinking Senri was a zashiki warashi (child ghost) because he never realised he existed😂😂 I've always wondered about Senri's tattoo on his face but since they never addressed it, I just thought of it as some sort distinction to make him look less plain haha, but knowing that the adults in the village basically did it to brand him and always recognise him so he can never run away just makes me all the more disgusted with them. They tried to kill Akito and branded Senri for their livelihoods thinking that just because they needed them to live, it was all right to do these things because it was a matter of life and death. It was actually pretty funny how when Sakuya wasn't feeling good after seeing the future, Senri got Ron to help and Ron was basically useless and just kept wondering how he should pull himself together and be a proper adult like Senri told him he should hahahha.

I was actually wondering why it felt so quiet, I completely forgot about Heishi! I can't remember if it was ever told, but I really didn't realise that Heishi was part of a travelling entertainment troupe playing the flute before he came on the Norn! I can see why Itsuki cares for Heishi so much in his route now. He was the one who gave Itsuki the push he needed to see his sister's grave and make him realise that there are things more important than just listening to The World and going along with things using excuses like it can't be helped. It's also nice to see Nanami get to break out of her shell with Heishi because he just does whatever he wants. I always felt like Heishi was the one who helped Nanami get out of her shell the most so I was disappointed when I actually didn't like his route, but hopefully this will be better considering I'm really enjoying the Prelude! I really like how the three hour train ride (one way) was how the three of them started playing cards together and getting along haha! I knew Itsuki's sister's body wasn't in the grave but I never thought that it was because her body got incinerated since people didn't know what her illness was and thought it might be contagious. That is certainly something cruel to have to face with every time he visits the grave, it must hurt to think he couldn't stop it and couldn't even save the house or their belongings, that is so terrible. They basically razed everything that reminds him of his life with his sister. I think it was really sweet of Heishi's Grandpa and Seiji to give Heishi so much money in hope that he could run away and live a free life for himself instead of being shackled to The World. It's sad to think that Heishi has nothing important to him so he thinks it's pointless to run away to somewhere he doesn't even know, but I think his decision is right in that by being beside Mikoto and them, there's a chance he'll find a way of life he wants to live, and that by interacting with others who understand and know his powers, he can learn to accept that it's a part of him instead of just calling it an illness. I've always liked how Heishi gave his tie to Nanami, it's so cute. I liked how Masamune scolded them for coming back so late and Kakeru called him a dad hahaha. I think I especially liked it because Nanami, Itsuki and Heishi have never really experienced something like that where their parents would be so worried about them coming home so late and shout at them, it's endearing haha, not everyone gets to experience that normal concern and love.

Overall, I really liked the Prelude! I kinda hoped to see more of Masamune's part with the scientists but oh well, I still enjoyed seeing everyone's perspectives. I personally enjoyed seeing how Heishi, Itsuki and Nanami's relationship developed from the beginning the most, but I think it was also really cute to see how Kakeru always flusters Masamune and what kind of feelings Masamune had as the first one on the ship waiting for everyone to board. But yeah, I really just enjoyed watching everyone pop up one by one filling up the ship as they all became the rowdy bunch they were when Koharu joined. The extra insight into everyone's thoughts and feelings as they all left things behind once they stepped on to the Norn for their various reasons was interesting to watch and I honestly can't wait to see more of their stories!

[punzieeeee]

continued from here for @flynnstopher

"Who said anything about getting married?" she asked, letting out an incredulous laugh. In all truth, Rapunzel had always envisioned her perfect wedding back when she was a child, but the perfect man had never entered the picture. At least, not until the first man she'd ever seen in her life barreled through the door. "I would hope I don't have to try and avoid someone like that. Everyone deserves a second chance, even if it's awkward, you know. They could just be having a bad day." With the zero chances she'd had up until now to meet people, Rapunzel tried to give everyone she met the benefit of the doubt. She even had her doubts about the guy on the bed at one point, too, and now, they were inseparable. The most nerve-racking part of this whole blind-date setup, though, was that she had no clue what she was getting herself into with Angel, the girl who she'd been paired with. The concept of a date sounded scary; was she supposed to assume that it was going to be romantic, or were they truly just going to be friends? "Oh, that's fun! Reuniting with an old pal, look at you," she teased, taking a seat on the edge of the bed beside his head. "Do you know where you're going yet?"

[whiskyarts]

TIME FOR THE BROTHERHOOD ASK GAME!

⚔️🌑🛡️

1. Who is your favorite brotherhood member and why?

2. Who do you think is the oldest?

3. Who do you think is the youngest?

5. If Adira had an animal companion, what animal should it be?

6. What are some post series headcanons you have?

7. What are some pre series headcanons you have?

8. Who do you think would be better with kids?

11. How do you think they met?

12. What have you named Hector’s animals in your mind?

13. What is an unpopular opinion you have about the brotherhood?

14. Do you think the brotherhood should continue with new members?

15. What are somethings you wished we could have learned about the brotherhood in the series?

17. When did you enter your brotherhood phase?

18. What is a cool headcanon that you liked from someone else?

19. Favorite brotherhood fanfic?

Shoutout to you for just sending the whole thing ksjdhfjkdsf

Under the cut because I think tumblr will have a stroke if the post is too long lol

1. Who is your favorite brotherhood member and why?

God, choosing is HARD because I like them all for their own reasons!!! I guess I'd have to say Adira, but that might just because we got to see her the most, so she got the most development?

2. Who do you think is the oldest?

Edmund. I don't have like, exact age headcanons for them, but I just kinda assumed Edmund was the oldest? With Quirin as second oldest (Though if we wanna take some dubiously canon stuff, I think Vedis might be older than them both, but I don't really care about him tbh lmao)

3. Who do you think is the youngest?

Hector, I feel like that's kinda predictable lol. But even he's in his 40's

5. If Adira had an animal companion, what animal should it be?

I could totally see her with some kind of lizard! Like a kimono dragon or smth and Rapunzel would be like "OMG YOU HAVE A LIZARD TOO!!" and Adira would be like "please don't touch hi- oh" while Rapunzel already has the big guy rolled over on his back kicking his leg like a happy dog while she rubs his tummy <3

6. What are some post series headcanons you have?

I like to think that after everything, Varian and Eugene are actually really interested in learning more about The Brotherhood and The Dark Kingdom! Varian because he's just always excited to learn stuff, and Quirin is glad to finally be able to talk about such a big part of his past, and just finally being able to introduce his old friends to his son! Eugene is less enthusiastic at first, especially with just how clingy Edmund is and is constantly like "GUYS LOOK THIS IS MY SON! MY REAL SON!" and they're like yes Edmund we know you said that seven times in the past hour lmao. But Eugene's always had an interest in knowing where he came from, and even as a kid he was writing stories in his head about what his parents and life would have been like, so now that he can actually learn those answers, he's pretty excited about it!

7. What are some pre series headcanons you have?

I don't think they were all inherently super close to each other. Like, they talked sometimes just because proximity, and maybe had a few similar interests, but it wasn't until closer to the time the kingdom fell and they were all realizing they were the last existing members of the brotherhood that they actually felt close to each other.

8. Who do you think would be better with kids?

I think it would depend on the kid, lmao. But I think they'd all be good with kids in their own way!! Quirin and Adira are more patient (though Adira would absolutely teach a toddler how to hold a knife) because kids are LITTLE HUMANS who are STILL LEARNING!! Edmund would try his darndest to be relatable, which I'm sure works great with kids, but less so with teenagers lmao. Hector says he hates kids, but he's actually pretty good with them, though he would pick a toddler up by the leg and go "who's baby is this" sdkfjhjkf He's more of a cool babysitter than the type to ever actually be a parent.

11. How do you think they met?

Oh god I don't think I thought about things THAT far back. I just assumed they met in the dark kingdom at some point and went with that

12. What have you named Hector’s animals in your mind?

I never thought about this either, but I do think it's funny to imagine that, while his binturongs are actually his homies, the rhino was just smth he found faster than he found a horse SOMEHOW, and he just needed a mount sdjkfhjks I will think on this tho. Binturong names. My impulse is something stupid like Fluffy and Boogers, but I think Hector is classier than that lmao

13. What is an unpopular opinion you have about the brotherhood?

Answered this one! Sort of. Lol, I'm not sure!!

14. Do you think the brotherhood should continue with new members?

I like to think the Brotherhood was a much BIGGER group when the Dark Kingdom was in it's prime, but after everything, I think they'd be happy keeping it a small thing just for them

15. What are somethings you wished we could have learned about the brotherhood in the series?

Bro, fucking EVERYTHING, I feel like there's so so so much they could have done, but it was all pushed to the side to focus on the main story aauauauhghghggg

17. When did you enter your brotherhood phase?

I haven't yet 😳

18. What is a cool headcanon that you liked from someone else?

Quirin would kill and die for his pumpkin patch. Hurt his pumpkins, he'll hurt you. This wasn't a headcanon, it was a stupid joke rp on ponytown but it was too good to NOT accept into my box of headcanons kjsadhfd

19. Favorite brotherhood fanfic?

I don't really read fics, I'm sowwy 😔

[satellite-evans]

Ohana means family

Pairing: Chris Evans x reader

Summary: finding out the true meaning of family.

Word count: 2.320 words

Warnings: angst, social anxiety, mention of depression, fluff

A/N: Hello everyone! I hope everyone is happy and healthy. I'm back again with another Chris story. Hope you all love it!

English is not my first language, so I apologize for any grammar mistakes. Feedback and requests are always welcome!

This is an 18+ Blog. I do NOT give permission for my work to be translated or reposted on here or any other site.

You cared for your family so much. It had everything you've ever wanted. Chris and your precious 3-year-old Ayla was the best thing that ever happened to you. They gave you love that no one ever gave you. Even your own parents.

You grew up in a toxic family. Your parents are strict and very mean. They never allowed you to make your own decisions or go alone. When kids your ages got drunk and made friends, you stayed at home and got depressed.

‘We are trying to protect you’. The most typical lie your parents told you. This so-called ‘protection’ gave you social anxiety and made you an introvert.

And when you came to a specific age, they ‘pushed’ you to go outside and meet someone. You had a hard time understanding your parents. They forced you to stay with them while you were growing up, just like the Disney princess Rapunzel, and now they want you to marry someone.

When did your own parents become so cruel?

You hated yourself and expected everyone hating you, too. The 3 friends you had in total meant the world to you. You loved them to death, and they helped you so much, but you wished you had a special someone you can talk to with the same issues so you wouldn’t suffer alone in this world. You knew you needed therapy, told your parents you needed therapy every time. Their answers stayed the same:

“Therapy? What potential issues do you think you have? We gave you everything in this life. If you progressed through the things I did, you would kill yourself. Don’t be a baby and appreciate the life your dad and I gave you.”

You didn’t know what to do. Anxiety managed your own body. You never ate or drank in public, you never used a public bathroom and you busied yourself with your phone so you looked busy and inapproachable.

You never assumed that your anxiety would provoke you the best thing that ever happened to you.

You and Chris met while you emptied your coffee on him whilst you were busy on your phone (or pretending to be busy). In your whole life, you were never more embarrassed. Chris assured you it was not a problem. You suggested him buying a fresh shirt to make you feel better and to show him how sorry you were.

And the rest is history. Now you found yourself in Chris’ private plane, with your 3-year-old baby on your lap going to the Maldives. It sounded surreal. After the whole spilling accident, he asked you on a coffee date, trying to make it up to you after wasting your coffee. You couldn’t reply for a few seconds. What if he changes his mind? He might want to be friends. What if he’s a serial killer? Those ridiculous questions were attacking your brain while you had nothing to dodge them out of your head.

Chris assured you didn’t have to say yes if you didn’t want to and he understood you wouldn’t go out with a stranger. “You’re just so pretty. I just want to see how prettier you’ll get once I know you.” The attacking questions stopped. There was complete silence in your brain. This was the first time someone called you pretty. Your parents never complimented you and your friends told you from time to time, but they were your friends. A random guy just called you pretty, and you didn’t know how to react. You did something you've never done. Deciding something without letting your social anxiety decide it for you.

“I can go out with you.”

“Watch baby, we’re here!” Your husband took your 3-year-old Alya from you and showed her the hotel room. It was the most fascinating place ever. Chris booked an ocean villa with a private pool, so you guys could enjoy the sun and the water without getting interrupted. It made you feel better about swimming. Chris took your social anxiety seriously and did everything in his power to help you as much as he could. Yes, he had social anxiety too, but his family blessed him with their support, while yours cursed you with anxiety and depression.

“I wanna swim, dada! Please, I wanna swim!” The excitement of your baby made you laugh, just like Chris. So you opened your baggage to take the swimsuits and the sunscreens while Chris and Alya sat on the bed.

“You can swim as much as you want, baby. But momma needs you to wear sunscreen and your swimsuit. Does that sound okay?” Alya nodded her head with a smile. You took Alya from Chris to take off her clothes while Chris took off his to wear his swimwear. You couldn’t help but glance at him while he was changing. After those years, he looked still hot. He got a bunch of new tattoos, which included Ayla’s name and date of birth. He even got your eyes on his chest tattooed. It was quite shocking when you first saw that.

After you stopped looking at your husband, you started dressing Alya in her 2 piece swimsuit. You put sunscreen on her with SPF 50 and a tiny hat with Lilo & Stitch on it, since it was her favorite movie.

“You’re ready Ayla. Look at you, you’re so cute, baby!” She started jumping on the bed, showing how excited she was.

“Ow, look at you, bubba, the cutest baby I have ever seen! Lemme take her honey, so you can change too.” You pecked Chris’ lips while he entertained Ayla on the bed. You went to the bathroom to change into your bikini. It was black and showed every curve, mark, and scar you had on your body. You’ll never wear this in public, but since it was just with your family and Chris saw your body a million times, you thought, why not?

You came out of the bathroom ready to go swimming. The babies were giggling on the bed. Until Chris saw you coming out of the bathroom.

“Look at you, baby, you look so hot! Why didn't you wear that bikini before?” You felt your cheeks warming up with your husband’s compliments.

“Because I wore it just for you handsome, only you can see me like this.” One thing that you loved was teasing Chris. He started looking up and down, drinking your look.

“Damn right I’m the only one who can see your sexy body. Come here.”

You walked towards him, and he took you in for a breathtaking kiss. While one of his hand was holding Ayla, his other hand was gripping your ass hard.

“Dada no! I wanna swim, no kissy time.” the two of you broke the kiss with a laughter looking at your inpatient daughter.

“Okay, okay, you’re right, let’s go swim. Kissy, time is for later.” He gave you a wink and took your hand and walked into the private pool.

Chris and Ayla were playing in the pool whilst you were sunbathing with Labrinth’s songs playing in your ear.

After a while, Ayla was getting bored with only playing with her dad, so she invited you to join them.

“Mama, play with us, please? Pool is so cool, mama!” She splashed her hands, showing how a great time she had.

“Yes mama, come and play with us! We love it when you do, right, Ayla?” Chris joined in too, trying to get you in the water.

“Yes mama, join us!” You pretended to think about it, took your airpods off and went to join your little family.

“But I’m warning you guys, don’t splash me with water, or mama will get very upset.”

The three of you stayed at the pool for a couple of hours until it was nap time for Ayla. Chris gave her a bath first and put on her pyjamas. After she went asleep, the two of you took a shower together (Chris saying that he couldn’t get enough of your sun-kissed skin) and got ready for dinner. Chris wore a Hawaiian shirt and the shorts he likes to wear while you wore a blue dress with white little flowers on it. After Ayla woke up, you dressed her up in the dress that was like yours.

“Gosh, look at you too, matching together. You look just like your mama Ayla. Lemme take a picture.”

Before he could take his iPhone 6 out, you stopped him.

“Umm, I don’t think so. Use my iPhone 12, babe. I wanna see my baby’s face in the picture, not blurry or in pixel.”

He just looked at you, like you humiliated him.

“What’s wrong with my iPhone 6? For your information, I take splendid pictures of Ayla. Thank you very much! You must have forgotten the photos I took of you those late nights before she was born, huh?”

Saying nothing, you gave him your phone and stood in front of him with Ayla on your hip. Chris sighed, opened your phone since he knew the password and tried to take the picture.

“What the hell is this? Where is the camera app? Why are there so many applications? Ah shit, I think I turned your phone off.” You opened the camera and handed the phone back to him.

“You’re such an old man, Chris. It’s unbelievable. You know you have to press the white circle to take a picture, right?” You said, making him annoyed.

“Ha ha, you’re so funny. Just stand still and be pretty, so I take pictures of my babies.” While he was taking pictures, your mom sent you a text. Something she never does. She’ll only call you and say mean things to you like she always does. Chris always had a hard time staying calm next to your parents. When you told him how mean and strict they were, he couldn’t believe his own ears. How can someone do this to their child? He promised himself that he will always say something if they tried to talk you down when he’s in the room. That’s why your parents hate Chris. They didn’t even come to the wedding and made you the victim, saying it’s your fault and that you should marry a person who they approved.

Chris couldn’t help himself but open the text your mom sent. When he read it, he could feel his blood boil.

“There’s a dinner for your cousin’s wedding next week. Yes, she is getting married and guess what? Her parents approved of this man. It always was her, the better one compared to you. I want you there too. And for the love of god, don’t bring you husband and his child. God knows she’ll scream all the time and humiliate me ever more than that father of hers.”

He felt sick. Sick to his core. He understood a long time ago that your family will never accept him, but Ayla? What did they mean by his child? How was she okay talking about her own grandchild like that? He got angry because no one could talk about his daughter like that.

“Chris? Is everything okay?” You saw on his face that he was furious. His brows furrowed together, and he was breathing deeply.

"Why do you keep talking to your mom?”

You didn’t know what to say. Why would he ask something like that?

"What do you mean? Where is this even coming from?" You laughed nervously as Ayla felt the energy, getting scared.

“Where is your mom getting the nerve from talking about my daughter like that Y/n!” The tone of his voice was getting higher. Alya hugged you, as you still didn’t understand why he was so mad.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying and please lower your voice. Alya is getting scared.”

When Chris heard Alya’s sniffles, he cooled out. He took a deep breath and realized he had no right being angry at you. He took Alya from you and gave a kiss on your forehead.

“Sh, I’m sorry baby, dada didn’t mean to yell. It’s okay.” He then gave you your phone and after you read the text, you understood why he was so upset. You received many hate throughout the years, accepted that your parents will never change. You won't let your baby daughter go through the same pain that you did. No one could disrespect her like that.

I will tell you this once. Never disrespect my family again. Chris and Ayla are everything that I have ever wanted in my entire life. They are my happiness, my joy. Chris helped me go through all the trauma you caused me, so think twice before you take his name in your mouth. Ayla is grateful to have a grandmother like Chris’ mom since she is all the things I’ve wanted from you. I am maybe damaged in life, but I will do everything to save hers. So drop my number and never try to contact me again. My family is enough for me.”

You showed the text you sent to her to Chris, and he smiled sadly. He knew she was evil and caused you pain, but she was your mother.

“You okay, baby?” He was worried about how you would handle it.

“I hope so. I never thought I would do this. I know I am doing the right thing. It just feels weird. At least I have my actual family with me.” You smiled and give Chris a hug.

“I will be with you all the time, baby.” He hugged you back.

“Ohana.”

You and Chris were trying to understand what Ayla said.

“What’s that baby?”

“Ohana. Ohana means family mommy. Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten. We are family.” Seeing that Chris had tears in his eyes just like yours, you just nodded and hugged Ayla, too.

“You’re right baby. This is family.”

[softsebnbuckystan]

Soul ties - Part 13/Finale (Bucky Barnes au)

“I've hungered for your touch

A long, lonely time”

Soul ties playlist : https://open.spotify.com/playlist/054hHxpYJ2rIluevfSaGRK?si=w1JkdfFwTjuXZMegQd9WHw

Waking up from your first night with Bucky was a feeling you would make sure you'd never forget. You knew he didn't get much sleep : you'd only  been to his room once, but you'd noticed the single blanket on the floor, which somehow reminded you of Steve's bed in the early years of your friendship.

"You didn't even move," you said as you woke up with his arm around you. "I feel bad I kept you in an uncomfortable position."

"Don't. I couldn't wake you up for anything in the world," he joked. "Even when you snored."

"Lord, take me out of this misery," you complained as you got up from your bed, escaping Bucky's embrace.  "You were joking, right?"

He grinned and shook his head no. Damn. You ran your brush through your hair and picked up  your phone on your way to the bathroom to brush your teeth. Checking your messages, you noticed a text from Steve.

"Tony dropped off some papers for you. Didn't want to wake you guys up."

Your heart jumped as you realised what papers Steve was talking about. Divorce papers. You rinsed your mouth, put on some jeans and a T-shirt before telling Bucky about the special delivery.

"All I have to do is sign them, then drop them off at Darren's," you explained. "Best case scenario : he signs them right away and I get to go back with them."

Bucky was already seated and he was getting ready to go change as well. "And worst case scenario would be...?"

"He doesn't sign them at all, and I have to go through the court system," – you sighed – "which I really don't want to."

"It's not gonna happen," he assured you. "I'm coming with you to make sure of it."

"You don't have to do that, you know?"

"I want to."

You slowly sat on his lap, wrapping your hands around his neck. "I'm a really lucky woman." You couldn't help but smile before kissing him quickly. "Okay. I gotta go read and sign those papers. If you want to make some coffee while I do so..."

"Oh, I see, already taking advantage of my soft spot for you," he said. "I didn't think-"

"So you have a soft spot for me, huh?" you teased, a nervous laugh escaping your mouth.

"Did I say that?"

"Maybe. I guess we're even, then. Soft spots for each other sounds good."

You got up and put on your shoes.

"It does," he agreed. "Alright, I gotta make some coffee now."

---

"I didn't think I'd see you this soon."

"Well, I'm full of surprises," you snapped at your future ex-husband as you handed him a small stack of paper. "I need you to sign this."

Darren's eyes kept going from you and Bucky to the papers. He grabbed the divorce agreement hesitantly and read the title.

"What if I don't?"

"You will."

Bucky's low and stern voice had unsettled your interlocutor so bad he opened his mouth without  saying anything.

"If you don't mind, we'll come in and make sure you sign these," you said as you made  your way through the hallway of the building. "I also have some stuff I want back."

"Fine," Darren agreed  grudgingly. "It's not like I have a choice anyway. I don't want your new pet boyfriend to attack me."

"He's not-"

"Let him," Bucky told you. "Please, let him give me an easy excuse to do it."

You held back a laugh : you knew Bucky didn't want to be involved in a meaningless fight. On the other hand, letting Darren believe this was a possibility seemed like a fun taste of payback.

"C'mon, Buck. He's not worth the trouble."

You grabbed his hand as you preceded Darren in the staircase that led to your former apartment. You took him to the bedroom you and Darren once shared ; you could see his face changing at the sight of the bed and decoration that still bore your mark.

"Are you okay?" you asked.

"Sure."

You got away  from the wardrobe you were about to open and walked up to him.

"No you're not. Talk to me," you said as you stroked his cheek.

"This room is filled with memories," he whispered. "Memories that are his."

"And that's all he's got," you retorted. "Memories. That's the only thing he can cling to from now on, assuming that even means something to him."

"But it means something to you, and I don't want you to erase all that," he confessed.

"Bucky... I'm not erasing anything," you promised, knowing how hard it was for him to think he was stripping someone from their memories. "Life is about learning. If I hadn't been married to him in the first place, I probably wouldn't have met you. See? Learning from past experiences is not erasing said experiences. I know you're feeling like the bad guy here, but you're not."

"He looks miserable. That's kinda my fault."

"You didn't let me blame myself for this, and I'm sure as hell not gonna let you blame yourself either."

You smiled and kissed him on the cheek before going back to the wardrobe. Grabbing a bag and filling it with your remaining clothes didn't feel as heavy as it did when you'd last been here. Your chest felt ten times lighter, and you were convinced Bucky's presence had something to do with it.

"I'm good," you said. "Those are the only things I couldn't bring last time."

You left the bedroom and found Darren sitting at the kitchen table, his pen hovering over the divorce agreement.

"Could you get done with this already?" you asked softly. "I'm kind of in a hurry."

"You're so eager to leave me, aren't you?" Darren scoffed. "I thought..."

"What?"

"I thought you could make this work for us."

You let  out a long, disappointed sight. "The very  fact you think it's my job and mine only to make this marriage work is another sign of why it didn't," you pointed out. "I shouldn't have lied to you about my tattoo in the first place," you admitted, "but the way you treated me all those years was far from right."

"But I was good to you."

"No, you weren't."

Darren lowered his eyes and signed the final page. With a single hand, he slid the agreement towards you.

"Thank you," you told him. "I'm glad we could end this the nice way."

"It's really over, huh? You're just gonna leave with a guy you've known for a couple of months."

For once,  there was no animosity in his voice. He sounded resigned more than he sounded sad.

"Yes. I might not have known Bucky for long, but he treated me the way I know I deserve. I'm not sorry you couldn't be that person, because there is someone out there waiting to meet you as well."

"Yeah, maybe."

You picked up the papers and went for the door, Bucky following you.

"Goodbye, Darren."

You didn't get an answer, as you'd expected. You went down the stairs silently and dropped your bag on the backseat of the car before sitting behind the wheel. Bucky sat in the passenger's seat, unsure of what he should say.

"Thanks for coming along," you ended up saying. "I think it helped me stay calm."

Bucky squeezed your knee gently as you started the engine : his  hand didn't leave  your leg for the rest of the trip, and you'd  never been more thankful  for automatic cars.

---

"Surprise," Natasha told  you as she greeted you with a glass of champagne. "Steve told me the news."

"What is it we're celebrating, exactly?" you asked with a chuckle.

"Your divorce, of course! I couldn't make it to the wedding, might as well celebrate its ending."

"I'm-, oh god." Keeping things serious was impossible and the light-hearted feeling in  your chest resurfaced. You thought you'd feel more guilt over divorcing Darren, but you knew now that it was the best thing to do.

Bucky laid a hand on your waist  even though there were a few people around, and Nat handed him a glass as well. Wanda, Steve and Sam ended up drinking with you, and even Tony made an appearance. Laughing, talking and chilling with your family felt like an enormous relief after the past few weeks. Despite your surroundings, Bucky's hand couldn't seem to leave your body : your shoulder, thigh or arm or even your back... Maybe you weren't the only one who felt freed by signing those papers. You stayed up late that night, and Natasha was the last one to leave.

"Big day, huh?"

You nodded and snuggled up to Bucky on the couch. "About what you said earlier-"

"It's okay," he said. "I just...you have memories with him. I cannot pretend they don't exist, and-"

"Don't. They're not relevant," you said, cutting him off before cupping his face. "It's you and me now, Buck. Every moment in my life, every choice I ever made led me to you. So yeah, Darren and I share memories. Some of them are good. Some aren't. So what? You and I will make new ones, and that's what matters to me."

You  pressed your forehead against his and closed your eyes.

"I'm in love with you," you confessed. "I'm in love with you and I've never felt it this strong, ever, and it's scary but it's also the most exciting thing-"

His lips crashing on yours interrupted your whole speech. His hand found the skin on your waist as he laid you down on the couch and kissed you with passion, enjoying the fact that the room was all yours. He pulled back, leaving you out of breath. He got up abruptly and extended his hand, grabbing yours and putting you back on your feet. Pulling you into a tight hug, he kissed your cheek and your neck.

"I love you,"  he whispered in your ear.

"I love you too," you said. You grabbed his hand on your waist and led  him through the compound. You stopped in front of his bedroom and stood  on tiptoe to plant a kiss on his nose. "Let's go make new memories now."

the end.

---

this is officially it guys, soul ties is a finished story! sorry the finale took so long to be posted but i've barely had time for myself with exams coming soon. i hope this story made its way to your heart like it did mine. :)

tag list : @ginger-swag-rapunzel @joscelyn02 @writehistorynotthegrocerylist @bluemoon-icecream @lady-loki-ren @simplybombshell @lizajane3 @livingonkpop @kaitieskidmore1

[dekuscrybaby]

nights of disapproval

pairing: todoroki shouto x reader 

request: yes; hi could i ask for an imagine of todoroki introducing his girlfriend to his dad for the first time and endeavor doesn’t approve but todoroki defends her to him

word count: 3.5k+ words

warnings: like one curse word, implications of sex (i mention children like twice), slight angst, fluff fluff fluff

summary: shouto wants you and his siblings to finally meet and the chance finally arises over a nice dinner. except endeavor ends up being there as well and he isn’t too fond of you.

it’s been nine months. nine beautiful months that you would never trade for anything else in the world.

nine months of genuine happiness. nine months of wholesome laughs and giggles, of innocent touches, of not so innocent touches. nine months of pure bliss. 

nine months of being the lucky girl that owned todoroki’s once cold and closed-off heart.

it took you a while to break down the walls that securely locked away shouto’s heart. you were kinda the flynn ryder to his rapunzel, his heart being rapunzel who was being locked away by the childhood trauma that he developed through all his father put him through.

you didn’t blame him though. if you were placed in a similar situation, you probably would’ve never had the guts to socialize with any person, but you were lucky that you weren’t in that situation. lucky to be placed as a sort of comforter for the youngest todoroki.

you were lucky that todoroki found you worthy. worthy enough to love. worthy enough for him to bring down his walls. worthy enough to confide in you all he’s been through and all he’s going through.

the relationship you two had was one neither of you had ever experienced before, which was probably due to the fact that you were both still pretty inexperienced but that didn’t make your current experience anything less than euphoric.

you loved him with every fiber of your being and he returned the same passion, perhaps even more than you. he feels as if no one has ever loved him as much as you loved him. there was absolutely nobody in the world that did so much for him, out of sheer adoration for him as an individual.

yes, he loved the majority of his family and they loved him back but the love they displayed towards each other was nothing in comparison to the love you and him shared.

the eight most important letters in your relationship were spoken “early” and there wasn’t anything wrong with that. you two just fell for each other hard and quick. contrary to what everyone believed, you guys weren’t the couple to fall fast and end fast.

nine months into a relationship as high schoolers and you were both completely sure this relationship would be the only one you’d be in for the rest of your life.

you both wanted to stay together until your guys’ last breath. you both wanted to stay together long enough to reach your final date as boyfriend and girlfriend. long enough for you to share the same last name. long enough for you to have children of your own, children who’d be perfect mixtures of each other. children who’d symbolize the love you hold for each other.

todoroki had never been so sure of anything besides his need to marry you and have you for the rest of his life. sure he was still really young and marriage should not be in his plans just yet, but he couldn’t help it. he found you so early in his life that he wanted to ensure you’d stay for the rest of it.

it took him a lot of thinking to not impulsively buy you an engagement ring. he couldn’t help himself really, but as much as he wanted to take his father’s credit card and buy you a ring now, he decided to do the second-best thing: introduce you to his family. 

well, it was actually fuyumi’s idea for you to come over to the house for dinner, but the detail isn’t all that important. what was important was that todoroki would finally have the chance to let his family meet the person who allowed him to live a normal life, or at least, the most normal life a hero course student could live.

after that, he’d hope it all goes smoothly enough for him to at least buy you a promise ring. a promise ring he’ll be sure to replace with an actual engagement ring as soon as graduation, which would then be replaced with a wedding band and last name identical to his.

todoroki found himself too deep into his thoughts that he didn’t hear your soft voice calling after him. 

“shou, does this look good or should i try on another one?” you turned back to look at him after glancing over what was probably your fifth outfit today.

feeling your gaze upon his figure was the only thing that made him break his concentration. he looked up at you and raked his eyes up and down your figure, smiling softly at what he saw.

it was a somewhat basic yet cute outfit. light blue jeans, paired with a white flowy shirt, and a pair of booties. nothing flashy nor too simple, but to him, you looked absolutely perfect. 

“it looks great,” he offered with a warm smile, which caused you to blush a bit, still not getting over his soft behavior with you.

“that’s what you said about the past three outfits too.”

“yeah, but i can’t help that you look amazing in everything. besides, i think you’re worrying a little too much about this whole meeting thing. it’s just a simple dinner that’s only meant to introduce you to my family,” he chuckled softly.

you pouted slightly before replying, “it’s still a pretty big deal, this is your family we’re talking about, shou. i have to make a good impression on them or else they won’t let us be together.”

“love, it’s just my family. i’m sure they’ll love you and it’s even better when you remember that you’re dating me and not my family. what they think isn’t as important as what i think,” todoroki spoke softly, while walking towards you, arms sneaking around your waist to pull you closer.

“i’m still nervous, your family loves you so much and i want them to be able to count on me when it comes to you,” you sighed quietly while wrapping your arms around his neck.

shouto placed a gentle kiss on your forehead and smiled, “are you trying to say you don’t love me as much as my family?”

you giggled and shook your head, snuggling closer into his chest as you mumbled back a reply, “no, i do. or at least i think i do, i’m just saying that i want to be able to properly weave my way in. i kinda want them to feel as if i’m part of the family.”

“they’ll consider you part of it after tonight, i promise. plus, you’re not that far away from having todoroki as a last name as well, so you’re really not far off from being part of the family.”

you could only blush and swat at his chest in response, the idea of sharing a last name with him being too much for you to handle. yet, it was something you were definitely looking forward to.

“you can talk about changing my last name once there’s a ring on my finger,” you said, rolling your eyes playfully while pulling away from his embrace.

“what makes you think i don’t have the ring in my pocket right now?” todoroki teasingly raises an eyebrow at you.

“the fact that we’re still too young to get married.”

“time’s only an illusion, love.”

“sure, but your philosophical thinking won’t stop us from being late to dinner if you don’t shut up and let me finish getting ready.” todoroki playfully scoffed at your teasing

“here i am trying to propose to the love of my life while the night’s still young, and you just bully me. some wife you’ll make,” he huffs out before fixing his hair a little. 

“for your information, i’ll make a great wife that you can propose to a few years from now. the only proposal i’ll be taking is your sister’s invitation to dinner with the rest of your family.” you snickered, making your way back to the bathroom to apply finishing touches to your appearance before leaving for the todoroki household.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧ “are you sure this looks okay? i’m starting to think my outfit is way too casual,” you chewed on your bottom lip nervously.

“y/n, you’re acting as if i’m wearing anything out of the ordinary. you’re dressed perfectly fine, stop worrying so much.” shouto chuckled softly as he gave your hand a reassuring squeeze.

you could only sigh quietly and nod your head slightly, trying to get rid of all the nervous jitters that were coursing through your veins. i mean it’s just a small and casual family dinner, nothing to be too worried about right? 

except, this could literally make or break your relationship with todoroki. what if his siblings hate you? what if they think you’re too underdressed? what if they hate you so much they tell shouto to break up with you? what if they’re so insistent on it that he actually does? “y/n/n, it’s just a simple dinner with my brother and sister. they’re incredibly nice, i’ll even go as far to say they’re the nicest people you’ll meet. hell of a lot nicer than when you first met me, that’s for sure.”

you giggled quietly as you both walked up to the entrance of your boyfriend’s childhood home, “you were a pain in the ass when we first met, but that makes me feel strangely better about this.”

“well i’m glad that my unfortunate past brings you a sense of comfort,” shouto teased her lightly just as his knuckles rapped against the door.

“if anything, you should blame your asshole of a dad for his extreme la-” your sentence meant to insult your boyfriend’s father was cut short as soon as you caught a glimpse of fiery red hair and literal flames for facial hair. “shouto, what are you doing here?” endeavor exclaimed, a wide grin on his face as he began to think his son stopped by to visit him. 

“i’m not here to see you if that’s what you’re assuming,” the youngest son of endeavor almost snarled as he tightened his hold on you. “i’m here to have dinner with my brother and sister.”

“seeing as i’m here, we can enjoy a nice family dinner! it has been too long of a time since we all sat together and ate as a family,” the pro-hero voiced enthusiastically before he turned to meet your gaze. “and who might this be? a classmate? friend?”

“nice to meet you, sir. i’m y/n l/n,” you offered a shaky hand to greet him in the most polite way. you made sure to exclude your title as shouto’s girlfriend as you didn’t want to do something that might end up making your boyfriend uncomfortable. you figured that you’d let him introduce you as his girlfriend when he felt the timing was appropriate. 

with a much colder expression, enji took your much smaller hand and shook it, the grip on the handshake a lot more firm than you would have expected. still, you were somewhat glad there wasn’t any form of disgust with your presence in his home so you took it as a small victory.

“enji todoroki, please come in,” the older man spoke with a gruff voice, not wanting to pick a fight with his son, he let you both in and walked to the living room.

“c’mon, we can go greet my sister and brother before we sit down to eat.” shouto voiced with a soft tone, contrasting the rough one of his father. 

with a small smile and nod from you, todoroki led you to the kitchen of his home where a slightly older girl and boy were moving around, adding final touches to what you assumed was you guys’ dinner. 

“hey, we’re home.” a smile spread on shouto’s face as his siblings quickly turned to look at him with equally bright smiles.

“shouto!” the girl, who you now knew to be his sister, exclaimed before her and her brother rushed over to embrace the dual-colored haired boy. 

shouto was the one who broke the heartwarming reunion to turn back to look at you before introducing you, “this is y/n l/n, my girlfriend.”

you waved at them with a shy smile, “please just call me y/n. it is very nice to meet you, todoroki-san, and thank you for inviting me to dinner.”

“it’s only fair that you call me fuyumi if i get to call you y/n,” fuyumi laughed quietly before gesturing to shouto’s brother. “this is natsuo and we’re really glad we finally get to meet you, shouto talks about you non-stop, all good things of course.”

you glanced at the said boy and noticed how a rosy color took home and his usually pale cheeks before laughing softly, “well that’s good to hear. shouto speaks highly of you guys as well.”

wanting to avoid any more embarrassment from the two girls, shouto spoke up, “uh do you want us to help you with dinner?”

“oh yes! would you two mind setting the table? i’m just about ready to take everything out, but i need the table to be set beforehand and natsuo’s barely any help.” she rolled her eyes jokingly.

natsuo feigned his offense as he passed the silverware to shouto, “i am plenty of help! you’re just very picky and refuse to acknowledge how great of a brother i am”

“yeah right,” she mumbled, causing everyone to laugh.

after being handed everything, you and shouto went into the dining room to do as fuyumi asked of you. 

“i thought you said your dad wasn’t going to be joining us today?”

“he wasn’t supposed to, i guess his plans changed,” he shrugged before you guys finished up the task.

about ten minutes later, the table was set and everyone was sitting around the table. after expressing your gratitude for the meal, everyone began to eat and ensure small conversations.

“so, y/n, you and shouto are in the same class right?” fuyumi glanced up at you, a warm smile still framing her face.

you nodded before responding, “yeah we are. it’s really nice being in the same class as him, it gives us more time to spend together. everyone in the class is fun to be around but something about shouto being there makes it even better.”

“so you’re in the hero course?” endeavor spoke to you for the second time the entire evening.

“yes sir, as i just mentioned class 1-a. i’ve always wanted to become a hero and i’m glad to know u.a. found me worthy enough to be enrolled there.”

“interesting,” he grumbled before continuing to eat.

ignoring his father’s lack of enthusiasm, natsuo turned to look at you “so that’s where you and shouto met right?”

you turned to look at shouto before laughing softly, “actually, i first met him at our entrance exams.”

“you did?” fuyumi inquired.

“mhm, shouto was just too emo and in his head to remember correctly, but we met at the entrance exams and that’s where i first grew my little crush on him.” you smiled as you reminisced on the memory.

“you know, i think i might remember some loser staring at me with a lovestruck expression,” shouto teased you before you playfully shoved him and told him to shut up. 

“you know i love you, y/n, you and your dumb lovestruck expressions,” he laughed as he placed a small kiss on the top of your head.

the four-letter word quickly caused endeavor to snap his head up towards the both of you, “love?”

fuyumi, quickly noticing her father’s annoyance, attempted to dissolve any conflicts from arising, “father-“

regardless she was cut off, “how long have you guys been dating?”

“nine months, sir, it happened a little after the sports festival,” you replied, anxiety slowly seeping into your veins once again at the thought of his disapproval.

“nine months, and what is your quirk?”

“m-my quirk? it’s nothing too grand, it’s called (insert quirk name).” you began to chew on your lip.

“shouto, i don’t really think that’s suited for your quirk style. in fact, i don’t believe y/n’s general personality to be suited for you. she’ll be the reason why you won’t be on track for becoming a pro.”

“father, i think yo-“ fuyumi attempted to intervene a second time.

“quiet, fuyumi. as for you,” he added as he began to glare at you. “do you honestly believe you’re good enough for my son? do you not believe that you’re distracting him from becoming the number one hero in this country?”

“i-“ you stammered quietly.

enji took this at a chance to continue bashing you, “seeing as you have no backbone, i’ll make it simple and answer for you. you are not good enough for my son and you are a huge distraction for him and his goals. so i suggest-“

“enough, father.” shouto growled, his hand quickly resting against your thigh as a way to comfort you.

despite his warm touch, you couldn’t find much ease in it. you knew shouto was only trying to keep you from being upset, but one look at his face had you more worried about him than you were about yourself.

“y/n is good enough for me, in fact, she might even be too good for me. her quirk is not at all important in determining our relationship’s worth and i don’t care about how it plays an influence in our potential children’s quirks.” he paused as an ice-cold glare continued to replace the warm eyes you were so used to seeing. even with an expression as cold as the one he currently wore, you along with his siblings could see a fiery passion in them. a passion that you recognized to be his strong love for you.

“she is not distracting me from my goals because she shares the same one, and it is not becoming the number one hero, it’s becoming a respectable one. i don’t really give a damn if you approve or disapprove of my relationship with her because i am the one in love with her, not you. frankly, this dinner wasn’t even meant as an opportunity for you to meet her. tonight was meant for my siblings and girlfriend to meet each other, but thanks to you, it’s been ruined.”

letting out an aggravated sigh, he stood up from the dinner table and took a hold of your hand, prompting you to do the same. once he had the opportunity to properly hold your hand, he offered you a gentle squeeze before turning to acknowledge his older siblings, who couldn’t help but smile at the sight of his brother finally finding someone he cared for so greatly.

“fuyumi, natsuo, thank you for letting us come by and eat for a bit. i’m sorry things turned out this way. hopefully, we’re able to do this in a much more suitable environment. we’ll be leaving now, good night.” he expresses in a lighter tone before walking out of the house with you. 

you were still in shock of the entire altercation that you didn’t even feel that you and shouto had stopped walking after a while. you didn’t even feel his hands rubbing up and down your arms until you felt a gaze upon your features. when you finally snapped out of your thoughts, you saw the concern written all over your boyfriend’s face. 

“are you okay?” he spoke in the softest tone you’ve heard all night.

“y-yeah, just in shock i guess,” you stuttered.

“i’m sorry about my father, i really thought he’d at least attempt to be civil with this whole thing. i’m sorry that he ruined our night.” he sighed quietly as he continued to rub one of your arms, gently.

you smiled softly and shook your head, “your father did not ruin our night. if i’m being honest, it was a lovely night despite what happened with your father. your sister and brother are amazing people that i’m overjoyed to have met. if anything, i’m thankful that you stood up for me. i’m thankful you stood up for our entire relationship.” 

shouto mirrored your smile and leaned in to kiss your forehead. “you know i love you with my entire being, y/n. i’d do anything for you and standing up against my father is something i usually do anyway.”

“thank you, shouto. i love you too, so so much. let’s hurry up and go home, i’m in the mood for a movie and cuddles.” you beamed.

“of course, my love.” shouto chuckled before beginning your walk back to the u.a. dorms.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧ 

“so, potential children, huh?” you quipped at him as you were swinging your intertwined hands together.

“we won’t be having any children since you basically rejected my potential proposal earlier today,” todoroki smirked as he heard you whine.

“shouto!”

“i’m only teasing. we’ll see about our potential children when you accept my real proposal sometime in the future.”

[maddrmatt]

A Beautiful Future: A Premonition or a Punishment? (SoKai Week 2021)

New to this fanfic? Click here to properly begin!

Greetings, readers and fellow SoKai fans!

Let’s continue on with the show as our favorite MIA Keyblade wielder reflects on what was seen in the last chapter!  Enjoy!

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Chapter 2: Ponderings of the Lost Hero

Quadratum

After opening his eyes, Sora suddenly leapt to his feet.  He summoned his Keyblade and surveyed his surroundings.

Fortunately for him, he wasn’t currently in any danger.  But much to his dismay, he was not in a chapel in Radiant Garden about to kiss the love of his life.  Instead, he was standing next to a large dumpster in an alleyway between two tall buildings.

‘I must’ve been so tired from running that I fell asleep when I stopped to rest,’ he thought as he dismissed his Keyblade.

Sora’s current location was hardly an ideal place to take a nap.  But the Gigas and the various adversaries that inhabited this world had kept him on the run since his arrival.  Also, even though he had yet to encounter him again, he feared that Yozora would find him and try to ‘save’ him again.  So, he couldn’t be picky about where or when he could sleep.

It still mystified him that he was now in a world that he had originally thought only existed in a video game.  When that girl in the Final World had mentioned she was waiting for a Yozora to find her, he had assumed that she had been talking about someone with the same name.  But his encounter with Yozora and the very real existence of this world had certainly raised a few questions.

‘I may have been here for a long time now, but I still can’t believe it. How can this world be real and also be a video game in a world back in my Realm?  And why is ending up here the penalty for misusing the Power of Waking?’

But the biggest question was the one that had bothered him the most.  ‘And will I ever be able to leave?’

Sora’s thoughts now turned what he just had witnessed in his sleep.  ‘That was some dream.  The first dream I’ve been able to have since I got here.  But I wonder if it wasn’t just a dream.  What if it was a premonition?  A vision of the future?  Dreams can do that, right?’

Sora began to pace around the alley.  ‘It certainly looked and felt like one.  I mean, we all did look a little older.  Not to mention I saw that Pinocchio wasn’t a puppet and the Beast wasn’t, well, the Beast anymore.  And there were so many guests at the wedding that I didn’t know.’

He thought back to the part of the dream where he walked down the aisle toward the altar.  Now that he was awake, he realized that there were indeed quite a lot of unrecognized faces among those he knew.

‘Let’s see.  When I saw the group from Atlantica in the crowd, Ariel was human again even though the last time I saw her, she was a mermaid.  Also, it seems that some magic was needed for Flounder and King Triton to attend since they were hovering in the air as if they were still underwater. And then there was that girl who resembled Ariel but with black hair.  Did Ariel and Prince Eric get married and have a daughter?’

‘It also looked like there had been some big changes in Arendelle too. Anna had been wearing an outfit similar to what Elsa had been wearing when Donald, Goofy and I had first met her. And speaking of Elsa, she was not only wearing a different snow gown and had let her hair go, but she also looked more at peace with herself then I last remembered.  Plus, she also had a small blue lizard on her shoulder.  I wonder if she’s taken on Rapunzel’s taste in animal sidekicks.’

‘Woody, Buzz and the rest of the toys we met were there and they had all been enlarged to human size.  And there were some other toys with them, probably their friends they’d been separated from when the Organization split their world.  Like that redhaired cowgirl and that woman with the pink bow in her blonde hair and dressed in blue.  Strangely, she looked like she was made of porcelain which is an unusual material for a toy.  They both seemed to be pretty close to Buzz and Woody respectively.  Also, there was that unusual toy that looked more like a child’s art project.’

‘Little Chef was definitely in some unfamiliar company.  He was with that redheaded man with that woman with brown hair as well as that older man with glasses.  And there were also two other rats: one with gray fur and that pudgier one with brown fur.  Maybe they were Little Chef’s relatives.’

‘I’m glad that Cloud finally made it home because he was among Leon, Yuffie and the rest of the committee and it seemed that he and Tifa had hooked up. And they weren’t the only ones. Leon had his arm around a woman with black hair and Aerith was with a man who looked a little like Cloud only with black hair.  Even Cid apparently had a date: that woman with auburn hair and glasses.  And then there were the new faces: that big, muscular guy whose hand appeared to be made of metal and the little girl in pink on his shoulder as well as that strange catlike creature with red fur.

‘It also looks like I ended up in meeting them in Shibuya after all since I also saw Neku and his friends there as well.  But there were some missing from that group.  Rhyme and that boy she called Beat was there.  But Joshua wasn’t.  And neither was Shiki.  Instead, there was only that girl with brown hair and glasses.  I hope nothing bad happened to them.’

‘There were even some unfamiliar faces among Queen Minnie, Daisy, and the rest I remember from Disney Castle.  There was that unusual pair who looked like a rabbit and a cat with a whole bunch of little rabbits with them.  And then there was that female duck who looked like she could be Donald’s twin sitting near his nephews.   There was also someone who looked like a younger version of Goofy accompanied by a female dog with red hair and apparently, some who looked like a younger version of Pete.’

Then Sora realized it was not just the unfamiliar guests that stood out in the dream.  His own thoughts during the dream contained information that he had not known before.

‘How could I have known why Xion looks the way she does?  And though Master Yen Sid mentioned that Aqua saved Kairi long ago, my thoughts implied that she played a big role in our meeting. I’m sure I would’ve learned it all if I hadn’t disappeared.  But is it possible for your dream self to know something that you don’t?’

Sora leaned against the wall of the building and gazed out into the empty street.  There was still no sign of incoming trouble.  He was glad that nothing had shown up during his pondering on account that he still had more to do.

‘All in all, it certainly was quite a show.  But still, I can’t help but wonder why a dream like that would come to me now?  And if it really was a vision of the future, does it mean that I’m going to make it back home?  And Kairi and I really are destined to live happily ever after?’ Sora thought as a feeling of hope came to him.

Unfortunately, the hope faded as a troubling thought took over.  ‘Or maybe it’s a future that isn’t going to happen. Maybe it’s nothing more than extra punishment for breaking rules I never knew existed.’

Sora thought back to when he returned to the Final World after Xehanort’s defeat. He recalled how Chirithy had told him about what he was risking using the Power of Waking to restore Kairi.  As he remembered that conversation, a feeling of anger at the unfairness of it all came to him.

“I never meant to break any nature taboos.  I didn’t even know they existed.  I thought I was just rescuing my friends from that Lich Heartless.  I didn’t know it would end up rewriting time and giving us another chance to fight.  And I especially didn’t know that it was the wrong thing to do,” he said out loud not caring if anybody heard him.

That’s when Sora realized something.  “If I’m being punished for doing that, does that mean that we were supposed to lose no matter what we did?  Well, to whoever or whatever decided that, I’m sorry but if following your rules meant letting Xehanort win after everything he did, then I was happy to break them.”

His thoughts then turned to Kairi.  “And I definitely was not going to leave the girl I love more than anything in the worlds as she was: shattered, split and scattered.  If there was any chance to save her, I would have taken it no matter what the consequences.  Because a world without Kairi is one I never want to live in.”

That’s when Sora realized the sad irony.  ‘And yet, a world without her or any of my friends is exactly where I ended up anyway.  I guess the punishment really did fit the crime in the end.  And as if that wasn’t enough, it seems I’m now being tormented with visions of a future that may never be.’

Then a feeling of determination came over Sora. ‘No. I can’t think like that.  I won’t ever think like that.  If whatever forces sent me here sent that dream to punish me further, then I’m not going to give them the satisfaction.’

Sora gazed up at the dark sky and cried out, “It’s not going to work!  You hear me?  It won’t work!  Instead, I’m going to use what I saw in that dream to further fuel my desire to get back to my home!  Back to my friends!  Back to her so we can have a future like that in the dream!”

The young hero then reached into the pocket of his jacket nearest his heart. He pulled out a folded piece of paper which he then unfolded revealing the lucky charm that Kairi had given to him before he and Riku left for the Mark of Mastery Exam.

Taking the charm into his hand, he clutched it to his heart.  ‘We may be worlds apart, Kairi.  But our hearts are still connected.  I realized that when I was suddenly able to fight for you. Even though I didn’t know exactly what was going on, especially how somehow Xehanort was still around, I knew you needed me.  And I know that connection will bring us back together someday.’

“They can take your world.  They can take your heart.  Cut you loose from all you know.  But if it’s your fate, then every step forward will always be a step closer to home. And it will be my fate.  And whatever that dream’s true purpose was, I will do all that I can to make it our fate, Kairi.  That’s a promise and I always keep my promises to you.  It’s my oath to return,” Sora said out loud.

After gazing once more around for any sign of trouble and seeing that there was none in spite of his earlier outbursts, he figured that he had time to do one more thing before moving on to a new location in the city.  Leaning against the wall with the lucky charm in one hand, he then looked at the paper that it had been wrapped in.  

He began to read the words written on the paper.  Words that no matter how many times he read had always managed to touch his heart because they came from the one who his heart belonged to.

“Thinking of you, wherever you are.”

________________________________________________________________

On the edge of one of Quadratum’s tall buildings, a man in a black coat gazed downward into the alley.  He watched the spiky-haired brunette boy read from his letter.  Under his hood, he smirked and let out an amused chuckle.

“You might wish to keep it down, Sora.  You never know who or what may be listening here in Quadratum.  But it sounds like that was a pretty good dream you had with the way you were going on about making it a reality.  Your determination to get back to your home and your devotion to your girl are pretty admirable.  They will serve you well when the time comes for you to play your role,” said the Master of Masters.

The very first Keyblade master gazed up to the sky. As he had done before, he brought his hands together into a heart shape and held them up so he could view the full moon through them.

“Soon, all the pieces will fall into place, Sora. My apprentices.  The Union leaders and Dandelions who still exist.  The Darknesses.  Yozora.  Your friend Riku and the rest of your Guardians of Light over on the other side including your little girlfriend.  All of them have their roles to play in my grand plan and once they are fulfilled, we will finally see the absolute end of the true Keyblade War,” he declared.

Then his voice took on an ominous tone.  “But after all is said and done, will all your devotion pay off?  Will the dreams of a ‘happily ever after’ with your beloved Kairi come true?  Or will the fates conspire to pull you apart once again? And if that should happen, will it be the ultimate separation, one that is impossible to undo?”

The Master then parted his hands and shrugged his shoulders.  “Who knows? I may be the author of a very large compendium of future events.  But the Book of Prophecies never accounted for everything. So, in the end, who can really say?”

The Master then returned his gaze back to the young Keyblade wielder in the alley.  Sora had finished reading his letter and was now staring to leave.  The Master’s gaze followed the boy as he headed out into the city.

“Things may have taken a… slight turn from my original plans.  But the more I think about it, it actually makes things more interesting.  After ages of watching events unfold the way I had foreseen; I’ve almost forgotten what it’s like to actually be surprised.  And I have a feeling, Sora, that you are going to be full of surprises.”

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Notes from the Mad Doctor:

Went rather heavy on the internal monologuing in this chapter, huh?

Sharp Disney and Square Enix fans will likely know the unfamiliar guests Sora was talking about.  Feel free to let me know if you did recognize all of them or some of them.

I think we can understand the anger Sora’s expressing here.  After everything he did to protect the worlds from Xehanort, this is his ultimate reward?  I know he doesn’t regret doing what he did to save everyone especially Kairi. But I wouldn’t blame him for being upset.

Although I have mentioned him in my other stories, this is the first time the Master of Masters has actually shown up.  I really hope I wrote his mysterious yet eccentric demeanor well.  And I have a feeling, given the Master’s presence in Quadratum, that Sora’s arrival in this world was no coincidence.  Then again, is anything a coincidence in Kingdom Hearts?

I give my thanks to whoever reads this chapter.

I also give my special thanks to @fandomchanger, @dreaming-in-seams, and @sakuranekogirl​ for their likes on the previous chapter as well as @sokaiweek, @phoenix-downer​, and @the-secret-place​ for reblogging the previous chapter.

The next chapter still needs work so it should be posted on Thursday if all goes well.

Comments, likes and reblogs are much appreciated!  Stay tuned for we’ll be dropping in on the other half of our favorite couple next chapter!

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Onto the next chapter!

[avatarvyakara]

Drops of Gold and Silver

A Tangled Fanfic

Prompts 181-185

“Romance in the Air, Part I”

181. Companion

She could take on any form she—or he, as it might be, or it, or they—wanted. He was a human who could see past the boundaries of space and time.

Neither of them needed “romance” in the sense that either knew it. Being each other’s partners was more than enough. To know they could count on each other in a pinch, that they shared thoughts and dreams where others might share bodies and emotions.

And then came the Accident, and when Demanitus and Zhan Tiri no longer thought on the same wavelength...

182. Banter

“I’d like to point out that we are inching inevitably closer to the point where I have to kill you and bury you in a Saporian barrow,” says Shampanier with a sneer.

“That’s assuming you don’t die of shame first when you realize I’m unarguably right,” Herz replies smugly, face to face with the General.

“Ugh, come out, guys! Mom, Dad, do you have to fight right now?”

Shampanier pecks her husband on the lips and watches him stumble back a little.

“You see, Audemar?” she tells their son. “That’s how you win an argument.”

“If our son grows up to start kissing random people at court to stop fights, my love, I’m blaming you.”

183. Smooch

Surprisingly, Andrew wouldn’t have been her first. Or her second, for that matter, but definitely not her first.

No, that was at sixteen with—

“...so.”

“Yeah.”

“Did you...feel anything?”

“...no?”

“Oh thank Heavens,” sighed a relieved Cassandra. “That would have been so awkward.”

“Way too awkward,” agreed Pete. “Look, I’m sorry, it felt like kissing my sister or something. Just didn’t work.”

“Nope, not at all. Just...nada. Not a thing. Why the heck do Stan and his girlfriend enjoy it so much?”

“Maybe he likes the taste of bimberries better.”

“Bimberries? It was apricot jam.”

“...we don’t have to tell anyone about this, do we?”

“Sun above, not a chance, can you imagine what would happen if my dad found out? I’d literally die of embarrassment. And maybe get shipped off to a convent.”

“If your dad found out I would literally die. And that’s if your bird didn’t get to me first.”

She chuckled. “Coward. This is why people don’t kiss you.”

“Hey, I like living. No point in waiting for you to join us if I’m dead, right?”

She sighed. “If I join you.”

“Of course you will,” said Pete, with absolute conviction. “And we’re looking forward to it, me and Stan. The Guard wouldn’t be the same without you. Terrifying though you are.”

“...you’re not angling for another kiss, are you?”

“I’m gonna go ahead and say ‘heck no’,” he replied with a grin.

Cassandra laughed aloud. “Right back atcha, buddy.”

Her second kiss, on the other hand...

184. Drift

Tossed into the world by the explosion from the Moonstone, uprooted like the Sundrop was...it takes Quirin a long time to settle down again.

And then, not long afterwards, he starts travelling once more. But this time he travels with the most incredible woman in the world, a beautiful dragon with red hair and blue eyes, a lady who can rebuild the very fabric of the universe with nothing more than kitchen supplies. A soul whose kindness and energy produce more than enough fire to let the ice in his mind...not melt, not yet, but at least to reflect that fire in a thousand, thousand different ways. Ignite again, flickering like a frozen firework.

And Ulla calls him her husband, and carries their child.

For the first time since he left home, Quirin feels whole.

185. Folklore

Love at first sight? Within a single day, even? What were the odds, in real life?

But while Flynn Rider is worldly-wise and cynical, Eugene Fitzherbert is if anything younger than Rapunzel and still believes in fairy-tales when he can. (After all, he did dream a storybook hero into being, all those years ago.) And Rapunzel? She’s been a fairy-tale all her life. Sometimes the story just...comes together.

And if there’s any doubt left, then the next four years, with dates and arguments and making up and laughter and warmth, will remove it entirely.

[soccerbites]

tea party mademoiselle, JJ Maybank

masterlist in bio

a.n: i posted this a few months back so if you think it's familiar that's probably why :) english is not my first language so i apologize in advance for any mistake.

words count: 2,1k

warnings: maybe a little cursing??? but i think not.

(not my gif if it's yours please tell me so i can give you credits)

You woke up by someone jumping in your bed and instantly remembered the promised you had made the night before your mum about taking care of your little sister that day. She had to do double shifts at work, meaning she would be out from seven a.m until around nine p.m.

"Lena stop" you told the five years old girl and she obeyed to your order, sitting next to you where you were laying.

After looking at your phone and noticing it was almost nine a.m you asked her if she wanted to have breakfast, to what she replied with a yes, filled with excitement because she loved your french toasts.

While you two were enjoying the flavorsome food you had prepare, your phone started buzzing and the name of JJ appeared on the screen, you answered the call.

"pretty girl" your friend said through the speaker.

"how you doing gorgeous?" you decided to follow his little game that after all the years of friendship was a completely normal thing between you two, flirting all the time was like the signature of your personal bond, making everyone think JJ and you were involved in something more personal and intimate; which was not close at all from reality.

"our plans for today still on your agenda?" JJ asked, you could tell he was eating due to the weird way he was talking and also your friends had this bad habit of chewing really loud and it made you go insane, but it didn't matter when you recalled on how you were supposed to pick him up and spend the day at the beach together.

"oh shit-" you started but he interrupted you.

"i knew you would forget traitor ass bitch" he didn't sound mad, in fact he was laughing.

"i'm so so sorry Jay" you began talking with your hand on your forehead while the little monster in front of you was watching you, "my mom is doing double shift at work today and i promised to take care of Lena, i'm so so sorry".

"wait, you are with Lena right now?"

"yes, she is looking at me right now, in a malicious way, sometimes she scares the hell out of me" JJ laughed at what you said.

"put me on speaker i wanna talk to her" you could feel how he was smiling on the other line, JJ loved Lena and she loved him, your sister even told you once how she had a crush on him, even though she pissed you off most of the time, it was adorable.

"k", you pulled the phone away from your ear and pressed the button, "someone wants to talk to you" you said to her and then placed the electronic gadget between you two so both could hear him.

"hi princess!" your friend greeted Lena and you saw how her were flooded with joy when she distinguished JJ's voice, "you ok over there?" he asked after a few seconds without any answer, your little sister was shocked.

"Lena! say something to him!" you laughed at her priceless reaction.

"i can't, i'm nervous" she 'whispered' but you knew very well that he had heard her.

"why?" you asked Lena just to mess with the poor little girl.

"he is too cute! you know i like him" her face was close to be red as a tomato, "you talk to him! he is your boyfriend!".

"you know he is not my boyfriend silly kid!" she looked at you deadly in the eyes, "fine fine, i'll talk to him" you brought your phone closer to you but the speaker was still on, "Lena can't talk right now JJ" you glanced at her, she was pointing at the bathroom, "She's on the bathroom right now" with a smile on her face she pulled her thumbs up, indicating you were doing alright.

How the fuck a five years old can be like that?

"oow, that's too bad! i wanted to ask her if she would like that i come over and play with you guys!" JJ and you knew exactly what you were doing, and both loved it.

"shit man" your sister opened her eyes wide open and started moving her head up and down very fast and drastically, "but, i'm sure she would love that you came" you said after getting her message.

" i don't know, i think she hates me-" JJ couldn't finish talking 'cause Lena yelled.

"NO JJ I LOVE YOU PLEASE COME TO MY HOUSE" you held back a laugh.

"oh Lena, there you are!" she was sitting on the floor with her hands over her mouth, not believing what she had just screamed, drama queen just like you, "if you ask me like that i can't say no, i'll be there by midday with food to eat".

"see you Jay"

"see you girls" he hang up and you smiled at your sister who's mouth was wide open.

Waiting for JJ was life-threatening when Lena didn't stop running around the house while howling around the house "JJ is coming here! JJ is going to play with me!", at the beginning was funny and sweet, but after almost two hours of hearing it you wanted to kill her cold-blooded style.

The knock on your door sounded like angels melody entering your ears, your little sister ran towards the door and when you arrived there she had already opened it and let JJ get inside.

"Lena! what if it was a murderer?" you complained for her actions, but she just ignored you and turned to face JJ.

"JJ you have to promise me one thing" she spoke as one of her fingers got close to JJ's face, "you will play with me and not just kiss my sister!" she said extremely serious about it.

"it will be hard not to 'cause she looks beautiful today but i promise you i will not" the blonde expressed as he handed you a greasy brown bag, which you assumed contained the food he said he was going to bring, and winked at you, making you roll your eyes,

"i knew it! JJ is your boyfriend! you were lying to my Y/N!" your dramatic and innocent sister yelled at you.

"No kid, he is messing with you, we are just friends" you replied to her laughing it off.

"I WANT JJ TO BE YOUR BOYFRIEND!" Lena started crying an ran to her room.

"five years old and she's already a drama queen just like her big sis" your best friend scoffed.

"go after her you blondie king" you ordered while setting the table to eat.

"why me? she's your sister" JJ complained

"because she loves YOU way more than she loves ME, besides, you started this, you fix it" you said as placing glasses for the three of you.

JJ used his beauty features to persuade Lena to eat.

Lunch went by fast, lots of laughs and jokes included. The golden boy and you love to mess with your little sister.

You were playing UNO in the living when suddenly the tiny monster stood up full of excitement.

"I have an idea!" she happily said.

"what is it princess?" JJ asked, his angelic blue eyes were focused on the cards held by his hands, thinking about which one throw and deciding over a plus two, thing that made you lift your middle finger and picked up two from the little mountain over the table.

"we're going to bake cookies!" the boy and you looked up to her with a frown on your faces.

"why?" you asked.

"why not?" JJ replied, it was pretty obvious he just wanted to piss you off.

The three of you followed an easy recipe your mom always made on weekends. When you finally introduced the tray filled with the raw cookies the kitchen was a mess, flour everywhere and some cookie dough was sprayed all over the mount kitchen from when JJ picked you up and spun you around.

Five minutes before they were done you told them to go and play or something like that, giving you time to make some coffee and clean a little bit.

You walked into the living room and what you found was the most amazingly cute thing you had seen in your short life. JJ and Lena were sitting in the floor around the little table you were playing cards, unless that now it was filled with plastic mugs and plates. Your little sister had her Rapunzel dress on and the blonde boy was wearing a silver crown with fake amethysts on it and around his neck a pink and purple boa. You decided to appreciate the scenario for a few more seconds, JJ was faking drinking from his cup and Lena was saying something to him that you couldn't hear because you were to immersed into how great your best friends was with kids.

"what are you two beautiful kids doing?" you asked while walking towards them.

"it's a tea party mademoiselle you have to talk properly" JJ scold you.

"oh! i'm so sorry! it was very inconsiderate of me! i brought some tasty cookies to share with you" Your sister gave you a similar boa to the one that JJ was wearing but yours was electric blue and your crown was actually a flowers one.

It was almost seven p.m and after lots of begs and promises you gave up and let Lena and JJ do your make up.

The little girl went running to her bedroom to find her 'products' as she called them and you took advantage of being alone with JJ and told him what you had thought about earlier.

"JJ" you called him and he looked at you, "you are great with kids, you will be an awesome dad" on his face appeared the biggest smile of them all, you knew how much what you were saying meant to him due to everything he had gone through with his dad. He told you multiple times before how he was afraid of ending up being like his dad, but after today you were sure there was no way the pretty boy that was in front of you ended up that way.

"Thank you Y/N it means that you think of me that way" you smiled to him, almost letting an i love you slip from your mouth.

"WHO'S READY FOR THIS?!" Lena screamed.

"Let's get to it" you said, still looking at JJ.

"And JJ" he turned his head, now facing the girl, "i'm doing your make up too"

"Of course you are princess! i want to be as beautiful as Y/N is!"

The whole day was just perfect, you had no words to describe how happy and delighted you felt.

When your mum arrived JJ left. Lena told her everything and she was amazed with the boy, it was a side of him that no one, not even you had seen before and it was a lovely one.

You were turning off the lights of your room when someone entered your room, your mom.

"i do not really know what is happening between you and JJ but, from what you guys told me he was the best today" she smiled at you "so i would reconsider the 'no pogue on pogue macking' rule you told me about and finally leave the just friends aside, it's pretty obvious you two like and love each other in other ways than that" she closed the door without giving you the chance to answer.

The screen of your phone lighted up when you got a text from the boy.

- i was thinking about what you said about me being a good dad, you will be an awesome mom too, but i don't want to have kids if it's not with you, whatcha say?

You were shocked by what he was saying.

- i'm pretty sure that for that to happen there are lots of steps ahead ;)

- like what?

- idk, asking me out first? a kiss?

- my precious Y/N would you do me the honor of going tea partying again? this time just the two of us.

- i'll be delighted JJ Maybank

- and what about letting me kiss you at that tea party?

-it'd be a little inappropriate but i might give in

-god you have no idea of how happy you make me pretty girl.

- you too golden boy

[magpiemorality]

Oh! It’s Saturday! I can send in a prompt! So way back when Altruistic Skittles did the first of the nightmare series, with Remus, you reblogged and said you might want to write something based on the picture. Last I knew, she said that people can write fanfictions from the pictures, as long as they’re properly credited. If that’s still something you’d be interested in, I’d love to see it!

This is very big, somewhat in honour of Remus’ birthday today, a very long and dramatic origin for him.

Check out the amazing art that prompted this fic here :) and thanks to @altruistic-skittles​ for making it and allowing works based off it!! 

Also thanks to @omgsomeonesomewhereonearth for giving this a glance over for me on very short notice :)

Warnings: unreliable narrator, Anxiety is viewed as a bad guy, Remus isn’t particularly friendly, long post.

AO3

***

Roman had been feeling off for a while. He was far from the only one; puberty was tough on every aspect of Thomas, including Logan who had been stretched to his limits trying to keep up with all the demands of an average American high school life. But with Anxiety suddenly in the picture things were even more complicated. Who was he? Where had he come from? And why wouldn’t he leave?

In all honesty Roman hadn’t actually known there were other sides. He’d sort of, maybe naively, assumed that the three of them were the sum of Thomas’ parts, and that they covered everything Thomas would ever need. Sort of like Inside Out, which had in no way at all influenced their existence; they were the pilots who tended to the world inside Thomas’ busy head, just… minus the less good parts. Maybe Thomas didn’t need avatars for those things; maybe he didn’t value them that way, or maybe he just didn’t view them as part of himself?

It was an unfinished theory, but Roman mostly left those sorts of things to Logan, and Logan was too busy for much introspection these days. Which was why Anxiety had gone unchecked for so long.

Sometimes it felt like only Roman was the target of his attacks. Logan faltered, sure, but he was stubborn as all hell when it came to his routines and priorities and Anxiety hadn’t managed to shake them too much just yet. Logan was too established in Thomas’ head to allow wiggle room for anxious thoughts to disrupt his work. Patton also seemed to get away with coexisting with the guy; they fed off each other, or perhaps Anxiety had seen Patton’s power and figured it was easier to work with him than against him, turning good feelings to worry and guilt.

Okay so maybe Patton wasn’t unaffected, but he was so good at putting on a brave face that Anxiety had evidently seen fit to back off out of pure pity, and that left Roman. 

Roman, Roman, Roman, trying his best to stay afloat on the sea of schoolwork and stress, to throw creativity into Thomas’ days so his smile wouldn’t fade. Until stupid, miserable, Despicable He, came along and took it upon himself to thwart Roman’s noble goal.

Their fights were spectacular, unfortunately often feeding into the influence Anxiety had clawed for himself over Thomas and leaving him feeling worse than before Roman had begun the battle. Not that Roman ever started things! He just kept trying to do his work, to do his best, and then Anxiety would show up and bam! Thomas’ hand would falter when writing his cathartic fanfiction, or his mind would blank as he searched for the lines to his latest monologue, or his voice would wobble and break on the notes of a song.

So things were weird, and that wasn’t all.

All it took in the end were a few cutting remarks from Anxiety that didn’t make any sense, and Roman was lost to that edge of paranoia, forever wondering what he meant. A jibe about Thomas not being a perfect person; a sneer laughing at how none of them had even known Anxiety existed before he’d appeared; a scoff that came with the bold assertion that just pretending you weren’t like that didn’t mean you actually weren’t. He seemed to reference someone else sometimes, with a vicious sort of victory that was at least in part tainted with misery, someone who- if Roman was interpreting the clues right- Thomas didn’t even know worked for him, who Anxiety had escaped from. 

And then there was the matter of the tower.

~

Roman stared out of the bedroom window. It was his bedroom, his own copy of Thomas’, and if he focused hard enough he could see the shimmering after-images of the original, with Thomas’ homework on the desk, his clothes on the floor, his posters not quite matching up to Roman’s. He wasn’t in his room like Roman was, downstairs at dinner with the family, and not thinking too hard with his creativity. It left Roman free to do what he so often did these days; stare out of the window. 

Spread out below him was the familiar, comforting sight of the backyard, with its play area and the patio and the grass, the treehouse in the far right corner looking shabbier than ever from its lack of use. Thomas’ dad had been talking of taking it down soon now the kids were too old to use it, but both Patton and Roman- and in fact Anxiety in a rare display of unity- had dug their heels in as Thomas instinctively balked at the prospect of losing just another tie to his childhood. Patton had discovered nostalgia recently and Anxiety had discovered how much Roman feared the term ‘growing up’ and the treehouse was just a big old symbol for all of them to cling to. A beacon of bad things; a final point of no return. 

Roman hadn’t been inside in years, in all honesty, but curiously Thomas had, and more than once. Whatever occurred in there Roman wasn’t sure, but he felt a sense of… something faintly off whenever he looked at the treehouse, that hadn’t entirely started after he’d stopped going inside. This time was no different, and he wondered what the slight churn in Thomas’ gut meant, now that Roman had inadvertently bent his thoughts in the direction of the bottom right corner of the garden. Why picking at the faint memories of the interior of that shadowy wooden structure made their creator push his food around the plate and focus extra hard on talking about his classes, shutting Roman out soundly. 

The treehouse was still there, still dark and foreboding and strange. Roman’s eyes started to water slightly, warping the image, until it flickered ever so quickly.

 He gasped, shoving his whole body forwards, pressing his nose to the glass as it fogged around him with his quick breaths, trying to see it again. 

It remained stubbornly as it always had been, leaving Roman to wonder if he’d imagined the flash of dark, crumbling tower that had blinked into and out of existence. 

But he hadn’t, because as he lay in bed that night, doodling ideas into his notebook while Thomas tried to fall asleep, the shadows outside his window lengthened and the light that should have fallen on his curtains was slowly, steadily blocked out. The darkness felt cool, and thrilling in the way watching a horror movie when you weren’t supposed to felt thrilling, with that edge of risk to it that got your heartbeat going and made your palms clammy. Roman could feel the moment Anxiety noticed it as well, because Thomas’ brain whirred back awake in an instant, the tossing and turning that disrupted him more and more often these teenage nights starting up yet again. Logan began gamely battling to get Thomas to continue on to sleep, Logic coming up against Anxiety for once, but Roman… 

Roman got out of bed, creeping out of his room and down the hall, sneaking carefully down the stairs one by one so Logan wouldn’t notice and stop fighting with Anxiety. The tiled floor was cool under his bare feet as he crossed it to the back door, sliding it open with a soft whoosh of the well-used mechanism. 

The tower awaited him, taller than the treehouse had ever been and far more foreboding. It was made of dark, black brick, slimy and badly worn, surrounded by thorns and with no discernible entrance. A real Rapunzel tower, straight from the Grimm brothers themselves. 

A fairy-tale come to life. And Thomas hadn’t imagined Roman in the image of a dashing Disney prince for nothing; so he started forwards, heedless of his lack of shoes or weapons or anything. He had his curiosity and that was a thousand times more powerful in that moment than anything else. He wanted to know, and whatever thing (maybe a monster? Roman had only vague theories but he was leaning towards trapped monster) was imprisoned within; it felt close to escape. 

Were he Logan in that moment, Roman would theorise that the tower held some kind of dark aspect of Thomas that he’d hidden from himself, and that in the darkness before sleep it was hardest to maintain the lie, confronted with the harsh truth of oneself. But Roman wasn’t Logan, and he didn’t think too deeply beyond thing bad- must know more. 

He got through the thorns with relative ease, considering how large and deadly they looked from across the garden. All it took was a stick from the pile they kept for a bug hotel, a brief flash of inspiration turning it to a shining sharp sword that sliced neatly through each thick tendril until they started to wither away from him as he approached and revealed a door with no lock nor handle, carved into the base of the tower. 

Curiosity won again as Roman kicked it in, crumbling the ancient wood. He gasped, coughing as a thick gust of stale air wheezed out. It left Roman’s stomach twisting with nausea, but the need to be the prince and climb the tower was too strong to be deterred. Inside the house Anxiety upped the ante and Logan turned too late towards his own window, missing seeing Creativity take a step forwards and disappear into the treehouse. 

~

It was dark inside, that was the first thing Roman noticed. It was obviously going to be dark, a tower with no windows, but the darkness felt more than that. It felt like it hid an endless number of bad things waiting to come forwards, to pounce at any moment. The walls were horribly slimy when Roman used them to find the winding staircase, and the smell… Better not to mention it at all. 

Suddenly, the sound of whispered movement from above. 

“Hello?” Roman called softly, hoping he’d imagined it. Nothing replied, but the darkness felt closer, and he hurried upwards with the sword ready. “Anyone there?”

A pair of yellow eyes watched, waiting, from below, but Roman never looked down, intent on reaching his goal. He didn’t see the way the door was repairing itself, or how the thorns had regrown. His only thoughts were for the top of the tower and what lay in wait. 

There was the tiniest crack of light when he got up at long last, feet sore and eyes dry from straining to see something. It was a sliver from under a door, faint silver light, the only hint there was a door there at all until he felt it under his fingertips. 

It didn’t budge when he touched it, and once again there was no sign of a handle. Roman kicked it with a frustrated sigh, only to freeze totally still when the whisper of movement came again, -only this time, closer and clearer- it sounded a little like rusted metal, sliding against itself. 

The eyes down below, having followed the prince’s progress, narrowed in thought, but before they could make a decision Logic gained the upper hand over Anxiety back in the house and for a brief, shining moment, the tower was lit up bright and the door clicked open. 

Roman threw himself in before it could close again, and just in time too, because the light faded not a moment later, the door sealing itself up again. How he was going to get out, he wasn’t sure. But that was a problem for later- the fairy-tale dictated he had reached his goal. This was the end of the story. 

So what was his prize? 

There was a shape, in the room. A figure, about his own size, sat facing the window. Roman blinked hard to clear the spots that danced over his vision in the wake of the sudden flash of light, and the figure came slowly into view in the murk. A boy, with poufy sleeves and an outfit to match the setting, staring out of the window back towards the house. Back towards Thomas, back towards where Roman had been staring out from. The boy yawned, stretching his arms up and it was then that Roman noticed the chains. 

He was chained to the floor. Was this the monster at the top of the tower? Or the… dude in distress?!

This wasn't actually a fairy-tale, so the former seemed exponentially more likely, and Roman gulped as fear took root. 

“I know, I know, come to shut me up again. I just wanted a bit of fun, D-“ 

The boy stopped, frozen as still as Roman’s heart as it skipped a beat. Two identical faces, two sets of identical eyes, stared in horror and dawning, dim comprehension at each other. 

“You’re Roman!” The other boy shrieked, loud enough to make Roman flinch back. It stopped the grin on the chained boy’s face in its tracks, and he tilted his head, eyes turning cold and calculating in a heartbeat. 

“Who are you?” Roman squeaked, barely able to get his voice to work. “Why are you locked up? Are you evil? Does Thomas have…” his voice fell to a whisper. “A Dark side?”

The boy cackled, a joyful sound that shouldn’t have been as unsettling as it was. The clanking of the chains as he doubled over only heightened the feeling that something was wrong, and Roman screamed when the boy darted forwards suddenly. 

He was yanked back by the chains, snapping his jaw in Roman’s face with a wild snarl and snorting with amusement when Roman’s back hit the far wall, sword out and shaking in his unsteady grip. “A dark side? Everyone’s got a dark side, Prince Perfect. If you think you don’t, you’re just not looking hard enough." 

"Thomas is good!" 

"Thomas is real,” the boy purred, moving back to sit at the window again, gazing back towards the house. The distant sensation of Logic and Anxiety fighting for the upper hand grew when Patton joined, his constant underlying guilt swelling support for their anxious antagonist. The chained boy laughed, fingers tapping against his face too quick for Roman to even see, lips moving soundlessly on words Roman definitely didn’t want to hear. “Have you come to defeat me, Roman? No, you didn’t even know I was here, did you. Locked in my tower, kept from my one true calling. It’s for my own good, you know? D- the dragon that guards me says so. It’s for everyone’s good that I don’t get out, most of all Thomas’.” The name felt reverent the way the boy said it, softly and sweetly, like calling the name of a deity. It made Roman wince. “It’s only right that a villain should be kept away.”

“Who are you?" 

"I’m you, but stronger,” the boy retorted, breaking into cackles. “I’m you but scarier. That’s what they thought, anyway. I think I’m just something else. I think I’m bad news. I think Thomas is bad news…" 

Roman wouldn’t stand for that. He held his sword out more confidently, raising his chin. "Thomas is a great guy! He’s the best! He’s full of good things and light and-”

“And darkness and wondering, wandering thoughts and impulses, just like anyone. Even you. You would kill me if you thought you should, if you thought it was your Disney story, wouldn’t you. Without hesitation, but Roman! Killing is wrong!”

“Not in Disney!" 

”Even in Disney!“

A howl of rage echoed around the tower, along with the sound of metal on stone as Roman brought the sword down on the window ledge beside the boy’s hands. The chained boy didn’t flinch, just beaming victoriously at Roman, cackling his disquieting cackle. 

"Who are you really?! Tell me!" 

The boy opened his mouth to speak, a hunger in his eyes that Roman didn’t understand, but the tower shuddered. His eyes darted to the door and Roman’s couldn’t help but follow. "Oh dear, Roman. You shouldn’t have come here. Curiosity killed the cat, you know, and the witch is on his way to toss you out of the tower…”

“I thought you said it was a dragon?”

“Dragon, witch, there was a time when there wasn’t any difference to you. Maybe you’re learning some nuance now though. That’s gotta be rough, buddy, you’re practically made from simplicity.”

Roman narrowed his eyes at the insult, and the tower shuddered again. The boy picked up his cackling again, louder and louder as the shuddering turned to heavy footsteps approaching up the stairs. And Roman wondered, if this was the monster that guarded this boy, what did that make the boy?

“He’s here.”

The door burst open, a hazy shape flying in and grabbing Roman, what felt like giant claws snatching him up and carrying him out of the tower, dropping him hard onto the lawn before it whirled back around and vanished back into the… treehouse? 

The tower was gone. The treehouse looked like it always had, dark and grim, but it was definitely just the same treehouse as ever. 

He fell back, sprawling on the grass as his limbs turned to jelly from the residual adrenaline, while inside Anxiety let up at last and Logan won the battle for the night. Thomas slipped uneasily into dreams.

The tug of unconsciousness grew heavy, dragging on Roman’s very being now his creator had finally fallen asleep. He just about managed to drag himself inside to bed before succumbing at last, glad to leave the whole strange night behind him. 

-

Masterlist | Buymeacoffee

[unstoppableforcce]

waves crash, ships don’t ( 6 )

The Mandalorian x reader

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a brief interlude with Cara and the child :)) some answers are coming in the next part, we’re building to something, I promise.

Alone time was something you took entirely for granted since you had moved there.

Not only had you grown used to it, but you had grown all too comfortable in it. Now that the gentle stability you created had been ruptured by their arrival, you had to seek it out instead.

And now that the rain had slowed, you moved outside, it was much easier to find quiet there. Or, more aptly, to find a quiet without the torturing silence of Mando where he sat, unable to move given his injuries.

The sun had just risen, beginning day three of their being there. The waves lulled gently against the red sand shore, the tide rising then falling back, an all too comfortable rhythm. Everything became coated in a warm orange as the rays of light pierced through the ominous grey clouds, the storm would be back soon, and this was the first bask of warmth you had felt since the rainy season started.

Settling into the damp sand, knees pulled up to your chest, you slipped into a quiet meditation, finally getting some of the peace back that you had been missing since the Razor Crest touched down. Deep breath in, deep breath out, the warmth was refreshing.

But the second you heard a few grains of sand crunching behind your back, you had your hand on the knife strapped to your belt and were turned around faster then you could even exhale the breath caught in your throat.

Big eyes. Big ears. Small and green.

You had seen him in the house before, you had clocked the pouch which moved the second they carried it in, but you hadn’t seen it this close. Nor this baby like.

You would have expected it to be scared in some way, to flinch or step back as you turned towards it so fast, but it didn’t. It giggled and cooed. It really was just a child.

The knife lowered in your hand, dropping away from an aggressive stance but still keeping a close eye as the child wandered closer.

“I’m sorry.”

The suddenness of the voice caught you off guard, which wasn’t something that happened very often, but you had been so caught up in the kid, you didn’t even realize the woman coming running from the back porch. She was waving her hands in an apology as she approached, reaching down to grab the kid, armor clanking with every step.

But the kid didn’t back away, it moved closer to you.

“I’m sorry…” Cara repeated, keeping the kid back with a hand as she bent down.

You looked her up and down, but returned your stare to the child, watching as his small lips cooed together, short little noises coming out affectionately.

“You’re fine.” You muttered back as she grabbed the kid.

As soon as his small feet left the sand, you turned back to the waves, watching the ebb and flow, but you couldn’t get the child out of your mind. So small, so innocent.

Cara wasn’t done yet, her curiosity got the better of her and she took a few more steps forward and set the child back down to run towards the water then settled herself down onto the sand next to you, not bothering to ask before she did. You passed her a side-eyed glance, but it didn’t linger, not as the child began to coo again, this time chasing a bug along the water line, occupying your whole stare now.

“I’m sorry, I never caught your name…” Cara began, shifting in her armor with a thud as she turned to look more towards you.

“You mean he didn’t mention my name.” You corrected, pulling your stare back from the child to her as you dragged your knees closer to your chest.

Cara nodded along slowly, “Yeah.”

Your stare redirected to the waves, trying to return to the silence you missed so much, but the child kept jumping back into view, an ever-present thought you couldn’t escape now. So young. So innocent. Just a child.

Not of a kind you recognized, which was strange given the number of times you had traversed the galaxy end to end, but your thoughts didn’t linger too long there. You were much too focused on the brightness that accompanied the glimmer in his eyes.

Child-like innocence was hard to come by anywhere across the galaxy.

You certainly never thought you would see it again. Not this close. Not here and not with him.

“Cara… I’m Cara and the other guy, he’s Greef, Greef Karga.” She supplied, snapping you momentarily from your thoughts to look back to her.

Her curiosity couldn’t be faulted. You knew if you were in her position, you wouldn’t have lasted the few days she had before voicing her questions. But honestly, since they arrived, you had paid them very little mind. Mando trusted them, so you trusted them. Not to a life or death extent, but enough to not ask questions.

You had figured they wouldn’t be there for long, why pay them much mind at all.

Day three, maybe it was time.

Offering your name back, Cara nodded along, even passing along a brief smile before you both turned back to the child.

“If I’m out of line, feel free to say, but…” She cleared her throat and turned back to you. “How do the two of you know each other?”

Your eyes dropped to your hands, rubbing over each other, getting the red sand off because you had nothing left to focus on. The kid kept giggling and you couldn’t look at that any longer.

“We used to run together.” You explained slowly.

“You’re a bounty hunter.”

“No-“ You were curt but quickly caught yourself. “No, I wasn’t a hunter…”

But you couldn’t finish, you could only shake your head.

Cara waited for you to finish, but any words you were going to use felt wrong in your mouth, sour like rotten fruit. Sniffling into the back of your hand, you tried to recover, to brush it all away and back down. It was something you hadn’t had to think about in years.

“I’m not anything anymore.” You finally managed out, tugging your legs up closer and sighing out.

She didn’t know what to do, as far as beginning this conversation, she hadn’t approached with much of a game plan and now she was lost.

But something switched. Your legs dropped from your chest and outstretched into the damp sand and a ragged breath fell from your lips.

“Do you know him well?”

Cara clearly wasn’t expecting any question of the sort, her head snapping back to you, searching your profile for any show of emotion she could work off of, but you kept your stare forward and the constant waves.

“We met doing work, I’ve traveled with him for a while now, but no…” Cara chuckled to herself. “I don’t know him well.”

You let the silence linger, watching as the child tripped chasing a bug again. Cara filled it.

“I didn’t think anyone knew him well, not until he brought us here.”

“No.” You were quick, dragging a finger over your bottom lip and the scar which resided there, but again your voice failed you and you trailed off. “That’s not…”

“I’m sorry.”

You shook your head again, lifting a hand to absolve her but didn’t turn to face her.

“All he told us was that he broke a promise to you.”

Your brow quirked her way now, you turned the entirety of your body in a quick jolt her way, “He told you that?”

“Yeah, why?” Cara was even more curious now as if it was even possible.

Shaking your head, you turned back away, back towards the water.

“If it means anything, I know he’s quiet and I know that you know that, but…” She hesitated, shaking her head to fight against herself but eventually finished the thought, “He’s thankful you allowed us to stay, and whatever he did, he feels bad, he-”

You didn’t nod this time, you barely acknowledged it, your eyes staying trained on the sunlight and the way it drenched the small child who laughed and giggled. 

There was an innocence to him. It didn’t make any sense. But it seemed happy. A happiness you hadn’t seen in a very long time.

It boiled something within you, something you didn’t like. It came with a flood of memories and everything you had thought was gone after he left.

He was back now, and it was all so confusing. It was new and old and painful all at once.

“I’m sorry, I know it’s not my place-”

“You’re fine.” You interrupted, your voice fainter than ever before now, barely squeaking from your throat, tight and sore.

Shaking your head, you had to snap out of it, you had to get it out of your head and move on.

Meditation time was over. You had work to do.

You got to your feet and dusted some of the damp sand off your pants before bending over to grab the fishing equipment.

“I’m sorry.” Cara tried again, mimicking your motions, “I just assumed you and he-”

“You’re fine.” You snapped but stopped yourself as you slung the equipment across your back, one deep breath in and a brief turn back to the sea, the one deep breath out before muttering to yourself, “That’s not-”

You coughed once to clear your throat and shook your head. “It was a long time ago.”

The child approached you again, waddling to your feet as you sunk slightly in the sand. You didn’t flinch this time, you just watched it move until it came to a stop right at your feet.

A memory flashed through your head and you couldn’t stare down at its two-tooth smile anymore, not even as its arms lifted to be held.

“It was a long time ago.” You repeated before heading back down the shoreline just as the sun fell behind the grey clouds.

The storm would be back soon, and you had work to do.

tags:

@im-the-nerdiest-of-them-a11 @bva14 @steve-thotgers @bonkybaaarnes @persephonehemingway @scintilla-morningstar @sarcasm-n-insomnia @jellyfishpoptart @tedpicklez @morgannope @vaultingphilosophy @fan-g0rl @theladyofmanyfandomsofficial @ginger-swag-rapunzel @afootnoteinyourhappiness ( again, I think this is all of them, if I missed you or you want to be added, please let me know, either in the replies or send an ask)

[whitecatindisguise]

Let Me Make You Proud 27

So let me get this straight:

You, guys, are NOT READY FOR THIS. Neither am I, but the show (or the story) must go on. Prepare for a lot of hurt and absolutely no comfort (at least not in this chapter).

To put it simply: this chapter is going to destroy you. Feel free to scream at me, shout, roast and do whatever your heart desire.

(Be mindful, tho, if you decide to kill me ya’ll never know how the story actually ends.)

Also, friendly reminder: This story DOES, indeed, HAS A HAPPY ENDING! It might not look like it, seeing how this chapter looks like and ends, but I am not lying to you.

Having that done with...

Trigger Warning: Death. If I missed anything, let me know.

------

All was silent again. Rapunzel was shock-frozen. And, from the corner of her eye, she could see the others were the same. It wasn’t actually so surprising, given what they have all just witnessed. 

“Varian…?” Quirin took a tentative step forward, reaching his hand towards his son. The boy was trembling, breathing heavily. There were drops of sweat forming on his forehead.

Varian suddenly gasped and fell to his knees, grasping for his shirt over his heart, face squeezed in pain. Quirin and Rapunzel both let out a cry of alarm, rushing to the boy’s side. Ruddiger almost fell from where he was seated, also concerned about his boy’s well-being.

“No!” The alchemist cried, and several black rocks sprouted from the ground, stopping their advance. “Don’t come… any closer!” He breathed out, still in pain, still on his knees. 

“Varian, we just want to help.” Rapunzel argued but the boy shook his head and yelped, as another wave of pain shook his whole body. 

He grabbed for his head now, closing on himself, tears falling down his eyes. The ground shook and rocks grew haphazardly, hitting already existing clusters, creating a barrier between them and the boy. 

The princess yelped as she was suddenly pulled back, staring in shock at the black spire that sprouted where she was standing just a moment ago. 

“Varian! Please!” Quirin shouted over the sounds of growing rocks, his voice desperate. “Let us help you.” 

“I… can’t!” The answer came, the boy’s frame still hunched on the ground, barely visible from behind all the new-created clusters. “Can’t… control it!” 

He let out another cry of pain and doubled over even more, pulling at his hair. 

“Blondie, we have to move!” Eugene’s voice was trembling, as he observed what was going on. “It’s too dangerous. We are too close.”

“No!” She argued, eyes trying to spot the blue hue of Varian’s still-glowing hair amongst the chaos. “I can reach him! I can-!” She was cut short as another black rock rose, nearly impaling her. 

“Princess!” Captain shouted and grabbed for her hand, dragging her away. 

She tried to fight, but the grip was strong. She noticed Cassandra and Eugene running after them, Quirin close behind, dragged the same way she was. Eugene had the raccoon stuffed under his arm, making sure it won’t slip away and hurt itself even more. 

Quirin could get himself free no problem, she noticed, but he seemed to be in too much shock to try anything now. They stopped several feet away, distance too big for the growing rocks to reach them. They seemed to surround Varian, not reaching further than necessary. 

“What in the Sun is going on?” Eugene asked as he panted, his hands resting on his knees.

Ruddiger fell to the grass, letting out a pained yelp. Princess knelt down and picked him up, gently cradling him in her arms. 

“The kid lost control.” Cassandra replied, eyeing the growing clusters. 

“He seemed just fine a moment ago.” One of the guards grumbled and she sent him a death glare. 

“Up until now he was only partly in control. It was more like his subconscious was controlling the rocks, not him.” She explained, eyes back at the battlefield. “When he tried to get full control, it backfired.”

“Is there anything we can do?” The Captain asked. Their eyes met for a second, before the woman looked away.

“I don’t know.” She mumbled, not meeting his gaze. “I don’t know much about this powers to begin with. Everything I’ve learned was from…” She waved her head in the general direction of the rocks and sighed. “And she’s gone, so…”

“We can’t just give up on him!” Rapunzel argued, Ruddiger chittered in agreement. 

“Well, what do you want me to do?!” Cass snarled back, her eyes burning. “You saw what he can do! You saw how I barely managed to change course of those rocks which almost run us through! There is nothing I can do about it!”

“Cass, I-” Rapunzel faltered but the woman was not finished. She turned sharply and stared right back at the blonde, eyes raging with fire. 

“No, listen Raps! Not everything can be solved by you just wishing it will!” She shouted, anger burning. “You can’t assume everything will turn out right just because YOU want it so! When I say there is nothing we can do, I mean THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN DO!” 

Silence ringed in their ears, Cassandra standing in front of the princess, panting as if she just ran a marathon. Rapunzel’s eyes were wide open, mouth agape. She closed it, and looked down, reaching for her hair.

“You’re right…” She whispered, voice trembling. “You’re right, but still… I don’t want to give up on him. I don’t want to leave him. Not again.”

“Well, what do you suggest we do then?” Cassandra’s voice was sharp. 

“I… I can talk to-” Rapunzel offered quietly and the woman snorted. 

“Well, that clearly isn’t going to work now.” She said. “Unless you have some grand plan to get through those rocks.”

“I…” Rapunzel faltered, tugging on her hair. Cassandra hissed in response.

“Thought so.” She muttered, turning away. 

“The Final Incantation…” The princess whispered, eyes widening. “Of course! It destroyed black rocks back-” She stopped herself and sent an uncertain gaze at the blue-haired woman.

“Back at my tower, I remember.” Cassandra replied, her back still turned away. “It won’t work. The rocks grow too fast and too unpredictable. You won’t see them coming fast enough to destroy them on time. Not when you’ll be focusing on going in the right direction.”

“What if she only focuses on the rocks, then?” Another voice cut in. They both turned to see Quirin, stepping closer. 

Cassandra grabbed her chin, thinking. After a few seconds, she nodded. 

“That might work. But then, who would-?” She asked but the man interrupted her. 

“I will go.” He said, his gaze determined. “Varian is my son. I… I wasn’t there to stop him the first time he fell. I want to be there now.”

“Quirin, no! This is too dangerous!” Rapunzel argued, terrified. “What if I miss one of the rocks? What if the incantation fails? What if-”

“I trust you, Your Highness.” The man replied, a small smile appearing on his lips. “And I trust Varian. He won’t hurt me.”

“I… Okay.” Rapunzel agreed, nodding. “Alright. Bring him back, please.”

“I wouldn’t do it any other way, princess.” Quirin smiled and she smiled back. 

~~~~~~

It hurt. Everything hurt. His head. His chest. His lungs. Even the roots of his hair. Pain. Pain. Pain. Constant and neverending pain. 

Varian didn’t know what to do. He didn’t quite know what happened. He remembered things like through the fog. The light of the fool moon. The Moonstone shard stuck in his chest. The sudden pain. The power. Zhan Tiri… And now again… pain. 

It hurt. It hurt so much he wanted it all to just stop. He felt tears falling down his cheeks. He felt his fingers pulling at his hair. Stop. Please, just stop!

“Varian!” Someone called and for a moment he thought he misheard. There was no one here. He was alone. And everything hurt. 

“Varian!” The sound was closer now and his eyes opened in realisation, as he recognised the voice. 

“D-dad…” He turned his head to see his father making his way towards him. His eyes widened in horror. No, he shouldn’t be here. He shouldn’t come any closer. He shouldn’t-

Another black rock shot up from the ground and went straight for the man’s chest. Varian cried out in alarm. He’s going to get impaled. He’s going to die. He is going to kill his father!

Moments before the rock reached him, gold exploded and the rock was no more. Varian stared at it in shock. What…? How…?

Suddenly, dad was right there, large arms embracing him. 

“No, no, no!” He cried, trying to push away. “No, why? You shouldn’t be here! You’re going to get hurt!” 

“Shhh.” His father’s embrace tightened, warm and safe. “It’s alright, son. It’s alright. You can rest now.”

“No, no, no, no! I can’t control it! I can’t-!” Varian was crying. Why was his dad here? Why was he risking his life for him?

“Varian, it’s alright.” His father’s voice was calm, reassuring. “You don’t need to fight it anymore. You can let it go. You can let this power go. It’s over.”

“No, no, no! If I let go-” He tried to argue, but he couldn’t make the words. 

“It will be alright.” Quirin repeated once more. He sounded so sure. And Varian just… let go.

All of the sudden, everything ended. The pain was gone. His hair stopped glowing, turning black again, falling down gently. His eyes taken their usual blue, not shining anymore. The rocks… the rocks stopped too. 

Varian felt exhausted. He let out a deep exhale, falling limp in his father’s embrace. Quirin panicked, as the boy fell. 

“Varian!” He looked at his son, suddenly so pale. He laid him down gently, eyes looking for any injuries. “What’s going on? What’s happening?”

“M-must have used too much.” The boy mumbled, chuckling a little. So he was only exhausted? But why was he so pale then? Why was his breathing so laboured, so shallow…?

“What do you mean?” Quirin was trembling. What was his son talking about? 

Varian looked up to him, gaze hazy. He smiled gently, as if he knew something. 

“Did you know, dad? This power… it isn’t power at all.” He said, as if it would explain everything. He continued after a short breath. “It’s a… a curse.”

“A… curse?” The man’s eyes widened in shock. “What are you-?”

“The Moon deceives… It promises power but… doesn’t mention the price…” Varian’s breathing was getting more and more shallow. “And the price… Do you know… what it is… dad?”

Quirin felt pricking at his eyes. He didn’t want to believe it. This couldn’t be true. This couldn’t-

“Life…” the boy said and laughed. It wasn’t a happy laugh he heard so many times. It was wrong, broken. “So… what I am trying to say….” His blue eyes looked up, staring into his father. “I am dying… dad.”

“No.” Quirin shook his head, tears gathering at the corner of his eyes. “No. Varian. Son, please.”

“I’m sorry… dad.” Varian reached out his hand to touch the man’s cheek. “I’m sorry.”

“No, Varian. You can’t.” Quirin was shaking. He reached out and grabbed his son’s hand, vision turning misty. “Please!”

“Dad… Did I… Did I make you proud?” The boy asked, eyes searching his father's face. 

“Varian…” The man’s voice cracked. 

“Dad… please. I… I have to know.” Varian’s voice was barely a whisper now. The movement of his chest so small. And yet, he asked… no, he demanded the answer. 

“Yes… I am proud of you, Varian.” His father answered, throat clenched. The boy smiled slightly, pleased with the answer. “I always was.”

“That’s good.” He said quietly. “That’s all… I ever wanted,” 

His eyes slowly closed, hand slipped from the glove still held by the man, falling to his side. His chest lowered. And didn’t rise. 

Quirin’s breath hitched. He held the single glove to his chest, tears finally flowling. He stared at the motionless body of his son and then his head moved upwards, to the moon. His hold on the glove tightened… and he cried. 

[timidizzy]

You all asked for it! So here it is-- Eugene has PTSD essay!

Tangled: The Series, also known as Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure, is a continuation of the 50th animated motion picture by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Tangled. It is my belief that a character in this series, Eugene Fitzherbert, displays signs of suffering from PTSD as a result of not only the film’s conclusion, but also his history prior to the events of the film. In this essay, I hope to bring light on what brought me to this conclusion and possibly open a discussion on the topic.

In Tangled, a royal child by the name of Rapunzel is kidnapped for the possession of magical hair that holds healing capabilities. The day before her 18th birthday, a thief by the name of Flynn Rider steals the crown belonging to the lost princess and finds himself in Rapunzel’s tower. It’s a story we all know, a take on the classic German fairy tale, Rapunzel. In one of the first emotional moments of the film, we learn that Flynn is an orphan by the name of Eugene Fitzherbert, and that’s about all we learn about his backstory at the time. At the end of the film, he sacrifices himself for Rapunzel. He passes away in her arms only to be brought back to life by her magic; and after this, the situation seems entirely resolved. For the rest of the canon, the characters rarely seem to acknowledge the situation and almost seem to have even forgotten it. But, as said at the beginning of the essay, I don’t believe that to be the case.

Tangled: the Series takes place six months after the film and with it we learn a bit more about Eugene’s backstory. We learn he has a best friend in the form of foster-brother and ex-partner-in-crime, Lance Strongbow, as well as an ex-fiancee, Stalyan, whom he left at the altar around age 16. However, the most important piece of his history comes from the season two finale in which, after reconnecting with his father, we learn that Eugene is the prince of the Dark Kingdom. But apart from his history, on the surface, it doesn’t seem we get much character development for him. It’s very clear he’s a primary source of comic relief, which is what offers the illusion of his lack of development, but I believe the comedy is a product of it. In emotional scenes that relate to his life, he only seems to respond with humor, only taking emotional moments about others seriously. We can see this displayed when confronting Angry about Catalina’s curse. While Rapunzel does that talking, Eugene stands in the background with a somber and depressed expression as he remains quiet. When Rapunzel is, understandably, heartbroken about Cassandra’s betrayal, Eugene remains a helpful support for her. In fact, one of the earliest examples of Eugene’s concern for those around him comes from the season one episode, Cassandra V. Eugene. Despite their sibling-like rivalry and mutual distaste for each other, Eugene asks her about her family. He allows her an outlet to open up, and who better than him, who ALSO didn’t know his birth parents, for her to speak to about her traumas? Throughout the entirety of the series, Eugene is there for a whole cast of characters, offering support in any way he can.

However, when presented with his own traumas, his tactics switch. He jokes about his death and laughed in the face of his estranged father. Only when he’s genuinely caught off guard and unprepared does he respond with any form of concern or sincerity. When in the tower in The Quest for Varian, he treats the situation like a tour, laughing about being stabbed and killed and even pointing out the armoire where Rapunzel hid his unconscious body. He acted as if it were a fun experience in his history worth joking about. In addition to this, in Pascal’s Story a few episodes prior, Eugene has no warning of their visiting the tower, and this is the first time we see him take the situation seriously. As soon as he realizes where they’re going, his reaction is highly upset, responding with shock and concern. He even goes as far as to imply that next time he should get the chance to abstain from going to the tower. But, again, later when he’s had time to process the situation, he approaches the moment with humor. The same story goes for meeting King Edmund, Eugene’s father. In the moment after meeting him, Eugene’s expression is shocked and confused before he bursts into laughter. And even then, his joking turns to anger, going as far as to yell at Edmund for attacking a stranger.

The point of all of this is, Eugene clearly has the ability to show compassion for traumas. So why does he refuse to acknowledge his own? To me, this evidence leads to a simple solution. “Humor as a distraction may serve as one mechanism by which humor can attenuate negative emotions (page 2, paragraph 2).” This quote implies that when applying humor to negative thoughts and emotions, it can lessen the sense of its pain. Using this knowledge of humor as a coping mechanism and pairing it with the patterns we’ve seen Eugene display toward his traumas, I strongly feel that he genuinely uses humor as a coping mechanism for any traumas he suffers from. So with this knowledge, let’s make the base assumption that this is all true. Let’s assume Eugene uses humor as a mechanism to cope with his traumas. The National Center for Biotechnology Information lists humor as a mature defense in terms of the involuntary coping mechanisms for PTSD (section 3, paragraph 6).

In conclusion, I personally believe that with the evidence of Eugene’s insistence on refusing to take his traumas seriously, there is substantial proof of Eugene, at the very least, using humor as a coping mechanism, and possibly even a tactic to cope with PTSD, specifically. Of course, I’m not great at writing essays and putting my thoughts to words, and even less so in terms of finding good evidence. I completely understand if you personally find that this essay doesn’t make sense, or just flat out doesn’t add up. However, I’d appreciate it if we could all leave this essay as what it is, just me trying to have fun digging through my favorite series and character! All this said, I hope you guys enjoyed <3

[gaamagirl565]

First meeting

The Royal Gardens were a beautiful thing to behold in springtime.  An array of different flowers were spread across the small landscape.  Carnations,  Lilies,  even a grand cherry blossom overlooked the tables that had been set up for the garden party.  green foliage twisted and turned up the trunk of the tree glistening in the sunlight.  leaning against the trunk a jaded Alchemist could only take in the sight of the Nobles sipping their tea and conversing with the Royal Family.  a few of them gave him a nasty glare as he was still technically considered a traitor to the kingdom.  So many years had passed since his betrayal, he knew what he did was wrong and personally, he knew that he deserved every inch of animosity the kingdom had towards him but deep inside he wished they would all just get over it so he would be able to live a peaceful life. However, cold hard truth would always snap him back to reality as if someone had thrown a bucket of water on him.  there would always be people that would never forget what he did.  and he would have to live with that.  as of right now he could care less of what they thought of him there was only one thought on his mind or rather... two thoughts.  not far from him he longingly gazed at a singular woman.  her auburn red hair reached mid-length on her back. she'd only started wearing it down since they were together and she had learned to let loose a little and be herself. Varian had always said that her eyes reminded him of the purest of emeralds how they glistened and shined. She smiled and giggled as she conversed with the rest of the Nobles. Her sun-kissed cheeks turning up with her smile. Varian’s eyes gazed down to the small bundle within her arms. The cornflower blue blanket hung limply from her arms.  Varian could only imagine how soft the blanket must be having been made from the finest kinds of cotton. he would know. he made it.  he was always good at sewing before living in Old Corona your whole life you had to be.  if you damaged your clothes you couldn't simply buy new ones. life wasn't that easy.  it always ‘put a patch on it and wait until you had enough funds to buy yourself a new outfit’.  Because of this factor, Varian had become adept at sewing. Within the blanket, an infant, no more than 2 months old fidgeted and squirmed impatiently. The child's skin was starting to turn red from his fussing.  his tiny hands clutched onto his mother parakeet green dress no doubt made from the finest silks.  Varian could only smile.  that was his kid no doubt.  impatient till the very end.  he still remembered the day Estelle told him they were going to have a child.  at first, he couldn't have been happier but then she explained the issue that they had gotten themselves into.  if Estelle’s family had found out that the child was Varian’s the Duchess and the child would be in great Danger.  he didn't really see the Duke as a forgiving type even to a baby. Varian’s grip tightened on his arm as anger flooded him thinking of what the Duke would have done to Estelle and his son had he found out the truth. They figured it was for the best if they stop seeing each other romantically, they couldn't risk it.  as much as it broke Varian’s heart to have to let his son and the woman he loved go he knew it was necessary to keep them safe.  He didn't want his past transgressions to weigh down his family.  a sudden Yelp and the clash of a teacup broke Varian from his thoughts and he jolted his head up.  loud crying followed and queen Rapunzel swiftly got up from her chair offering The Duchess a few napkins. “ I'm so terribly sorry your majesty! I don't know what's wrong with him today!”  The Duchess apologized profusely to her Queen. “it's no trouble Estelle, really, babies are just like that sometimes!”  Rapunzel returned with a reassuring smile.  Varian wanted nothing more than to rush over and help Estelle, however, he knew he’d risk suspicion if did anything. Varian bit his lip as Estelle got up from her chair and began bouncing her son trying to soothe him, the fresh tea stain soaking into her dress.  How he longed to hold his child in his arms. How stressed his love looked.  Where was The Duke when she needed him?  this man assumed he was Isaiah's father so where was he when they needed him!? Varian suppressed a growl.  Isaiah only continued to scream and cry. Varian could not handle it and looked away trying to suppress the urge to rush over and help them.  this had caught Rapunzel's eye.  she felt sorrow grip at her heart for her friend.  she was one of the only few that knew the truth about Isaiah.  the only others that knew were Eugene, Lance, Quirin, and Adira. “Oh, Varian…” the queen whispered to herself.  she wished there was some way that she could help him.  it practically killed her to see him like this.  it was then that an idea struck her.  a smile plastered across her face almost instantly as excitement rushed through her at the very thought of the idea.  she tried her best to keep herself from squealing.  clearing her throat as if to make an announcement, a few of the Nobles ceased they're talking and turned towards their Queen. “Excuse me, Varian?”  upon hearing his name Varian stood at attention and bowed before his Queen. “Your majesty?”  he questioned.  Rapunzel held back a chuckle at how formal he was being.  she knew he had to be this way in public but it never made it any less adorable to her. “Would you not agree that The Duchess seems a little exhausted?”  Varian cocked an eyebrow wondering what on Earth she was doing. “Uh... it would seem so... yes…”  he said nervously. “ could you do us a grand favour?”  Varian narrowed his eyes.  what was going on in Rapunzel's head that made her think any of this was a good idea!?   why was she calling him out like this? Even Estelle looked significantly worried.  Varian tried to calm himself. this was Rapunzel he was talking about. she wouldn't betray him. “would you mind relieving her of her son for a moment? maybe take him inside the castle walk him about a bit? just so the duchess has a few moments to collect herself.  that is if it's all right with her course!” Varian's eyes widened and he looked towards Estelle. She looked back at him with a smile. “It would be quite appreciated…” she said with love in her eyes. Varian’s lips curled up into a soft smile and he nodded. “I-I’d be honored, your grace.” rising to his feet, Varian walked over to her and gingerly took the little bundle from her arms. “Watch his head.” Estelle whispered to him. A burst of emotion flooded Varian’s chest as he cradled the infant. He was holding his son. His child. For the first time. Estelle went to go take her seat once more as Varian slowly made his way to the castle doors. It had seemed Isaiah immediately calmed himself once in his father’s arms, now more curious as to who this new person holding him was. Varian’s heels clicked against the tile floor of the castle hallway and echoed outward. Isaiah seemed alarmed by the sudden loud noise and began to whimper. “Oh, no no no it’s okay buddy!” Varian soothed “just me! See?” he clicked his heels once more and Isaiah giggled reaching his arms upward. Varian lifted his son up to his face. Isaiah placed his petite hands on Varian’s face. His fingers feeling like velvet compared to Varian’s 20-year-old skin. As he tried to figure Varian out his father’s long feathery bang caught his attention. As he gripped the black hair in between his fingers Varian could only laugh. “Having fun?” he said turning up an eyebrow. Varian held his son close and began to walk around the hallway talking about the portraits of past kings that hung delicately on the wall. Isaiah despite not understanding seemed to be listening intently to every word. “That’s King Eugene. He’s really nice. You’ll like him. When daddy was younger we called each other ‘team awesome’.” he explained with a giggle. “ That’s King Fredric...he...uh...he was a bit rough around the edges but I’m sure he could be a nice guy….when he wanted to be.” Isaiah let out a squeaky yawn in response. “Oh ho big yawn.” Varian cooed.  Isaiah turned and snuggled into his father’s vest, digging his face into the fabric. Varian promptly tucked the blank around him and marveled at his child. He had his nose, his mother’s delicate green eyes, and his hair was a toffee blonde fuzz. Pride swelled in Varian’s chest and he peppered a kiss to his son’s forehead. “I promise...no matter what I’ll protect you, and love you even from afar. You may not know who I am but I know who you are. You’re my son. And I’ll always be proud of you.”