#leftover words zine

[blossompoet]

LEFTOVER WORDS ZINE

When I write poetry, I usually jot down a short comment to the stuff I´ve just written afterwards - to reflect or just as a reminder or kind of diary entry I can come back later.

Most of it is pretty boring, but some is actually funny/interesting/weird enough to put it in a little mini zine ^^

I´ve decorated the photos with some doodles from designsyndrome (he has many freebies and a lot of cool inspiration). I hope you find some joy in it!

[alicenpai]

my piece for the Hemisphere: a Witch Hat Atelier seasons themed zine! thank you for having me! they're having a leftovers sale until stock runs out 🖋🍀🌷🍁❄🌧 WIPs + inspiration board + symbolism under the cut! got some requests to put this on my inprnt! the site has sales very often & you can grab it as a small or big size print.

I had a pretty good idea of the composition from the get-go. I took inspiration from art nouveau (primarily Alphonse Mucha), German fairy tales, and some 1920s perfume ads. I wanted the girls to look like fairies, akin to The Root Children by Sibylle von Olfers.

Olly just didn't work out in this drawing due to time restraints. I do love him very much though.

I actually kinda stopped making illustrations like these (including the TGAA/DGS tarot card + TGAA/DGS zine pieces a while back) because they were starting to get very hard on my arm, as I had an RSI (repetitive strain injury) a few years back during school. (Not putting the onus on the zines at all ofc! I genuinely love working with zine projects! it's def a me thing WAHAHAHA. my style was getting too anime and too detailed for my liking and everything was just taking forever to finish ngl. but I didn't have time to experiment with a more simple style outside of all of my deadlines)

I think that realizing you need to stop is okay. It's something that Shirahama teaches us in her story and I want to learn to take it to heart.

---

MILD SPOILERS AHEAD (for those who havent read the story I guess)

each character's symbolism:

- Coco - spring, clovers - Coco is the quintessential spring girl, and I wanted her to symbolize new beginnings, and oh boy did Coco bring a big one. The four leaf clover in particular symbolizes luck and good fortune - to some characters, Coco may have brought fortune, to others her presence brings misfortune, take that as you will.

- Tetia - summer, gladiolus - the name "gladiolus" comes from the Latin word "gladius", meaning "sword", based on the shape of the flower. you can interpret it as "you pierce my heart", perfect for a girl like Tetia, who has a contagious energy, with a romantic and grandiose nature.

- Agott - autumn, marigold - I read somewhere marigolds symbolize strength and power, perfect for our little magical powerhouse Agott. They can also symbolize jealousy (yellow flowers in particular have this association), which reflects on her rivalry with Coco in the beginning.

- Riche - winter, snowdrop - The white color of snowdrops has a strong connotation to innocence, which reflects on Riche's wish to stay a child forever. It can also symbolize rebirth and new beginnings (like Coco's clovers), as the snowdrop is the first flower to bloom in the spring, when the snow has not yet melted. I wanted the concept of "rebirth" to associate with Riche's friendship with Euini, and of his sort of "rebirth" into a new being.

- Qifrey - he does not have a flower per se, but as the caregiver and educator of the four girls, he represents the rainy season - precipitation being the one thing that binds all of these seasons together. (Note some areas of the world do not have a rainy season like where I live). I think somewhere along the line I wanted to put hydrangeas behind him, to really bring out the "rainy" theme, but the thought probably got lost somewhere in translation...

- bg flowers - honestly I just picked whatever. white lily, daffodil, hydrangea, zinnia, tulip

[spookyprime]

Hey I can finally post my entry for the @batfam-au-zine

The comic is written by @salparadiselost but if you want the words and not just the art you should see about checking out the leftovers shop

[waywardstation]

Take a Break

It's a rainy day today, and everyone is stuck inside the Galaxy Hall. Good thing Akari has brought in a fun board game for everyone to play! Commander Kamado is not exempt, even if he is buried in paperwork.

Here is my piece for the Hisui Chronicles Zine! It was so much fun getting to write this for the project, and such a huge honor to be invited to do so by the mods! Mods, thank you again so much for having me in the zine, and for all the work you did putting it all together!! It came out fantastic!

If you have the zine, you can find this work within and see its accompanying spot art! They're really fantastic pieces, all drawn by Sensushimi!

You can check out the zine at @hisuizine here on tumblr and on twitter; leftover sales are currently open! :)

OR read it here on AO3!

Enjoy!

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Another flash of lightning glared through the rain-streaked windows to illuminate Kamado’s office. The commander gave no thought to look up from his paperwork as the deep rumble of thunder followed close behind, rolling somewhere above — the storm’s impressive display had been a common occurance all day, and he had grown used to it.

So used to it, in fact, that it felt like it was beginning to overstay its welcome. Having rolled in on dark clouds the night before, the rainfall had long since sufficiently watered the fieldlands. Now, it wasn’t doing much more than swelling the rivers, oversaturating the ground, and unnecessarily pelting Jubilife and its residents.

It certainly halted work for the Galaxy Team’s members today. No surveying, no construction, no farming… Kamado couldn’t send anyone out in these conditions under good conscience, and had dismissed everyone who had reported for work that morning. Efficiency was the pride of any respectable organization, but it meant nothing if safety was not considered. Practically every worker who reported in that morning had been quick to agree to this, but Kamado felt it was more in the interest of wanting to go back to bed and catch a few more hours of sleep.

It wasn’t all bad, though; vicious weather hopefully meant no meetings. No need to settle disagreements between disgruntled villagers, bargain with advantageous Ginkgo members, or play middleman between clashing clan leaders. Kamado did appreciate that it gave him a much-needed chance to finally look over a few backed up work orders, as well as notices for final approval and acknowledgement. 

Writing off the current one before him — a notice from the Ginkgo Guild that two supply ships would need the docks next month upon their arrival — and setting it aside, Kamado plucked the next one from off the top of the pile.

Let’s see… A request from Captains Sanqua and Colza, petitioning permission for the construction and agriculture departments to collaborate on new facilities and expansions in the crop fields. That seemed reasonable, what with the recent arrival of four new families to Jubilife—

“ NO! Akari!” A sudden shout downstairs from Rei ripped Kamado’s attention away from the words on the page. “Please don’t, you know it’s the last one I need!”

“Buy it! Buy it! He’s trying to start setting down those housing pieces!” A resounding objection followed, unmistakably from Zisu.

…Ah, yes. The small group of Galaxy Team members who did not run home the moment they had been dismissed.

Even through the barrier of closed office doors and an entire floor between them, the group’s excited shouts still slipped through to reach him. For most of the afternoon, it seemed their commotion and the thunderstorm had been competing to be the loudest disruption in the hall. 

And currently, the thunder was not winning.

They were playing that game. The one Akari had saved from a space-time distortion the day before. The one that she had nagged him to play with her and everyone else who had decided to stay at the hall this morning.

She had gushed about how fun it was and how she’d properly teach everyone how to play. And perhaps it really was as enjoyable as she had advertised, what with how spirited everyone was downstairs, still fully engaged in it hours later. But the temptation of partaking in a game was weak in the face of untouched paperwork that had already been neglected.

Kamado huffed to himself at the recollection. That sky-faller was a different breed, braving the unstable pockets to bring back such toys and playthings so regularly. Sometimes, it was cards. Other times, it was a colorful board game with most of its pieces. And occasionally it was something different all together, consisting of game pieces that looked as novel and bizarre as the rules sounded. 

Regardless though, it always extracted a very… disruptive energy from anyone who got involved.

Sighing through his nose and reclining back in his chair, Kamado tentatively attempted to redirect his attention back to his paperwork — he had a goal to finish it all by this afternoon, and planned to follow through with that goal. Straightening the paper in his hands, he tentatively leaned back into reading.

Sanqua was requesting approval on preparing land for additional farming plots and another storage shed. There was an attached list of required materials and a projected estimate for—

“Wait! I’ll buy it from you!” Rei’s pleas severed Kamado’s weak thread of concentration before it could even fully recover. “How much do you want for it?”

A quick, coveted second of silent thought before Akari threw her voice into the fray. “Six-hundred!”

“What? No! It says it’s only two-hundred!”

“You asked how much I wanted for it, not how much it costs! Besides, you have like three times the money I do, this is nothing for you!”

“I’ve been saving them for all the houses!”

The sky once again illuminated the office with a flash as the bickering went back and forth. It only seemed to have reached a resolution after it was drowned out by a disruptive roll of thunder. The animated negotiation had reduced back to a level that made it audible yet indecipherable as the rumbling faded, but Kamado didn’t even bother attempting to return his focus to the papers.  

“Ooh, Community Chest!” Akari’s voice rose up after a moment of jumbled conversation. “Here, read it!”

A moment of heavy silence, presumably as someone was handed a card to decipher their fate. Kamado’s eyes glanced back down at his paperwork, but he was too busy anticipating the impending shouts to read any of the words.

“I’m being thrown into jail!? ” Laventon’s voice lamented with an anguish that evoked a wave of collective exclamations so loud, Kamado reflexively looked up at his office doors; at this point, it was like they had taken the game up the staircase to continue playing right on the other side!

He could not get any work done like this. Especially if they had somehow even roped the professor of all people into the game — he was one of the few people Kamado had expected to do the same as him, using the day off as an opportunity to barricade himself in his office and tuck into his work uninterrupted. And unfortunately, once Laventon became invested in something, he became almost as enthusiastic as the Pearl Clan warden who had been shouting downstairs quite loudly over the last half an hour.

Heaving himself out of his desk chair and crossing the room with a certain unwillingness, Kamado cracked open one of the heavy office doors and slipped through, heading for the stairs to begin his descent down to the madness below.

––––––––––

“...Forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty.” Akari quickly skimmed through the thin paper money before setting it aside, her Cyndaquil observing from her lap all the while. “Paid your bail! Your crimes are forgiven, you’re free to go next turn.”

“Ah yes, the criminal offense of simply picking the wrong card…” Laventon gave his unlucky card one last look before handing it to Akari so she could tuck it away. 

“Well look, I’m in there visiting you at least,” Rei pulled his hand out of a bag of snacks to point Laventon towards his metal piece on the board; while the professor’s figure was confined within the barred section of the square, Rei’s was sitting on the safe outer strip labeled ‘just visiting’ . “I’ll be here for you when you’re a free man again.”

“Thank you, my boy, though I sorely needed that two-hundred I was about to collect!”

Rei lit up at this, giving Laventon a look that Akari had learned to be wary of.

“…If I give you three-hundred right now, can you help me bankrupt Akari and get Festival Plaza from her?”

“Hey!” Akari intervened before Laventon could even give his answer. “You can’t do that!”

“Yes I can! Come on, Professor,” Rei flashed him a set of three yellow paper bills, “your new hardened life of crime should make this an easy choice!” 

“I’ll take that offer if he doesn’t!” Bagin saw his chance to jump on the offer when Laventon, clearly torn, stalled on his words.

“ No! No one’s getting bribed! Just pass the dice, Professor!” Akari reached across the board to firmly guide Laventon’s hands towards Ingo, who was sitting right next to him. Appearing a little victimized yet relieved at the chance to escape the situation, the professor hastily dropped the dice into Ingo’s waiting hands. 

“Ah, my turn has arrived now, I suppose.” Holding the dice close, the warden gently shook them. The uncertainty in his wording gave away his hesitance… which was understandable, given his present situation.

His poor piece, a metal figure representing what Akari had reminded him was a modern-day aether, was stationed right before the only three property squares that Zisu had bought. 

With every single property choked with green and red buildings, it was a short but fatal stretch of unforgiving financial hell. A ‘Community Chest’ square separating the second and third tiles was the only safe space between them, but Ingo wasn’t counting on being lucky enough to land on it.

“Get ready to pay up, Ingo.” Zisu leaned forward in anticipation, like a Purugly crouching in the tall grass and waiting for a Starly to turn its back.

“Please allow me to traverse these tracks safely,” Ingo begged the dice before releasing them onto the board. “Five or greater, that’s all I need—”

Every pair of eyes around the board was glued to the two plastic pieces as they rolled, their quiet anticipation being held just long enough to hear the muffled pattering of rain against the hall’s roof. The tumbling pair of dice slowed to a stop, and Ingo’s unfortunate fate was declared as matching pairs of black dots stared back up at him — a double roll amounting to the grand total of four.

“AUGH!” Ingo lamented above the collective shouts that rose up.

“Oooh, so close!” Zisu leaned over towards him, pinching his metal game piece and sliding it right into the hotel-infested deathtrap that was her third property square. Then, the same empty hand extended towards him expectantly. “Alright, Join Avenue’s rent is due. Cough it up!”

“Please, Miss Zisu.” Ingo attempted to appeal to his coworker’s empathy as he began to thumb through the few paper bills he still had; mostly consisting of fifties, it clearly wouldn’t be enough to cover what he owed, judging by the amount of hotels surrounding his piece. “I am unsure if I can even afford such an exorbitant amount!”

“Well, that’s what happens when you blow all your money buying those railways off everyone!” Zisu took a teasing jab at him, but eventually relented to an element of mercy. “Ok, ok, just, hmm… give me everything you have except for one of your tens. You can keep that.”

Normally one might have been devastated at being reduced to only standing ten dollars away from bankruptcy, But Ingo seemed grateful enough given the circumstances.

“Thank you; the leniency is much appreciated.” He deposited the money into Zisu’s waiting hand, and she counted over it briefly. Sitting back, he handed the dice over to Bagin, who seemed a little impatient to roll — though, seeing as how he was only seven squares away from passing ‘Go’ , the impatience was understandable.

“Let’s hope I have better luck than you, warden!” He eagerly clasped his hands around the dice and shook them thoroughly. “Come on, seven!”

Bagin more-so threw the plastic pair of pieces as opposed to simply dropping them. The dice tumbled haphazardly across the board, caring not for the stack of chest cards they bumped into, or Akari’s metal piece that they knocked aside.

Laventon blocked their path at the edge of the game board with a quick hand. A five, and a two — the sum of seven faced up towards the hall’s ceiling.

“No way!” Rei seemed almost accusatory as Bagin slid his coin-shaped game piece over to the ‘Go’ space.

“Show me your sleeves!” Having long grown used to Bagin’s exploitative tendencies, Akari felt similarly; she would not put it past the guy to use weighted dice. And his recent streak of extremely fortunate rolls was not helping his case. “That’s the third time you’ve gotten the exact number you’ve needed!”

“No tricks, I promise; I just got lucky!” Bagin tugged at the sleeves of his corps’ red hanten to prove Akari’s accusation wrong. “And two-hundred Pokédollars richer!”

Plucking two yellow slips of paper money from the bank stash, Akari reached across the board to hand them to Bagin, but not without a tiny, well-hidden hint of skepticism. He tucked them away with the rest of his colorful currency, only adding to the comparatively impressive amount he possessed.

“ And , this means that I now have the most savings!” Bagin turned his attention to Cyllene, who was at his right side. “So it’s my turn to wear the crown—!”

“—Ahem!” A stern voice from above killed whatever insistence was about to ensue.

Every head turned towards the top of the floor’s left staircase. With her back to it, Akari glanced over her shoulder to find herself looking up at someone she thought had long since left the Galaxy Hall and gone home on account of the rain.

A muffled rumble of thunder decided to roll somewhere above them at that moment. It might have been seen as an amusing announcement of his arrival, if it didn’t assume his appearance to be one of admonishment.

Akari bristled into surprised silence, but Zisu had no such qualms, flashing a welcoming smile up at him. “Commander Kamado! Did you hear how much fun we were having, and finally decide to come down and join us?”

“Oh, I did hear,” Kamado’s gaze shifted to the Security Corps’ captain, but then moved to scrutinize the large game board on the floor. “I can hear like I’m down here playing this game myself! I came down only to request you all be conscious of your volume; I am trying to finish up a few more work orders and reports.”

“You’re still working on all that paperwork?” Akari lamented, slumping back to better look at him. “You’ve been up there for hours. Have you taken any breaks yet?”

“Coming down here and requesting less shouting is my break.” Kamado descended the rest of the way down the stairs, looking back over the board again as he stepped closer. Apparent curiosity slowed his inspection the second time around in order to take in the finer details.

His gaze wandered over the tiny metal figures and colored building pieces scattered across the red carpeting. Then to the cups of tea and plates of snack cakes around the board, and the colorful paper money, either haphazardly clumped or neatly stacked in piles by peoples’ sides. 

While his expression wasn’t one of disappointment, it wasn’t quite one of approval either. “Perhaps I should ask you all to keep the floor a little neater as well?”

“Can do, if you take a real break and join us!” Akari reached over towards Cyndaquil, Oshawott, and Rowlet to pluck an additional metal piece up for him, as at some point the Pokémon had begun playing with the extra ones. “We could squeeze you in real quick—”

“That won’t be necessary.” 

“Come on, ” Akari drew out the last word, giving him a look as she held the metal figure up to him. “It’s supposed to be a day off!”

“You have been working up there for a while, Commander.” Sitting between Bagin and Zisu, Cyllene had been partially obscured by the Security Corps’ captain until she leaned forward to speak up. “I would suggest taking a break if you haven’t yet. The work will still be up there when you return. And I am open to assist you tomorrow with what is left, if you would like.”

“Cyllene,” Kamado turned his head to her. He would have otherwise been even more surprised to discover her playing than Laventon, but his subdued tone suggested confusion more than anything. “What is that on your head?”

“It’s a paper crown.” She obliged to his abrupt change of topic, a hand moving up to ensure the shiny red papercraft was not leaning crooked. “Akari’s rules. The player with the largest sum of money wears the crown.”

“...Which is actually mine now,” Bagin insisted so quietly, that it barely reached above a whisper. He at least had enough decency not to extend an expectant hand out for it at that moment.

“But!” Akari interrupted, “If you join now, you’ll get to wear it! Come on, join us!”

“Join us! Join us! Join us!” The emboldening chanting grew more confident as more voices rose up, with Kamado only shaking his head as even the Pokémon began to squeal, squawk, and bark, the commotion riling them up. The surrounding ambience of the rainfall disappeared entirely under their chanting.

Kamado inwardly groaned. Even if he did go back up to his office now, there was no way he’d be able to concentrate on that pile of papers sitting on his desk; he’d entirely lost the streak he had going. And now that he’d fallen out of it, the growing ache in his hands might make it difficult to return to the repetitive motions of signing his name for who-know-how-many more times...

“Alright,” Kamado huffed, stroking his chin as he surveyed the board one last time. Perhaps he should tentatively feel out a compromise. “I will join in for one game. But only one game. How long does a round usually last? Around ten, twenty minutes?” “Well, we’ve been playing the same round since this morning,” Rei mused around a mouthful of snack cake. “So like, four hours? Maybe? But Akari said that’s normal for this game!”

“...I see.” Of course Akari would grab up a game that took a decade to play. “How about this; you all move this to one of the rooms downstairs, keep this mess contained to a table, and control your shouting; once I finish up this last workform I’m in the middle of, then… maybe I’ll come down and join you all.”

“Yes!” The group collectively cheered. Kamado turned to head back up the stairs as excited shouting mixed together with the rustling of paper bills and tumbling game pieces, all in a big effort to collect the game and move it down to the sub-level. 

Kamado shook his head as he reentered his office, but there was a certain smile hidden under his mustache. Such an enthusiastic bunch. He dearly appreciated the Galaxy Team and what it had developed into over these past two years, even if it was hard to keep up with sometimes.

[phoenix-downer]

Be Our Guest

Summary: Sora, Kairi, Roxas, and Naminé visit Beast’s Castle together to pay a visit to old friends of Sora’s. But to their surprise, things have changed a lot since Sora and Roxas last visited…

2250 words. Sora/Kairi and Roxas/Naminé. Set post-KH3. Features appearances from Beauty and the Beast characters. Romance, Fluff, Dancing, Humor, Slight Angst, Introspection. Includes descriptions of delicious food, fancy outfits, and elegant balls. POV Third Person Omniscient.

Written for @twosidesfanzine. Leftover sales are now open: https://twosideszine.bigcartel.com/

The banner and spot art is by the amazing @luxmoogle ! Please check out her main piece for the zine as well, it's fantastic ❄️ and while you're there, check out her other art, costume design work, comics, and AUs, it's all incredible ❤️

————————————————————————

Nestled in a peaceful wood, a soaring castle of red, white, and gold peeked through the trees. Fluttering flags and angelic marble sculptures decorated the castle as well as exquisite stained glass murals that told the story of its inhabitants: a selfish prince, a curse spoken, a red rose, a curse broken.

Four visitors exited a strange, colorful ship from another world and set across the long path leading to the castle.

“Woah, this place looks really…different,” Sora commented, noting the cheerful exterior and vibrant decorations of the castle. He turned to Roxas. “You’ve been here before too, right?”

“Yeah. I don’t remember it looking so…pretty.” His brow furrowed. “It was dark and spooky more than anything. Granted, I wasn’t exactly a welcome guest. I was sent here on missions for the Organization, so I snuck around a lot.”

Naminé gave his hand a sympathetic squeeze. “This time will be different, you’ll see.” She was very determined that the two of them should enjoy their lives now that they were their own people.

“I wonder what happened,” Kairi said as the castle loomed closer. “It definitely seems different from what you’ve told us, Sora.”

“But a good different. I hope Beast and Belle are okay. Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, and Chip too…”

Kairi’s expression softened. “You miss them, don’t you?”

He smiled and reached for her hand. “I missed all my friends. It’s good to be back.”

At last they reached the main entrance. As Sora lifted a hand to knock, however, the double doors burst open, and their group had to scramble backwards to avoid being smacked in the face, Sora especially.

Before them was a young woman with rich brown hair and warm eyes, and with her was a prince with reddish hair and striking blue eyes. Belle immediately enveloped Sora in a big hug.

“Sora! It’s so good to see you!” She leaned back, her face lighting up as she spotted who was with him. “And Kairi, what a wonderful surprise!” She hugged Kairi next, and the two girls smiled and laughed, enjoying their reunion.

“Welcome back, Sora,” the prince said, and Sora titled his head. The prince was with Belle…something about the way he talked reminded Sora of an old friend…And most of all, his eyes seemed awfully familiar…

Sora’s eyes went wide. “Beast? You’re human?”

The (former) Beast nodded. “Belle broke the curse.” He turned to his wife and smiled.

“Only at the last possible moment,” she said, a touch of anguish in her voice as she reached for his hand. “If only I’d known sooner.”

“What’s important is that we’re together now,” he replied, gently resting his hand over hers.

The lovestruck way the happy couple was looking at each other made Sora’s heart melt, and he sighed and glanced at Kairi. But when their eyes met, a pained expression flickered across her face, and she ducked her head. He frowned. Was something wrong? He’d have to ask her later.

He turned back to their hosts. “If you’re not a beast anymore, then what should we call you?”

“You can call me Adam.” He looked to Roxas and Naminé, who until now had kept a polite distance as Sora and Kairi reunited with their old friends. “And who are our other guests?”

“My name is Naminé,” Naminé said, touching a hand to her chest. “Thank you for having us.” She had seen this place before in Sora’s memories, but it was nice to be here in person. Especially because the castle was so different now. Full of light and life instead of shrouded in shadow and sadness.

Roxas fidgeted and cleared his throat. “And I’m…Um, my name is Roxas. I…uh, I don’t think you remember this, but this isn’t my first time here. I…snuck around before, helping the Organization…”

Sora cringed at Roxas’s honesty, waiting for one of Beast’s famous tempers, especially given how Xaldin had tormented the poor Beast. But instead Prince Adam smiled amiably. “Roxas, it’s nice to finally meet you.”

He really had changed, and Sora was glad to see it.

“And no more sneaking around,” Belle chided, “you’re our guests!”

With that the four of them were led inside the castle, and Sora’s eyes lit up when he saw more of his old friends in the foyer, in human form instead of their cursed forms. “Lumiere? Mrs. Potts? Cogsworth! And you must be Chip.” He grinned and ruffled Chip’s messy hair, then hugged the rest of his old friends.

“How would you all like a nice spot of tea?” Mrs. Potts offered.

“No no no, forget tea!” Lumiere said, waving his arms. “These are our guests! We must put on a show.”

“Don’t overdo it,” Cogsworth muttered, his mustache twitching as he fiddled with his pocket watch. “Remember last time when you—”

Lumiere ignored Cogsworth and grabbed Naminé’s hand. “Cherie, come with me,” he said, kissing her hand. Naminé’s eyes went wide and she looked to Kairi, who smiled and nodded to reassure her. Lumiere led her through the castle halls and the others followed close behind till at last they reached the banquet hall. Naminé was seated at the grand table once Fifi had dusted her chair, and Sora, Kairi, and Roxas soon joined her. Roxas shot Lumiere a look and inched his chair closer to Naminé, making Sora and Kairi snicker.

The court musicians played the music, Lumiere sang, and the four guests watched, awestruck, as a culinary cabaret unfolded before their very eyes. Plate after plate of food was wheeled out as their hosts entertained them, and the four of them tried all the dishes, desserts, and delicacies that were offered. Their favorite were these divine tartlets with apples cut into the shape of roses on top—a touching reference to the enchanted rose that had once dwelled in the castle. They were perfectly warm and just the right combo of crispy on the outside and pillowy soft on the inside.

Sora asked the chef for the recipe, determined to make them later on himself, perhaps with Little Chef, too.

After dinner, Mrs. Potts offered tea, and once the guests’ stomachs had settled, the servants whisked them away to prepare for a ball. Madame Armoire showed Kairi and Naminé dress after dress, but in the end it was Belle who suggested a periwinkle dress with a hoop skirt for Naminé and a magenta one for Kairi with matching elbow-length gloves for each girl. Their hair was swept back into elegant updos, and Belle helped them choose tasteful jewelry that matched their dresses.

The boys likewise got ready with Adam, Lumiere, and Cogsworth’s help, donning tailored coats, vests, breeches, and knee-length boots.

“Do I look stupid?” Roxas muttered, casting a doubtful look in the mirror. He’d never looked so…frilly. He wore a gray vest with gold embroidery, and in his opinion, there were way too many ruffles poking out of his clothes.

“Nah, and besides, this is all part of the fun,” Sora said. “Fitting in. Being a part of their world.” He wore a red vest with gold embroidery, and he adjusted his frilly lace collar.

“You’re a lot better at this than me,” Roxas noted.

“I’ve had a lot more experience, and I didn’t have to hide like you did. C’mon, let’s go see the girls.”

Sora, Roxas, and Adam approached from their set of stairs, and a moment later, Kairi, Naminé, and Belle appeared at their set of stairs. The boys’ mouths dropped open, and the girls smiled sweetly.

“I never knew getting so dressed up could be this fun,” Naminé admitted as they glided down the stairs, and Kairi smiled and squeezed her hand.

“I’m glad you’re having fun. After everything you’ve been through, after all the people you’ve helped, you deserve to unwind a little.”

As the two groups convened on the intermediate landing, Sora bowed to Kairi and she curtsied to him.

He offered his arm. “May I have this dance?”

She smiled and looped her arm through his. “Yes.”

Roxas tried to mimic what Sora had done but felt he messed up the bow somehow. Naminé still smiled and took his offered arm, and together they descended the red velvet stairs after Sora and Kairi. Belle and Adam followed after them, and before long the three couples were waltzing in the ballroom to soaring strings, the beautiful glass windows revealing the starry night surrounding them.

Kairi and Naminé thought it was the most picturesque, romantic place they could spend with Sora and Roxas, Sora smiled like a kid on Christmas now that he was dancing with Kairi like he’d dreamed, and Roxas was trying to make sure he didn’t step on Naminé’s silken heel-clad feet. But when she rested her head against his chest, his nerves slipped away and he couldn’t help but smile.

After a few songs, Belle and Adam took a break for tea and Sora and Kairi slipped out to the balcony, leaving Roxas and Naminé to themselves. Their first couple of dances had been a little awkward as they figured out their footing, but now they were gliding along with ease.

“What’s on your mind?” Naminé asked, her voice soft and sweet as they twirled to the music.

“The last time I was here, things were different. There was so much I didn’t know. I couldn’t get why the Beast, I mean Adam, was so protective of Belle because I didn’t understand what love is.”

“And now?” Naminé asked as Roxas carefully led her into a spin.

He smiled as she returned to his arms. “Well, I met you. That answer your question?”

She laughed softly. “Yes. And I know what you mean. When I was in Castle Oblivion, I was so lonely.” She glanced towards the balcony and the gardens where their friends were taking a stroll. “I wanted what Sora and Kairi have, and I thought I could take it for myself. But love has to be freely given, so I was alone again.” She looked at Roxas and smiled. “Then I met you, and everything changed.”

“Yeah. Thank you, Naminé, for finding me in the darkness.”

“Thank you, Roxas, for seeing me.”

They continued their dance, both feeling like they were floating amongst the clouds. The massive marble pillars lining the ballroom, grand gold chandelier lit with dozens of candles overhead, and ornate ceiling decorated with murals of smiling cherubs set against a baby-blue sky made everything feel magical. Neither of them ever wanted this moment to end.

As the two of them twirled away, Sora and Kairi sat on the balcony together outside, the stars twinkling in the sky like diamonds.

“What’s on your mind?” Sora asked, unable to take his eyes off of her. “I noticed you were sad earlier, when Adam and Belle greeted us.”

The music from the ballroom floated towards them. “Prince Adam is human again because Belle broke his spell,” Kairi said at last. “But you still have to live with your curse.”

He tilted his head. “My curse? Oh, do you mean my Heartless form?”

She nodded. “At first it was just a Shadow, but it’s only gotten bigger and stronger. I can’t help but think that…maybe, if you didn’t have to save me, you never would’ve gotten split in two like that.” Her face betrayed the sorrow and regret she’d kept locked inside for so long.

“As if abandoning you was ever an option,” he said, his voice breaking as he reached for her hands. They were together again, but the scars from their separations remained, and the gesture brought them both comfort. “If this is a curse, it’s a small price to pay to have you by my side. Besides, I don’t see it like that. If anything, it’s a reminder of what you mean to me.”

She searched his face. As far as they both knew, his condition was permanent. And yet he saw it not as a beastly curse he’d have to live with for the rest of his life but as a symbol of how much he loved her.

“Then…that’s how I’ll see it too,” she promised. If he could see the good in it, then so would she.

He caressed her face. “Good. And you did break the spell, Kairi. You saved me. Turned me human again.” He gently stroked her hair, and her face flushed, her heart thudding in her chest.

“I couldn’t just leave you like that,” she said, barely above a whisper. “Not after what you did for me.”

“I know. And look at all the good that’s come from it.” He glanced towards the ballroom. “Roxas and Naminé exist because of us.”

Kairi’s expression softened. “That’s true, and I couldn’t be more grateful for them.”

“And I couldn’t be more grateful for you. For what we share,” he said, a tender smile on his face.

She returned his smile and cupped his cheek. “I feel the same.”

He melted into her touch, savoring this moment they’d worked so hard to create. Their long separations made every second spent together that much sweeter.

Presently, they rejoined their friends at the ball. As the four of them danced in the grand ballroom, they smiled and exchanged happy glances.

What a wonderful way to celebrate Sora being back with them, safe and sound. To celebrate Roxas and Naminé being alive and Kairi being whole. And what a perfect way for the two couples to spend an evening with their loved ones.

————————————————————————

A/N: A big, big thank you to everyone who made the Two Sides Volume 2 zine possible! I really enjoyed modding the project and working with you all. It was wonderful seeing all the love and passion for SoKai and RokuNami and sampling the delicious recipes ❤️ You seriously went above and beyond to help make this project something really special, and I'm so proud of what we accomplished together. Thank you also to everyone who bought the zine and supported the charity Feeding America, we couldn't have done it without you ❤️

Now, for my list of specific thank yous: thank you to @advocaado for creating the beautiful, delicious apple tart recipe recipe that inspired the story and the art ❤️ You coming aboard really made such a big difference and helped us do six more recipes, and I really appreciate that ❤️

Also, thank you to @scoobysnack1107 and @angel-with-a-pipette for reading over the story for me and offering feedback and suggestions ❤️ a big thank you as well to Hadai, Ao, Light, Hinata, Melisa, Razu, and Dusky for reading and commenting on the story too ❤️

And a big, big thank you to @luxmoogle​ for collaborating with me and drawing the beautiful banner and spot art 🥺 ❤️ I adore the costume designs you did for the characters, they all look amazing and coordinate perfectly together, and you really did your research when it came to the fashion in Beauty and the Beast ❤️ You also beautifully brought so many moments from the story to life. I especially love the final spot that shows the two couples enjoying their time together ❤️ It was the perfect way to depict that part of the story ❤️

Last but not least, thank you all for reading! Beauty and the Beast is such a special movie to me with so many happy memories associated with it, so it was a joy to write about it for this project. A lot has happened in my life since we started this zine, and it was really nice to come back to this story again and again to get my mind off of all of that.

Some notes on my writing process this time around. I really wanted to draw on the themes of the movie as well as the KH characters’ arcs in creating this story. So first of all, in the KH2 credits, you see that Adam/Beast is human again, so I knew I had to work with that and all of the changes that would bring to Beast’s Castle. Then, Sora and Kairi's part came to me very quickly given how Sora has a “beast” form of his own—Rage Form/Anti-Form. I asked myself how he and Kairi would deal with that moving forward, given how it seems to be pretty permanent even though Kairi “broke” his spell the moment she turned him human again back in KH1, and that's how I wrote their arc in this story.

Then, with Roxas and Naminé, I remembered Roxas's character arc in Days and spent a lot of time re-watching the cutscenes and dialogue from that part of the game to inform his characterization in this story. I wanted to show how he would act now that he understands why the Beast acted the way he did, now that he knows what love is. And with Naminé, it was nice to draw on her experiences in Chain of Memories and how she's changed since then and is now getting to go on the kinds of adventures she only ever saw in other people’s memories before.

Also, it was fun referencing some of the big moments in the movie, like the ball, the dancing, the conversation on the balcony under the stars. And then of course I couldn’t write a Beauty and the Beast story featuring food without name-dropping Be Our Guest in the title lol.

Thank you again everyone! ❤️

[fiyrball6063]

My full zine piece for @luminaryzine !!

This was the best zine experience I ever had, words can’t describe how much love was put into this project!

Leftover sales will be happening soon as well, so be on the lookout!

[doctorassistedzine]

Preorders for Doctor Assisted Homicide: A TF2 Medic Zine are now CLOSED!! Thank you all so much for your support, words cannot describe how much it means to us all <3

If you missed out, leftovers will open once preorders have been shipped out (around late November to early December)! Just be aware that stock will be limited, so keep your eyes peeled around that time if you wanna try and snag something last minute 👀

Additionally, production will commence shortly so there may be a bit of radio silence on our end for a little while! We'll do our best to keep you all updated, but as usual if you have any questions, feel free to send us an ask or an email to doctorassistedzine@gmail.com!

[he6o]

My two full art contributions to Caelum zine - a zine celebrating the kings of Lucis.

I was fortunate enough to take on the role of art mod/cover artist, and later distribution mod, plus filling in a last minute artwork for a missing king 👑 It’s been a fun ride, and we’ll be launching leftovers this month so keep a lookout on the zine’s Twitter for updates (@ ffxvcaelum) if you want to pick up books/merch, including my Noctis print and washi tape 🥰.

I’ll probably drop posts to spread the word on other platforms too when it goes live. Incredibly proud of all our artists and writers, and I hope you guys check out their works as they post their contributions going forward! ❤️❤️❤️

[kayleerowena]

✨ store open! one week only! get your haunted goods here! ✨

i've got prints! books! zines! comics! tote bags! sticker sheets! enamel pins! mysteries! ghosts! and more, maybe! who knows! quantities of most of these items are super limited, so if you want something, go grab it before it's gone.

most excitingly, this will be the first time HAUNTS, my 50+ page haunted house artbook, is available physically online outside of the original kickstarter! i'm limiting it to 20 copies to make sure i have leftovers for the conventions i'm doing later in the year.

💖 you can find the store here! 💖

it'll be up for a week (until friday july 21) or until i run out of items, whichever comes first. supporting my store goes towards helping a small lgbt artist afford rent, pay for travel costs to comic conventions, and make more cool haunted items like these. (also, in either very bad or very good timing, my phone broke yesterday, so if this sale goes well i'll be able to afford to fix that.)

reblogs are super appreciated to spread the word! thanks so much for your support, and i hope you have a lovely day!

[hashtagartistlife]

the @ichirukizine leftover sales are open, and we’re finally allowed to post our pieces! The first piece is the two-page spread I had in the main zine, the second piece is my merch print of ichiruki in traditional korean wedding garb and the last four pieces are illustrations I did to accompany @ariadnekurosaki ‘s very cute fic! 

Many thanks to everyone who contributed to this zine, through art, fic, or by buying and supporting and spreading the word, and especially to the mods who organised it all! 

[batgirlzine]

LEGACIES: a Batgirl zine has come to a close. While it technically wrapped up in November, there were severe personal complications before the holidays that resulted in the late conclusion of this project, so I apologize immensely to anyone who might have been waiting on another round of leftovers that I had not already touched base with.

For those of you who I have not already spoken to via email this month: this is Kye's mother, and I am finalizing things on my daughter's behalf as she has not been fit for the responsibility. I apologize wholeheartedly for the delay and unfair communication issues this has resulted in.

All remaining physical leftovers were shipped out at the end of October, and have been safely delivered by mid-November at the latest, as far as tracking and communication with customers indicates.

Digital Bundles were emailed out at the start of November, so if you have not received it, check spam, junk or promotions folders for your goods.

If you have had issues receiving either of the above, do not hesitate to reach out at batgirlszine@gmail.com with questions.

With that, the project is a wrap. It has been a long one, for which we cannot apologize enough, or thank you for your patience and sticking with it, and ultimately supporting this project and its showcase of the Batgirls.

Please remember to give all the writers and artists involved love on the pieces they have posted, and the incredible work they put into this. It would not exist without them, and they worked hard not only through the project itself, but through several months of a difficult wrap-up process wherein they were forcibly left to wait without updates as well. Please send them your kind words on their pieces, as you have done through the project's email or direct messages throughout its run.

Thank you for your time, and for your support.

S.

[kouriimei]

「ありがとう」

Her final words to him in the Japanese ending.

my page art piece for @tidunazine 🥹 I drew Tidus and Yuna based off of/inspired by their outfits in the kabuki play. Since my page art was the last page artwork, the 'thank you' is a wink towards the JP ver. of the ending and for the zine itself ✨

Leftover sales are currently on going! 🛒 tidunazine.bigcartel.com

[allthatsentimentalcandyfloss]

tadaa, here’s my contribution to the nighthood zine, inspired by my forever muse @mlim8 who drew a beautiful, beautiful comic that she kindly let me write the story for ♡

thanks so much to the mods over @jaydick-week for their hard work in putting together the zine. truly in awe of all of you! if you haven’t gotten yourself a copy yet, head over to our leftover sale: https://jaydickzine.bigcartel.com/ !

—

relationship: dick grayson/jason todd

words: 3,303

rating: teen and up audiences

warnings: no archive warnings apply

tags: first dates, getting together, pining, handholding, idiots in love except spoiler alert it’s mostly jason who’s the idiot this time

—

He knows where it leads, this road not taken, knows that what awaits him at its end isn’t worth a fleeting brush with happiness, the contact high of almost having it all—only the water’s so blue, so inviting, Jason almost—

He jumps awake at the touch of a hand on his shoulder.

Jason groans. He swats at the intruder’s hand, his movements sluggish and uncoordinated with the heaviness of sleep still clinging to them. It earns him a bark of laughter that wafts over the scent of peppermint toothpaste, but the touch of calloused fingers on Jason’s skin lingers. He takes a deep breath, counts to ten, and blinks his eyes open to glare at Dick’s grinning face; his chapped lips a little too close, crinkly eyes a little too—

Blue.

—in which dick takes jason to bludhaven fair on what’s very obviously a date to anyone except jason, but he gets there in the end.

[ginneke]

Summary:

In the seventeeth year of Queen Zelda Nohansen Hyrule's reign, an apprentice archivist prepares to accession the personal papers of the Royal Scholar — and stumbles upon information that certain people would rather remained hidden.

Rating: T (for implied/referenced character death)

Word count: 1938

Notes: This was written for the Hyrule Apocrypha zine and features page art by @sunset-aria and spot art by @maesquirrel!

This particular story takes the form of an archive list and details the personal collection of Shad, our very own Sky Scholar, along with the archivist's notes about the work being carried out... ...except not everything is as it seems.

-

Leftover sales are currently open, so check out @zeldaficzine for more information and to snag a copy if you missed out previously!

[rightpastnowhere]

hi everybody!! i'm so excited to be able to share the first of my pieces for Night Divining: A Noragami Tarot Zine!! this one features bishamon and centers around the chariot tarot card, which i think is an absolutely perfect match <3 thank you so much to the moderators of @noragamitarotzine for such a fantastic experience!! also i highly reccomend grabbing some leftover sales, or following the blog to see everyone else's work!! you can find all of their links here!!

title: the chariot (a tapestry of golden thread)

rating: teen and up

word count: 1.5k

genre: character study

characters/dynamics: bishamon & kazuma (platonic/romantic), bishamon & yato (enemies excellence), bishamon & her shinki

• • •

All gods are tethered to the emotions of their shinki. It’s an innate connection, a thread spun as soon as a name is given, sewn into both god’s and shinki’s souls. Every feeling tugs on that thread, while the strongest and darkest sting, pulling at the stitches until they tear through. 

Over the centuries, Bishamon takes in so many wandering souls that they overlap into an expansive tapestry, too interwoven to parse through. Occasional pricks at the back of her neck become a constant hum beneath her skin, until only the most intense of their number register at all, the threads that yank at the back of her skull and all but turn her head towards them. The weaker ones fade without notice, quiet voices drowned beneath the ever-murmuring crowd.  

Maybe that’s why the quarreling among her shinki goes on for so long. 

read the rest on ao3!

[namixart]

Decor Harmony

Read on AO3!

Written for the @clerithweddingzine, which now has leftover sales open! Go grab yours! Thanks to everyone who contributed to and supported the zine--if you don't mind me speaking for everyone, we popped off.

And now, enjoy my contribution!

“I was thinking emerald green for the tablecloths.”

“Sounds good.”

“Or maybe forest green?”

“Sure.”

“Then again, a lighter shade might go better with the napkins. Mint, maybe?”

“Hm. Could work.”

“Oh, you know what? Neon. How ‘bout it?”

“I—What?” Cloud looked up from his notepad. “Neon? You serious?”

Aerith laughed. “No. But it’s nice to know you were listening.”

He frowned. “I’m always listening. I just think you can see way more shades of green than I can.” He poked at the scattered colour swatches on the table. “Half of these things look the same to me.”

She giggled again. She was lying on the—mint green?—couch upside down, with her back flat on the cushions and her legs up on the backrest. Cloud had always thought it couldn ’t possibly be a comfortable position, but he was more than used to coming into the living room to find Aerith reading, weaving flowers, or just resting like that. She lightly kicked her feet up. “Curious,” she said. “I thought SOLDIERs were supposed to have enhanced vision, or something.”

He shrugged. “Guess I’m a lousy one. ‘Specially since—well, you know.”

“I know.” She shot him an upside-down smile. “Love me a lousy SOLDIER.”

Cloud huffed out a laugh and picked his notepad back up. “So. Mint?”

“I’ll think more about it later. C’mere.” She reached out a hand from where she was lying, wiggling her fingers in the air until Cloud took pity on her and reached back, gripping it lightly. Instinctively, he found the thin silver band around her ring finger, feeling the delicate engraved flowers on it. But he preferred the engraving on the inside of the ring: You’re my Promised Land.

He ’d been more nervous about the engraving than the whole proposal thing—unreasonably so, considering who he ’d been proposing to, in hindsight. But, then again, she’d already said she’d marry him: he just needed to give her a proper romantic proposal after the impulsive disaster of his first one. He’d been afraid she’d find it cheesy, or maybe even creepy, but of course Aerith had just kissed him silly and hugged him tight to hide the watery sheen in her eyes. And then, not to be outdone, she’d presented him with his own ring a week later, featuring its own hidden engraving: I finally found you.

Aerith tugged on his hand. “Cloud, c’mere,” she repeated, a slight whine to her voice. Wordlessly, Cloud obliged, taking his notepad with him as he went to sit down next to her on the couch. With a contented hum, Aerith shifted around so that she was lying with her legs up on the armrest and her head in Cloud’s lap. “Hey,” she said, entwining their fingers together, “fiancé.”

He smiled. “Hey, yourself. Fiancée.” The word still left a strange sweet taste in his mouth. He never thought he’d be looking forward to getting married, but stranger things had happened around Aerith. Wherever she went, whoever she met, things and people changed for the better. He squeezed her hand lightly. “What’s up?”

She made to take his notepad. “Flowers. Lemme see what you came up with for the arrangements.”

Cloud held it out of her reach. “No way. I’m not done yet.”

“Aww, come on.” Aerith pouted playfully. “I wanna see how they’re coming along. I’m the florist here.”

He huffed. “And whose idea was it to put me in charge of this in the first place? Oh, right. The florist’s.”

“’Cause you have an eye for this! I trust you!”

“So let me do it right and make it a surprise.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. “I bet you’re using a lot of the yellow flowers from the church.”

“Nope,” he lied.

Aerith giggled. “You can’t fool me, mister. Fine, keep your secrets if you wanna be mysterious about it. I know it’ll be great.” She placed a light kiss on the back of his hand, then held it tight to her chest. “Can you believe it’s only three months away?”

Cloud sighed. “I can’t believe it’s still three months away. ” Elmyra had insisted on a summer wedding, and Aerith had backed her up on the grounds that the flowers in the church would be in full bloom by then. If Cloud had had his way, he would’ve married her the minute he’d proposed—the first time, among the forms and documents and the leases, lamenting that all that bureaucracy would’ve been easier if they had one more measly piece of paper. But the longer process had its benefits too. It meant he got to savour the anticipation, to plan their big day together with Aerith, to see her run her fingers over her ring when she thought he wasn’t looking at her. But still. “I just wanna marry you,” he said, averting his gaze and feeling his face warm up a little. Some things never changed, even around Aerith.

“Aww, you big softie.” Aerith cupped his cheek to nudge him down to her level and press a quick kiss to his lips. “I just wanna marry you too,” she said.

Cloud hummed as he started to absentmindedly thread his fingers through her hair with the hand not holding hers. She closed her eyes with a sigh and a smile, and Cloud smiled as well.

“Do you think it’ll be a good day?” she asked quietly after a little bit. Cloud looked down at her: she was still smiling, and her tone was light.

He nodded. “The best. We’ll have flowers, music, and green tablecloths.” She giggled. “All our friends are gonna be there. You’ll look so beautiful, and I’ll try very hard not to cry.”

Aerith gave his hand a squeeze. “It’ll be alright if you do.”

“I know.”

She hummed. Then, suddenly, she pushed herself up. “Oh, right, that reminds me,” she said, scrambling to sit like a normal person. “A little birdie told me something.”

Cloud furrowed his brows. “Is the little birdie called Yuffie and should I strangle her for it?”

Aerith laughed. “The little birdie’s identity shall remain a secret.”

“So it is Yuffie.”

“Can neither confirm nor deny,” she said, raising her hands. “But anyway. This anonymous little birdie told me you’re planning a little musical surprise for the wedding.”

Cloud was going to strangle Yuffie.

A few days after they ’d announced their engagement, Cloud had gone to Elmyra with a simple request to make up for the fact that he hadn’t consulted her about asking her daughter to marry him: the name of the lullaby he caught her humming to herself every once in a while. That conversation had turned into a month-long hunt for the sheet music with the help of Tifa and Vincent, and that research had turned into Cloud sneaking out to the new Seventh Heaven whenever he could to practice it on the piano. Only for Yuffie to ruin it all.

Aerith shot him an apologetic smile when she saw his crestfallen expression. “I know, I’m sorry. For what it’s worth, our birdie didn’t mean to tell me, either. We were talking about the wedding and it slipped out, I think.”

“Still.” Cloud frowned. “I wanted to surprise you.”

Aerith reached out and gave his hand a light squeeze. “Well, I was surprised when Y—when the little birdie told me.”

He rolled his eyes. “You can stop doing that. I’m not gonna kill her. Probably. And it doesn’t matter, anyway. I didn ’t get to surprise you, she did. ”

Aerith giggled. “Jealous much, Cloud?”

“Kinda, yeah.” He huffed and she laughed again. “I can’t believe Yuffie of all people stole my thunder on my wedding day.”

“Well,” said Aerith, “if you think about it, she steals a lot of things. Thunders included, apparently.” She scooted closer to him and lightly threw her arm around his shoulders. “Besides, she didn’t steal it. She may have spoiled the surprise a little bit, but I’m still gonna get to hear you serenade me. At our wedding. In front of everyone. Including my mom.” She underlined each sentence with a gentle poke to his shoulder. “Aren’t you excited?”

Cloud chuckled and poked her shoulder right back. “Very. Stop trying to make me chicken out of it—that’s mean.” He furrowed his brows for a second as he felt the hand slung over his shoulder shift. “And stop trying to get my notepad.” He slipped it from right under her fingers and threw it on the table.

She whined a little in protest. “I could make a dive for it.”

“I’d catch you.”

“I could get Tifa to steal it for me.”

He laughed. “She wouldn’t. She’s sworn to secrecy.”

Aerith tutted. “Yes, but does secrecy trump Maid of Honour duties? I don’t think so! She’ll be game.”

He paused. “Wait, Maid of Honour?” She nodded triumphantly. “Just outta curiosity, when did you ask her?”

She waved a hand in the air. “We’re going out for lunch this Saturday—gonna ask her then.”

“Uh-huh. Wish I could be there for that conversation.”

“You know something I don’t, mister?” she asked, shooting him a quizzical look.

“Maybe. Wouldn’t wanna spoil the surprise, though. Well, anyway, gotta get back to—” He tried to get up from the couch, but Aerith pulled him back down next to her.

“Oh, come on! Don’t leave me hangin’ like that!” She climbed over him so she was straddling his lap to keep him in place, even though they both knew full well that he was more than capable of just picking her up and moving her. “C’mon, tell me!” She leaned close to him with a wide grin. “You tease.”

Cloud scoffed. “Look who’s talkin’.”

“Look who’s not.” She poked his side and he jumped a little despite his best efforts. Aerith raised an eyebrow and smirked.

“Don’t you dare,” he warned.

“Watch me.” She slowly laid her hands on his sides, which in any other context would’ve been a gesture of affection from his fiancée instead of the cold-blooded threat it was.

“Fine, fine,” he said, quickly taking her by the wrists and moving her hands far away from him. “Just warnin’ you, Tifa’s not gonna be your Maid of Honour.”

Aerith furrowed her brows. “And why’s that?”

He shrugged. “’Cause I called dibs.”

“What!?” Her eyes went wide. “Seriously?”

“Yep,” he said, popping the p. “Like… the day after I proposed. Went and asked her to be my Best Woman.” Called her panicking and begging for help was a more appropriate description, but Aerith didn’t need to hear that.

“Aww…” Aerith leaned back and crossed her arms. “That blows a hole in my plans.”

“It’s your own fault for leaving it until now, you know. You’ve had months.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. “I’ve been busy! Couldn’t you have asked Barret? Or Nanaki?”

No, because I didn ’t call them in a lovesick panic. “I’m sure Nanaki would make a terrific Maid of Honour. Uh, Friend of Honour? Nanaki of Honour.”

Aerith laughed. “D’you think he’d be up for it?”

“For you? Yeah. Doubt there’s much anyone wouldn’t do for you.”

She giggled. “That’s sweet. And you?”

Cloud furrowed his brows. “What about me?”

“Would you do anything for me?” she asked, leaning closer to his face.

“Of course.” He let his hands slid down from her wrists to entwine their fingers together. “Anything.”

Aerith grinned. “Would you let me see the flowers?”

Cloud rolled his eyes as a laugh escaped him. “Not a chance in hell. You’ll see them at the wedding.”

She stuck her tongue out at him again, but she was smiling. “Can’t wait.”

“Me neither.”

Aerith was quiet for a moment as she leaned her forehead against his and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath. “I can’t wait,” she repeated. “I can’t believe I get to marry you.”

Cloud brushed a hand over her cheek, and she leaned into the touch with a sigh. “I can’t believe I get to marry you, ” he said, softly stroking the skin under her eye.

She hummed and pressed a kiss to his palm. “I love you,” she whispered, the words falling easily from her lips. They still made Cloud’s breath hitch. He didn’t think he’d ever get fully used to them, to it, to her. And he loved it. And her.

“Love you too,” he murmured. The words didn’t come as effortlessly to him, but the effort was worth it.

Aerith smiled and closed the distance between them with a light kiss. “So,” she said when she pulled away. “Mint green it is?”

Cloud peered into her eyes and pursed his lips. “You know,” he started, “it’s good. But it’s not my favourite colour.”

She giggled. “Mine either. I’d have to go with sky blue. But we’d have to rethink the whole theme.”