#munny gets cake too!!!!

[madeimpact]

"Happy birthday Sora!!! I made sure to get you something cool! And i got something sweet for Munny too!" Eliza said cheerfully as she gave Sora a klefki plushie, and an assortment of pokeblocks for the munna. -feralocsandkids (Eliza to sora obvs)

Sora bday shenanigans! || @feralocsnkids

❝ Aww, Eliza! ❞ Smiling bright enough to rival the island sun, Sora took the plush in one hand and the Pokéblocks in the other. Munny cooed with delight at the sight and smell of the treats, floating up from Sora's head to circle Eliza in thanks.

Thank you, Eliza! They look so good! I can tell Sora is happy, too.

❝ It's...Klefki, right? ❞ It took Sora a moment to remember the specific name for the creature he'd received in adorable plush form, but he got there eventually. He sort of felt a kinship with that little fairy, after all -- the whole key thing and all. ❝ It's so cute, and so soft...thank you! ❞

[phoenix-downer]

Souvenir Sweets

~850 words. As Roxas and Naminé look for clues about how to bring Sora home, they buy some sweet souvenirs for everyone. Naminé POV. Romance, Fluff, Sweets, Souvenirs. Happy RokuNami Day!

Quadratum Station had to be the most crowded place Naminé had ever seen. There were people everywhere, and if you stopped walking for a moment you became a human obstacle, a pebble in the endless stream of humans diverting the flow of people moving around you. Brightly color-coded signs for each train line were on the floor, on the walls, on the pillars, and yet she still felt so lost. Everyone else seemed to know where they were going but her. 

“Naminé,” Roxas called, his familiar voice cutting through the din surrounding them like a life preserver in the ocean of people. She relaxed and turned around. He had his bag slung over his shoulder, and his hood was over his blond spikes in a pointless attempt to hide them. The fashion here was very different from Twilight Town or Destiny Islands—very loose and baggy, but of course Roxas could make anything look good. 

“Did you get the tickets?” she asked, and he nodded and handed her hers. It was printed on seafoam green paper, the markings indicating their destination was a different city. They were going on a short, weekend-long intel-gathering mission about this reality to figure out how to get Sora home. The rest of them could go home anytime…but getting Sora back, given the whole “he broke a nature taboo” thing in order to save their lives, was proving to be tricky. 

“We’ll have to go through a special set of gates over there,” Roxas said, nodding towards them.

“I’ve heard the…what were they called, bullet trains? Run really smoothly,” Naminé said as they wove their way towards the gates, holding hands because otherwise the crowds would easily separate them. The technology here was miles above just about every world she’d ever been to except for San Fransokyo.

“Same, yeah. Guess we’ll see if the rumors are true.”

As they got closer to the special gates, Naminé’s eyes landed on a stand nearby with lots and lots of yellow in its advertising. QUADRATUM BANANA was written at the top of the stand in big, bold, letters next to images of little cakes in the shape of bananas. On display were boxes after boxes of the little banana cakes in a variety of flavors, and there were even a few boxes of something called THE STRAWBERRY CAKE from GINZA. They were cream-colored cakes in the shape of strawberries with little pink polka dots, and the packaging was so cute.

Her stomach rumbled a little, and she blushed. They needed to eat something proper for dinner, but the little cakes looked so nice. Surely it wouldn’t hurt to get a couple of boxes of them. They could even share any leftovers with their friends when they got back. Souvenir treats like this were always individually wrapped so you could easily share them with others. 

“Roxas? Can we get some?” she asked. 

“Of course. Let’s get the strawberry ones and then a couple boxes of the banana ones.” He gave her one of those Roxas half-smiles she adored. “My treat.” 

Together they selected two of the most delicious-looking boxes of the bananas and then one box of the strawberries, and Roxas paid by putting several crisp en bills onto the little blue tray next to the cash register. The shopkeeper dutifully took the munny and counted it, then placed Roxas’s change on the blue tray. They both thanked her for their goodies and continued on through the bullet train gates. 

“Thank you, Roxas,” Naminé said, clutching their prizes to her chest. “They just looked so cute. I can’t wait to try them.” 

“And then draw them too, right?” he teased as they located signs for their platform and stepped onto the escalator leading up to it. 

“You know me too well. I have to document everything about this reality.” 

“Does drawing me eating them count?” he joked.

She giggled and flipped through her sketchbook. “I think most of my drawings are of you as it is…”

“Well,” he said, very seriously, “you need to document me eating every train station bento box we can get our hands on. Speaking of which, what would be your pleasure?” he asked as they stepped off the escalator. On the platform was a little shop with bento boxes, snacks, drinks, and other treats.

“Let’s take a look.” 

When Sora had disappeared, they’d never imagined their journey to find him would lead to this place. A completely different reality, and yet the people really weren’t so different. They were living their lives, commuting back and forth to work and school, buying bento boxes for train rides, picking up QUADRATUM BANANA and THE GINZA STRAWBERRY souvenirs for friends and family and coworkers back home. It was comforting in a way that despite being so far from home and thrown into a completely different culture, people were still just…people.

As they boarded the bullet train and found their seats, bento boxes and souvenir sweets in tow, Naminé smiled at Roxas and he returned the smile. They were on another adventure together, and despite the circumstances, she knew they’d make the most of it.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: For anyone curious about what Tokyo Banana sweets look like, and ditto for The Strawberry Cake from Ginza. 

Happy RokuNami Day everyone, and thank you for reading ❤️ 

[nickart-academic]

Coincidentally, a proverb with the same meaning exists in many, many different languages. Some of my favourites below:

French: "You can't have the butter, the money for the butter and the smile of the farmers daughter"

German: "You can't dance at two weddings simultaneously"

Italian: "You can't have your barrel full and the wife drunk."

Swiss German: "You can't have the 5.- coin and the breaderoll"

Swedish & Polish: "You can't have the cookie and eat it too"

Greek: "You can't have the pie whole and the dog fed"

Czech: "You can't have the wolf ate and the goat remained whole"

Albanian: You can't take a swim and not get wet

Norwegian: "You can't get both in bag and sack"

Portuguese: "You can't be wanting the sun to shine on the threshing floor, while it rains on the turnip field"

Spanish: "You can't wish to be both at mass and in the procession"

Danish: "You can't blow and keep your mouth full of flour"

And many more:

Afrikaans: (Jy kan nie jou brood aan albei kante botter nie) – You can't butter your bread on both sides.

Albanian: (Te hysh ne uje e te mos lagesh) – To take a swim and not get wet.

Bulgarian: И вълкът сит, и агнето цяло – Both the wolf is full, and the lamb is whole.

Bosnian: Ne možeš imati i jare i pare. You can't have both the lamb and the money.

Croatian: Ne možeš imati i ovce i novce – You can't have both the sheep (pl.) and the money. Also, Vuk sit, ovce na broju – The wolf is full, the sheep are all accounted for.

Danish: Man kan ikke både blæse og have mel i munden – You cannot both blow and have flour in your mouth.

Dutch: Je moet kiezen of delen – You have to choose or partition. This is based on Dutch civil law where in a division of property one person divides the property in two parts and the other person chooses the part he likes most.

Estonian: Hundid söönud, lambad terved – The wolves have eaten, [and] the lambs are whole.

French: Vouloir le beurre et l'argent du beurre – to want the butter and the money from (selling) the butter. The idiom can be emphasized by adding et le sourire de la crémière ("and the smile of the (female) buttermaker"). In familiar context, "the smile" can be replaced by "the daughter" (et la fille de la crémière). In vulgar context, "the smile" is often replaced by "the ass" (et le cul de la crémière).

German: Wasch mir den Pelz, aber mach mich nicht nass – wash my fur but don't get me wet. [19] [20] Also, Man kann nicht auf zwei Hochzeiten tanzen – one cannot dance at two weddings (at the same time).

Swiss German: Du chasch nit dr Füfer und s Weggli ha – you can't have the five cent coin and a bread roll.

Greek: Και την πίτα ολόκληρη και τον σκύλο χορτάτο – you want the entire pie and the dog full.

Hebrew: אי אפשר לאכול את העוגה ולהשאיר אותה שלמה‎ – you can't eat the cake and keep it whole.

Hungarian: Olyan nincs, hogy a kecske is jól lakjon, és a káposzta is megmaradjon – It is impossible that the goat has enough to eat and the cabbage remains as well. Also, Egy fenékkel nem lehet két lovat megülni – It is impossible to ride two horses with one butt. (The meaning is similar to the Russian translation.)

Icelandic: Það er ekki hægt að bæði halda og sleppa - You can't have and have not at the same time. Also: Bágt er að blása og hafa mjöl í munni. – You cannot both blow and have flour in your mouth.

Italian: Avere la botte piena e la moglie ubriaca – to have the barrel full and the wife drunk.

Kannada: ಅಕ್ಕಿ ಮೇಲೆ ಆಸೆ, ನೆಂಟರ ಮೇಲೆ ಪ್ರೀತಿ – Desire over rice, love over relatives.

Lithuanian: Ir vilkas sotus, ir avys sveikos – both the wolf is full and the sheep are safe.

Malayalam: കക്ഷത്തിലുള്ളത് പോകാനും പാടില്ല ഉത്തരത്തിലുള്ളത് വേണം താനും! – You want both the one on the roof, and the one in your armpit.

Macedonian: И волкот сит, и овците на број – Both the wolf is full, and the sheep are intact.

Nepali: दुवै हातमा लड्डु – having laddu (a sweet candy) in both your hands.

Norwegian: Man kan ikke få både i pose og sekk – You can't get both in bag and sack.

Papiamento: Skohe of lag'i skohe – choose or let choose.

Persian: هم خر را خواستن و هم خرما را‎‎ – wanting both the donkey and the sugar-dates.

Polish: Mieć ciastko i zjeść ciastko – To have the cookie and eat the cookie.

Portuguese: Querer ter sol na eira e chuva no nabal – Wanting the sun to shine on the threshing floor, while it rains on the turnip field.

Romanian: Nu poți împăca și capra și varza – You can't reconcile the goat and the cabbage. Also, Și cu tigaia unsă și cu slănina în pod - To have the pan greased and the lard in the attic (or the more vulgar version: Şi cu dânsa-ntr-însa, şi cu sufletu-n rai - To have 'it' in 'it' and the soul in heaven.)

Russian: И рыбку съесть, и в воду не лезть – wanting to eat a fish without first catching it from the waters.[21] Slovene: Volk sit in koza cela – The wolf [is] full, and the goat [is] whole.

Serbian: Не можеш да имаш и јаре и паре – You can't have both goatling and money, and Не можеш сести с једним дупетом на две столице – You can't sit on two chairs with one butt.

Spanish: Querer estar en Misa y en procesión – wishing to be both at Mass and in the procession, and estar en Misa y repicando (or estar en Misa y tocar la campana – to be both at Mass and in the belfry, bell-ringing. estar en el plato y a las tajadas.

Argentina: la chancha y los veinte – the pig and the twenties. (Comes from the old piggybanks for children that used to contain coins of 20 cents. The only way to get the coins was to break the piggybank open – hence the phrase. This can be emphasized by adding y la máquina de hacer chorizos – and the machine to make sausage.

Tamil: மீசைக்கும் ஆசை கூழுக்கும் ஆசை – desire to have both the moustache and to drink the soup.

Turkish: Gülü seven dikenine katlanir. – If you like roses, you have to put up with the thorns.

we do need to revisit the wording of "you can't have your cake and eat it too" because i don't think it clearly enough conveys that it's more that you can't simultaneously retain a cake and also get to consume it (which would render you cakeless). for years i was like But why not....it's my cake....?

[wait-still-rendering]

A Love Letter Circa 2007

Kairi’s cheek sat upon the cool desk. 

“Kaiiiiriii.” A pair of smiling blue eyes came into her line of sight. Naminé poked her shoulder a couple times. “C’mon, we gotta meet the boys for ice cream. Roxas says it’s his treat.”

“Fine.” Kairi peeled herself off of the desk, rubbing her cheek. Ow. Maybe she shouldn’t have done that. She stifled a yawn, regretting the time she spent last night playing her new video game on her PS2. Kairi was sneaky this time—muting the volume, putting a blanket over her and the TV’s head, turning off her light, and stuffing one of her old blankets under the door so no one could peek in. Mom hadn’t suspected a thing and Kairi made sure to put on concealer this morning. She could catch up on sleep later tonight.

The two best friends headed out of the school building, chatting about this and that. Kairi yawned again. Whew. She really needed to catch up on sleep. 

"Hey, Naminé, Kairi." Sora waved his arms up and down like a doofus. 

Kairi cracked a smile, tucking a strand of her strawberry red hair behind her ear. "Hi," she said, happy her voice didn't lilt upward like it usually did. 

"Yo." Roxas waved. 

"Hello." Naminé giggled at Sora's antics. "Ready to go?"

"Yup. Good thing Roxas is paying because I'm flat broke."

"That's because you spent all of your money on action figures," Roxas retorted.

"And your point? Hm?" Sora put his hands on his hips, leaning forward and almost losing his balance. "I spend money on things that matter. In just a few years these action figures could make me"—he counted his fingers—"11 million munny. I'll be rich one day, just you wait."

"Sure." Roxas snorted.  

Kairi skipped ahead of the rest of her friends. Her glittering eyes gazed up at the sakura trees, her earlier fatigue disappearing completely. Spring was her favorite season. There was something fresh in the air. Maybe the dew, maybe the bakery up ahead. She wasn’t exactly sure what it was, but Spring made her want to dance around like a lovesick girl. Finding love in this weather wouldn’t be too bad, especially with the flowers in full bloom.

She spun around, her skirt billowing in the wind. Thankfully, Kairi always wore shorts under her skirts. Naminé shook her head at her friend’s hyperactivity. 

“Don’t try to get everything in sight,” Roxas said. “I only have so much money.” He narrowed his eyes in an attempt to look more stern.

“Like last time when Sora tried to buy eight lava cakes?” Kairi asked.

“Exactly.”

“Why is everyone picking on me today? That was one time,” Sora said, pouting.

“One time too many.” Roxas crossed his arms and sent a sharp look Sora’s way.

“Aww man.” 

“Do either of you need the notes for Ms. Lockhart’s class?” Naminé rifled through her bag, blonde hair falling in front of her face. Sometimes Kairi wondered how she could look so angelic. She looked almost like a princess with her porcelain skin and delicate features. “I have some notes here if you wanna copy them.”

Naminé always took thorough notes. Kairi wouldn’t know what to do without her since she could hardly pay attention in class today. She didn’t necessarily doze off, but she found herself reading words, but not really processing them. It happened to her sometimes. She’d be reading a book and confused about what was going on even if the plot wasn’t too hard to follow. Then she would put the book down, pick it up a few weeks later, put it down again, and repeat the process until she finally understood what was going on. Her friends didn’t know about this because it was kind of embarrassing.

“Sooo, what is everyone getting?” Sora asked, rubbing his hands together.

“Why? So you can mooch off of us like last time?” Kairi swore Sora had a bottomless pit for a stomach. That boy could eat an entire whale and not gain a pound.

“No, I’m just curious.”

“Mhmm.”

Naminé walked alongside Roxas, explaining something math-related to him. When Roxas wasn’t looking Kairi made kissy faces at her. She blushed and turned away abruptly from Kairi. Sora raised an eyebrow at her antics. Kairi shrugged her shoulders, a small smile forming on her lips.

“What?”

“Does she ….?” he trailed off, not daring to finish the sentence.

“I dunno. Maybe.”

“You’re her best friend,” Sora pointed out.

“I mean, yeah, but she’s never mentioned any crushes to me.”

“Really?”

“Yup. We don’t really talk about that kind of stuff.”

 Sora looked like he didn’t believe her. “Sure.”

“Listen,” she started, her eyes serious, “it’s girl code.”

He held up his hands. “Whoa, chill. It was just a question.”

“And what if I asked you the same thing? Do you have a crush on anyone, hm?” She bumped shoulders with him and waited as a small smile formed on her lips.

“What? I, uh, huh?” he stammered.

Kairi’s violet eyes lit up. “You do.” She squealed.

“I do not!” Sora’s face was starting to resemble a tomato.

“You totally do. Sooo,” she started, wiggling her eyebrows. “Who is it?”

“You.”

Kairi stopped dead in her tracks, her face turning as red as her hair.

“You don’t mean it.”

“I do,” Sora said. There was no laughter in his eyes.

Her coughing turned into nervous giggles. 

“Do you like me?”

“Who doesn’t like you, Sora?” she asked before making the bold choice to kiss his cheek.

Kairi raced ahead after spotting the ice cream shop.

“That’s not an answer, Kairi!”

She spun around and stuck out her tongue at Sora while Naminé and Roxas looked on in confusion. “It’s a pretty obvious answer, you dork.”

[mimiplaysgames]

Terra Week Day 4 (Success/New Friends/Hang outs)

Word Count: 2,812

Summary: They find less answers and more questions. They bring the monster out.

Read on AO3

A/N: This is for Terra Week 2022!! You can find the event on Twitter.

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

Scar Tissue, Ch. 4

Terra wakes in the middle of a busy street. Children bat balls and collide into each other when they don’t pay attention. Someone—a woman—nearly runs into Terra with a paper bag of groceries. Couples are ordering sweets from street vendors, and the air is permeated by the smell of steak and spices. Golden light drapes the cobblestone. The street lamps have been lit. The sun is already setting even though it’s morning (in Twilight Town, it always sets).

Behind him comes a flurry of heavy footsteps and gruff pants like that of a bull’s. Isa shoves his shoulder.

“You’ve left my front door open,” Isa barks, his jacket halfway on his shoulders as though he was in the middle of slipping his arms through the sleeves when he ran out of the apartment. He zips it up.

Terra groans, hiding his face behind his hand. “I’m so sorry.”

Isa sighs. “I wasn’t sure what to think when I found you missing.”

Terra pats his pants and digs into his pockets. Relief sweeps over his shoulders when he touches his munny pouch—he didn’t leave it at the apartment. It’s as if his other self is at least the tiniest bit considerate. “Where can you buy cake around here?”

“After a stunt like the one you pulled, that’s the first question you ask me?” Isa rolls his eyes. He points to a bakery. Confections from Tiana’s Place. Imports from another world. 

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

“We got a new hang-out?” Terra dips the box of cake bites away from reaching tree branches. They’re hiking through the woods behind Twilight Town, far from the direction of the ocean. 

“An abandoned manor deep in the forest. It’s private.” Isa steps over an overstretched root. “There are Heartless lingering here, so beware.”

The warning doesn’t come soon enough when they’re suddenly surrounded by Shadows. Most Heartless are weaker these days, as though their connection to Kingdom Hearts has been frayed. There’s always the occasional one that proves more resilient to attacks, hearts wanting and yearning too much to be dissuaded by weapons and magic. Unlike Unversed, Heartless have needs. 

Terra slams the last Shadow on the head before it could slip its dirty paws into the cake. He opens the box—none of the frosting has been disturbed. 

“We’re lucky,” Isa says, dispelling his Claymore. “There is a particularly nasty one haunting these woods.” After looking at Terra’s expression, Isa assures him. “We’re almost there.”

The mansion in question is in disrepair. Some of the windows are cracked, the curtains ripped or missing. One of the door handles to the entrance is loose, its door never closing all the way. Terra tries it—on the floor is a thick sheet of dust. The furniture inside is draped in fabric. The chandelier in chunks on the floor. It’s not dark inside the house, just a lot of shadows that the light has a hard time eliminating. 

“It feels awful in here.” Terra shuts the door. It bounces back slightly. 

“I cannot sense anything.”

“I don’t want to go in.”

“We can stay outside,” says a small voice. Naminé approaches them from behind, her notebook wrapped in her arms. She smiles. She’s always smiling. 

Terra pats her head and lifts the box of cakes. “Look what I got you.” 

Naminé sits on a stump of plaster, leftover from a broken column. She brings the box to her lap. Terra likes to get her gifts—she’s new to life, open to trying things. There’s so much for her to taste: saltwater from the ocean splashing into her face; coffee, bitter and sweet; burgers; plain steak, for protein; Aqua’s brownies. Today, Terra has brought her samples of cake: fudge, vanilla, strawberry, orange, sugar, lemon, and—

“What’s this one?” 

“Turmeric.”

Her face scrunches up. “Okay… I don’t know what that is, but I’ll try it.”

“It’s the only cake I enjoy.”

“You don’t like chocolate?”

“I don’t like sweets.”

Naminé blinks at him, rolling her mouth as she takes a piece of turmeric.

“Dark is decent,” he clarifies. “Nut brittles, pistachios, pecan pie...”

“Inhuman, isn’t he?” Isa snatches half a piece of fudge. He smirks to himself.

Naminé wipes her hands. “I don’t like this one,” she says of the turmeric. 

It doesn’t come as a surprise to Terra. The only other person he’s ever met who enjoys it is Aqua.

Naminé claps her hands. “There’s so much I’ve done in the last few days.”

She talks of making flower crowns with Xion, of scaling mountains and visiting beaches (yes, she’s swallowed ocean water—she never expected the waves to push against her that strongly). 

“Will you learn how to swim?” Isa asks her.

She wants to. 

She continues her little tales of adventures with the joy of a six-year-old. Much of what she appreciates would be taken for granted by anyone else. Sunsets and sunrises. Rainy and blustery days. Silk feels better than cotton. Rainwater doesn’t taste so bad. Rainbows are rare—why? Nobodies don’t feel much. She’s never felt so much. Terra will need to bring her to the Land of Departure one day so she can see what a real sky looks like. 

“What’s wrong?” she asks Terra.

Terra blinks. His heart pounds. Usually, he’d be drifting off somewhere else, but he remembers everything she’s said. He’s not sure why, but thank goodness.

“I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

“Like the door?”

Terra holds his breath. He shouldn’t be surprised. Naminé always had a way with the mind. 

“I don’t know where it comes from,” he says quietly. 

“From yourself,” Isa says. He leans on a completed column, save for chipped pieces at the top. He crosses his arms. “Am I right?”

“What makes you think that?”

“I will not pretend to understand much of Keyblade magic. But from what I know, I imagine that anything connected to your heart—in this case, a door that appears in your dreams, from the deepest, most sacred place of your entire being—must be a piece of yourself.”

“You’re saying that Darkness is a piece of the pie.”

“Isn’t it so for us all?” Isa waves his arms. “Don’t we all have a black door?”

“I don’t know.”

Naminé opens her notepad and gathers several crayons: orange, yellow, black. “Did you see a black door when Xehanort took control?”

“Never.” Terra never even had a chance to visit his Station of Awakening. He was asleep. Sometimes, he’d see a star or two or three in the distance. Only when he was fortunate.

“Then I agree with Isa. The door does not come from Xehanort.”

Terra sighs—it stutters, shakes and tightens. He’s relieved, he’s not. 

Naminé begins drawing in circular motions. The eyes. It never feels like anything, when she works with you. Not the sense of a prong in the mind or a brush on the skin. If anything, she’s a friend who listens. A girl in a white dress. A bystander. Quiet. Sensitive. She wrinkles her nose. “Why are you concerned with mirrors?”

Terra leans back, sitting on the grass. “Am I the only one who finds them weird?”

Isa purses his lips.

Naminé slows down. 

“When I look into the mirror—” Naminé flips to a blank page—“I only see myself. Even if there are other people in the background, or standing there with me, I’m always alone.” She smiles, and it looks so sad. “Mirrors are weird.”

She draws with the black crayon. 

Isa steps off his column, and hovers over shoulder. “What can we do to bring out the Darkness haunting Terra?”

She looks up at him. “You think we should bring it out?”

“How else would we vanquish it?”

Naminé giggles. “You can hit him.”

“How nice.” Terra pushes her head.

“He’s right.” She pauses. “Terra, there is something you’re not expressing.”

Terra imagines Aqua’s face. And Ven’s. His Gummiphone pings, and he ignores it. Words sound hollow relative to what he’s done.

“Does it hurt?” she asks Terra.

Her questions are usually unspecific, as though they all must read her mind, too, and instinctively know the right answer. “What does?”

“The scar on your chest.”

“Not at all.” Terra places a hand to his heart. “Did you know: Scar tissue heals stronger than what you originally had.”

“Really?” 

“That’s why they’re ugly sometimes. They grow too fast, but it leaves the skin thicker. Bones are stronger after you break them.” 

Naminé thinks. “They’re also in your mind.”

Terra rubs the crown of her head. “Sometimes. Yes.”

“How do you stop them from growing?”

“You don’t.” He second-guesses his answer when she frowns. “You have to

outgrow

them.”

“Outlast them,” Isa adds. “We fortify after we hurt. We become more resilient.” He slides his hands into his pockets. “We might not otherwise stare down a ghost.”

Naminé looks at Isa’s X-shaped scar on his face. “May I?”

Isa nods his approval, and she traces her finger across his nose.

“See?” Terra asks.

Naminé brings her hand to her chest, over her heart. “You didn’t mention anything about the heart.“

Isa glances at Terra. I leave this to you.

Terra rips a grass blade off the ground. “Yes, they’re affected.”

“They hurt the most.”

He crumples blade into a ball. “Yes.”

“That’s sad.” She stares at her half-finished drawing. “I work with memories, which are tied to both your mind and your heart. Your mind is what organizes them. Your heart...” She holds the end of a crayon to her mouth. “When it turns to stone, your chains become brittle and rust away. So I always want to keep the heart soft. When I draw around scars, I usually have to un-knot them,” she says as though it’s as simple as spreading butter on bread. 

Naminé loses her concentration in Terra’s eyes. She gasps. “I know where the eyes go,” she whispers. She draws lines, rushed and inspired. She stops. “It’s them.”

“Who?”

“Aqua and Ventus. They bring it out.”

His Gummiphone pings—another text. He pulls it out of his pocket.

Ven

I wake up and you aren’t here.

What gives?

Terra doesn’t know what to say back. 

“I think we should try your idea,” he hears Naminé say softly to Isa. 

“A duel?” Isa says back.

Naminé pauses. “I’m not sure. He needs to make peace with it.”

Terra stares at the text message. Words don’t come to him.

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

When he was a child, Terra once slipped on the terrace and fractured his skull at the base of a concrete step. He was practicing form and balance, and he wanted to impress. That day, he learned his body wasn’t invincible. He’s since carried a bump. He’s since had multiple appointments. Hair now won’t grow on the lining of the scar, the follicles gone and knotted over. It hurt for several months, then he forgot it was there.

When he was fifteen, Terra had his first kiss. He would never, ever, speak about it, five plus twelve years later.

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

Naminé has been drawing a figure with two horns, black and blue and purple, like veins for bruises, and a gnawing frown, eyes gold, an empty shape in the middle of the chest. She draws while she talks, she draws even though she’s not paying attention. 

Isa pulls out his Gummiphone. “I will call for Master Aqua.” 

Terra doesn’t say anything.

Hearts have threads—their sinew a pathway, empty at birth, braided as they grow identities, like bridges between one person and the next. The closer the loved one, the bigger and stronger the bridge, the more open their doors. Chains, heavy and strong, tight and slack, depending on the dynamic, bonding memories together that forge keys into each other’s hearts. Naminé draws the creature like a weave of yarn, pieces that connect together. A lot of rage, exhaled from Terra’s armor the day she awakened it and now formed into this. 

In Terra’s heart are three faces: Eraqus, desaturated. Aqua, Ventus, vibrant. In Terra’s heart, a Darkness, cold and warm.

From her page, the Guardian wants to burst. She only needs to find out how.

“I think we should contact Riku first,” she says. 

“As you wish,” Isa says.

Terra doesn’t say anything.

She lifts her eyes from her work. “Terra?”

He says nothing. He’s staring at his phone. 

“Can you hear me?”

Isa bends to his knees, and shakes Terra’s shoulder. “He is somewhere else.”

“Be care—”

Terra stands up. His expression is blank, frozen like a statue of a clay model. He digs his Gummiphone into his pocket, and without acknowledging Isa’s touch, he walks away.

“Where are you going?” Isa calls. 

Naminé drops her notebook and runs to Terra, pulling his arm back. It doesn’t stop him. “Don’t go.”

Isa faces Terra and pushes him back, at the chest. With the strength of a machine, Terra yanks his arm from Naminé and shoves Isa harder. Isa stumbles back with a groan. Not a moment passes when Terra continues on. He can’t hear them. He doesn’t see them.

Isa growls from annoyance. “You will answer us.” He summons his Claymore, a menacing weight that sharpens its talons and engorges as soon as his hand clasps its hilt. 

“What are you going to do with that?” Naminé says.

“I want to see what will make him respond.”

Isa charges for an attack, and swings his Claymore in an attempt to bash Terra’s head. Terra grabs the shaft as if it’s as light as a stick of bamboo. He twist’s Isa’s arm. Isa yells and his Claymore dispels. Terra lifts Isa up by the neck, dragging him off the ground.

“Don’t hurt him!” Naminé pleads.

And that does it.

Terra pays attention, staring at her without seeing her. 

Naminé cups her mouth with her hand as if to block a scream, but it comes too late.

Terra’s eyes are glowing yellow. 

Isa kicks Terra in the stomach but it barely leaves a blow. “Hide!”

It takes a moment before Naminé turns and runs to the manor. One of the doors is stuck, so she pulls on the other one. It doesn’t close behind her. She crawls across the floor, no time to be concerned about the dust collecting on her knees. Outside, she hears grunts and blows, Isa cursing and Terra silent. She peeks out the window. Isa is sprawled on the ground, knocked out. Terra is coming, but Terra stops, and Terra shakes his head.

He finally sees her, and yells, “It’s not safe there!”

The monster appears. First, in the glow to his eyes that come back as fast as the flick of a light switch. A cloud of darkness wraps itself around Terra’s body. Out from the chest, comes the horns. 

Naminé doesn’t have the time to squeak. She crouches and shields her head. Glass shatters above her and falls around her like iridescent confetti. The Guardian grabs her by the waist. She gasps.

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

When Terra finally wakes up, he’s hurting, slumped on the ground. And he can’t move.

Jabbing into his back are the knuckles of bark. His arms are sore, pulled tightly behind him, twisting him in a way that the slightest movement sends a shock through his tendons. His head is throbbing as if he’s been dealt a blow. The sun is still setting, light broken up by the shadows of leaves that pepper across the ground. 

He’s tied to a tree. 

“He’s awake,” he hears. Riku’s voice.

Isa limps into view, clutching his right arm—his fighting arm. 

Riku crouches in front of Terra. His Keyblade is drawn. “How’re you doing?”

Someone is missing. “Where is Naminé?” Terra’s voice is coarse.

“I was going to ask you the same question.”

The heat, the headache melts from Terra’s face, leaving it as cold as an empty room. “What—?”

“It took her,” Isa says, scowling. “Where would it take her?”

Terra stammers. His tongue is too thick. Even his eyes hurt, as though he’s kept them open under the ocean. He jerks—he wants to wipe his eyes—but the restraints won’t let him. 

Naminé running into the manor is the last image he remembers.

I wanted her to be safe. 

“Let’s get him loose,” Riku says softly, and Isa crouches behind the tree. The rope binding Terra sounds dry and flaky. 

“I know it’s not your fault,” Riku continues to say, though it sounds very much the opposite. 

The rope slackens. He rubs his arms, his biceps, which took the brunt of the hold. 

“Come on. Let’s try again,” Riku says, and it sounds like it’s coming from a teacher, from a mentor, from a judge. Not from a friend, not from a child. There is a knowing to Riku’s eyes, a skepticism. Terra’s prodigy, eclipsing him, now reading him down. “Where is she?”

Terra licks his lips. His tongue is too dry. “I don’t know.”

[ofwaking]

( an unforgettable birthday | @oathtides​​ )

at some point in the festivities, kairi finds a moment to steal him away, pulling him away from their friends & to the seaside shack. ❝ okay, close your eyes ! ❞ she orders after closing the door behind them. ❝ & you’d better not peak ! i’ll know if you do. ❞ once she’s certain his eyes are closed, & she’s committed his face to memory for the umpteenth time that day, she sets to work on moving aside bags of bait & boxes of fishing gear. her goal : a simple, shoe-sized box with his name hand-crafted across the top & surrounded by pasted-on, multicolored stars & hearts & little planets vaguely reminiscent of all the worlds he’s gone to. she guides it into his hands. ❝ you can open them now. ❞ as he does so, it’s clear to see that she’s a little nervous, hands wringing at her front & gaze fixed on this modest, little box. ❝ i wasn’t really sure what to get you this year, ❞ she admits. ❝ we’ve missed so many birthdays together.  i wanted to celebrate them all now, that you’re back, but nothing seemed right for that, so i— well, maybe it’s best you open it, first. ❞ now she looks anywhere BUT the box. she doesn’t need to, she already knows exactly what he’ll find inside. among the contents are seashells & pretty stones of various shapes & sizes, a flat rock with a smiling sun painted on it, small crown figures made of clay & wood among various other trinkets, drawings of him by namine,a recipe given to her by his mother, pictures, pictures, pictures galore of beautiful places with the sun sitting high in the sky, pictures of them, together, on that final day, & finally, a neat stack of envelopes nestled at the bottom, all of which bearing his name in her signature script —— letters. some old, & some new. ❝ forgetting you was the worst thing that’s ever happened to me, ❞ she begins explaining, ❝ & i was so scared that it was going to happen again, especially after you disappeared. i started building this box to make sure that i would never ever forget again. ❞ it’s only then that she finally looks up at him, eyes alight in intensity, ❝ this box is full of everything that reminded me of you, even when i couldn’t see your face. this box is every birthday celebrated, even when you weren’t here. this box is everything i wished i’d said when i’d still had the chance. but i’m not afraid of forgetting anymore, sora, so . . .  i want you to have it. ❞ she takes the lid & closes the box, before taking his hand to hold it over the top of it, expression softening. ❝ if for no other reason, i’d like for you to see the way that i see you. happy birthday, sora. ❞

     he was EXHAUSTED, but in the very best kind of way–––– the ate too much cake, ran around too much, laughed for far too ling kind of way. there was a different sort of ache in his muscles than he got from fighting, the kind that came from too many pats on the back & smiling too wide for too long instead of swinging & blade & tumbling against the ground. the time with his friends had been long overdue, & he relished in their energy & laughter almost as much as he did his very own. the energy was still high, but the focus was turned away from him when an arm hooked into his, pulling him across the beach. before he could even ask where they were going, he was receiving instructions, & he’d had enough surprises in his life to know that a good one was coming.

     ❝ okay, okay! no peeking, i got it! ❞ & thus he stood, just within the seaside shack, awaiting the moment when he could open his eyes & see the gift that kairi was so clearly proud of. the box was placed in his hands, & he had to resist the urge to shake it, to TOSS the contents around & try to guess just by the sound–––– but, they were older than they had been the last time they had celebrated his birthday  ( anyone’s birthday ) together, & he had learned that as the years advanced the gifts became more breakable, & he would never forgive himself for putting so much as a dent in a gift that came from such a dear friend. besides, he wanted to keep the surprise just that. a surprise!

     & what a surprise it was. even just the box was something to marvel at. he wasn’t ashamed of the little sound of awe that slipped from him as he examined it. it wasn’t wrapped, but it was clearly much better that way. his name had been carefully crafted on the lid, & he found one of his fingers trailing over the hearts & stars & planets, weaving through the spaces between each one, getting lost in it’s likeness to travelling through space in the gummi ship. the reminder of how many birthdays, holidays, how much time together they had missed, made his heart ache, & his gaze drifted back towards her, watching her expression closely. what he found surprised him, he could admit.

     she seemed...NERVOUS. he couldn’t remember ever seeing her nervous to give a gift before ( maybe the very first birthday they had spent together, when their friendship was still new, though it was never fragile, but he had been to excited to receive something from her that he hadn’t really noticed ). a part of him wanted to make a joke, laugh, lighten the mood, but a larger part recognized the seriousness of the moment, even one so filled with something sweet. he lifted the lid off of the box with a slow, gentle motion, his eyes moving back & forth between kairi & his gift as he uncovered it.

     the first thing he noticed was his mother’s handwriting, a gentle scrawling script that had adorned so many notes around his home that he couldn’t help but notice it. it was a recipe for something–––– cookies? cake? mango salsa? he wasn’t sure, & his gaze didn’t linger long enough to find out, for the light drifting through the cracked door behind him reflected off of a few of the stones & gathered his attention. his hand reached for one, only to be diverted the moment he noticed the crown shaped trinkets. his fingers brushed against drawings, seashells, & photo after photo after photo only to bump gently against an envelope. several, in fact. they were stacked so perfectly that he didn’t want to ruin them, but he couldn’t help but lift one, staring at his name written in her handwriting, one that he knew well from staring at a letter that had once saved him tucked & hidden in his room for SLEEPLESS nights ( it had been waterlogged upon the return to the islands, but he had grown up amongst the water, & nothing was too doused for him to save, though he found himself much more delicate with it afterwards ).  the envelope beneath it bore the same name in the same script, & he would bet all the munny in his magical pockets that the one underneath held the same.

     letters. all for him. the thought had his heart beating a little faster, his lip TREMBLING as it struggled for a proper purchase on his words.

     ❝ kairi––––. ❞ he couldn’t find the words. though he had so much to say. there was pride building up in his chest ad her confession, that she was no longer afraid of forgetting, & a part of him allowed himself to be HOPEFUL that she trusted him to remain at her side even when he struggled to have that faith himself.

     ❝ i don’t know if i’ll ever be able to see myself like you see me. ❞ he wasn’t sure if he would understand how she could compare him to perfectly intact shells on the beach or light reflected on the water or the sweet & savory snacks of their childhood ( but couldn’t he, a voice asked, when he knew that he could compare her to the feeling of warm sand on his skin, to the moon rising from the sea on the horizon, to finally getting something cold on a hot summer’s day ), but that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t TRY.

     ❝ but, i know there isn’t a single thing in this box that i won’t treasure. ❞

     his smile grew for her, bright & warm & a sure sign of the happiness a gift from the heart brought him. he would keep every item close to his HEART, a reminder of the strength of their bond.

    ❝ thank you, kairi.❞

[nadziejastar]

The Icing on the Cake

The wayfinder trio’s story arc was handled pretty well in KH3. The main concept of their relationship was their unbreakable connection, which was connected to the stars. They would look up at the stars, thinking of each other. No matter where they went, they would always find their way back to each other. 

The stars meant a lot to the wayfinder trio because no matter where they were, they were always underneath the same stars.

And Terra told Aqua that she was always lighting his way back. Their reunion had a lot of thematic resonance. It felt like it was planned many years in advance. That’s what made their story well-written.

Axel’s main priority in KH3 was bringing Roxas back, but it didn’t really have much thematic resonance, if you ask me. The entire concept of Axel’s character was “memory”. Got it memorized? Like with the stars, Axel is very nostalgic about the sunset, due to his memories of the past. 

And Axel’s relationship with Roxas in KH3 didn’t really tie into this theme that well. His relationship with Ventus actually had a lot more thematic resonance.

But the story dropped the ball hard on that one. Lea recognized Ventus as Roxas, and was hoping that Ventus recognized him as Axel. But...he didn’t. Lea was visibly disappointed. This would have been the perfect time for them to have a heartfelt reunion. But the scene had almost no impact at all because Lea and Ventus were practically strangers, despite their relationship having so much thematic significance. In the end, their meeting was pretty pointless.

Lea’s reunion with Roxas was saved for the final battle. But the scene didn’t feel like it belonged there. It didn’t resonate with the themes of Lea’s character arc. It had nothing to do with “memory”. Unlike Ventus and Aqua’s reunion with Terra, the Keyblade Graveyard didn’t feel like it was planned to be the place for Lea to reunite with Roxas. Compared to the wayfinder trio, the sea-salt trio’s reunion was awkward, out of place, and poorly written.

On the other hand, Lea’s fight with Isa did tie into this concept of “memory”. Isa was possessed, and it seemed like he forgot about his friendship with Lea a long time ago. Their final battle was all about how they never forgot each other. The Keyblade Graveyard felt like it was supposed to be about Lea’s reunion with Isa, not Roxas and Xion.

Everything about Lea and Isa’s relationship revolved around the theme of “memory”. In Birth by Sleep, there is an extremely happy and innocent song called Eternal Moments. It only plays during the scene where Ventus meets Lea and Isa. It’s pretty much Lea’s theme. It also plays a few times during KH3. 

The song that plays during most of the sea-salt ice cream moments in 358/2 Days is called At Dusk, I Will Think of You… It’s basically a more melancholy version of “Eternal Moments”. It’s pretty much Axel’s theme in the game. Axel was always, ALWAYS wishing to go back to the past. Sea-salt ice cream and the sunset always reminded him of that. To Axel, the sunset was his star, and ice cream was his wayfinder.

The first chapter of the Days manga was called “The Ice Cream That Started It All”. 

At the end of the chapter, Roxas started remembering things after Axel took him out for ice cream. 

The sun sank lower and lower as Axel watched, his mind wandering. If he stared for too long, the image would burn itself into his eyes, visible even after his eyes were closed. A phantom sun. Someone had once told him why sunsets were red… Who was that?

Roxas was eating ice cream with Axel when he brought up his first week. Ice cream = memories. Axel remembered the reason why the sunset was red on this day.

In KH2, one of the early chapters is called “Sea-Salt Ice Cream”.

It starts off with the kids eating ice cream. Pence calls it a simple pleasure before he wonders if they will always be together, which Hayner says is impossible. 

Simple pleasures are experiences that are brief, positive, emerge in everyday settings, and are accessible to most people at little or no cost. 

It’s like the saying “the best things in life are free”. Kinda cheesy, like something off a fortune cookie. But it’s still a nice message.

Roxas: I could have done that blindfolded.

Axel: Ha ha! I dunno if I want a blindfolded zombie on the loose. All right, smart aleck, you did good. And no successful mission is complete without a little icing on the cake. C'mon.

On their mission together, when Roxas acts self-aware for the first time, Axel gave sea-salt ice cream to him as a reward for working hard.

In KH2, the kids were broke. But they worked really hard to save up enough money to go to the beach. Of course, the money was stolen so they never got to go. 

They had to settle for the simple pleasure of eating ice cream together. And they were fine with that.

The trip to the beach was all about creating memories, since they couldn’t be together forever.

The message is, it’s not the cost of the trip that was valuable, it’s the memories they created together. 

Eating ice cream is cheap. It isn’t exactly as exciting as going to the beach, but it doesn’t have to be. The memories of the people you’re eating it with are more important. That’s why Axel stole a lot of Hayner’s dialogue in Days. It was all about the theme of “memories”.

"C'mon, C'mon, stop by and try some! It's a sweet and salty mysterious ice cream!"

“What’s that?” Lea ran up to check it out.

“Hullo, there, laddie. Would you like one?” 

“I’m…guessing they aren’t free?” Lea asked, jamming a hand into his pocket. 

Scrooge hopped up and yelled, “Of course not! Are ye daft?!” 

When Lea was a kid, he didn’t have a lot of money, either. He was even hoping the ice cream Scrooge was offering was free.

For a little bit, Lea was deep in thought. Scrooge held the ice cream in his hands. "Then I'll have one....no, two!" “Thank ye kindly!” 

Lea paid the munny, took the two ice popsicles from Scrooge, and handed one to Isa.

He was broke, but he still bought Isa an ice cream, too. There’s a reason I think the localization used the term “icing on the cake” for Axel’s sea-salt ice cream ritual.

"It's cold....." Isa mumbled, nibbling at the ice cream. "Whaddya mean, it's ice cream so of course it is, got it memorized?" ".....moreover, it's salty." "But sweet!" As Lea went on, Isa smiled just a bit. It's rare to see Isa smile. But, well, friendship means eating ice cream together, talking about stupid things, and laughing like this.

Icing on the cake is defined as an attractive but inessential addition or enhancement. It’s the not the main attraction. It’s just something extra that makes a good thing even better.

“Why, look at that, you’re a winner! Congratulations!” 

“‘Congratulations’…?” It was a new word to Roxas. Was that what he’d won? 

“You get another ice cream, on the house,” she told him. 

“Um, how much?” He didn’t know what “on the house” meant, either. But he had heard that one could get things in exchange for munny or for hearts. 

“No, no, it’s free. You won! Have you got a friend you’d like to treat?”

A WINNER stick gives you a free ice cream. It literally costs nothing. It’s the epitome of a simple pleasure.

Day 357: To My Best Friend

Author: Axel

Roxas left. It’s so like him to just leave that WINNER ice cream stick behind. Come tomorrow, I’ll probably get the order to hunt him down, but leaving that here makes it feel so permanent. I wish the three of us—three? No. That the two of us could share some ice cream again someday. That’s what it is to be friends.

My impression was that Isa was the type of person who didn’t care what activity he was doing. The ice cream was just extra—the icing on the cake. It was nice, but it wasn’t even necessary.

“Precisely, Roxas. That is no ordinary rose. To him, at least, it seems to hold more value than all the castle’s riches.”

As long he spent time with Lea, that was all that mattered. It didn’t matter if they were broke or not. Day 193 is even called “Memories”. And Axel brings up eating ice cream. To him, that’s what it meant to be best friends.

“So, okay, say you don’t need a heart for things to be important to you… Maybe the closest thing we Nobodies have is our pasts. It’s the memories that give things value.”

“Memories…,” Roxas mumbled at his lap. “Well, I don’t remember my past, so I guess that explains it.” 

Axel pondered that for a few seconds before suggesting, “What about your present, though?” 

Roxas looked up. Somehow, he hadn’t expected to hear that from Axel. “Huh?” 

“You’ve got your memories since you joined up with the Organization, right? There must be something special to you there.” 

“I dunno…” Memories…? Roxas didn’t have any from when he was human. But he did remember his time with the Organization so far.

My theory is that Isa was Subject X. He had amnesia after Lea reunited with him in Twilight Town. They were going to start over and create a new life and new memories together. Since Isa had no memories of his past, Lea wanted them to do something memorable together, so he thought of going to the beach. 

Other than being told today’s mission, I didn’t really do anything yesterday. Maybe in reality it’d even be okay to have called it a day off. A holiday…

“Didn’t get to go in the end,” muttered Axel, and he got up.

Today I have to destroy Roxas. I cannot betray the organization.

From the little shelf at his bedside, Axel took a white envelope, and looked at it vaguely for a while. Putting it in his pocket, Axel got up off the bed and left the room.

They probably didn’t get to stay in Twilight Town that long, though. Probably just 7 days, if I had to guess. They never got to go to the beach. Probably didn’t have the munny.

Axel thrust his hand into his pocket, and took out the white envelope.

The memories of me and Roxas haven’t faded away. For now, that’s just fine.

“…Really feel like some ice cream,” Axel muttered, watching the sunset absently.

We were always together with the sunset. We talked about all kinds of things in that place. I think it’d be good if we could talk and eat ice cream there again someday. Now, there’s nothing but that. I only hope for that.

The setting sun was shining on Axel.

They spent quality time in Twilight Town, but then they realized they weren’t even safe there. They had nowhere to run from Xehanort. 

He didn’t really understand the “icing” part, except that it was ice cream. Like Winner, though, it meant something special. So when Axel came back, Roxas would use the freebie and get him some “icing.”

They were out of time, so they decided to commit suicide together. Isa was grateful for the memories Lea was able to give him, even if the were just simple pleasures like ice cream. 

That meant a lot to Lea. He said that inside people’s memories, he could live forever. 

So, as long as they remembered each other, they’d never be apart. They promised to see each other again in the next life.

Everything about Lea and Isa had thematic resonance, even if KH3 dropped the ball on them badly. It felt like Lea’s entire character arc for the whole Xehanort Saga revolved around his past with Isa. Everything he did with Roxas and Xion involved his past with Isa.

I can’t really think of anything about Roxas and Axel’s relationship in KH3 that had thematic resonance. He just showed up out of nowhere and barely even interacted with Axel afterwards. It really felt like their reunion during the final battle wasn’t planned very far in advance and had very little thought put into it; like it was just shoehorned in at the last minute. Lea’s reunion with Ventus felt like it had more planning and thought put into it.

Roxas and Axel barely even acknowledge each other after Roxas comes back. The moment where Isa treats Lea to an ice cream on the clock tower had waaaay more thematic significance than any moment between Lea and Roxas. It felt like that moment was being built up for a long, long time. Practically the entire Xehanort Saga. It was the equivalent of Terra telling Aqua she was always there lighting his way back. Lea and Roxas don’t get a special moment like this.

[nobodies-png]

um this request is kinda sensitive in nature so i understand if you won't do it but. my bird passed away today and just. could i have the sora quintet + kairi and riku comforting their partner over the loss of a pet?

aw, i’m sorry for your loss, nonnie ! and sorry for getting to this prompt late too, hope you feel better !

Sora : 

To Sora, pets are way more than that - they’re like family ! So he’d be sad and a bit teary once he gets the news, but he’ll put on a brave face to support you ! He’d stay by your side until you feel better, always touching you in some way : gently rubbing your arm, holding your hand, literally just picking you up etc. 

He absolutely hates seeing you cry because it makes him cry too - but he’d insist that you get everything out of your system in any way that you can, so you can slowly move on from your pet’s death. Cry on his shoulder until you have no more tears left ! Scream your frustration and sadness away ! Be self-indulgent and eat that ice cream while you watch sad movies with him ! 

After that, he’d surround you with love, friends and so much v a l i d a t i o n that you won’t even have time to feel sad anymore. Sad hours are over ! Sora would tell you that your dear pet would want you to remember them with a smile, instead of a frown ! 

Vanitas : 

Vanitas is bad at comforting others, like he has a hard time making sure his voice doesn’t sound angry, stern or condescending, relaxing his face so it doesn’t seem like he’s always frowning… He wants to be gentle with you, but it’s like it’s physically impossible for him to stop that Angry Vibe he always has. The “bad boy” attitude will drop to 0% until you feel better- 

Or til you can reply to his typical sass with your own snarky comments. But until then, he’d be patient and pretty quiet (as to avoid fucking everything up by saying some unnecessary shit). He’s not the type to get attached to pets or casually shed any tears for them, but he knows that animal was important to you.

 And since you’re important to him, he’d respect that. Vanitas would properly dispose of the body himself so you don’t have to and maybe built a little tombstone in the garden ? They’re just a bunch of rocks stacked together with flowers around, but he’s so genuinely proud and eager to put a smile on your face that you can’t critizice or complain.

Ventus : 

Ventus would be very solemn about it. Some people find funerals for pets pretty over the top, but Ventus would gladly hold a little ceremony if you want - it’s the death of a living being that you cherished, after all - even if it’s just the two of you standing in silence at a little makeshift grave. He’d reassure you that your pet is in a better place and that you did your best taking care of them.

The idea of getting a new pet to surprise you would linger in his mind, but maybe that could be a bit r u d e - so instead, Ventus would get you a giant plushie of whatever animal your pet was ! Or the closest thing he could get at the store with the munny he had saved. He’d just show up at your door one day, his entire body blocked by that g i a n t plushie.

Like you can s e e his knees trembling under the weight. The gesture is pretty darn cute, specially knowing that he had to carry that Big Boy by himself all the way to your home. Ventus would tell you to hold on to that plushie whenever you feel lonely and when he can’t be there for you.

Roxas :

Roxas would comfort you to the best of his abilities, but he wouldn’t cry or go as far as Vanitas or Ventus - it was your pet, so he doesn’t want to overstep or intrude. He’d invite you over to do fun things at his place or take a short trip to the beach ! Of course, he’s up for doing anything you might want to do too.

It seems like he’s just kinda ignoring and avoiding the entire subject, but he does have good intentions. It’s easy to be sad in a situation like this - in fact, it’s way too easy to stay sad. So instead of dragging you down even more by constantly talking about it, he’d give you little pushes here and there so that you can get out of that loop.

Roxas would, as usual, get his friends to help him out here. If you’re still sad, he’d get them all to maybe throw a little party/gathering, hang out all together or to make a few colorful and cute cards to cheer you up (the one with the prettiest drawing of your pet is totes Namine’s work, don’t trust Roxas when he claims he drew that.)

Xion :

The first thing she does is give you a long and warm hug. Xion is the opposite of Vanitas, she gets attached and loves pretty easily so even if she didn’t personally knew your pet, she’d still feel pretty sad about it. If you want to just ramble and share any cute stories about your friend, she’s all ears.

Her “Mom Friend” mode would immediately activate. She’d make sure that you’re eating and sleeping well, because she knows that people tend to get into bad habits after the loss of someone they cherish. You want to sleep for 5 more minutes ? Sure, but no 6 hour naps. Want to eat an entire cake by yourself to drown your sadness ? Sure, but she’ll make you some decent meals after that.

If you’re feeling miserable with that “I don’t feel like doing anything but sleep” attitude, Xion would gladly help you organize your life so you can slowly pick yourself up and move on. Need cuddles and smooches ? Good advice ? A shoulder to cry on ? She’s got you.

Kairi : 

Kairi would sit you down at her place and give you a warm glass of chocolate, letting you explain and ramble your heart out. And if you don’t feel like talking, that’s fine too. She’s had many pets during her life, so she knows how hard can this be - you can take all the time in the world to heal and feel better, she won’t go anywhere !

If you want, she’d take you to the nearest pet store to just play with the kittens and puppies - or any cute baby animal available honestly. Holding a dozen of those cleanses the soul. Kairi doesn’t want you to be sad and close off to the idea of having new future pets, so she’ll subtly hint that m a y b e you could get a new one to keep you company.

Of course, that’s your decision and she’ll support whatever you choose. In the meantime, she’ll try to stay positive and optimistic for your sake, taking you out on dates to distract you and checking in often to make sure you’re okay while she’s not there.

Riku : 

Riku is not the type to immediately shower you with cuddles, but he’ll gladly lend an ear. Riku would call you every night to check on you but you’d insist on talking to him for a bit longer - so you’d end up falling asleep to the sound of his voice.

He would probably send Pluto with you, so you don’t feel lonely after the loss of your pet and because the little dog is just great at cheering others - a thing he has yet to master. You’d just find Pluto at your doorstep every day with letters tied to his collar from Riku himself - inside them there would be little reminders and short cute messages like “Have a good day”, “Remember to have lunch today” “I love you.” and such.

Like it’s a small gesture but it took him a long time to come up with it. And even a longer time to actually go through it because he’s embarrassed about it - b u t he wants to do something nice for you so there.

[keyofshadows]

This is how Eli got his compass.

Meddy grinned at Ray's compliment and put Bugs down so he could chase wrapping paper. "Maybe I should've found a snowglobe with an insect in it instead."

"How much you wanna bet that thing's gonna get knocked over by this time next week?" Ray asked with a laugh. "I'll put down 100 munny on it, for Eli."

"I'm just putting everything on a shelf until he's ten. Okay, maybe he can play with things sooner. He seems to mostly take after his father in the not-breaking-everything kind of way." Amy picked up the small box from Ray, shaking it slightly before glancing at her friend with raised eyebrows. "Kinda heavy for a shrimp." Ripping the paper off, she opened the box and simply stared for a few seconds. "Oh Ray...is this what I think it is?" She pulled the round bronze object out and opened the dragonfly-engraved lid. "A compass, this is brilliant. He'll get tons of use out of this. And..." She chewed on her lip for a second, weighing it in her hand. "Is there a spell on this? It tingles a little. In a good way, though."

"Two, actually," Ray said with a smile. "It's from Master Yen Sid, too. He enchanted it so that Eli would always be able to find his way home, and it's got Light in it, too, to help protect him from Darkness. It, uh... It might be a little much for a one-year-old, but hey." She shrugged.

"It really is brilliant. Will you thank him for us?" Amy held the compass up to Eli before handing it to Jalen. "Don't let him chew on it."

"Yes, because the tiny teeth he has coming in can cut through metal. Dangerous child, this one."

Amy stuck her tongue out at him before calling out to Mabry. "Hey, where's that cake? This kid has a birthday to celebrate!"

[aliceslantern]

Beyond this Existence, a Kingdom Hearts fanfiction, chapter 2

Summary:  After Xehanort's death, Demyx finds himself unexpectedly human in Radiant Garden. With nothing but fragments of his past and a cryptic statement from Xemnas, he's left to figure out who he is. When Ienzo asks for his help with a project, the two find common ground, but the trauma and secrets in both of their pasts could tear it apart. Zemyx (Demyx/Older!Ienzo), KH3 canon-compliant

Read it on FF.net/ on Ao3

The clothing Ansem had lent him was simple and suited the still-warm fall weather. Jeans. A faded blue t-shirt, a sweater. It must have once been worn by someone else; one of the knees had been darned. Putting on civilian clothes for the first time in years was an odd experience, to say the least. In a way he felt naked. But this was what everyone else did. This was part of moving on, whatever that meant.

What did it mean?

He shook his head to clear the thoughts. Yesterday’s rain subsided, he figured he would go into town, just to get some fresh air. It was dank and damp enough inside this castle.

He hadn’t gotten more than a few steps down the hallway before Ansem’s voice stopped him. “Oh, good. Everything fit. We had to guess at your size.”

Ansem the Wise, too, looked odd without the frame of the black coat. He was dressed in white, nearly identical to Ienzo aside from the red sash draped across his shoulder. His faze was wizened and a little peaked, like he was coming off a bout of extreme illness.

“Thanks for doing that,” Demyx said. He didn’t really mean it, but he didn’t know what else to say.

“I admit it was partially for selfish reasons. I can’t bear to look at those coats anymore. Not after all that has happened.”

“Yeah, I get you.” Even though he didn’t.

A few beats of silence. He couldn’t really get a feel for Ansem. When he’d retrieved him initially, it had been entirely perfunctory. “We must return to the castle,” and all that. And Demyx had been too caught up in patting himself on the back for doing something worthwhile for once.

“I must say that, now that this is all said and done, it’s good to have you here,” Ansem said. “At least we have the comfort of familiar faces as we try to piece our lives back together.”

Some comfort, Demyx thought. “Sure. That.”

“Know that you are welcome here,” Ansem continued. “You’ve helped immensely, though I doubt you realize it. I’d be happy to help make this your home.”

“It’s not exactly like I have other options.” His attempt at joking fell flat, came out sounding rude instead. “I’m stuck here. You know.”

Ansem smiled stiffly. “Yes. Quite.”

From one of the nearby doorways, Demyx heard Ienzo’s voice. “I’m all set, Master. I seem to have misplaced some of my papers.” He came out with a text crammed full of pages of notes. He caught sight of Demyx and his smile faltered somewhat. “Shall we get started?”

“What are you guys up to?” he asked slowly.

Ansem and Ienzo exchanged a glance. “Tying up some loose ends,” Ansem said.

“Well. Have fun I guess.”

They passed by him, trading heavy terms meaningless to Demyx.

I don’t belong here. The thought came unbidden, adding to the sourness in his stomach. He set off towards town.

The marketplace had grown since the last time Demyx was in Radiant Garden. The restoration had brought back the town’s old beauty. It was one of the liveliest, most colorful places he’d been in a while.

Nobody recognized him. Why would they? Even though he assumed people must have been warned about the Organization, it wasn’t like they could connect him to it without the coat. And most of the time he’d kept his face covered. Still, it was… uncomfortable, to say the least, to see the same people he’d seen in recon missions look back at him, even if so just in passing.

The marketplace had just about everything. Weapons, armor, food, clothing, stalls and stalls of the local flowers as cheap as half a munny each, pots and pans, books, any amount of knick-knacks and geegaws. He decided he would spent his time window shopping, though he only had the few hundred munny that had been stuffed in the pocket of his coat.

What he hadn’t fully anticipated was the upselling.

Demyx had spent more time in marketplaces across the World than he could care to account for. They were great places to get information and overhear conversations, especially around people who let their guards down in all the noise. He hadn’t ever spent much time as a customer. If he wanted something, he either waited until nightfall or had to be sneaky, leaving behind handfuls of money near whatever served as a till.

“Best buns in the city,” someone cried from a baker’s cart.

“These earrings would look lovely with your eyes.” The jeweller.

“We’ve got swords and daggers for all kindsa folks. Ain’t nobody should wander around unprotected.” The blacksmith.

“Candy for your sweet tooth?” A chocolatier.

The noise and attention was starting to irritate him, making him dizzy with overstimulation. The colors and items seemed to blend together until he could barely distinguish one from the next. It had never bothered him before. What was different?

He crossed into a quieter part of the market, trying to catch his breath. Even though it was fall, the sunlight was hot and was making him sweat.

“Are you new here?” someone asked. “I haven’t seen you in town before.”

Demyx looked up. It was one of the ubiquitous flower stalls, but here the arrangements were less haphazard, more graceful. A young woman about his age was potting a bloom he didn’t recognize.

“I… guess you could say that,” he said. “I was just looking for somebody that sells instruments.” Not that he would be able to afford it.

“There’s a travelling stall that pops up once every few weeks. I don’t think they’re in the rotation yet,” she said. Her face was familiar for some reason, the brown braid and green eyes. Then again half of these people looked familiar. “Are you a musician?”

“Yeah. I’m… uh… I play sitar. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of it. It’s not that common.”

She looked up at him and peered at him more closely. Her hands had stopped moving. Did she know? Demyx had no idea how much the townspeople knew about the Organization, old or “true”. For all he knew there might have been “wanted” posters of them up.

“Like in Agrabah,” she said. “I know that’s part of their culture.”

Demyx relaxed slightly. “Yeah, sort of. My old one was different than their models, it had fewer strings, but I liked theirs too. I found the sound could get a little chaotic. Hard to carry a good melody line. Nice drone effect, though. I haven’t heard anything like it since.” Great, now he was rambling.

She brushed the dirt off her hands. “So you’re a traveler?”

He tensed. “Uh… used to be.” Of course. People here knew about other worlds and didn’t hesitate to talk all about them. That was what happened when your world came back after falling to darkness. You either died, became a Heartless and Nobody, or got cast away to some other world.

“Used to be? So you aren’t passing through?”

“No, it looks like I might be here awhile.” He laughed awkwardly.

“Well, I hope you enjoy your stay.” She watered the freshly potted purple and blue flowers. “Here. This is for you. Think of it as a welcome gift.”

He reached for his money, but she shook her head.

“It’s alright. There will be more flowers.” She passed the pot over the table and Demyx took it. It wasn’t heavy, but he fought the weight of it grounding.

“Thanks. That’s really sweet of you.”

“Any time. I mean, Radiant Garden is all put back together, so I guess we’re more of a welcome committee than anything else now.” She smiled.

“...Welcome committee?”

She wiped her hands off on a cloth. “Oh, that’s right. I’m Aerith. I’m part of the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee. Nice to meet you.” She held out her hand. He took it with his free one, a cold feeling seeping over his body.

Of course. That’s why she looked familiar. This was that pocket of resistance that the Organization had tried to squash in this world. “...You too,” he said numbly.

“I didn’t get your name,” Aerith said.

Because if I gave it you’d probably smash this pot over my head. “It’s… uh…” but before he had to make up an alias, a short-haired teenage girl pushed past him talking at Aerith at a hundred miles an hour.

“Scrooge brought us cake!” The girl said cheerfully, hefting a pastry box. “From Little Chef’s Bistro! I’ve been nagging that bastard about it for weeks!”

“Yuffie, he did us a favor.”

“Favor, my ass. Who rebuilt this town?”

Demyx chose the moment of chaos to try and slip away.

“Who’s that?”

“A customer. New in town.”

“He looks familiar.”

“I thought so too.”

He half expected the women to come after him, so he quickened his pace.

“...You got a fork in that bag?”

After all that nonsense, the castle was a welcome sight. He mounted the dozens of stairs, cursing his lack of power all the more. He brought the little plant into his makeshift bedroom and set it on the windowsill. It looked rather pretty in the light. He found he was feeling more tired than usual and lay down to take a nap.

“...Demyx?” Ienzo shook him gently.

He sat up from an aqueous sleep, thin dreams of Keyblades and too many flowers vanishing before he could remember he needed to write them down. Daylight was dying, leaving a bright pink sunset.

“I’m sorry to wake you. We’re all having dinner and Ansem was wondering if you might like to join us.” He looked exhausted, his eyes bloodshot with bruise-colored bags.

To think of it, he was absolutely starving. He’d barely eaten all day. “Yeah. Thanks.” He sighed. “I’m sorry if what I said bothered you.”

Ienzo cocked his head slightly. “That’s alright,” he said. His tone was unreadable. “You meant what you said. You just don’t understand.” Simple, matter of fact.

Ouch. But not uncalled for. “No. I guess I don’t.”

Together they went down the labyrinthine hallways, past the kitchen where Demyx had normally been eating the past few days, to a part of the castle that was much brighter than the rest. They crossed a closed-in bridge, the rich lace curtains on its windows billowing slightly in the rosy light.

“Swanky place,” Demyx said.

“Master Ansem’s quarters,” Ienzo said. “He likes the northernmost light.”

“Why do you call him  “Master”?” Demyx asked. The word had sent a slimy sensation down his spine. He couldn’t help but think of Master Xehanort.

“Because I am his apprentice, and he deserves respect.”

“Are you, though? I mean, you’ve been doing this all on your own. Feels kinda like he just slipped back into place and took all the credit for the work you did getting Roxas and Naminé new bodies.”

Ienzo turned slightly. “Not to be rude, Demyx, but if I sought your opinion on the matter, I would ask for it.”

Whoa! “Sorry,” he said.

“That’s quite all right.”

Ienzo pushed open a set of heavy mahogany double doors. Ansem’s quarters were large, borderline kingly; it had once been a gorgeous place but had fallen into serious disrepair. The pale green damask wallpaper was torn and curling, and the simple crystal lighting and chandeliers were broken or hanging by wires. The rich Oriental rug, once bright, was sun bleached and had water damage. A ladder and a set of tools sat nearby. He must be working on it in his spare time.

A large round table was set for them all, the same mahogany as the built-in bookcases and the double doors. Aeleus, Dilan, Even, and Ansem were already there. Demyx took the last remaining spot between Dilan and Aeleus, feeling a little cluttered by their collective bulk. Ienzo slipped at Ansem’s right hand side. A finely cooked roast, scalloped potatoes, and roast green beans were set out. It all looked amazing.

“Sorry. I didn’t know I was holding you all up,” Demyx said.

“No harm, no foul,” Ansem said. “Please, everyone. Help yourselves.”

The each took what they wanted. Demyx couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a real, full, cooked dinner. He wanted nothing more than to stuff his face, but their air in the room was so stiff and formal. He tried to straighten his posture and pulled his elbows off the table. Nobody touched their food, and Demyx wondered if Ansem was religious, and if they were waiting for some sort of prayer. But as soon as Ansem started eating, everyone else did too. Soft chatter broke out across the table. Ienzo, Even, and Ansem deep in talk of research; Dilan and Aeleus discussing matters outside the castle, practically over him.

I don’t care, Demyx told himself, but something like pain was making the otherwise delicious meal taste like paste. “Who made this?” he asked. “Everything’s really good.”

Ienzo looked away Ansem. “That would be me. Thank you, Demyx.” And back into the conversation he went.

Plate empty, Demyx wondered how long to wait before he excused himself. At least if he were alone in his room it wouldn’t be so painful. But then Arpeggio’s absence would be all the more noticeable. He drew thin patterns of  gravy on the plate with his fork.

“Wine, Demyx?” Dilan asked, startling him. He passed a half-full decanter of red wine. He poured a small glass, tracing the fine edges of crystal. The wine was sweeter than expected for a red, and went down easily. He took a second one; nobody was watching him.

The chatter continued. Ienzo stood to collect the empty plates, but Demyx stopped him. “I got it. You’re busy. Where can I take them?”

“Kind of you,” Ienzo said. He looked genuinely caught off guard. “The kitchen is through that door there.”

Ansem’s kitchen was much nicer than theirs, or at least it had once been. The pale gray tile badly needed a scrub and half of the burners were rusty. A covered cake-plate sat on the counter, presumably for later. At least here, elbow-deep in soapy water, he could pretend he was just doing a favor instead of sitting at the table feeling miserable.

He didn’t belong here.

They all knew each other. They all liked each other. They had years of memories, their bonds strengthened and then weakened and then strengthened again by their new humanity and the defeat of Xehanort. He was a stranger. The only reason they probably kept him was their new hearts’ morality whispering that kicking him out would be wrong.

He didn’t belong here.

The water was uncomfortably cold and his breathing had hitched. Demyx reached into the murky water to pull the drain’s plug. Something cut into his palm; an absurdly sharp carving knife hiding at the bottom of the sink. The blood welled and began to drip, turning the water pink. He stared at it, completely unable to move, his chest aching, each breath harder than the last. He couldn’t even heal it if he tried.

Grab a towel, you fuckwit. You’re getting blood everywhere.

His bleeding hand trembled. He tried to move with the other. Were there no fucking dishtowels in here? He had to wrap this in something. It didn’t seem to want to stop bleeding, and he was feeling dizzy now. He couldn’t have possibly lost that much to make a real difference.

Footsteps in the kitchen. Ienzo had come for the cake.

“What on earth--” he began.

“Knife in the sink,” Demyx hissed. “There’s no towel or anything--”

“That must’ve been my mistake. I am so sorry.” He untied his cravat and held it out towards Demyx, who couldn’t take it. Ienzo’s eyes widened. He took Demyx’s bloody hand and guided it under the tap, rinsed it and tied the purple cloth around it. “I think you’re having a panic attack,” he said gently.

No shit.

“Try and take a deep breath for me, okay? It’ll be over soon.”

Breathing hurt. He felt weak. Ienzo helped him sit on the floor. Demyx started counting to ten, silently. Just ten more breaths and it would be fine.

Once he was calm enough to be embarrassed, Ienzo asked, “Was that the first time it happened?”

He shook his head. “I had one yesterday.”

Ienzo’s brow furrowed. “Do you have a history of this happening?”

Demyx shook his head again. “I don’t think so. But a lot of that time is hard to remember.”

“What time? When you were human?”

He nodded.

“Do you know what it is that triggered you?”

Of course he did. Years of being ignored and belittled slapped him all at once, and it didn’t seem like it would change any time soon. “No,” he lied.

“That’s alright. None of this readjustment is easy. It’s most likely stress you’re not used to feeling. I don’t think this sort of thing is permanent.”

“I’m sorry.” Despite the nap, he was even more tired than before.

“You’ve nothing to apologize for.”

Demyx stood up slowly. His hand, now that the shock and panic had worn off, was throbbing. “I’m going to go lay down.”

He nodded. “You must be exhausted.”

Demyx went back into the dining room and tried to come up with an excuse; as it was it seemed like nobody had even noticed he was gone.

[rob-blog1234]

WEEKEND TV HOT FILM PICKS!

Check out my guide to the top films on TV this weekend and the best of the rest. Enjoy!

LATE FRIDAY 5th MAY

HOT PICKS!

Dave @ 2100     Kill Bill Vol 1 (2003) *****

Tarantino has pulled out all the stops with this film, a superb start to his Kill Bill Double Feature. In Volume 1 we see the amazing Uma Thurman as ‘The Bride’ who wakes up after a coma. Her unborn baby is dead and gone and she is very lucky to be alive. Here begins her story of revenge as she hunts down the team of criminals who betrayed her.

The visuals are fantastic throughout with a sensory shocking mix of styles. As expected the trademark dialogue from Tarantino is superb and the direction here has ensured this films place as a modern classic.

Drawing from a number of his personal favourites Tarantino has crafted a superb Marshal Arts Action film with an all-star cast that can be watched over and over again.

ITV4 @ 2305       The Devil's Advocate (1997) ****

Keanu Reeves is Kevin Lomax, a hot shot lawyer from a small town who has never lost a case... regardless of who the guilty party was. He is head hunted by a large and prosperous New York Law firm headed by the mysterious and charismatic John Milton played brilliantly over the top by Al Pacino. As he settles into his new home, job and this new lifestyle the cracks slowly begin to show in his relationship with his wife, Mary Ann (Charlize Theron) as she begins to lose her mind in the new, fast paced and quite peculiar new life she now leads.

It gets a lot of bad press but I love how overt and over the top this film plays out. The main reason I like this film is down to the characters. They all full of detail and wonderful quirks that paints a very rich picture throughout the film. Each of these characters are coupled with equally great actors. In fact, this is probably Keanu Reeves' most impressive roll to date. He actual shows some emotion! However it's Theron that deserves the majority of the praise as we see her character go through the biggest changes and she does it with ease showing a truly troubled character. The story is quite unusual as it’s a horror at heart with Thriller of a storyline all masquerading as a macabre court room drama. For all its sins this film always holds my complete attention. I always love an excuse to re-watch this film for Al Pacino's shouty monologues alone.

Best of the rest:

Film4 @ 2100     Bridesmaids (2011) ****

ITV1 @ 2240       American Gangster (2007) ****

W @ 2240           Goodfellas (1990) *****

Film4 @ 0120     The Evil Dead (1981) ****

Horror @ 0215   Antiviral (2012) ***

SATURDAY 6th MAY

HOT PICKS!

ITV4 @ 1310     Superman (1978) *****

The original Superman film is a classic. Everyone has seen it - it’s been a staple TV weekend and Bank Holiday film for many, many years and with all the sequels and re-imaginings, TV series, spin offs and remakes this 1979 super hero movie still remains the very best of the bunch. Even though the effects are a little old they simply add to the charm of the film. Whereas today bad CGI almost always ruins a film, in 1978 they had to rely on strength of story and this certainly has just that - it’s a consuming adventure with a lot of heart and a great vein of comedy. There’s no better way to kick off your Saturday afternoon with the iconic Superman. This is feel good film making at its very best.

BBC2 @ 2100     Nightcrawler (2014) ****

The main overwhelming thing you will take from this film is that Jake Gyllenhaal is utterly outstanding. His portrayal of Lou Bloom, a deeply obsessive sociopath whose drive and manipulative nature give rise to some of the best moments in Jake's career. Littered with dialogue so perfectly delivered you would be forgiven in believing he really is Lou Bloom. Even though this is a man with some detestable traits when he is on screen he is intoxicating.

Filmed for the most part at night on the streets of L.A. we are treated to some impressive visuals of the city. The direction is solid and as directorial debuts go this is certainly one to be proud of. The music is apt and I haven't felt the power of a city at night in such a way since Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive hit our screens.

It has a commentary and satirical pulse running through it regarding the media as we see the ruthless disregard and shifting moral stance of the local news teams, but it is Gyllenhaal that is the strong heart of this film, pumping and driving us through a character study of one of the most interesting men I have seen on film for some time. Award worthy? I certainly think so.

Film4 @ 2100     Aliens (1986) *****

This time it’s War! Aliens is one of the most successful sequels of all time.  It not only continued an amazing story with one of the most impressive extra-terrestrial beings ever seen on film but also completely changed the style. Ridley Scott’s original is an amazing accomplishment and stands tall as a fantastic Horror / Sci-Fi, with this sequel James Cameron injected a dangerous dose of action and adrenalin turning it into a high powered action adventure Sci-Fi that makes this film my personal favourite of the series of films. This is mainly down to the rich characters and great performances by everyone involved. The casting and character development creates high emotional attachment which adds to great effect as they one by one encounter the almost indestructible Xenomorphs with sometimes fatal consequences. Aliens is set 57 years after the original and Ripley has been in hyper sleep all this time. We follow a crack team of Marines with Ripley in tow as adviser as they go back to LV-426 after contact is lost by the Terra-forming colony there.  It has amazing special effects for its time and had to rely on physical effects as opposed to today’s CGI saturated Sci-Fi films. This is an amazing action spectacular that simply must be seen. It’s also well worth investing in the Alien Anthology on Blu ray, it’s great value for money, both the image and sound is crisp and clear and worthy of being in everyone’s collection.

Best of the rest:

Dave @ 1500    Kelly's Heroes (1970) *****

5* @ 1825          The Fifth Element (1997) *****

TCM @ 1840      Bullitt (1968) ****

C5 @ 2045         Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) *****

ITV4 @ 2330      American Gangster (2007) ****

BBC1 @ 0010    Flatliners (1990) ***

Film4 @ 0200    American Mary (2012) ***

SUNDAY 7th MAY

HOT PICKS!

TCM @ 1245      Bullitt (1968) ****

This fantastic cop thriller has been somewhat overshadowed by its fame for the glorious car chase scene, but it really shouldn’t be, Bullitt is an intelligent, focused and realistic crime drama with well-placed action and suspense. With Steve McQueen pulling out an understated but wholly credible role as Lieutenant Frank Bullitt he lifts this already great film to higher ground. As I have filled my recent film viewing with CGI heavy spectaculars full of clunky exposition and sacrificing script for mass glitzy destruction sequences, it was an absolute pleasure to return to the films I love. Films with intelligence, perfect sound tracks, with tone and mood matched perfectly to the story they are telling, realism, impressive live action scenes with no CGI… Bullitt certainly fits the bill.

Spike @ 2100      Fury (2014) ****

There are plenty of war films with the same old formula, and this film does follow a rather formulaic approach, but here we focus solely on a U.S. Sherman tank crew. Not since the amazing Kelly’s Heroes had I seen a film focus on these tanks. A history lesson in itself for the ignorant and uneducated - the Nazi Tiger tanks they are up against completely and utterly out gun them and with armour so strong - the Sherman’s found it extremely difficult to stop them. Comparatively this film is nothing like the almost light hearted, satirically barbed Kelly’s Heroes, here we have a film attempting to capture the realism of war, the death, the squalor and the sheer inhumanity. It does this very well.

It’s dark, rich colour palette and beautifully framed cinematography certainly keep your eyes glued to the screen. The poor Sherman crews did not have much hope. We are taken deep inside the belly of “Fury” the Sherman tank with crew of 5 led by Don “Wardaddy” Collier played by Brad Pitt. Never before have I seen such oddly perfect hair styling in a war zone since Clint Eastwood’s barnet in Where Eagles Dare.

The claustrophobia of the tank is captured really well but it also somehow creates space with every odd angle when we see times where this crew felt secure in their new found home. The performances are the icing on the cake here with everyone pulling out performances to be very proud of. Not a film that will survive a re-watch mainly down to its bleakness, but never the less a film I am very pleased to have seen.

ITV4 @ 2200     Unforgiven (1992) *****

Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven is one of my favourite Westerns - It has no doubt been too long since you’ve last visited this film. Gene Hackman is Sheriff “Little Bill” who rules his town with an iron fist. He is uncompromising and heavy handed. Two strangers cut up a prostitute and, unhappy with Bills justice, the group of prostitutes put a bounty on the cowboy’s head. The bounty attracts a young gunslinger that persuades the once notorious killer - William Munny - to give up his long reformed life style to accompany him on the mission. Unforgiven is a fantastic story following Munny as he tries to become the man he once was. It’s a western with a lot of heart and shows a very gritty insight into life and death and how precious life actually is. There are no clear lines of good and bad here, everyone has their dark sides and moral stances differ across the board. This is a great Western that is so different from other films in the genre. With splendid performances from both Hackman and Eastwood, this is definitely one to watch.

Best of the rest:

C4 @ 1430         Ghostbusters II (1989) ***

Syfy @ 1830       Ladyhawke (1985) ***

C4 @ 2000         Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) ****

BBC2 @ 2200    Kajaki (2014) ****

C4 @ 2225         Prometheus (2012) ***

Horror @ 2300  The Hills Have Eyes (1977) ****

Film4 @ 2315    Magic Mike (2012) ***

[ice-cream-beat]

Ven/Namine with 11! :D

YASSS PRECIOUS BLOND BABIES

#14: Visiting a bakery together.

Summary: Making new memories is just as important as cherishing the ones you have. Ventus + Naminé, post-KH3.

Ao3 version here

/ / / / /

“Hey! Naminé!” Ven broke into a run the second he spotted the familiar figure, slowing only to scan the street both ways before bolting across.

The young girl standing on the sidewalk turned at the call, surprised but looking pleased to see him. “Ven! Hi.” She crossed her arms behind her back as he drew even with her, regarding him curiously. “I didn’t know you were in town.”

“It was kinda last-minute,” he told her with a shrug. “Have you seen Lea around?”

She shook her head. Other than a pencil sitting above her right ear, she looked the same as he remembered her. “Not since this morning. Roxas said he mentioned something about having errands to run. Radiant Garden, I think.”

“Oh. That’s too bad.” It was nothing that couldn’t wait, so Ven would just have to catch him later, then. With that matter set aside, he turned to the window Naminé been gazing at a moment ago. They were standing outside a bakery, he realized, and behind the glass was an impressive assortment of brightly colored desserts. “So what’re you up to?”

“Oh, nothing, really.” She also looked at the display, smiling warmly. “I walk this way every afternoon. I like to stop by and see what they’ve made for the day.”

“That sounds nice. Is the food as good as it looks?”

Naminé glanced at him. “…I don’t know,” she admitted. “I’ve never been inside.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“Well… I guess… it just seems like somewhere you’d go with a friend.” She smiled again, but this time it was sheepish as she linked her fingers together in front of her stomach. “And Roxas and Xion have been busy lately… so I just look from here. But I like it,” she added brightly, turning back to him. “They make something different every day, and it always smells really nice.”

Ven could agree with that. Even out here on the curb, the scent of hot, fresh food was very noticeable, and it smelled amazing. Which instantly reminded him that he hadn’t eaten since early that morning.

“How about I go with you?” he offered. Naminé blinked at him, appearing more surprised than she had at his appearance, and he amended, “I know I’m not Roxas, but… you really helped us out before.” While his smile stayed, the look he gave her right then was almost serious. Pointed, even. “So… I think of you as a friend. If that counts.”

Again she blinked, but this time it was followed shortly by a laugh. It was a brief, gentle sound – cute, Ven supposed, although that was the first time he’d ever associated that word with a person – and it was more warmth than amusement. “Thanks, Ven. I do, too. And… I’d like that.” She followed him to the door, giggling when he opened it with a bow and waved her in with a flourish.

The inside was bigger than the outside suggested. A third of the room was taken up by the counter and the busy employees behind it; the rest was scattered with two-person tables and a few booths. It was less like a bakery and more of a cafe.

Naminé made a beeline for the counter, leaning forward with her hands on her knees to observe all the baked goods behind the glass. The window display had been impressive, but hardly a sample of all that they had to offer. There were the usual things – cakes, pies, breads, donuts – but probably a fourth of the inventory were foods Ven had no name for. When he moved closer to read the little tags designating each piece, that still didn’t help. He wasn’t even sure how “crêpe” was pronounced.

“Oh! They’re so cute!”

He stepped up beside Naminé to follow her stare. On the lowest shelf was a tray of white, thickly frosted cupcakes that resembled smiling moogle faces. She had her hands clasped in front of her mouth and looked only a couple shades short of delighted. “I haven’t seen these before.”

The follow-up to that seemed obvious. “You want one?” Ven asked.

“Hm? Oh – well…” Uncertainty curbed her excitement. “That would be nice, but I didn’t bring any munny. But they’re really pretty to look at.”

That, too, had a clear solution. “That’s no big deal. I have enough for both of us,” he offered. “Why don’t we stay here and eat?” He wasn’t sure that deserved yet another look of surprise, but sure enough, Naminé shot him one.

“O-Oh – really? That’s very nice of you, Ven – but I didn’t mean to…”

He shook his head. “Don’t worry! I want to. That’s what friends do, right?” They did nice things for each other. It wasn’t something you kept track of or anything, either. You did it to show how much a person meant to you, and as far as Ven was concerned, Naminé was as good a friend as any of his new allies.

Reassured by that, somehow, Naminé hummed as she bobbed her head. “I… yes, I suppose so. Thank you.”

A couple minutes later the two of them had claimed the corner, a small table that was nestled directly between two floor-to-ceiling windows. They ended up directly in the sunlight, but the soft glow of dusk was easy on their eyes and didn’t add much heat to the cool space.

Rather than starting on her cupcake, Naminé seemed to study it for a moment, and then pulled the pencil out from behind her ear. Curious, Ven watched as she smoothed out her paper napkin and began to use it as a canvas, sketching some circles. The glare on the table kept him from making out too much, so he just watched her hands as he broke into his pie slice. Her movements seemed both concentrated and casual, each stroke of her pencil looking effortless but intentional. Even if he couldn’t see what she was drawing, Ven was surprised by how interesting it was to watch regardless.

After a couple minutes of this, Naminé leaned back a little, and then did a doubletake when she noticed Ven’s stare. For a second or two she looked confused, as though suddenly remembering where she was. Then she broke into a shy smile. “I’m sorry. I got carried away.”

“Heh, at least you’re havin’ fun. What’re you drawing?”

She turned the napkin around and held it up for him to see. Outlined in blue was a life-sized depiction of her cupcake, although she’d taken some liberties with adding sparkles on the edges. Below that were a couple of small figures sitting at a table–

“Hey!” Ven laughed. “Is that us?”

“Mm.” Naminé nodded as she set the napkin aside and pulled her plate closer. “This is a nice memory. I wanted to get it down, to help remember it.”

That was a creative way of looking at it. “You really like drawing, huh? You’re good, too – you didn’t even look at me the whole time you were drawing me.”

“If it’s you, I don’t have to,” she said simply, and then paused at the same time that Ven tilted his head curiously.

“Why’s that?”

“Um–”

Ven had never seen her look embarrassed before – well, he’d never seen a lot of the moods that he had in the past ten minutes with her. Running her fingers over her clean fork for a few beats, Naminé finally set it down and met his gaze. “You’re in a lot of memories, Ven,” she told him fondly. “Not mine – but Terra’s, Aqua’s… even Roxas’ and Sora’s, although those two didn’t know it. It was the nature of your bonds. Before I met you face-to-face, I knew what you looked like. The memories of you were so strong, especially from your friends…” She closed her eyes and shook her head gently, and then opened them again with her same small smile. “They’re still as clear as my own. I couldn’t forget if I tried – not that I want to,” she added quickly. “So… that’s why. I don’t have to look at you to really remember what you’re like.” She gave a quiet, almost nervous little laugh as she gathered her hands in her lap. “I hope that’s not too weird.”

Weird? Ven almost laughed at that. He and weird had a very complicated history together by now. Hearing that he’d left an impression on Naminé, whether it was a good one or just okay, was hardly worth scratching his head over. “Nah, that’s not weird at all. It’s… kinda nice to know that, really.” Not only that she didn’t seem to mind harboring those memories, but what she had said about Terra and Aqua – that their memories of him were strong – was kind of reassuring. Ven hadn’t been able to hide his disappointment in himself from them recently, his guilty frustration at having done nothing for so many years while the two of them had continued to fight. They both assured him that it wasn’t the case, that their memories of him had helped sustain them at the worst of times, but he had been tempted to write that off as well-intentioned lies.

But now, hearing this so casually from Naminé… Ven felt a vein of truth running from her words back to theirs.

“And, anyway–” Reaching across the table, he slid her napkin artwork closer to get a better look. “You don’t have to worry about forgetting this,” he assured her brightly. “We can do it again sometime.”

It was Naminé’s turn to tilt her head. “Really? You’d want to?”

“Sure! Let’s try and get Roxas and the others to come along, too.”

It might have just been the sunlight, but Ven thought there was a new glow to her face as she nodded. “…Okay!”

[thehourglassisempty-blog]

Ergophobia [ shrug s ]

Ergophobia: My muse hires yours to work for them.

((AH HA A CHALLENGE))

“Ven, I have a very special job for you.”

Ven had been doing some of his usual workout in the castle gardens when he heard Kairi. He went from crunch to standing in one leap, smiling wide, “Kairi! Hey! Welcome back to the Land of Departure!” He then seemed to realize she’d mentioned a job, and cocked his head, “And, uh, whatcha need? I-I can’t really think of much else I can offer you, miss Master-”

Kairi held up her hand and simply said, “Babysitting.”

Ven stared at her.

Kairi’s hand withdrew, and she giggled, What, don’t think you can do that?”

“Didn’t think ya had kids. Terra and Aqua haven’t.” He replied. Maybe it was lingering naivety in the form of “wait how old did you have to be to have children???” currently making the rounds in his headspace. His hands went behind his head while his brows began making knots and his mouth squirmed, “Wait, has it really been that long-”

“On the islands.” Kairi cut in to explain again.

“Oh. Yeah. The whole separate time axis thing.” Ven then found his head whirling around, “I don’t see a kid though. You expecting?”

Kairi chuckled, and her hands folded over her stomach, “Actually, yes?” She laughed even more when Ven instantly crouched down and stared at the slight bulge in her shirt he should’ve seen already.

“Cool.” He said with a lopsided grin. He looked back up at Kairi, “When ya need me on the job?”

Kairi looked behind her, her hand following suit, “Right now. Dysmas, say hello would you?”

Ven leaned over to get a good look at the child. A boy, probably about 3. Definitely had his mother’s ruby hair, but his skin was a darker complexion and his eyes were a warm gold. “Mama woo ish he?” The toddler asked.

“This is your Uncle Ven.” Kairi said, “He’s gonna look after you for a bit while mommy and daddy go to a few doctors.”

Ven stopped himself from continuing the introduction, blurting out, “Are you okay?”

“Just fine, even if I’ve been better.” Kairi said, returning her hands to her stomach, “It’s just routine check-ups, to make sure everything’s running along smoothly.” She rolled her eyes, “Xeha’s hoping we get a girl this time, but it’s too early to tell.”

“I wana gurl!” Dysmas piped up.

“You want a sister.” Kairi corrected her son, “Can you say that? Sis-ter.”

“Sishter.” Dysmas said. And said a few more times. And a few more until it began sounding like a thing a toddler should not say.

When Ven and Kairi’s laughter died out, she began elaborating, “We usually get Sora and Riku to look after him, but we thought maybe this time we could give him a taste of the outside worlds, you know? And since you’re already so childlike yourself, Ven, we figured you’d make a good honorary uncle.”

Ven stood, “Well-” Dysmas toddled over, holding up his hands, and Ven picked him up practically on reflex, “-I think I would!”

“You sure?” Kairi asked, “He’s a handful.”

Dysmas lurched in Ven’s grasp to declare,“Mama I a boy! not a hanful!” Ven lurched with him, carefully drawing the boy back to his shoulder.

“You are a handful...” Ven remarked. He wasn’t used to the concept of people still so young. Most he’d met were very quiet babies or just a bit older than this and more capable thinkers, so his experience with the middle ground was very... slim.

“I not a hanful I A BOY!” Dysmas yelled.

Kairi walked forward, “Yes, Dysmas, you are a boy, now calm down or I won’t let you stay with Uncle Ven.” She gave Ven a pointed look, one that lead Ven to realizing that may have applied to him to if he couldn’t show he could take care of the squirt.

“Yes, you are a boy. So smart, aren’t you?” Ven piped up, bouncing Dysmas a little.

Kairi settled back to watch how Ven handled Dysmas before she pulled out her wallet, “I’m giving you 10,000 munny a day, any leftovers you get to keep as payment.” She then gave him an extremely rare glare, one he’d only seen on her a handful of times, let alone directed at him, “That doesn’t mean pocket all of it for yourself. It’s for you AND Dysmas.”

Ven nodded as the payment was passed over, clearly understanding that embezzlement in this case would lead to a very untimely and very painful death, “Yes, m’am.”

“I’m hungery.” Dysmas piped up, “It’s lunch!”

“Oh! Aqua would know just the thing!” Ven agreed, “She’s got all sorts of-” He stopped himself from listing cookies and donuts and cakes with Kairi’s rather knowing glare. “Sandwiches and juice boxes...!” He finished, somewhat enthusiastic, but also faltering.

“Apple juice!” Dysmas demanded, with a “helpful” tug of Ven’s hair.

“H-HEY!”

“Dysmas, no!” Kairi reached up and pried the small hand away, “That’s not what you should do!” Kairi picked the boy up from Ven, faltering herself, “M-maybe I should ask Xeha if he should stay over-”

“Nha, nah! Terra and Aqua can help me out!” He threw up his hands, “They had to deal with me, after all.”

Kairi smiled, but there was hesitation in her gaze. She rocked Dysmas, continuing to mull it over, before her son reached for Ventus and said, “Benben!”

And hand him over she did, “You two be careful now, okay?”

[alongxthexroadxtoxdawn]

ototosasuke:

alongxthexroadxtoxdawn:

Riku looked through the menu before ordering a light soup and two deserts. One good thing about munny, it turned into whatever currency he needed when he traveled between worlds. It helped that he could get quite a bit of it too, all by defeating the monsters there. Of course he hadn’t sensed much darkness here so far.

Soon the food came and he dug in.

“So you like like sweets, huh?” He asked as he ate. Naruto like sweets but wasn’t a fanatic about them. He was more about savory foods.

Riku, ever the most mature of his friends dug strait into the sweets. Delicious. He looked up at the native a bit of the cake he was eating still on his lip. He almost pointed out that all sprites loved sweet things and Riku was a sprite after ... well he should call it an accident. “Yes, I do like sweets.” Even if he’d liked other foods more before he’d become a sprite.

[tellytantra]

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Aditi brings a man there. She says this man was trying to run out. They see the man’s hands glowing. Shivaansh says it means he has opened the safe. Aditi says he is the intruder. Nani thanks Lord that real culprit is caught. He asks what are you doing here. Aditi says my team is with Sharda, commissioner told me to keep an eye on your house, I know you told me that I should not come in front of you, but if I agreed to you, I could have not done my duty well, anyway you all don’t need to be scared now, you can enjoy the function happily. She takes the man. Radhika asks where is Varun. Varun comes from outside and says I went to get the cake, its a big day for Shivani, I had to give her a surprise, why are you all upset, is everything alright. Radhika says come, I will tell you. Nani asks where is Mannat. Shivani says she left. Nani asks what can she do, she has self esteem, she is blamed all the time. Mannat comes and says food is ready. Nani says Shivaansh I think you should apologize to Mannat. He says I can’t say this. He goes and hears Mannat talking on phone. She cries and asks Munni to take medicines and sleep. She says this too shall pass. Tere naam…plays…. Shivaansh gets food. Khanna asks for whom are you taking this. Shivaansh asks him to give the food to Mannat and also give a chocolate icecream. He says don’t tell her that I have sent this. Khanna takes food to Mannat. She says I m not hungry, but why did you get it. He says don’t vent Shivaansh’s anger on food, I got chocolate icecream too, have it. He keeps the tray and goes. She says I should not be angry on food. She eats the food. Aditi says you got saved, do you know what would have happened if I didn’t get that man there on time and applied solution on his hands, you would have not got time for running away, Shivaansh would have caught you and ousted Mannat as well. Varun looks on. Mannat drops the icecream in Shivaansh’s branded shoes. She goes. Shivaansh tries the shoes and feels cold. He sees the icecream. She asks where did my icecream fall. He shouts and asks Khanna what’s this, who has put chocolate icecream in my shoes. Mannat worries. Khanna says I just kept shoes, I don’t know. Shivaansh says now I know it. Khanna removes his spoiled sock. Mannat runs. Varun says you didn’t do any favor, I got you on team to manage the work, Shivaansh is clever, he removed everything before I reached the safe, he won, I will not lose and get the will, but I want your help. Shivaansh comes and asks what help. Varun says I was telling her… Shivaansh says I don’t think you know her. She says he is giving me statement on your family’s behalf. Varun says I was asking her to ensure family safety. Shivaansh thanks her. She says I was doing my duty. She goes. Shivaansh says I have made a new will, life has no guarantee, its in Nani’s room safe. Varun asks why. Shivaansh says I want to keep Radhika protected. Varun asks are you okay, what’s going to happen to you. Shivaansh says nothing, Radhika is innocent, I know you will keep her happy. Varun thinks what did you do for her. Shivaansh says my new will…. Khanna comes and says Nani is calling you. Varun says you were saying something. Shivaansh says I will meet Nani and come. Varun says I want that safe at any cost. Shivaansh keeps all assets in safe and locks it. He says I gave the responsibility of this room’s security to Aditi, this is not just a safe, but my sisters’ future, I don’t have much time, Varun is there for Radhika, I won’t have any regret when Shivani marries Angad. Khanna says the function will be amazing today, don’t worry. They hug. Nani checks arrangements. Mannat says I m fixing flowers on gift boxes, don’t worry, I will do everything. Shivaansh asks Khanna to go and see if Aditi needs help. Mannat smiles seeing Shivaansh. Servant keeps a white cloth there. Mannat holds the fevicol bottle. The glue falls over the cloth. Shivaansh comes to her and asks why are you standing as statue. She says I was dreaming. He asks can I get a simple answer, stop, go and check the flowers. She goes. He says I will check gifts. He gets seated on the cloth. Mannat stops the servants and checks the flowers. She doesn’t see under the basket. Aditi stops her from checking. Shivaansh asks servants to do work well. They smile seeing him. Shivaansh asks what are you looking at, didn’t you see a superstar before, do your work. Nani and everyone come, and smile seeing the cloth stuck to him. Shivaansh says I want everything to be cool and classy like me, I m so perfect, so I have such reach in the world. Nani jokes on the tail. Mannat says I was just checking the basket. Aditi says I m here for checking, the security is my concern, you go and do your work. Precap:Mannat sees a wire fixed on stairs. Aditi stops her. Mannat asks about the wire. Shivaansh asks what’s happening here. Update Credit to: Amena

http://cattybilli.blogspot.com/2019/01/ishqbaaz-31st-january-2019-episode.html

[nadziejastar]

Lea/Axel was pretty clingy and had abandonment issues. In the books, he was willing to kill himself and Roxas just they could be best friends together forever. I feel so bad for him. He lost his old friend and his innocence to a cult and was desperate to feel love and friendship again. And when those got snatched away again he snapped, literally being ok with dying just so he could he see friends. He had some serious demons back then. Poor guy

Isa’s Connection to Ice Cream

Yes, Axel definitely had abandonment issues. He bitterly longed for his past and his innocence. I just cannot get over how everything about Lea and Isa in BBS was so happy and normal. Even Nomura said that both of them were just innocent frisbee-playing boys. They were portrayed a lot like Hayner’s gang, and the Wayfinder Trio in the old days. Very innocent and cute. It’s why Axel’s memories meant everything to him.

He desperately yearned to go back to those days. Lea deserved to have someone from his past, like everyone else. It made him FAR more interesting to me than simply being the big bro of the Sea-salt trio. The whole reason he ate ice cream was due to his past. The day where Lea and Isa are thrown out of the castle is a very important day. It’s as significant as the night before Aqua and Terra’s Mark of Mastery exam. And it has to do with ice cream.

Scrooge—An entrepreneur and shop owner from Disney Town. Hoping to take his already massive fortunes to cosmic levels, he moved to Radiant Garden with Merlin’s help.

I always got the impression that Axel’s ice cream addiction was an emotional thing—not just that he simply liked it that much. We never saw him eat it in KH2, but in Days, his favorite flavor was sea-salt. Just like Hayner’s gang. They represent childhood innocence. And Axel ate it ALL the time.

I have a theory. So, in BBS Scrooge took his business from Disney Town to Radiant Garden. This is how Lea is introduced to sea-salt ice cream. And Scrooge’s nephews were coming up with new flavors during that time. Ventus is the one who fixes their ice cream machine. And one of the songs in ice cream beat is called “Dessert Paradise.” It’s the only original song, made just for that mini-game.

Saïx’s Casual Gear is shaped like a banana and is called “Just Desserts” or “Dessert Time” in Japanese. It’s probably safe to assume that Isa had a sweet tooth. I think Lea and Isa ate at the ice cream shop all the time; probably every time they unsuccessfully tried to sneak into the castle and got thrown out. It was their routine, their own icing on the cake. If he likes fruit, Isa’s favorite flavor was probably “Double Crunch”, the one that was given to Ven if he wins the Million Dreams Award. Lea’s favorite was obviously sea-salt. And these memories had an enormous impact on him.

Axel had seen the trio out and about countless times, always talking and laughing. Roxas looked about the same age as them, actually.

Each one held an ice cream bar—sea-salt flavor, pale blue, and distinctly salty-sweet.

Axel was rather fond of it himself. Or rather, he remembered that he liked it.

“…Why don’t we get some ice cream first?”

I noticed a few things. While reading the novels, it didn’t even seem like Axel liked the taste of the ice cream—at least not anymore.

Axel: Man, I miss the old times. Still got it memorized? The day we met, when you got your new name, you and I sat right here, just like this and watched the sunset.

He took Roxas to eat ice cream on the day he got his new name. And in the opening of the Days movie, Axel watched Roxas enjoying his ice cream, but he looked reluctant to eat his. He braced himself, and then recoiled when he bit into it. It was way too salty for him, and he didn’t like it. It seemed as if he hadn’t eaten it in a long time. He only started when Roxas came, when he took him out as a treat. Then, he started getting nostalgic and began eating them non-stop.

Beside the small shop run by the Moogles, an unusual-looking elderly gent, Scrooge, was touting his wares with some blue ice cream in hand.

“Come one, come all, and have yourself a taste! Ice cream, ice cream, sweet, salty, and strange!”

“What’s that?” Lea ran up to check it out.

“Oh, young man, would you like one?”

“I’m…guessing they aren’t free?” Lea asked, jamming a hand into his pocket.

Scrooge hopped up and yelled, “Of course not! Are ye daft?!”

This is from the novel, of the epilogue with Lea and Isa. Are they free? LOL. Definitely sheltered. Lea’s just a kid. He didn’t have a lot of money. He was digging through his pockets. It’s like how Hayner and the gang had to take on odd jobs to get enough money to go to the beach, and get pretzels.

An important thing to note is that this was the day they ate sea-salt ice cream for the very first time! Scrooge just arrived and he just started selling it. Lea didn’t even know what it was. This was one of the happiest days of his life, and is no doubt burned into his memory. He met Ventus, and ate at Scrooge’s ice cream shop for the first time. Lea never looked happier than when Isa said he’d never forget him. Just like Aqua never looked happier than when she saw Terra and Ven arguing like brothers.

“Okay, I’ll take one…no, two!”

“Thank ye kindly!”

Lea handed over some munny and took the two ice popsicles from Scrooge, one of which he gave to Isa.

Despite being broke, Lea buys one for himself. And he still made sure to buy one for Isa, of course. One for each of them.

“It’s cold…,” Isa muttered as he took a bite.

“What’re you talking about? It’s ice cream; of course it’s cold. Got it memorized?”

“Salty, too.”

“But sweet!” Lea added, and Isa smiled a bit.

It’s rare to see Isa smile.

Isa seems like a deadpan type of person, who complains a lot, in jest. “This ice cream’s cold”. Lea’s like “yeah, no shit dummy!” That made Isa smile. I found it cute how Lea reacted when Isa smiled. He is more introverted, so it was rare to get a smile out of him. It gave me the impression that Lea constantly tried to make him smile and was happy when he did.

But, well, friendship means eating ice cream together, talking about stupid things, and laughing like this. Speaking of which, I wonder what that he’s up to….that guy, Ventus or whatever.

“We’ll get another shot at it.”

“Yeah,” Isa replied, gazing at the castle they had failed to infiltrate. Lea grinned and looked up at it, too.

Lea thinks about Ventus when talking about what friends do together. Is it just a coincidence that Roxas shows up, and Axel automatically wants to be his friend and eat ice cream with him?

Axel: C'mon, let’s get some ice cream.

Roxas: Why?

Axel: Whaddaya mean, why? Because we’re friends.

Roxas: So…friends are people who have ice cream together?

Axel: Sort of… That, or laugh at stupid stuff that doesn’t make any sense. Like those kids we just saw–they were friends. C'mon, I’ll show you how it works.

Axel said they were friends, like they had met before, and it was just a given. And he looked so flustered about it. The scene made me think it was a deliberate nod to when he met Ventus.

Axel: It’s sea-salt ice cream. C'mon, I already told you once. Get it memorized, man.

Roxas: It’s really salty…but sweet, too.

And later that day, Roxas sees that he had a WINNER stick. I couldn’t help but notice that Saïx also looked at his popsicle stick in KH3, like it was a WINNER, too. It honestly kills me that we had a potential storyline where Isa was involved with that whole idea, and I’ll never get to know what it was about. It makes me so sad.

“Oh, hey, I just remembered…” Axel idly kicked his dangling feet against the ledge.

“Did you guys know you should be checking your ice cream sticks?”

“Really? For what?” asked Xion.

“Once you finish your ice cream bar, check the stick. It might say ‘Winner.’ Not that I’ve ever seen one.”

Apparently Axel had never seen a WINNER stick before. I definitely think Isa was going to have a much larger importance to Axel’s sea-salt ice cream addiction than we ever learned. I think ice cream was fundamental to their friendship, and Axel’s memories. Isa probably knew that Lea was hoping to get a winning stick. Lea met Ven by picking up the wooden Keyblade Terra gave him, after he was left all alone. So, I would not be surprised if the WINNER stick had a special meaning with Isa, too. After Roxas left it for Axel, it probably made him doubly sad.

Axel: Pfft, me? I didn’t do anything.

Xion: Sure you did. If you hadn’t spoken up for us this morning, me and Roxas would’ve had to split up.

Roxas: And then Xion might never have remembered how to use the Keyblade.

Xion: Thanks, Axel.

Axel: Ahem… How ‘bout an ice cream, then?

Xion: Huh?

Axel: Buy me one, and we’ll call it even.

On the day Xion and Roxas thank Axel for defending them from Saïx, he looks away with a troubled expression. Then he says an ice cream will make them even. He needed an ice cream to deal with the distance between him and Saïx.

Aqua’s eyes never left Terra as he walked away. She had no idea what to do, and her chest ached. Her fingers tightened around her Wayfinder.

It was part of a set, to keep them together no matter where they were. Their hearts were connected, after all.

But—had she made a mistake?

It’s like when Aqua clutched the wayfinder tightly when Terra distanced himself from her. She’d always take it out and hold it when she needed comfort. It represented her unbreakable connection with her friends. I think the ice cream was the same for Axel. He found such comfort in ice cream because it represented his memories of the past—specifically of Isa. He eats it all the time as a form of self-medication. It helped him feel closer to the Isa of his memories.

Axel ducked into the sweets shop. “One ice cream, please!”

“Here you go.”

Sea-salt ice cream in hand, he meandered toward the clock tower.

He’d never deluded himself that tracking down Riku would be easy, and neither had Saïx. It was just that if he went back and reported that he couldn’t find anything, he would have to deal with those attempts at “personality”—the sneers, the snide remarks, the only trappings of human emotion that Saïx ever showed. Not that Saïx was even capable of annoyance or disappointment, of course, what with the lack of a heart and all.

Heading up the slope to the station, Axel bit into the ice cream bar. “This stuff is so salty,” he murmured to himself, as he often did.

Axel often murmured to himself about the ice cream’s saltiness. And he was thinking about Saïx’s lack of emotion in this scene. Of course, he’d want to soothe himself with childhood memories in that moment. Memories like the first time he and Isa had sea salt ice cream together. The same day they met Ven, and Isa told him he’d never forget him. Isa complained that the ice cream was salty, then Lea made him smile. Axel was thinking he’d never see Isa smile again. So he ate ice cream to soothe himself.

Axel: Does it hurt, Naminé? Watching your two childhood friends fight all because of you? You have my sympathies. From the heart. But don’t waste your time. We Nobodies can never hope to be somebodies.

Axel doesn’t visibly show sadness too often. He guards his emotions well. But when he spoke with Naminé, he had the look of pure heartbreak and dejection. Sora and Riku reminded him of his broken friendship with Isa. He didn’t want them to go through what he did. Axel had the same look Aqua had on Destiny Islands. 

She couldn’t even pass the Keyblade on to Sora. She didn’t want them to go through what she did. These were the most vulnerable looks I’d seen on either of them. Downplaying Lea’s relationship with Isa is like downplaying Aqua’s relationship with Terra. Her fractured relationship with him was the main source of her pain! It’s like saying that Aqua doesn’t need Terra anymore because she met Riku, who reminds her of him. Even when she had Ven, she wasn’t happy until Terra was saved.

“Yep, hard to believe there are so many worlds out there besides our own. The light is their hearts, and it’s shining down on us like a million lanterns.”

Aqua, too, gazed up at the sky as she listened to Terra’s words.

Yes, the light was the radiance of the world’s heart. The hope of the people living within that world.

Terra taught Ven about where the light of the stars comes from.

The sun sank lower and lower as Axel watched, his mind wandering.

If he stared for too long, the image would burn itself into his eyes, visible even after his eyes were closed.

A phantom sun.

Someone had once told him why sunsets were red… Who was that?

The novel hinted that it was Isa who told Lea why the sun sets red.

“An unbreakable connection.” Aqua raised her blue charm skyward. “No matter where we go, we’ll never truly be apart. And that power will see us through, I know it.”

“…Unbreakable connections, huh?”

Ven held his good luck charm up to the sky, too.

Our bond will never break, with or without these, thought Terra.

This was the night Aqua gave her friends the wayfinders. She used magic on them so that they’d always find their way back to each other. She looked at the stars and said they would always be together.

“Yeah. As long as we remember one another, we’ll never be apart. Got it memorized?”

Roxas grinned. “Who are you, and what have you done with Axel?”

“Hey! I tried, okay?” All that effort to cheer them up, and they just turned it into a punch line. Chagrined, he looked away.

Xion burst into giggles, and then, as if it was contagious, Roxas started laughing, too.

“Oh, c’mon, it’s not that funny!” Axel scolded.

That was also the day Axel looked at the sunset, and said that as long as he had memories, he’d never have to be apart from anyone. The day he said an ice cream would make it even. When Terra said Aqua never stopped lighting his way back, that was the most emotional she had ever been. That unbreakable connection meant everything to her. And I’ve never seen Lea look as happy as when Isa handed him the ice cream. He had the look of perfect bliss. His memories meant everything to him.