#piousolus

[ikarosxflight]

@valorxdrive @piousolus

Oh, he's been watching and enjoying these Aqua bully hrs. In fact, he might just join in! Why it would be a disgrace to his title and status not to join in and mingle with fellow Warriors of Light.

"Now, this is a party-icus!" And it's one that he's happily inviting himself to. "He's got a point, ya know. You have a very nice, strong, and flexible back, Master Aqua. Mind introducing me to your friend?"

[dichotomouskey]

Starter for @piousolus

Shadows played across his face, accentuating the sharp angle of his jaw and the depths of his haunted eyes, revealing the toll of his battles; they stood as a testament to the darkness that entwined itself around him, a relentless corruption even as he fought valiantly against it during their grueling encounters with Organization XII. This struggle was not confined to the present but rather the culmination of years filled with untold stories etched into his soul—stories of loss, betrayal, and the elusive quest for redemption.

"I'm only patient enough to please the masses for so long..."

"I'm only caring enough to love oppressors for so long until I begin to crack, and the monster will soon come back, Master."

Sora's voice reverberated through the still air, a dissonant melody of eerie delight. Each syllable he spoke was like a siren's call, dripping with a haunting charm, a dangerous allure that hung heavily like a storm cloud poised to unleash its fury. His wicked grin contorted his once-endearing puppy-dog features into something unsettling, taunting her with a confidence that felt both unsettlingly familiar and profoundly disconcerting.

In a sudden, fluid movement, a dark, inky appendage unfurled from his back, sinuous and malevolent, wrapping around Aqua like a serpent poised to strike. She's lifted effortlessly off the ground, suspended in the air. In the blink of an eye, he prepared to hurl her through the dense, imposing woods of Twilight Town, where the once-tranquil surroundings now pulsed with an electric tension, fraught with an unseen danger that made the ambiance feel alive with menace.

[aeternxm]

starter | @piousolus

training day in and day out could be EXHAUSTING sometimes. even after the war, it seemed the training had no intentions of slowing down, at least not any time SOON. there was always something to do, something to learn -- something to IMPROVE on. a break, hell even just a BREATHER would be nice.

lea bets that destiny islands would be looking GREAT this time of year. warm breeze, the sound of the ocean in the background and aside from that? silence. sweet, sweet silence.

but that was just a dream, and the sound of keyblades CLASHING and footsteps coming up behind him are a CRUEL reminder that he's not done for the day yet.

" five minutes o' peace. that's all i'm askin'-- "

[replica-model]

@piousolus in response to [x]

So... this was normal? Aqua didn't look phased at all. Luke glanced around, taking in the very strange anthropomorphized animal people. Was there a whole city full of these people? That's crazy.

But Aqua was acting like this was completely normal! Luke felt a little embarrassed, like it was weird for him to care. Augh...

"Is there some kind of event happening?" Luke asks, turning to look at Aqua. "What's Fruitball? Is it a sport or something?"

[thewindywielder]

@piousolus

"Aqua!" The boy beamed, "You're here!"

[symbioteburnout]

@piousolus

What was it about New York that attracted all kinds of invasions? Robots, aliens, evil clones, cyborgs, symbiotes, demons, it was always New York that got the action. This time it seemed to be little gremlins, dark as pitch with two glowing beady yellow eyes. Not symbiotes, her Anti-Venom didn't seem to work on them, guess it was onto her next reliable method, using the big pipewrench as a beat-stick to drive them away.

"Seriously, can't you invade some OTHER city? Like Jersey? Atlantic City? No one would miss those!" Andi hissed as she took another swing and sent more of the little creatures flying, only for a larger one to lumber in.

A massive specter with large arms and what appeared to be an large hole in the center shaped like... a heart? Don't question it, she's sure it'll come down like all the others if she hits it hard enough.

White and red slime flow from her costume and coat the wrench, causing it to grow in size and develop gnarly fang like spikes along the head and teeth of the wrench. Rushing at the large creature, she swings... and is swept away by the swing of one of its massive arms. Andi bounces along the pavement, the bits of her costume tear and begin to self repair, she jams her wrench into the ground in an attempt to stop herself, and she does... just shy of a stranger. A figure in armor carrying what looked like a large key. "Well, if I had a key that big, I wouldn't have to worry about locking myself out of my apartment." Andi rubbed her head as she got to her feet.

"Nice Iron-man suit, that a new one from Stark?" She asked the armored stranger.

[valorxdrive]

❝ Just like that, we're going to put it into a mold after so it needs to be flexible. ❞ Aqua explains, as he helps her knead the dough they'd just prepared.

When she heard that Sora had become something of an exceptional cook she saw it as an opportunity to have a helping hand within the kitchen. Ven and Kairi had a big sweet tooth after all, and both were... well... they left much to be desired when it came to baking.

To this day Aqua doesn't know how Kairi managed to set a pudding recipe on fire.

Sora, however, was a lot more at ease, being as laid back as he was. And it makes for the moment as relaxing as baking should be.

Aqua steps aside to begin washing some strawberries in the sink. ❝ Thank you for collecting so many ingredients for me. We can make plenty of strawberry tarts with all these. I know Ven will want seconds, he loves them. ❞ Her smile goes a little distant when she adds, ❝ Master Eraqus did, too. ❞ Embarrassed by her sentimentality, especially knowing how their... former conversations regarding herm aster went, Aqua quickly moves on.

❝ Something tells me you didn't learn your way around a kitchen from a book. How'd you do it, Sora? ❞

[ u rang for some cute >:U ]

Finding himself in the rhythm of the kitchen was more peaceful than given credit for. Pressure was an element he thrived in, mastering multi-tasking was pivotal (and life-saving mind you), so to have this transform into an act where he can make delicacies felt too tempting to pass up.

That is, once he got past the idea of his master's particular methods of teaching him.

So to see how it has Aqua practically beaming as they got to work simply felt gratifying. Even without looking, his end of preparations were done with hands that practically baked the basics into them. "Flexible, got it." Somehow the thought sprung an unintended chuckle from him. "Normally that's a keyblade wielder's MO to begin with. Is this dough gonna have an initiation soon itself?" The idea of some superpowered tarts was an appeasing one!

After all, somehow mythical ice cream managed to be an ability, there's little doubt that someone might've mastered magical cooking.

Sora's hands found themselves dangerously effective in getting that dough in the required state. No knots, bumps or anything of the sort, the texture found itself smooth and prepared by the time Aqua would finish up with those strawberries.

For a moment he pauses, capturing the way her tone referred to her boys with such a level of Heart. Unconsciously it prompted Sora to move a bit closer to her, that dough soon finished as he began to wash up the last lingering share of those strawberries. "Then you'll have to double down to make sure he can get a good whiff of them too. Aqua-- If you'd like too, why don't leave a share there for Master Eraqus too?"

They may no longer be able to see them, by no means does that mean they're lost. It was a belief that Sora would never allow to be wrenched from his hands. The suggestion would be left up in the air, and entirely in her ballpark to either accept or ignore altogether. Instead he'd bring his attention to the question that seemed to capture many. (Oh, the reactions on Destiny Islands were priceless.) A thoughtful hum brewed within his chest.

"An apprenticeship from Twilight Town. A pretty legendary Master found themselves the captain of a Bistro there. They decided to show me the ropes after we hit it off, eheh, much of a challenge that was to start with." By NO means did she need to know the more 'controlling' details of this!

"Let's just say they have a knack for bringing out people's cooking thumbs."

@piousolus

[themxtleycrew]

@piousolus (starter with Quistis)

"Be careful getting home now." Quistis called as the doors to the school house swung open and the children all made a dash for the exit, the usual ritual as the last bell for the day rang, signaling the end of the school week and the start of the weekend. "And remember, there will be a test the following week, so remember to stud..."

She sighed, they were already gone, well, can't say she blamed them, it was a beautiful day, too beautiful to be cooped up inside their little school house in Radiant Garden. She was sure she would be seeing many of those children once she finished up here and returned to the Kramer house. While many people had returned to Radiant Garden following its restoration, there were still many children without homes, without their families, still lost since the worlds fell before the Light had been restored.

While the school day had ended, Quistis still needed to do some cleaning before she could lock up the building for the night, she was sure Ellone could handle the kids for a bit without her.

Fixing her glasses, she stepped outside for a moment, watching as the last of her students ran into the town, when out of the corner of her eye, she spied a woman wearing long white sleeves and hair a brilliant blue.

"Were you here to pick someone up? I'm afraid the students have all gone home." She looked too young to be a mother, maybe she was someone's big sister?

[voidedgear]

You know this is probably exactly what Aqua was afraid of—

[ikarosxflight]

"Ya know-icus, the prettiest women have their name ending in A-icus."

Palutena, Urbosa, Zelda, Mipha, Hylia, Megara, Aqua- He can go on; let him simp here for a moment and adore these lovely ladies and their uniqueness.

[purus-lumen]

✧˖° ✩࿐ °˖ ✧ The words hit him like a ton of bricks and it makes it clear to him now why she doesn't look at him the same way she used to. She says that he can talk to her - but can he - really? He's just as wicked as his Other is but just held in a different elemental hue.

Light can burn just as well as Darkness can bind.

Even if he does have his own qualms with his darker half, that is for them to work through. That is for them to sort. The shattered shards that form their singular bond are for them and them ALONE.

It isn't Terra or Aqua's mess to try to figure out. It isn't for Sora or Riku or Kairi or Roxas - it isn't for anyone else to stick their hands into to try to make sense of because none of them know what it's like to be living your life as a fragment of something never to be whole again.

He'll never be whole again.

What do they know?

Nothing.

Twisted ideas of what is noble and what is just. Whatever the light tells them is the correct path without ever stopping to speak to the darkness. The Darkness has emotions too. The Darkness was born of it. Why not just stop to ask? To talk? To inquire how it feels?

It was apart of ALL of them whether they liked it or not - the rest of them just were never very involuntarily gifted the ability to look theirs in the face. That small dark voice that exists inside all of us. The worries and woes that creep in the back reaches of one's mind. Darkness was apart of all of us and it would have been so much easier if they all had just learned to stand hand in hand instead of raising their keyblades and calling for war.

War between families. War between friends.

If this is how she felt then she should have just ended him like he told her to in the first place.

Then no one else would have had to suffer. Then no one else would have had to deal with his darkness if such a thing were so vile. So wicked. So tainted. So Ugly.

So the sky is burning as his gaze falls to narrow, nose wrinkling as he snarls. She wants to know who loves him?

"I DO."

[devilsprophet]

"You're unlike anyone I have ever known."

The heartless, Astor found, were much like malice. Malleable. Trainable. Able to be torn and melted and made anew, no longer the feeble little pests that skittered like ants. What was left of them was an essence of darkness that curled and striked with the grace and speed of a viper.

He contained it the same way he contained the malice, trapped in an orb, however long ago that had been—had he been damned in hell days, weeks, months or years? So terribly hard to keep track of the time...

Aqua, darling thing that she was, appeared to be rather enthralled with it. Be out of hope or horror was more difficult to tell, though Astor suspected a bit of both were at play.

"You're unlike anyone I have ever known."

He smiled at her, a small curl of the corners, and held out the orb before her.

"Is that so?" he said, a gentling to his voice as he beckoned her closer, "I could say the same of you, my dear. Come. Extend your hand. By my command, it will not harm you."

[akashicmuses]

@piousolus liked for a starter!

"Ah, there you are." Lauriam walks over to the familiar Keyblader, a pleasant smile on his face. It had been some time since he'd seen her—he'd been busy with his own affairs. But he'd enjoyed the few times that the two of them had spoken. Though, Aqua may not have enjoyed their last conversation as much as he had.

"I would like to request something of you, Master Aqua." He addresses her politely without thought, a leftover remnant of the boy who'd once so looked up to the Keyblade Masters of his time.

"I've heard that you have access to a gummi ship. If that's true, I would ask if you would allow me to accompany you to another world."

[shiroi---kumo]

@piousolus || X

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆ It all sounds so complicated but he nods at her question to confirm that she he'd seen others of these keyblade wielders as she calls them. Riku and ... Vanitas. Yet there still seems to be no sign of the one that Riku is looking for. He can't recall his name.

The swordsman lingers in the air for a short while before he allows his feet to finally touch the ground. Miss Aqua is only slightly taller than he is. It's a detail he often forgets.

"Yes. One of them I call my friend. A tall boy with silver hair and deep green eyes. He dresses in blacks and blues. He said he was looking for his friend, but I cannot recall his friend's name. His name is Riku."

There is a pause before he speaks of the second wielder, arms coming up to cross over his chest while a frown stitches itself into the pale lips hiding beneath his mask.

"The other was a short boy wearing a mask and all black. I could feel his darkness and while pure of it's element it felt....fractured. I could not get him to explain. He said I could call him Vanitas."

The Misterican sighs once he explains only to shift his weight from one side to the other. Jade eyes looking up from the ground to the ocean orbs of his companion once again.

"Do you know either of them?"

[sothisislovex]

wrist ( reverse ) + departure [ from @piousolus ;) ]

She wouldn’t allow the Heartless to destroy her kingdom again. 

She was tired of running, of waiting for someone else to fight and save her world while she stood on the sidelines, fearful for the welfare of those protecting her. She wanted to do something for once. Damned be her own safety. Not when her kingdom was on the line. Her friends, her husband, her family! She didn’t know what she could do, but she was willing to try. That’s all that mattered. 

She should have known that she wouldn’t get very far though. Not when Aqua was there by her side, demanding that she take cover somewhere else while she handled the darkness. Of course, Cinderella was no stranger to protesting, believing that there was some way she could help, no matter how small.

“I can’t just–” Cinderella began to say, brushing past Aqua with every intention of storming straight into the brush fires of war. That was, until her wrist was snatched up and she was forced to take an abrupt halt. She frowned, frustration crossing her features as she turned to face the other, blatant upset and ready to argue back. Her other hand placed itself over her racing heart, imploring her self-appointed valet to listen.

“Please, Aqua. I can help! Let me just–” She didn’t want to beg and she certainly didn’t want to plead to be taken seriously. Her face crumbled at the thought of being perceived as someone weak; that Aqua thought she was someone incapable. She hadn’t gotten this far in life by waiting in the wings, contrary to popular belief.

“I don’t want you to go alone! I want to help you, and I want–” She tried to reason, but it was clear that she wasn’t allowed to get very far. She could feel Aqua’s reluctance. The way her grip tightened, refusing to let her go. Cinderella wasn’t going to stop without a fight, and she tried to yank her hand away. But her valet’s tight grip would only prove Aqua’s fears; that Cinderella was not someone ready to accept the woes of battle. She was just a human with too much light to give the world and no experience. 

“--To be able to–” She didn’t get to finish her words before she was yanked towards the bluebird, crashing into her. She looked up, lips parting to protest, when her lips were captured in a kiss that left the princess dumbfounded. Eyes widened as their lips touched, freezing upon impact. So soft and much more plump than that of her husband’s, she was stunned. Rooted to the spot, it seemed that Aqua’s attempts to get her to stay worked, rendering Cinderella speechless as she watched, confused and alarmed, as Aqua turned away from her, running out of the ballroom and straight to the courtyard where the Heartless were manifesting.

Strange. There was something about that kiss. Something that warned Cinderella that if she didn’t follow after her, she would never see her again. It wasn’t a kiss of True Love. Not a kiss that curled her toes or made her heart sing like it did when she kissed Henry, but it felt powerful nonetheless. Like Aqua was trying to tell her something that she wouldn’t dare bring to fruition without reaping the consequences. 

Cinderella lifted her quivering hand, touching her tingling lips where she could still feel the remnants of Aqua’s warmth there, staring at the direction that her dear friend disappeared from. 

Then she picked up her skirts and ran after her, refusing this moment to be the last time Aqua ever stands by her side again.

[valorxdrive]

❝ Sora. Sora. Sora, look at me when I'm speaking. You did NOT get tutored by THE renowned Chef Remy just to try and march right into a fast food restaurant! ❞ And with the most stuck-up nose of all she adds, ❝ If I were to even dignify such a place to call it a restaurant... I sense great darkness in this Burger King... ❞

Was she really being that haughty with this?!

Try as he might, Sora did hold enough awareness in seeing that he could provide better if his hands willed it. High quality cooking vs the brand that's easily accessible, made through logic alone compared to passion, there was a level of thought where he could see where his fellow Keybearer was coming from. Though, should the thoughts really scale that deep when it comes to this establishment that intends to bring burgers to all of the world? First things first, that impassioned temper of her's!

A modest, brief chuckle spills from him as those gloved hands waved upwards as a wish for calm. "Eheh, y'sure that's just not from the measure of frustrated workers brewing about in there? It's not like the patties or the recipe itself could..." There's a mild pause as he thinks it over. If he were to truly let his heart dive upon this matter, the mere idea causes him to cast a more--- Uncertain glance towards Burger King. How the 'maniacal' face of it's king remains posted on a billboard up high, just for his title to be repeated, again, as if anyone couldn't figure out how that was a king of burgers there!

"...Hm." It's only when those skylit eyes honed with focus, he truly could see what she meant.

Darkness.

How it permeated the entire parking lot, the building itself almost stuck in a maddened crystallization of the ruthless element. A familiar itch upon his palm was practically begging for him to answer that Heart enriched call. Biting down that impulse, he'd clench his hand down instead.

So, you two neophytes intend to roam and invade the TRUE realm of my domain?

Those lifeless eyes held nothing but challenge, an ancient, slothful manifestation finds itself barring it's presence down at the both of them. For an instant, reality seems to split at certain seams, revealing the true face of Burger King before their very eyes. It was enough to cause the Kingdom Key to finally flourish in a rush of rebellious life, being clasped within his grip as the hero's teeth bared themselves.

"Aqua, I can see it now. Those pies, those burgers, the people they're all in a lot more trouble then I first thought! We'll have to turn whatever is coming into a victory meal down the line."

It was time for Keyblade wielders to do what they do best!

@piousolus