#sora looks different every time i draw her

[kotoriandcats]

Collection of another doodles

[leafypaws2]

More (Random) Ninjago Headcanons

⚡️ Jay watches Bluey and has plushies of Bluey and Bingo on his bed (he's just like me, fr)

🌊 Nya is vegetarian

🔥 Kai listens to Ariana Grande

🔥 Kai's favourite holiday is Christmas

🪨 Cole listens to Lady Gaga while he works out

⚡️Jay is a Hazbin Hotel fan

💚 Lloyd has an irrational fear of the Grinch (I stole this from TaraYummy's new video)

🔥🌊 Kai and Nya get edited to the song "Diva" on social media (Kai loves it) *bonus headcanon*- ⚡️Jay saves any edits of Nya that come up on his social media feed (she thinks it's cute)

🌊 Nya was many girls gay awakening

🌊⚡️Nya is actually taller than Jay (he loves his tall wife)

💚 Lloyd loves the song "so this is love" from the original Disney Cinderella movie. He sings it while he does his chores

❄️ Zane can play the piano and violin

💚 Lloyd has been teaching himself how to play the acoustic guitar when he has free time

💚🔥 Kai cuts/styles Lloyd's hair. Lloyd refuses to go to an actual hairstylist.

🪨🌊⚡️❄️💚🔥 All the ninja have social media 👇🏻

🔥 Public account/his personal blog, hes verified, has the most followers out of all the ninja, he's kinda obsessed with his Instagram looking aesthetic, posts every day, pictures of friends/family + Skylor + Any Jay slander memes, cute outfits, ninja events (TV appearances), he follows all of his team members + Pixal/Skylor/Darreth, (cruelty free)beauty/hair/alt clothing brands+ NGTV news, ninja fan pages

⚡️Public account, spam posts stupid shit on his story, mainly posts memes + the other ninja + NYA LOTS OF NYA, video game clips, Star fairer, follows all his team mates/Pixal/Darreth + let's play youtubers, meme pages

🌊 Public account, she posts workout videos + Jay/the team + after mission pictures/videos, follows her teammates/Pixal/Skylor/Tox/Sora + local gyms

❄️ Public account, only has 4 posts- 1. Him and the team after the final battle 2. A picture of him and his father for Day of the departed 3. His falcon 4. Gf (pixal) appreciation post for girlfriend day, follows his teammates/Pixal- that's it.

🪨 Public account, posts pictures (and reviews) of different sweet pastries + gym selfies and the current playlist he's working out to (he also posts links to his Spotify) + lots of selfies of him and Jay being silly/his teammates + himself on nature walks, he follows his teammates/Pixal/Geo/Vania + all of the bakerys in New Ninjago City + the gym he works out at + WWE

💚 Private account, also barely posts, when he does post it's beautiful landscapes he's seen on his solo missons + drawings he did + animals + his team (mainly him and Kai or him and Arin) + inspirational quotes and comic books, he follows his teammates/Pixal/Darreth/Skylor/Arin/Sora that's it

That's it for now

This is the only gif I could find with all of them in it. also- Gif isn't mine <33

I just realised Jay's not in it smh😒😒

[whydoibe]

I have an idea for setting up the start of dragons rising season 3 be warned of the spoilers ahead

I warned u

It was a new normal but a welcomed calm the ninja were ok with losing jay that was a lie and everyone new it kai was the only one that seemed attualy calm, but nya new that was because he didn't see him the hate in his eyes the pure disgust in losing and her telling him how she felt and who she was nya moved to sit the day was fruitless Lloyd Fraq and Sora failed to locate Arin it seemed more hopless every day Today was her Cole Zane and kai went looking for jay they found nothing they didn't know he had worked for the administration and was now a know fugtive still nothing but today wasn't entirly fruitless they found the walkers junk yard Ed and Edna seemed all to relived at thier presence they talked and talked but once we told them about jay they went quite walking to letter sealed and a key handing it over telling them to open it once they got home sending them off.

Now nya stood letter in hand key to the side she new what it was but new it was meant for jay not her putting in a draw with many other things she thought might jogg his memories a bunch of photos but also well a bit of fangpyre venom just encase they needed to go the kiss root. Closing the draw, nya made her way to the table she smelled curry that smell that she knew. Zane decided tonight he would make jays curry to true and cheer everybody up she hated to say it was working the taste was different but she knew she was bias a little they talked and talked sora and fraq seemed to be getting along geo and Zane got in argument about what constitutes a living thing to his powers testing it Zane was now stuck until geo decide to let him go after dinner they laughed as Zane said it wasn't funny but it was he new it then she spotted something over head a spark lightning she thought with the short time she had the element of lightning she felt the clouds the sky the thunder their power their symphony jay always talked about it and she finally got to hear it she herd her name sung in it according to jay the elemental masters of lighting of the past all the way to the first one would put a song into it and it comforted her to now he chose her to be his addition she added hers it was his name.

Dinner wrapped up, and Zane was let go with the promise of doing the dishes, and that was dinner. It was a busy day, so everyone was heading to bed to sleep. The storm had set in how unfortunate she thought jay would love this lights off and good night nya didn't know what time she woke up but it was to a gaint lighting strick outside her window when she got she smelt it gass how what did Zane not turn of the gas valve no he'd rember that right walking to get every one out even if she didn't know the source but they needed out before a spark happens in kais or wyldfrye sleeps and the bomb she made her way to thier doors getting them up everyone off the noticing the smell and imdently leaving aware of what it meant.

"Zane u shut off the gas right" Cole asked

"Yes, I am." Zane didn't get to finish that sentence before a snickering laugh could be heard from well everywhere, a cruel sadistic laugh then as quickly as the lightning flashed a bolt struck the ground infront of them and there he stood jay he stretched wearing the wolf amour glising as they stared in shock he seemed to stretch before turning around and his red eyes became painfully clear and the smirck on his face was clearly displaying his less than ideal intentions.

"Well, we meet again," his voice deeper. " I have an offer to make," he stopped waiting for an awnser.

"Jay" nya cried his smirck Turing to disgust at her vioce she started to walk toward ksi grabbing her shoulder right she thought we don't know his intentions.

"What do you want" Cole asked

"I need the dragon icon"

Lloyd looked shocked who he'd know about that no one knew but the ninja how'd he know.

"That's a demand not a deal"

"The deals simple your monstary for the dragon icon give it to me or fire and ash is what will remain of your presouis home nothing but ash" he snickered giggling a little at it was he insane who would laugh at that what was funny.

"How why? When is the gas" Zane stored the relzation creaking over them all he was kidding he was serous and tonight was a eltrical storm even I'd they separated him from the monstary he could command the lightning to strike.

"No" Lloyd stated hands glowing green

"What was that"

"He said no," kai stated, looking at jay with hope that he'd stop and say it was a cruel joke nya new that never happened. Jay looked at them

"5"

"What are y-"

"4"

"Jay stop th"

"3"

"Please don-"

"2"

"Run"

"1" the lightning suruned him and bang a white flash and then silence every were the monstary roasting in flames as he turned to face them hood down eyes glowing red he wanted to fight for the icon.

"What have u dun jay" kai cried it seemed to hit they weren't dealing with thier jay a brave kind stupidly intelligent boy they were dealing with a lose broken wild card with out pity or mercy turned on.

"I gave u a choice u choose this you've with it" he smircked red surrounding him.

"U will pay for this" kai stated charging at him fire covering his fist jay and him were evenly matched until jay used that accursed art shatterspin kai upon seeing jay perform it without the gong scared him this meant he was trained and trained well kai performed dragons rising but jay amhad trained to seemingly in an instant jay was gone with a flash as kai crashed into the flames being caught under some debri.

Nya loyd Zane and Cole nodded they started combat while the kids freed kai he was injured heavily a lightning shaped burn covered his chest and left arm. Jay reappeared short circuiting Zane causing him to collapse In pain not moving Lloyd charged and jay was gone with a crackle and then.

" Cole, look out," nya cried as jay appeared, knocking Cole out and blasting him into a wall. Nya performed dragons rising, and he was gone again she went back up where was he Lloyd also locked, confused , and she saw the sparks there she stopped down, hitting Lloyd he was telported into his place they collapsed from the double techniques hitting each other. Jay smircked the carnge till.

"Ahh" wyldfrye screaming the fire in her hand making contact to his left eye fire burning it destroying his sight in it he flung her off clutching his left eye running to the foutain looking to see his eye destroyed blinded his eyebrow notched with the flame he laughed in shock snickering.

"How pitful that's the best you got I can think of a thousand other things you could do with that nun of them pleasant I could kill you were u stand with out a second thought how about that.

Jay stopped as his ear peace beeped.

"Walker we need u quickly do you have it"

Looked around the nearly dead ninja and realising he probaly should have retrieved it first.

"No ras"

"It doesn't matter get here now"

Jay looked around thunder crackling and then nothing he was gone.

[the-narwhals-awaken]

Bloody Hearts Bingo Day 4

Prompt: See Ya, Romance | Falling slowly, eyes that know me, and I can't go back

Orihime was well aware that Urahara was a monster.

It was hard not to be aware of that- despite everything, despite the food and the shelter and the training and the listening and treating all their concerns seriously and the respecting their life choices and the not prying into the blatant soft spots they'd all ended up showing him and the various treats, Urahara was fundamentally a dangerous man. It was clear in the way he always felt of blood, in the fierce lullaby that the air seemed to sing sometimes, in the casual grace he had with any blade he held, in the lab and all the reference materials he had about all kinds of power, in the way he saw past the lies they told even though he didn't press them.

Orihime knew monsters and lies. There was a reason Sora-nii had run away and took her with him, and a reason that she had refused to be in the same physical place with any of her relatives since his death. Their current bargain was meant to show her how much she needed them, meant to be skint and humiliating.

It was far from that. Orihime was smart, and just because she tended to think of things differently didn't mean that she didn't know how the world worked, didn't mean that she was an idiot or incapable. Keeping her grades high was easy- the only reason she hadn't hit top of their class was the fact that Ishida-kun was better at giving the teachers what they wanted to hear and the fact that she didn't bother with any of the extra-credit opportunities that most clubs provided. The apartment wasn't much, but it was hers (it used to be hers and Sora's, and the memories ached in a complicated twisted way) and the payment was enough for rent and food as long as she was willing to get creative and everything else that money was needed for.

The thing that made Urahara scariest, Orihime had decided the first time she met him, was the way he saw through lies. The scent of blood was familiar, and almost comforting in a messed-up way. Labs had rules, the same way science did, and Orihime couldn't bring herself to really fear or hate the lullaby, no matter how it seemed to sing for blood. She'd long since grown inured to blades, Kurosaki's being the last nail in that particular coffin, and research was useful.

But lies were what kept her safe. Pretending that she missed nothing about her family kept them from seeing the weaknesses that could have shattered her resolve on her worst days. Pretending that she was doing fine kept attention away from the things that were certainly not quite right but were in her benefit. Pretending that she was weak and helpless kept her from doing something that would draw the wrong kind of attention and kept her kinfolk from descending down to actually challenge her. Pretending that nothing bothered her kept most of the mean comments away.

Urahara looked at her like he saw through every single one of her lies, saw to the core of her- a part that she'd never even shown to Tatsuki, let alone the rest of her friends- and the worst part was, the longer it went on the less Orihime was wary of him. The more time she spent in the Shouten, learning and growing and even just relaxing, the less concern she had about Urahara's motives or his unusual actions or even what was going on in his lab when he called them down for one thing or another.

It scared her, not being afraid, but Orihime knew she was already in far too deep to stop now.

[ashxketchum]

TyHil for the five sentences obvs.

Yes, OBVS, there's no question about it 😆

Since you didn't mention a title, does that mean I can tease my Regency Romance AU 👀 👉🏻👈🏻

And yeah I CHEATED 😭 but how was I supposed to stick to just five sentences for TyHil 😭 I have a problem and we all know it by now.

Some background for this can be found here.

~~~~

It was a miracle, Hilary thought, that the glass of lemonade in her hand had not yet slipped away as she felt excitement rush through her whole being, the tingling sensation travelling right down to her toes, at the sight of him making his way through the crowded ballroom towards her. It should not have made her that happy, after all, she had spent the entire afternoon in his drawing room with his sister, discussing the possible places Kari could travel to in the future, while he sat across her, scoffing every few minutes at how she was comfortably indulging the youngest Godsworth's fantasies. Her brows furrowed into a frown naturally at the memory, so she gave her head a slight shake, hoping to focus on the present scene instead, now that Tyson was no more than a few steps away from her. He painted such a different picture of himself tonight, one she wasn't sure if she could get used to, the face of him that she was most familiar was that of a meddling and protective elder brother, not the dignified Lord who now stood tall in front of her, a courteous smile playing his lips as he dipped his head in a silent greeting towards her and Sora. She felt Sora nudge her from behind, reminding her of her manners as the two bent down for a proper curtsy. Hilary hoped that her face was not reflecting the warmth it felt when Tyson's blue eyes fixed themselves on her, because it was truly a strange feeling for her to be intimidated by someone's gaze, let alone someone she thought she hadn't held in high regard.

"My mother," he spoke, pausing to clear his throat once and tug at his collar, "she insists that I have you save a dance for me this evening."

For a reason beyond her comprehension, Hilary felt her heart sink to her stomach. She looked at Sora, just to check if her friend had detected the same meaning in Tyson's words as she had, but to her disappointment, Sora just beamed back at her, nodding her head encouragingly.

"What about you, my lord?" Hilary asked, confusing both Sora and the Viscount with her words. She grasped onto the glass tightly, hoping that it would provide a sense of comfort and courage when she raised her determined eyes and locked them with Tyson's, "Do you truly wish to spend your precious time in my company?"

~~~~

[frogg1eee]

«Moral Of The Story» by Ashe | Frogg1e's DEP/MEP №1 | Possibly spoilers

***MEP parts:***

**Intro:** Frogg1e | SaiMatsu(Shuichi Saihara × Kaede Akamatsu);

**Part №1:** Frogg1e | UtsuKane(Utsuro × Akane Taira);

**Part №2:** Frogg1e | IshiMondo/KiyoWada(Kiyotaka Ishimaru × Mondo Ōwada);

**Part №3:** Frogg1e | KuwaZono/LeoSaya/KuwaYaka(Leon Kuwata × Sayaka Maizono) + Kyouko Kirigiri;

**Parts №4 & №5:** reiko.mp4 | SoraYuki/YukiSora/SoraEda/MaeSora(Yuki Maeda *(SDRA2)* × Sora) & ŌtoRei/TeruRei(Teruya Ōtori × Rei Mekaru);

**Part №6:** Frogg1e | Teruya Ōtori;

**Part №7:** Frogg1e | SoRuko/SoraBuya(Sora × Yoruko Kabuya);

**Parts №8 & №9:** little bunny Ivy | HinaNami(Hajime Hinata × Chiaki Nanami);

**Parts №10 & №11:** bxnny | SaiOuma(Shuichi Saihara × Kokichi Ouma);

**Part №12:** Frogg1e | Tsurugi Kinjo;

**Part №13:** Frogg1e | Izuru Kamukura;

**Part №14:** bugbear | SaiMota(Kaito Momota × Shuichi Saihara);

**Part №15:** Frogg1e | KinjoMae/YuKinjo/UtsuRugi(«Yuki Maeda»/Utsuro × Tsurugi Kinjo);

**Part №16:** MagicPotato | ChabaMeno(?)/HimiTenko(?)(Himiko Yumeno × Tenko Chabashira);

**Part №17:** Frogg1e | SetsuBiki/ChiebuNokoji/OtonoBukuro/OtonoKuro/ChieBiki(Setsuka Chiebukuro × Hibiki Otonokouji);

**Part №18:** kxnz0 | MahiYoko/KoiIonji/MahiIonji/SaiHiru(Mahiru Koizumi × Hiyoko Saionji);

**Part №19:** Frogg1e | SatsuHiko/HaruTsuki/KobaIra/KobashiRanami(Haruhiko Koubashikawa × Satsuki Iranami);

**Part №20:** Frogg1e | Kyouko Kirigiri;

**Part №21:** Frogg1e | Iroha Nijiue;

**Outro:** Frogg1e | Sora.

—————————————————————————

Almost 2 years have passed(December 1st, approximately at 9:30 pm, I don't remember anymore) since the creation of the YouTube channel... And almost 2 years have passed(December 28th) since then until I decided to make my first MEP...

The second anniversary of my channel is a long-awaited event for all of us. And although I created my first video around September 23, 2022(and started making it in early September of the same year), I wanted to develop my skills in video editing. And it became my new hobby. Before that, I had other hobbies - drawing and crafts (I did this very, very rarely after my first phone appeared).

At first I started using Alight Motion. Then I used it Funimate, until I came across CapCut(banned video editing app), YouCut and Motion Ninja(only the last two apps are present on my phone, the very first application didn't work for me, because it was unclear and impossible to use). Now I'm using Alight Motion as if to a greater extent. Although my video edits were very crooked in my opinion, this fact nevertheless emphasized the development of my video editing skills.

And now I myself have changed. On the negative side, but I have changed. I know it may sound very trite, but... It's normal for me to change every year. It's okay to be the wrong person who has a worse character. It's okay to be selfish actually, if others view this personality trait as very toxic. And yes, I, like all of you, also have my own problems. But everything is okay, we are all more or less equal and different at the same time. It's normal to change and develop yourself.

Accordingly, I took Tsumugi Shirogane from a detective novel with elements of horror «New DanganRonpa V3: Killing Harmony» as a mascot for my channel. I don't know why I chose her. Maybe I started to like her... Before her, my favorite character was Kaede Akamatsu. I don't know the exact reason why I like Tsumugi. Because, because.

And what else can I say?... Thank you for staying with me throughout the 2 years of my YouTube channel's existence!

And… Thanks to those people who participated in my first MEP. I was very grateful to you.

P.S.: DEP is the MEP, but based on one fandom, such a franchise as «DanganRonpa», as well as fan games for it.

P.S.S.: At the end of this MEP there is a reminder. If there are such brave people who are ready to look for the authors of the rest of their fan arts, then please send me links to them in comments of this video, but not in Discord.

P.S.S.S.: There may be interference in this video-MEP. I'm sorry, but that's what I deserve.

[protagonistheavy]

Does Smash Bros Ultimate have too many characters? This is a sentiment I've had for a while, but I've noticed lately that it's resonated with different folks too as the years have gone on, especially among people who were really active in the Smash scene for previous games -- yet didn't get as hooked into Ultimate.

A big reason I think so many people didn't connect with Ultimate as they did with previous entries is mainly because there's just so, so many characters. It's overwhelming to consider all of these different match-ups -- or even just the match-ups for the handful of characters you happen to play. There is so much homework you have to do if you want to improve at Smash lol; so many characters you have to learn about and figure out for your MUs, but also, a lot of these newer characters also come with wild gimmicks -- gimmicks that would require, like, a paragraph or more to explain fully. It's hard to predict and follow along with your opponent when you don't have this info to understand their decision making.

Whenever I happen to hop onto Smash nowadays and go for an online battle, it's always this frustrating feeling when I get matched against a character that I just know nothing about. I feel like I'm so disadvantaged because I don't have a wiki up to remind me that, oh, this new character has some RNG insta-kill mechanic, or that this character has an ability with only these specific limitations you have to consider.

And because there are so many characters, you're not totally likely to get to even play against them randomly again. You might fight a Sora today and think you learned how to play against him, but then it doesn't matter because the next 50 matches are against completely different characters. There's 89 characters, and even the echo fighters have their own unique attributes, which just confuses things more!

I'm sure for someone who does commit to playing regularly, this isn't too much to learn -- I mean, I play DBD and can remember what every perk and most add-ons do, I get how gamerbrain works. But for anyone that isn't playing the game, like, daily, 89 characters is just too much to juggle in one's memory, and it makes reapproaching the game later more awkward.

Sakurai made a big deal to note that Ultimate is very well and likely to be the only game where we're gonna see everyone, which leads me to believe that the next game will have a notably smaller lineup of fighters. Which is totally fine by me lol. I'm more than happy to see a lot of the third-parties shed off and only be replaced with a couple new entires.

But what I really would like to see is an effort to take the pre-existing characters, especially the old-old veterans of the series, and radically change-up their qualities and move sets. Some of these early-debuted characters have the unfortunate quality of having these outdated, unimaginative move sets -- qualities that were fine for the time back in Smash 64, but barely represent what the character is known for today. I think DK is one of the most clear examples, a character with so much history to draw a fighting-game move set from....... and yet he plays like Man With Two-Arms. Or look at Ganondorf as another example, whose been burdened all these years with a move set varied from Captain Falcon. Some of these characters can do so much more than what they're given, especially when you consider their latest entries -- tell me how you would design Princess Peach if you've only played Mario games from the past 10 years; would you really limit yourself to picking turnips or a hip throw as her SPECIAL moves??

This would also of course be an opportunity to take echo fighters and give them whole unique kits, with much more creative liberties being taken as necessary. Characters like Fox and Falco and Wolf would be so much more interesting if they had more unique move sets between them -- sure, I guess you can only make a gun be a different kind of gun so many times, but why do they ALL need to have the same special moves otherwise? They can come up with anything! Grenades, guns, Arwings, power-ups, tech -- they made-up Fire Fox and Fox Dash and basically made-up the Reflector Shield, so I'm sure they can come up with more stuff for these characters to do. At worst, I would even be completely satisfied if they took echo fighters and just combined them as skins for the base fighter; if they really can't come up with unique move sets between Marth and Roy besides making Roy have fire... then yeah, just fucking make them the same exact character but different colors lol. Give them the Bowser Jr./Koopaling treatment, it's fine!

Smash 4 had 58 playable fighters. To me, even that is a pretty big number! And I doubt we're going to lose that many fighters going into Smash 6. Even still, I really hope they aim to keep the roster of unique characters down to ~60 or something -- I'd be more than happy with a smaller cast, if that cast was more meaningfully designed and have more inspired implementation. It would certainly make the game more approachable and even easier to balance, as well as breathe some new life into characters that have otherwise gotten stale.

[chimielie]

hello lia! sora here :) so sorry for dropping off the face of the earth for a while, things were a little tough. not sure if by drabble requests you meant something like this, but i'm currently working on a longfic centered around kuroo (and someone else!) on ao3 and i wonder if you might write something for him if you're in the mood... maybe something with the line "why can't you see that i like you?" ofc no pressure, and hope you have a good week! take care!! + hopefully this staves off hinge LOL

object impermanence

word count: 1.2k

cw: mild angst with a happy ending, possibly a confusing timeline, reader is an art student

a/n: oh my GOD that’s so exciting eeee can’t wait to read it!!! tysm and i hope times get easier for u :(( sending my love. also sorry this is so late i could Not figure out a plot but i’m actually quite happy with what i spit out (it’s 2 am this opinion is liable to change with proper rest)

It’s in a café, a pretentious, dimly-lit place with oil paintings on the walls and a back stair with a balcony for smoking that things unravel. You’re careful, or you try to be, but—well. The heart wants what it wants, and yours is very willful.

Kuroo is shoved into the corner next to you, with the crushed-velvet pillows you were so afraid to spill coffee on. There had been three of you earlier, you and your art history TA and him, and since the café was a literal sardine box you had found yourself trying to balance minimizing body contact and acting like he had the plague. Your TA had had to leave in a rush, and you’d been secretly a little glad, especially when Kuroo didn’t request that you take her former seat across from him.

You remembered him the first time you met, folding himself into your tiny apartment and looking sheepish when you had looked away from the dingy window above the sink you’d been sketching and asked who he was and why he was in your house. It had turned out that he was your roommate’s boyfriend, had been for about two months, and were they ready yet?

They weren’t, so you invited him to sit on the other chair at the table and wait. You hadn’t expected him to talk to you. You hadn’t expected him to be nice.

When you blurted you have a really striking face, I’d love to draw it during a lull in the conversation where you’d had no other option than to focus on the arrangement of features some people (bad roommates) would call handsome, you hadn’t expected him to ask would you really?

You were a bad roommate, though they didn’t know it, because you hadn’t kept in touch with them after moving out but you called Kuroo at least an hour every day before bed.

And you were a bad friend—to Kuroo, not your ex-roommate, because you’re pretty sure you had loved him from the first moment he’d asked after the perspective of your little window sketch.

“Your hair,” he says, and has to twist his whole torso around to get a good look. He catches a piece of it in between his thumb and forefinger, twiddles it back and forth and peers at it like it’s a specimen in a lab. “You changed it.”

“Hardly,” you say. “I just got a trim.”

“It’s different this time,” he says. “Isn’t it?” You purse your lips and blow across the top of your super-fancy tiny coffee cup, a futile exercise since you already drank half of it.

“I went to someplace new, I guess,” you say, and he lets out a whoop that makes you laugh and forget the rest of your words.

“I knew it,” he’s so smug. “I always know.”

“Yeah,” you bat at him so he drops your hair and it springs back, you can feel it in your scalp. “Who even notices things like that?”

“Me? When it’s you.”

“Oh, stop it.” You think. “What am I allergic to?”

“Peach skins and nickel,” he says immediately. “And when you were little you broke out in hives when you ate a pomegranate but you liked it so much you kept eating it anyway and eventually the reaction went away.”

“Your memory is insane,” you sip your coffee, staring at the rapidly diminishing amount. You can’t afford another one, not on your budget as an art student. Ugh.

“No,” he reiterates. “Only when it’s you.”

It started (really started) after your roommate had broken up with him, when you’d come home in the early morning and found him sitting outside your door, brown eyes red-rimmed and holding a box of his things like it weighed a thousand pounds. Let me get you some water, you’d said, and I’d ask you to come in, but. Ah. Sorry. Do you want my breakfast bowl for tomorrow? You had tried to be kind, even though it was hard. You were tired and you didn’t know what had happened and you still had to live with his ex without them hating you.

A few months had passed—you were no vulture, and had no way to reach out anyway. He had bumped into you on vacation in Paris, grabbed you by the shoulders, and looked at you in a way he never had before. It made everyone else on the busy street disappear.

I wanted to talk to you again. Would that be okay? I still have the picture you made me, somewhere.

Your friendship ripened with the seasons.

“I believe you,” you laugh.

“You don’t!” He runs a hand through his hair, jokingly frustrated, you think. And devastatingly attractive. “You always—like—downplay your importance in my life. Like you think I forget about you when I can’t see you. But I think about you all the time.”

“Kuroo, don’t,” you say, but it’s a mistake, because you always address him formally. Your last defense against him finding out all the boundaries you want to cross. It’s a mile between you, and your hip is still touching his.

“Why not?” He spreads his arms, and knocks over your tiny coffee cup. The rest of it spills out over the table, not even enough to drip off, and neither of you notice. “Why can’t you see that I like you?”

“Because you don’t,” you choke, and you hate getting emotional like this, hate that you hate confrontation. “We’re good friends. I’m not gonna be a rebound.”

“You’re not,” he says. “You won’t be.”

“I believe you,” you say again.

“Stop that,” he groans, looks at you again like he did in the street in Paris. “If you don’t want me, that’s fine, I’m just so bad at not wanting you.”

Kuroo is awful, eyes gleaming in the lamplight and hair oil-black and dressed like he’s old money, like he’s trying to impress you.

“Of course I want you,” you say, hot and still not leaning away from him so you can breathe.

“Good,” he looks a little starstruck, and maybe that’s when you start to believe that he can look at you and tell the truth. “Good. I can draw you up a list, later, when you’re not so fucking close to me and so—”

He tilts your chin with his fingers and kisses you and it’s a word between the both of you, a whole language of touch. The overripe peach falls off its branch and bursts on the ground. The coffee soaks into the discarded cloth napkins.

“You make it hard for me to think,” he says when he pulls back, breathless. “But I can write you an essay, ten pages, twelve point font, with citations, of all the ways I love you to prove it. I swear it.”

“A picture is worth a thousand words,” you say, and take his hand when you kiss him again. And it’s not careful like some of your first kisses have been. And your heart sings.

[talyns-fanfics]

Locked Out of Heaven

Kingdom Hearts 3

Vanitas x Princess of Heart!reader

Part II of Anywhere

Never had much faith in love or miracles. Never wanna put my heart on the line. But swimmin' in your water's something spiritual. I'm born again every time you spend the night…

Other characters: Ventus, Sora, Aqua, Ienzo, Goofy, Queen Minnie

Set during the events of Kingdom Hearts 3: Sora, Aqua, and Ventus search for Vanitas’ princess.

The group had left the Land of Departure, formerly Castle Oblivion. They were now all in the Gummi Ship. “We might need to pick up someone.” Ventus says to Sora. “She can help us against Vanitas.” The group was confused. “What are you saying, Ven?” Aqua asks.

Ventus turns to Sora. “You know how I’ve been sleeping in your heart this whole time?” He asks Sora. “Still kinda weird, but yeah.” Sora replies. “Vanitas has been doing the same. He found a heart pure of light and he’s been healing in it this whole time.”

Ventus explains, before getting cut of by Sora. “A Princess of Heart? But, there’s only seven. There can’t be an eighth.” He takes a second, watching Ventus pull something out of his pocket. “Can there?” Ventus hands him a drawing.

“I’ve had dreams of her since me and Vanitas split.” Ventus explains. “I didn’t know what they meant until he told me about her.” Sora took the drawing. It was a girl, around Kairi’s age, in a red dress. Her (color) hair was pulled up into an elegant bun with a black tiara proudly on her head. Ventus’ drawing clearly depicted who they need to look for.

Sora takes out his phone and takes a picture of the drawing, sending it to Ienzo back at Radiant Garden. He sends a text saying “Do you know this girl?” He puts his phone back in his pocket before handing the drawing back to Ventus. “Do you know where she might live?” Sora asks, getting a head shake from Ventus in return.

After a while, Sora was getting a call from Ienzo. Everyone gathers around Sora’s seat, looking over as he answers the phone. “We were able to find out who the girl in the picture is. We also found out where she’s hiding.” Ienzo says on the screen, making Ventus sigh in relief.

“Where is she?” Sora asks him. “She’s currently in a new world we have no record of you going. We’ve found the only known entrance to said world at Disney Castle.” A picture of a white vase with a painting of a countryside appeared on the screen.

“That’s the Queen’s favorite vase.” Goofy pointed out. “We’ve already notified the queen about it. She’s already given the go ahead to use it to find The Princess.” “Thanks, Ienzo.” Sora replies. “We’ll be on our way.” The two hang up.

————————————————————————

The Gummi Ship had arrived at Disney Castle, but only Ventus and Sora left the ship. The two meet up with Queen Minnie in the library. She was holding the vase they needed. “We’re very sorry, Your Majesty.” Sora says as they met up. “It’s really nothing too big.” Minnie reassures the boys, setting the vase on the ground. Sora raises his keyblade, opening a gateway into the world.

————————————————————————

Sora and Ventus arrive in an entirely different world, the countryside that was shown in the design of the vase. They clothes had changed color to white and accents of light red. Ventus looks around, in awe of the place as the two searched for The Princess.

After a while of searching, they find a girl in a short white dress. Her (color) hair was tied up in a braid and she was wearing red high heels. She was trying to climb up a tree. What really caught Sora and Ventus off guard was the small, (favorite color) Flood Unversed near the bottom of the tree, watching her climb.

The two reacted, pulling out their Keyblades, running towards the Flood. The small Unversed didn’t fight, but let out a tiny whimper of fear, backing up until it was against the tree as the two continued running towards it. Before a keyblade was able to hit it, the girl jumps down from the tree, separating Sora and Ventus from the shaking Flood.

Her being down from the tree and looking at them gave them a better look at her. Bangs covered part of her face and her (color) eyes had subtle hints of yellow. “Don’t hurt him!” She was clearly protective of the tiny creature. “That’s an Unversed!” Ventus tries to convince her. “It was created by a monster, so it’s a monster, too!”

“Vanitas isn’t a monster.” The girl feels a tear slide down her cheek. She summons a keyblade. “Furthest thing from. And I won’t let you hurt one of his creatures.” That took both Sora and Vanitas off guard. Someone was defending Vanitas, of all people. The two surrendered, lowering their Keyblades.

Ventus pulls out the drawing from his pocket, handing it to her. She looks over it as he talks. “We’re looking for a Princess of Heart. Could you possibly be her?” He asks. She hands the drawing back. “The name’s (Y/N). Why do you need me, if you don’t mind me asking?” Sora takes a step closer to her.

“You have a connection to Vanitas, right?” He gets a nod in return. “He’s part of the Real Organization XIII. We might need to get him out and you’re possibly the only person who can make sure there’s enough of him to bring back.

She turns to the Unversed, who had calmed down significantly. She gently beckons it over. The group watches as the Flood climbs up her dress to rest on her shoulder. “Count me in.” She tells them.

————————————————————————

At the Keyblade Graveyard, Vanitas had the upper hand against Sora and Ventus. He raises his keyblade, ready to quickly finish the fight. He was stopped by the clanging metal of another keyblade stopping him. He looks at the wielder, remembering her.

————————————————————————

Vanitas opens his eyes, landing on another station. He looks over, seeing a little girl, her back facing him. She was dressed in a light red ball gown and a black tiara adorned her head. “This place... I've been here. So warm...” Vanitas says aloud, walking towards the girl. She turns around, facing him. Her (color) hair swaying to the side. Her eyes were bright (eye color), full of light and hope.

“I remember now. This is your heart.” Vanitas was right next to the girl, who reaches a hand to him. He kneels down to her level, gently taking her hand. She smiles softly at him.

————————————————————————

She was a little older, around his physical age, but it was that little girl that saved him long ago. The princess who healed his heart.

Vanitas drops his keyblade. “Light? Is it really you?” She softly smiles, dropping her keyblade. “Hey, Dark.” Vanitas pulls off his helmet before pulling (Y/N) into a hug. As the two hugged, Vanitas’ heart fully heals.

“I told you, my light is meant for you to hold onto something.” She whispers, quiet enough so only Vanitas hears her. He softly cries, feeling all the pain go away.

Can I just stay here? Spend the rest of my days here? 'Cause you make me feel like I've been locked out of heaven for too long…

[yslkook]

BORDERSZ (4)

mind of mine masterlist

summary: jungkook accompanies you on your journey to purchase a brand new car. jimin charms your pants off (or attempts to) and sora has a proposal for you that you don't quite say no to. pairing: “badboy” jk x “shy/reserved” oc warnings: cursing, alc, excessive use of pet names, kinda toxic friendship

It takes about two weeks for Jungkook to understand exactly what kind of car you were looking for- essentially a sturdy vehicle that would get you from point A to point B without fail. Something reliable, would last for years and years, something efficient. Not necessarily anything fancy or luxurious.

But Jungkook had finally got you to shyly confess that you wouldn’t mind having heated seats in your car. After all, it had been something you’d dreamed of ever since you had received your driver’s license-

“Nothing else? Just heated seats?” Jungkook implores curiously as he pours over your meticulous binder for the fifth time. Honestly, you didn’t really need his help. You already knew what you were doing. His presence at the dealership will probably ensure that you’re not getting scammed, if anything. He loves his friends (two of them being his roommates), but he knows the truth about how they make their sales.

Mei and Mina call them sleazy car salesmen for a reason after all.

“It’s not ‘just’ heated seats!” You protest, “We never had the money for cars with heated seats when I was growing up. So that’s what I want.”

“How about leather heated seats?” Jungkook suggests, “Leather seats have better ventilation-”

“Oh, I know,” You say matter-of-factly.

“Of course you do. Smart ass.”

It feels incredibly domestic, walking into Namjoon’s car dealership together with Jungkook. Shoulder to shoulder, hopping off of his motorcycle together. He had taken it upon himself to purchase a second helmet, despite your insistence that you would pay for one.

But he had told you not to get a big head, that the helmet wasn’t for you specifically. That he needed a second helmet anyway, and you joining him on the motorcycle more and more as of recently was just the impetus for him to purchase one.

So you say nothing when it’s clear that he had bought the helmet with you in mind- it’s a sleek, glossy lilac color. A similar shade of lilac as your phone case, your favorite small backpack, and your work notebook.

You say nothing about it, only keeping your small smile to yourself.

Of course it’s Jimin who immediately jumps up to offer you assistance today. He gives Jungkook a Cheshire grin, mischief dancing in his eyes. Not that you would know otherwise.

He knows Jimin won’t let him live this down. At least Taehyung might have a little more tact than Jimin.

“So are you both looking for a vehicle together?” Jimin asks once you’re both seated in the comfortable leather seats in front of his desk, when in fact he knows damn well that you’re not.

“Huh? N-no, I’m looking for a car. Jungkook is helping me out,” You say, your face heating up at the implication. Isn’t Jimin one of his roommates?

Jungkook’s tongue pokes his cheek. You notice.

“I’m here to make sure that you or Taehyung don’t scam her,” Jungkook says, “Where’s Joon? He’s less...annoying than you.”

“Joon can’t even drive a fucking car. He has no business trying to sell them,” Jimin says swiftly.

“Er,” You interrupt softly, “Isn’t he your boss? He owns the entire dealership, doesn’t he?”

Jungkook stifles a laugh at your presumed innocence. You offer a slick smile to Jimin when he scoffs in amusement.

“Yes,” Jimin says, “So tell me. How can I make your dreams come true?”

If Jungkook wasn’t with you, you think you would’ve fallen victim to Jimin’s charms long ago. He’s nice, a little flirty and funny. But helpful. You can see how someone might end up paying more than they’d need to with Jimin being their car salesman.

You listen to every word Jimin says, taking notes in a specific section of your binder with your favorite black ballpoint pen. You need to have all the information at your fingertips before making a big decision, no matter what it is. Jungkook had teased you for it at first, but he’s become accustomed to your thought process.

Jimin has shown you at least five different types of models of cars ranging from sedans to SUVs. In theory, they all fit the bill. But you haven’t really felt the connection with any of them.

Jimin is nothing if not patient, though.

“I’m sorry,” You say, “I know I’m being meticulous. You must be annoyed.”

“It’s my job, sweetheart,” Jimin shrugs, “Besides, you can repay me with your phone number maybe, huh?”

“That doesn’t sound like an ethical business practice,” You say flatly while Jungkook glares at Jimin (who only smirks at him in return), “You already have it. From when I made the appointment.”

“Is that an invitation?”

“You wish,” You roll your eyes, “Does every one of your clients get this treatment or is it just me?”

“Nah, it’s just anyone who catches Jungkookie’s eye,” Jimin winks at you and Jungkook is about to strangle his roommate. Perhaps he should put an ad out for a new roommate, considering he might kill his current one in the next five minutes.

“O-oh,” You falter, cheeks blazing at this point, “Can we look at a few more? I’m gonna use the restroom really quickly. Maybe even grab a coffee.”

“Sure, sweetheart. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Will you fuckin’ stop it? I can’t believe you,” Jungkook hisses, “We’re literally at your workplace and you’re putting the moves on her-”

“Oh, will you relax,” Jimin says breezily, “I’m just seeing if she’ll take the bait.”

“There’s no reason for that shit,” Jungkook says, glaring at his friend, “Cut it out.”

“I like her,” Jimin says, as if he hadn’t spoken, “She’s cute.”

“Back off,” Jungkook says, “And while we’re at it, just for you being an ass. You’re gonna give her heated seats for free.”

Jungkook watches your eyes light up at the car that Jimin is currently telling you about. He can already tell from your wide eyes and soft, excited smile that this is the one. You’re already running the checklist through your head, physically looking at your notes as Jimin easily answers your questions.

“Can I take her for a test drive?” You ask Jimin and he somehow produces a set of keys for the exact model from his pocket.

“I knew this would be the one…” Jimin says as he takes you to the parking lot to grab the test car. Jungkook rolls his eyes in fondness and heads off to find his other roommate, Taehyung. And to say hello to his friend, Namjoon.

“It suits you,” Jimin says once you’d taken the car out for a drive and brought it back safely.

“You think so?” You ask, giving the keys back to him, “I bet you say that to everyone.”

“Only when I mean it, sweetheart,” Jimin winks at you.

“How lucky for me,” You mutter under your breath, “So...what are the next steps?”

“I bring out the contract, you sign it, and you take your new car home,” Jimin says confidently.

“Yeah,” You say dreamily and look outside to the car in longing. You’ve done the homework, done the research. Went through this logically and meticulously. Even if the car does start depreciating the minute you step out of the dealership… You want it. It checks all of the boxes, you know you’ll get your money’s worth from it.

But before you give Jimin the okay to draw up the contracts, you want to tell Jungkook. You spot him talking to Taehyung, his bunny smile on display (which makes you smile in turn) and excuse yourself from Jimin for a minute to go after Jungkook.

“Hi,” You say and introduce yourself to Taehyung, who offers you a wide, boxy smile, “I’m gonna get it. The car, I mean. I love her.”

“She passed the vibe check?” Jungkook asks.

“Yeah. She passed the vibe check.”

When you comb through the hefty contract with sharp eyes, Jungkook is somewhat amused to see the free of charge cost for the heated seats. Jimin only winks at him in response.

You can’t seem to find anywhere else where Jimin may be overcharging you, so you ask Jungkook to review it, too. And surprisingly, Jungkook finds nothing out of the ordinary. He knows how Jimin operates here, trying to gain any extra cent of commission that he can. Not that that’s a terrible thing.

“It’s yours, sweetheart,” Jimin says fifteen minutes later, once you sign your name on the dotted line.

“Really?” You let out an exhilarated laugh, adrenaline suddenly coursing through your veins, “Really, really?”

“Keys are yours, and someone will bring the car out front for you,” Jimin smiles, “Congratulations on your first car. I’m honored that you chose me to help you make this purchase.”

“Wouldn’t have had it any other way, Jimin,” You beam. After a moment of deliberation, “Oh, by the way- have fun on your date with Mina tonight. I heard all about it.”

Mischief dances in your eyes and Jimin’s eyebrows shoot up to his hairline as he lets out a surprised laugh. Jungkook looks at you proudly- that’s what Jimin gets for being a menace.

Jungkook wraps an arm around your shoulders and walks you out of the dealership and you slowly wrap a tentative, shy arm around his waist. You both wait shoulder to shoulder for one of the dealership boys to bring your brand new car out front.

In the meantime, you try to pluck up the courage to ask Jungkook to have a drink with you after. To celebrate and to treat your friend for helping you out for the last few weeks. You bite your bottom lip in nervousness and Jungkook notices. He wants nothing more than to gently pull your bottom lip out of your own grip, but refrains from doing so.

But you realize, it’s Jungkook, this is your friend and the comforting, warm scent of laundry that envelopes you gives you a little courage.

“Do you want to grab a drink or something after this?” You ask softly, “I… wanted to treat you. For helping me the last few weeks with the car stuff.”

“C’mon, baby. You know I’ll never say no to a pretty girl buying me a drink,” Jungkook says, lips pulled apart into a sly smirk.

“Oh, that’s all I am to you? A pretty girl?” You roll your eyes and shove his shoulder playfully, despite the heat in your cheeks.

“Not at all,” Jungkook murmurs, tightening his hold around your shoulders and looking at you with sincerity dripping from his big, brown eyes, “You’re my pretty girl.”

If he didn’t have a strong arm around your shoulders, you’re certain you would’ve evaporated into the floor at his words.

The image of Jungkook smoking outside of the bar right under the glowing, purple neon lights is an image you haven’t seen very often. A strand of dark hair falls in front of his face as he lights his cigarette, his eyebrows knitted together in concentration.

Even from this distance, you can see the purse of his lips and the silver glint of rings on his fingers. It shouldn’t send a rush down your spine the way it does, but you won’t deny it. When it comes to Jungkook, you won’t deny your feelings. Or your attraction.

For some reason, a thought crosses your mind- you hadn’t told Sora that you had purchased a new car. Much less that Jungkook had helped you pick one out. But you push her from your mind easily, as if you’ve been doing the last few weeks. It’s been difficult for you to keep Jungkook out of your conversations with Sora- she always has a way of bringing him up more than not.

But it’s not just Jungkook she has a strong, stubborn opinion on. It’s everything these days- you had showed her cars that you were interested in and she had shot every one of them down, she always has something to say about your passion for work (or rather she never pays enough attention about it), and she even had something negative to say when you had timidly brought up that you were maybe thinking about another ear piercing.

You’re growing tired of it. You find yourself getting nervous around her, like you’re walking on eggshells around her. Even when she just texts you, your heart speeds up in anxiety. But at the same time, there is a voice in your head telling you not to upset her.

As if that’s somehow the worst thing that could ever happen. Objectively, you know Sora. You know she’s stubborn and loud in her opinions and always has to get her way. But at the core of it all, you want to believe that she has a good heart. Because if she doesn’t have a good heart… Then what were you doing this to yourself for? What were you surrounding yourself with all of this negativity for?

You can sense Jungkook’s dislike of her, even if he doesn’t outright say it. But you’re no idiot. Mina and Mei have been honest with you on their opinions of her. So has Yoongi and Hobi.

They all think she’s dragging you down and that you’ll spiral in her negativity if you don’t open your eyes. They’ve all had a few choice words for her, but you find yourself uneasy whenever the topic of Sora comes up.

The more you hear it, the more you wonder about your supposed best friend. But you push those sour thoughts away to focus on the man in your field of vision.

Your heart hammers in your chest as you approach him on unsteady feet.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Jungkook mutters with the cigarette in between his lips when you get closer to get a good look at him.

“I’m not looking at you like anything,” You reply, eyes subconsciously wandering to the cigarette. Your nose scrunches at the smell without you even realizing it.

“You look like my mom when she first saw me smoking,” Jungkook says bluntly.

“Your mom? You really wanna compare me to your mother?” You raise an eyebrow, “Don’t know what that says about you, Jungkook.” Jungkook lets out a surprised laugh at that.

“Shut up,” Jungkook rolls his eyes and peels himself off of the brick wall before putting his cigarette out and tossing it in the ashtray next to him, “I think you owe me a drink?”

Jungkook, you decide, is dangerous and warm all at once. The starry glint of his big, doe eyes throws you off more than once, leaving you either stammering over your words or choking on your drink when you try to reply to him.

The bar is quiet and nearly empty, only the sounds of faint music playing in the background to keep you both company. You’re both facing each other at the bar, knees touching ever so slightly.

Even that simple touch makes you feel warm all over.

Jungkook slides your drink towards you, a soft ‘thank you’ pushing itself out of your lips. You suppress a shiver when his ring clad fingers brush over yours, and he notices the way you tense up a little bit with his touch.

He appreciates the way the dim lights shine on your hair and illuminate the planes of your pretty face. He thinks it’s the perfect lighting for a photo of you- the dark colored jacket and your dark wash jeans blending into the colors of the bar around you. Something at the base of your neck glints as you turn to face him.

“Cheers, to your new car,” Jungkook murmurs, tipping his glass towards yours.

“Cheers to you for helping me,” You reply with a smile, clinking your drink with his.

“Pleasure’s all mine, baby,” Jungkook says, “You deserve it.”

“Deserve a vehicle that will have hardly any value in ten to fifteen years?”

“You deserve something for yourself,” Jungkook corrects, looking into your eyes as if he can see right through you. You’d told him how you had grown up with one car amongst a family of five, and how money was tight when you were younger. You were the eldest of three, and now that everyone was older, you had slowly started dipping your toes into the concept of having things for yourself.

You whisper a soft thank you and take a sip of your drink. “My parents were so excited about the car,” You say quietly, “Told them I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“Oh? You told your parents about me?”

“Had to tell them about the man who got me heated seats for free,” You reply with a knowing grin, “You think I didn’t catch that?”

“Heated seats were the least Jimin could’ve done,” Jungkook rolls his eyes.

You wave him off, “I like him. I could see why him and Mina are good together. She told me they’ve had this weird on and off thing for, like, a year now? Like c’mon. Get it together.”

“Yeah. Don’t know why they keep denying the inevitable,” He says, voice full of something barely concealed.

“The inevitable?”

“They both have their issues but… They would make it work if they sorted themselves out,” He says softly, a tenderness to his eyes that makes your belly flip. You don’t know if he’s talking about Jimin and Mina or about… something else.

Something else being you and him.

“Maybe one of them is scared,” You whisper.

“They can work through it together,” Jungkook replies instantly. The air in between you both is charged, plush with tension and electricity. You look at him unsurely, with wide eyes, and god, if Jungkook doesn’t want to sweep you off of your feet and pull you in for a kiss.

“Jungkook, I-” You murmur, voice soft and deafening, silky like honey in his ears. The moment is right there, ripe for you, ripe for him...

And then your phone starts ringing, and Jungkook has never heard a worse sound. Your chest drops for a second when you see that it’s Sora calling you, and Jungkook has never felt as frustrated as he does right in this moment. Each significant moment of frustration over the past few months has Sora linked to it. He wonders if she has a radar for interrupting at the worst possible moments.

You give him an apologetic glance before answering the phone. She only calls if it’s important or if she needs you so you won’t risk it.

“H-hello-”

“You’ll never guess what I just did,” Comes Sora’s excited voice through the receiver. It’s too sugary, too sweet. You wince.

“What’s that?” You mumble, shoulders drooping.

“Got you a date for this Friday, you remember Yunho right?” She exclaims. If your heart wasn’t on the floor already, it certainly was by now. “He wants to take you out- he’s the lawyer, remember?”

“Y-yeah, I remember,” You say weakly, “But-”

Jungkook’s eyes flash at your suddenly dejected frown. That’s what Sora does- she takes you and she turns your happiness into something sad. It’s like she can’t stand to see you happy about something that doesn’t align with her “vision”.

“You can thank me later, babe,” Sora says cheerily. This time, you visibly cringe as you try to protest. Try to tell her that you don’t want a date with this man, that you only want a date with the man in front of you. But you can’t get the words out, she won’t listen and she hangs up on you before you can get a word in edgewise.

“Sorry about that,” You mutter.

“Why? She’s your friend. Not mine,” Jungkook says brusquely and you bristle at his bluntness.

You’re distracted for the rest of the evening, mind on another wavelength. He knows you’re upset, but he doesn’t push. He gets you to smile and laugh a few times, only for your eyes to turn sad right after.

Jungkook only wishes that you’d be able to see what was right in front of you.

TAGS: @kookdbean

MoM tags: @tiemeuptogoldenchains @boymeetsparadise @jungkooksseuphoria @kaepjjangiya @drumsofheaven @ppeachyttae @tae-bebe @yiyi4657 @mygscafe

[lovetals]

so, like, idk jack about the lore to kingdom hearts, but the idea of an mc who’s from the game tingles my brain a lot so i gotta dump this out

i’m gonna keep this vague enough so that ppl can interpret the mc however they please (whether we be besties with the beach trio or some other group)

but this idea would fit perfectly since the two are a collab of sorts with disney, only difference is how they use it. kingdom hearts is about traveling to other worlds, which are the disney movies. with twisted wonderland, everything takes place in one world

so imagine a keyblade wielder mc that somehow winds up in twisted wonderland while going from world to world. something happens and they aren’t able to go back, maybe they lost a bit of their powers or the gummi ship they were on is somewhere between the worlds. whatever the case, they’re stuck and now have to reside in the nrc because it’s just their luck that they land there

idk how much they can reveal because of that whole world order thing and they probs don’t trust anyone with outside information cause it’s a school of villains lmao

OH MY GOD AND THE MC WOULD KNOW THE TRUE NATURE OF THOSE GREAT SEVEN BECAUSE THEYVE WITNESSED THEM IRL LMFAO

they keep their mouth shut, tho, cause maybe it’s different for them. also, they do not want to be chased out for talking shit on them 🧍‍♀️

mc would feel so conflicted about the world and everyone there tho cause, like stated earlier, they got to witness the great seven’s actions in other worlds and with how the dorm leaders are inspired by said seven they’re just so cautious. but after riddle’s overblot they realize “oh shit they have actual issues” and everyone is actually kinda cool with enough time

the mc in this can still use their keyblade and some magic (if we’re going with the power loss route then i’m afraid your firagra has been reduced to just fire TwT) so they can chip in with the battles and show off how cool they are hehehe

OH OH AND EACH BATTLE THEY GET TO UPGRADE THEIR MAGIC AND SHIT!

mc getting thunder before azul fight: i’m going to shock the heart!

jade: ????

ooh it’d be so cool if every time the mc defeats an overblot they receive a new keyblade based on the dorm, just like how when we beat a world in kh we get a new keyblade based on it

oh god there’s gonna be so many questions from their peers when they see the keyblade. ace is gonna mock the shit out of you for it cause it’s just an oversized key (he shuts up real quick when you bonk him with it tho). it’s just such a unique weapon and the fact that you can summon it from nowhere?? slay

kalim would want to hold the weapon so badly and gets sad when it instantly materializes back into your hand lmao

idk much about lilia, but i think he’d know something about the keyblade and your origins when he sees it. he’s old, he probably knows something. might have had tea with young xehanort before he got old

vil asks to see your whole collection so he can rank them from most to least beautiful

ya know those wayfinders that aqua/kairi made for her friends as a way to show how even if they’re apart they’ll never lose each other or whatever? it’d be so cute if the mc did something like that for their friends :> (currently sobbing at the idea of drawing their faces on it like kairi did for sora 😭)

oh, poor mc would get bullied by ace for saying the corniest shit (“my friends are my power! 😜🤪”) but over time he grows to love these words so much, starts to tear up frfr

your constant reminders of the importance of friendships and how the bonds you all formed are unbreakable really does start to grow on everyone. (cater stan here: he also starts believing in this too cuz i said so <3) (CATER USES THE WAYFINDER YOU MADE AS A PJONE CHARM DUDE)

OH AND DONT THINK I FORGOT ABOUT SILVER

man looks so much like riku, there just has to be some interaction with him and the mc about it

mc, seeing a sleeping silver: god fucking damn it not again. plz don’t have yellow eyes, plz don’t have yellow eyes—

aaaaaaaa ok it’s past 12 a.m for me, my brain is a mess and my eyes want to get some shut eye so i’m gonna end this here. also, can’t think of more stuff to add :((

if anyone has more things they’d like to chip in, PLEASE do! i want more hcs and shit to add onto this idea of mine

[xerayn]

Day 3- Data @khoc-week

This is my longest one shot and took a while to write! My ocs don't use too much electronics except occasionally texting each other every now and then, so I decided to mix things up a bit and add Daybreak Town to the mix.

Today also includes Crayon, but with her nonbinary twin, Pencil. Story under the cut again

(a really old drawing of Pencil)

Day 3: Data

Crayon and Pencil

Gwynn was used to suffering. She’d been suffering for some time herself, never mind the trials her friends went through. Being forced to fight your twin to death since you could walk. Being used as a slave over and over for people’s selfish demands, no free will to be seen. Having to abandon an innocent life, filled with family and friends, only to face the harsh truths of reality. Being fragged by fate to keep the dark forces at bay, over and over, sacrificing more and more. Gwynn’s own suffering did not really matter in the face of all that. After all, Gwynn created her issues. It was only for herself to blame.

So, when the final large battle at Quadratum had finished, she thought she was finally done with suffering. She could live her life more peacefully. But fate had a break from messing with Sora, Riku, and Kairi and decided to have fun with Gwynn.

It first began when Gwynn went to the Final World for her usual updating of the TransText. The TransText was a device Carla made initially to keep in touch with one another between worlds, but when the Misfits found out about gummiphones being far more efficient, the TransTexts were discared. However, the TransText could do one thing that the gummiphone could not; communicate between different realities (albeit glitchy at times). So, Gwynn kept hers and created a portal to the Final World every week to update it and fix the weekly bugs. The Final World was between the two connected realities after all.

Gwynn reloaded the chat app, and several messages came through, mostly from that morning.

bluestreamer: Morning

                                 Pencil hasn’t woken up yet

                                 I’m boredd

                                 @everyone we should do something together

chattyninja: I’ve been busy but I can do l8r

pinkwhiteblack: love to!!!! :D

secretlyamindreader: @bluestreamer ive been up for the past 2 hours!

                                                 Oh is this more #craynn i see??

charmer: ifweregettingsnacksimin

bluestreamer: What did I say about spaces Sky?!

Gwynn squealed in excitement at the prospect of spending more time with Crayon. Things had been rocky recently, with arguments flaring up between Pencil and Crayon, forcing Crayon to leave the group for a while. But now that was all in the past now. Pencil apologized to Crayon, and Crayon apologized to Pencil.

The TransText beeped once more and with a large goofy grin, Gwynn looked back down while leaning against the white building in the Final World.

destinysembrace: Hiya, we have exciting news!

chattyninja: ooh what is it?

rtodawn: When Aqua and Terra were searching through records to figure out the whereabouts of Sora, an old book was unearthed. It is called the Book of Prophecies, and someone called the Master of Masters wrote it

vacanthearthotel: and u guys noe abt him m ore than us soooo

destinysembrace: Could you come to Radiant Garden some time?

chattyninja: uhhh you know Radiant Garden??

destinysembrace: Yeah, actually it’s my homeworld before I lived at the islands

chattyninja: cool cool cool

destinysembrace: Why d’you ask?

chattyninja: oh no reason.

bluestreamer: You’ve never said anything about Radiant Garden before 8-)

secretlyamindreader: back on topic, we dont know much abt m of m but ill definite come how about the others?

charmer: ifcarlaistherethenofcourse

chattyninja: If I can help in any way I will just as long as others join

bluestreamer: Actually, who knows about MoM??

pinkwhiteblack:... I have a little exp.

dont want to go in2 though

Korynn also knew stuff too, as well as @charmer

bluestreamer: That idiot knows stuff? :O

charmer: ofcourseidoimamazingateverything

secretlyamindreader: when do you want us over

rtodawn: anytime, but today would probably be best

bluestreamer: I’ve got a scheduled stream soon, but four hours time works

secretlyamindreader: ^

chattyninja: ^

charmer: 6

pinkwhiteblack: Ill need to let folk know but otherwise ^

destinysembrace: That works for us too! See you soon :)

Gwynn looked up at the endless blue sky. Once, Gwynn was trapped in the Final World and almost thought she was in heaven. It became a hell for her. But now, it was a place to get away from the monotony of Quadratum.

Master of Masters, huh? I hoped that I didn’t have to deal with you again. I didn’t tell anyone, but I think you orchestrated all the events in Quadratum and caused the clash between Korynn and me again.

Gwynn doubted herself once more. It turned out the person she saved on That Night was none other than the Master of Masters. But should Gwynn have rescued him? Was he actually evil?

Whose side are you on? What’s your plans?

The clouds drifted along, giving Gwynn no answer to her silent questions. She sighed, before looking down at her TransText once more. Gwynn quickly sent a quick text to her dad.

pinkwhiteblack: hi dad, a new thing popped up in the other reality. Gonna be away for the afternoon, hopefully be back for dinner. Tell Fushi Ill bring him along next time

Gwynn tucked away her TransText back into her green bag before removing herself from the building’s wall. She formed a portal in front of her to Agrabah (Pencil and Crayon’s home world) before stepping into it with a sigh.

***

Everyone assembled inside Ansem’s secret lab in Radiant Garden. Sora and Kairi were talking casually in a corner, while Riku was talking to one of the scientists. He had long blonde hair and wore the uniform (Crayon assumed it was uniform) all the scientists wore, a white lab coat buttoned up and a purple puffy tie. Sky and Pencil seemed indifferent to the meeting, while Carla was anxiously pacing around, completely unlike herself. Gwynn was deep in thought all the way to Radiant Garden and seemed unaware of her surroundings.

Another scientist walked into the lab, whose hair was a health and safety nightmare. He had silvery blue hair which completely covered one eye and went down to about his chin, as well as wearing a similar outfit to the other scientist. Carla turned around, saw him, and had a horrified look on her face. She scanned the room quickly and tried to hide. Meanwhile, said scientist stood with an agape face.

“C-Carla?!” He nearly screamed in surprise.

“Hehe… hi Ienzo…” Carla spun around and nervously giggled.

“What are you doing here? Where were you all this time?! Have you been eating ok? Did you have to fight the heartless?!” Ienzo bombarded Carla.

“For the book, in a different world, yep and yep. No time no see.”

“So that’s how Carla became so chatty…” Pencil put their hands to their chin.

“Oh, I recognize you now. Hello Carla. You certainly have grown into an average women.” The other scientist came over too.

“Uh, Carla? How do you know these guys?” Crayon frowned.

“Long story, but I kinda am from Radiant Garden before I found the Star Shard and went world hopping. Never figured out how to get back here until a while ago, and too much time had passed at that stage. It was just easier to never return than trying to figure it all out.” Carla had never looked so sheepish before.

“Well, since everyone’s here, then I’m gonna go in.” Sora lifted a book up and began to open the cover.

“Wait, Sora…! We haven’t finished analysing the data! We don’t know if it’s safe!” Ienzo quickly shouted.

Crayon and Pencil were the closest to Sora and rushed to grab the book. The three of them were touching the book when Sora finished opening it and halted in his tracks. Unfortunately, it was too late and the three of them disappeared into the Book of Prophecies.

Gwynn blinked blankly before looking at everyone else, who were not surprised. “So… is this a thing that happens often or…?”

“It has happened before, but we only know of two examples. They should be fine though,” The other scientist reassured Gwynn. “And excuse my manners. I am Even, formerly Vexen, which I dearly regret. A pleasure to make your acquaintance. I believe you are from unreality?”

“Um, I guess. Although it’s just a different reality.” Gwynn continued to stare at the empty space where Pencil and Crayon were, while the conversation continued.

***

“Woah!” Crayon screamed as she fell through the air. She landed in a heap on the ground while she saw Sora helping Pencil land gracefully on their feet. “Hrgh...”

“Where are we?” Pencil looked around as Crayon slowly groaned to her feet.

“Woops. We’re in the book now.” Sora’s face apologized for him.

“We’re. Inside. A. Book. Why aren’t I surprised?” Crayon sighed exasperatedly.

“Let’s have a look around and try and find a way out?” Sora ran in a random direction. “Come on!”

“He’s even more tiring than Carla…” Crayon face palmed before turning to Pencil. “We better…follow… Pencil, you ok?”

Pencil was clutching their head and slightly bent over. Their eyes were dulled and unfocused, and Crayon instantly knew what happened.

Crayon gently began to shake them. “Pencil. Pencil. They’re just thoughts. You can tune them out like usual. I’m here still.”

Pencil’s voice wavered when they eventually responded, and too quiet for Crayon’s liking. “It’s so loud. Why can’t everything be quiet for once. And why are kids suffering so much…?”

“Tell me what you need, ok? My hatred is paused.”

Crayon looked anxiously around, and saw kids no older than Gwynn wandering into the square area they landed in. They all wore strange combination of clothes, some having red jet packs on their back, or pink frog hats, or even had a pumpkin head. A thing which connected them was how exhausted they all looked, as well as how beat up they were. A thing which looked far too similar to the twins, and brought back unpleasant memories.

“New kids? Here?”

“They look pretty old.”

“I thought Master Ava said only the Dandelions were to flee. I don’t remember them.”

“What union were they in?” The children began to mass whisper to each other, making Crayon uncomfortable.

“We’re going to move to a quieter place, ‘kay?” Crayon grabbed one of Pencil’s arms and slung it over her shoulder before walking away from the whispers.

After only a few hundred steps to a place right beside the water, Pencil looked far better. Crayon unslung their arm and let Pencil lead while she surveyed the surroundings. The buildings were newer fashioned than in Agrabah, although not like Quadratum. They were mostly yellow, with purple designs and purple roofs. The town was pleasant, calm, and Crayon could clearly hear the clear water rushing peacefully. But it was almost too quiet, too nice. It was giving Crayon bad vibes.

She turned back to her twin, who was massaging their temple. “Are you doing better?”

“Yeah. Thanks for the save. You really do care.”

“No I don’t. You’re just the only one who can heal me, is all.” Crayon punched Pencil’s chest gently, pretending to be annoyed.

“Those kids worried me though. From the thoughts I accidentally heard, they… they’re like us. The only way that I can describe what they’re doing is being child soldiers. They collect something called ‘Lux’? And fight constantly to keep on trying to get more and more. They have friends and stuff, but I can see them doing this job all their lives.”

“That’s too twisted… we need to help them.”

“We’re inside a book though. If we mess up the storyline, then we could wreck everything. Unfortunately, I don’t know if we can help.” Pencil rubbed their arm.

“We should at least try!” Crayon exclaimed.

“We need to find Sora, that’s what we should do. We should try and escape.”

“You must remember how our lives were hell when we had to fight everyday! How much we wanted to escape from those lives. And these guys are fighting for much higher stakes! I can’t just sit around and do nothing.” Crayon stood in front of Pencil, blocking their path.

“But-” Pencil began, voice breaking, before a new stranger walked around the corner.

He was still younger than them, but older than the kids at the square. He had short curly hair, almost like a cloud, and wore a short black jacket, white top and grey bottoms. He also wore a bright red scarf which stuck out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of his outfit. Likewise to the other children, he was severely drained of energy but was still smiling.

The stranger spotted Pencil and Crayon and ran over. “Hey, stop fighting! It won’t get you anywhere.”

“Who are you?” Crayon asked at the same time Pencil said, “We weren’t fighting.”

“I’m Ephemer, I don’t think I’ve seen you guys before. Are you Dandelions?” Ephemer tilted his head.

“Um…”

Pencil took the lead. “Yep, yes we are. About to go do our mission and we just wanted to do different ones, that’s all. We better get going.” Pencil began to tug at Crayon’s sleeve, but Crayon did not budge.

“Why… why is everyone overworked? Why is everyone gaining ‘Lux’?” Crayon asked boldly, and Pencil let go of Crayon.

Ephemer sighed. “This will take a little explaining. Let’s sit at the fountain and chat.”

Ephemer led them back to the square, with Pencil giving Crayon a glare. Crayon mouthed a ‘sorry’, but did not look guilty at all.

Ephemer sat at the ledge of the fountain in the middle of the square, barely in a dry spot. The two twins sat to the left of him, while Ephemer took a moment to organise his thoughts. Pencil looked worried, but decided to let Ephemer speak in his own words what was happening.

“You ask why we collect lux? Well, it’s to recreate the world again,” Ephemer sighed before continuing. “A while back, there was a massive war between all of us Keyblade Wielders. There was a traitor amongst the foretellers, and well, the war was the outcome. The whole world was destroyed because of that, and the darkness would rule if nothing happened.

“But Master Ava gathered up the strongest hearts filled with light from all different unions. The Dandelions. We fled before the Keyblade War happened, to here. We now collect lux to restore the outside world, and to preserve the light. Does that make sense?”

“But, the outside world, what is-”

“‘In reality, this place and the worlds connected to this one is all made of data, constructed from the Book of Prophecies,”’ Pencil answered. “‘Most people here had their memories erased about the war from their ‘chirithies’, and think the foretellers are still around. And now, I and four others have to take the role of foretellers and pretend nothing happened.’ Is what you want to say, right?”

“How d’you do that?” Ephemer said with curiosity.

“Just something I can do, don’t worry about it. I don’t mean to do it.” Pencil tried to cover up their mistake.

“Please don’t tell anyone though!”

“Yeah, don’t worry ‘bout it. I’m more worried about you. Are you doing ok? That sounds really tough.” Crayon looked with worried eyes.

“It’s tough, but I’m ok. I’ve got friends who help me out. Anyway, I’ve wasted enough of your time. You should probably get back to whatever world you came from. I know you guys aren’t Dandelions.” Ephemer waved Crayon’s worries away.

“What?! How did you find out?” Crayon was stunned.

“All the missions are over for the day,” Ephemer chuckled. “Also, you were asking questions all the Dandelions already know the answers to. You aren’t dangerous, so I thought I would help out. I had those same questions too once upon a time!”

“Aw dusk. Pencil, I thought you came up with a good excuse!” Crayon sighed in defeat.

“I’m sorry ok! I came up with it on the spot!”

It was at that moment Sora came running back in. “Heya. I found a way out!”

Pencil stood up and ran towards Sora. “Great! We’re coming now.”

Crayon however stayed sitting for a little longer, wanting to say one last thing to Ephemer. “Look. I know I’m a stranger and all, but… just stay sane, ok? This battle will eventually be over. Make sure to rely on your friends, even ones who are annoying. Because it will get worse before it will get better. I have a little experience with things like this.”

“…Thanks.”

Ephemer was deep within thought as Crayon rejoined Pencil and Sora, and Crayon knew she had done the right thing. For there was a glimmer of hope in Ephemer’s eyes that was not there before, and sometimes that was all that was needed to keep on going.

When the three off-worlders popped out of the Book of Prophecies, everyone was relieved. As Sora began to tell his side of events, Pencil looked at Crayon. And Crayon looked back at Pencil. It was only a split second, but Crayon could tell what Pencil was saying.

‘You’re right. Thank you.’

[beastenraged]

the other side of the mirror pt1

@hallowed-nebulae

I stare into the eyes of another me. Another Ruse. 

...how? This shouldn’t be possible, should it? I’m certainly no canon character, not canon enough besides the body I’ve possessed for myself. Not enough to fracture out into different versions of myself.

Yet. Somehow. There’s another Ruse. If her name is even Ruse, or if she’s even a ‘she.’ But if she’s me, we would share that much. Wouldn’t we? 

There’s other people to see, what looks like another Riku with wings. A Dream Eater Riku, most likely. Maybe one that screwed up with handling Sora’s dreams in DDD, why else would he be here? Also, just crowds of people around us. Some familiar, some not. Most I could probably name, if you gave a moment. And maybe a few reminders. Just one or two. 

But none of that is nearly so mind boggling as another Ruse. 

"Riku! Why is there another me!"

And it seems this ‘other me’ agrees. 

That Riku yawns. Looking pretty tired, his tail lashes at the ground. His wings flutter as he blinks open red eyes. Nightmare eyes. 

"Every world has similar worlds to it. Every worldline has another worldline similar to it. There's many Rikus, so it makes sense that there would be more than one Ruse, right?"

But wouldn’t that be really rare? Especially if I don’t exist in a wider canon?

“But Riiikuuu,” she draws out. "Wasn't the whole thing about my worldline the fact that me existing is one of those really rare events?"

Same thoughts that I just had, pretty much. I trace along my face scars, careful not to dig in too deep. It’s kind of scary? Creepy? I don’t know the right words for seeing someone else do exactly what I would do with the Riku I know but being someone else at the same time. 

We’re not the same, even if we were the same person once. It’s like with Harper, the bones that I came from. Our paths have clearly diverged if she’s hanging out in the Mirage Arena still where I am not. 

(Is...Naminé still with her? Is Rook? Has some version of me not ruined everything?)

"What, like Ven being Ven and not some other Ventus?" Vanitas speaks up. He seems very comfortable with other Ruse, sliding up to her. Like a friend. 

“Hey idiot,” she greets him. Her hands are on her hips as she looks him up and down. Focusing more specifically on his leg. "Have you decided if you wanna get Rinoa to heal your leg yet?"

Vanitas hums and smirks. All snarky. "Nah. I'll pass. Scars mean I lived, right?"

Well. He’s not wrong. I fight the temptation to touch my own scars again.

She scoffs. Almost laughs as she shakes her head at him. “You didn't live, you just got your leg ripped off 'cause I had you trapped and you didn't want to admit you were going to lose." 

I know Kairi and Xion are busy being horrified by this. I know this. I turn my head, swallow the bile itching at my throat. They’re horrified by this, and they would be horrified by me because I would do the same. I would laugh too, have laughed about something just like this. 

At least...Xehanort gets it. His hand is on my shoulder. Warm. Comforting. More than it should be, from someone like him. 

Wait...she said something about ripping off Vanitas’ leg. Vanitas...said something about a friend I would like? Like this person who ripped off his leg? Which must mean-

Those jerks! They were totally messing with me! ...I have to admit, that is kind of funny. Thinking about it. Just a little. 

But I’m more interested in staring at my doppelganger, as she stares back. 

She flexes her hands by her side. I want to do the same. I don’t. One of us has to keep to reason here, seem unaffected by this...this...whatever. 

The movement in her hands transforms into a loud clap. I almost flinch. I don’t.

"So! Why are all of you here, anyways? Didn't come for a fight, right?"

Not that I’m aware of. Pretty sure Vanitas wouldn’t mind, it seems raring to go even after the revelation of its near loss of its leg. Kind of makes sense? Vanitas isn’t one to calm down about a fight, whether this version or the version that showed up in the games. Not in real life, not like this. 

The Chirthy of the other Xehanort quickly steps in with a head shake and words of their own. "No fights! Not immediately, at least."

She nods, taking that in. The entire group kind of shifts back and forth, instead of saying anything. C’mon, aren’t we here for a reason? I’m about to say something, when my alternate speaks first. Just as impatient as myself. 

(Some things never change, huh?)

“So...?” She asks, leaving the words dangling. Waiting for us to fill it in, to give up the facts. A familiar tactic. But not one that lasts long, the other Ruse growing impatient enough to ask more as she bounces up and down on her feet. 

"What are you looking for? I'm not in a fight any time soon because Rinoa says I'm not allowed--"

"-- Because you tripped out of the layer last time you were in a fight, I am not putting you and Will in the regular arenas ever again,” the Riku-looking Nightmare inserts dryly. 

Will? I pull my attention to focusing on the other Ruse again, putting whatever that is away for later. Because it couldn’t be the Lingering Will, could it?

"-- so I have the free time to help!" She announces with hands on her hips and a soft smile. A Naminé kind of smile, the one she would always use on me to convince me to talk. 

My fingers do dig into my face at that. Can’t help it. 

Only the flash of another person moving towards us stops me before I burrow in any deeper with sharp nails. 

That’s...that’s another Riku Replica. Some part of me just knows, the rest of me recognizes him from the brief encounters I had with myself before...before I lost him. 

Rook. Rook, Rook, Rook. Oh Rook. 

"Rook! Hey Rook! I'm over here!" She waves frantically to him, calling him over in excitement. 

He hurries over in response and I...I...

As the other Ruse explains to him everything about what she knows right now, what’s going with us visitors, I...I look away. I have to. Because if I don’t move away now, I’ll never take my eyes off Rook. Not my Rook, never my Rook, 

“Ruse...” Xion whispers. She tugs at my wrist. “Are you okay?”

I force a smile on my face. The same soft smile that went on a mirror of my face. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me, we just need to get home. Right?”

She eyes me critically but slowly nods. “If you say so.”

Man, Xion is totally going to talk with me later. Capital T-Talk kind of talk. Annoying, who’s the big sister here? I help her, not the other way around. 

I move closer to Xehanort, out of Xion’s reach. The Xehanort that I know, watching everything in his distracted observer fashion. Completely ignoring how uncomfortable he seems to be making everyone in the process, especially the other Xehanort. 

Everyone but me and the other Ruse, who is really focused on whatever she’s talking about. Guess all Ruses don’t get bothered by Xehanorts, huh? Weird thought. 

"That one's disaster parents." Vanitas says, jabbing a thumb in the direction of his Xehanort.

Wait, they’re talking about something else? What did I miss? And hey, my Xehanort’s looking a little surprised by the revelation that his alternate has parents, peering carefully at the individual in question. Since he’s looking a tiny bit surprised, he must be really surprised. Honestly! 

Crazy to think, such a huge difference. 

The other Xehanort glares at Vanitas as he speaks up to clarify to the interested party. 

"We're looking for Sephiroth. We were doing a medical checkup for Ven and Vanitas, but then we realized we don't really know how mako works, so we're hoping Sephiroth can help us, since he's. . .  y'know. . ."

Huh, that makes sense. If this Sephiroth has a background with Hojo (fuck that dude), of course he would know mako science stuff. Enough to function, at least. 

But Sephiroth? Most likely not actually related, though I’ll keep the possibility in mind that somewhere, somewhen, a Sephiroth helped give birth to a Xehanort. Weird as that may be...

I lean over to whisper in Xeha’s ear. “Probably adopted.”

His shoulders relax, though I’m the only one who could and would notice such a response. He gives me the shortest nod possible. To avoid notice, of course. He hates anyone catching onto possible weakness. 

"I can probably find him," the other Riku says. The Nightmare one. Judging by how nearly everyone else kind of jumps, they forgot he was there. I didn’t. I can’t forget a Nightmare so close, the feel of that heavy Darkness and the gleam of red eyes.

(My mouth waters. I’m so hungry.)

Shake my head. Ignore. Don’t eat people, don’t eat people...honestly, if I was a proper Replica or person or whatever, I wouldn’t be thinking about eating people in the first place. 

It’s the worst, isn’t it? 

Turning my attention to my surroundings always serves as the best distraction, so I decide to do that. Careful to keep close to everyone else, careful to keep an eye out. 

So very different from the Arena I wandered. But that only makes sense, right? Dreams of different universes would be different from what I know, making this Dream-built place different too. Also, I have a strong feeling that a Nightmare that isn’t Ultimecia runs this Arena. No version of me would linger with a Nightmare like that around, threatening to feed me to people. The other Ruse seems to know where she’s going, yet she relies on the other Xehanort for most of her directions. As bad as I am, then. What a weird thought. Again, more similarities than differences between us. 

Would this be more comfortable, if there were more differences? Like between the Xehanort I know and the Xehanort of here that apparently isn’t an orphan?

(I...don’t know. What can I say?)

She rushes up after a...Cloud? From FF7? I think so, at least. Probably. After a lot of time in the crowd. The other Xehanort sighs but doesn’t bother holding her back. Because no one can hold a Ruse back. Ever. 

Well. We’ll see where this takes us. Because I don’t have a plan. 

(I never do.)

[embraceyourdestiny]

Oh my god I just had a thought about Xion.

It’s never really explained why she has such a fascination with shells and yet it’s such a prominent part of not only her personality but also her relationship with Roxas. And we know not every aspect of her personality belongs to her so the place we have to look back to figure out why she likes shells so much is the source; Kairi. Specifically Sora’s promise to Kairi to bring back her lucky charm.

We all know about the legend of the thalassa shells but a reminder doesn’t hurt.

Kairi tells Sora that with the thalassa shells, her, Sora, and Riku will always be together.

Now to Xion. Xion is a creation from Sora’s memories of Kairi, and so often she is represented by thalassa shells, the shells Kairi said would keep her and the others safe and always let them find each other.

When Roxas faints and sleeps for weeks, Xion gives Roxas a thalassa shell and hopes that he’ll wake up soon and that they’ll be together again.

And Roxas returns the favor to Xion when the same thing happens to her.

Remember Sora and Kairi’s conversation after they return from Hollow Bastion, the one where Kairi gives Sora her lucky charm?

I find it so interesting that despite Roxas and Xion coming from Sora and Kairi and obviously paralleling them, they do so in the complete opposite way. Sora and Kairi tell each other they’ll never forget one another, yet Roxas and Xion are forced to. Sora tells Kairi that she helped pull him out of the darkness, yet in all the time they were together the darkness just kept getting worse and worse in Roxas and Xion. Sora says Kairi can’t help because it’s too dangerous, and Roxas and Xion both fight and in the end they end up fighting each other, to the point that Xion dies. “Finally we’re together, Kairi,” when Roxas and Xion were forcibly ripped from each other. It’s like looking into a mirrored image, altered almost beyond recognition, but the most important parts remain, the parts that make both Sora and Kairi and Roxas and Xion the people they are, even if it is in different ways.

The lucky charm means so much to both Sora and Kairi and that importance gets passed onto Roxas and Xion. They don’t want to lose each other and some part of them remembers a promise that they never made and tries their best to keep that promise despite the fact that they never can (in Days, at least.)

If Sora and his friends represent the light in the deepest darkness, Roxas and his friends serve as a reminder that even in the brightest light there will always be darkness, and Xion and Roxas give each other shells because in all the time after KH1, Sora longed to be with his friend again and that longing made its way to Roxas and Xion. Even if they didn’t know why, some part of them didn’t want to lose the other and the shells seemed like a perfect way to keep that promise, because that’s what Sora was trying to do; keep his promise and return the thing that kept him bonded to Kairi back to her.

Additionally, I always wondered what the purpose of this shot in the opening of KH2 was for.

Kairi sits at a beach by herself, playing with her thalassa shell, and the shell gets washed away by the ocean. This scene could obviously represent a lot of things; Kairi losing her memories of Sora, Sora losing Kairi, etc, but it could also represent the loss of Xion. Days takes place before Kingdom Hearts 2, so it’s entirely plausible that even before we knew about Xion we were already being told from the beginning that we were going to lose her. Just like the memories of her in Roxas and Axel’s heart, the thalassa shell gets washed away by the sea, alone and forgotten.

The more you learn and realize about Xion, Roxas, and everything about Days, the more tragic it gets. It’s almost like by having positive experiences, Sora and those he’s connected to condemned those created from them. The things that happen to Roxas, Xion, and Naminé all directly parallel the things that happened to Sora and his friends but on the opposite end, in darkness instead of light. I feel so hard for those three especially, they really didn’t deserve the things that happened to them and did nothing to even cause those things, but at the same time despite actions beyond they’re control they’re still able to use the things from their Others’ lives to help them, like the thalassa shells and drawings of memories, to keep themselves whole.

I’m not sure how much of this stuff is intentional or not but the fun part of kingdom hearts is theory and analysis and sometimes the pieces line up just perfectly to be so deep and it adds to much more to the universe, I love being able to come up with stuff like this so much it’s so fun.

[roxasboxas]

I’m still thinking about the quadruple chaos isekai from last night also ignore the fact that I can’t draw a gun

thoughts under cut

Link’s in the Ginkgo Guild so he wears the Ginkgo Guild Outfit, but the brown accents have been replaced with green because green is the Link Color and I needed him to have a green bandana instead of any other hat for vibes. Also I know canonically his eyes are very blue but I am just TOO attached to them being green, so I compromised. Bluegreen. I’m a genius. He’s short because he’s baby still. Everything happens to him so much he’s not even out of middle school, agewise. Also also he has the master sword still/again/whatever. He’s the hero of time, there’s a time problem, he has his sword. Also there is the little height comparison with Volo at the bottom there because for the first part of the story you would only ever see them together. Volo accidently became a Weird Older Brother and he’s cool with it.

I still haven’t decided if Dawn was the champion or Rowan’s assistant before being eaten by a portal but that’s secondary. She gets her fun lil hair things she had during DPPt and wears her hair and scarf a bit differently from how Akari would. Out of the quartet she’s probably the least okay with this whole thing because she had a family and a job she enjoyed back home and she had very personal and bad experiences with Team Galactic that the other kids lack, so she’d be very hesitant about a lot of what’s going on. Unfortunately, that includes sharing her worries with the other random sky kids, so they just figure she’s shaken from being displaced and misses her life. Her and Sora are pretty close just by virtue of Sora being a friendship juggernaut but she’s glad to know there’s someone else in her same boat, sort of.

Sora adores Zisu. He looks up to her so much as someone who is teaching him things and not making him handle everything on his own, which is an unfamiliar experience for him at least since he got off the islands and everything got Big and Weird and Deadly. She is his idol now. He’s gonna compare Yen Sid to Zisu every conversation when he gets home because Zisu actually helps him with stuff sometimes. Because of this he emulates her a lot, including fashioning his own security corps uniform after hers, especially his shoes. Also as previously stated keyblade machine broke so he gets a regular sword while he’s there. Zisu is really worried about how this particular random sky kid has apparently been tossed around time and space for years before winding up with her and everyone expected him to solve their problems about it. She gives him and Dawn plenty of time to not have to worry about their responsibilities because of this.

Goro got here after being shot and then almost drowning in the ocean so he is not feeling his best honestly. He is canonically both the oldest and tallest so that sticks in the designs here even though I aged up Link and Dawn because their adventures were multiple years prior. He lends Dawn and ear a couple of times because now that Shido’s out of his life he’s trying to figure out how to be a good person, but he’s not really close with anyone for the first part of the story. After Sora and Dawn get kicked out, though, he follows them and actually opens up himself for once. I want to say he almost shoots Kamado for sending a pair of children out to their deaths but I need to think on that one.

[mimiplaysgames]

Terraqua Week Day 6 (Free Day)

Summary: Terra and Aqua are getting married—and Ven is the Bridezilla. || Word Count: 9,058

Read on AO3

A/N: @terraquaweek​ I could have never written this without my dear friend @localcryptideli​. We talked about this wedding years ago, and I promised to write it. It’s here, three years later, blending their headcanons with mine and I couldn’t be more proud of it. <3

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

the threads that tie hearts together

Terra never once considered in his entire life that his wedding preparations would include the perk of mice squeaking in his ear—but he here is, in the tailor’s studio, getting re-fitted for his tuxedo, with Princess Cinderella’s team of seamstress mice on his shoulders, measuring the length of his arms. His muscles were too big for the previous suit. 

Ven refuses to hire a proper tailor, and instead rents out the parlor so the mice could do their work in private.

Lea sits on a nearby bench by the shoe shelves, the top button of his shirt open, jabbing at his Gummiphone. He’s quite popular today, pinged every two minutes. Isa and Roxas share a mirror, trying to get the mechanics of their bow ties right. 

Terra is getting married. 

The thought. Married. Soon. Yes. Damn. He can’t cry right now.

Terra stands in front of a mirror and bends his elbows to see how the fabric moves. The mice are tiny, three of them in skirts. They’ve developed an efficient obstacle course of threads all down his entire body, a network so the mice on the floor can deliver them supplies—spools, sewing needles, thumbtacks, measuring tape—in a jiffy. 

Lea groans, squeezing his Gummiphone. “This twerp is going to turn me into a serial killer.” He yawns, possibly for the fortieth time.

“Not an ill-fitting job, all things considered,” Isa says from across the room.

“I do appreciate your sarcasm.”

“Who’s bothering you?” Terra asks, lifting his collar so the mouse on his left could thread through it with a sewing needle.

Lea snorts, slaps his knee and leans forward. “Did you not know your buddy is a monster?”

“Ven?”

“Oh, he’s a joy.” Lea holds his Gummiphone up as if he’s about to make a speech. “Come help me pick out Aqua’s flowers. Now. If you could.” He glances at Terra, then back at the phone. “He writes that in all-caps.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t mean to be so pushy.”

“The other day, he called me to model the bride’s dress because Miss Aqua couldn’t be bothered to come to the fitting herself.”

“Master Aqua was away on a mission,” Isa explains.

“Isa took photos of me in it—” Lea scrolls through his phone, but stops. “Oh, I can’t show you before...” He clicks his tongue. “It’s very nice. Very bridal.”

Terra is sure that’s true, but the image of Ven hanging his head so much on someone else’s wedding is worrisome. Last night, he fell asleep at dinner. “I think Ven is taking on too much stress.”

“Lea,” Roxas says, snorting a chuckle and giving up on his bow tie, “you should show him the texts.” 

“Gladly.” Lea stands to shove the Gummiphone into Terra’s face. Out of the history, a couple of messages stand out.

Ventus

I got 500 cake flavors come taste them with me

Ventus

Which cologne do you think terra should wear

COME SMELL 

i need a second opinion

Ventus

Do you have aqua’s flowers yet?

remember 

we want orange roses and bluestars

Ventus

Aqua isnt here im freaking out

Youre closest to her body type

HELP

After all that, Terra feels as though he’s being watched by several microscopic eyes. One of the mice squeaks with urgency, and he straightens one of his arms. “I don’t know what to say... Why doesn’t he talk to me directly?”

Lea purses his lips as though this is a secret not worth sharing. Roxas is the one to step forward, a knowing grimace plastered on his face.

“He told me that he doesn’t want to bother you with anything.”

That doesn’t sound entirely false but not true either.

“That’s ridiculous.” Terra tests the bend of the elbow to fiddle with his bow tie. It’s already done but something about it doesn’t sit right. “He could come to me for anything,” he says with a low voice, wondering if there’s something he’s missing. Terra has also been a mess. He’s getting married. Holy stars. 

Isa huffs out of frustration, turning away from the mirror, his bow tie undone. He studies Terra’s suit. “I don’t like it.”

His straightforwardness is well appreciated. Aqua would probably smirk at the sight of it and stare at his neck the entire ceremony. “I don’t either,” Terra says.

“Smart man.” Isa smirks, and tugs Terra’s bow tie to undo it. “Let’s change it.”

Lea snorts. “You might want to ask permission from he-who-shall-be-slapped.”

“It’s my wedding,” Terra says.

“So you think.”

He-who-may-be-slapped enters the tailor’s parlor through the front entrance, announced by the bell of the ring. He’s perfectly dressed in his ringbearer’s/best man’s/maid of honor’s suit, vest fitted, bow tie sublime, sleeves coiffed. He sees what Isa is doing. He gapes.

“Hey guys,” Ven asks with a frustratingly shaky voice. “What are we doing?”

“They are unbecoming,” Isa answers, wrapping a traditional tie around Terra’s neck.

“Oh.” 

Sometimes, speaking to Isa is like getting clocked in the stomach. By the looks of Lea’s expression, chewing on the edge of his Gummiphone, it’s well deserved.

“Okay,” Ven says, with a tight smile. He takes the tie from Isa’s hands. “Do they match?”

“A hello would be less rude,” Terra says. “Hi, Ven. Can we talk?”

Ven glances up. “Later. There’s lots to do.”

Lea inhales sharply. “Hey, Ven. Here’s an idea. Did you know you could tame cicadas to sing in harmony on command?”

Ven whips his head around. “You can?”

Isa brings a hand up to hide a smirk and Lea passes him a subtle wink.

“Picture it.” Lea opens his arms. “From nine until eleven at night, they gather in the bushes. They mutter, a light dusting of atmosphere on a peaceful summer night.”

Ven’s eyes grow wide with obsession. 

Roxas comes near. “You can also make them glow.”

“Like stars in the bushes,” Ven whispers to himself.

“Come on, guys,” Terra says, unimpressed. “Leave him alone. We’ve got better things to do.”

Ven snaps himself out of it, but not before pulling out a notepad and writing notes. He eyes Terra over, nudging him to open his arms and pinching the sides of the suit. Ven draws them in by the measure of a finger and pulls pins out of his pocket, like he’s been expecting to use them, and marks their places. “Jaq Jaq,” he calls, “where’s Suzy? We need to make sure these ties look right. Oh, and we need two extras—we have to ship some to Riku and Sora.”

Some mouse squeaks in reply.

“I can help her carry things.” Ven gives a flash of a smile and then hurries off.

Out of earshot, Lea gives Terra a look. “Anyone able to talk to mice is a crazy person in my book.”

Terra glares back and quotes, “‘You could tame cicadas to sing on command?’”

“He needs something to obsess over. How else am I going to get peace?”

“This is going to bite you in the ass,” Roxas says, wrapping his new tie over the neck and having a much easier time.

“Ventus may very well task you with hunting and gathering the cicadas,” Isa says, a tie already in place, immaculate. 

Lea groans and Terra feels it’s well deserved. 

Well deserved… the suit may be. The future wife, maybe not. The suit is a glove for every finger with no excess. It makes him a good-looking groom, a nice addition to the closet for any special occasion. The bride is beautiful, no matter what she wears. She is loyal, patient, strong, intelligent, loving, funny when she’s stern, too good for him, a divine gift he didn’t earn and he still can’t understand how she said yes.

“I hope you’re laughing at the face of my misery,” Lea says.

Terra knows that’s sarcasm. Weddings are headaches, emotions are terrifying and Terra needs Aqua like a sip of medicinal tea to calm down.

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

The others squeal when they walk into Le Grand Bistro. It’s sunset, the city lights already ignited and giving it the glow of evening fairies welcoming the moon. They’ve just discussed dresses—Xion requests a pantsuit instead, which looks stellar—and they can choose their own styles so long as they all wear the color of night. Simple, elegant. That’s the kind of effect Aqua prefers. Thank goodness they’re almost done. Aqua couldn’t handle more hands in her hair and she rejected the flower crown that would have come down on one side to compensate for the lack of length. 

She fiddles with the ring—a thin, intricate design weaved around a small, blue stone—as a waiter escorts them to the kitchen. On days when she doesn’t have missions, she wears it.

Aqua is getting married. Some part of her wonders about the surreality of it, like it’s a dream or a picture she created in her mind when she was a child, at the altar with a faceless person next to her. Sometimes, it feels like she is already married. Terra has always been with her. Every day in class. Every day strolling through the woods. Every day sparring, sharing meals, bickering and laughing. Her best friend, her confidant, her rock.

There is something about nearly dying that challenges perspective. When they both thought they’d never see each other again, it made them realize there’s more to it and there’s been more to it for years. The emotional intimacy that strengthened after the fact. The physicality of it, when he takes her to bed. They argue differently, they laugh the same. Terra has always been with her, so what is the difference between being with him and being married to him? A part of her is eager to find out. The other is already at peace, a kind of joy Aqua has always wanted.

Ven is in the kitchen, talking with Remy (responding to Remy, who is naturally unintelligible). Plates of cake pieces sprawl out on the table, eliciting oohs and aahs from the others, all patient like they’re waiting for Aqua’s permission to take a small bite.

Aqua reads through the description of flavors—strawberry, fudge, angel food cake with blueberries, red velvet, even coffee. “The one we requested isn’t here.”

“You mean…” Ven pulls out his notepad and looks through his notes. Remy climbs onto Ven’s head, squeaking and pointing to a bowl of flour and eggs, unmixed. “Dark chocolate and rum?”

“That would be correct.”

“A spicy cake? Are you insane?” At his shock and at Aqua’s denial, Kairi helps herself to a spoonful of vanilla. “This is a wedding, not a club!”

“My wedding, Ven.” Aqua isn’t annoyed, but amused. Ven has such strong opinions about for some reason. 

“Try this one.” He holds up a plate of a decorated piece that honestly looks delicious. “Triple chocolate, with the rarest berries found in the woods, matured at thirty-five degrees Celsius for a week.” 

“Burnt cake?” Kairi asks with a smirk.

“Not the cake, the berries.” 

“Oh,” Xion gasps, with need in her eyes. It takes a nod from Aqua to grab a fork and have at it. She approaches each piece with so much excitement— Aqua wonders if there are flavors here she’s never tried before in her short life. 

“What will the final cake look like?” Naminé asks, the only one not to dive forward. She’s so gentle, so serene. When they were trying out dresses, everyone was saying what a beautiful bride she’ll be one day if she chooses. 

“Perfect,” Ven says, like it’s the most obvious thing. “It has to be perfect so it will look beautiful. Painted like a night sky, with stars everywhere. You got that, Remy?”

Remy glares at Ven.

“I want,” Aqua starts, and when Ven frowns, she smirks. Sometimes, for the sake of maintaining control, she has to play dirty. “Rosewater and cardamom.” 

Ven sticks his tongue out in disgust.

“Terra needs something to enjoy,” Aqua insists. “These are all too sweet for him.”

“Terra is the bane of my existence.”

“By the way, I don’t know if I want King Mickey and Queen Minnie to officiate.”

“You are way more difficult to deal with.”

Aqua and Ven have a staring contest as the others talk about their favorite flavors. Ven, a glare, a challenge to outwit her. Aqua, a calm knowing that she’s going to win. Ven relents.

“Fine,” he stresses. “Remy, change of plans. We’ll need some damage control. Let’s add some”—he writes into his notepad—“fruit pastries, sweet cheese with chocolate—”

“Triple chocolate,” Kairi adds.

“Custard and kiwi,” Xion says.

“All good choices.” Ven writes them down.

“Sea salt ice cream?” Naminé says, lifting a shoulder. “Everyone else eats them, I hope to try some.”

“Ven.” Kairi slams a hand on the table. “You need to add marshmallows covered in hazelnut and chocolate.”

“We need all the chocolate,” Ven agrees. “Call it revenge on this nasty cake.”

Kairi cackles, but it’s nothing malicious. They’re young and excited about the wedding, their suggestions a way of helping. Aqua takes it all in stride. The small details don’t matter, only the intent, and letting friends have fun deciding makes the entire process easier. What’s bothering her is Ven. He’s exhausted from taking it all too seriously. Aqua assumes the best intentions, but she doesn’t get it.

“You know what would be really cute?” Xion says. “Little petit fours shaped in your symbols.”

Ven blinks. “What symbols?”

“Oh, the Keyblade Master symbols.” Naminé claps her hands. “That would be so lovely.”

“In different colors,” Xion says.

“Each a different flavor,” Naminé adds. “Maybe the same colors as your Wayfinders?”

“You two are geniuses.” Ven taps his notepad. “Remy, we gotta get to work.”

Remy stomps a paw and squeaks vigorously.

“No worries. You’ll get paid.” Though it seems that’s the last thing on Remy’s mind.

“Ven,” Aqua says softly, pulling him aside as the others brainstorm ideas. “I don’t think we can afford all this.”

“Sure you can,” he says too confidently, though she and Terra were the ones to save up their munny. “Don’t worry,” he stresses when she’s not convinced, giving her a squeeze on the arm. “You asked me to bookkeep your finances” 

“Reminder that I did not ask you to take full responsibility. Remy can’t do all of this alone, he’s going to need you.”

“I’ve got plenty of time, and we’ve got plenty of budget.”

Aqua does not know how that is possible. After the dresses, the refitting of Terra’s tux, the decorations… sure, since they’re using the ballroom in the Land of Departure, they saved on not having to rent out a venue, but the original plan was to have a small, intimate wedding in the woods, something private with just the three of them, minimal decorations necessary, all plucked from nature. 

All of this is out of their price range.

Ven goes back to the table, back to the stovetop and oven where he follows Remy’s instructions and mixes the flour in the bowl with some milk. He doesn’t assuage her at all, like he knows something she doesn’t.

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

Home should be a solace but not when it’s the wedding rehearsal. 

Ven has ushered in movers from different worlds to carry in artifacts, all decorations, all star-themed. Terra has yet to see the ballroom, but the amount of people rushing through the hallways makes him nervous. 

Ever since Terra called Riku in the dead of night (in a panic, needing someone to talk to, alone in the kitchen with a cracked mug of tea), blabbing about tripping on the way to the altar, or cutting the cake clean through the table, or stepping on linen and ripping the curtains, or dropping his plate of food, or looking like an idiot on the dance floor, or worse—forgetting his vows—he hasn’t lived a moment of peace. Sora won’t let him. 

Terra finds it hard to breathe. What if he chokes on his vows and accidentally offends everyone?

He stays far away from the workers—it’s for the best. No one needs a huge bull stampeding in a china shop, destroying everything.

Lea crosses the hallway on his sixth trip and enters one of two entrances to the ballroom, vases of flowers in his hands. Terra peeks. From the looks of it, Ven did a fantastic job. 

The ballroom, once gold, now looks like the set of night. The ceiling is covered in blue with twinkling lights. The table linens are also dark, with napkins and silverware sets a solid gold. Glass windows that take up one entire side to the ballroom are bare of curtains—the wedding is planned for after sunset so they’d be declaring their vows under the stars. Two navy blue carpets come in through both entrances of the ballroom, meeting in the middle and then straight to the altar at the far end. The point is for him and Aqua to enter together, like equals. With her in a bridal dress, she’ll look like a light in the darkness.

Through the doorway, Terra can see Riku and Sora, the latter making motions with his arms as if he’s flapping like a bird. Terra lets the door close so they don’t notice him. 

There are fears he’s never voiced.

What if she realizes she doesn’t want to get married to him after all? At the altar no less?

Oh stars, what if he makes a terrible husband? 

What if he neglects her?

What if, years down the road, she realizes after a slowly oncoming epiphany that she isn’t happy and regrets it?

Tonight is the party, tomorrow is the wedding, and Terra still has no vows. He pinches his nose hard enough to distract him from crying. He’s already cried five times in the arc of three hours.

Footsteps—light, brisque, confident, hers—approach him, and Terra embraces her in his arms, taking her in with a needy kiss. She smells like home, she lets him breathe again. 

“You look like you’re about to fall apart,” she says, stroking a thumb on his cheek.

“Not if you’re my glue.”

She snorts, smacking him on the bicep. “What did I say about the puns?”

“Shower you with them.”

He kisses her before she can roll her eyes—

—and gets interrupted the moment Ven peeks out of one door. 

“What’s with the hold-up?” he says.

Terra breaks from the kiss, casually noticing how Aqua is patting his shoulder, as if to warn him. “What’s with your attitude?”

Ven pouts like he’s about to choke and slaps the notepad to his forehead. “No one listens to me. I said baby blue and champagne on the napkins, all shaped to form the constellation of Juno… and they gave me yellow. I am gonna complain so much.”

“There are worse things?” Terra says and Aqua shakes his shoulder as another warning. 

Ven snaps his eyes open. “Get into position, we’re starting.”

Aqua stands behind one door and Terra goes to the other, waiting for the cue to enter. On the other side, Ven is speaking out loud, organizing people and where they should stand. Grooms and bridesmaids will enter the altar from behind and gather together, leaving the carpet only for the star couple (no pun intended). He interrupts himself, raising his voice about vases that match too much and Terra can imagine him pointing across the room.

“I have to tell you something,” Aqua loudly whispers from the other side of the hall. 

Terra runs to her and wraps an arm around her waist. Touching her is a panacea. Despite knowing there is still a possibility she’ll rethink this entire relationship, it seems unreal, like a nightmare.

“It’s about Ven,” she continues, keeping her voice low even though they’re the only ones in the hall.

“Lea threatened to slap him.”

She frowns.

“What’s wrong?” he asks.

“Don’t you think it’s too expensive?”

“I don’t know. Ven doesn’t tell me how much anything costs.”

“It’s way more than we have saved up.”

Terra gapes. “Then how—?”

Aqua stammers, fiddling with her fingers. “I looked into his books.”

Terra melts into a breath-heavy laugh, careful to keep his voice out of it. “Reading people’s diaries? Aqua, I thought I knew you better.”

She blushes. “I didn’t mean to, but I was worried.” Now Terra is worried. Her expression is too serious. “Ven has been doing side-missions and hustles for months just to earn enough to hire the best chefs and tailors, to buy linens and all these flowers and carpets—” 

“He wouldn’t.”

“He did.”

“Why?” 

“I think it’s because he wants us to be happy.”

“We are.” Terra doesn’t appreciate how he doesn’t sound confident, scared he’s assuming too much on her behalf. “How could he just…”

“We were stuck in darkness for so long and he couldn’t help us.”

“But that’s not his fault.”

“He feels he is the weakest and wants to compensate.” Aqua grimaces and she blinks back tears. 

“I feel so guilty.”

“I feel worse.”

“Why?”

Aqua bites her lip. “I’m still attached to the idea of a small, intimate ceremony in the woods. Just the three of us. Does that make me a horrible person?”

“No. Our wedding has become a spectacle. Maybe pointing that out makes me terrible, too.”

She groans. “I found a book. I left it in your room. It’s very last minute, but there are some ancient rituals in there that I found so beautiful… the exchanging of rings is beautiful, too, but modern and there are some lost traditions from our Keyblade history that I’d love to do instead... if you could take a look?” 

The way she smiles, stars. Ancient, modern, he’d do anything for her. “Sure. I’ll read it tonight.”

Aqua winces. “He’ll be so angry with us.”

Terra squeezes her hand. “He wants us to be happy. Think about that.”

One of the doors burst open, and Lea sticks his head out. “Kindly stop being an ass and don’t keep your guests waiting anymore?”

They start: Terra at one entrance, Aqua on the other, entering the ballroom at the same time, where guests will watch them approach one another, like the shadow of the moon to a star. They meet at the point where their lanes merge into one. 

Terra offers his arm—

“Nonono,” Ven warns, running up to them. “You can’t meet her like this. You must bow at a forty-degree angle.” Ven scans the room frantically. “Here, I have a ruler.”

After that hiccup, Aqua finally takes Terra’s arm, walking down the single aisle, where guests can ogle at them. Their groomsmen and bridesmaids take pictures with their Gummiphones for their arrival at a wall of flowers. 

Sora has his hands behind his head and snickers when they reach the end. “I made sure the carpet is ironed out so she doesn’t fall with you.”

“I’m going to kick you in the shins,” Terra says.

He snorts and wipes his nose. “I’ll kick you back.”

At the altar, Ven is too excited to stop rambling. “We have to make sure that you arrive here, at this spot, at exactly nine-thirty so we can finish the vows at ten because...” He frames the windows with his hands. “We’ve got a perfect spot for star sighting so we need to be on time.”

“Do you mean, right after the wedding ceremony?” Aqua asks. 

“Before the reception, yup. We’re walking out to the balcony, we’ll watch the meteor shower where a new world will be born, then we’ll come back in for supper and dancing.” When he notices their stupefied faces, he continues, “I spent three weeks finding the right angulations so you can witness a unique astronomical event, and we’ve got a miracle of a spot right here so we can’t be late.”

“It’s a wonderful thought, Ven,” Aqua says, her voice shaky.

“Okay, now you get into position and face each other.” He points and they follow. “Next, Mickey and Minnie will talk some stuff, you know, all official, and then you say your vows.”

Terra freezes up. “Our vows.”

“Yeah. That’s what I said. You ready?”

Terra hesitates and Aqua speaks for him. “We’re keeping those a secret until tomorrow.”

Ven pauses, then shrugs. “Fair enough.”

Aqua doesn’t let Terra have another thought, leaning forward to kiss him in front of everyone (aahs and awws elicited), and ending the rehearsal.

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

“How do you get your skin so clear?” Kairi asks, though the warm glow of the fire makes for spectacular lighting. 

They’re camping in the woods near the waterfall, equipped with warm blankets and pillows, a bowl of cookies, and toasted marshmallows on sticks; Aqua’s vision of a bachelorette party. No gifts necessary.

“Mountain spring water does wonders for you,” Aqua says.

“I’ve read in a magazine,” Xion says, crawling out of her sleeping bag, “that some people like to put mud on their faces to get clean skin.”

“Why?” Naminé asks, chewing on a marshmallow.

“Something about the properties. Lots of good minerals.” She walks over to the creek, digging her hands into the dirt and smashing it into her face against the shocks and cries of the other girls. “If mountain water is good for you, then that must mean this mud is magical.” 

“Is that true?” Kairi says, though she’s asking no one. She hurries over and joins in on the mud-mashing, running fingers over Xion’s face in places she’s missed.

With globs of mud in their hands, they bring over the excess to the camp. 

Xion offers it to Aqua. “For beautiful skin on your special day?”

“It’s our job to pamper,” Kairi says with her hands out so that Naminé can scoop up the mud on her own. 

Aqua tries not to chuckle too loudly. It’s adorable. “Okay,” she says, and Xion gets to work, massaging it into her skin. It smells unpleasant, earthy and mukky. She closes her eyes and tries to relax regardless.

“I think we’re supposed to keep it on our faces for at least a half hour,” Xion says, rubbing more on Aqua’s nose. 

“This will make us prettier?” Naminé asks.

“Cleaner,” Kairi says. 

Naminé blinks, already covered in the mud and hesitating to put on more. “But we look dirty,” she says quietly.

“Can I request something, Miss Aqua?” Xion says, patting her fingers onto Aqua’s forehead.

“Certainly.”

“Can you tell us the story of how Terra proposed?”

Kairi jumps and squeals, and Naminé claps her hands, both of them chattering please, please, we’re dying to know.

“We’re around a fire,” Kairi says, as if that’s a convincing argument. “We’re supposed to tell stories.” 

“I feel bad for asking,” Naminé says. “You’re very private, and I don’t want to intrude…”

Aqua reads her face. “But you’re curious.”

Naminé pouts. Xion’s eyes go wide, and Kairi nods excitedly. Everyone is guilty as charged.

“It’s a simple story, I guess,” Aqua says, crossing her legs and watching the fire. It’s not often that she talks so openly about the details of her relationship. The two of them together is something people know, but never knowing where they come from and why, except for Ven—even then, there’s so much he never pries to. Watching their reactions is a little overwhelming. She rubs the stone on her ring. “Terra made the engagement ring with his own hands, but he took months to propose.”

“I remember that,” Xion says, sitting on her chair and smiling. “It annoyed Lea so much that he offered to set you both up just to get it over with.”

Aqua laughs. “I’m grateful we had it to ourselves.”

“Was it romantic?” Kairi asks.

“Not at all. I… knew he was up to something. I know him.” She lifts a shoulder. “He was burning breakfast too often, he couldn’t look me directly in the eye, and he left on his own to do more missions than usual. I took that as though he had done something wrong. The last time he was that clumsy and avoidant, it was because he accidentally cast Firaga in the library and was trying to hide it. Or when he broke the oven. Or when he offered to do my laundry but didn’t know how to treat my fabric and ruined my clothes.”

“He sounds like a clumsy oaf,” Kairi says.

That makes Aqua smile. She loves that oaf. “He is. The general rule of thumb is that a clumsy, avoidant Terra is usually hiding something.”

“So how did the proposal happen?” Naminé asks.

“I cornered him—”

Kairi snorts.

“—and he blurted it out.”

They giggle, Kairi acting out how that may have looked and Naminé holding her hands over her heart in a show of genuine affection. 

Aqua smiles to herself, a finger to her lips. It might be her favorite memory, her standing her ground and demanding to know what was going on. 

Terra, looking all around the terrace except for her face, guilty, guilty, guilty, pulling a box out of his pocket and stammering for a cohesive sentence. Well, I don’t know what to say, he had said, like a child getting grounded. I-I’m sorry. I’m dumb, I’m a big lump of a human being. He paused, his cheeks rounding up like he was about to vomit. Will…will you marry me, anyway?

It felt like racing in a train and pulling all the stops, crashing. He got red in the face, tears welling in his eyes and she realized he took her silence as rejection. Aqua had to hold his forearms, and all she could utter was a soft, I genuinely thought you burned down a building.

Terra’s eyes went wide. Do you mean you’re not mad?

Of course not. Why would I be?

So… He licked his lips, reaching for her but not touching her, forgetting that he had the box with the ring inside. What do you say? I mean, you don’t have to give me an answer straight away. I mean, I just thought you would… you know… because… He sighed. Yeah.

Aqua finally laughed, and kissed him on the cheek. Of course I will marry you, you beautiful dork.

The laughter quiets around the fire. They’re waiting for Aqua to continue her story.

“Then he drops the ring.”

They howl, melting into a blissful exchange of cheers and gossip, a vibrant hearth brighter than the one keeping them warm. 

“I had hoped to propose first, actually,” Aqua continues. She shrugs. “The end.”

“That was beautiful,” Naminé says, wiping her eyes.

“If Sora hears about this, he’ll never leave Terra alone,” Kairi says, grinning something mischievous. 

“I don’t know what love is supposed to look like,” Xion says thoughtfully, gazing at the sky. “But it sounds sweet.”

In Aqua’s opinion, the proposal was perfect, him scattered on the ground frantically searching for the ring, her on her knees helping him. How he slipped it on her finger, how they kissed for an hour in the dirt, unaware that they were dusty, unaware that anyone else existed in the world. 

Aqua nods, mostly to herself. It aches to be away from Terra tonight but it burns her insides to see him tomorrow and finally do this. Aqua wants to sleep and get this night over with but she doesn’t want to sleep so she could see the sunrise, knowing he’d be up early watching the same thing.

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

Bachelor parties aren’t fun.

Sora is whooping about a cannonball, the water splashing when he makes contact. Ven and Roxas race to the lake, testing who will be the first to dive, the first to swim across and come back. Considering the expanse of the surface area, they’ll be gone for a while and the barbecue will get cold, but maybe it’s for the best. It’s not the right time to talk to Ven right now, not when all of them have a moment of fun (except for Terra, the only one here thinking about tomorrow). Lea and Isa prefer to relax, sipping drinks on their chairs by the lanterns erected onto the sand, speaking quietly about memories, about chores, about home and what ifs. 

Terra sits by himself, the thin booklet Aqua gave him on his lap, tucked under layers of parchment. It’s titled The Way, no author. She was right: old Keyblade rituals are interesting, almost possessive, their focus on the literal binding of hearts. They’re from the Age of Fairytales, and Terra realizes as he reads through it that ancient Keyblade wielders were for some reason obsessed with the loss of memory and the prevention of it. The rituals sound painful, too—maybe Aqua has developed a mild taste of macabre from her time in the Realm of Darkness. 

All Terra has left to do are his vows. His stupid, dorky-sounding vows. He should have accepted the simple, “I do.” He shouldn’t have waited until the last minute.

He’s tried dramatic.

You are my other half, my heart, my breath of life, my sky, my angel, can we keep our souls together? 

He’s tried poetic.

The mountain will thirst if not for the water— 

He’s tried being honest.

I don’t know why you love me, but I’ll do my best to make it up to you.

All dumb.

Terra groans into his hands, eyes wide in existential blunder. 

“Keep doing that,” Riku says, setting a chair next to him and sitting down, “and you won’t be able to blink again.”

“I’m not finished.”

“But if you don’t sleep, then you’re more likely to have accidents.”

Terra gapes and almost whacks Riku on the side of the head from the sight of his constricted smirk. “You’re so mean. I called you one time.”

“In a huge panic talking about causing mass destruction of a wedding the worlds have never seen.” Riku shrugs nonchalantly. That’s his state of being—too cool for anything, too sensitive for everything. It’s refreshing. “It was the funniest phone conversation I’ve ever had.”

“I’ll never call you again.”

“Not in the middle of the night, please no.” Riku bites a forkful of steak. “Is it cliché to tell you to speak from the heart?”

“This entire conversation is cliché, but here I am, living it out.” Terra stares at his messy pages, where he pressed the pen so hard that it left ink blots.

“You could do the very committal thing and tell her you love her fifty times.”

“All the guests would leave by the time I reach twenty-five.”

“More like fifteen.”

“Ten.”

“Disaster.”

Terra grimaces, not entirely comforted, but not entirely anxious anymore, either. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

“It is a big deal, I’ll give you that,” Riku says, more serious. “I don’t have any advice.”

“None of it makes sense. Be honest, but not too honest. Be loving, but don’t make it cheesy. Express yourself, but hold back on certain things. Do make it personal. Don’t expose personal details. How am I supposed to know how to do it right?” 

It would be easier if there are no witnesses. If it’s just Ven, if Aqua is the only person he’s talking to, if he could simply say, You’ve been my best friend for as long as I can remember. I know I’ve fucked up. For as long as I live, I’ll never do that again. I will never take your forgiveness for granted.

And if she doesn’t want to be with him anymore, there’d be nothing he could say to make her stay.

“I think if Aqua was the kind of person who expected you to do it right,” Riku says, looking out to the lake where Ven and Roxas are swimming back to their shore, “you wouldn’t be marrying her.”

Terra bends the pages, exposing the cover of the thin, leather bound booklet. There are no vows he could use in there, except for the officiator declaring their hearts intertwined. “Thank you,” he mumbles.

“Sorry I can’t be of more help.” 

Riku pats him on the shoulder and leaves him alone to take a walk, Sora begging him to enter the water. Terra flips to a page where he’s repeated I love you, I love you all over, each in different calligraphy, like doodling, like losing his mind and procrastinating the night away, hoping that any moment, inspiration would drop bricks on him.

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

It’s time.

The strangest part of the day is waiting it out in her bedroom until it’s her turn to show herself. Over the years, her bedroom has been a reflection of her personality. The cleanliness, the artifacts from her home world long ago, the size of the bed, the furniture—they all stayed the same. What’s come and gone were the paint colors, the bedsheets, the art on the wall, the smaller vanity mirror. Her bedroom is her old life, and she sits in front of the mirror in her bride’s dress, about to start a new one. For now, they both collide, as though her childhood doesn’t know her.

The cape dress is simple, plain white with the neck scooped across the collarbone. The sleeves slit at the shoulders, draping over to the floor with the rest of the train. Aqua couldn’t have asked for something better. She completes the look with the ring, a jeweled hair pin on one side, and an armored choker. Makeup is minimal. 

Aqua is surprisingly calm and the sun is going down. 

Her Gummiphone buzzes with a text message.

Terra

Let’s do it

Aqua sighs, not texting back immediately.

Aqua

I don’t want to break Ven’s heart

Terra

I’ll talk to him

We can both get what we want

I already stole some flowers from the wall

Don’t think he notices

She chuckles, moving a hair strand behind her ear. She hasn’t noticed that her stomach has been a knot, from excitement, from nerves, from anticipation. The sun takes so long to set. Terra is the warmth of a tight blanket.

Aqua

Will this label me as a runaway bride?

Terra takes a long time to answer, giving her the impression that he must have been distracted and forgot to reply. 

It buzzes.

Terra

The shame

Aqua

What will they think when they find out the groom seduced her to it

Terra

The scandal 

when they hear how she met him secretly at the creek 

an hour before the ceremony

It sounds like an action plan. Aqua picks up her bouquet of orange roses and bluestars from her vanity table, heading out the door.

Aqua

I want Ven there

Terra

Definitely

I love you

Aqua

I love you too

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

Terra finds Ven in the dining room, taking inventory of an indulgement of sweets and a feast of meats, fritters, and rice. The wedding cake is as tall as his body, a dark blue with smacks of gold glitter in the shapes of galaxies, large stars framing each layer, and topped with two halos. Ven is mostly dressed in his vest and tie, the suit missing. By comparison, Terra is overdressed, a groom ready for his encore.

Ven sighs when he sneaks a cookie the shape of the Keyblade Master symbol into his mouth, as though Terra’s presence reminds him of disappointment. 

“I couldn’t tame the cicadas,” he says morosely, like he’s apologizing, and for a moment Terra second-guesses what he’s about to do. Ven eyes the white rope curled around Terra’s shoulder. “What’s that for?”

“This may either cheer you up or piss you off,” Terra says, dropping The Way on the counter.

“I don’t like how you said that.” As Ven flips through pages, he frowns, chewing on the side of his lip. “Are you... not happy with the wedding preparations?”

Terra inhales, caught off guard. “Of course I am. Happy, I mean. It’s… huge. It’s a giant ordeal.”

“And you don’t like that,” Ven says quietly, stroking one of the pages with his thumb.

“I think there are things we’ve always wanted to have privately.” Terra sits on a stool, but Ven won’t look him in the eye. “And we want you to be there. We can do it now. We’ll be back in time for our guests.”

The booklet shakes in his hands. “I messed up.”

“From my point of view, I’ll be eating very well tonight. There’s nothing to compensate for.”

Ven closes the book. “I just wanted to do a good job.”

“If you allow Lea to slap you, he’ll forgive you.” Terra smiles, but Ven doesn’t join him. “We’re still doing your grand ceremony—that, we could never pull off on our own. But we also want something tiny and ours, and we won’t do this without you.” Terra takes Ven’s hand and squeezes it, before glancing at the cake. “I hope it’s delicious.”

“It’s disgusting so you’ll definitely like it.”

“See, I can always count on you.” Terra stands up. “Now come on. You wouldn’t want us to be late for the bride.”

Terra takes him to the creek, not far from where Aqua hosted her bachelorette camp, where the sound of rushing water is gentle and the creek splits into two directions, one that would drip off the side of a cliff and one that would join a massive river downstream. The trees huddle close in the clearing, a soft shadow from the fierceness of the setting sun, like a pocket of protective magic in the middle of the forest. 

Ven gasps. “You stole my flowers.”

“Please, you didn’t even notice.” Terra had built an easy wooden arbor before the crack of dawn that morning, an arch weaved with orange and blue flowers, spotted every so often with green lilies. He showered right after so no one would suspect.

“Let’s take it over there.” Ven points to a short boulder against a tree nearby, a good photo op. They pluck the arbor up from both sides and plant it in front of the boulder. Ven takes stock of the sight. “Not bad.”

“Thanks!”

“I take credit for the choice of flowers.” Ven rolls the rope into a tight circle, layering it on the boulder with each loop in equal circumference. He splays the book open and studies. “It’s kinda creepy,” he says though he gets no response and he doesn’t ask for one.

Terra shoves his hands into the pockets of his tuxedo and waits. Aqua isn’t here yet. The vest constricts his breathing, the thicket suddenly feels humid, and Terra wipes his cheek, realizing that his heart is beating fast. Time sped up to this moment and dropped him here without warning. Now it’s slowing down out of pure, unjustifiable spite to torture him in the final hour. 

“You okay, dude?” Ven asks.

Terra lifts his face to the sky to keep the tears in his eyes. “If I cry now, I think I’ll cry for the rest of the night.”

Ven snorts. “No one would be surprised, trust me.”

But it’s not working. He’s two seconds from sobbing. “I don’t know. I…” He scoffs. “I can’t believe it’s happening. I’m expecting her to never show up or brush me off last minute when she realizes what we’re doing—”

“No.” Ven approaches Terra like he’s about to punch him in the stomach to make a point. “Don’t think like that, she’d never do that.” 

Ven has good faith and better timing. Aqua approaches the other side of the clearing, the fabric of her dress gracefully making waves with every step, the foliage fluttering light and shadow on her figure. She holds her bouquet in one hand and a framed photograph tucked under the other.

It shocks Terra.

He can’t stop the flow of tears. He covers his shivering lips and the drip of his nose, his face twisting from the sight of her—brilliant, like she’s made of stars, a gift walking the earth.

“Terra, are you okay?” Aqua asks, rushing to him now, the train of her dress bouncing behind her. 

In the flash of an instinct, Terra runs to meet her, tripping over a branch and landing right into her arms. 

“You’re—” Terra sucks air in, his heart shoving itself up his esophagus. “Y-you’re s-so beautiful.”

Aqua uses her pinky to wipe his tears. “So are you.”

“Let me help you.” He takes the frame—a portrait of the Master, bordered with a white ribbon—and walks her to the arbor. Ven takes the portrait and places it on the boulder, their little family tied together, fractured in glued pieces, now and always. Before they start, Terra asks Aqua to pose under the arbor so he can take a picture of the trees and the flowers surrounding her. Beautiful.

“How do we do this?” Terra asks when he finds his voice again, still trembling. Aqua stands to the side to take her place. She’s beautiful.

Ven takes the book in his hands. The description of this ritual covers at most two pages. “Well, it’s archaic. It’s from the Age of Fairytales but it sounds like we will intertwine your hearts—but in an intense way, like we’re sewing them together.”

Aqua holds her bouquet to her chest. “Shall we start?”

Terra chuckles too hard, gasping for breath. “Simple as that.”

They wait for Ven’s cue, who also has no idea how to do anything. Ven clears his throat, shrugs his shoulders, and reads:

“We witness today the soldering of two hearts. To intertwine like the roots of a tree, the severance painful, the nourishment plentiful. A physical bond, a magical one, the merging of two sprites under the guidance of one truth. Two hearts, but one.” Terra watches the way Aqua watches him. There’s no one else in the world, Ven’s voice disconnected, like it floats on air. “Now it says to summon your Keyblades. Dig the tips into the ground, and offer your hilts to each other.”

Ends of the Earth is massive, taller than Ven. Stormfall looks delicate but it’s menacing, sharp, direct. They offer their hilts, the shafts crossed over each other, Stormfall light and airy in his hand, Ends of the Earth weighty and thick in hers. 

Terra finds it interesting that they’re using the hilt to connect each other’s hearts—the Keyblade should never be used against a person’s heart in traditional Mastery, because it’s such a dangerous weapon and it’s so violating. The blunt hilt, on the other hand, the physical manifestation of their hearts, is like exposure, an offer of vulnerability. 

Aqua’s feels like it’s thrumming, singing. She’s happy.

Ven steps forward with the rope and ties it over the hilts in loops. “This is just an image, the ties that bind, two Keyblades, but one. To intertwine a heart is to forge a chain, a friend, a companion, a memory. If missing then a void, a dream, a wish until reunion.” He steps back into position. “Before we go on, I think this would be a nice place to say your vows. Terra, you first.”

Terra stammers, looking into her eyes. “I-I couldn’t write one. I’m sorry.” 

“It’s okay,” Ven whispers, pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket. “I wrote some just in case.”

Terra doesn’t take it. He licks his lips. “It wouldn’t have been graceful. None of it—all of my thoughts—pale in comparison to you, Aqua.” He steadies himself with labored breathing, the squeeze on her Keyblade like a hold on her waist. “You’re so, so beautiful, and I’ve spent my days believing I don’t deserve you, because… because I couldn’t make things right like I should have.” 

Aqua quivers, gently touching his arm with her free hand and motioning for him to breathe. 

He continues, “I’m sorry. I wish the Master was here. I wish I was smart enough to prevent it from happening.” He inhales, choking up from the mention of Eraqus. “I never thought you would marry me of all people, so… I promise... I will be there every step of the way. I promise you, if you’re scared at night, I’ll be there to protect you. If you’re hurting in another world, I’ll come find you. If you’re confused, I’ll hold you close and help you make sense of it. I’ll brew you tea to help you sleep, I’ll step in the line of fire even if you wish to do the same for me, I’ll walk to the ends of the earth to make sure you are safe and healthy. I promise I’ll be with you.

“And I’ll mess up. I know me. I’ll fix it. If you want to clobber me, I’ll be patient. I’ll learn. I’ll do better. Every day you save me from myself. This is the least I can do. I’ve loved you since I was a kid. I’ll love you every day.”

Silence falls on all of them, Terra sniffing just to get some fresh air, Ven wiping his eyes, Aqua blinking too much. 

“Now you, Aqua,” Ven says. 

Despite being teared up, Aqua holds it together. She’s so good at that.

“Terra, I stand with you because I do want to be here. I do want to be by your side. I do want to laugh at your bad jokes.” She relieves a giggle. “I love you. I have for as long as I can remember, even if I didn’t know the words for it.” She studies his face. “I’m sure the Master is here with us, and he couldn’t be prouder of you. I’m proud of you.” Suddenly, she switches her tone, as if to lecture. “And if you even fathom taking a hit for me, remember that I’m faster than you. I’ll protect you first.” Then she softens. “I promise to be your shelter when the storm falls on us. I promise to sit on your bedside when you’re sick, to lift you up when you’re down about yourself, because you are sometimes. 

“You are my home, no matter how far your heart is from me. If you need a star to light your way back, I’ll give it to you.” She smiles widely, like she’s about to laugh. “If something between us breaks, I’ll mend it with you. I can’t imagine my life any other way.”

Their words are now spoken. Aqua suppresses a laugh and grins like a child. Terra holds his breath, just in case he screams from every emotion that he can’t name.  

“Well,” Ven says, rolling his sleeve up so he could wipe his nose on his forearm. “I guess it’s time. This bond is an oath you will remember each other until you close your eyes for the last time, for the tragedy to forget is to be alone forever. Do you accept this?”

“I do,” Terra says.

Aqua hums. “Yes, I do.”

Ven smiles. “You know what to do.”

With his free hand, Terra presses two fingers to his chest, over his heart, where he builds a golden glow. Twenty years living with her, ten years in darkness thinking about her, this vow is impossible to break—even if they can’t do this any longer, Terra could never forget her. Never. In his hand is now a piece of himself, a nugget of his heart, a memory of her in his bed that he never wants to lose.

He takes those fingers to her chest, two thick golden threads drawn out from his heart. She winces at the touch, quick to dissolve. Stormfall shifts in his hand, growing longer, its hilt thicker and darker, wrapping around like a weaved shield. A subtle change, a little piece of him.

Aqua does the same, fingers to her chest first to create the threads, bringing them to his chest. It does hurt, like a needle digging into his skin, sharp for the entire length until it’s suddenly gone. 

He feels full, as though his insides are creating space for something extra. Warm, frightening, whole, exciting. Her piece is a memory he can’t read but he doesn’t need to. Ends of the Earth opens way for an icy blade to cut through the middle as the hilt fans out like wings. A piece of her to take with him where he goes.

“Alright,” Ven chirps, snapping the booklet closed. “The book ends with the quote, Two hearts, only one, but I think this means I can call you husband and wife in secret. So kiss.”

Their Keyblades dissipate when they hold each other, tender but with appetite, unaware of their surroundings for several selfish moments. With sewn threads, it’s as though he breathes through her. Terra presses her onto him, feeling how her heart now beats in sync with his.

“I love you,” she whispers. They are married. 

He’ll never tire of hearing it. Stars, they are married. “I love you, too.”

Terra hears Ven sniff before a handkerchief is shoved into his face. “You need your face dry and clean before everyone sees you,” Ven says. 

The sunset now is deep, a fiery orange. Terra doesn’t want to let go.

“I’ll hold you again tonight,” Aqua says, patting his chest. “I want to see the meteor shower Ven promised.”

“It’ll be a good one,” Ven assures.

Terra kisses her. “Then we have to make a run for it.” He picks Ven up like a log, jogging through the thicket of the forest with Aqua close behind him, the Master in her arms. When they approach the castle, in the twilight, they hear chatter coming from the halls, as though ghosts are partying outside. 

Terra feels at peace despite that he now has to perform, balancing on a tightrope where he doesn’t care if he falls. He turns around and holds her neck to kiss her again, feeling her laughter in his mouth. “One more?” he asks when they break. 

Ven, still tucked in Terra’s arm, groans. “I never asked for a front seat to the kissing show. Is this my punishment?”

Aqua kisses him one more time, whispering to him I love you for what will be a string of I love you’s in the night to come. Friends will cheer, Terra will trip on the way to the altar, Sora will cry because Terra will cry, Xion will eat too much cake and get sick, Isa will laugh because he is drunk, Kairi will be the star of the dance, Aqua will be the star in his eyes.