#the way even aqua was concerned lol

[itriedimhighandreadytodie]

Remembering that time Kanata willingly isolated herself away from all the men in game during a Minecraft collab.

I think people need to realize a lot of the older holo girls, especially the JP ones, are probably unicorns themselves and that's why they don't collab with the boys. Not to like an extreme like how you see online, but in the sense that they believe that they shouldn't interact with male idols as an idol.

.

[skania]

OnK Chapter 155 Akane Thoughts

Before I start rambling about the chapter, let me just confess that my hopes of Aka delivering some Chapter 51 & 52 parallels in the upcoming weeks just increased exponentially.

I know, I know, I'm probably playing myself but. In this week's episode we see Aqua and Akane go out together and starting to work together as a team.

And in this week's manga chapter, we see... Aqua and Akane go out together and (potentially) starting to work together as a team.

As if to prove that it's no coincidence, Akane is even wearing a choker in both, this week's episode and this week's manga chapter. Even though in the manga, she hasn't worn one since... well, the very chapter the anime is adapting this week.

It's like Aka's break was strategically placed just so the chapter & episode line up 😭

Granted, there's nothing to guarantee that he will keep it up in the next two weeks. Maybe this will be enough for him and he will call it a day. But since we've gotten this far and hope is free, may as well keep hoping while expecting nothing 😂

Moving onto the chapter, full disclosure: I've been half-expecting Akane getting the "Moving On"™ patented haircut because it very much is a thing in Asia, whether it be in manga or in real life. So no surprise there.

The reason she gave on the other hand...

^ My face knowing Aka just served Akane on a silver platter to every Akane hater out there 😂

The funniest thing about all this is that, hello?? The bangs are one thing, but are we supposed to pretend that Akane didn't wear her hair long as a kid? If anything, Akane cut her hair short that first time because her idol wore hers short. So why should anyone take short hair as a more genuine Akane thing than long hair??

But whatever, Aqua went back to his Love Now hair so the choice of haircut itself was obviously just Aka wanting Akane to be in sync with him. Because even if Aka recently spent 4 chapters establishing that Aqua is supposed to end up with someone else, he and Akane are the ones who continue to move as a pair.

Naturally.

So leaving the haircut itself aside, Akane is back to her original hair parting and thus (apparently) done imitating Ai.

The question here is: in what ways exactly has Akane been "imitating" Ai up to this point? Because I know there are a lot of different schools of thought when it comes to that.

As far as I'm concerned though, we have seen Akane, we have seen Ai, and we have seen Akane acting as Ai.

Needless to say, this isn't at all how Akane conducts herself in her day-to-day life lol

However, I don't think she means that she just shaped her hairstyle after Ai to be more like Aqua's ideal girl. That's fair and makes sense on paper, but if "imitating" Ai was just about making her hairstyle more appealing to Aqua, then why didn't she cut her hair after she and Aqua broke up? More than that, why didn't she cut it after she chose to support Kana's love life?

Because the timing of the haircut is key, IMO. She cut her hair short only after Aqua chose happiness and accomplished his revenge. In other words, she cut her hair short only after her goal of saving Aqua was accomplished.

To me, this implies that if Akane has been imitating Ai, it's been in ways that she thought would help her accomplish that goal.

Now, since she hardly speaks this chapter, it's hard to gauge what changes this will bring to Akane's characterization. However, there is one thing that already stands out to me:

Remember what happened when Akane thought that Kamiki killed Ai? She feared that Aqua would get his hands dirty by killing him in turn, and as such decided that she had to deal with Kamiki on her own in order to protect Aqua.

Now she knows that Nino is the Big Bad, and the first thing we see her do is... go discuss the situation with Aqua.

Akane now trusts that Aqua won't break, and so instead of acting on her own to protect him, she wants to be forthcoming with him.

Considering what I mentioned above about Aqua and Akane moving as a pair, I can't help but to think Aka may just be establishing Akane's own version of this:

And — what a coincidence — those lines also fit none other than Ai, who pretended to not love Kamiki and kept her distance from him because of how important he was to her.

Since Ai knew Kamiki was about to break, Ai put on a façade that wouldn't show her own doubts and fears. All in an effort to not burden him more, to protect him better even if she failed at it.

So I'm inclined to believe that may just be how Akane has been imitating Ai.

Aqua recently described Ai as someone who was always carefree, strong and who never cried. Needless to say, he was wrong about her, but that's the impression Ai deliberately tried to give. And what have we seen from Akane, especially lately?

Even when going against her true desires, Ai always put on a smile and remained flippant. So Akane may have been taking a page from that particular book... to be Aqua's perfect support.

His perfect ally.

I theorized before that this star here was Akane fully embracing the role as Aqua's girlfriend, but she wasn't just any kind of girlfriend. She was as supportive of Aqua as she possibly could, always trying to offer him solace, precisely because she knew how burdened Aqua was.

And throughout it all, Akane kept her own feelings and wants very close to her chest. She even intended to say goodbye to him with a smile, not realizing just how hard it would be on her.

Akane has been striving to save Aqua all along and playing any role she deems necessary to accomplish that goal (the supportive girlfriend, the well-meaning ex that gets in the way of his plans), but now that Aqua has finally been saved, she doesn't need to put on a mask anymore. Unlike Ai, who wore hers nearly until the very end.

With that reading, I can't help but think that Akane's wording was pretty clever. If she wants to be vague about her haircut being related to the "saving Aqua chapter" finally coming to a close for her, saying that she no longer needs to imitate Ai is a good way to convey it without actually saying it.

I may be completely off about all this, though. Truth is, we could sit here all day trying to figure out Akane's thoughts and Aka's intended meaning, but we all know that a lot of people will be running off with the most unflattering interpretations and they could be right for all I know. Aka's mind sometimes works in twisted ways 😂

That said, one unflattering interpretation I do want to fight against is that of Akane's feelings for Aqua just being an emulation of Ai's own. That doesn't add up, because Akane's goal from the get-go has been to help Aqua be happy.

And she had that goal even before she started imitating Ai:

Unless Aka retcons this, Akane's feelings for Aqua are Akane's own. He saved her and helped her be happy, and Akane has always been seeking to save him and help him be happy in turn.

It is possible that Akane has been trying to fill for Aqua the role of unconditional love and support that Ai would've filled for him if only she were alive. That's more or less just another way to say everything I already mentioned above.

However, even in that case, this should be motivated by her own feelings for him rather than Ai's. Not to mention, Ai's feelings for Aqua are motherly feelings and thus, strictly platonic. Meanwhile, Akane's for Aqua were paralleled to Ai's for her lover literally just a chapter ago:

So if Aka's writing is consistent, that particular interpretation should be off the table.

But that's enough time spent trying to make sense of Akane's line and Aka's intention behind it lol

Moving on, I can't help but notice what a big coincidence it is that right after we get a chapter showing that Ai and Kamiki are (in many ways) a failed Akane/Aqua, we now get a chapter where Akane cuts her hair short to differentiate herself from Ai.

Akane and Aqua may just be about to move into uncharted territory.

The first time we saw Aqua and Akane team up in Love Now, they did so as a business, fake relationship. Now, they're (potentially) teaming up all over again and being more honest while they're at it. What kind of dynamic will we see now, I wonder?

Granted, it doesn't have to involve anything romantic. This could be very well Aka setting up the stage for Aqua and Akane to end up as friends, and I'd personally be fine with that as long as it's executed well.

Regardless of the nature of his feelings though, I can't help but remember this:

Aqua once said that he will like Akane no matter what kind of Akane she is. With some luck, we may just see Aqua finally prove that he meant it.

His reaction when he saw her was so funny though. Aqua's feelings for Akane can be interpreted in many different ways, but indifference definitely isn't a plausible one lmao

Even here in this panel he's anything but indifferent. Almost like Akane just broached a sore subject

Also, it is kind of poetic that as soon as happiness is back on the table for Aqua, we see Aqua and Akane reunite on a chapter titled "Happy Ending" of all things lol

Now, onto the plot! It's nice to have confirmation that Aqua did originally intend to kill Kamiki. I'd like to know what exactly entailed his original plan, but that may be asking for too much at this point.

We still don't know what changed Aqua's mind, though. This chapter presents it as Aqua simply respecting Ruby's choice, but like I mentioned before, if that was all there was to it, then why didn't Aqua change his mind after he saw Ruby act the "I don't love you" scene for the first time? What let Aqua finally accept that Ruby's version of revenge was the right one?

On that same note, this chapter seems to confirm that Aqua has now embraced his life as Aqua Hoshino. He once discarded the naive thought of being happy, but now he seems ready to move on and getting a happy ending. Last time we saw Aqua pre time-skip on Chapter 151, his stars were still black. So, what gave?

We should still be missing a piece to solve that particular puzzle, IMO. I do think that Aka will eventually show it, even if it ends up being something as simple as "Kana True Oshi ❤️" (lmao)

Speaking about puzzles, it's hilarious how Aka makes Aqua be smart only when it's convenient to him. Just like Aqua magically could tell that his father was Kamiki just "thanks to Akane's movements", now he was suddenly able to tell that Nino was the big bad 😂 At least we're being told Akane already figured that out for herself, so that's good.

I swear though, if this doesn't all end with Aqua asking Akane what her happy ending is, I'll riot. Akane has spent the entire manga trying to save Aqua, and now that he's saved, she will be working to make everyone's happy ending possible. So Aqua better put in some effort to make sure Akane gets her happy ending too, whatever that may entail.

Things are moving super fast though, way faster than I thought they would. Now they even know about Yura, like?? Hopefully we'll at least get a few flashback panels to show how in the world they knew about her, because Aka is seriously pushing it lmao

In-before Aqua and Akane use a B-Komachi concert as bait to draw Nino into making a move so they can catch her. With everyone's help, of course 😂

I also can't help but wonder if Kamiki may pull some strings so that Ruby can have her Dome concert...

Everyone could see the Nino reveal coming after what happened with Kamiki, so I won't dwell on that. What I do find interesting though is that Nino is being presented as a fan gone wrong. She is everything a fan shouldn't strive to be. So knowing Aka, it's only natural that she will be contrasted to someone who is a true fan. Someone who genuinely wants only the best for their idol, without seeking to own them in any way.

Considering everything that has happened in the story, the two people who are most apt to fulfill that contrast are Aqua and Ruby. In Aqua's case in particular, that's a very interesting thought... especially considering his relationship with Kana and what Kana wants out of him: to be his number one idol, an idol that is an idol for him and him alone.

But we'll have to wait and see whether Aka sticks to his values or not 😂

All in all though, I'm very pleased that this chapter seems to put Akane front and center in this final arc, which is exactly what I was hoping for 😭 And I even got Miyako! I wish her relationship with Ruby and Aqua weren't so underdeveloped, because that family hug could've been one of the manga highlights for me otherwise.

I do kind of worry that Aka may pretend that now that Aqua has (more or less) embraced his life as Aqua Hoshino, there's no need for anyone else to know that he once was Goro though. Akane learning about it is the one thing I've always wanted to see in this manga, so I really hope Aka will at least let me have that much

[silentium-symphony]

It Can Wait (Link x Reader)

(a/n) sorry it took awhile! college is starting to pick up and senioritis is hitting like a truck. while i drown in various marine labs (not the fun ones with seals and dolphins, the scary ones that feature Excel and R), please enjoy this completely self-indulgent fic LOL

cw: how can i call myself a fanfic writer if i don't do the One Bed™ trope ;), some swearing, ya'll are just a pair of awkward lovestruck goobers, honestly just pure fluff :)

wc: 5.3k

♤♢ ~~ ♡♧

You watched the edge of the sun rake the tip of some far-off mountain, dipping lower and lower past the horizon; your heart followed the celestial body in its descent to darkness. Concern loomed over your head like a thick thundercloud and your bleary eyes focused on your companion's sun-washed back.

"Hey... Link?"

The tips of his oranged ears twitched and he cast an indifferent glance past his shoulder.

"Do you see anything up ahead? A town or a stable, maybe?"

Link threw his gaze forward and 'hmph-ed,' jabbing his pointer finger to a bundle of dots precariously painted on the horizon. Your feet fluttered at the sight of civilization, momentarily forgetting the pins and needles that have been poking your legs and lower back for the past three hours.

"Oh thank Hylia--a town!"

Link had never seen you move so fast--he had to catch up with you! He lightly jogged to cover the distance.

"Slow down," he called out, voice barely louder than the winds, "you're not gonna make it at that pace."

"But Liiiink..." You whined. "A town! Civilization! Possibly with an inn! And beds!"

Not a moment later you felt your hand snatched in his as he practically dragged the two of you through the plains, exhaustion and aches be damned.

“L-Link! By the gods, slow down! You’re scuffing my boots!”

“Bed.”

“Link!!!”

You dove and ducked your head under whizzing branches, fumbled over a small brook, and ran what felt like an eternity before the rusted iron gates came into view. You were heaving at this point, each raggedy breath caught in the edges of your swollen lungs. Your stamina-for-days friend also seemed a bit spent, but he pushed onward and paid little mind to the blood rushing through his temples.

You practically collapsed at the gate, tumbling onto all fours and dry-heaving your next breath. Link, noticeably shaking, placed a trembling hand on the wall as he, too, fought to breathe. Hylia, he hadn’t run like that in years—even if he were the Hero of Hyrule™.

“Don’t,” you spat out in between heaves. “Ever do that again.”

“But we… made it… before they locked the gates.” Link was in much better shape than you (which wasn’t saying much) as he pointed to the town guards lowering the metal gates with a resounding clang.

A groan, a shuffle, followed by relief as you felt the wall’s cool stone ease the sweat and heat off your back. You threw your head up and took as deep of a breath as you could, dizzy from the bursts and sparks of colors behind your eyelids. You felt something hard slip into your laps and you winced your eyes open. A canteen?

“Drink some water.” Link’s lips were already moistened with the aqua panacea. You looked up at him gratefully and happily lapped up the rest of its contents, noting to fill his bottle later. The crisp spring water brought much-needed relief to the desert your throat had become; Link slipped the empty canteen into his pouch and looked around for the—

“What… Is that?”

You followed Link’s finger up and up and up to some… Structure? Spire? Shooting into the windows of an equally tall building. Your eyes bounced between the rickety invention and the bewildered blues of your companion, totally lost.

Only one way to find out.

After you got your bearings, you and Link slowly made your way over to the building, which happened to be… the inn? The structure grew clearer in your vision, but you still couldn’t make heads or tails of it. The main piece looked like a bunch of bamboo glued together by the ends, with some tubes sticking off to the side and into several rooms. The tail disappeared into the murky depths of a hot spring—HOT SPRING????

Link must have realized the godly pools the same time you did, his head whipping around to meet your excited gaze. You both slipped through the door and were immediately encased in a scent of steam and aromatics. It was as if the very essence of the hot spring was embedded in the inn's walls.

“Welcome, welcome! How can I— L-Link?!”

Link shot at the sound of his own name, looking over to the innkeeper who seemed… starstruck?

“I-It’s really you, sir! Wow, I… Wow!”

“I’m sorry but… Do we know you?” You chimed from the back.

“Oh! Um, I’m so terribly sorry. You may not remember me Link, but I remember you! This young man here has saved my life!”

“He did?”

“I have?”

“Yes! Do you not remember the weary traveler with the twisted ankle at the bottom of a ditch?" Link, in fact, did not remember. "That was me, sir! You took the time to tend my injuries and dropped me off right here in this very town!”

He bowed deeply, the little patch of hair on his head dipping with him.

“I’ve always wanted to thank you for your kindness, sir. Without you, I wouldn’t have realized my dreams of running a world-renowned inn!”

‘World-renowned?’

“It is by the grace of Hylia we meet again. For you only, I am offering you our premium room for the price of a regular one!”

Link’s ears twitched, no doubt in celebration of this seemingly once-in-a-lifetime deal. He turned to you, eager eyes bulging out of his head, and your laugh was all the okay he needed. He pulled out his wallet and paid for the night.

“What makes this room so special?” You interrupted before the innkeeper could grub the last rupee.

“I’m so glad you asked! Surely you have seen that tower outside our fine establishment, yes?”

You nodded slowly.

“With a lil’ bit of magic and Hylian ingenuity, we have devised a way to jet water from the hot springs straight to your room! Our premium rooms showcase the magic firsthand in the form of, what we call, a shower!”

“A… Shower?”

“Yes! You’ll see very soon, it is a wonderful addition to any room. We’ve really struck gold with this one…” He mumbled towards the end, not fully realizing he said it aloud. “Please, allow me to show you to your rooms!”

You two followed the short, stocky innkeeper up a few flights of stairs and down winding hallways. He stopped at the door to your room and plopped a golden key into Link’s hand.

“This is your room! Have fun with the shower, lovebirds!”

The innkeeper winked; a pair of mouths gaped open in heated protest, but he had already rounded the corner and returned to his innkeeper duties. A frazzled look sparked between two wide eyes and Link gulped, looking away to turn the key.

With a click, twist, and push, you were greeted by a grand bed spread across the middle of the room, dwarfing the moderately sized bookshelf packed with books and knickknacks. To your right was a gorgeous mahogany round table with matching chairs, a scene of woodland festivity carved about the curve of the surface. A wicket basket full of all kinds of goodies sat neatly atop the bed’s luscious sheets, vying for attention.

Like children in a candy store, you both fumbled right in and immediately made yourselves at home, kicking off your dirty and scuffed boots at the door ⁽ᵃ ˢᵐᵃˡˡ ᵍˡᵃʳᵉ⁾ and slugging your bag onto the round table. The silky sheets were practically calling your name, but the layer of sweat and grime accumulated on your skin made you hesitate to tarnish the clean bed.

The singular clean bed.

Your heart lurched to your throat and you immediately threw a hesitant look at Link, who was going through the gift basket and humming happily. He must not have noticed. He finally turned to you with a bright smile, spoils of the room in hand, and his features immediately fell at your concerned look.

“Is everything all right?”

“There’s only one bed.”

“What? No there isn’t, there’s…” He glanced around the room, his lazed looks turning into frenzied glimpses. Link’s cheeks darkened to a hue similar to the deep red bedsheet.

“Oh.”

"W-Well, it's not that big of a deal..." You two have clawed your way out of the deepest pits of suffering together, surely you could handle one measly lil' night in a spacious bed. In a bid to calm your racing thoughts, your head lolled to the side and frantically searched the rest of the room; an inconspicuous door caught your attention. Two weary bodies crept towards the door, giddy with anticipation.

A room adorned with all the regular happenings of a bathroom filled your vision, but off to the corner was a... long, rectangular, glass box? With a spout carved into the wall? As you neared the contraption, still unsure of what to think of it, a golden gear caught your eye, as well as various sprigs and bunches of mint and lavender. The gear turned with a squeak, and steamed water poured forth in a steady stream. A holler left you and Link as you watched the technological marvel steam up the room. You squeaked the faucet close and turned to the man behind you.

"So who's gonna go first?"

"You can," he stepped out, "I need to stop by the market before it closes."

“What? Are you sure?”

He nodded; you waved goodbye to the blonde as he slipped on his boots, tucked his wallet in his pocket, and left. While his footsteps disappeared down the hall, you slipped out of your grimy clothes, fetched fresh ones from your sack, and waltzed into the shower.

With a quick turn of your wrist, bullets of warm water pelleted all the sore aches knotting your back and shoulders. You let out an audible groan, slinking against the heavenly sensation. The steam coddled the mint and lavender, drawing out the former’s nippy spice before dulling it with the latter’s soothing fragrance. Nature’s finest aromas settled onto your skin and snuggled into your hair. All the cool streams and frigid lakes you’ve been forced to skinny dip in for the past several weeks melted into a distant memory as the heavy fog clouded your thoughts.

But not your sense of awareness.

You poked your head out of the shower, straining your ears for some type of sign that Link had returned. There was stillness on the other side of the door; a relieved sigh slipped out of you.

You felt your throat strain a tad, disuse rusting your vocal cords, as a melody you had since forgotten until this moment clawed its way out of you. A long inhale filled your lungs with scented steam and growing bravado as your quiet, cautious mumbles turned into full-on melodies. You checked every now and then, gear turning slightly to slow and quiet the flow, but the unclicking door assured you were still alone.

And hey, so long as you were quieter than the jetting water, it should be all good… right?

And so you sang your heart out, your rationale loosening your tongue and diaphragm to fill the bathroom with your beautiful voice. You sang a bunch of tunes, from hype music to mournful, soulful ballads. You were performer and audience all bundled in a steamy, mint-kissed, lavender-lapped, package.

If the vapor plumes tickling your ankles were any testament to how long you’d been there, you’d have to admit that your simple shower had turned into a luxurious escape from the cold confines of reality. The last note you sang rolled into a sigh as you turned the gear, the barrage of water turning into a mere trickle. Your reddened body longed to feel the water's hot caresses, but alas, you had to leave your watery sanctuary at some point. Pruny fingers grasped the soft cotton hanging off a hook and you scrunched your hair of excess water before patting yourself down.

You had never felt so clean in your life.

Your warmed pajamas did wonders for your already relaxed muscles and a yawn lapsed out of you. You drowsily clicked the door open, a cloud of steam rolling at your feet, and smiled dreamily at...

Link.

Who was looking rather... flustered.

And amused.

Your heart dropped to the soles of your feet as a cold sweat beaded your brow, a dark realization settling in. Feigning innocence as best you could, you tilted your head.

“… What?”

He stood up from his chair, tossing his locks from side-to-side, and sauntered over to you with his pajamas bundled in the crook of his elbow. As he passed you by, the ghost of a whisper tickled the shell of your ear.

“Nice voice.”

Dear Hylia if you’ve ever loved me strike me down right fucking now

You turned to him, mouth agape and heart reeling, only for his outline to disappear behind a wall of hot mist and wood. The silence on your side of the room was suffocating; Link’s happy little hums funneled the tension out of the situation through the thinnest straw that ever strawed.

Maybe you misheard him? It wasn't like he was much of the teasing type... How long had he been here anyway? Maybe he just walked in as you finished and and and and happened to hear the faucet turn and maybe just maybe it sounded a bit like a squeak that could maybe pass off as a person's voice?

The bracing breeze of the night nipped your sensitive skin and calmed your overstimulated brain. You didn’t remember your journey to the window, but you were thankful your feet had guided you to a refreshing anchor for your frenzied thoughts. You took a deep breath in… and out. Innnn… and out…

This wasn’t so bad. Okay granted, you completely embarrassed yourself in front of your crush whom you’ll be traveling with for the foreseeable future but it’s not all that bad. At least you got this gorgeous view! And wow, birds! Nature! That’s cool!

After several minutes of trying to keep your dooming thoughts at bay, the faucet squeaked a dying note and the last deluge of water dripped into soft drops. Link—still humming and noticeably more at ease—shuffled a fair bit before he made his entrance into the bedroom, hair damp and skin blushed a faint pink and wow he looks so good right now—

You damn near slapped yourself and flashed him a warm (albeit awkward) smile, noting his very shirtless form and the pajamas still scrunched in his arms. He motioned to the parts of the fabric that were darker than usual.

“It fell in a puddle, so I’m letting it air out a bit.” With a whip of his wrists, a worn shirt and matching shorts snapped in front of him and settled on top of a chair. “Hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.”

Knowing that the towel tied around his slutty lil waist was the only thing separating you from a great night got you feeling weak. You hastily turned your gaze to the outside before your blatant staring could turn into gawking.

A silence eclipsed the room as your eyes wandered over the town’s nightlife. Specks of Hylians dotted the dimly lit square; further below, a decently-sized crowd congregated the hot springs, traces of idle chatter floating to your ears. The stars poked an indifferent glow past the cloudy streaks in the sky and although the lunar body had yet to grace you with its presence, its soft light was still felt and appreciated by all.

You felt the air beside you stir and a loud gasp escaped you, jolting at the sudden appearance of the still-shirtless man. He rested his frame against folded arms as he peered off into the night, aestheticizing like you were only moments before. His skin had paled into its familiar alabaster, and the whitish glow of the moon circled a halo about his figure. The familiar sprigs of aromatics tickled your nose, tinging his cypress and amber scent with a fragrance of cleanliness.

“Lovely night.”

“Y-Yes.” You coughed out, still unused to the proximity. Gods, if he already got you acting up like this, how much more during bedtime?

“Did you find everything we needed?” You continued, hoping to make some light conversation about nothing.

“Yes. We’re all stocked up.” A flit of blue met your (E/C)s. “We leave at dawn, so we should head to bed soon.”

"Ah... Are your clothes dry now?"

"Hopefully my shorts are."

Link went to collect his clothes and 'tsk-ed' at the still-damp shirt. His scarred hands ghosted the knot tied right above his pelvis. He eyed your back as he discarded the plush white towel for his shorts, the fabric thinning and pilling from overuse.

"Are you decent?" Your tone lilted mirthfully. You heard fabric creasing and shifting from the bed, and you turned in response to his quiet ‘mm.’ Your core warmed at the sight of a toned, combat-kissed back and you mentally flogged yourself for your ridiculous bashfulness. With your heart pounding a quickening pace in your ears, you sallied over to your edge of the bed and sunk down.

The air was honeyed with sexual tension and you pawed and balled the silky sheets. Link’s heavy gaze rested on the same spot on the wall, fully expecting two holes to drill themselves into existence under his scrutinizing watch.

Why were you so panicked? This wasn’t the first time you found yourselves in rather... intimate situations.

A sudden movement made you flinch and you craned your neck to see behind you. With a long sigh, Link ruffled his hair and blew out a candle, muffling a ‘goodnight’ under his breath. The same silence blanketed you again, suffocating coherency out of your racing thoughts.

You pulled your knees over the edge and adjusted yourself under the covers, relieved at the plush mattress coddling the sore gaps in your body. Your head fell to the side and was once again met with Link's back (that was scooted to the very edge of the bed). You didn’t know if you should feel offended or grateful.

You followed suit, turning your body to meet the window. The moonlight was brighter now, casting a gentle spotlight on the floating dust particulates and water specks that traipsed through the window.

Your ears strained to hear and hope for the familiar deep breaths Link drew in the throes of slumber. The deathly quiet was all the sign you needed to know that he was still very much awake (and listening for your soft snores as well).

The soft sheets and the heat radiating off your partner beckoned you further into bed and away from the cold night air that had begun to blow drizzles of rain. Get your rupees’ worth, you told yourself. A tiny voice unfamiliar to you peeped out a,

“Hey… Link?”

He twitched.

“Um… I’m scooting closer, just so you know.”

He doesn’t respond. Or move. Or breathe. While you debated whether he was fast asleep or crossing a boundary, you heard a quiet sigh and a,

“Me too.”

A pair of bodies shuffled closer. His heat spilled past his body and bled into your vicinity; you held back a pleased groan. You shared many a night shivering under the cold misery of wilderness and rain, pressing into each other to preserve what little heat was left between yourselves. Your eyes fluttered shut as the rain outside tapped the roof harder and harder.

♤♢ ~~ ♡♧

“Link…” You looked up at him, teeth chattering as he beheld you with a warm gaze. He tugged the corners of the cloak closer together while your shaking hands combed matted gold off his forehead.

“Are you warm?”

“As warm as I can be.” Eyes studied your makeshift shelter—a tree’s grove—helplessly. Your wet back was pressed into mossed and ivied bark while your companion’s was bulleted and blown by the storm’s raging tempest. You pulled his shaking body closer, closer, closer, until he was practically on top of you. Still, the winds whipped something nasty against his soaked back, his drenched shirt adding to the frigidity like some sort of reverse blanket.

“I-I don’t know how, but we can try switching…” You hissed through clammy lips. He shook his head, a stray droplet landing and sliding down your cheek.

“Nonsense. You are much colder than I am.”

“Link, you’re literally shaking.”

“And your lips have turned blue.” He pulled the hood further down your face, obscuring your vision, as he took your hands in his and futilely huffed warm air. His leather gloves rubbed and chafed your pruned, muddy digits and he blew again with greater gusto.

“You’ll be okay. We’ll be okay. This rain has got to let up at some point.” He murmured, his hot breath tickling your neck. You shivered from the sensation, which he mistook as the cold seeping into your bones. Muscled arms wrapped around your frame and he rubbed your sides, head burying into the crook of your neck.

“We’ll be okay… Just think of something warm, all right?

♤♢ ~~ ♡♧

The warmth of his skin seeped through your thin pajamas and you let out a yelp.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t realize I was rolling into you!”

“It’s okay,” a pause, “you can… Stay there if you’d like. I don’t mind.”

“Oh… Are you sure?”

He hums. “…warm…”

“Sorry? Did you say something?”

“You’re warm, so it… feels nice.”

“Oh...” Your heart thundered against your ribcage. “T-Thanks.”

Quietness cloaked the room once again; neither of you were going to sleep any time soon.

“So uh,” you started, “what are you gonna do when you get back?”

He was silent for awhile, and for a second you thought he had fallen asleep (wouldn’t be the first time he fell asleep mid conversation).

“Report our findings to the princess.”

“Ah… makes sense. How ‘bout after that?”

The male pondered your question and answered with a huff.

“Wait for my next mission.”

That’s… kinda sad..

“Well, is there anyone waiting for you? Y’know, like a…” You gulped, unsure if you wanted to know the answer. “Like a lover or something?”

You felt Link’s breath hitch and your heart sank. Of course he would have someone waiting for him, just look at him. Handsome, chivalrous, kind, strong—you wouldn’t be surprised if he had a thing going on with the princess herself.

“No.” He said at last. “I don’t have anyone in that regard.”

He said it so placidly; you couldn’t detect a hint of emotion behind that matter-of-fact statement. An inconspicuous sigh left your frame.

"Oooh, has anyone caught your eye?" You shimmied up to him before laughing at his flinch. Again, you were unsure if you were ready to hear the answer, but anything felt better than the silence you would otherwise be subjected to.

"Mm..." Was his only response.

"Aww, c'mon! Aren't we travel buddies? We've faced dozens of unimaginable horrors together. Your secret's safe with me."

"Do you have someone waiting for you?" He countered.

"Hey now, don't avoid the question!"

"I'll tell you if you tell me."

Well... It's not like you had anything to hide...

"No, I'm very much single." You laughed, a glimmer of despondence streaking your voice.

. . .

"Has anyone caught your eye?"

"Mm... Pass." You giggled, turning to face him fully now. He felt your shuffle and cast a glance over his shoulder. "Do you like anyone? Or at least find mildly attractive?"

His eyes fluttered shut and he exhaled slowly, the gears in his head turning even slower.

"Yes."

Your sinking heart juxtaposed the overly-hyped "Ooooh!" that left your lips.

"IS IT THE PRINCESS?!"

"Definitely not."

You practically got whiplash at the suddenness of his response; that could mean one of two things: he either really liked the princess, or he wanted nothing to do with her past their 'protector-protectee' relationship.

"Damn, that was fast. Seems mighty suspicious to me..." You nudged the space between his ribcage, plucking a light chuckle out of him.

"I really don't," he laughed dryly, "she's lovely but... Not really my type."

"So what is your type, O Hero of Hyrule?"

He hummed lowly before snapping his body to face you.

"My turn." He chirped through a boyish grin. His hot breath trickled across your cheeks and you swore you could drown in the oceans of his eyes.

"Has anyone caught your eye?"

You didn't think the question could be taken so literally. You blinked multiple times and looked away.

"Uh... Y-Yeah, I'd say so."

An iota of emotion brewed in his eyes, imperceptible to everyone but himself.

"Okay, my turn." You chortled, looking back up at him. "Can you describe your ideal partner?"

Eyes closing and head tilting upwards, Link dissected and analyzed the simple question with care.

"Smart, kind..." A small smile tugged his lips. "Curious, compassionate, brave, selfless..."

He angled his face into the pillow, the softness muffling his lips.

"ᵍᵒᵒᵈᵃᵗˢᶦⁿᵍᶦⁿᵍ"

"Sorry, what?"

"Nothing. So wha--"

"Nonono, you said something! What did you say?"

"Um... Good at..." A pause. "Mingling."

"... Mingling?"

. . .

"Yup."

Maybe facing Ganon with only a cheese grater wasn't such a bad idea after all

You supposed... That made sense. You could only imagine how awkward he must feel at royal banquets and dinner parties. You laughed and lightly flicked his forehead.

"You're such a dork." If you squinted hard enough, you could trick yourself into believing he was blushing. His eyes brightened at the realization it was his turn.

"So who's your ideal partner?"

"Well..." You looked down, fumbling with the hem of your shirt.

"Well...?" His chest rumbled with baited anticipation.

"Loyal, caring, respectful, courageous..." You nudged the lower half of your face into your pillow, hoping to hide the blush creeping onto your cheeks. "Something like that."

He nodded slowly, the gears in his head slaving away--at what, you had no idea.

"You seem to have a pretty clear idea of what you're looking for."

"So do you!"

"Yes..." He sighed dreamily, lips warming into a rare and genuine smile. "I do."

;)

"Heheheh... Whatcha thinkin' about? Or should I say... Who?"

Panic swirled behind his eyes. "N-No one."

"I heard that stutter!" You exclaimed. "C'mon, we've practically spilled everything to each other--now all I need is a name!"

"You... may not approve."

Your heart crunched in your chest, mind spinning from all the possibilities.

"I mean... Whether I like them or not shouldn't matter. Your feelings for that person, whoever they may be, are valid."

The way your eyes crinkled so... lovingly at him made him want to curl into a ball and melt into a lovestruck puddle. How could you be this cute? This sweet? And single? Maybe... Just maybe...

"You really think so?"

"Of course! Well, if you had a crush on Ganon then we might have a problem." Your lips relaxed into a small smile. "But so long as they aren't him, I don't think there's anyone out there who I would hate."

Link balanced his chin between his pointer and thumb. Your lips curled thoughtfully, forming your next question in a bid to loosen his tongue.

"When you think of them, do you think of what could be? Where life could take the two of you?"

"Of course." He answered instantly, then reddened at how quick he responded. "I've thought about it for... awhile."

His bashfulness was met with one of your angelic chortles and you looked at him head-on.

"You deserve to be happy, Link. You deserve to live the life you want with the person you love."

His breath caught in his throat as he drank in the sincerity in your eyes. Eyes that beheld him with grace and acceptance for all his failures and shortcomings. Eyes that saw him past his title of Hero. Eyes that could lift an entire kingdom's burden off his shoulders with a simple crinkle and twinkle.

"It's you."

You laughed, not quite processing what he said until--

"Wait, huh?"

"It's..." He gulped, reminding himself which piece of the Triforce he carried. "You."

"M-... Me?"

"Yes. You are who I love. You are who I want to spend the rest of my life with. It's... you."

"Oh, Link..." His heart cracked at the quietness in your tone. For once, it hurt hearing his name leave your lips.

"If you don't feel the same way, I understand. I promise I won't let this interfere with our mi--"

"No, Link! I love you too!"

Life filled his eyes, piercing a ray of light through his darkened visage.

"You... You do...?"

"Yes!" You cried out, wrapping him closer to you. "Gods, I've loved you for so long...!"

"R-Really? Me too!”

:O

“Since when?!” You both exclaimed, new love jolting a shock of energy that mismatched the time of day.

“You go first.” Link spurred, giddiness rocking him to and fro.

“Ever since that night in the tree… Do you remember? It was pouring and you were shielding me from the storm.”

He pulled away from you slightly to stroke your hair, relishing how your soft, newly washed strands laced around his fingers.

“We had just embarked on our journey.”

“I knowww.” You drew out, giggling and nuzzling into his bare chest. “What about you? When did you fall for me?”

“It was… Before our trip.”

“What?! Really?!”

He nodded.

“I saw you feeding some strays while I was patrolling the castle one time and, well…” He rubbed his neck embarrassed. “I knew you had a heart of gold the moment I laid eyes on you.”

“That was so long ago…" You reminisced about the glowing gaze your animal friends reveled you in. "Boy, I had you whipped for that long, huh?”

“You could say that.” An airy breath stuttered out of him. “You looked so beautiful… I couldn’t get enough of that look in your eyes. Pure, selfless joy. It was… mesmerizing.”

His eyes caught yours, almost as if they were searching for the same joy he spoke of. The glimmer in his seafoam pools must have meant he found it and more.

“So how’d you feel when we were assigned to this mission together?” You laughed, clearly picturing a flustered Link pacing around his room as he just about melted through the floor.

“I felt many things—panic, for one.”

“Aww, lil' ol' me got your heart racing?”

“Yes.”

Now it was your heart’s turn to race, so touched by his candor.

"You were as beautiful as you were kind; as clever as you were tough. How could I have not fallen deeper in love?" He coughed out, a hand masking the blush that promenaded his cheeks. "You always took such good care of me after our battles... Patching me up before you even wiped the dirt off your face."

"Well, you'd do it for me, no?" You jibed, fingers raking through his hair. He chuckled fondly at the form of aftercare foreign to most couples.

"And to top it all off..." He leaned down, the surface of his lips tickling your earlobe. "You have the loveliest voice in the world."

A light slap stung his chest and he roared in laughter.

"Gods, you really heard that...?!" Your hands cupped your heated cheeks and you rocked backward, jaw clenching and legs squirming from mortification.

"It's okay! More than okay! You sounded gorgeous, (F/N)."

Your heart fluttered at the sound of your own name, unused to the way it purred so perfectly out of him. Your sheepish side glance happened upon his heartfelt visage, which did wonders to ease any discomforts you had.

"Your voice was beautiful. Like a-- Like a--"

A chorus of chirps announced the arrival of morning; you both shared a horror-struck look before shortly bursting into laughter. You talked the whole night away!

He kissed your eyelids and draped the blanket over your shoulders, wrapping his arm about your waist.

"We can stay another night if you'd like. Spend a day in town." His suggestion was met with fervent nodding. "Our duties to the throne... Our mission... All of it. It can wait."

[jellybean181]

Meeting you / Vessel x Reader

Summary: Vessel notices you in the crowd at one of the bands concerts/worships.

Notes: This is my first time writing anything I apologize if it’s garbage lol. I hope to make this a multi-part story if it’s good.

Part 2

FLUFF

-————————————————————————-

“Oh my god, this concert is going to be so fun!”

Sophie and y/n crowded to the left side of the stage with the rest of anticipated fans.

You were nervous about public crowds, just finding out about Sleep Token a few months prior and falling in love with their music. Sophie wanted to attend there concert as soon as you felt comfortable enough.

Falling into the mystery of there identities and the poetry of there music set you into world wind of love and appreciation for the band.

“Sophie, do you think I really should of worn this white dress? I feel like I’m sticking out like a sore thumb.”

“Girl, you look beautiful! Don’t even fret.”

As the fans started cheering for Sleep Token as they came on stage to perform. You start to fiddle with the back of your dress to make sure your ass isn’t hanging out.

“Just relax, that dress is not super short it fits you perfectly.”

“Thank you, just nervous.” You smile shyly

You sway your hips with the music and start to enjoy the show.

Vessel start’s performing a few songs glancing your way a few times. What throws you off a bit is that you think he is staring at you a little longer then you think is normal but you brush it off.

Before he performs his next song he goes off stage a bit to one of the security guards to talk to them.

“What do you think is going on?” Sophie glanced at you with a confused look. “I’m not sure, but I hope everything is okay.” You respond concerned.

Vessel comes back on stage and starts performing your favourite song “Aqua Regia”. But then you notice a big security guy walking towards you and Sophie and you instantly start to get nervous.

You cross your arms around yourself to make yourself feel smaller as you make contact with the security guard.

“Vessel wants to see you backstage.”

“Me?!” Your eyes get bigger as you place your hand on your chest to indicate if you even heard him correctly and was in fact talking about you.

“Yes you, and your friend.” The security guard held his firm look while glancing at Sophie.

You look up to see Vessel performing, casually performing Aqua Regia and jumping around.

“Okay, I guess so” you say with a bit more shakiness in your voice then you would of liked.

As you and Sophie moved through the crowd with the security guard, you couldn’t help but look up to Vessel like you would be able to see the motive on his face through his mask. But all you could see is him staring back at you as he performed.

“You. Wait here.” The security guard stops and looks at Sophie.

“She can’t come with me?”

“I can’t go with her?”

“Vessel instructed me to only take you to meet him in his dressing room.”

Sophie and I glanced at each other like we could somehow telepathically have a conversation about this crazy and confusing experience.

“She will go.”

Your eyes bugged out again as your neck whipped back at your best friend in disbelief.

“Sophie! No! Are you freaking kidding me..!” You practically whisper yelled at her.

“Just go, it will be okay. I will be right here.” She said with a big shit eating grin.

“Miss, are you coming?”

You followed the security guard with the shuffling of your feet and the help of a little push from Sophie. Everything felt like you were living a dream, like this couldn’t possibly be happening.

As we reached the door, he opened it and ushered you inside to sit on the couch that was in the middle of the room with a coffee table.

“Make yourself comfortable, he will be in shortly”

He shut the door behind you and all you could hear was the rest of your favourite song finishing up as the band concluded the concert.

What felt like a lifetime and your heart beating a rapid pace, slight shiver to your form. You heard footsteps reach the door outside and the turn of the door handle. You thought you were holding your breath for a lifetime but was only a couple seconds of the door handle turning.

“Hello Sweetheart” Vessel smiles under his mask, showing off his pearly white teeth and hard muscle exterior.

“Hi.” You say shyly looking up at him like a deer in headlights.

[yuseirra]

Ch 164 review:

Oh..ppffpy um the worst case scenario for me was and is, seeing Ai's love being in vain. I'm not so sure about that(yet) I really don't want that to happen. If that does, I'd go.. 'why does this piece even exist?;' At this point;; EHH I don't want my favorite character and ship to reappear in this manga because I'm genuinely concerned they will only make them worse! Can I really trust the authors on this? I used to have hope but NOOO way. They can't give them what they deserve if this is what they give to Aqua of all characters. I'm just really worried for their sake now, everyone's going to be doomed in this piece lol

I feel like they did ruin a lot of the previous buildup for this comic in this particular chapter though, (I rarely phrase things as strongly as this but I have the right to, after having been invested in this story for a while) maybe the author does have something in mind but... I'm not sure what Kana's role in the story is if the story heads like this. As well as all the rest of the characters, this chapter... really made her role in the story in particular to be the one to bring Aqua towards the light practically nonexistent. It's like seeing a bad ending in a game with multiple endings, it seems as if Aqua landed on the wrong timeline and we're seeing how things would be if it's one of the worst cases for his case.

I sat down and jotted things using my phone earlier. The stuff below.. I wrote it in another language and translated it using machine translate. So sorry if it's a little janky but I'm not writing this twice~

Oh, I really don't like this chapter at all, (if you like it, good for you) I'm not sure if there's any room for it to be redeemed but whatever; I really dislike it to be honest... depending on how they resolve all this? wonder if it'll hold any sort of meaning. Would there be a chance that I'd actually come to favor this? I WONDER...

My raw feelings upon having read 164! Here we go! Whew...;

Wow… I thought this manga might end on a wild, unexpected note, but this is way more extreme than I imagined.

Not sad at all… Really confused and disheartened? Seriously, what’s the point of this? I’d understand if there was meaning, reason, or a message, but…

I'm almost thankful… all this chaos in the plot and my complete inability to connect with Aqua lately saved me of a lot of sympathy. I feel bad, but mostly, I'm just left wondering: what is this?

Who would’ve wished for this ending? Not even Kamiki would want this, right? HE DID NOT WANT THIS TO HAPPEN. Isn’t it just Tsukuyomi and Aqua hoping for it somewhat?

Is Kamiki really that terrible of a person to justify going to such lengths? If it all makes sense in the end, then fine. Otherwise, is Mephisto just Aqua’s song? Is Aqua ready to sacrifice his life just to die, and see Ai again? But that can't be. Aqua wants to protect Ruby, right? Isn't he supposed to find her in life, not in death? Unless Ai matters to him more than Ruby—but the last flashback seemed to center around Ruby, not Ai.

They really have to explain and resolve this… Was Kamiki really that horrible? Why go this far?

But if the ending turns out this way, it doesn’t feel like there’s been any external pressure or editor interference—it has to be the author’s own conviction. So I guess they have a point in mind.

But I have no idea what that point is… lol. We’re at a level where the story can only be explained through divine intervention: Aqua must have had to be this extreme because it was a matter that involved gods, which could only be solved with his life, and it could not be handled with human laws.

This chapter, though—other than the shock value, it was empty. Barely anything happened. Hopefully, they’ll explain why things went this far. I keep asking, what’s the point? What’s the movie about? What’s the truth behind Ai’s death? lol. For it to go this far, Kamiki would have to be a seriously bad guy… I doubt he could be redeemed at this point. But once he's taken down, is it all over? Like, is he holding some "spirit of the entertainment industry’s evils," and killing him magically wipes it all away? Is that the idea? Oh, this is ridiculous.

At least there’s some comfort in Akane knowing the truth—that Aqua lied, that Aqua killed him. Aqua is a murderer. If they don’t explain why he did all this, I really can’t respect him for it. He turned himself into a killer for what? And he’s trying to pin the blame elsewhere so he doesn’t get called a murderer. Sure, it’s to protect Ruby… all right, I’ll believe that Kamiki really did plan to kill Ruby. But that’s the only way Aqua’s death would mean anything.

However, seeing how the whole situation actually played out, though? If Kamiki planned to instigate something against Ruby, harm her, try to kill then, there must’ve been a real threat to Ruby then and there during the performance, wouldn't it? Everything went fine; the concert went on without issue. Kamiki was watching the show very intently himself, what could he have done??? Hypnotize people through watching the screen? It doesn't seem like he planted something to ruin her stage etc HE TOLD AQUA TO CONTINUE WATCHING RUBY'S JOURNEY AS AN IDOL!! Doesn't that mean!! He wasn't planning to harm Ruby!!!! At least until her career keeps prospering? The only explanation for Aqua having done this is seriously, Kamiki being a corrupted Sarutahiko Okami, the god of guidance who can lead people into their futures. That if he stays alive, disaster is on the horizon, so he had to eliminate him in advance? He hasn’t done anything yet! Like, this is some Minority Report stuff—killing someone because they’ll commit a crime in the future? That’s the only reason I can imagine Aqua trying to kill him to protect Ruby’s future. Why go this far for someone who hasn’t even done anything to Ruby yet? HE REALLY DID NOT DO ANYTHING!! HE REALLY DID NOT!!! TURNS OUT HE DIDN'T THIS TIME!!!

Oh yeah, did Nino end up going to jail? What is going on regarding her? lol. Is Kamiki a fallen god who brainwashes people, and taking him down would end it all? Oh I need Nino behind BARS PLEASE.. OH geez, so is she a victim? Was everything she's done against her will then. She tried to stab Ruby for god's sake I can't- was that because Kamiki was a corrupted god!!! There is no logical explanation for that to happen...It'd be horrible if RYOSUKE WAS LIKE THAT TOO then I'd throw this manga in the trash, I'm really sorry but I'd HATE that. I don't want to see these sort of behavior being justified IN ANY WAY.

What’s the point of Kana in this series? What’s her purpose?

Were the earlier chapters and volumes even important? Were any of those necessary?; It doesn’t feel like a conclusion. Kana didn't need to exist in the story if this manga was going to end this way and I really enjoyed her interaction with Aqua, gosh I'm so sorry for Kana, Was this what this manga was all along…? They really didn't do any justice for Kana in this manga.

Instead of Tsukuyomi crying unnecessarily, how about she take responsibility for having summoned Aqua’s spirit and giving him purpose? She just made him die twice. No, I don't think it's Kamiki's fault he died this time, good god, it's her fault that she brought him back and set this up to have him go after his father. Ai didn't want this to happen, it wasn't her wish. None of how this played out can be for Ai because she didn't ask for it. If there's someone who'd want Kamiki dead even if it may take extreme measures in the story other than Aqua, I think it'd be her, the god of fate. I can't think of anyone else. I think Kamiki would have wanted to change Ai's fate and that's why she tried to keep him in line (besides from him being really distorted and messed up probably but we haven't seen it actually happen in detail UGH do I want to see it though, they're going to make it so ugly, I don't trust the authors to give that guy some sort of.. redeeming features anymore. Look what they did to Aqua, the main character.)

Only two chapters left, but my questions are only piling up, not shrinking in numbers. That's really alarming if this story does want to get a proper closure.

And they’re so short… can they even wrap this up coherently?

I’ll stick around to see where this goes, I'm sure I won't like what I'll see at this point though. Honestly, even if Aqua dies, as long as there’s a message, I can respect the artist's decision. Just show me what they’re trying to say. Though really, this is absurd. I have another question: why would Akane put herself through hell and consider becoming a murderer for Aqua? She has the most normal background, a stable career, and decent people around her. I always wondered how she'd try and go this far? I can see Kamiki being so for Ai, maybe Aqua being that way for Ruby.. but Akane? Akane’s even more intense than Kamiki or Aqua sometimes. It doesn't seem like pure devotion.. I've made comparisons; it may be because Ai's feelings towards Kamiki were like that and it makes a parallel, her "cute" love towards him can be found in Kana, the more "protective" and slightly obsessive? type could be found in her maybe. Well, in the end, neither Akane nor Kana could save Aqua. And as for Aqua "saving" Ruby… I'm not so sure about that either. Is she going to be okay after all this? Aqua being alive would have been better; even if she couldn't be an idol, she’d find comfort in knowing her brother was protecting her. I can imagine her thinking, “My brother tried to protect me!” and actually feeling relief out of it. Japan has the death penalty, right? Would Aqua have gotten it if he killed Kamiki? Or maybe just ten-odd years in prison? Did he think it’d be cleaner to die than face that fate? Then this seems more like something he did for himself.

Aqua could have just shoved him off, right? Kamiki didn’t have a knife, didn’t show intent to attack, and so when Aqua pushed him, he fell pretty helplessly. Was Kamiki “blessed” so he couldn’t die without Aqua’s life being given as a tribute or what?

Honestly, I don’t think Aqua did the right thing. Am I supposed to sympathize with this? I hope the remaining two chapters fix things. But why’d it have to go this far? He didn’t even fulfill Ai’s wishes… Ruby’s happiness? Nah. I don't see that either. Ruby's future?? Hm, questionable, maybe yes if KAMIKI'S A FALLEN GOD. Maybe her friends can take care of her, I guess. BUT Gosh. this is just terrible to all the people who loved Aqua.

I’m sure the author has some point to make. I just hope they have something meaningful to say. Aqua got himself into this mess. What was Ai’s life worth in all this? That six-pointed star keep popping up—isn’t she watching from above? Will Aqua become a star, too? What a fulfilling way to resolve his arc huh. Becoming a star. I don't like it.

If the message is solid, I’ll accept it, but this chapter gave me no sense of it. At this rate, I hope they just hurry up and end it all without messing things up any further. I want this to end well, yeah, but it's already past that mark, ain't it??;; Who'd have bought this manga to see Aqua of all people die??? Seeing how Ruby is, I’d be shocked if she doesn’t lose herself the way her father's been. I swear, Ruby’s temperament is closer to Kamiki’s, while Aqua is more like Ai. What if Ruby becomes a second Kamiki and starts gathering light to find her brother again…? History repeats itself and we'll see her with those black star eyes going after people. They say Ruby’s Amaterasu, right? And if Kamiki’s Sarutahiko, they’re both sun gods at their core. So, you know. They may end up being even similar than how they are now.

What’s the author trying to say? That’s what matters to me.

I really hope Ai’s love for Kamiki wasn’t meaningless. I didn’t expect much, bracing myself for the worst, but if that turns out to be meaningless, then yeah… the worst-case scenario for my case. Ai having twins with someone she loved—if that’s portrayed as a mistake… then this manga doesn’t deserve a place in the industry. If it’s trying to reflect the industry, it should have a sense of responsibility.

They better bring in some godly backstory in these last two chapters, or there’s no way they can justify this. Kamiki must really be a fallen god, right? With everything that's happened? And they did drop those hints—the stars, too. I’d like some proper explanation on those star eyes; So are those related to literal stars- the gods? What are those and how do they have powers? Oh those have to do with the gods...They did say Ai became a star!

Wrote this all in one go on my phone at dawn! Done!

[cq-studios]

Would you like to share anything from or about your Ventus (& Strelitzia) fic ?

Sure, I’m in the midst of rewriting it right now (doing that technique where you write it again but only the parts you remember) and the original fic was never finished but I can give some snippets.

Untitled “everyone thinks Ventus has a crush on Strelitzia but he actually can’t stop thinking about her because he killed her” WIP below the cut

Sora had finally made it back. After a whole year of searching, Riku was able to guide him back to the Realm of Light. Ven, like the rest of them, was smiling so wide his cheeks hurt.

The thing was, they weren’t alone.

A girl stepped out of the portal behind them. She wore a white dress and red bows in her hair. Something in his heart itched.

She scanned the people surrounding her, giving everyone a glance. Then her eyes landed on Ven. And on Ven her eyes stayed, alight with fear.

Ven’s stomach sank with familiarity. His breathing quickened. The itch turned to a jackhammer, rattling his core.

He took a step back. Then another. Then another.

It’s her.

Who’s her?

He broke eye contact.

“Are you alright?” Xion looked up at him with earnesty.

Through the fading dread, Ven managed a shaky grin and a nod. The girl’s brow furrowed but, thankfully, she didn’t push. He wondered if he and Roxas made similar faces when they lied.

“Come on, introduce yourself,”

“H-hello, I’m Strelitzia”.

Strelitzia.

The name rang in his head like bells. A cacophony just like the end. Like a new beginning.

It’s all my fault.

What is?

“Aren’t you going to say hi, Ven?” Aqua asked, concern not even hidden as she passed by.

Everyone seemed to be introducing themselves now. Strelitzia looked a little overwhelmed by all the attention.

“Uh, maybe… I don’t want to be rude but she, uh… makes me feel” he grappled for a word, “weird”.

“Weird?”

He wasn’t sure that was a good enough word.

“Nervous?”

That didn’t feel right either.

Aqua paused for a moment, Ven could see the gears turning in her head.

“Alright”

———

And then here’s a couple of scenes from the older version

———

(This is a scene that takes place after poor Ven digs himself deeper into a hole lol)

Terra and Aqua shared a knowing look and big amused smiles.

“Wha-? What’s that look for?”

“It's just cute”

“Huh?”

“You like her, don’t you?”

“I-I guess,” why is this important? “She seems nice, bu-” He paused mid sentence when he realized his friends’ smiles were growing even wider, “wait. You mean-” his cheeks were on fire in an instant, hands flying to cover his face, “Ahh! No! Gross guys”.

“You are around that age,” “Past it even”.

“Lalala! Not listening,”

“‘I can’t stop thinking about her’,”

“Guys, seriously, stop. It’s not a crush!” His confidence faltered, “At least… I-I don’t think it is”.

Maybe crushes did feel this way. He wouldn’t know, he’d never had one. But if they were supposed to feel like this he couldn’t imagine why anyone would want the feeling. It was just so... so suffocating.

———

“Kairi?”

“Hm?” The girl turned her head and eyed him expectantly.

Ven’s mouth suddenly felt like a desert. Was he really going to ask this? Was he even close enough with her to ask this? It’s a personal question. Maybe he shouldn’t bother.

No. He- He had to know.

He steeled his nerves and the question fell from his mouth, “do you have a- a crush on someone?”

The other wielder blinked in surprise and awkwardly, almost sympathetically replied, “Uh, yes, I do… why”

Ven felt so incredibly sheepish. In a voice barely louder than a whisper he asked, “What does it feel like?”

“Oh,” Something that resembled relief flashed in her expression, leaving Ven to wonder what she thought he was going to say, “(she’s supposed to describe it here but I don’t know how and I felt too awkward to ask someone lol)”

“So you don’t feel sick?”

“Feel sick?”

“That’s how I feel around Strelitzia…” “Aqua and Terra think I have a crush on her but-”

“But you aren’t sure”.

Ven shook his head

“Well, everyone’s different, but that doesn’t sound like a crush to me”

[aihoshiino]

chapter 129 thoughts

Takamine confirmed! She's the B-Komachi member with the dog pin, which confirms that Watanabe is the girl with the frog pin. I honestly think I felt a bigger sense of closure over that than anything else in this chapter......................

Takamine's open hostility as portrayed in the movie is also interesting, though it does make me raise an eyebrow. It contrasts Kyun's description of B-Komachi from Viewpoint B where she explicitly says there was no bullying - even in 45510, the narrator only ever mentions one of the girls starting shit with Ai and never any internal nastiness. If the 45510 narrator is Takamine, this makes sense given that she's quick to insist she's just giving Nino some tough love and that hostility framed as reverence matches the 45510 narrator's entanglement of desire and spite directed towards Ai.

Still, it does feel like a nod that we should be taking the framing of the movie with a grain of salt - this is a fictionalized, dramatized version of events filtered through at least two very pissed off people, after all. Aqua, if nothing else, has good reason to make the people who were cruel to his mother look particularly bad and the screenplay has been described as a particularly malicious one.

Akane interacting with characters who aren't Aqua!!! Blessed be!!! Honestly, the Akane & Kana interactions this chapter got a good chuckle out of me, moreso than I was expecting. Akane's "i'm not having fun bullying her :)" [internally: i'm having the time of my life] made me do a solid out loud Sensible Chuckle. That said, I really do hope the movie arc takes this chance to progress their dynamic past this sniping, because as funny as it is... man, they've been doing this shit since before Tokyo Blade and I've said before that it feels so weird to me that the end of that arc ends on what should feel like a big change in the status quo of their relationship but it's largely just been the same hostility over and over and over again.

On that note, it feels odd we didn't get a reaction of any kind from him to Ruby's portrayal of Ai given how uncanny the similarity is, down to Mengo basically just drawing her as Ai with one hoshigan this entire chapter lol.

Speaking of Ai... I think the best way to nail down how this chapter made me feel was uneasy.

I'm hoping this is me focusing too much on something that's ultimately not important, but the idea that Ai's 'hidden feelings' were those of anger really doesn't sit right with me - especially with the implication that this anger was fundamental enough to Ai's person that Ruby needed to tap into it to properly portray her.

I'm not at all against OnK diving into the idea that Ai had darker, messier feelings than the ones we've been privy to. In fact, I think it would be a good way of resolving a trap it threatens to fall into sometimes, where Ai is a bit of a 'perfect' victim as far as storytelling is concerned and letting her having some blemishes would be interesting.

My issue here is more that this characterization of Ai hiding anger specifically is what feels weird to me - it doesn't feel like it coheres with the Ai we get such a clear view of in volume 1 and Viewpoint B. The impression I get much, much more strongly there is of deep sadness and loneliness, desperation and fear. If there is anger, it's pointed inwards at herself in frustration and self-blame, so the idea that Ruby needs to Be Angry to properly get across Ai's feelings on camera makes me more than a little worried for where the movie arc is going to go in terms of characterizing Ai lol.

Basically, I don't necessarily mind the story deciding to recontexualize Ai and add this new layer of hidden bitterness so long as it's actually consistent and additive characterization and not just replacing and retconning what we've been given before.

Again, though, this is in-universe fiction that has been dramatized and warped to suit a very pissed off person's malicious purposes, so I think there's some wiggle room in terms of how accurate it can be assumed to be in its portrayal of Ai herself.

I also have mixed feelings about the way Gotanda's directing is being portrayed, but that's something I'll be able to dig into and talk about more the more we see of it.

[ask-specter-sisters]

@askponydei For real though, what's up with that super weird cutie mark? What is that even supposed to be? Creepy teeth? Is your special talent eating bananas?

---

I'm a foal in horseshoes! I've made it this far without realizing that I couldn't send asks from a sideblog... doh! So this is my way of submitting an ask lol. Sorry I'm such a foal. Also don't read too much into it, the banana is from @askbananapie since I saw them give you a banana earlier.

Image ID Below Cut

Image 1:

Ghostfire, a green unicorn with aqua and blue hair looks concerned as her sister, Spirit Light, a pale blue unicorn with teal hair winces and raises a hoof to shield her eyes. Her one visible eye is clouded with recurrent uveitis. In the foreground, Deidara, a light tan pegasus with yellow hair sits on his haunches obliviously eating a banana.

Ghostfire:Hey sis... you okay? Is it another migraine? You need a break?

Spirit Light: No... no I'm fine... it's just... that guy... his aura is... bright...

Ghostfire: Who? Banana guy? What do you mean his aura is 'bright'?

Spirit Light: I don't know... it's just...

Image 2:

Deidara's outline is shown wreathed in bright flame colors, the center-most point of brightness is located around his cutie mark, which is an obscure symbol vaguely reminiscent of teeth and stitches.

Spirit Light: It's just... bright. Sort of like rage... but also not...

Spirit Light: It's all centered on his strange cutie mark...

Spirit Light: I've never seen anything like it...

Image 3:

The same scene as the first image. Ghostfire has lifted her head to address Deidara, who has turned his head with a quizzical expression. Spirit Light has buried her face fully in her foreleg.

Ghostfire: Hey banana boy! What's the deal with your cutie mark?

Spirit Light: Ghostfire! You can't just ask somepony what the deal with their cutie mark is!

Ghostfire: I can when their cutie mark is so weird that my blind baby sister can see it!

Spirit Light: It's still rude! [softly] And I'm not a baby.

Deidara: Banana boy?

[dreadfutures]

I made gallons of aqua regia in grad school and I have regularly worked with piranha my whole career, it's what you gotta do lol

I know plenty of people who work with HF daily. I do not; I do not want to come close to dealing w the consequences, which are somewhat immediate and fatal. With *strong acids* such as AR and piranha though, it will be painful and unpleasant and scar you but it won't kill you unless you ingest it or lie like unconscious in a pool of it.

There are ways to fully protect yourself from AR and piranha, like using compatible gloves and double gloving, changing your gloves often, using protective sleeves over your labcoat, keeping your hood sash down, wearing a face shield if you're that scared of it, and not *dumping* incompatible materials into it (such as organics).

Like you are doing something very wrong if the materials are posing a serious hazard to you such that you're afraid to be in the same room. I don't even know how it's possible to get a fire or an explosion with Nitric acid or piranha except if you're *completely oblivious* to the hazards. If you know the hazards and follow the protocols you're going to be fine.

I know the hazards and protocols of HF, and same with organomercuries, but I don't want the responsibility and concern of *immediate and painful death* to be a constant worry so I refuse to work with them. That's fine too.

[bluemoon160]

【IᑎTᖇOᗪᑌᑕTIOᑎ】 💙🌌

Hey everyone! My name is Rosalind but I also go by Ross or Ros. OR you could call me by my internet names Blue or Bluemoon if you’d like! (It’s a lot of names I know lol sorry. Just pick whatever).

I’m a 20yo artist, writer, and editor who will be mostly focusing on fanart, self ship, furry content, and maybe some cosplay on this blog. I do have a business focused on my published books, OCs, and editing services which you can find here if you’re interested. I’m more active over on those accounts since I work on that stuff almost full time now but I try and post fan/personal content when I can. This blog specifically will be a place for all my self indulgent interests. I may not be super active here but will try to anyway :)

【ᗪIᔕᑕᒪᗩIᗰEᖇ】

Skip ahead to read more about me, my, interests, and who I ship with, etc. But in the meantime, I need to get this out of the way and say that I really wanna make new friends here but I’m also hesitant to rejoin any sort of self ship and/or fan communities because of how many horrible experiences I’ve had with them before. Perhaps Tumblr is different but I wanted to put this out here for my own peace of mind lol. So please be patient with me. I grew up in fandom and self ship spaces that had constant arguments about literally everything. I didn’t even know what half of these discourses were even about and everything I’ve learned has been against my will. So no, this is not me “taking a side”, I just don’t want to be apart of drama anymore. My morals are this: live and let live unless you’re supporting/romanticizing anything immoral. If you have genuine critiques about how I portray certain things then definitely let me know since I’m always concerned about how I represent stuff, but aside from that, this is just a blog to talk about stuff I like so let’s keep it chill please. 🧍‍♂️

【ᗩᗷOᑌT ᗰE】

⭐My full name Rosalind B. Sterling (or you can call me by the other names listed above)

⭐I’m 20 (covered that lol)

⭐I’m bi and aroace (I also sometimes use the term procul but I don’t identify with it as a sexuality. Just an add on term for my asexuality to explain how my sexual attraction fades away once my relationship with someone becomes real).

⭐I’m genderfluid and my pronouns are she/he/they

⭐I’m mixed race/Puerto Rican

⭐I’m neurodivergent (OCD, MaDD, and a few other things) so tone tags would be great to use around me but they’re not required

⭐I currently live Ohio (yes I’ve heard all the jokes and they’re honestly pretty accurate lmao)

⭐My favorite colors are aqua, bright purple, hot pink, and neon green

【ᖴ/O's】

Note: some of these characters might come from controversial media. I just like them for personal/creative/self indulgent reasons so don’t interact if these make you uncomfortable.

“Main” f/o’s

(Putting this in quotes since I hardly ever talk about these characters nowadays. They’ve just been my main for a while and I feel too attached to take them off the list)

⭐Dan {Dan Vs.} (Started shipping 7 years ago)

⭐Gary {Final Space} (Starting shipping 6 years ago).

Current main:

⭐ Alastor {Hazbin Hotel} (Started shipping 4 years ago) And before anyone comes after me with the “but he’s aroace!” comments, I know that and I don’t erase it. I’m aroace too and kind of imagine him and my S/I being in a possible QPR type thing. I still have developing to do. I just like the thought of two aroaces hitting it off and bonding closely. I take a lot of comfort in him as a fellow aroace so leave me be please 😭

⭐The Narrator and Stanley {The Stanley Parable} (This one’s a polyship and is pretty recent. Been shipping for about 7 months now)

Other f/o’s:

⭐Pinkie pie {MLP}

⭐Reagan {Inside job}

⭐Jinx {Arcane}

Other characters I like but don't consider f/o’s:

⭐Connor {Detroit Become Human}

⭐The Warden {Superjail}

⭐Andre {Inside Job}

⭐Ken {Barbie Movie}

⭐Mike {fnaf movie}

⭐️Rarity {MLP}

⭐Reigen {Mob Psycho 100}

⭐Archer {Archer} (It's always the walking red flags that get me 😔)

Familial/platonic f/o’s:

The only ones I can think of rn is Angel Dust from Hazbin Hotel. I kinda see them all like family tbh but specifically Angel Dust. Also maybe Kirk from Star Trek. Like we’d definitely be besties I’m so fr.

There’s probably more but I’d have to think about it.

【KIᑎs】

⭐Reagan {Inside job}

⭐Brett {Inside job}

⭐Moxxie {Helluvaboss}

⭐️ Millie {Helluvaboss}

⭐Tina {Bob’s burgers} (This one’s so funny to me but it’s so true. She’s literally me in every way possible😭)

Am I comfy sharing any of my f/os and kins?

Yes! I’m fine having doubles. I used to hate it a few years back but now that my mental health is a little more in check and I don’t have to rely on self shipping for major comfort like I used to, I no longer feel bothered by that. It was unhealthy anyway. Not to judge anyone who hates having doubles. I understand folks have pretty valid reasons for it. I just realized the attachment I had to these characters was turning into an unhealthy kind of obsession and was hurting me more than helping. I’m out of that place now luckily. I still self ship for comfort reasons but it’s not as in ease as it was before and mostly just for funsies now. If you're comfy sharing and we have doubles, totally message me so we can gush and ramble together! I love doing that 🫶💖

【ᗰY ᖴᑌᖇᔕOᑎᗩ】

Putting this here too since I'll probbaly be sharing furry stuff whenever I get the chance. So here is my eyesore of a fursona which is a wolf/fox/bat hybrid with a scene kid aesthetic who looks like every middle school edgelord oc deisgn vomited into one character. But idc honestly. I’m not doing anything serious with her and am just having fun. I also might use her for self shipping if I end up F/Oing any anthro characters but idk.

Art credit goes to coral-kun

【IᑎTEᖇEᔕTᔕ】

⭐Anything sci fi, crime, or comedy

⭐Any time era from before the 2010s. Though I specifically love the 20s-50s, and 80s-2000s the best :)

⭐Cartoons. Specifically for adults. Adult swim is literally my go to channel lol

⭐Reading, writing, art, crafting, etc

⭐Space, science, dinosaurs/paleontology and history

⭐Animals and zoos

⭐Conspiracy theories and mysteries

⭐Anything horror, paranormal, or creepy pasta

【ᑕᒪOᔕIᑎG】

And that's it! I hope I can meet some new friends and stuff but also predict that my reach won't be all that huge since I've never had massive luck with algorithms. Especially as of late. But if you're seeing this, don't be afraid to message me or interact! I love meeting new folks :3

[bianconeri]

Girl we need a dusan chart reading like the fede one por favorr🙏🏻

okay deep inhale. I'm ready

again just focusing on the personal planets like I did for fede as those are really the core of someone's personality

sun in aquarius: this placement is pretty creative and intelligent. aquarius in general is known to be a pretty quirky/unique placement– the sign is ruled by uranus, which is the only planet that rotates on its side, which explains the quirkiness lol. aquarius is often mistaken for a water sign because of its name and constellation, meaning/representing the "water bearer" but it is an air sign. the water bearer is actually bearing "the water of knowledge"– air signs are all about the mind, intellect. water signs on the other hand are all about emotion. which is an amazing segway into... moon in scorpio: well if you read the fede posts you prob got a LOT of scorpio insight already lmao but again, the key words for this sign are mystery, passion, intuition. scorpio moon in particular is a VERY emotional placement...even if they aren't outwardly emotional, they feel EVERYTHING deeply. charming, understanding, and even described as being sort of "psychic" because of how in tune they are to the moods surrounding them. this placement is honestly rly cool lol mercury in aquarius: another aqua placement so I will try not to write too much (lord I already wrote the whole old testament atp). logical, intuitive, idealistic, and usually a humanitarian. this is probably the most extreme mercury placement because mercury is "happy" with this sign– the open minded nature of an aquarius fits perfectly with the planet that rules over intellect. definitely a bit of a rebel tho (that silly goofy uranus...) venus in capricorn: this is one of my favorite placements hehe (yes I have it too yes I am biased) this placement is all about commitment and yeah I know we're all already laughing because...dusan? but stay with me. ofc venus sign is most associated with love, but it also rules desire more broadly. venus in cap is looking at the long-term value of something rather than rushing into anything. this placement is also known for being concerned with money, even sometimes being called materialistic. very high expectations– so though this is a sign that craves long-term commitment, it is also hard to even get to that stage with them because their standards sometimes seem unreachable (damn I feel like I'm doing a #READ on myself rn). def comes off as mature. also secretly passionate finally...mars in pisces: oh this is fun. another passionate placement! a pacifist in conflict, a people-pleaser, compassionate– but also not very direct. in a lot of ways this placement is a bit of a contradiction, an enigma...mars is the planet of anger, aggression, physicality, while pisces is a sign known for being peaceful and intuitive. as a result, you get this kind of "go with the flow" type of person, although that's not to say they just never get angry– remember this is a water sign and they feel things very deeply. pisces is known to be a bit of a dreamer, so you can imagine this person to retreat into their own head when things get difficult, prefering to hide out in their magical fantasy world rather than confront the problem head on. I think this is a good placement to look at side by side with his moon in scorpio. while the scorpio moon (and scorpio placements in general) like to hide their emotions, the pisces mars has a difficult time controlling their emotions. the intuitive nature of both of these placements, the "psychic" nature of the scorpio moon, and the people pleasing aspect of the pisces mars, makes for someone who would prefer to help people with their problems than go to others with their own problems. this is someone who definitely should invest in a journal. LMAO

[angeltism]

You obviously don't have to say but how's your ear?? You posted about it earlier so I'd figured If ask if everything was okay!

Oh, thank you for the concern!! Means a decent bit to me, lol :3 Everything's fine, turns out it's something called eustachian tune dysfunction. It's nawt serious, and the doctor said I don't need any meds for it (although certain things may help more or less with lessening it) so yay!

Bonus info about this under the cut, just in case "scrolling past someone explaining medical stuff" is nawt something somebeing wants to do today!! It's a massive ramble but hey this is at blog aqua dash palette you should be expecting this by now /silly

Basically my ears don't "pop" like they should to relieve pressure, so I have some fluid buildup, especially in my right ear. This causes the ringing and pain. Using methods to pop my ears the way people do when they're on flights like holding my nose ++ closing my mouth ++ trying to breath out or chewing gum helps relieve the pressure.

I googled it afterwards and apparently it's typically caused by infections, but the doctor didn't mention anything like that, and even mentioned he's been dealing with it for years, so it's probably.. chronic? If that's the word? Although I haven't seen anything about it like that so I dunno, I am nawt a doctor!!!

I've been trying a bunch of ways to try and make my ears pop but it hasn't been working, so I've taken some meds the doctor suggested for their side effects and have been continuing to try and relieve the pressure through other ways. If nothing works after another week I'll probably go back since there are surgical methods to solve this, but I doubt I'll need em. Hopefully?

Anyways this ramble was sponsored by "I spent an hour reading about this the moment I got home from the clinic" ermm. Idk what else to say.

..I suppose I'll remind people to do their own research about things, especially medical things!! This specifically is a silly example bc I haven't mentioned anything serious like medication or symptoms and it's nawt at all super serious thing, but reminding people of that when reading stuff is good, me thinks! Even if this is just a general reminder! ^__^

[skania]

Do you have an opinion or analysis on why Akasaka made Kana so dependent on Aqua? even though she was initially introduced to her independent figure. But after meeting Aqua, Kana's figure became very dependent. Even in hier work and everyday life to be bad. Fans and those around her can clearly see that Kana is not well. And it was all because of Aqua. Actually I don't like the independent character of Kana to be dependent on men. I like Kana and it makes me a little disappointed with her character. I know they call it "honest" and "not hiding her feelings" but it bothers me especially when I know that Akane's character is very mature and doesn't depend on Aqua. But I was confused why they said it was Akane who depended on Aqua. Do they read other manga? i'm Kana fan but for this story i really want she can stand up for herself and live her life without Aqua and just be a good friend. For me Kana and Aqua is more toxic because Kana can depend on Aqua but Aqua cannot depend on Kana. For me they are opposites and I realized that Kana is too concerned about her own feelings than Aqua. That's the bad side that Kana has. I realized that Kana always blamed Aqua and never tried to understand Aqua. That's why I prefer them to be good friends. I feel bad for Kana and Aqua but I feel even worse for Akane. She is the only good girl, almost have no flaws here, but her character is often misunderstood. These three should be happy because they deserve it. I don't like love wars and they are tiring to deal with. I prefer Kana to be independent and aware of her potential. Back as confident as Akane had ever seen. I hope Kana and Akane can be good friends. Kana and Aqua personallity can't even match as well as a couple. I like your analysis about Kana's character and it help me to catching up with the manga well^^ thanks to you!

Thank you for your message, anon! You've listed a lot of my own feelings about this, specially when you say that it's like people are reading a different manga with the way they describe the girls' and their relationships with Aqua lol You have also mentioned a lot of the reasons why Aqua and Kana don't work as a ship for me.

As for why Aka made Kana so dependant on Aqua, my best guess is that he did it to expose the contradiction in her character. She seems independent, but that's because she forces herself to be that way. Deep down, she is desperately looking for someone to depend on. I'd even say that her biggest weakness is being overtly dependent on external approval. If you praise her, Kana melts and lets her guard down. We see this with Aqua, with Pieyon (Aqua) and we see this with the director, too.

By turning Aqua into Kana's crutch and then taking him away, Aka forces Kana to face this weakness of hers and what it turns her to. She doesn't like it one bit and makes up her mind to become a big panda no matter what. To me, this means that Kana is finally ready to grow into someone who looks inwards instead of outwards when it comes to validation. And thus, into someone who is truly emotionally independent instead of just acting the part.

But of course, this is just my personal interpretation. Don't hesitate to let me know if it makes sense to you as a Kana fan!

No worries anon, you explained yourself perfectly! You raise a very good question, here's what I replied to a fellow anon who raised a similar point. It does seem to me that unlike Kana and Ruby, who have character arcs unrelated to Aqua (Kana's aspiration to become a big panda, Ruby's ties to her mother figures/her past as Sarina/wanting to play at the dome/etc), Akane's is completely tied to Aqua's. This could be an issue in another manga where the love-interest is passive and removed from the plot, but since Akane is allowed to directly interact with the plot and to move the story forward, it luckily evens out (for me, at least). Though I'd love to have more Akane slice-of life lol

[masteraqua]

so instead of sleeping this week, i plotted out an act one finale to my kh3 reimagining

having broken out of hell early in act one, aqua, fueled by spite and rage, has spent the last several game hours wandering the worlds in search of ventus’s heart, leaving destruction in her wake

i’ve moved some worlds around in my lineup so that vanitas can be reconstructed sooner

thus brings us to the start of the act one finale, where sora, donald, and goofy encounter dark aqua in radiant garden (subject to change) and she is NOT happy to see vanitas’s face walking around in broad daylight

fortunately (unfortunately?) for sora, the actual vanitas appears moments later to antagonize aqua, taunting her with the fact that he’s here, but not ventus. however, if she really wants ven back, she’s in luck, because his heart is very close by! hint hint

sora is of course entirely confused by what’s happening, but he does recognize that an angry keyblade master is being sicced on him

cue feral aqua boss fight (vanitas forcefielded donald and goofy out of the way to make things more interesting)

sora doesn’t want to fight aqua, but he’s also trying very hard not to die

aqua would rather bash vanitas’s stupid face in, but she has bigger fish to fry at the moment and can come back for him later

the fight is more or less a rehash of the mirror aqua battles from 0.2, but it ends when aqua reaches 50% health because she doesn't have time for this

at this point, aqua unleashes a desperation attack and knocks sora’s ass out. then she picks up the body and, with one last glare at vanitas, summons a corridor of darkness. donald and goofy look on helplessly as aqua and sora vanish into it

scene ends

putting the rest under a read more because it got, uh….long lol

scene switches to riku, kairi, mickey, and axel, who are together in twilight town (subject to change). they are finishing clearing out some heartless when kairi and riku suddenly sense that something is wrong. just then, their gummiphones start ringing. donald and goofy are on the other end, frantically explaining what happened

there are many questioned to be answered, but time is of the essence and they need to get going. but just as the party begins to move, an organization member (undecided) appears, with the apparent aim of slowing them down. the black coat drops some more heartless and/or nobodies for our heroes to deal with, and then promptly peaces out

a moment of hesitation passes over the group, unsure what the best course of action is, then axel declares that he and mickey will stay behind to deal with these guys. riku and kairi share a brief look of concern, but ultimately agree and summon a portal

scene ends

—♡—

some time later, sora awakens in a stark white room, ornate and lifeless: the chamber of waking. in the center is a boy, sleeping soundly upon a throne

sora, understandably, mistakes the boy for roxas, but aqua, sitting solemly in the corner (pretend there’s a corner in this circular room), corrects him

instinctively, sora draws his weapon, but aqua does not react. she’s staring into space, looking defeated and tired

sora asks where they are. aqua tells him it was once called the land of departure and that she and ventus trained there alongside terra…but now it's just an empty maze full of memories

sora comments that the place feels familiar somehow, then hesitantly asks if ven’s heart is inside him. he hadn’t followed everything that vanitas had said, but he’d pieced that much together. aqua nods silently in confirmation

then sora asks why she hasn’t tried to release his heart, since that’s why she brought him here. aqua explains that she did try, but it's buried too deep inside sora's heart for her to find. she laments that she's a worthless master who can’t save anyone—not her friends, not even herself

sora thinks this over, then, being sora, volunteers to search his heart himself. this takes aqua by surprise, considering she had just tried to, y’know. murder him

but sora knows what it’s like when a friend loses their heart, and if he has an opportunity to help someone, that’s what he’ll always do

sora readies his keyblade, and as a white light fills the room, aqua finally asks for his name. sora smiles as he answers her and aqua’s eyes widen

scene ends

—♡—

when the scene fades back in on sora, he’s at the station of awakening, a familiar sight which quickly twists and warps into a new shape. thus begins a surreal dreamlike sequence that sees sora journey through the layers of his own heart. i’m imagining something very escher-like involving stairs and doors. it can even be a fun puzzle platforming level

with every level he descends, he uncovers a new heart, represented by a station of awakening. the first is roxas’s, which he already knew about, but then next is someone unfamiliar, a girl, whose face in the colored glass is obscured, but whose presence carries immense sadness

finally, at the furthest depths of his heart, he finds ven’s station. a speck of light floats in the center, as though waiting for him: ven’s heart. but to his surprise, someone else is also there, standing between them, still as a statue and pale as a ghost

it’s naminé

or at least it appears to be. her face is downcast and her eyes are closed

sora calls to her, trying to make sense of her presence here, but she’s completely motionless

then, as sora reaches out to touch her, a light flashes and he’s sent flying backwards

when he recovers, he sees that her eyes have opened, revealing pure, glowing white

naminé’s voice echoes throughout the space: “their hurting will be mended when you return to end it.” her eyes lock on to him. “will you end it?”

suddenly darkness manifests around ven’s heart, forming thick chains that weave tightly around it, shackling it in place. memories—ventus’s memories—begin to fill the air like a fog, formless but dense. a chain lashes out at sora, striking him down and inflicting a pain that grips his heart, a pain born of memories that are not his own

climbing back to his feet, sora summons his keyblade—and then to his shock, naminé does the same. hers is fragmented and glowing white, fading in and out of existence. she assumes a defensive stance

sora doesn’t know what’s going on, but he will fight if he needs to. he rushes in and naminé returns in kind, beginning a….unique boss battle

every attack is countered perfectly, leaving no room for an opening, but naminé does not initiate any attacks herself. instead, the chains strike out at him in retaliation. whenever sora takes a hit, memories echo around the room. loss, betrayal, despair—hurt

sora does not have any healing items here, and access to magic is locked during the battle, so the player cannot restore HP. instead, sora will continue to take damage whenever a counterattack lands, until he reaches 1 HP. at 1 HP, the memories become a cacophony, ceaseless and all-encompassing

however, further attacks will not do any more damage, and at this point the battle reaches a stalemate as neither side can take or deal damage. but it will continue indefinitely until the player finds another solution

eventually (hopefully), the player will realize that neither naminé nor the chains will attack if he doesn't, and if he stands still, naminé will too. after an arbitrary number of seconds of standing around (10?), a prompt will appear on the screen to dismiss your keyblade. if you do, naminé will follow suit and you can walk up to her. a secondary prompt will then appear with two choices: accept the hurt, or forsake it

choosing acceptance will end the fight and sora will hug naminé, memories flooding into him

the pain is overwhelming, more than one person can carry, but shouldering burdens is what friends do. after what feels like an eternity, the wave subsides

when they part, naminé appears to be more like her real self, smiling softly. she nods once in gratitude before fading away

(choosing the second option will kick the player back to the most recent story checkpoint lmao)

sora understands now what the power of waking is. with keyblade in hand, sora unsteadily unlocks the chains binding ven's heart

ven says that he recognizes sora's presence, that he's the one who gave him shelter here. sora is still reeling from onslaught of  memories, but he confirms this

they converse for a while until sora reminds him that their friends are waiting for them. ven has been here for so long that he isn’t sure he even knows the way back anymore. sora smiles, extends his hand, and promises to show the way

scene ends

—♡—

scene fades back in on aqua, still waiting in the chamber, steadfastly watching over the two boys. suddenly a dark corridor opens and vanitas flies out, keyblade raised

aqua blocks the attack, demanding to know how he found this room; it's supposed to be hidden. vanitas laughs his little gremlin laugh and reminds her that he's the other half of ventus's heart; he just needed her to lead him to the body

a fight ensues, basically the same as kh3, except this time you get to play as feral aqua, as a treat :)

when vanitas realizes that he can’t win a fair fight against aqua, he targets ven and sora at the same time, thinking that she can’t save them both. as usual, he is wrong—but it does leave aqua open for just a moment, which is all he needs to beat her down

then, as he prepares to deliver the final blow, a flash of light floods the room and ven intercepts the attack, sending vanitas crashing into the wall

vanitas's mask shatters and sora, still recovering from the onslaught of memories, finally gets a good look at the troublemaker. you can imagine his reaction yourself

vanitas somehow still has the nerve to taunt them even as he's outnumbered, but aqua, back on her feet, sends a magic blast of the bash-your-face-in variety straight at him

vanitas dodges and ultimately decides to back off, but he promises to see them all again very soon. with that, he disappears back into the darkness whence he came

aqua moves to follow him, but ven stops her, unspoken questions hanging uncertainly in the air. she struggles to meet his gaze, angry tears forming in the corners of her eyes

she tells him that she didn’t want it to be like this. she never meant for it to take so long to come back for him, or for him to see her at her worst when she did

ven reassures her that it’s okay, and that he forgives her for whatever she’s done. she can rest now

aqua collapses and ven embraces her as she cries. then, for the first time since she escaped the darkness, she smiles. lifting her keyblade, she transforms the castle back into its original form. at the same time, aqua herself has also returned to normal. happy cheers all around

with everything calm again, the three chat amiably for a while until donald, goofy, riku, and kairi come barreling through the doors, apparently ready to fight. when donald and goofy see that sora is okay, they tackle him to the ground

the others look relieved as well, but they're more preoccupied with  the revelation of aqua and ven

sora asks how they found him, and goofy answers that they traced his gummiphone signal to this location, but it was empty until a moment ago when this world suddenly appeared out of nowhere

sora pulls out his phone and finds several missed calls and messages from riku and kairi. he apologizes with a sheepish grin

formal introductions are made to get everyone up to speed before sora breaks down what happened inside his heart: naminé left a remnant behind to help him understand how to awaken a sleeping heart burdened by pain. yet another reason to thank her

he also tells them of roxas’s heart as well as that of the mysterious girl and how they might be clues to restoring a nobody’s heart

lastly, sora thinks that kairi has had the power of waking the entire time, because she was able to save him when he turned into a heartless. this means that they can each bring back roxas and naminé, though this still doesn’t account for where they’re going to PUT those hearts once they’re free

but that is a problem for another day. today they recovered two of their missing guardians, and they deserve some rest

ACT ONE ENDS

—♡—

extra notes (because i somehow still have extra notes jesus christ):

mickey and axel catch up soon after the others

LoD becomes a hub world for the rest of the game. you can talk to the other guardians in-between disney worlds, practice sparring, and a moogle shop even moves in!

aqua and ven will of course go looking for terra, even though they've been told he's been conscripted into xehanort's army. assuming the lingering will encounter is canon, sora can provide that information as a starting point

keyblade training does not exist in my version of kh3 because i hate it so kairi and axel are off having actual adventures together while also following up on their personal motives: naminé and isa

axel continues to have visions of xion throughout this

riku and mickey spent the first act trying (and failing) to catch up to aqua, but now riku is being haunted by a ghost from his past: repliku

sora's next main goal is saving roxas, and the next batch of disney worlds should give him some ideas for how to go about that

i have some thoughts for how all of this ties together, but that....is another post

i'm so tired

thinking about a kh3 au where aqua is norted anti-d at the beginning instead of at the end of the first act and uses the darkness to escape the RoD

with her newfound freedom, the first thing she does is go straight to castle oblivion to make sure ven's body is still safe, and then when that's confirmed, she turns her sights to tracking down his heart.

somehow she needs to find out where it is but i haven't figured that part out yet. in any case, it won't go over well for sora.

i like this version of events bc a) aqua has more agency and b) sora isn't beating up aqua to cure her depression, he's fighting for his life against a deadly threat.

[yuseirra]

My brain keeps running on its own trying to formulate a way to make sense out of it all but at this point, I wonder if it'd be worth theorizing(If I can think of something good I'll still love to share :) )

Believe it or not, I'm very, very, very stern about trying to stay true to canon.. Because working with existing characters, they have their cores don't they? I really do want to care about portraying them in ways that are true to how they are in their respective stories, that's what makes them, them

With onk.. I'm starting to wonder...(yeah I just started;) this may be the first time where I may go oh let's just ditch canon I'll do whatever I want depending how it goes. Maybe I still believe some sort of miracle may happen in the remaining chapters that'd wrap everything together at may it be cluttersome(sorry but there is literally no room left for it to be able to meet its closure in a beautiful and graceful way with a deep sense of nuance and depth the way this work deserves. It's INCREDIBLY SHORT. It cannot happen within that amount of space it needs at least ten decently lengthy chapters.) but..I don't know~~.....

Oh I'm more concerned than hyped and it's been that way ever since I started vigorously drawing for this series again this July tbh 154 was GOOD, how come everything went downhill from there haha😂.. That chapter had me so hooked and I felt I knew all the answers that were to come from that point forth. I really had a huge intuition of how things would play out(and surprisingly, the possibility is actually still there)

I don't think I'm the type of fan who can ignore canon and do what I want, I've never been that way and I can't bring to convince myself of what's not there (this means, I sincerely believe in all the things I've been drawing o<-<) but... Let's see how it goes. I was so stressed and tense ever since I started drawing hikaai...I don't like being unsure of things...what if they're totally different from what I make of them...but seeing how CANON's going, maybe I don't have to care so much either if it's doing whatever it wants, canon feels so unhinged, was there ANYONE who was able to predict what were to happen 100%? What are they doing?; So yeah.

Oh;; I hope Aqua's okay. It's just...so cruel. I've been annoyed with him but that's because I wanted him to live!!! Why doesn't he- why did he HAVE to do THAT?? Hurt his dad and everyone he loves and even himself, I'm trying to find a reasoning that's convincing enough for me to comprehend just how this could make sense and hold some kind of message although it's downright horrifying; I kept asking in my posts all yesterday right? What message are thet trying to send with this and what could be the point? I can understand if they do a good job with it, I've been putting my effort in order to make out what good may come out of it but I guess only the author would know for now

I don't know where this post is going myself, I'm just writing out my thoughts, this series may have taught me a lot about myself that I wasn't so aware of...

I guess when conflicts appear I end up going, "they couldn't have had malicious intent, could they?" on many occasions, you really don't know what the other party can be thinking so for most cases, it just feels better to believe they didn't mean harm or evil. Maybe I'm being that way about Hikaru but AI LOVED THAT GUY. I didn't have a lot of thoughts about him before that dropped! I couldn't make a clear judgment so I just left my interpretation of him on hold. Oh ;v;).. It's been REALLY ROUGH holding out for him after that happened pft will that pay off.. That guy's still so ambiguous. I rather him be a good person. The story is better if he were. I guess believing in someone is hard but I'll.. Do that till I can. I think Ai would have?

You know, if I were Ai, I'd end him with my own hands if he became that messed up. That's how I drew that one comic after 162. I'd give him a hug and then end him lol because I'd feel responsible in a way. It's ridiculous and tragic how things turned to be the way it is but it doesn't feel so resolved either

I'm afraid about the fate of this series but at least not long left now. Hopefully I can still draw Ai and her bf in a wholesome manner, I really cared for those guys and I'd love to stick around and do more for it at least for awhile

[icaaantttt]

Astro moon observation (personal experience)💨

#Virgo moon babies are the real rebel👀

#draconic pisces moon have this ethereal looks(they wanna escape from the world fr)

#gemini moonS are so overrated for being such a two face but have you seen an underdeveloped pisces moon ong🥴

# water moons overall stuck on their ex for way too long like.... Let that bitch go babe they didn't deserve your love😾

# fire moons = leaving ppl on read as an act of self-care 😌

#air moons love being in a relationship😳(but not actually committed tho🤭😝)

#sag moons have this reputation of being an air headed but the people i met so far are very concerned with their career \studies(more like cap)

#taurus moon ppl...how's it to be god favorite😩 y'all are so pretty😽

#don't even think about messing with Scorpio moons☠️ they are planning 100 ways to take you down in their head just in 1min😈 (and will)

#Cancer moons are the friend you call to drive you home after a party (ultimate mom friend)

#ARIES MOONS are friendly af but some are a bit nerd lmao ( most fearless ppl on earth).do not provoke⚠

#my bestfriend is a cap moon and she does have aloot of childhood traumas..i kinda blame on it's conjunction with chiron..anyway cap moons are the strongest mf I've seen on earth😼💪🏿

#aqua moons are the most introvert moon among the twelves lol they don't have lot of friends (they don't want)

#libra moon🤝🏿gemini moon= flirting themselves into relationship unintentionally🤡

#taurus moons are stubborn? Have you seen virgo moon? You'll regret trying to change their mind😤

#leo moons are more like leo sun stereotype than leo sun(so much pride yet artistic)

🌚🌝🌚🌝🌚🌝🌚🌝🌚🌝🌚