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helshollowhalls · 10 months ago

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Personal Rant about the current situation

I fucking hate it here. Not Depressed Nousagi remarking that the inclusion of Millie's and Enna's info in the document from Selen's lawyer might be hinting towards them being the bullies.

Obviously, I don't know Millie in person. And it's probably better that way to be completely real for a second.

But I only have four oshis - Zentreya, Vesper, Fulgur and Millie and Millie is my kamioshi.

Vesper graduated/presumably didn't sign another contract with Cover (that's fine he's still active online so idc), Fulgur and Millie are in Niji (which currently is the equivalent of having a fucking bomb chained to your damn foot) and Zen... Zen is the only one doing okay apart from probably being really sad and shaken by Yunii's upcoming graduation.

I just... I have trouble imagining Millie bullying anyone. From all that I have seen of her, she's such a kind and well-meaning person. I get the impression that she'd rather saw off her own arm than consciously hurt anyone else. A little bit unhinged sometimes and definitely in need of a good therapist, yes, but aren't we all?

Imagining Enna or Finana bullying someone? I hate to say it but not outside the realm of possibilities. But Millie? Please say sike.

I speak from personal experience that it's so easy to slip into becoming a bully once you're being bullied yourself... and judging from Millie talking about her childhood and experiences in school she definitely didn't get off the hook without any damages and scars, but I choose to believe that she's better than me in that regard. And if it turns out to be wrong, well then it's my fault for being a fucking dumbass and assuming things about people on the internet.

I don't even know what she would gain from bullying Selen. Favor with management? What's the point. Ethyria is the unloved and sidelined middle child of the family and Niji doesn't give a damn. LazuLight is the first wave, Obsydia had Selen, Ethyria... Exists... And then immediately there's the cash cow of the English branch, Luxiem.

Luxiem is the favorite child, LazuLight the first one so they get a little more attention and before Selen got terminated Obsydia had her going for them. As for Ethyria... Nina never compared to Selen in earnings, Reimu is left to rot in a ditch, Enna is used for song promotions and the likes because she has a good voice and it's convenient and Millie tries to make the best out of her situation.

And I personally think her defending the company is for one based on her relative inexperience in the corporate vtubing scene (she was an indie before. Niji is the only corpo she's experienced so she doesn't really have anything to compare it to besides shitty minimum wage retail jobs), her choosing to believe in the best in everyone and her frustrating lack of self-esteem (which can lead to allowing others to walk all over you). She does deserve to be supported and get opportunities just like anyone in Luxiem, hell like anyone in Hololive or VShojo. She's a talented entertainer and streamer and I wish her nothing but the best.

At the end of it all, she's entitled to her own opinion and I respect that, even if I don't think her truth is the end all be all and don't agree. But if management isn't outright pounding her into the ground every three to five business days as they did with so many other livers I'm glad. I doubt all managers in Niji are assholes. Some just try to make the best of a very fucked situation. But the fact that some livers get the bare fucking minimum when the bar is the ground and Riku "Yacht" Tazumi brought a damn excavator, doesn't mean that it's okay or god forbid, good. You should do better. You need to do better. No talent deserves this treatment.

At this point everything just feels like one menhera tattling on the other - Yes, news youtubers and even myself included. Depressed Nousagi isn't really hiding the fact that he's mentally ill. I'm not going to sugarcoat this, my mental health is down the drain as well and I'm living with the consequences. This entire situation is so messed up.

Please don't harrass any of the livers. Bullying and threats aren't going to get us anywhere and in the end all of them are at the mercy of the company in regards to what they can or can't do. And everyone's situation is different. Maybe Niji is the first time they ever had this much money or a semi-stable income at all. Maybe the only other option besides Niji when it comes to getting a job is a fucking gig at Target, Starbucks or Hollister. Or social security. Maybe graduation isn't an option because being out of a job might mean the immediate loss of home, access to insurance or vital medical care and mental health care or not being able to support family and/or pets anymore.

I wish every liver the best and hope that everyone gets the help they need. And most of all, I wish for Niji to fucking rethink and improve their marketing, overall internal structure and business decisions. For the love of God.

#millie parfait #nijisanji english #nijisanji en #nijisanji #nijien #ethyria #my kamioshi #Personal rant

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system-of-a-feather · 2 years ago

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Look I know DID doesn't give you super powers but I think it does and unlike other alters my heart is just built different (I'M JOKING)

But historically our system for the past 10 years has been like "yeah we aren't built for stamina and thats ok, Riku took a month or endurance training and could barely do 0.75 miles straight for at a rate of a 15 minute mile" and that persisted under Ray (the OG Gym nut that brought upon our Jock Days and my Personal Coach TM) with a slight but not drastic boost to stamina

And so over this past year whenever I've gone to the gym, I have this STUPID high stamina and can keep going - often far past we should when I'm on my pisser and in a rage fury, so Ray, Lucille, and Riku have hard rules to keep me in check to make sure I dont push the body too hard (rules with safety precautions, rules about regularly stopping every X time and if I want to push limits I have to regularly check my heart rate on a reliable checker to make sure I'm not going about 170 bpm, etc) and even if I am following all of those, if Riku's too close co-con they (who are the historical worst stamina main part in the system) get so spooked they annoy me into stopping far before I'm even challenged

And so today I went to the gym and like, we've been living at our parents for a bit and I'm a hyper independent "need my personal space" kind of person and so I havent had MY Personal Space beyond when I go to the gym and I was like "fuck it man, lets cancel muscle work out today and take up a fun challenge - can I take a fat SHIT on the claim that we aren't built for stamina and go for an hour straight without breaking any of the safety rules"

And god damn it man it wasn't even that hard. 1 Hour Straight, the Elliptical told me to Cool The FUCK down, a little over 5 miles, no stopping, heart rate maintained between 145-166 bpm the whole time and quickly returned to a 136 bpm about 10 seconds after stopping to just walk

Like I dunno man

DID doesn't give you super powers but god damn does dissociation do weird fucking shit cause god damn our system has *properly trained* in incremental increasing distance for stamina and endurance for months on months and at most could only do 1.5 miles in like 20 minutes before dying even at our previous peak

I'm over here easily knocking out 5 miles in an hour and still going "eh, i could have gone longer"

Idk man

IDK

You can tell the story here smh

^ This was when I started cooling down and also when I really wanted to make sure I got at least 5 miles cause 4.8 sounded lame af

#alter: xiv #gym posting #fitness #weight loss tw #not that weight loss is a goal here #but just in case #bragging #brag posting

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latremoille · 8 months ago

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hey.... how y'all doing....

HSHQTASK059:

when did you join ? what made you join ? what do you remember from the plotlines that were current at the time ? where were you in life when you joined and where are you now ?

dec 2015 if my blog's archive is to be believed akjsdbgksjdgb CRAZY ABSOLUTELY CRAZY almost a full decade. jesus christ. the plotlines weren't big or that remarkable ( sry ). petty drama... THAT I LIVED FOR. i was in high school!!!! that's so crazy. now i've graduated (duh), worked, worked, worked, studied, studied, studied... my life's been really busy these past few years and it has definitely showed in my activity. i've wanted NOTHING as much as to enjoy these last moments of hshq ( bc lbr we all could feel the end coming ) but i just couldn't find the energy and i kept pushing it and now ! now hshq has closed and i have to accept that :(

which characters have you written over the years ?

gaia <3 my first baby. lykke / nike, bastiaan, gahye, iéna, sasha, calix, riku... i think someone else but i just cannot remember tbh i wouldn't have remembered riku if the blog didn't exist lmao

what is your favourite plotline that you've been part of ?

i think vivi x lykke ? writing them taught me a lot. martha FORCED me to give my best with her amazing replies and i think i really improved a lot in a short amount of time. lykke, who was such a caricature, evolved into something slightly deeper. martha ily and you are so dear to me. i've written so much with you and you've always inspired me and helped to keep my muse up <3 there's a reason why i wanted to bring iéna and that reason was u, puss och kram but that's the nostalgia speaking. i have to mention joce and ani. the friendships gaia and lykke had with ani were so important to me. i don't think i ever wrote a friendship that compared to the ones i had written with you <3 but jo................. JO JO JO getting to write with you was such a privilege !!!!!!!!!!!!! i think i could have written lisaia forever and i still regret not getting to see where niray would have gone. you always had a little spark and i hope you recognize it in yourself <3 and evy.... bitch did you think i wouldn't put you and our crazy surprise pregnancy plot here. it was wild. especially at the time because i swear it was one of the first pregnancy plots i had ever seen in a rp. and i couldn't BELIEVE it when we actually got to write it from start to finish ??? retrospectively, 9 months is nothing at hshq but at the time ??? it ???? felt ??? like ??? an ??? accomplishment ????? my teen-almost-an-adult self was shocked E!!!!!!! something about your writing always made it sooooo easy to keep things organic. i think if i had to pick just ONE thread, olykke's first outing might be it. it started a huge mess and i enjoyed their adventure from start to finish. it stands out to me <3 jude, you and i were the flaky bitches, me more than you. but where the hell would lykke be if it wasn't for johanne ? where the hell would i be if it wasn't for your exciting little replies ??? i was sooo sad when you retired anton. he was the first piece to be lost. and now we're here. and i'm sad. and i'm glad we got to meet and write together. #teamwonderbrows i'm not ending this section without thanking XEE !!!! just thinking about layla makes me emo. i feel like i know you because i know layla. idk if that sounds weird and if my opinion is so wrong. but you were always so kind and helpful and i loved throwing lykke at layla <3333

what about other people's plotlines ?

sol maturing. i think it broke me a bit when i read a reply and i realized this character isn't a girl anymore. which naturally meant that none of us were girls anymore. i also loved frelucien. i don't know why they had me so hooked but i feel like i have to mention them since they were the first to pop into my mind.

if you could relive a plotline, which would it be ?

the 6 way thread joce mentioned skjdgbdskjgbs it was SO DUMB but i loved every second of it. a big group thread was a new concept back then so that added to the excitement. we were SOOO active, otherwise it wouldn't have worked. everyone wrote their reply in a matter of 4 hours or something. also i found it.

is there a plotline that you'd edit now if you could ?

i'd add to everything. i'd spend even more time on tumblr dot com and i'd make sure i would have zero regrets!!!!!

what's a plotline you wish you would have been able to finish before closing or just write more of ?

hmm ? maybe some sort of an ending for bash and ariel ? idk where they would have ended up and i think i would have liked to know. but bc i hate planning and i love organic shit, i don't think i ever will skgbsdjkgb one last thread with vivi and lykke, the og lykke not the nike version. i think it would be a full circle and i would be able to get over hshq ending. or maybe i'd love to write a happy ending for lisaia. idk if it was only me but they were endgame and i would have liked to see it.

what is your favourite ooc memory ?

i cannot pinpoint one single time but i think what made hshq an absolute joy to be part of, was the rapid ims. i loved that plotting was so easy and that everyone was always so excited when there was a new idea or a new character or a new anything. i think it's exceptional that within hshq we could have INNER JOKES like loads of them. we could reference memorable one liners!!! that's brilliant and special!!!!! i rly loved chatting with you <3 i will miss it <3

where can others find you if they want to get in touch ?

i'm already a stranger !

what else would you like to say ?

when i think of hshq, i think of the end of my teenage life and the beginning of my adult life. i've been here longer than i've been in any school. that's insane. i've had time to process this but it still feels very hard to just let hshq rest. i came and went. i was flaky towards the end ( sorry about that ), but it was so nice to know that whenever i'd get my shit together, i could just login, send a little message to the main and i'd be back to writing in a matter of hours. no one ever shamed me or made me feel bad about my poor activity and i am so thankful for that. we really grew up together and we spent so many years together crafting these amazing plotlines and touching stories. i hope all you continue writing because you all have a knack for it and the world deserves to read your writing <3 i really think my life would have been more boring without this silly little hobby. hshq was the CREAM CREAMMMM of rping. hshq helped me through a few lonely periods of my life as well when everything else but this corner of internet was changing and i wasn't keeping up with the times. hshq <3 anne 4ever thank you, and bye for now, i find it too hard to believe that we wouldn't talk again !!! i'll be checking my messages for a while so pls don't hesitate to message me <3 i'm still down to write something short if someone feels very inspired !!

#hshqtask059

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rosencrantzsguildenstern · 6 months ago

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Character: Kujo Takamasa

First impression

since i first saw him in rikus fucking. 1st beat flashback. i knew that man was sus as hell amen! i was super curious since we got that bit of knowledge that tenn left with a random guy and basically had this prediction that he was AWFUL and the cause of all of tenns problems. in the first actual scene with him i was mostly like 'what a cool scene!' but as soon as we learn he's tenn AND AYA'S dad i was like. oh i bet he's why tenn works himself into the ground and has all these weird complexes and won't talk to riku i bet kujo’s this horrible abusive guy. i even wrote this little tenn&aya angst fic back in october when i was watching 2nd beat that holds up decently well (it was basically a sickfic where tenn was like ik im sick but I Have To Go To Work bc otherwise kujo’ll be pissed and aya was like My Mom Died Of Illness) but definitely has some inaccuracies and missed how interesting tenn and aya's characters and complexes are. anyway i hated that man!

Impression now

I LOVE THIS MAN!! he has every disease <3 <3 <3 i love his hair. i love his vibes. i love when he fails at life. he's still an awful parent who did/does definitely traumatize tenn but it's in a fun funky way. i love a man who goes insane with longing. i also just really like the little snippets we get of him existing. being himself. his personality entertains me. i like his dramatic monologues and i like that he’s goth

Favorite moment

oh my god. when the high school trio corner him in a hallway and he’s like “when did i start running a children’s counseling hotline” my friend. perhaps when you started using them as raw material for idols??? its so funny hes like. whats up with these kids ❓

Idea for a story

THIS IS SURPRISINGLY HARD bc i give him a lot of screentime in my stuff that ISNT centered around him but then with just him all im thinking of is easy little character studies where i wax poetic about zero. OH!! actually i’m always dreaming up dumb kujo family crackfic. they go to the grocery store. (i actually have snippets of this one thought up.) they go to a diner. they go on an overly long drive and hate it. haruka is always there causing drama. its a beautiful world

Unpopular opinion

ONE TIME I SAW A FIC MAKING HIM HOMOPHOBIC nah. hes gay. hes homophobic against haruki specifically. but in general taking an antagonist and making them do allllll the bad stuff is never my jam. also w that the idea/theory that he fucked over zero, like pressured him too much as a producer? i could see him being the reason zero disappeared, but i don’t think he could or did Manage zero— if he overwhelmed zero, it was probably with excessive love and devotion— like i bring up in the favorite relationship section he’s the guy who says “this song is the most amazing thing in the world” and gets so excited about it he breaks your stuff!

Favorite relationship

i thought about this for a little but i think i gotta say him and haruki! apart from them being the choice with the most history, their dynamic is just fun— harukis a jokester. a free spirit. a silly guy if you will. and generally laid-back/unattached- while kujous very serious and singleminded. add in Beef and that they used to be really close and it’s so fun; i also think a lot about the flashback scene where haruki’s having kujo listen to his new song and kujo’s like THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER MADE!!!!!! what a hypeman :> and harukis like don’t break More of my glasses so that’s another fun touch of contrast in their dynamic

(and god. i’ll make this last forever kujou vs here for a good time not a long time haruki. what a pair to trap in endless grief)

i also actually really like his and gaku’s dynamic? all their scenes together are really strong, it’s really satisfying seeing gaku tell it like it is— with all this care for tenn and knowledge of tenn’s issues embedded— and having gaku play kujo in the zero musical also brings out ALLLL the similarities in the two characters (that are really quite different) and makes every kujo-gaku scene during that period extremely fun bc gakus doing CHARACTER ANALYSIS

Favorite headcanon

ough… ive talked about this before but i think aya buys him best dad merch, haruka buys him stuff that says “worst dad” and he ignores what all of it says and just like. wears/uses it.

also i like the idea of him being consciously goth/alt but in different styles since before zero disappeared

#chitra.txt #i7 #kujoposting #thanks for the ask!

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ask-the-kh-crew · 10 months ago

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Don't know if anyone asks this yet or not, but uh, Roxas, do you ever think you'll forgive Riku for what he did in the past to both you and Xion? Like maybe not even fully forgive him, just enough to tolerate being around him if that makes any sense. If not, do you think the two of you will just fight it out here and there out of spite?

Again sorry if I made no sense ^^'

Makes a lot of sense, actually. It's something I used to think about a lot.

It's difficult for me to imagine fully getting over what happened, having everything taken away from us. Even now that we're together again, it hurts to think about the time we spent apart. And when I think about that hurt, I think about Riku.

But I also think about Xehanort, and the way he ruined the lives of so many people aside from us. The more I learn about him from the others, the more I realise how we were all just puppets or pawns to him. It was all so much bigger than me, Xion and Riku. Both of them did what they did because of DiZ and Saïx, and they only did what they did because of Xemnas and the fake Ansem. And in the end, they're the fault of Xehanort, so it always comes back to him...

Plus, if I'm gonna stay mad at Riku for trying to sacrifice me and Xion for some guy I didn't even know, I'd have to blame Xion, too. And there's no way I'd ever do that, so whenever I blame Riku I feel kinda bad. He'd do anything for Sora, in the same way I'd do anything for Xion. Speaking of Sora: when I first disappeared inside Sora's heart, I could still feel and think a little bit, and all I felt was anger. Anger at Riku and this guy he sacrificed everything in my life for. But then, I got to know him a little more, and I saw just how much light was inside him. I accepted that it really had to be him, because he was the one that could bring everyone back. And after seeing him reunite all of us, I can't help but feel like Riku knew he was gonna do that all along. He trusted him, and now I do too. He makes a good other, after all.

Anyway, Xion told me her and Riku already talked about it some time ago: the conversation lasted about an hour, and apparently most of it was just Riku apologising to her over and over. But I didn't feel like talking about it (especially not for that long) and I think he knew that, because he didn't try to talk to me one-on-one for a while. Whenever it was just the two of us, there was just a long and awkward silence until one of our friends showed up again.

But then, a couple of weeks ago, he came to my room after visiting Naminé and asked if he could ask me something. He looked kinda nervous and so I assumed he was here to apologise, but then he... asked me if I could teach him how to skateboard.

Yeah, turns out he thinks it looks pretty rad when Sora does it and he wants to impress him, so he came to me for help. For the past couple of months we've been meeting up every Thurday to practice around Market Street, and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't fun (although it'll take a while before he can do mid-air 360s: he's not exactly a natural).

I still don't know if I can ever truly forgive him, but I don't think Riku could ever truly forgive himself either. The least we can do is to try to make the best out of the awful situation we both found ourselves in. And if we still feel some resentment for each other after that, we'll just have to do what Hayner and I always do when we're mad at each other: have a Struggle match to swing the anger out of us and then have ice cream afterwards. Works every time.

(Xion keeps trying to take pictures of me and Riku together, sometimes without us knowing. I'm not sure why and it's kinda annoying but I just let it happen atp. No photos of us skateboarding tho because "Riku always looks a little like a dork when he does it" and I don't disagree lmao)

#-Roxas #kh #kingdom hearts #kh roxas #kh riku #kh xion #kh twilight town

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oathkeeperoxas · 2 years ago

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I posted 2,135 times in 2022

122 posts created (6%)

2,013 posts reblogged (94%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@glimmerglanger

@maiseey

@thatrandombystander

@projectdestati

@twilightown

I tagged 2,133 of my posts in 2022

#fan made - 1,022 posts

#sw - 870 posts

#obi-wan - 482 posts

#codywan - 458 posts

#cody - 419 posts

#kh - 312 posts

#kairi - 146 posts

#the mandalorian - 125 posts

#sora - 122 posts

#riku - 101 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#i would not be able to edit and tweak that much in the next 2 weeks unfortunately but i can daydream about finally getting this fic finished

My Top Posts in 2022:

codywan gang, listen up

Currently in 2022, we have uploaded 1,957 works to the codywan tag:

What does that mean? We only need 267 new codywan works to be published in December to get to 2224 works uploaded this year.

I’m incredibly impressed with the amount of content we’ve made this year - and if we reach 2224 works, that would be the cherry on top, so to speak. Let’s all get cracking!!

106 notes - Posted November 30, 2022

I’m excited to present the preview for what I’ve been working on with @sunflowersinheaven for the @codywanreversebang! It’s been lovely to see all the works come together with posting starting soon, and I hope you enjoy this little sneak peek of the fic too 💖

“What’s this I hear about you and Kenobi going on a date this morning?” Bly asks. Cody nearly chokes on his drink. “A what? There was no–” He clears his throat. “Obi-Wan and I attended an issue that needed resolving before anything got out of hand. When it was done we had brunch, and that’s it.” Obi-Wan had introduced him to the concept of brunch during their unexpected meal. Cody feels a little bit cocky that he’s managed to use it in a sentence already. “Brunch?” Bly squeaks, eyes going wide in shock. “Oh, by all things natborns hold holy, you’re oblivious. You’re both completely, utterly, unswervingly, oblivious.” Cody elbows him. Bly splutters, but he points a finger at Cody. “That’s not true,” Cody says, thinking about how he’d almost touched Obi-Wan’s hand earlier this week, and how he’d knocked their feet together under the table today. Obi-Wan had not been averse to those gestures – nor to the other dozens of occasions where nearly something more happened, whether he or Cody had almost initiated it. “We are not oblivious.” “Then what? You’ve decided to do the pining stage for so long because you can’t stand not to be the expert in something?” “That’s not it either.” “Then I’m confused,” Bly says, leaning forward. “You do acknowledge that you like Master Kenobi, right?” “Of course I like him,” Cody says, looking at Bly dubiously. “No!” Bly huffs. “I mean, you want to squish his little cheeks and see him in his bathrobe and have front row seats every time he wrecks someone’s shit.” Bly’s eyes have gone a little dreamy. Cody elbows him, which Bly protests loudly. “I think you’re projecting your feelings towards a certain someone onto me,” Cody says flatly. “You know what I mean!” Bly huffs. “You want to kiss him and hold him and you feel all fluttery and warm when you see him. Don’t lie to my face Cody, I’ve known you too long for that.” Cody had known what Bly meant the first time, but it’s always run to rile him. “Of course I like him,” he repeats dryly, and Bly groans. “Then what’s going on between you two? Come on, I gotta tell Aayla the gossip. Don’t leave me out here without any backup. She has a mean streak, I swear.” “Try squishing her little cheeks,” Cody suggests, and Bly launches himself. Cody grapples with him, until Bly plays dirty by tickling him in the one spot every clone is weak to. Cody grumbles and Bly laughs, letting him go. “Okay, but seriously,” Bly says. “You know he likes you too, right?” Cody looks out over the rest of the bar so he won’t have to answer. It’s complicated. He and Obi-Wan have been a lot of things to each other, and moving onto something else, something new, is big. Cody hasn’t done anything like it before, and he isn’t sure how to start. “Cody?” Bly insists. “You know, right?”

114 notes - Posted June 24, 2022

Codywan Week 2022 Fic Rec List

Wow, there sure was a heap of works uploaded for @codywanweek this year! (approximately 140 on AO3, by my count) If you’re looking for somewhere to start browsing through all these awesome works, then please see the below list for some of my favourite fics from this year, and give them some love! 💖

Could We Start Again, Please? [2.1k] by @daughterofdungeonbat

Fic summary:

The war has ended, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Commander Cody have become much more serious in their relationship, and they've spent the last day moving Obi-Wan's things into Cody's new apartment. All is going well, until Cody tries to lighten the mood and misses Anakin's frantic attempts to stop him. Or- Obi-Wan has an extra lightsaber. It is not his.

Fic rec: Really loved the character voices here, and the post-war set up and pay off really works well! Has some funny and great lines too

at the horizon’s edge [2.2k] by @inkformyblood

Fic summary:

The bed is larger than Obi-Wan is used to, even now, even after sleeping in it night after night since the day after the war was declared finished. They had made do for so long on the narrow GAR-issued cots or the cramped bunks on the ships that a large bed felt like an indulgence, something to mark the official beginnings of their relationship even though they wound up curled together more often than not. On the floor, beneath the cascade of blankets, Cody’s chest rises and falls beneath Obi-Wan’s hand. There is a hitch to his breathing, an unsteadiness that only grows as Obi-Wan shifts, skating his fingers up over the cool, bare expanse. (Cody has a nightmare, and some things cannot be faced alone.)

Fic rec: emotional and soft and intimate, with some great pose and interactions between codywan

setting sun [2.4k] by @milfmisspiggy

Fic summary:

"Fuck." "You may wear that word out if you aren't careful." "I'll switch it out when something else expresses my feelings better."

Fic rec: BITING AND CHEWING THIS. Absolutely lovely and hot smut with some Tatooine codywan!

Panacea [4k] by @missypup

Fic summary:

Cody has been falling for his General for two years. Two long, war filled years. But he's been able to stay in control of his feelings by just not acknowledging them. But having to share a bed with the man he's been daydreaming about for two years makes Cody so tense Obi-Wan decides to give him a massage to help out. Obi-Wan would certainly be the death of him.

Fic rec: I am always down for codywan massages and Cody getting some love and attention, and this provides in spades! There’s also some very sweet lines here that I loved a lot

Through An Artist’s Eyes [1.1k] by @yellowisharo

Fic summary

Another pass of his charcoal over the paper to emphasize the slight curve of the bottom of the ribcage, following the path Cody's eyes take over Obi-Wan's body.

Fic rec: artist!Cody my beloved! This fic is multimedia, and the art throughout the fic adds to the atmosphere and tone of the story in a great way

A Fool’s Errand [3.1k] by @itsgoldleaf

Fic summary:

“I killed you.” “You missed.” “I never miss.” “It was never you.” “This isn’t real.” “If you believe only one thing, believe that I am here and I am with you, and that this is real.” The second worst part is his rotten luck in having his General come back from being murdered and being so nice to him about it.

Fic rec: oh my god yall the way I am not kidding when I say this one drove me crazy... the PROSE the CHARACTER the INTERACTIONS the METAPHORS. This one really does have everything!!

Fear is a disease; hope is it’s only cure [9.7k] by @nimue44

Fic summary:

“The Sith has been hunting you and he hasn’t found you,” Ahsoka said. “Please keep it that way. The underground networks were hand-fed this intel, Obi-Wan. He wants you to know. He’s laying a trap.” “Of course he is, my dear,” Obi-Wan sighed. “And he’ll already know I’m coming.” “Obi-Wan, don’t, you’re safe here” Ahsoka pleaded. “Cody wouldn’t want you to walk into a trap just for him.” “No, he wouldn’t,” Obi-Wan agreed. Cody had raised an eyebrow at more than a few of Obi-Wan’s schemes in the past. Yet despite any of his reservations about a given gambit, Cody would join Obi-Wan on the front lines every time, even when he could have led from the fleet and let Obi-Wan clean up his own messes. “But I’m afraid his sound strategic reasoning hasn’t always foiled my plans to single handedly save the day.” OR: Two years into his exile on Tatooine, Obi-Wan comes across something in the desert that sets off a chain of events that may allow Obi-Wan to finally reclaim some peace. But first he'll have to rescue a purge trooper from the grips of the Empire.

Fic rec: I am just ajkhkfjg this one is SO GOOD. How Obi-Wan thinks/feels post O66 is so rich, and his refusal to let Cody go is just so everything aaaa. Great characterisation choices here alongside excellent writing.

See the full post

144 notes - Posted August 30, 2022

229 notes - Posted November 11, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

For the touch ask prompts: Codywan and "shielding the other one with their body", please!

codywan, 780 words, post-war no order 66 AU

“Oh Force, Cody, save me.”

Cody doesn’t hesitate. Between one breath and the next he sweeps Obi-Wan into his arms, holding him close against his chest, and turns so his back is facing the centre of the room. Obi-Wan curls up against his chest, tucking his head in close. They’re of a similar enough height that Cody can’t completely hide his partner, but they’re close enough that Obi-Wan can claim plausible deniability that he didn’t see anyone who was looking for him.

“Who is it?” Cody mutters into his ear, feeling his hair tickle against his lips. He’s still not used to this – not to holding Obi-Wan so openly in public, nor the strange fit of the formal wear across his shoulders, or the tang of the exotic food in his mouth. But he’s putting on a straight face, because he’s the most highly ranked clone here – the highly formerly ranked. With the GAR dissolved at the end of the war, he has no military titles any more. That doesn’t stop Senators and governmental leaders and random people on the street from recognising him. The holo that had gone viral of him and Obi-Wan kissing at the announcement of the war’s end, and Cody had only cursed his distinctive facial scar ever since. For once, he’d be more than happy to blend in among the anonymity of his brothers.

“The Senator from Rhydills,” Obi-Wan replies, barely loud enough that Cody can hear him. “He’s coming over – to the dance floor, quickly.”

Cody swings Obi-Wan out among the couples that are twirling around each other, and his mouth twitches in a smile as he hears an annoyed sigh. Obi-Wan takes the lead easily, and Cody focuses on remembering the steps that he had insisted that Obi-Wan teach him the day before. He hadn’t expected to dance, but he likes to account for all possibilities, and it’s paying off now.

“What did he want to talk about?” Cody asks, wondering if Obi-Wan is trying to put the conversation off for a minute or for forever.

“His planet has recently undergone a civil war between the two main religions that make up the majority of the population,” Obi-Wan answers.

“While our war was ongoing?” Cody asks, a little startled.

“Of course,” Obi-Wan snorts. “It never rains, my dear – it pours. But anyhow, he’s intent on resettling as many troopers as possible on his planet. The male population was near destroyed in the fighting, and they’re likely to have a population crisis in the next twenty years if he doesn’t make up for it somehow.”

“With clones?” Cody asks. “But won’t that just give him a new population crisis in fifty years, when everyone’s children are related to each other?”

“A point that I have tried to convey to him three times in the last week,” Obi-Wan sighs. “I think he is very fixated on the current moment. A regiment has resettled on Rhydills, but I think he was hoping for one of the armies instead.”

Cody takes a moment to digest that. In the months since the war ended, there have been many offers from different planets to settle Cody’s brothers. Their contribution to the galaxy notwithstanding, Cody knows that the speed at which they learn, their adaptability, endurance, and tenaciousness of the clones in all areas, not only war, has made them attractive immigrants. Few had been willing to stay on Coruscant once the breadth of the galaxy was made available to them, though they are in the process of setting up a robust online presence to stay connected even as they scatter physically. One tenth of all of his brothers, on one planet? There’s no possibility of that happening.

“So instead of telling him no for a fourth time, you’d prefer to dance with me?” Cody asks. He would love to kiss him, but even if their relationship is public now, he still shies away from any displays that draw attention to it.

“If I were to list the activities I would prefer to avoid and instead dance with you, we would be here next week, my dear,” Obi-Wan says, eyes crinkling as he smiles.

Cody holds his silence as they turn around the floor, though he can feel the heat in his cheeks as they move. “I would be here until next month,” he finally says, and Obi-Wan laughs.

“Well, I shall not attempt to argue with that. If we’re both so invested in our time here, perhaps we should make good use of it?”

“Yes,” Cody agrees, and pays no attention to Senators or politics or the rest of the galaxy – not when he has everything he needs right here, in his arms.

288 notes - Posted May 4, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #the touch prompt being my number one post... we all yearning huh #anyway. this really was the year of codywan!!!#mine #tumblr #also i only posted 2 untagged posts this year sdfjkkdjjkf tagging paying off i see....

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forevermagik · 2 years ago

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AtPverse Daily (ish)

TO THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED!

AtPverse daily (ish) sign up link >here<!

Drop an email so I know where to send the fics and maybe a name/url/handle/etc if it's different than the email.

The goal is to send out a chapter or two (no more than 5k words at a time) every few days or so, keeping largely to the schedule rar is keeping with theirs.

Though, to be clear, for those of you signing up for both AtPverse and FtPverse daily, we'd be alternating days so that you're not getting 10k in your inboxes all at once!

More info below the cut!

I gave more info on the individual fics in this post here.

Essentially, AtPverse started as one fic, "All the Pieces Lie Where They Fell" which was my "what I thought could happen in KH3." I started writing it in 2011. It then got VERY BIG! It ended up with two sequels, a prequel, and some bonus content.

Additionally, AtPverse became intrinsically linked with my sibling @rarmaster's FtPverse when we were jokingly talking about how my Namine was the Namine the Riku Replica remembered and thus my universe was the universe he left.

Canonically, AtPverse diverges before KH3D.

LOGISTICS

Email list was decided upon when rar was running logistics about the easiest way to send this stuff out and the Dracula Daily method turned out to be the best one!

Just AtPverse will net you ~3-5k in your inbox every few days or so. I've got about a million words (give or take) to send out so it'll take about 2 years. I say "a chapter or two" because early chapters were short. So some emails may be three? I haven't figured out my exact chapter groupings. But if I did a chapter at a time... we're looking at a 5 year commitment.

Signing up for the pair of AtPverse and FtPverse is a lot! But we'll be alternating days. There's some fun crossovers. That said, you don't have to do both.

You'll get a short little author's note at the beginning for ~connection~ but other than that, it's just fanfic delivered to your inbox! I'll be making a dreamwidth to back stuff up to for archival purposes. You can comment via the email, the dreamwidth, or on ao3, where every fic is also located. (Minus the complete version of Remnants, which I am still in the process of porting over.) (This also requires you to have an ao3 account because I turned off guest commenting.) (I think dreamwidth also requires an account though so...)

AtPverse is a story about wanting to live. About wanting to save your friends/save the world. It's about fighting to live.

But sometimes that's not easy.

CONTENT WARNINGS

Violence on the page. It's technically canon-typical violence for Kingdom Hearts, but I toe the line a bit to the darker side. There are fight scenes. There is death.

There is major character death in that villains die. Given how Kingdom Hearts and the Organization works, not everyone formerly in the Organization lives. I tried to give satisfying arcs.

Also, in the prequel, there are deaths that overlap with what happens in Final Fantasy games.

There is no rape or sexual assault/abuse. Honestly, as far as sexual content, there is about none of it. There's some kissing. It's written very PG in that regard.

SPOILERY CONTENT WARNINGS

Axel and Riku are both self-depricating but it's largely in line with what already existed in the KH-universe at the time.

There are many discussions of whether or not killing Xehanort also means killing Terra. The characters, while hoping they can do this in a way that means Terra lives, recognize that they might not get everything they want.

It is straight up mentioned that Larxene physically and emotionally abused the Riku Replica and some of the content that runs in both FtPverse and AtPverse deals with this. It is also shown on-screen in parts.

#atpverse daily #ftpverse daily #kh #kingdom hearts

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regallibellbright · 2 years ago

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I thought I was going to keep this to a tag essay, then I realized I'd written eight on Days alone, but I do want to give some credit to some of the ones I didn't vote for.

Like, when I look at them - Days has EXCELLENT composition with that splash of color on the white. It's visually striking, and it's SO laden in everything. It looks like watercolors, every character except Roxas a little bit faded, evoking a sense it's in the past, even Mickey who's right next to him. And then there's Roxas, in full color, already stepping out of that slice of warmth, no matter how much he'd like not to. This is an interquel, and further, we know it's a tragedy. We walk into this knowing how things end for Roxas and Axel, and we know that this girl is someone we've never even HEARD of and can guess it won't end well for her, either. (Incidentally, that's also why "358/2 Days should be played in release order, after Kingdom Hearts II, NOT how it's arranged on the remixes" is a hill I will die on. This is Dramatic Irony and Tragedy: The Game. We don't need a full game to get attached to Roxas - KH2's prologue managed to do it for so many people. This is for people who loved Roxas and wanted his last cutscenes to hurt EVEN MORE.) Oh, and because the more this has gone on the more this essay becomes "Kingdom Hearts Box Art and Eye Contact," I decided to go back and add this - Xion's looking out to the side, at the sky and sea. The direction of Axel's gaze is ambiguous, I don't think his irises and pupils are drawn in this with his eyes so narrowed here. We can guess he's looking backward or to his side - to the viewer, but also Roxas. Riku's straight on, but he's blindfolded. The two characters who might be making eye contact are Mickey, who's looking up towards Roxas, and Roxas, who's looking a bit downwards but primarily in the viewer's direction. Once again, he's stepping forward.

And at the same time, the way the color slices in is also how Roxas and Xion think of their lives - they were meant to be the Organization's tools, and it's only when they connected, to each other and to Axel, that they got a chance to be people. Like the way Days is structured with the repetition and the cutscenes where they're together mimicking the audience, Roxas's friends give his world color. AND, on top of that, it kind of evokes the other part of the ending to me, too - playing the end credits and watching as Xion's erased from their memories, leaving no record of her own existence except Axel's surprise when Roxas pulls two Keyblades. Pick your interpretation, folks, at least ONE of those should work for you!

Or Dream Drop Distance. We've got the duality of Sora and Riku played up here on the box art, but we've also got the pretty blatant hints about how things go - Riku's rising, with that emblem on his back on full display, while Sora's falling with his eyes closed and Mickey diving for him. And of course the way Sora's falling mimics his Dive to the Heart station, which is in turn mimicking his posing on the Chain of Memories and KH II box arts. Great stuff. Iconic imagery has always been one of this series's strong suits. While we're at it, it's a role reversal of 1 - here, RIKU'S looking up at the logo, while SORA'S the one with his eyes closed.

Speaking of falling, I don't have MUCH to talk about with Birth By Sleep but it does do something interesting both in that everyone's falling - again, this is a tragedy, we suspect this going in - and in that, while the Wayfinders are all looking in the right direction, their views are slightly askew of each other. Where the protagonists on the original cover's gazes were all coordinated (except, critically, Riku,) Terra, Aqua, and Ven's faces are all in ever-so-slightly different orientations here, with Terra in profile, Aqua nearly straight-on (which also hints to the fact that she's the ultimate protagonist of this game,) and Ventus in a sort of 3/4 view. (And then there's Mickey, diving into battle again.) In a game defined by them losing control of the momentum and being split apart, it fits that they aren't all looking together the same way.

Also in "there's really only JUST enough for me to bring it up," I do like how 2's puts Sora and Kairi together (on the same platform) but faced apart, and how it puts Roxas in the actual center, looking at the viewer same as Sora and emphasizing both their connection and that he's a protagonist of this story, too. I also appreciate that Riku's on this cover, even if he's obscured and outside the main arrangement as the hooded figure on the left - and with Mickey at the top, I could kind of imagine that he's on the other side of whatever they're sitting on, hiding from his friends for the time being.

Melody of Memory gives us a really great play on the Ultimania cover and the throne, inverting the colors of the setting for III and filling the frames with the others now that it's Kairi in the seat instead of Sora. I love that, especially because the throne imagery's been so established up to this point.

(I don't have much to say about Chain of Memories or Coded, they're even more straightforward than II and BBS, and this is "okay I just did a whole analytical THING about 1's cover the other day while I was thinking about it in terms of image descriptions and now here's an opportunity to do it with the rest and turns out yes I CAN talk about some of them for a while" Regalli in full on Let's Do Some Art Interpretation Mode.)

And then there's III, and I totally get why it's coming in second, because first: It is stunning. The sky is just beautiful, it is gloriously colorful in a way where every other cover has either gone for blue for the backdrop or pulled their punch a bit (Days and that slice of color on the white,) and the city evokes Quadratum but also just looks lovely. Second, it's the first time we've put everyone together, all in the same setting, on the box art. 1.5, 2.5, their combined cover, and 2.8 all used a split composition because they were all compilation games, putting it in a "main group + corners" composition or setting the protagonists in tiers. Here, they're finally all inhabiting the same space. And they're calling back to the original, because of course they are. (This is, of course, the other reason why I haven't talked about 1. Of course it's the one I voted for. It had to be 1. It could only ever be 1. But 3's a great runner up and the more I think about it the more I love Days and think it deserves third.)

2 used the same "tiered characters sitting on a more-than-slightly abstract object in the sky" conceit as 1. 3 brings it back to the city conceit of the original, complete with a Heartless-shaped gargoyle with a star. Donald and Goofy are posed and looking in the same sort of direction they did on 1's box art; Mickey's standing at the top looking to the side in the same direction he did for 2, but with a much more relaxed stance with his Keyblade. The battle's on, but he's not hiding anymore, and from a meta perspective he doesn't have to look serious for audiences to take him seriously. This also means the Disney trio aren't looking quite the same direction as the others, but we'll allow it this time. Everyone's together. Everyone's grouped by trio (except for poor Namine, who's an outlier here, and the Star dangling from the gargoyle,) and apart from Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, those trios are all level with each other, which hasn't been the case for most of the original release box arts. We're hoping for reunions and, even before we know how this story ends, the cover gives us hope for a world where they're all together. It's solid.

And I can't vote it in first place, because it is SO MUCH a callback to that original cover that it wouldn't be nearly so great without it, and that's because the original was pretty much perfect. It puts us in the right mood for the story, with its shadowy monsters and worlds lost to darkness. It sets up the characters we recognize in a new context, and it gives us a sense of the Destiny Islands trio before we ever meet them. And it does it all with that very simple golden moon/midnight blue sky contrast that catches your eye nonetheless... and, you know, centers the macguffin of the story before we have context for it as anything but a heart-shaped moon being REALLY cool imagery for a cover like this. The character placement tells us what we should expect with those new kids and how they relate to each other. (It also tells us we maybe won't be seeing Mickey except in silhouette, so get your expectations in line here, but in fairness if they'd put Mickey on the cover of the first game we'd probably all have assumed he was the protagonist.) You can't top the original cover.

I only included the original NA releases with a physical edition to keep things simple and clean. I might do another poll to include everything else that wouldn't fit here (Final Mixes, ReMixes, etc.).

Just so there's no confusion about which art pieces I'm talking about, here are images of all the options under the break:

#kingdom hearts #long post #under the cut anyway #not describing the box art under the other cut and I'm not showing it but I WILL be talking about it A LOT so. In advance.#thinking about it summing up my three favorites:#1 is inviting you on a journey and giving you a mystery #it's also the darkest cover like. colorwise. and for all that there are some CHARACTER tragedies in the others #I'm not sure the worlds as a whole are ever quite as imperiled for quite as long as they are in 1 #(apart from the actual apocalypsing over in chi but chi does not have box art.)#Days is 'even the box art is warning you this will rip your heart out. but even if the ending's sad this story mattered'#'and you will much prefer the sadness than the idea of not knowing this story happened'#3 is reflecting on the journey everyone's been on to this point #and promising some emotional payoff

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popurikat · 3 years ago

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back on my soriku train of thought I guess

I just finished watching a playthrough of kingdom hearts re:coded with my bestie here @skquill and when I saw this I thought, hey lets talk about yet another symbolism we find in the kh lore revolving these two boys. CAUSE I THINK WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT.

Though this series created virtual copies of our beloved characters who don’t have the memories of their counterparts, they still feel and react to the given circumstances and the events in Jiminy’s journal like they would if it was them. What caught me off guard in the beginning was that digital Riku was confirmed to be the keeper of the journal, the guardian angel if you will of the information and to an extent memories of everything real Sora has been through.

It’s never explained why the journal takes the form of Riku, only that it simply exists as so. And though there is a sense of difference between data and real (Data is more soft spoken, apologizes frequently, and doesn’t want Data Sora to get hurt in ANY sense be it physical or emotional. Yet he still retains the sarcasm, calculative nature, and fondness for Sora as the real Riku would.) He’s also the main one in story to follow Data Sora into defeating all the “bugs” that are corrupting the journal as well as stopping Pete and Maleficent from doing further damage. I did quite enjoy this scene of Data Riku asking Sora to stay away when Pete corrupts him with said bugs:

Data Riku takes his role seriously, even if he knows they aren’t the real deal, he has the instinct of keeping the face of the one he cares about alive at all costs, even if it means he goes corrupted. Huh, kinda reminds me of KH2 when Riku is ashamed at the thought of his friends looking at his Ansem form when he assists in Sora’s awakening. And we see another parallel again of the extent of Riku’s sacrafice:

And what I absolutely adore is that Data Sora is always there to tell him he’s not alone, he has his support, and that self sacrifice is in vain if they don’t have each other or their friends. It grounds them, helps them get where they need to be and eventually helps them open up to each other a lot more easier. I joked in my watch through that “Oh, this Sora is the Chaotic good that we would’ve gotten if Sora never experienced Trauma and this Riku is the one that we would have gotten if he trusted in Sora and blocked out the control of Maleficent’s darkness!” But in reality, these two are the just purest essence of their true selves, its the sora and riku we should have ended with when all was said and done, just two people who look out for the other and confide about their fears, their strengths and weaknesses, and give each other the strength to move on.

I also would like to point out that with Riku’s more mellowed attitude in this version, Sora takes charge in bringing up his self esteem, and in turn comes off as though he has grown more mature with each world they pass. But really the only difference is that this Sora is taking every bit of advice he’s taken from his peers and rewording it to fit the situation at hand. Riku’s down? Use a friendship quote he picked up from Donald/Goofy. But he is also sincere with it, where he doesn’t boast about being right or tease Riku when he feels insecure about a statement made, he genuinely wants Riku to feel worth and understand theres no need to apologize as nothing is wrong and what matters now is how they move forward.

And after this set of pictures where Riku is about to send Sora to King Mickey to finalize their mission after they realize “uh oh, Sora’s heartless got illegally downloaded and is causing another virus!”, it brings us back to the top image...waaaaaay back in the beginning of this long post of a pretty little glass stained door. And BOY do I have thoughts on this sequence! Riku’s instinct is to summon a portal specifically for Sora, his priority is to keep him safe as usual. But out of all the doors hes created thus far in game, this one is the most detailed and symbolic. He MADE THE DETAILS INTO ROSES. A flower well known for its tie in with romance. And the colors? Blue, Red, Lilac, and purple; with a few accents of pink and lighter blues. Do you know why the colors matter? BECAUSE THEY ARENT FRIENDSHIP BASED. THEY ARE AS FOLLOWS: - Red roses: passion, desire, romance, eternal love (also Sora’s color) - Blue roses: Mysterious, Extraordinary, Unattainable Love (also Riku’s color) -Lilac: A promise to a future together -Purple: love at first sight -Pink: Appreciation, Gratitude, Admiration, unconditional love/affection

See, personally if I would’ve wanted to express a “friendship” between the puppet apparatuses of “real” individuals who carry very similar ideas of their counters, I would have gone with maybe a design that looks less like overlapping rose petals that concave into a secret tunnel, and gone more with a design thats like a forget-me-knot and stuck with blue for it as it IS Riku’s doing in this situation. He’s opening an escape for Sora. We don’t see a special portal like that when he teleports Mickey and co out the second time, its just bright light. So why give such a great detail to supposed best friends? On top of the design, it looks like stained glass. You know, like the ones used in churches? Typically meaning hope, togetherness, and love? Not to mention that the structure of the portal looks like a wedding arch, you know, the ones where people stand under to say their vows? SPEAKING OF VOWS! Don’t Sora and Riku in DDD create a heart song literally called “Dearly Beloved”, you know, the phrase said before wedding vows, and coincidentally with these characters creating the same colors we see in the portal. Listen, I couldn’t make this up if I tried. But at this point I will yell at the skies that Sora and Riku love each other in every form they take and are quite frankly married. Sorry, don’t make the rules, but this is def. beyond friendship.

In conclusion, um...Riku and Sora? Yeah if their digital versions understood that they can be separated from their friends but live on in their memories as long as they have each other just through the sheer shared experience of a walk through memory line of Sora’s past....then what is stopping the real ones from realizing this? And the thing is again, we got something very close to this realization when real Sora and Riku were trapped in the darkness and just kinda kicking back contemplating life and how glad they have each other at least. But in this iteration, its a lot more than just giving in to the fact nothing else can be done, its honoring the adventure, the time spent, and the amount of growth they’ve gone through. This iteration understands their work is done and its okay to find solace in the other when all the rest of their memories from those not in the digital world will erase, yet never truly be gone because THOSE friends on the other side will always have them in their hearts. This was supposed to be how in my eyes KH3 ended and why after seeing this, I know that we need to get back to this point, because OUR story with OUR Sora and Riku has yet to aquire this level of understanding. I’m expecting a sorta, KH 3.5 in the future or some spinoff to tie their stories up and to have them be at peace that they probably will never return to the world they grew up in, but thats fine because they have each other and a whole new adventure. And thats what I enjoyed about this part of re:coded. In summary I guess, Sora and Riku are destined to end up in the same realm helping the other, thats their fate, reaching contentment in the others presence and to stop feeling like its their job to save everyone out of their reach. The heroes journey is over, its time to find the conclusion of their own inner turmoil and remember who was there since the start for them.

#Kh #Soriku #re:coded #Skquill #long post #read more #slight analysis #Sora #Riku

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fisherrprince · 3 years ago

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do you have more thoughts on keyblade fighting that you need to put somewhere, because i have two hands ready to catch Should The Need Arise

anon: hey I heard you mention you’d analysed the combat styles in KH and what you said in the tags was already alluding to really neat stuff, but I for one would love to hear more of what you came up with!! so if you ever wanted to share any of your analysis then the floor is yours

aHAH, MY EXCUSE!!

Okay, so first some words on “standardized wielding styles”. These are styles shared by Terra, Aqua, Vanitas, Riku, and Xehanort and every other scala and daybreak kid. I will make the argument that the red style is the fanciest standard style, while the purple is seen often to make it easier on the little chibi sprites. BUT, I cannot discredit Eraqus, who uses the purple variant in bbs, nor can I discredit half of the Foretellers (Gula and Ava, at least, use this. Invi and Aced use the first type). So, two standard styles. For simplicity, let’s say one for primary offense, one for primary defense. The standard offensive style really wasn’t popular before Scala-era society.

check this difference out, specifically between ava invi and gula:

then between eraqus, hermod, and xehanort, and eraqus and terra.

These two were likely popularized and standardized for education in Scala ad Caelum for their predominant lack of obvious weak spots.

After this, we have unique styles. Those include Sora Kairi and Xion’s (similar to standard defense, but more mobile at the expense of form — Kairi takes after Sora but less confident, she hasn’t been hit that heavily yet), Ven’s (backhand, heavy range and mobility), Roxas’ (modified for two keyblades, but takes after Sora), and Axel’s (taught himself, comfortable with chakrams).

So! Let’s go.

Standard (offensive)

All styles have sub-variations, of a sense. Different wielders can choose where their keyblade points, and how they hold it exactly, based on what makes them most comfortable. Terra and Aqua point theirs downward, while Vanitas and Riku hold theirs above their head. What is recognizeable to this style is a hand for the sword, and a hand for guarding/blocking/items/magic.

It’s incredibly efficient. With only one hand on the weapon, you not only free up a hand for other things, but increase your range of movement with said weapon. Test it out yourself! The keyblade hand is always your dominant hand, held behind you for increased power when attacking (since you lose a significant amount of it by choosing not to grip with both hands). This style also decreases the speed of the defense you have, but with that increased mobility and swing power, along with a hand free to brace against the keyblade (defense strength up!), it makes up for it. Many people who use this also have strong barrier spells — both a testament to their preference for coverage and an acknowledgement that any directional block will take a little longer and be weaker if they try it with one hand.

The pointy end, though. What difference does it actually make, the height it’s at?

I think it’s half a matter of attack style preference and half intention. Riku, Vanitas, and Xehanort stab quite a bit. Aqua and Terra slice more. Not that they don’t do both, but it’s the first instinct. Aqua and Terra are also likely taught to hold their keyblade neutrally, in a safe position, until someone starts attacking. It’s polite! Eraqus also holds his one-handed, neutrally, until he gets into position. Riku and Vanitas learned to fight assuming everyone was out to fight them. Invi and Aced may like this style because of range (i hc she’s blind and strikes very very quickly, and he’s already very powerful with just the one arm and wants better motion).

and on character specifics: Terra often switches to two-handed, to copy his dad and add extra power to his hits without always sacrificing the empty hand. Vanitas likely was forced to relearn how to fight, as instead of solely being trained to be better at withstanding, he was constantly being made to better his own attacks. The moves Xehanort uses would best be replicated in the same style. Vanitas is wild for holding the massive spiky x-blade like that.

Now, what‘s good on this style does not correlate to what’s bad in the other. The two standard styles simply have different ways of dealing with each con they create or taking advantage of each pro.

(Here’s an interesting side note — Gula uses standard defensive, but in this instance, swaps. One hand… likely to display confidence! Wrong move, but hey. He got cocky. He’s also doing it wrong, and swaps back to two-handed to take Aced’s attack.)

Standard (defensive)

The main detriment of this style is the lack of ease of long range movement. Hold a wrapping paper tube out in front of you with both hands, then run. It goes to the side, or tucks in to your stomach, right? Dodge. Your legs will get in the way unless you know where to move that sword. It requires, interestingly, a little more discipline. You’d think Aqua would like that, but no, she wants movement and practicality, and she loves magic, and remember that you must take a hand off this style to grab a potion. You’d think young Eraqus wouldn’t, but remember that he’s a fancy royal lad.

The main draw, though, is tankiness, readiness, and power. You don’t need to move as much if nothing dares hit you! Ava and Gula might be attracted to this style because they’re not as physically strong, but want protection in close-quarters fighting. Using this style when your muscles aren’t as big but you still want to Hit Things Good, or when you want to be a boy you can’t knock over with a pail of water (horse stance rules), is probably solid advice.

Traditionally, this is a lot less like fencing, and a lot more like a samurai sword or kendo. Your blade is held in front of you, giving you very easy access to blocks and frontal attack/defense. In losing some twirly spinniness, you gain power and minimize your opponent’s ability to parry and block.

you gotta dodge master Eraqus so mcuh

All styles will swap between one and two hands for different moves. Eraqus, notably, swaps to a stance very similar to Xehanort when channeling a metric ton of magic.

Both of these styles require a degree of upper body/core strength, as does all swordfighting. I would be interested to see someone whose keyblade style relies on leg strength.

Sora, Xion, and Kairi

please look at the difference between the foretellers’ or eraqus’ two-handed grip and Sora’s. Do this with your shoulders and a top-heavy object.

They’re both in a hard stance, but hon. What are you, a gremlin? Anyways, a traditionally taught master would have… better form, even if it’s harder to learn at first. It’s habitual. Sora nearly crouches, and holds his keyblade back-pointed with two hands, which makes it easier for him to dodge roll, push off his feet quickly, and pull off those spinning combos he loves. It‘s really gonna hurt his muscles, in the future, though, since he’s doing a squat for like…. hours. Pulling on those shoulderblades and neck. Xion, too. Replicas had better have correct muscle dynamics. Kairi is brand new, so… maybe Aqua can teach her how to hold a sword so it doesnt hurt you.

Okay, now look at the grip itself. Held in front versus held to the side-back. They’re really attempting to combine both standard styles subconsciously, giving themselves more attack power while really wanting to keep that hard defensive parry, wanting to prevent all attacks to the front while also wanting mobility. It’s working for them really well, they fight like an anime character, and manage to get the best of both, with a minor sacrifice of length range that they don’t care about. We’re flexible and full of magic, baby! Holding the blade like this makes it pretty easy to let go with one hand without sacrificing that crouched defense position.

Now, Sora, specifically, is very adaptive. He’s had two keyblades, claws, guns, yo-yos, and a giant shield, to name a couple. He retains a bit of that alert crouch no matter where he goes, but Sora knows how he wants to attack and how to balance that with the most effective way to use his current weapon. He’s a smart kid! Sora has the most ridiculous shotlocks, which are also probably due to not always wanting to go standard for it. He also prefers to keep his focus on the enemy, which is evident in his reprisals and lack of very many effective “escape” moves.

Xion is very similar to Sora, but she does have some moves that are all movement. She switches to one handed for strikes a lot — using two for defending, one for smacking. In her data battle I’d swear some of those heavy hits are claymore-like. But anyways, since we’re magic, Xion cares not for the laws of exhaustion, and will ping about as a ball of light everywhere. Short range? Up in your business. Mid-range? In your business with one hand. Long range? Throws a boomerang. Hit her? No you dont. Ball of light. She’s above you and wants to bash your head in. (Vanitas also does this! A lot. It’s an easy way to catch someone off-guard. I’ll argue that the soras are very tough and strong, but not tanky. they want to avoid being hit a lot)

Another interesting note about Kairi. I say “unconfident” not because she doesn’t hit hard, but because her stance is also often tilted back, ready to dodge. It’s two handed, but almost all her moves are one. She does love spinning and throwing the thing! It looks like she’s been taking notes from the wielders she knows. It would be easy to teach her a standard style, I think. See here, she lets go on the strike, and by trying to do both, actually ends up with an advantage (being confusing) and disadvantage (losing both the power of two handed and versatility of one handed).

A counter to Sora and Xion is difficult to pin down. Time? Probably. Lack of heating pads. Something that takes all their attention is about the only way to get a sneak attack in, and then you have to hit hard. A counter to Kairi would be anyone who can knock her off balance. She needs a sturdier stance. .

Roxas

Roxas is interesting. He takes after Sora for the one blade. Wielding two, however, nets him a totally different way of fighting. Roxas’ clavicle muscles n… deltoids and stuff must be Ironclad. Also, two handed means you are very fast and sharp all the time. He has the advantage of standard defense (horse stance), and the advantage of offense (range of one sword, but twice).

Roxas generally attacks in two ways — simultaneous hits, and follow-up hits. Either he hits with both at once, or hits hard with the first one, and adds the second one as a bonus smack. He can attack by hitting in opposite directions with the two, like a drum, but that will be a little awkward and leave him prone to being tangled. That established, the follow-up hit method means he spins a bunch. As do we all.

Roxas gets a little complicated because we are not in the real world. We have magic and turning into light and physics that let you become a circular saw. So, typically, disadvantages would include: being unable to let go of a weapon to grab something or use an item, having just a very big silhouette to attack on, having difficulty with close-range attacks because Oathkeeper and Oblivion are kinda long, and convenience. Roxas gets to dodge #1 (keyblades can be unsummoned) and #4 (keyblades can be unsummoned). Speaking of dodging, he also gets to skirt the difficulty of dodging and rolling with two swords because he turns into a beam of light. But he can’t dodge how difficult it is to use two swords effectively — he needs to concentrate on fighting, and nothing else, or he risks messing up. He has to be very, very coordinated, and undistracted. Luckily he’s pretty good at making his opponents shut up, most of the time. Blocking is another thing — theoretically his blocks could be strong, but Roxas has no real brace: crossing your blades and taking a hefty stab might smack one of them back into your face. He mostly uses reversals and dodges, because of this.

The takeaway to this is Roxas is built for speed and power, and he is very strong. He’s a mid- to far- range fighter who if you’re not careful can snap you in half if you’re too close (be SO careful of that cross blade scissor).

A perfect counter to Roxas would be a tank that can grapple, and also be very distracting. If you can take hits, be talkative, and get close enough to stop his blades, you have a chance.

Ventus

This is a bizarre choice, my guy, but I get it.

Backhanded weapons are very impractical for a lot of... attacking, mainly in mid-range combat, and Ven likes to either fight very close or throw the keyblade like a boomerang (and hey, backhand gives it a good whip for throwing). His attacks aren’t meant to one hit KO, but they do come with a bit of power to them, especially on the backslash. Like holding a knife for gouging. It’s for very close defense — pretty good when Wayward Wind and Missing Ache have hooks.

Backhand also, while retaining that empty hand for potions and guarding, gives you an extreme coverage boost. By which I mean Ven’s sword hand now has a nearly 270 degree sweep of “I see you, don’t touch me”, very quickly, based on just flicking his wrist. It sacrifices a ton of strength/sturdiness, but you don’t need that if you’re dodging. You also don’t really need to block, which is slower, but relatively sturdy when Ven does it, as he blocks with mostly the chunky hilt between crossed arms. He sacrifices (again) a bit of strength for coverage — an attack would hurt his arms, not his chest, if he were hit head-on.

His attacks often have him flip the blade around in his hand, too. Quick swaps between standard moves and backhand ones. Basically, Ventus is built for moving, protecting himself, and quick attacks that wear down the enemy, not outclass it. Likely because he’s good at fighting, but everyone he’s fought hits harder than he can! It doesn’t matter how he holds it, getting hit will hurt. So he just. Doesn’t. He’s not a buff little guy — but he is a persistent one. Ven very likely made this up on his own, in Daybreak, and it was too hard to fix his whole style, but it was enough to correct most of his form so he doesn’t hurt himself too much. He is going to have to really stretch that shoulder and wrist (maybe get a brace), though. At least his neck is ok. … not sure about his knees tho dang boy that crouch

A perfect counter to Ven would be someone big and fast, who hits hard mid-range. He’s already been sparring with Terra, though, so when in doubt, try scruffing him?

Axel

Theres not a ton to say about him — he‘s not a swordfighter. He uses his keyblade like it’s a frisbee. Because that’s what he’s used to! His neutral is behind his back on his shoulder, which is terrible for readiness, but okay for chucking the thing. It’s good it has a sort of… ripstik like… boomerang quality.

Axel’s fighting style is completely made up, like most of the self-taught wielders’. His strengths lie in some of the benefits of standard offensive style (one-handed), and some of the same coverage stuff as Ven, having a cocked wrist most of the time so no one can sneak up around him without risking getting whacked very quickly, and having an interesting range due to the pointy end being basically on a spinny swivel wherever his hand moves. He’s not going to be good at close-range and he knows it — his attacks are mostly distance. And the guy has ZERO defense, combined with zero coverage when idle, so it’s for the better.

Distance-wise, though, he rocks. Treating the blade like it’s a flaming throwing weapon means his idle is actually great for sudden flick-tossing and attention-guiding for sneakier attacks, and his stance itself (…nonexistent) serves a different purpose: bait. Basically a big "come hit me". Fun, when you have a lot of fire magic and two friends who are beasts and love to take advantage of a distracted enemy — distance on the blade, proximity on the burning.

A perfect counter to Axel would be someone pinging around very close <—> very far and circling him incessantly. Like, data Xion could wreck him, as he has to wait for the boomerang to come back -- he no longer has two spinny wheels. Also someone with water magic.

SO! In conclusion! Having a teacher who teaches you correct sword usage rather than instinct may detract from overspecific styles that benefit you most but leave weak spots, but your muscles and your oversights will thank you. Everyone is glad we have the power of the Mouse and anime on our side.

Keep in mind again that I have done cursory research, and have had minimal actual sword instruction, I am not an expert and this is all for fun anyways :]

#I ran out of images which is homophobic #KH #ask #mojimallow #THANKS MOJI #If you’re wondering what the counter would be to Terra and Aqua; in terms of counters there are no counters #not style-wise anyways. That’s why they’re standard.#Terra can’t react very fast and Aqua needs more mp but that’s individual #and we are mostly talking BASE COMBAT here #of course lingering will can use keyblade transformations and there’s magic strategies — but that would make this post… much longer #brrrrrrr #kh analysis #kh meta #thanks to the handful of other people who asked me to expand on the same thing <3<3<3 #REALLY wanted to include one of Invi blocking — just go watch invi and aced fight for two standard offense #it Shows off their strengths and weaknesses #… no living adults do the two handed grip. Watch Sora and Xion’s data battle for an approximation I guess??#you. Hey you. Look in the notes rn #metazone

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sangorous · 3 years ago

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AN INTERESTING THANKSGIVING

word count: 0.8k

genre/warning: idk?/homewrecking-ish?pettiness

miyuki kazuya x black fem!haitian!reader

show: ace of diamond

"Look at my baby," her mother smiled as Riku walked up to his grandma with a smile.

"Hi grandma," he giggled as she picked him up.

"How are you doing honey?" she placed small kisses on his cheek.

"Grandma," he whined with a laugh.

"Hi ma," she kissed her cheek and gave her a hug.

"Hi ma," Miyuki greeted her with a hug and peck on the cheek.

"Hello my darlings, I'm happy y'all made it," she smiled as [your name] placed the haitian macaroni on the table.

"I'm glad we made it here and safely as well, I was scared we were going to die on our way here the way [your name] was driving," Miyuki sighed as her mother began to laugh.

"Not only are you an amazing catcher, but you're a comedian as well I see," [your name] sarcastically replied as he snickered.

"Someone sounds upset,"

"No, not at all," she gave him a fake smile as he continued to snicker.

When [your name] and Miyuki walked back to the dining room after washing their hands, they noticed that there was an empty seat with a purse on it next to her younger brother. She looked at the familiar purse and tried to figure out who it belonged to, and it hit her.

"Oh hell no," she muttered to herself as she watched her older sister take a seat in the chair.

"Ma, I thought you said she wasn't gonna make it tonight," she looked at her with a glare.

"I thought so too until she came knocking on my door this morning," her mother chuckled, taking her seat at the table.

"It's nice to see you too, little sister," her sister sarcastically replied, giving her a fake smile.

[your name] decided to ignore her as she grabbed Miyuki's hand and walked over to their spots at the table.

Rose-Marie also is known as [your name]'s older sister, she was someone she did not like at all. Despite them being family, [your name] did not care for her nor consider her to be her sister after what she tried to do two years ago. Two years ago when Rose-Marie didn't have anywhere to go after her breakup with her boyfriend, [your name] decided to be a good sister and let her crash at her place until she could land back on her feet. Unaware of her true intentions, [your name] thought she was doing something good. Slowly, she began to catch on to her sister. Her little flirtatious acts whenever Miyuki was around, asking him for help for things she clearly knew what to do, and unnecessarily touching him.

[your name] couldn't lie, every day she would try her best not to lose her cool. Miyuki would sometimes make fun of the situation stating that 'he's handsome, what would you think would happen?' and yes she would smack him in the back of his head because there was nothing funny about her sister trying to get with her husband.

But one day, she crossed the boundary when she purposely tried to seduce Miyuki who was trying his best to push her away from him. [your name] couldn't hold it in anymore, she got up from her chair and dragged her older sister by her hair while Miyuki quickly got up and followed her. He tried his best to pull her hand away, but her grip was too tight. [your name] kicked Rose-Marie out of her house and told her that she never wanted to see her again.

"I see some things never change," her brother hummed, grabbing his plate.

"This should be interesting," Miyuki whispered to him.

During the thanksgiving dinner, she noticed that her sister kept eyeing Miyuki and he felt a bit uncomfortable.

"I think some of us should keep our eyes on our plates, don't y'all think so?" she hummed, cutting the piece of turkey on her plate to hand over to her son.

"Why can't we observe what's on each other's plates? sometimes someone's plate has something packed in it," her sister retorted with a small smirk, eating the macaroni.

"I just find it funny how mama always has the same rat runnin' around her house every thanksgiving," she had a fake smile on her face.

"Funny how roaches love to pick on rats," her sister hummed, shaking her head.

"Funny how some people can't find their own man, so they choose to seduce a married man instead," she stabbed her fork into the turkey.

"Oops was that too obvious?" she looked at her with an innocent look as the table became quiet.

"Talk about a home run am I right?" Miyuki joked as [your name] glared at him.

"Relax, alright?" he whispered in her ear, placing his hand on her thigh and giving it a squeeze.

"What an interesting thanksgiving dinner," her younger brother cleared his throat while her mother smacked the back of his head.

#ace of diamond x black!reader #poc reader #black reader #diamond no ace x black!reader #ace of diamond x black reader #diamond no ace x black reader #ace of diamond #diamond no ace #miyuki kazuya x black!reader #miyuki kazuya x black reader #miyuki kazuya

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miss-tc-nova · 3 years ago

Text

Weathering - Riku x Reader

Ah, you guys are a bunch of saps. Always looking for that happily ever after. No fun.

Well, I put the offer out there so here goes. I’ve had this sitting in my WiP folder for way too long but I got a song in my KH Fic Spotify list that keeps reminding me this exists. So tadaaa! Also, this is one of my longer ones...by quite a bit which is also why the end is a bit sudden

Music Inspiration: Lie to Me by 12 Stones

~~~~~

The rain is not kind to me. At least, it doesn’t make my day any easier as I trudge home.

Simply put, today has been terrible. Work sucked, I left my wallet at home, I have almost no groceries, and, obviously, I’m walking home in the rain. All of this on top of my already strained relationship with my boyfriend.

Our situation isn’t exactly easy. Because of recent adventures, Riku wasn’t comfortable leaving me on my own and insisted I stay with someone he trusted—only the Twilight Town gang was available for babysitting duty. They easily accepted me into their little group, stopping by my new apartment almost daily to check in. The adults became great pseudo-guardians and Xion is practically my little sister now. But Roxas—he’s my best friend, despite how much he dislikes Riku. We just instantly seemed to click and he’s kept me sane in this new world as I try to get by waiting for my boyfriend to return.

I don’t entirely know what happened, but the hostility between the two is palpable. Roxas is very open about his disdain, and Riku ignored him at first, but I suspect the prolonged hostility is what caused him to finally snap back. And things only got worse.

I still saw the whole group—including Roxas—but if Riku called and caught wind of my friend, he seethes up until the very last goodbye. Before long, the calls I got every few days dwindled to every few weeks, and then eventually, I’d be lucky to hear from him within the month, let alone physically seeing him. Even when I did receive a call or visit, they often ended in arguments. Still, I could never bring myself to end them on a sour note; so I always said what I had to in order to calm him down. The latest of these arguments, spurred by my desperation and loneliness, ended with a promise to put some space between me and Roxas.

I couldn’t make myself a liar—not to Riku. I began denying invites to hang out, especially from Roxas, and I had to resist extending my own to him when I felt bored or lonely. Even if I did accept a visit with the others, I avoided him. It resulted in nagging from the blonde, but while I can’t lie to Riku, Roxas was another story. Tales of sicknesses and obligations got in the way of his plans because I just wasn’t going to tell him about Riku.

And I’ve been miserable ever since.

The door clicks shut behind me. In the dark, I melt against the door, the recent hell of my life infesting my heart. Tears meld into the water on my face and a shaky breath rattles my chest.

The light flicks on. I let out a scream, pressing against the wall and jamming a hand into my pocket for my phone. Then I realize who’s sitting in the chair by the light switch.

“Roxas?! What the hell are you doing here?!” I exclaim.

With a scowl, he replies. “Haven’t seen my friend in several days; so we thought we’d come check on you.” The look in his eyes radiates a deeper meaning.

“Wha-Wh-How did you get into my house?!”

“You gave Isa a key for emergencies.”

“What happened?! Did someone get hurt?!’

“Oh, we can turn the lights on now?” From the kitchen, Xion pokes her head into the living room. She gives me an unwitting smile. “Hey! Welcome home!”

Electing to avoid Roxas’s unspoken accusations, I follow Xion back into the kitchen. “Why were you guys sitting in the dark?”

I find the young woman dumping popcorn into a popcorn maker. “Roxas said you wouldn’t come in if you saw the lights on.”

“So instead you decide to give me a heart attack…”

She giggles. “Sorry. We just wanted to surprise you. We brought snacks and a movie to watch.”

I shove my hands through my hair. “I appreciate you guys coming to see me, but I’m really not feeling so great. Can we do this next week?”

“Already trying to get rid of us?” A shiver shoots down my spine as I look back at Roxas leaning against the wall.

“No. I mean, yes, technically, but I have things to do and I feel sick and I don’t want you guys to catch it.”

“If you were that sick, you wouldn’t have gone to work.”

My shoulders drop; I hate this.

Suddenly, Xion ushers me into the hall. “We’re not worried about getting a little sick. I’ll even make you some soup. Now, go get cleaned up while we finish setting up.”

“But-”

“Go,” she insists, but it’s Roxas’s glare behind her back that encourages me to get away.

Unfortunately for me, I can’t hide in the shower forever; I’ll have to face them eventually. As promised, Xion has a bowl of soup ready, however, in the living room, she forces me to sit near Roxas when she takes the recliner. I eat my soup in awkward silence despite the movie filling the room with noise.

At least I’m able to somewhat distract myself with the movie. That is, until halfway through when Xion suddenly pauses it.

“Hey, are you okay?”

I glance between Xion’s genuine concern and Roxas’s glare before looking back down at the soup. “Yeah. I’m fine. Just a little tired, y’know. Work wasn’t so great and I forgot my wallet today. But it’s just one of those days.”

There’s silence and I’m afraid to look up, but Xion presses. “And how are things with Riku?”

“It’s…okay.” I can already feel the sadness seeping into my weary heart.

This time, Roxas doesn’t hold back. “Yeah? Then why did he tell you to stop hanging out with me?”

My tolerance for my own despair has grown tremendously in these past few months, but of course Roxas would know exactly which buttons to push to bring me crashing down.

“You knew?” I mutter, barely holding back tears.

“How the hell could I not? Why else would you avoid me?” he spits. The tears begin to drip. “You’ve been acting stupid for weeks so I knew that bastard probably said something to you.”

“I…” My throat closes around the words and, pretty soon, they pour from my mouth in jagged breaths. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what to do. I haven’t spoken to Riku in three weeks and every time we do, we just end up fighting and I’m sad and scared and…I’m so lonely…I miss him. And…”

That’s it for me. My bad day brought me low and Roxas dealt the final blow to my defenses.

He sighs. “Come here.”

Roxas slips an arm around my shoulder and pulls me against his chest. So sick of resisting my friend and desperate for the contact, I give in. Everything I’ve been holding in spills out as I cry and cry and cry until I reach that miserable gray area not far off sleep. And even though I’d been such a terrible friend, Roxas comforts me through it all.

~~~~~

The slam ruins my dozing by aggravating my headache. My eyes burn but I manage to pry them open in time to see the back of a head of white hair enter the hall.

Riku!

Immediately, I spring off the sofa and rush after him. I catch the door just before it shuts and slip into the room with a light knock and a smile. Riku glances back and my heart skips; his teal eyes are sparking with anger.

“Welcome back,” I say, trying my best to remain cheerful. “Did you find anything about Sora?”

His jacket gets tossed into the corner. “No. Still no sign of him,” he answers curtly.

“Oh…I’m sorry.” My gaze drops. I’m nervous about making things worse but I can’t do anything else. “I missed you.”

His words shoot through my heart. “Did you really?”

“Of course I did,” I reply instantly. “I—"

“And that’s why you were cuddled up on the couch sleeping with Roxas?” he snaps.

Of course that’s what this is about.

“He’s my friend,” I say, feeling the water well in my eyes. “I’m sorry that I had a bad day and needed someone to comfort me.”

“If that’s all you needed, all you had to do was call!”

“If that’s all?! Riku, the last time I called you, you didn’t answer! You didn’t even try to call me back!”

“If you’ve forgotten, I’ve been out looking for Sora!” he shouts. “He’s still missing if you haven’t noticed! And Kairi won’t stop sleeping until we find him!”

That’s fair; it’s entirely fair that he wants to find his best friend and save the other from unending slumber, but he’s contradicting himself.

“So then I just don’t matter anymore?!” I hate that I cry when I’m angry. “I only exist when the perfect trio is together?!”

“So I’m just supposed to stop looking for my friend to give you attention?!”

“I didn’t say that! I just wanted to know that you thought this relationship is still worth holding on to! A phone call, a message, something to let me know this is still important to you!”

“I’ve been busy, okay?! I don’t always have time to message you when the Heartless are attacking or call when I’m chasing a lead!”

“I only needed three words! Instead, I get attacked because relying on my best friend when you’re gone is inappropriate!”

“I didn’t say you couldn’t—"

“Anytime we talk anymore all we do is fight over it! It’s ridiculous!”

Riku snarls back, “You don’t exactly help.”

“Neither do you! We can’t even get through ten minutes without fighting! And I’m sick of it!”

“If you didn’t—"

“NO!” I scream. “I can’t keep doing this anymore! I can’t keep fighting you to keep my friend! I can’t keep fighting with you because I’m sick of being alone.” The trembling in my body ripples in my voice. “I can’t keep fighting for a relationship I can’t see a future in.”

His voice, cold as ice, is the last straw. “If you’re so miserable, then just leave.”

And I do.

~~~Riku POV~~~

Riku watches as the person he loves most—the person he fought to survive for—walks out the front door of the apartment without another word. At the rate they were going, this fight was inevitable. He knew this was how it would end; even as he landed on Twilight Town, he knew there was a good chance this would be the last of their relationship.

That didn’t stop it from breaking his heart.

The complication pokes his head into view. “What the hell was that?!”

Riku, still brimming with anguish, snarls at him. “That was the breakup you caused!”

“Me?! You think I caused that?!”

“Yes, you! I swear, every time I call, you’re all I hear about! ‘Roxas and I did this!’ ‘Me and Roxas did that!’ I know you hate me, but even you could’ve at least given me the courtesy of telling me you were ruining my life!”

“Excuse me?! Ruin your life?! Ruin YOUR life?! Do you not remember what you did to me?! What you did to Xion?!”

Riku grimaces.

“You put us through hell but we still forgave you! We took in your significant other because you were afraid of losing them and you have the nerve to accuse me of ruining YOUR life?! You—” Realization seems to dawn in Roxas’s eyes until he pinches the bridge of his nose. “Oh my gods. You think we’re in love.”

Regaining some of his spite, Riku says, “It’s pretty damn clear if you ask me.��

“What could possibly make you jump to that stupid conclusion?”

“Besides you constantly being together?! I was lied to! You’re not supposed to be here! But the fact that you are means you’re clearly more important than I am!”

“I knew you and your stupid ego were the reason my best friend was avoiding me!”

“Yeah, fine! I’m the asshole! I’m sorry I got between you and the person I’m dating!”

Roxas drags his hands down his face. “You’re such a moron. Okay, let me ask you this: how would you feel if they made you choose between them and Sora and Kairi? How would you feel if you were alone and sad but you weren’t allowed to talk to anyone about it?”

“I didn’t—"

“Yes, you did!”

“Well you seem to know a lot for someone who’s just a friend!”

“You would know all this too if you would just get over yourself and look! But you’re so busy being pissy at me that you don’t even call anymore!”

“I’m sorry I didn’t want to get in the way of your flirting!”

“Oh my gods! I’M IN LOVE WITH XION, YOU ASSHOLE!”

Riku hesitates, but a blushing Xion covers her mouth.

“But I’ve been taking care of your partner so you could go look for Sora because if anyone’s gonna find him, it’s you! And I thought it’d be fine; we’ll take care of them for a few months and Sora will come back! I thought I was gonna hate them, but no, they’re amazing! And I don’t know how someone so sweet and fun could fall for a jerk like you, but that was none of my business! And yeah, I hate your guts, but I still thought you were smart enough not to neglect someone you love! They were so devoted to you that they were willing to cut me out of their life until I broke in here tonight! They are head-over-heels in love with you but all you’ve done lately is bully and berate them for just trying not to be alone!”

An empty, sinking feeling begins to descend in Riku’s chest. He’s made a mistake—a very big mistake. Roxas was right about everything and Riku probably could’ve seen all the signs if he were around more often. But because he couldn’t be, all he could do was trust his lover and his anger had gotten in the way of that. The person he loved most had fled and it was his own fault.

“So what am I supposed to do? What about Sora and Kairi? Am I supposed to just forget about them?!”

“Sora and Kairi are important,” Xion says. “Nobody ever said they weren’t. But you can’t forget the people who are still here. You need to find a way to balance it all or we might lose you too.”

“Me?”

“If they’re so important to you that me stealing them away would ruin your life, then why has everything been about Sora and Kairi?” Roxas asks.

The realization of his obsession—one born to distract him from his jealousy—hits.

“I…I’m sorry.”

The blonde frowns. “Oh fuck off. What are you still doing here?’

Roxas’s words sound like insults, but it’s actually an order. Without wasting another second, Riku bolts out the door and down the street, hoping he can find his beloved before it’s too late.

~~~Reader POV~~~

My feet slap against the stone paths, adding to the white noise of the rain. The cool air stings at my skin, but at least the downpour washes away the tears. I don’t know where I’m going and I don’t care; I just need to get away. If I stop moving, I’ll start thinking and if I start thinking, I’ll fall apart—and I’m not ready for that.

Unfortunately, my lungs can only take so much sprinting before they force me to slow down. They burn in my chest as I gasp for air, though that’s nothing compared to the fog of despair catching up to me. An uneven stone catches my foot, putting an effective stop to my escape. The agony crashes down on me, bringing with it the revelation that my relationship is over.

Just as the anguish begins to take hold, I hear my name—I hear my name in his voice.

I can’t do it; I’m not ready to face him in any capacity. I struggle to get to my feet, his rapidly approaching steps fueling my panic. Still, even as I take the first few steps, I know that I’d never be able to outrun a Keyblade Master.

“Wait!” His hand snatches my wrist.

“Let go of me! Let go!” I scream. Of course there was no way I was breaking free from his grasp. My fist beats against his arm, all in vain as his grip holds. “I can’t do this anymore! Leave me alone! I said let go!”

Riku simply stands there, holding me in place and letting me take out my frail frustrations on his arm. They continue to grow weaker and weaker as my shoddy resolve crumbles, until I end up on my knees, crying again.

“What do you want from me?” I sniffle.

“To tell you I’m sorry.” Another shaky breath rattles my chest. “You don’t have to take me back—you don’t even have to forgive me—I just want you to know I messed up and I know that.” Even his breath shudders as he kneels beside me. “You deserve someone who can always be there for you, and as much as I want to be that person, I can’t. But I held on anyway. I wanted to keep you, hoping that, once I found Sora and brought Kairi back, everything would be okay. But I never asked you. I just assumed you’d be okay waiting while I obsessively went looking. And I have no right to keep you from being friends with Roxas, especially when I haven’t answered your messages in months. I just…didn’t want to let go of the hope that, one day, everyone I love would be safe and together. And I’m sorry.”

I don’t have any words for him, not in this state, but Riku pulls me into his arms, muttering apologies as I lament how far we’ve fallen.

“I…I probably could’ve handled this better too,” I mutter into his soaked shoulder. “I should’ve told off Roxas and I should’ve just told you how I felt instead of implying it. And some of the things I said I knew were out of line…but I was hurt and…” My fists ball tightly around his jacket. “And these last few months really sucked.”

“I know…”

The patter of the rain and the numbing cold pull us into our own sullen world with a choice waiting at its end. While I’m afraid of that choice, eventually, I have to ask.

“What do we do now?”

He sighs. “I can’t stop looking for Sora and I can’t expect you to wait for me.” Leaning back, his crestfallen gaze meets mine. “So I guess what happens between us is up to you.”

Our relationship has never been normal, which has certainly served to have its ups and downs. Riku used to disappear for weeks at a time, but when he would visit, those were my best days. And even after he had me relocated to Twilight Town, I figured that things between us would be the same. Even though I was wrong, I thought that this was the rough patch that all relationships inevitably go through and I loved him through every second of the hell. Just as he did, I clung to the hope that, no matter how much we suffered, we would make it to the other side and be stronger together for it.

But the separation proved too much for both of us.

“Take me with you.”

Silver brows pop. “Wha-No. I’m not taking with me.”

“Then you can’t leave.”

Trying to find my rationalization, he rests a hand against my cheek. “I already told you, I have to go.”

“Then take me with you.” My hand pulls his down and I look him dead in the eye. “Those are your choices.” His mouth opens to argue, but I speak over him. “Those are your choices.”

“But—”

My hands squish his face. “Those are your choices! I’m not done with you and we are not doing this again. I love you and I miss you and it sucks. So you can either stay or you can take me with you.” I lean in really close. “And I already know you can’t stay.”

His eyes flicker between mine, looking for the hesitation. I won’t lie, I’m a little nervous. I have no idea what I’m getting into, but I know Riku’s job sometimes leads him into danger. And yet I don’t really care.

His shoulders slump in defeat; even so, Riku smiles. “Well if those are my only options…”

Hugging him tighter than I ever have, I feel like I could just cry again from all the relief, and I feel it in from him in return. For the first time in months—even though I’m soaking wet and barefoot, sitting in the middle of the road as the rain falls relentlessly on us—I’m happy.

~~~~~

Nova’s Kingdom Hearts Masterlist

#kh riku #riku x reader #gender neutral reader

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