#I hope Ven faces some consequences for this at least

[randomscpventblog]

Just logged onto Twitter to see one of Alex Kister’s “victims” attempting to drag their name and all their hard work through the mud for attention. Most of these alleged “victims” are young so I’m not sure whether they realize they’ve been manipulated by Alex’s Ex or not. But it’s very clear to most people that Ven (Alex’s Ex) skewed these young peoples opinion’s on Alex’s words without having any evidence of Alex’s actual intentions. Just for reference Alex made suggestive comments towards some of their Ex’s (Ven’s) outfits and Ven then decided to manipulate these “victims” by saying that Alex was being inappropriate towards them for simply giving them compliments on their outfits because apparently Alex had some sort of “fetish” for clothing, which is probably the biggest reach I’ve seen in a long time. I think most adults can realize that broad things like clothing can be suggestive with partners and in private but that doesn’t mean all clothing is inherently s*xual nor does that mean a person views all clothing as such. These people whom Ven manipulated are young so it’s understandable they wouldn’t be able to grasp such concepts, we can only hope they learn soon and stop dragging Alex’s name through the mud on behalf of their toxic ex Ven.

The only thing Alex was actually guilty of was trauma dumping on a minor which they were doing because of Ven being borderline abusive. Overall Alex may not be a standup person but the actions of their ex were much worse and I think people need to focus on that more. Maybe Alex can start a lawsuit or something, Ven would definitely deserve it but unless that happens people need to be more aware of the situation and stop simply going along with whatever people on Twitter tell them too.

[fisherrprince]

idk how it would happen but I imagine ven meeting his younger selves and they’re both so different. But the same. But different

he meets the one stuck in the desert with no memories and immediately almost gets his head cut off, just because — for ease of reading, he’ll refer to himself as Ven and the younger one as Ventus and the youngest one… Little Ven. Look, he never said he was that creative, and they like their name — because he startled him. He doesn’t remember the badlands that well, but he does remember how jumpy it made him. That’s still… there.

anyways he almost gets his head cut off because Ventus hears someone’s big metal shoes behind him and whips around, keyblade in hand, and Ven backs out of the way with his hands up and an eep! and puts a lid on the instinct to summon his own keyblade. Ventus’ face gives away his emotions pretty much instantly, which it doesn’t do so much anymore, but it goes fear-anger-confusion-VERYconfusion-fearagain-curiosity-confusion-bigshowyhuffyface. Like a kitten making itself look bigger. Ven tries to make himself look smaller, or at least non threatening. Or at least not like an evil future version of himself come to end his bloodline here and now. Would you believe he had that irrational fear every once in a while he’d make some kind of dumb mistake and go ah, I hope this doesn’t have universal consequences i feel the repercussions of via someone smarter than me coming to tell me off! which, I mean it’s not The Most irrational. Time travel exists. He’s doing… it(???). Ventus seems to settle somewhere between genuine curiosity and cornered kitten.

“Who are you?”

Wow his voice is higher! It dropped pretty late. Mostly while he was training here, so he never really had the embarrassed-by-voice-cracking thing Aqua told him about with Terra, he was worried about other things. And his hair is so much scruffier, and his skin is dry-looking, he doesn’t remember taking care of himself very well out here. There’s nothing here, really. Has Ventus eaten? Today? Should he have brought the conchas from the kitchen. Is that an open cut on his arm? That’s blood. That’s bad. Ven’s been forgetting to speak and just looking at his younger self which is not helping his nerves, he doesn’t think. “Uh… you? Older you! We’re in a dream, sort of, I think.”

probably not the right thing to say, even though ven’s not sure what WOULD be the right thing to say. That was about the most succinct he could make it. Ventus’ eyes narrow, and he drops the curiosity, and Ven knows what just happened, he thinks this is a test now. It’s absurd enough to not be real, and it must be illusion magic. Ventus spins his keyblade behind him and lowers his stance (still kinda sloppy, the Master was always— Xehanort was always on him about it even though apparently holding a keyblade backwards was fine). “Bullcrap,” he spits.

“Language!” Ven scolds, feeling the spirit of Aqua fill him. Ventus is too nervous to say anything more than “crap” though, which is kind of cute but weird to think about now that he’s still nervous around adults but swears like a sailor around, like, Roxas.

“Either leave me alone or fight!”

“I don’t wanna—“ And then Ventus jabs at him, his patience for the test spent. The faster he passes, the faster he can go sit down and the less of a chance he gets hurt. Ven dodge rolls out of the way once, twice, threefourtimes, getting ten pounds of dust down his shirt. He never liked this feeling. Dust stuck to his skin. Ventus gets more and more frustrated with every miss, starting to make angry growls when he does, and snaps out a strike raid, which misses, and it misses on the way back, but Ven is busy righting himself from where it missed and Ventus gets a heavy slash in right on his knuckles, which stings.

Ven recoils, and Ventus sees the real actual blood on his knuckles and the teeth of Wayward Wind and his eyes blow wide. Almost immediately, he drops his keyblade and backs away, hugging his arms to his chest and turtling in his jacket. “Oh— sorry! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry! I messed up.”

“it’s okay! It’s okay, it’s fine,” Ven reassures him, really really wanting to stop hearing himself over-apologize. He quickly, telegraphing his moves because he knows how bad this could look, summons his keyblade and casts a quick Cure. The wound vanishes, even though it’s gonna leave a bruise anyways. Ven shows his arm. “See? Totally fine.”

Ventus doesn’t move towards him, but un-turtles slightly. His eyes linger on Ven’s hand — fine. Like he said — to the space his, their keyblade was just summoned, the one he’s holding his version of. To his face, which is pretty similar, though Ventus hasn’t looked at himself in a mirror in a while. To his outstretched arm, and the thin scars over it, and his own scrawny arm, dried blood still shiny over a thin but deep cut.

Ven follows his gaze. “Can I see that?” he asks, gently.

Ventus slowly, very deliberately shuffles his way over and gives up his arm to be looked at. Ven takes it — Ventus almost flinches when he touches him, totally real and corporeal and warm and stuff — and once again casts Cure, this time a Curaga just to cover anything he might not be showing him. Ven used to do that, before he knew what he was doing but after he was too floaty to know what he was doing at all, he’d just not tell anyone he was uncomfortable. It felt shaky and bad to verbalize, and it took Terra specifically a long time to teach him that no was a good word and I made a mistake was not the end of the world. Ven’s not gonna be able to teach the younger version of himself that whole thing in a few hours. But y’know — at least he can be nice.

Ventus studies the spot on his arm that he cured. It’s going to scar because he didn’t get to it on time, but he knew that, and Ventus figures that out, his stare moving to the same scar on Ven’s forearm. And the rest of them. Some the same, some came later. He is not, pointedly, removing his arm from Ven’s hands.

Ventus’ voice is tentative and scratchy. “Why’re you here?”

“Um,” Ven says, elegantly. “I’m not sure.”

”That’s dumb,” Ventus huffs.

“Hey.”

“Sorry. Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Ven says, gesturing for his other hand. Ventus hesitates — fear-worry-want, his face is like an open book — and gives it to him, finally desummoning his keyblade. “Do you not know Cure yet?”

Ventus scowls again. “Shouldn’t you remember? No.”

Ven shakes his head. “I don’t remember when we learned it. I thought it was before this.”

“I don’t remember anything before this.” Ventus, despite curling forwards into the touch he’s being given, somehow scowls even deeper.

Ven kneels. “And I don’t remember being so angry,” he says, softly. “We don’t get much better at the memory thing in the future.”

“Oh.” Ventus keeps standing. “Do—“ he bites his lip.

“Do what?”

“Do we… do we get better at — you’re … I’m… mad. I don’t like— You don’t look— Do we— nevermind, sorry. It’s nothing.”

“We get happier,” Ven says, something inside him crumbling. “We do, we get friends, even.”

Ventus’ eyes widen, not looking at him. “Here?”

“No, not here. It… it’s a long story. But I promise it gets better.” Ven doesn’t like looking at this. He spent so long not thinking about it — on purpose, not thinking about it, ever since he woke up in the Land of Departure “thinking about it” was more of a phrase that meant shaky, scattered flashes of memory and sharp copper smells and waking up with his heart in his throat and his muscles trying to scatter out of existence or hearing a metal fixture drop to the floor with a loud clang! and suddenly he couldn’t hear anything except ringing and it was all, an abstract cocktail of not good that he never untangled and avoided like the plague — that… making it real, seeing himself just exist in a terrible place while nothing happens to him like those flashes of memory, it makes it real. And it breaks something inside him, something really small but gummed up because before this he had a layer of detachment from the whole thing, and he almost wants to cry. Ven knows now that he didn’t deserve this and it was stupid and horrible and he should have just had friends who loved him this whole time because it’s possible and he’s a likeable person and he has good to give and love to receive. But Ventus doesn’t know that yet, and he sure won’t believe it until it happens. He remembers not believing it. He remembers thinking it wouldn’t ever get better, and how much better it feels now that it has, and — oh, okay he is crying cool. Ventus looks at him like he’s grown a second head, all confusion and worry and tentative digging inside himself to see what he should do.

“Do… um. Do you want a hug?” Ventus asks nervously.

Ven nods. Ventus’ arms curl around Ven’s back, all thin shaky noodles and no muscles and fewer scars and not used to doing this. Not too hard — he doesn’t want to weird him out — Ven hugs back as best he can. He learned how to give pretty stellar hugs from his friends. He hopes Ventus can feel it.

[eretzyisrael]

Our Enemies Deploy the Cognitive Bomb

The first thing you need to know about the Human Rights Watch (HRW) report that was released on 27 April accusing Israel of “apartheid” is that the accusation has nothing to do with apartheid as most people understand it, the racially-based system of oppression that was in place in South Africa before roughly 1991.

HRW is accusing Israel of “crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution,” which are defined by a treaty called the “International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid,” based on a UN General Assembly resolution passed in 1973, and the 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

It should be noted that neither Israel nor the USA are parties to either treaty. The 1973 convention was signed by 109 countries, which do not include Israel, the USA, Canada, Australia, or any of the developed countries of Western Europe.

Here is the definition of the crime of apartheid as understood by HRW:

An intent to maintain domination by one racial group over another.

A context of systematic oppression by the dominant group over the marginalized group.

Inhumane acts.

The “inhumane acts” referred to by the definition include such things as murder, torture, “arbitrary arrest and illegal imprisonment,” forced labor, “deliberate imposition on a racial group or groups of living conditions calculated to cause its or their physical destruction in whole or in part,” all on the basis of race or ethnicity. While Palestinians often claim such mistreatment, their claims – often amplified and lent authority (the “halo effect”) by HRW and similar NGOs – are overwhelmingly false, exaggerated, or lacking in context (e.g., the claim is commonly made that a Palestinian was “executed” when he was shot in the act of stabbing a Jew or running one down with a car).

HRW also adds that

The reference to a racial group is understood today to address not only treatment on the basis of genetic traits but also treatment on the basis of descent and national or ethnic origin, as defined in the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination. Human Rights Watch applies this broader understanding of race.

In other words, apartheid doesn’t have to involve “race.” Any alleged discrimination against a national group can be considered apartheid. And given that “Palestinians” have diverse origins, including Egypt, Syria, Arabia, Jordan, Turkey, and even the same Canaanite tribes as the forbears of the Jewish people, they don’t even fit this broader definition.

When I hear “apartheid” I think of white, black, and colored beaches and restrooms, laws against interracial marriage or even sexual relationships, laws establishing segregated housing, employment, and public transportation, denial of the right to vote or hold office, and so forth. I think of official classification of people by color. It is not an exaggeration to say that such a system, brutally imposed by force (as it was in South Africa), is a crime against humanity.

And that, of course, is why HRW, an organization that has changed over the years from a legitimate human rights watchdog into part of the well-oiled (and thickly greased with dollars and euros) machine for the delegitimization and demonization of Israel, wishes to accuse the Jewish state of apartheid, a crime that today evokes revulsion throughout the world – and which, following the precedent set by the treatment of the Republic of South Africa, justifies the boycotting, sanctioning, and total expulsion from the international order of Israel.

As the Kohelet Forum notes in its response to the report, no country other than South Africa has ever been deemed an “apartheid state” by a majority of the international community, including China, Sudan, and others that have engaged in massive systematic oppression of minorities.

None of the characteristics of South African apartheid can reasonably be applied to Israel. Everyone who knows anything about apartheid South Africa and Israel knows that. There is simply no resemblance, and HRW’s abstraction of the crime of apartheid and application of the word to Israel is dishonest and is part of the cognitive war that is being waged against her as a prelude to her hoped for physical destruction.

But never mind. Israel is being accused of seriously mistreating Palestinian Arabs, both its Arab citizens and the residents of the Palestinian Authority and Gaza, simply because they are Palestinians. If that is true, it is certainly reprehensible. So we should consider if the report even succeeds in making that case.

The report is 213 pages long, so it is impossible for me to critique it in detail in a short blog. But here are some things that I noticed in the first few pages (see the Kohelet response to HRW for more):

The report says that

From 1967 until the present, [Israel] has militarily ruled over Palestinians in the OPT, excluding East Jerusalem. By contrast, it has since its founding governed all Jewish Israelis, including settlers in the OPT since the beginning of the occupation in 1967, under its more rights-respecting civil law.

This is untrue. There is no military government in Gaza – there is zero Israeli presence there at all – and areas A and B of Judea and Samaria are ruled by the PA. There is a military administration of Area C, the territory that is under full Israeli control according to the Oslo Accords, but that administration governs both Israeli communities and Palestinian ones. There is no “separate law” for the two populations.

In general, the report ignores the existence of the PA and the Hamas government of Gaza. It’s true that Israel controls the borders and airspace between the river and the sea (with the exception of the border between Gaza and Egypt). But it does not control the daily lives of all of the residents of those areas as the report asserts.

HRW criticizes Israel for not allowing free movement of Palestinian Arabs from the territories into pre-1967 Israel, and for not allowing those Arabs outside of Israel recognized by the UN as “Palestinian refugees” to enter the territories or pre-1967 Israel. It dismisses Israeli explanations that this is a consequence of the amply-demonstrated Palestinian propensity to commit murderous terrorist acts against Israelis, saying “[e]ven when security forms part of the motivation, it no more justifies apartheid and persecution than it would excessive force or torture.” Tell it to those thousands of Israelis who have lost friends and family members to Palestinian terrorists.

There is almost no mention of Palestinian terrorism throughout the full report, even though most restrictions placed on Palestinian movement, such as the Judea/Samaria security barrier, were instituted after the murderous Second Intifada, in which more than 1,000 Israelis were murdered by terrorists. The selective blockade of Gaza is criticized without reference to the thousands of rockets that have been fired into Israeli towns, or the numerous tunnels intended to infiltrate terrorists into Israel. There is no mention of the 2015-2018 “stabbing intifada” which took the lives of dozens of Israelis.

The report claims that within pre-1967 Israel, “Palestinian [sic] citizens [have] a status inferior to Jewish citizens by law” as a result of the Nation-State Law, which in fact does not restrict them in any way, and which is similar to constitutional provisions in other ethnic nation-states, including the proposed constitution for the State of Palestine. It also invents or misrepresents other laws, including those concerning citizenship and residence.

The report will probably be a prime exhibit in the upcoming “Durban IV” conference on racism which will be held this September at the UN in New York, on the 20th anniversary of the first Durban conference, which devolved into an “anti-Israel hate-fest.”

Accusations of apartheid and persecution are tremendously powerful, especially in the US in today’s climate of racial antagonisms. But the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is actually a national/political one, and not a racial one (although antisemitism plays an important role). It has little in common with pre-1991 South Africa or the racial problems of the USA. It is also a small part of a much larger project by a group of nations, international institutions, NGOs, and others to eliminate the Jewish state. These antagonists are motivated by geopolitics, religion, ideology, antisemitism, or all of these. By focusing only on the Palestinians, the HRW report has the effect of hiding this broader context.

Israel’s domestic political paralysis, which has been ongoing for at least two years, makes it hard enough to respond to the military challenges it faces from its enemies. But it is impossible for an essentially leaderless nation to properly fight a cognitive war. Fixing this has to be Israel’s top priority today.

Abu Yehuda

[storm-driver]

Chapter 10 for Atone and Repay is at about the 56% mark and I should be able to get more of it done in the next week, maybe get it up soon. Chapter 11 shouldn’t take nearly as long, since I’ve been working on that one alongside Chapter 10. As a thanks for putting up with my excessively long hiatus, here’s a preview for Chapter 10 below the cut! I’ve been working on this chapter since I published Chapter 9 last year, but a majority of this chapter was written in the past few months. Thank you again for sticking with me, and I hope to have “Once More” up on Ao3 sometime in the next few weeks! <3

(Be warned, has direct spoilers for AAR, please consider reading the full story before reading this ^^)

“So much for leaving home...And here I thought I’d get to go on a real journey for once…” Ventus huffed, dragging his tired, armored legs across the stone floor outside his castle home. Night had fallen on the Land of Departure, and it was getting increasingly cold with each passing second.

Ventus’ pulled the helmet off his head, making his blond spikes spring back up as he did so. He stole a glance at the clouded skies, spotting the first specks of snow that fluttered down. The cold wind pressed against his face, soothing the small pain from the scratch that he still had on his cheek.

It’d only been a few hours since the Nobodies attacked them in the mansion, but it felt like it could’ve been months ago. Roxas’ unsuspecting body being hurled across the room, through a doorway and crashing down into the broken table and chandelier. The desolate look on his face, his eyes unblinking and heart beating all too slow. He must’ve had a concussion, even after Aqua administered some healing spells. He had still been slurring his words and glancing around the room as if he had not escaped the memory from the past.

It only gave rise to worry when he insisted on searching the mansion still. Standing up from his spot on the table and tumbling forward as Terra and Riku tried to get him to sit down. And then Roxas fell over seconds after standing up.

Would that they hadn’t encountered those Nobodies, or that Roxas hadn’t fallen at such a precarious moment. He wouldn’t recover within an hour, and Aqua made the decision to go back home. To take a break and simply breathe rather than throwing themselves into the next piece of this puzzle they couldn’t solve. It had been several nights since anyone in the castle got good rest, being awoken by Ventus’ screams at painful nightmares, or the everyday trauma that seemed to haunt them all.

Being back home was reassuring, at least. Ventus knew this place, better than anywhere else he may have lived in the past. He knew the halls, and where he could sleep without someone bothering him. He knew the mountains where they trained, and he knew the forest far and below them. It was a small world, but it was a haven. Even if Nobodies had proven they could reach here. 

The dark corridor he’d walked through was ever shifting and threatening to close if someone had lost his grip on the darkness. It was sketchy to let Roxas bring them home, after being knocked out in such a manner and with a blur of new memories at the front of his mind. 

But Roxas stepped through it just fine. His hood was draped over his head, giving way to only tired, blue eyes and a small frown. The chains rattled on his chest and he leaned forward to keep himself from falling. He still wasn’t fully healed, and he may not have been for some time.

The tip of his boot snagged a crack in the cement, throwing off his already shaken balance. Roxas’ eyes popped open and he started falling forward, the hood over his head slipping onto his back and exposing his frightened face. Fortunate that Ventus had walked through the portal first, his armored frame caught Roxas’ against his chest and kept his friend from face planting against the stone.

Roxas’ body fell limp against Ventus. The latter, who nearly shrieked at the sight, kept his arms around Roxas and held him up. Roxas’ head was resting over Ven’s shoulder, eyes staring at the ground beneath him and Ventus. A bandage still resting over his skin to help a new scar heal. 

“Yeah, no, I was wrong,” Ventus hauled his friend up as he started to slip back down to the concrete. “You’re hurt more than you told Aqua. I’ll tell her when she gets here.” 

Ventus sighed and shifted his arms around. He pulled Roxas’ left arm over his shoulder and kept one hand around his friend’s back, already starting to drag him towards the castle. Roxas didn’t seem entirely conscious, but as Ventus started walking, he tried to pick up his feet and walk with him.

Ventus kept his eyes on the doors of the castle, stepping up the stairs one at a time. Roxas’ head lolled around aimlessly next to him, as if he were still passed out. But if Ventus glanced over, he could see Roxas blinking and taking deep breaths, brows furrowed with a frown planted on his face.

He looked back towards the doors, already nearing the last step. “You feeling okay, besides that?”

“No…” 

That much probably should’ve been obvious. A concussion alone doesn’t feel good. Whatever else was bothering him didn’t help. 

“What’s wrong?”

“I hurt Vanitas…”

Ventus almost stopped in his tracks, hesitating to take the next step up. But he kept going. He let go of Roxas’ arm over his shoulder, letting the Nobody lean his whole weight into Ventus instead. He reached forward and pushed the doors open with one simple nudge. Such was the benefit of living in a magically-imbued castle.

“He’s fine, I’m sure. Don’t worry about him right now,” Ventus tried to reassure. But looking once again at Roxas, he could tell his words had little effect. 

“I can’t stop worryinaboudim...”

Roxas’ words were slurring again, but he wasn’t impossible to understand. Ventus kept dragging his body along the hallway and towards the staircases at the very back of the corridor. The clanks of Ventus’ armor echoed around them. The hall was dark with no practical light source. It was almost hard to see where the tiles ended and the staircase began.

“That’s kind of you to worry about him, really,” Ventus pulled Roxas a little more over his shoulder. “But he’s fine. You saw Aqua treating him, she said that whatever happened had passed.” 

“That’s not what I mean…” Roxas mumbled out. His shoes bumped each step as Ventus climbed the stairs. “I can’t stop thinking about it.”

The older of the two kept his silence. Perhaps he didn’t quite understand yet.

“I shouldn’t care as much as I do,” his eyes flicked across each step as they climbed. “He’s the one that tried to-”

Roxas’ breath hitched. That still haunted him. What happened on that beach, and what he’d almost done in Radiant Garden. Just trying to say anything about it pressed down on his heart and started rejuvenating a deep-rooted fear in him. Something he thought he’d gotten over when his heart sprung free from Sora’s and he was finally given a body of his own again. When he would no longer be confined to another person’s soul. 

Alas, that was an unfortunate lie. Vanitas had no regrets for his volatile actions against Roxas. He’d hardly issued an apology. 

“You don’t have to tell me, I know what he did,” Ventus kept talking, noting how much Roxas was struggling to speak. “And I’m sorry, I really am. I wish I’d known better then.” 

In a way, it was Ventus’ fault what happened. If he’d stopped Roxas from running off to Radiant Garden in the first place, he never would’ve ended up in the Realm of Darkness. If Ven and Sora had never fought Vanitas in the graveyard, he wouldn’t have been there to grab hold of Roxas’ body. And if he hadn’t been so weak all those years ago, Vanitas would never have…

The doors to the west wing were propped open and closed as Ven tugged his friend up the stairs. Ventus did most of the lifting, Roxas’ boots hardly attempting to step on each stair and scraping over the edges. It wasn’t helped by his armor, which was heavy enough on its own. 

A part of him wanted to tell Roxas to at least try to help make this easier. But another knew too well that he’d be asking too much. His friend had already taken a beating today, both physical and emotionally. Slamming his head into a broken chandelier and having been forced to relive dangerously painful memories was more than enough for one day. He deserved a reprieve, even if brief. 

Roxas’ room was lit from the gentle moon outside his window. Frost edged the glass and gave the room chills that he didn’t think possible, even if covered in his armor. 

Dragging his twin to the bed was easier said than done, with Roxas’ shoes scraping across the floor and his body slowly dozing off. Ventus shook him as he pulled, saying, “Don’t fall asleep yet.”

Roxas gave no verbal reply, but his head nodded, which was indication enough that he heard and understood Ven. 

He gently dumped Roxas onto the bed, letting him find his place before letting go entirely. Roxas leaned against the soft mattress, then practically fell into it. His eyes shut and he groaned.

“I’ll go get Aqua as soon as she gets home. For now, just rest,” Ven folded his arms over each other. Roxas lazily blinked twice, throwing a glance at Ven, before turning his eyes back to whatever else was on his mind.

Just a few days ago, he’d been so resolute in helping Ventus remember everything, even if it meant he’d suffered the consequences. But now he appeared utterly drained. It could’ve just been the awful beating he’d had from the Nobodies and whatever darkness possessed Vanitas. But that hopeful attitude seemed bleak now. 

Aqua had ordered that Vanitas be taken back home through anything but a dark portal. Ready as she was to give that same order to Roxas, she thought it better to keep the two separated. Vanitas’ prey had been Roxas during his previous outburst. If they couldn’t contain it a second time, with the Nobody in such a weak state now, there’d be no protecting him.

After he’d come back from his venture in past memories, Roxas only stayed conscious for a few minutes before he was falling over. Even Naminé’s safe return was not enough to move him back to full recovery. Rather when he saw his dear friend walk through the door of the mansion with Kairi and Xion by her side, he tripped on his own feet trying to run up to her.

Roxas was sent home, even if his method of travel was still risky at best. The only thing that made Aqua agree in the first place was when Ventus swore he wouldn’t let anything happen. 

But something had already happened. Whatever Roxas saw had much more drastic effects than anything before. He’d almost always been willing to share what hazy details he could remember from the dreams and the memories that he glimpsed. But this time, even when Ventus had asked him about it, Roxas didn’t say a thing. 

Ventus kept staring at his friend. He couldn’t keep to himself and finally spoke up:

“So what else happened?”

Roxas hardly moved, much less spoke.

“You’ve never been quiet about this before. Was it really that bad?”

Roxas kept to himself for a moment, but only a moment. As if pondering the words in his head before he dared to speak them.

“It’s nothing to do with the memories.”

Ventus blinked twice. He wasn’t expecting that answer. “Then what is it?”

“Vanitas tried to hurt me,” Roxas mumbled.

“Well...yes, he did.”

“But I’m not worried about myself at all.”

Ven’s eyes narrowed. 

“Why am I only worried about him?” Roxas’ fingers curled into his hand. “After everything that he did?”

“I don’t know…”

Roxas started to move again, trying to sit upright. His palms pressed against the mattress and he leaned backwards. Still shaky and tired, but he managed it all on his own.

“Is it...what I did for him?” He lifted up a palm and clutched at the front of his coat. “Or what he did to me?”

Ventus knew exactly what he meant. Had his and Vanitas’ union, albeit temporary, truly caused this kind of change? It could explain why Roxas seemed to get over it so fast, or even why he put up with Vanitas at all. It may even explain why Vanitas was suddenly so willing to follow him and Ventus around, or help them with anything. 

But the implications of such were harrowing to think of. Roxas was already tempered by his connection to Sora, and now this connection to Ventus. The boy has never truly been just himself. He’s always had bits and pieces of others in there, to influence his choices or pass along certain traits. Maybe even to store memories or keep pieces of a heart safe while it was still recovering. 

He’d hardly ever known what it is to be himself. The one thing he must’ve yearned for more than anything, yet bound from him by the cruel fetters of fate.

If it truly was that connection between him and Vanitas that was turning his decisions or guiding his choices, what would that mean for him and Ventus? The two must’ve shared a similar connection. How would that have-

Ventus shook his head. No, that’s not it. Roxas isn’t bound by other people like he used to be. He may still be Sora’s Nobody, but he has his own heart, his own body. He isn’t anyone besides himself. 

Ventus would’ve preferred to remember what was said of Roxas and Vanitas’ first meeting, on those dark shores. When Vanitas was drifting away and Roxas refused to let him go.

“I doubt it,” Ventus muttered. “You were there at his side before any of that happened.”

Roxas looked to his friend once, then back down at the floor beneath his boots.

“You didn’t care that it was Vanitas who was on that beach. You just wanted to keep him company, maybe even help him in whatever way you could,” Ven offered a smile. “You’re willing to put other people before your own needs. That’s just the kind of person you are.”

As much as he hoped the words would be of comfort to Roxas, Ven wasn’t entirely sure it worked. His twin kept staring at the ground, deep blue eyes staring at nothing but the dead air between them. 

Roxas took a deep breath in and let it out slowly, “Unless there’s-”

Before he could say another word, an armored hand landed on his left shoulder and pulled him away from his thoughts. Roxas looked up to meet Ven’s gaze, who looked a bit more frustrated than before.

“You’re still you, Roxas,” Ventus gave him a shake, pulling his fleeting thoughts out of whatever dark tangent they were going on. “Nothing is going to change that. What you did for Vanitas was your own choice. You could’ve let Terra take care of everything, and then we wouldn’t have Vanitas here at the castle with us.” 

Roxas kept staring, already recalling that day. The darkness had been tugging on his very soul. But as soon as he saw Vanitas’ disheveled body, the darkness pouring out of his shattered heart... Suddenly it didn’t matter that Roxas was about to turn into a Heartless. The only thing he cared about was to give any comfort he could to the dying boy.

“You chose to help Vanitas. And I know, it didn’t have much pay-off...but you saved his life. That was all you, Roxas. Nobody else.”

I did save him… That was a choice that I made. 

Roxas lowered his head, closing his eyes and taking another, much needed breath of air. As he exhaled, the smallest smirk appeared on his face. “Alright,” he mumbled. “True enough.”

Ventus felt relief flutter through his chest. He stepped away from Roxas, letting his friend have a little breathing room. 

Roxas looked again at Ven, but not at his friend’s face. Rather what he was wearing.

“...You have armor?” Roxas mumbled as he looked Ven up and down.

And just as he was regaining hope for Roxas’ wellbeing, Ven felt that hope shatter. Ventus stared at his friend, unsure of how to respond. He glanced down at his attire once, then back at Roxas’ baffled expression. “You KNOW I have armor.”

“I do?”

Ven’s shoulders drooped and his eyes narrowed. “Oh my-” He sighed in such an overly exasperated way. “Alright, I’m healing you myself.” 

[jokahlu]

Kingdom Hearts 3 Ted Talk, Kairi’s Edition (More like rant) (Will contain spoilers)

*Warnings*

While reading the following post you should expect:

*Spoilers are ahead.

*Duality of emotions clashing between love and frustration.

*A certain mouse’s head will be expected in a platter, and he will be the source of the darkness coming out of me.

*Love for a character that deserved way more than what she got.

*Deep disappointment for a forgotten friendship that was non-existent.

*A sailing ship warmed my heart.

*And an ending that shattered it.

…So it’s basically me ranting at how SE treats Kairi.

Also, it’s a pretty long read. I tried to make it short. Oh well.

Enjoy.

*Read at your own discretion*

I’m so wrecked after this game. But don’t get me wrong, I loved it!

The graphics were superb, their expressions on point, the writing and humor, the landscapes and worlds. It was all so precious. Being able to play as the spiked hair little bundle of joy again after so long was truly like coming home.

But as much as I loved it, there are so many things that rubbed me the wrong way. So many things I hoped for, that seemed reasonable and not out of the realm of possibilities, but never happened.

I will not mention all of them here because I could write an entire essay about it. Reason why I’ll try not to get overly excited. Underline try.

This time I will mostly talk about Kairi. 

Let’s do this quick, shall we?

First of all, I need that mouse’s head on a platter.

I wish Aqua would’ve given Mickey a good beating in this game. Don’t get me wrong, I usually like Mickey and his character in the KH franchise is pretty cool. But I hated his disregard to Kairi in this game. It just made me want to scream. Yes, he’s not the only one who doesn’t give a damn about the redhead (more on that lovely subject later), but I felt like he valued other’s life above hers in a blatantly obvious way. There are two scenes where I noticed this and it made me want to crawl up the walls.

The first scene was when Kairi is about to be struck down by Terranort, after him discarding two experienced fighters with a little more than a flick of his wrist, mind you. So, of course she’s scared and paralyzed, like any normal keyblade wielder (with only basic training and no real experience) would be. As Sora is desperately running to shield her with nothing but his body, Mickey uselessly screams “Sora no!”, as Donald and Goofy use their brains (and weapons) and come to the rescue.

What gives Mickey? Is she that unimportant in your mind, that Sora shouldn’t even try to help her? Did you honestly expect Sora to just let her die? Because if Terranort struck her, she was toast.

But I guess the answer is yes, because the other scene that made me want to strangle him was when Sora wants to go and save her and Mickey is trying to convince him not to go. I bet if it was Minnie on the line he would be jumping into lava if it meant to save her. But Kairi? Nah.

I swear I would’ve wanted Minnie to be next to Kairi and both be destroyed by Master Xehanort, just to see if Mickey’s reaction would be any different and if he would also risk it all at the end to save her instead of being like “oh don’t go Sora, you may never come back. Just leave Kairi to die, we can lose her but not you�� attitude. Geez.

Love for a character that deserved better.

Oh, I could go one and on, on this one. It’s divided in many categories because the whole rant can be resumed in: she deserved better.

I’ll point out the obvious: I’ve always loved Kairi.

Yeah, she’s underdeveloped, not well written and can’t seem to shake the damsel in distress coat off, but I’ve always liked her. I’ve always felt Sora and Riku’s love for her real and heartwarming, and that’s made me like her so much. She’s also super brave, witty and has a great personality (don’t fight me on this)

I do get why some people might not like her, but I do.

Kingdom Hearts games have always treated her like a plot device and nothing more, and kh3 was the worst of the bunch in my opinion.

No one seems to care about her except for Sora.

When everyone reunites after Kairi dies, the only one who says something to him to reassure and confort Sora, apart from Donald and Goofy, is Xion. The rest are like oh ok she died, what’s next? I was expecting for Axel to be pissed, sad, anything, or anyone commenting something about it, but they just disregarded it like nothing happened.

Even if I understand that Terra, Aqua, Ven, Roxas, even Xion, didn’t know her that well and I didn’t expect it to affect them, at least they should acknowledge their fallen comrade. But ok, they didn’t know her that well. But Axel and Riku virtually not giving a damn? It really made things worse for my already wrecked heart. Those two are her closest friends, aside from Sora..

Even when the final battle is over everyone is like “wohoo we won! it’s all over!” (I’m glaring at you mouse) and even Riku agrees, Sora is the only one who is sad and heartbroken for her dying. Speaking of Riku basically disregarding her death..

Deep disappointment for a forgotten friendship that was basically non-existent.

Saying that I was disappointed in Kairi and Rikus interactions is a mayor understatement. This broke my heart because my highest hope for kh3 was to see Riku and Kairi being friends. Like, real friends.

In kh1 he was all over protecting her, in kh2 he silently looked after her and kept her safe as much as he could, but kh3? Man, in this game they felt like borderline strangers to me. Even faced by her being murdered in front of his face, he just stood there kind of surprised and pissed. Nothing more.

Seriously?

I mean Master Xehanort had just cold-bloodedly killed her right then and there, and he didn’t react as if his childhood friend had just turned into dust. 

And even worse, when the final battle ended he didn’t even offer to go with Sora to save her. What the hell?

If it was Sora who had died, there is no doubt in my mind that he would’ve been fighting his way to save him, consequences be dammed. (And it’s what probably happens when Kairi comes home alone, smh) And that reaction would be right because they’re best friends and that how any of the other characters would react if one of their trio was killed and they had the chance to save them.

So why did it seem like he didn’t care at all? It hurts a lot.

Where is the Riku who’s last worlds for Sora were asking him to keep Kairi safe? The one who helped her escape Axel or shielded her from Saix?

Riku felt off to me in Kingdom Hearts 3, not only because of this, but I’ll leave that for my Riku rant.

Kairi’s performance in the final battle

Not everyone has to kick ass to be valid, and she tried her best to train and help, even when it was not something she was used to. 

I mean, come on! Her first real experiences in battle were in the final battle. Who the hell thought it was a good idea? She had only trained with Axel. So, of course she would freeze when she sees trained/experienced keyblade wielders being thrown all over the place. Even Sora didn’t take out his weapon, trying to save her in the rush of the moment. And even if she did take out her keyblade when Terranort attacked her, she would’ve been smashed against the wall like Axel.

I’ll admit that before kh3 was released, I wished she did become OP and beat some organization XIII butt, but as I advanced in the game I realized how ridiculous that is. If you put kh1 Riku and Sora in that scenario, even at the end of the game with all the experience they had gathered, I bet they wouldn’t have fared very differently.

What I truly want is for her to go on her own adventure and grow powerful at her own pace, so in the next big battle she’ll be fairly prepared. It would be better if that adventure was with Sora and Riku, exploring new worlds together just the three of them, like they dreamed about in kh1.

But I’ll say it again: Not everyone in the game must kick ass to be valid.

A sailing ship warmed my heart. Even if it was poorly written (Unsurprisingly. It involves Kairi so I expected as much)

The Sokai in the game honestly lifted my battered heart.

Sora grows to learn so much more of love in this game: how powerful true love can be, how if you truly believe, love can make miracles happen and that one day is enough if there is true love.. He even admits that he still doesn't know much about it, but as the story goes on we can see that he knows more than he believes.

I loved the paopu scene. I could totally imagine Kairi and Riku planning it beforehand, so that Kairi and Sora would be alone to do so. Key word being “imagine” because at this point, their friendship is only in my imagination.. but that will be saved for Riku’s rant..

I believe that it’s so in character that Kairi initiates the paopu scene, because Sora would never do so. But I loved it, and the way they looked at each other was so.. oh man this game.

The paopu moment did seem to make Sora bolder, touching her more than before and being blunter about how she makes him feel. And it’s so heartwarming and wholesome that the moment when Sora realizes Kairi’s light had been guiding him in the darkness, he remembers the two acts of true love he had witnessed before in the game: Rapunzel’s tear bringing Flynn back to life and Elsa and Ana’s scene as well. I believe that’s the moment when he realizes that she’s his True Love.. 

That moment when he finds her in the darkness, and he makes her shy when he tells her that he felt strong with her, smiling knowingly when she turns away embarrassed. Or holding her hand for longer than necessary when they go back with the others.

It’s amazing that after meeting so many new people, many gorgeous girls and guys, Sora’s heart hasn’t let go of the friend he fell for as kids. He loved her for her personality and heart, which is why their bond is so strong, even if they see each other less than before.. which is a massive understatement if I must say so myself.  

That heart wrenching scream when she was taken into the heartless tornado or his grief-stricken face as he screamed at Master Xehanort “Why”, are proof of just how deep his feelings for her are. How important and invaluable she is in his life.

Adding to this, his utter sacrifice to go save her as soon as possible, not enjoying his victory against Master Xehanort, and not making her wait one more second (his words, not mine) is a statement of his feelings for her, simple and clear (thought I would say clean did ya?)

I mean, come on! His first thought after killing that murderous bald sack of darkness was about her.

And at the end I love how they were holding hands and sitting so close to each other on the paopu tree (They’re definitely a couple now) before he vanished and shattered my heart in a million different pieces.

Speaking of which..

An ending that shattered my heart.

I feel like her dying was very unnecessary. I think that it was only for Sora to embark on a mission alone. Master Xehanort says that he lacks motivation, so he kills her (she’s being used as a plot device again dammit) but Sora clearly was going to fight him either way, motivation or not. 

So, killing Kairi was only for Sora to go alone at the end, leave the story inconclusive and the game, and players, in dire need of a sequel.

Before the secret ending had been added, I was super sad that the only person who truly cared for her had seemingly died, or vanished, but now we know he’s someplace else, looking for a way back to her. I would love for her to save him, but given how SE treats her, I think I’ll temper my expectations for her in the next installments of the games.

This game left me with a super bittersweet feeling, but it was definitely worth it! I won’t let SE and the character’s indifference towards Kairi affect my overall enjoyment of the game.

But let’s hope she gets to shake that damsel in distress title Nomura loves to give her.. I guess I can’t keep my expectations low for her, can I?

Oh well, Sora still need to give her her lucky charm back, which she gave back in Blank Points, so he needs to come back to her to return it.

Please SE let Kairi help save Sora this time, without being a burden. Thank you.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

[nadziejastar]

Sometimes I think about how if the boys were caught sneaking into the castle multiple times they probably trusted the guards on some level, at least to the extent of "If we get caught the consequence be getting thrown out." They probably didn't think the apprentices would seriously hurt them until it was actually happening.

Radiant Garden—full of light.

Dilan, the imposing guard, picked up a pair of suspicious young intruders and ejected them from the gate.

“Ow! Cut it out!” shouted Lea, the one with red hair.

“You should be grateful I only tossed you out,” Dilan stated, at which Aeleus nodded silently behind him.

“—Let’s go, Lea,” the blue-haired boy, Isa, said quietly. He stood up and brushed the dust from his pants.

“What is with those guys?”

Oh, definitely. I don’t think they ever suspected in a million years that the guards or apprentices would hurt them. Lea did’t even think they had the right to be so rough while throwing them out. He’s very indignant about the way he’s being manhandled, lol.

“I don’t want any more trouble,” Isa urged.

Lea also climbed to his feet, albeit with some resignation.

“There’ll always be another chance,” Isa reminded him softly as they walked away. Lea followed after.

“We were so close,” he complained as they reached the residential area.

Isa didn’t look that upset, though. He looked mildly annoyed at most. “Eh, I’ll just get in next time.” He even said they had as many chances as they needed. It’s clear they were both very sheltered and innocent. Those boys had a secure belief that the world they lived in was a safe place and they could get into as much trouble as they wanted without fear.

So not only the members up to number VI were living in Radiant Garden, but Lea and Isa as well?

Nomura: Yes that’s right. But at this time they were just two innocent boys who liked to play with a frisbee.

This innocence was an important part of what made their story so compelling to me. Lea used to be perfectly innocent. And Isa, too. If even someone as innocent as Isa could change and develop a personality similar to Xehanort, then everything Lea used to believe in was wrong. When Isa changed, Lea’s entire worldview was shattered. He couldn’t believe in anything anymore. Lea’s memories of Isa represent innocence and happiness. It’s why he can’t bear to lose them.

My efforts these many years have come to fruition, with the world I govern having become a paradise worthy of being called “Radiant Garden.“ Nurtured by the pure water that is the source of life, fragrant flowers bloom in abundance, and the people face each day with hopeful smiles.

Radiant Garden was totally peaceful. It was a garden paradise that was called the city of light. I don’t like how KH3 made it so that they knew about all the dangerous human experiments going on beforehand. I find that unrealistic.I doubt they ever would have believed that anything bad was happening in the wise Ansem’s castle. He was seen as a sage. Everyone loved and respected him. There’s no way anyone was being hurt in there.

The castle was a wonderland to us children. Within its walls, Ansem the Wise conducted his research, and the fruits it bore allowed everyone outside to live in peace and happiness.

Saïx actually called the castle a wonderland. I do wonder if this was intentionally phrased. 

“The whole thing is a dream, but that I don’t want revealed till the end.” 

—Lewis Carroll

Alice in Wonderland all took place in a dream world. 

Cheshire Cat: Why, yes. Once you believe, the truth and a lie are quite the same thing. Let your heart decide–it’s in your heart you must confide.

Roxas: Easy for him to say… How am I supposed to do that when I don’t have a heart? I have no idea what to believe in.

All of the terrifying things she experienced there vanished as soon as she woke up.

Much of my life has been dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge.That knowledge has guarded this world well. Not a soul doubts that. I am blessed with people’s smiles and respect. But though I am called a sage, there are things I do not understand.

When you see Lea in BBS, he actually looked at the castle like it was a magical place. Like he expected all of his dreams to come true in there. It was his Castle of Dreams. I wish we learned why they wanted to sneak in so badly.

A dream is a wish your heart makesWhen you’re fast asleepIn dreams you will lose your heartachesWhatever you wish for, you keep

Have faith in your dreams and somedayYour rainbow will come smiling throughNo matter how your heart is grievingIf you keep on believingThe dream that you wish will come true

Yeah, I can’t help but think they MUST have done all of this castle stuff on purpose. Ven’s dream was to become a Keyblade master. He remembers how Terra gave him the wooden toy when Jaq asks him. Lea just happens to meet Ventus while picking it up, on their way to sneak in the castle. Roxas helps Axel believe in Neverland, where Ven said he didn’t need it anymore, since his best memories were still ahead.

Xion: Roxas, don’t be sad. I came from you and Sora. I am you…the same way that I am Sora. You’ll forget me, but the memories themselves will never go away. Memories of you and me will always be together…forever, inside him.

Roxas and Xion constantly had dreams of Sora and Kairi while living in The Castle That Never Was. The final day is called ~Believe~. Roxas wants to defeat Xemnas to fulfill Xion’s last request. He wants his old life back. He fights Riku outside of the castle. Xion disappears, but promises that the memories of them will always be together forever.

Lea: I want everybody I meet to remember me. Inside people’s memories, I can live forever.

Isa: I know I won’t forget you. Believe me, I try all the time.

Lea: See, I’m immortal!

Lea and Isa’s conversation outside the castle sounded awfully similar.

Axel: As long as we remember each other, we’ll never be apart. Got it memorized?

Lea had a dream of Roxas telling him that he would always bring them back. He awakens in the castle where he lost his heart—where his dreams were shattered. But he says he’ll bring Braig and Isa back. Then he goes to Disney Castle. Personally, I think Saïx’s banana-shaped joke weapon is a reference to the ice cream flavor Ventus gets if he wins the Million Dreams Award. Maybe all of it was supposed to be connected.

[johnkatier]

(a chapter from a post kh3 au fic i have)

 A week and a half after their departure from Radiant Garden Ventus sends him a picture of him, Aqua, and Terra smiling together along with an excited message that they’re finally heading back to The Land of Departure.

A week and a half after that, he gets another message, that simply says that he’ll be visiting, and bringing some along with him.

Sora wishes he could feel something other than something akin to grief when he looks at it.

  -

  Life on Destiny Islands is slow, placid, nice (boring), after everything they’ve been through. Kairi goes back like she’s never been gone, and compared to him and Riku she really hasn’t. She’s stronger than all the boys in class now though, and part of lunch time is a line of people trying to beat her at arm wrestling (they never do). She’s having the time of her life and Sora always feels happier just watching her.

Riku is slower, hesitant, looks at everyone from their parents to their friends as if they’re too fragile to touch. As if Riku’s going to hurt them just by existing. And Sora thought they’d gotten past that, that Riku had learned to not be afraid of himself. And he has gotten better, Sora watches Riku stop flinching when Tidus throws an arm around his shoulder, sees him start sharing that smile that he and Kairi see so frequently more freely.

Beneath this sky they grew up under for so many years, around these people that are as close as family, Sora sees them both thrive and be happy.

And Sora, Sora’s fine.

(He doesn’t feel an itch beneath his skin waking up every day and going to school, coming home. He doesn’t jump at shadows, doesn’t have to restrain himself from going too hard against his classmates during gym.

He doesn’t dream of the wind in his hair as soars through space in his glider, doesn’t dream of the blood pumping in his veins as he fights through a hoard of heartless, nobodies, unversed.

Sora doesn’t do any of these things, because he’s completely okay and happy exactly where he is.)

Which is why beneath that lingering sense of foreboding, Sora absolutely does not feel the thrill of something coming, of something exciting.

Because this is the life he fought for, and it’s all he needs.

  -

  “I’m going to Play Island today,” He tells Riku and Kairi as they head home from school.

Kairi tilts her head forward leaning over to face him, “By yourself?” She asks, confused, and Sora laughs.

“Ven is coming to visit, I told him I’d meet him there.” He says, carefully not mentioning that he’s bringing someone along with him. Sora has a feeling he knows who it is, and he’d rather not admit to that just yet.

“Oh,” She replies, brightening at the mention of the other, “Really? Do you want us to go with you? I’d really love to get to know him more.”

Sora laughs, scratching his chin, “Maybe later, don’t wanna overwhelm him you know!” Kairi pouts at that but relents, leaning back so she’s facing forward once again, reaching out to grab his hand in the same movement.

There’s silence for a while longer, and then it is Riku who speaks, soft but firm. “If you ever want to talk, Sora, you know you can tell us right?”

Sora startles, confused, and Kairi’s hand grips him harder. “Riku? What are you talking about?” He questions, turning his head to look at him.

Riku shrugs, “I’m just making sure you know. Tell Ventus we say hi, okay?”

“Of course,” he agrees after a beat, feeling just slightly off kilter.

Riku smiles, soft and tender, and Sora blushes despite himself. “Alright.”

  -

  The sun is setting by the time Sora sees the distinctive light of something arriving in their world. He stares up at it, watching it twinkle and bounce before crashing into the beach around him. He stands from his spot by the shore, dusting the sand from his clothes as he walks over to meet them.

He sees them before they notice him, a split second before they notice him but even that feels just a touch too much. Vanitas’ hand wrapped around Ventus’ shoulder, presumably for balance as they rode in on his glider. He pulls apart quickly once they land, crossing his arms, but Sora notices that despite that he doesn’t pull away from the other’s space.

He grins, speeding up to meet up with them. “Hey! Over here!” He calls, laughing when Ventus jumps in the middle of putting away his armour and glider, and then harder when Vanitas turns a scowl on him.

“Sora!” Ventus exclaims as he notices him, rushing to meet him halfway, and from behind him he sees Vanitas sigh, following behind at a much more leisurely pace.

Ventus just about catapults himself at Sora and he willingly goes down, both of them tumbling down into the sand. Sora has missed him, more than words can really describe. Perhaps it is the consequence of sheltering Ventus in his heart for what was basically his whole life up to know, but Sora has missed him dearly since they separated. It wasn’t something he noticed when they were still traveling together after Sora gave him back his heart, but there is a part of him that calls to the other. It’s nice to see him again, like pieces of a puzzle slotting together.

(He wonders if this is even a small portion of how they felt. His heart twists at the thought.)

“Get up. Stop being mushy, you’re both horrible together.” Vanitas’ voice calls from above them and he watches Ventus’ face darken, lips thinning. Sora laughs harder at that, and the two of them sign in unison.

Ventus pushes himself off and gets about halfway before Vanitas reaches down and pulls them both up with a huff.

“Can we just get this over with,” Vanitas says, and it’s then that Sora notices he’s no longer wearing the black coat Sora had always seen him in. Instead wearing something that reminds Sora of the outfit he wore after his yearlong sleep, if not in different colours. He wonders where they got it from.

“Shush, it’s been awhile, give me a moment.” Ventus scowls, waving a hand at him.

“It’s been 3 weeks.” Vanitas replies, sounding near appalled.

Sora clears his throat, interrupting whatever silly argument they were about to descend into.

“So, are you going to tell me?”

“Oh,” Ventus says, perking up even as Vanitas stiffens, “of course!”

And so he does, recounting the events that occurred on that battlefield, and then everything that’s happened since.

  -

  “And that’s where we’re at. I’ve tried explaining it to Aqua and Terra but they won’t listen. I know what he did was wrong, and I know personally how cruel Vanitas can be but they don’t… he didn’t…” Ventus sighs looking away, and from beside him Vanitas face twists. “It doesn’t help that despite everything me and Vanitas are still learning to get along. He’s er,” he laughs awkwardly,” irritating, you know.”

“And the feelings mutual,” Vanitas scoffs.

“But also not!” Ventus replies.

“… Right.” Vanitas says after a moment, looking just a tad flustered, and Sora manages to not let a laugh out at the expression.

“But what do you want me to do about it?” He asks, tilting his head. They wouldn’t have come all the way here just to tell him this.

“Well… The Land of Departure is kind of big, or at least big enough that for a while we were able to hide Vanitas in the tower. But then Aqua found him, reacted predictably, and Vanitas didn’t even consider not fighting back.”

“She’s one of the only people to actually make it a challenge,” Vanitas interrupts, not sounding apologetic in the least.

“Time and place.” Ventus hisses before shaking his head, “Regardless. That obviously didn’t go over well, and ever since then Vanitas hasn’t needed to hide but…”

“His friends hate me and it’s making the place real downer to be in.” Vanitas cuts in when Ventus’ pause drags on too long.

“Yeah…” Ventus agrees hesitantly. “So I was hoping that maybe you could take him in for a bit? Riku and Kairi might be a bit more accepting of him, they don’t have the personal experience at least. Or at least, anywhere would be better than the tower where…”

“Your friends keep glaring at me and Aqua has threatened to kill me at least three times.” Vanitas finishes with a wicked grin as Ventus shudders.

“That. I’m also hoping that maybe without Vanitas there I can at least get them to consider it.” Ventus says, looking so lost and forlorn for just a moment.

“They’re right to be wary, you know.” Vanitas says casually, and it’s Ventus who scowls this time.

“You’re not all bad!” He says forcefully, not quite a shout, “Just like I’m not all good, we’re just people… we’re just human.”

Silence settles between them, and neither Vanitas nor Ventus will look at each other.

“No problem,” Sora replies as the silence stretches, “I don’t think my mom will mind, and you’re both always welcome here, my home is your home!”

Ventus reaches forward, grabbing him and pulling him into a hug once again, “Sora thank you so much.”  He says shakily, and Sora hopes he isn’t crying.

Ventus stays for a bit longer, but eventually has to bid them goodbye, he hadn’t actually told Aqua or Terra he was coming aside from leaving a note, so the two must be out of their mind with worry. He looks suitably terrified, a look that worsens when he notices both Sora and Vanitas are watching him with matching grins.

“Alright!” Sora says brightly as Ventus’ glider disappears into the stars above, “Let’s go home!”

Vanitas watches him for a moment, and then sighs, gesturing for him to lead the way.

Sora does, gladly.

  -

  His mother greets him with a smile, one that freezes for a moment when she sees Vanitas, before brightening up again.

“A friend,” She says calmly, already striding into the kitchen. Sora motions at Vanitas to close the door and then turns back to follow her.

“Yeah! He’s having some trouble over on his world, would it be alright if he stayed with us?”

She laughs, soft behind her palm, reaching up into the cupboards to grab some tea. “Your friends are always welcomed here, you know that. Stay as long as you like, ah, Sora you didn’t introduce him!”

“The names Vanitas,” He calls from the door, watching his mother warily as she puts water to boil.

His mother hums as she places cups around the table. “Oh that’s so long, can I call you Vani? It’s much cuter you know.”

Vanitas sputters at the statement, and his mother holds her placid smile for a few seconds before descending into laughter. Sora joins in and Vanitas looks between the two of them caught somewhere between annoyance and confusion.

“No need to fret Vanitas, I’m just kidding around.” His mother says as her laughter settles, turning back towards the cupboards to grab something, “Come, both of you, sit, we can have a small snack before bed.”

He shifts, scratching the back of his neck, “Oh mom that’s okay I’m sure Vanitas is tired.”

“Nonsense,” His mother says immediately, firmly, placing a tray of cookies on the table. “You promised you’d keep no more secrets, that you’d tell no more lies.”

“Yeah but –”

“And I think that involves telling me why you brought home a boy that looks just like my son, but darker.” She frowns. “Sadder.”

“Mom -”

“Tell me.” She says flatly, and the kettle whistles loudly into the silence that settles between them.

And so he does.

  -

  “I get it now.” Vanitas says as he throws open the door to Sora’s room, taking one look around before scowling and sitting crossed-legged on his bed.

“Get what?” He asks, moving over to his closet to get out the spare futon from his closet. They have a spare room, but it’s just full of random junk right now, he’ll have to clean it out soon.

Vanitas gestures vaguely at him, “I just get it. You’re mothers just like you.”

“Is that a bad thing?” He says cautiously.

“Too trusting, too kind, so willing to see the good in others.”

“That’s not a bad thing.” Sora says stubbornly. Sora’s no idiot, he knows some people can be beyond the point of redemption, Xehanort and Maleficent for example. But that doesn’t stop him from wanting to see the best in people, even after they’ve done wrong. Because everyone can have a good in them if they believe, if they look for it.

Vanitas speaks, Sora thinks, but it’s too quiet to hear.

“Did you say something?”

Vanitas stills, and then falls backwards onto Sora’s bed. “I’m going to sleep. Don’t bother me or you’ll regret it.”

  -

  He stays home from school the next day, and though his mother tuts she says nothing about his truancy. She helps him clean the guest room and they both say nothing of Vanitas watching them both silently from his place on the floor.

There’s a worried text from Ventus on his phone, asking if Vanitas settled in okay, if his mother was alright with everything, if he’d told Riku and Kairi yet. Sora answers each question patiently, and then tells Ventus to go talk to Aqua and Terra because Vanitas is perfectly safe here. His phone chimes immediately with a reply and Sora shakes his head, sending a disappointed face emoji at Ventus’ jumbled keysmash of a reply. While he’s at it, he texts Riku and Kairi to tell them to head to Play Island afterschool, and then drags Vanitas off.

There’s something he wants to do now that he has the time.

  -

  It had taken almost nothing to convince Vanitas to spar with him, which Sora appreciated.

“It won’t be spar.” Vanitas had said, already summoning his keyblade, “I won’t hold back so you better be prepared.”

He grinned, that was exactly what he had been hoping for, he thinks, as Vanitas sends another quick barrage of dark magic at him, followed by a swift hit from behind before Sora can even grasp his bearings.

He flips with the momentum, landing crouched on the beach but standing at least.

“Had enough?” Vanitas asks from where he had attacked him from, and even with the distance Sora can make out his smirk clear as day.

“Not even close,” Sora says with a grin and Vanitas eyes narrow, smirk sharpening.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Vanitas says as he warps out of view.

He shifts his grip on his keyblade, laughing despite himself.

Oh, it’s on.

  -

  (Sora won’t admit this (because it’s not true, he doesn’t, he doesn’t) but he hasn’t been able to settle right, not the way Riku and Kairi have. A part of him still yearns for something to fight, something to run after.

Sora’s been chasing something for so long that he doesn’t know what to do now that he can stay still.

Training isn’t enough, and neither is sparring. Kairi though strong and willing to fight doesn’t have the experience or stamina to keep going after awhile. Riku could but he always draws back after he decides is enough, isn’t willing to go far enough to scratch the itch of something Sora keeps looking for.

So sparring with Vanitas, who doesn’t so much as spar as much as fights. Like this is a real battle, like there’s actually something to lose.

Sora’s ashamed to say that he’s almost missed it, or felt something akin to that.)

  -

  “You’re just all kinds of fucked up aren’t you?” Vanitas says, both of them laying down in the sand panting after their fight. “Just like Ventus, just like me.”

Sora doesn’t reply, thinking instead that none of them really got out of this okay.

He sighs, closing his eyes and listening to the gentle crashing of the waves on the shore, and isn’t entirely sure when consciousness slips away as he falls asleep.

  -

  He awakes to yelling and he startles, jumping to attention immediately, keyblade summoned as he whirls around trying to spot the danger.

“What’s happening, is anyone hurt, I –”

“Sora!” Riku’s voice calls, cutting through his mini-tirade. He blinks, turning to see Riku standing a fair distance away his arm extended to block Kairi from approaching. He turns his head, seeing Vanitas seated crosslegged on the ground, chin in one hand. He shrugs when he sees Sora’s gaze on him, before rolling his eyes, and gesturing vaguely over at the two of them.

“Explanation time.” He says blithely, and Sora realises he has no idea what he’s supposed to say here? Did either of them ever even see him without the mask? Do they even recognise him?

“Sora what is he doing here?” Riku spits, enough venom in his voice to make it clear he knows exactly who’s sitting next to him. That answers that question.

“You know him?” Sora asks, idiotically, because for some reason that seems to be the most pressing concern to him.

Riku sighs, bringing one hand to his face, and Kairi pats his arm consolingly.

“Yes. We all saw his face during the battle, Ventus took off fighting before we could really process it but… you don’t forget that.” Riku replies, sounding just a bit pained at the end.

Kairi shifts turning to look at him, then Vanitas, and then back to him smiling cautiously. “Sora?”

He turns towards Vanitas, who raises an eyebrow, “Don’t look at me. This was that idiot Ventus’s idea, and you agreed.”

“It’s not what it looks like.” Sora says after a pause and both Riku and Kairi groan. “What!” He exclaims indignantly.

“It never is with you.” Riku says, somewhere between annoyed and fond.

Kairi laughs, “So tell us, we promise to listen!”

Vanitas mutters something under his breath, and Sora laughs hard enough that he reaches his arm out to hit him in the leg and Sora gasps, still snickering as he begins to explain.

  -

  It’s easier for them to understand, Sora thinks, because they don’t know Vanitas as personally as the Ventus, Aqua, and Terra do. Vanitas was just someone on the other side, someone else Xehanort took and twisted for his own needs. And just like the original members of the organization deserved a second chance, it’s easier for them to see that maybe Vanitas does to.

But they did not know him back then, neither did Sora, but he knows enough. Vanitas was cruel, uncaring, fought like he had nothing to lose uncaring of what happened as long as he came out on top, as long as someone other than him was hurting.

Vanitas was desperate, and like a cornered animal lashed out in anger and defiance.

Still, he doesn’t blame Aqua and Terra for their hesitance. Still, he hopes they eventually come around, for Ventus’ sake if nothing else.

[ugly-crying-over-bucky-barnes]

Trust Part 6

Summary: Jenna moves in across from Eddie and Venom after escaping an abusive relationship. Within hours of meeting the journalist, her ex-boyfriend winds up dead and she comes face to face with the creature terrorizing San Francisco.

Chapter Summary: The world is upside down.

Warnings: Grief, mentions of physical abuse

          Two days later, despite her warring thoughts, Jenna saw Eddie again. It was a sunny day and they went to get a coffee before walking through the park.

           They sat down on a bench to have a conversation, a continuation of their chat at dinner.

           “You’ve been well?” Eddie was concerned about how she was doing both healing her physical and mental wounds. He was also worried she was still getting death threats. Venom made sure to keep an eye out for suspicious people around her building. Of course, they couldn’t make certain of her safety unless they were glued to her side.

           “Uh yeah.” Jenna’s hesitation made the response sound insincere.

           Eddie glanced at her. She sat in a way that showed her wariness of the world. Her shoulder locked up and she appeared ready to react to anything negative that came her way. It was an instinctual defense mechanism. She learned that a person could blow up and attack at any moment for any reason they deemed reasonable.

           “You sure?”

           She swallowed. “There’s nothing to really say. “I’m just living day by day.”

           “She is sad.” Venom wilted at the observation.

           “That’s a good plan. I don’t wanna pry. Just wanted to check in because I know the threats shook you up.

           “Right.” She tilted her head up to watch little songbirds hopping around the tree branches above them. She wished she had been born an animal that didn’t have to deal with the human complexities. Although she was well versed in the survival mode.

           He followed her gaze but couldn’t read her mind. “Did you ask Anne for help?” He wondered.

           “Yeah, she’s looking at the screenshots I took. I guess she’ll see if it’s enough to bring to the police.” Her gaze returned to her coffee cup lid. She picked at the edge of the plastic with her thumbnail. “I know I can’t stop them from sending stuff to me.” I’m just so sick of looking over my shoulder. I thought I wouldn’t’ have to do that anymore I want to get out of that mindset.”

           Eddie and Venom both wordlessly agreed that those lowlifes would face serious consequences if they ever attempted to carry out those threats. “If you need to call or if you yell for us, we’ll be there,” Eddie promised.

           “Trust me, I know what you do to people who try to kick in my door.”

           He visibly cringed at the remark.

           She saw his discomfort and cracked a dry smile. “It was sort of a joke.”

           “Ha…”

           She sighed her shoulder drooped. “God…I don’t even know what’s going on anymore.” Her voice was defeated and tired. It only highlighted the dark circles under her beautifully tragic eyes. “I mean I thought the world was fucked before when I was going through all the shit. But now? Everything is upside down an-and I don’t know where I stand anymore. I’m confused and I just feel like anything I do will turn out to be a huge disaster.”

           Eddie recalled how he felt after losing everything. He felt so low that there was no chance anyone could find him and pull him back to the surface. Every step he took felt like a giant leap backward.

           “I think I know how you feel.” He hoped empathizing would benefit her. At least it would show her she wasn’t alone. “I lost everything basically within twenty-four hours. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. I was so alone and off track. Jenna, I know we’ve faced different challenged. You are healing and honestly, you’re a lot stranger than I could ever be in the same spot. You may feel like you’re off course but you’re getting through each day, just like you said.” He encouraged gently. “No one can take that away from you.”

           Jenna’s heel thudded rhythmically against the bench leg. She sucked in her lower lip and bit down to hold back tears. No one had ever been proud of her just for surviving. “My dad always said when I was older, I would understand why he punished me the way he did. But I never have. I know that’s not love and maybe I’ve always known but was too hurt. But I knew for so long that I could never do what they did. I never fought back. The thought of harming someone that I said I loved? Even if they did it to me I couldn’t give it back to them. Because then my view of love would be even more distorted.” Her voice caught in her throat. “Eddie, I want to believe love is out there. I want to believe that I’ll feel safe. But time and time and time again I’ve been proven wrong. It’s like God is looking me in the eye and saying, ‘love is out there but you’ll experience none of it’. And I can’t ask him why. He doesn’t have an answer.” Her eyes watered and she had to put her coffee down on the pavement to wipe the tears away.

           “Why can we not comfort her and heal her?” Venom was reeling at the thought that their beloved neighbor and keeper of their affection was in turmoil. She was hurting and they couldn’t beat up the bad guys or take her to the hospital to save her. They felt helpless as she cried.

           “Have you ever felt like you don’t deserve love?” She sniffled and felt so vulnerable it tore her to shreds.

           Eddie had to take a calming breath before he answered. Seeing her cry was throwing him into a heap of emotions. But he wasn’t sure if breaking down would help her or make things worse. He needed to try to stay strong and be her rock if she needed him to be. “Yeah, I have.”

           “I-I don’t understand it. It hurts so much.” She furiously kept drying her eyes with her sweater sleeve. Tears were weakness.

           “Jenna, you do deserve love,” Eddie told her with confidence. “You-you’re a kind of person that I’ve rarely come across. It’s kinda like when I was younger, the boys on my street would trap bugs and pull their wings or their legs off. I always hated it because they were taking apart this creature that never did anything to them. Those assholes who hurt you…they broke off a piece of you and you don’t deserve that. You never deserved that even if they said you did. But you can heal I know you can. And if I could do it for you, I would in a heartbeat. Ven and I hate seeing you in so much pain.”

           She sniffed and took a heaving breath. “I didn’t think you could be so eloquent with a New York accent.” She teased weakly.

           He chuckled. “Yeah, suppose it would sound better coming from a British guy or something.” The humor lifted the mood.

           She shook her head. “I like hearing you say it.” She picked up her coffee, eager to get past the heavy conversation. There was only so much she could handle at once. “Why did you move here?”

           “Well, Anne’s job.” He shrugged and watched a few people walk by.

           “The truth, Eddie.” Venom prodded him because they both knew that wasn’t the complete reason.

           “And I uh-got into some mishaps.” He stretched his arms and rested one on the bench back near Jenna’s shoulders.

           “Mishaps?”

           “You sound surprised.” He winced and shrugged with a shy smile.

           “I guess I just thought mishaps were a recent trend for you.”

           “No…” He shook his head. “Sort of a lifelong trait. Outta college I got attention for my work.” He pointed to his temple. “Let it go to my head, y’know? Butted heads with a few people at the Daily Bugle and got-”

           “Blacklisted.” Jenna finished for him. “So are you trying to make your way through all fifty states or are you trying to just hit all the major cities?” She feigned innocence.

           Venom and Eddie laughed. “She is witty. I like when she makes fun of you.” The symbiote chortled.

           Eddie smiled and ran a hand through his hair. “Nah, I like it here. ‘Specially ‘cause you’re here. And next door at that, so why would I go anywhere?”

           Their eyes met and she studied his face. “Eddie, I want you to know that…I would love to fall in love with you.” She said steadily, not moving her gaze from his.

           The two perked up. “Yeah?” He was a little breathless because he wasn’t expecting the comment.

           “I just don’t know.” She admitted and swallowed. “I guess…I’m worried for you and about you. There’s a lot of different parts to it.”

           “What are they?” He hoped they could get past them and maybe her healing process could be helped along if he knew.

           She sighed. “That’s another day.” She told him.

           “Fair enough.” He leaned back in the bench and they fell quiet.

           “You’re soft, Eddie.” She said before standing up. “I know you probably don’t think so and maybe people don’t see that. But you are. That’s not a bad thing but…you can get hurt easily. I know how the world treats people who care.” She nodded and pulled her purse over her shoulder. “Thanks for walking with me.” With that, she walked away.

           Eddie tilted his head back and closed his eyes. The world really was upside down.

============

           The next day, Eddie walked up to his floor with a bag of snacks for Venom. It was date night, which meant lots of chocolate, a movie, and starting their sexual relationship.

           But plans would be delayed.

           The reached the landing and both instantly noticed Jenna’s door was wide open. This was alarmingly unlike her. They’d heard the number of locks she had when they parted ways after dinner. She wasn’t one to leave her personal space vulnerable.

           “Something is wrong.”

           “Jenna?” Eddie called as he cautiously walked to her doorway. He was about to knock on the doorframe just in case when he saw the state her apartment was in.

           It was as if a hurricane ripped through the small apartment. Her table was turned over, curtains ripped from the rod, and a metal baseball bat was lying on the ground next to a smashed mirror.

           “No, no, no, no.” He dropped the bag as his worst fears were realized and paralyzing anxiety hit him right in the gut.

           “Someone has kidnapped her!” Venom raged in a frenzied panic. Black armor threatened to take over, traveling up his arms and shoulders.

           “Okay, we need to call the police.”

           “The police?” Venom let out an aghast scoff. “They will be too slow. I will find her. I can follow her scent.

           “You’re not a damn bloodhound, Ven, we can’t just find her on our own. They could’ve gotten anywhere by now. We don’t know how long she’s been gone.”

           “The water glass on the counter.” Venom pointed out to him. “The ice cubes have not melted. They have not gotten far. Now can we stop wasting time?” He overtook Eddie’s body and leaped out of the window.

           Eddie felt glad that he let the symbiote watch forensic crime shows.

   Permanent Tags: @what-the-buckybarnes @captainmarmel

Tag list: @goddessofthunder112

Masterpost

My Masterlist

[sadstoriesbook]

Bonus: Chapter Ten: Second Ending...

    When the last Newspaper written by Marylin was published, you could almost hear everyone’s reaction.

    “Oh my god, the daughter of Clayton!” One husband says to his wife.

    “Wait, his own daughter disagrees with him?” Says a supporter of the Supremacy. “Do you think this is good? I mean…she is right. A lot of people died.” He asks his wife – wife that was raped three months ago and is now pregnant. His wife does not answer – of course, Marylin was right. Things needed to change.

    “I can’t believe it was her all along. Do you really think he will kill his daughter?”

    People that lost their loved ones cried while reading The Newspaper. Marylin was the voice of them all, if she is gone, who’s going to speak for them?

    Fewer people were supporting the Supremacy. In fact, even soldiers of the Supremacy were giving up Clayton Marshall. It makes sense; his own daughter disapproves his choices. If he can’t maintain his daughter, how can he keep a whole nation?

    When Davin read The Newspaper – when he read his part, he closed his eyes as tight as he could. “I should’ve listened to you.” He says, full of remorse. He reopened his eyes and forced himself to read the whole article. Her words definitely were her weapons; she stabbed him in the heart. And he deserved it.

    Once he finished reading the article over and over, he puts it down and stands up.

    When the very last Newspaper has been distributed, there were thousands of hundreds of people in front of Marylin’s house, some were praying for her, for them. Some were singing; some were chanting her name, some were chanting the national anthem. Even if Marylin could hear it, she wasn’t in her house anymore. She was walking to the principal public place. When someone yelled, “To the public place!” they all followed and went there.

    When the little amount left of the soldiers of the Supremacy saw Marylin, they ran to her and handcuffed her. One soldier went inside the building and into the office of Clayton.

    “Sir, your daughter is outside, we got her.”

    Clayton looks up and sighs. Does he really have to kill his daughter? Of course, he does. Does he want it? More than anything. Clayton stands up and straightens his suit, almost like he wanted to look presentable for the moment he will shoot his daughter.

    He nods and walks out of his office. When he arrives outside the whole place is silent, he looks at the people watching every move he makes.

    At this right moment when he’s standing in front of his daughter who’s holding the eye contact with her father.

    “You’ve betrayed me, Marylin.”

    “Oh Father, forgive me for what I’ve sinned…” Marylin was smiling. She knew what was coming.

    To Davin’s side – he went to his bedroom and took his gun. Should he be a coward until the end? It will make sense anyway, and to be honest with himself, he’s not the type to fight, not like Marylin who was standing in front of her father, the leader of the Supremacy.

    So he decided to give up, he did not want to fight at all – whether it was the right or wrong side. He killed his sister, and the girl he loved was going to die too. So if there is truly a Heaven as they say, if he’s lucky enough for him to be forgiven of his sins, he will go up there and will join his sister and Marylin. But he did not think much of it if there were a Heaven and a Hell – he’s going to hell for what he did. And he deserved it, at least that is what he thought.

    Clayton closes his eyes. Marylin was irritating him, and he knew this is what she wants. He stands up straight and speaks louder for everyone to hear.

    “You’ve transgressed every law of the Supremacy. As the daughter of the leader you should’ve never betrayed your nation and me.”

    “I’m honoring my country by standing up to you, who wants to destroy it! Your way is not the way to do things! You can’t decide life or death on another human, you don’t have this right, you don’t have this power and you never will. You might kill me today, but my memory will remain, the souvenir of my acts will keep me alive.”

    Clayton raises his hand. “Give me the gun.” One of the soldiers gives him the gun. Clayton charges it without breaking eye contact with Marylin. “On your knees.” He orders. Marylin scoffs “Never, father.”

    Davin looks at the picture of Emilia, Marylin and him. He sadly smiles, he loads the gun, aims it to his temple, he tries to pull the trigger but puts down the weapon and sighs. “I can’t. I have to fight.” On the table next to the picture of the three of them, was an envelope, “The letter of a guilty Supremacy’s soldier.” Davin looks at it and stands up.

    “I have to fight.”

    Clayton aims the gun at Marylin’s head; he takes the safety off and shoots. You could hear a global “Oh!” from the citizens. There was a silence, Clayton took a moment to put his arm down. He looks at the body of his daughter on the ground in a pool of her own blood.

    “Let my daughter be an example of the consequences of betraying your nation and me. If any of you think you might get pity from me, remember the day I shot my own daughter. We own you; you owe us!”

    Nobody said anything. He was right if he did not hesitate to kill his daughter he would never hesitate to kill one of them. Then suddenly you could hear someone screaming “Let me pass! Let me pass!” People let the man move as he asked. Once he arrived in front of Marylin’s dead body, he stopped walking. “No…”

    Clayton recognized the man. It was Davin.

    “How could you? You killed your daughter!” Davin then turns around to face everyone. “He killed his daughter! A girl we dreamed, loved, wrote, read, sang! A daughter who loved life, who loved to laugh and discover new books. This could be your daughter right here. And if you let things stay the way they are, this is going to be your daughter one day, too. You have to move! You have to fight, for your children, for Marylin. Please don’t let her die in vain.”

    You could hear all of them screaming “For Marylin!” The last ten Supremacy’s soldiers aim their guns at them and shoot. Clayton runs back to his office but stops when a shot almost touched him. He turns around and sees three soldiers on the ground and seven soldiers aiming their guns at him.

    “What are you doing? I’m your leader!” Yells Clayton.

    “Not anymore. Kill him.”

    Each of the soldiers empties their guns on Clayton. When the gun shots are done the silence comes back. Davin walks to the body of Clayton; he looks at it, then back at the citizens. “He’s dead!” He screams. The citizen’s cheers.

    The funeral of Marylin was beautiful. They gave her the funeral of a US Soldier. They sang the national anthem and Amazing Grace.

    It took time to rebuild the US, years even. And at each symbol was a copy of the last article of Marylin, the original was in the new Chicago Tribune.

    Even years and years after, parents use Marylin as a model for their daughters and use Davin’s letter as a model for their sons.

    Even if there were no skyscrapers, towers, anthem, or flags as a symbol of freedom, hope, and love, there still would be the memory of Marylin and Davin as symbols. And this is the real aim Sad Stories was for.

[petersasteria]

Listen - Blake Richardson Imagine!

Pairing: Blake Richardson x Reader

Requested? No

My first ever New Hope Club (NHC) imagine! Hope you all like it!

I'm gonna add some names (name of my friends and their friends) so if your name is there just change it. When you see this * it means it's a flashback and when you see * * it means present day.

Disclaimer: Based on a true story.

* * * *

Your P.O.V

You know how you let someone in your life and give them everything? You know that feeling when you don't listen to other people, because only one person matters? Sometimes, it's the people who care about you who you don't listen to. You don't listen to them all for this one guy who made you forget all about other things. This guy got you wrapped around his finger and you don't even know that you were under his spell. He made you think that everything was okay when in reality, everything wasn't.

Yes, I let a guy in my life and gave him everything. Yes, I know that feeling when you don't listen to what other people say, because I'm one of those people who didn't listen and are now facing the consequences. Here I am crying in front of my friends, because of him. I'm so thankful to have friends like them, because they didn't say things like "I told you so" or "You should've listened to me". Instead, they greeted me warmly and told me that everything was going to be alright.

His name is Blake Edward Richardson.

At first you'd think, "Wow. I'd give anything to be his girlfriend". He's your typical boy, yet his life is amazing. Why? Because he lies in the process. He doesn't lie about the usual things people lie about. He lies about relationships. I think he's even lying to himself. I should've known from the start that he didn't really love me or care about me. Why would he? I'm nothing special. I'm just me. But his eyes tell me something different.

Whenever he looks at me, he looks at me like I'm the best damn thing in the world. Whenever he smiles at me, his smile was genuine. It wasn't forced or fake. When he first told me he loved me, he was so nervous. Like, he couldn't lift a plate without his hands shaking and dropping it on the floor. Now that I look back, I think.

Did he ever really love me?

Or

Was he just a brilliant actor that deserves an Oscar?

Those are the questions. Questions that will never be answered, yet still floating around my brain waiting to be answered.

"It's not your fault." my friend, Venice, said softly.

"Yeah. It's his loss." Beatriz agreed.

"Y/N, just face it. He doesn't love you anymore." Cheska said truthfully.

"Cheska! Don't say that!" Marie said as she pats my back.

"It's fine. I'll be okay." I smiled slightly. Are you really going to be okay?

*

"Girls? Do any of you know a guy named Blake Richardson?" I asked the girls one day when we were hanging around my house. It was the month of December and it's pretty chilly.

"Nope. Why?"

"Nah."

"Nope. Never heard of him."

"Nope."

"Oh nothing. It's just this guy, Blake, he messaged me." I replied with a shrug, but with a small smile etched to my face.

"Is he cute?" Cheska smirked.

"Not really." I lied. He was hella cute!

"You're such a bad liar! We all know you're already so into this guy!" Beatriz laughed.

"Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not. Who knows?" I sat down on the couch and instantly replied to his message.

"You are. Don't lie." Marie said as she channel surfed.

"If he asks you if he could court you, what would you say?" Venice asked me seriously.

"Right now, I would say no. I'm not ready. You know what my ex did. He cheated on me!" I exclaimed. I'll test this Blake guy first.

"What if he doesn't? What if he's the one?" Venice knew how to push my buttons. She knew how much "finding the one" is so important to me.

"Ven-"

"Just answer me, Y/N. For fucks sake!" Venice chuckled.

"Then....then I won't let him go. He's already in front of me. Why would I find somebody else?" I answered truthfully.

"Exactly. So, give this guy a chance. Not all men are the same." Venice said and payed attention to her phone.

Maybe she's right.

Blake and I ended up being friends and we decided to meet up. Turns out, one of this cousins go to my school and is just 2 years younger. What a small world.

I learned that Blake is in his first year of college and he's kind of excited about it. He's a year older than me. I'm just graduating high school this March.

*

Fast forward, he asked me to be his girlfriend and of course I said yes. What could possibly go wrong? His parents knew about the two of us, but my parents didn't. Ever since they found out about Josh, my ex, they wanted me to be single for awhile. But I couldn't help get lost into Blake's brown eyes and listen to his British accent all day. It felt like one of those things wherein you're really into this particular thing and you think you're never going to stop, because you're in too deep.

After all the misunderstandings in the beginning, him meeting my friends, me meeting his friends, and exchanging Facebook passwords, we were finally celebrating our first month together. It's not really a big thing, but every relationship has to start somewhere, right?

Whenever we fought, he would always buy me gifts, but I tell him all the time that he didn't really have to get me anything. I'm always torn in between accepting it and not accepting it. In the end I would accept it, because I didn't his efforts to go to waste.

Being in a relationship with a person who doesn't go to the same school as you, sure has its perks. He gave me his schedule, so that I knew when he was busy or not. He didn't have classes every Monday, 10 AM to 4 PM on Tuesdays, 12 noon to 6 PM on Wednesdays, 9 AM to 12 noon on Thursdays, and 6 AM to 12 noon on Fridays. He was the sweetest. Whenever I craved for something, he would pick me up from school with his car and the thing that I craved for. We would always spend time with each other and I'm really happy with that.

He would always send me good mornings texts like:

Hey babe! Good morning! I hope you have a fantastic day today. I love you so much! x

And of course he would always send me good night texts like:

Hey babe! I just want you to know that you're the most beautiful girl I've ever met. I'm really lucky to have you. I know you're tired, so don't reply when you get this message. Just rest. Just know that I love you so much, babe. Good night! xx

I felt like the luckiest girl in the world. To him, I'm the only one who mattered. Whenever we were out in public, he would always look at me. Of course, I'd catch him looking and he just pinch my cheeks and ask, "Why are you so beautiful?" I would just shake my head and blush furiously.

*

All of that changed when he lied. But before that, I noticed that he no longer had time for me. I understand, because he's in college and he has projects he needs to do.

I asked his cousin, his cousin who went to my school only 2 years younger, what he was doing. Only to find out that he was never home and he never had any projects to do.

"Why didn't he tell me?" I asked myself.

I learned from his friends Reece and George that they went to party at one point and his ex was there. Reece told me that Blake was being really cozy with his ex.

"What the fuck?!" I screeched.

"I'm really sorry, Y/N." Reece looked at the ground.

"Yeah. I'm also sorry that you had to find out from us and not from Blake himself." George frowned.

"Well, at least you told me right? That's all that matters. At least I know the truth now." I said trying not to sound angry. I'm not angry at Reece and George. I'm angry, because of what they said and what I found out. Anything could've happened to Blake and his ex!

Blake and I fought for 3 days straight.

Did I miss him? Yes. I missed him very much.

I tried to open his Facebook to check some things, but he changed his password.

He deleted every picture we had together, he changed his Twitter bio, and he never spoke to me ever again. I texted him one last time saying that we were done, hoping he would come to his senses.

* *

Here I am bawling my eyes out thinking he would come back when I knew he wouldn't want anything to do with me.

I still see his friends at the mall. I never held any towards them. After all, they were really nice to me.

I hope he's happy with his ex. If he still loved his ex why would he jump into another relationship? Just saying.

He had a wonderful family, but he wasn't that wonderful. On the outside, he looked like an angel. On the inside, he had other plans.

If I had anything else to say, I'd say this:

Fuck him and fuck his ex. I hope he finds another hoe to fuck with.

We don't talk anymore, but we're still friends on Facebook.

Did he plan all this?

Were all his intentions nice, but changed midway?

Will he ever come back?

He's such a pretty boy with an ugly personality.

If I had any advice to give other girls I'd say, stop and listen.

Stop what you're doing and listen to the people who care about you. Yes, sometimes they're wrong. But most of the time, they're right. Listen to them, because you never know how much you'll need their opinion or their view of things. If you didn't listen, you'll end up beating yourself up for it.

When you love someone, don't give it all. Save some for yourself. However if you do give it all and didn't save for yourself, just smile. At least you know that gave enough love for them and it's their loss they wasted it.

* * * *

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