#but w axel i think the only thing i ever had to explain to him was a joke i was making about someone's characters lip size amskwhdwjdhw

[generationa1trauma]

plots please!

theres a very fun easy to match vibe w pearl ridge and the peaks like the general vibe of small town where something isnt right fits so so well that literally any muse could be shoved into tp and i think that it would fit perfectly blend seamlessly the vibes r just right

caspian & tatum. my main babies of course they r first in line this is like the free square in bingo. both have abusive shithead parents that harry should rescue them from i think. cassie is very laura coded and i do think that something should come of that. perhaps her family moves to town after lauras death and wherever she goes people just keep getting reminded of laura. or maybe years later even and its like a repeating cycle. somewhere between s2 and the return kinda vibes just. cassie is very laura and also very in need of help so it works. tate is a little shit delinquent whos probably had plenty of run ins w harry but its never like Serious Crime he is just stealing little bits of food from people and doing drugs and sometimes getting in fights. i think there would be a very fun dynamic of delinquent constantly getting busted growing up and getting the chances he deserves and reaching his full potential and harry getting to see it and be a part of it. also since he gets kidnapped on his wedding day i think its fun for harry to have to try find him even tho realistically harrys probably already sick a little by then but also its only like 10 years after hes a teen so whos to say where this slides in the timeline

axel. idk i think kid with visions going to the cops to try to help is a fun little vibe. he'd tower over everyone at the station which i think is also very funny bc hes so awkward and nervous hes just this giant guy standing in front of harry all nervous trying 2 explain that he saw a vision and that hes not insane its all real and he wants to help

crazy joe. local menace has probably annoyed the cops on more than one occasion. hes always so annoying and is also secretly killing people so one way or another he gotta be on harrys radar. where the log lady is strange and cryptic in an affectionate way joes strange and cryptic in an annoying derogatory way. i think he'd be exhausting

mitchell (and alex). the accidental killing of his friend and tryna cover it up is a very easy could tie in w harry sort of thing, investigations and interviews and the like. esp since before laura nothing like that had ever happened in town i fear mitchell would try to imply that maybe it was the same guy that got laura. and then his friend comes back to life and puts a whole wrench in that. i guess this is kinda a mitch and alex thing i forgot she is also a muse here. call that a two for one.

sebastian. idk old men being tired together. tryna help all the time but god its exhausting. thats kinda all i got for them idk i just think they should b buddies

[foxdies]

like i’m dating my best friend.. yknow how that feels?

[tooweirdforyou]

Chapter Three » Target

A/N : I deleted the whole thing by accident. my heart hurts so much.. </3

Chapter Two | Masterlist | Chapter Four

“I’ll get straight to the point. You, my darling, are in danger.”

Axel visibly tenses while you choke on air, sputtering in disbelief. “W-What makes you say that?”

The two boys beside Whitebeard didn’t flinch, Marco’s hand on his hip whilst Izo’s arms were crossed.

Snapping out of his trance, Axel pats your back to ease your coughing before exhaling softly, calming himself down, adjusting his glasses in the process.

“Mr. Whitebeard, what is your reasoning for this?”

Whitebeard’s expression is solemn and a bit grim, him twiddling with his mustache. “I assume you’ve spoken with the lawyers?”

You lean back after you had relaxed from your little coughing fit, giving a nod of gratitude to Axel. You then turn back to Whitebeard and merely frown at the mention of the lawyers.

“That’s right..” you grunt and fall onto your side, laying down onto the couch now, much to the surprise of the two boys at the look of laziness.

Kicking off your shoes to rest your feet onto the cushion of the chair, you swing your legs in the air a bit childishly.

“Worst two hours of my life, honestly.” You huff, holding your hand out towards Axel behind the couch.

The assistant sighs before going over to where you placed your drink and set it into your hands, prompting you to sit up to drink it properly.

While you did that, Axel went around to take your shoes and put it over by the door neatly, without so much so of a blink. It was like this was a daily routine.

Once you finished drinking, you set your cup onto the table and hum. “Two hours of some random men explaining everything that my father’s given me, which is everything.”

Whitebeard expresses his amusement with laughter. “Gurarararara! Just like your father, I see. The resemblance sure is uncanny.”

Axel sets down a tray of tea, forgetting to have done so earlier, and begins pouring each of the guests a cup of warm, oolong tea for them.

Izo takes his with gratitude, smiling softly at Pops’ lighthearted action. Marco takes the cup, nodding at Axel to display gratitude before speaking up.

“Right, well, did the lawyers mention anything about any of your father’s items? Something special-yoi?”

You raise a brow at the peculiar question, while gesturing Axel over towards you.

“I don’t think so? Father never really had any special things with him nor did he talk about them. Just typical CEO/rich business man things.” You answer, Axel still standing by you per your request.

“Yes, Miss [Lastname]?”

“Come sit down with me, you’ve been standing this whole time.” You reach for his hand and pull on it, pulling him to sit, but he doesn’t budge.

“No, thanks.” He bluntly responds, pushing up his glasses, surprising you.

“And why not?”

“Not only is it inappropriate for me to do so, as I am a mere assistant..” he looks at you with a deadpanned expression. “I don’t want to.”

You gap at him, mouth wide from the striking and utter shock before you yank his hand, causing Axel to stumble and fall onto the cushions.

“Thank you, Axel.” You smile innocently, before looking back up at Whitebeard and humming.

“Anyways, no. I wasn’t told of any “special” items or anything, so why?”

Izo and Marco exchanged glances before Marco sighs. “You see.. it’s heard that your father holds or, held a powerful item that grants the holder the power of anything they could ever wish for, fame, money, power, love, etcetera-yoi.”

“However, no one knows what the item itself is.” Izo adds, bringing the teacup up to his lips to take a sip. “That’s why we’re hoping to hear that you or your father’s personal assistant, Axel, may have heard of it.”

Whitebeard nods along to his sons. “Exactly. It’s no surprise something like that is wanted all over, it’s power is something that even the government will seek, so naturally, even certain crime syndicates will be looking for you, to get their hands on that treasure of your father’s.”

You frown and glance to Axel beside you, who doesn’t seem that fazed are the news you two were being told. A look at his clenched fists showed otherwise though.

“Axel,” the male suddenly blinks and looks up, appearing to have snapped out of a trance and his hands unclenched. “Did father tell you about any of this?”

“No, he did not. This is the first I’ve known about it.”

“If even Axel didn’t know, how do you and others know about it then?” You felt a little bad about constantly asking questions but you were confused.

The three didn’t seem the least bit annoyed at least, having expected a series of questions from you.

“That I cannot answer, my dear.” Whitebeard exhales as he shakes his head. “I’ll say this though,”

“Whatever you do, do not hand the treasure over to anyone. And to tread carefully, because you are now a wanted woman, [Name]. As the sole inheritor of your father’s belongings, your life will not be the same and you are now in danger. Please be careful, my daughter.”

Your eyes become wide at the statement and you stand up. “What? I don’t even know what the stupid thing is! Why—“

“It’ll be alright, my dear.” Whitebeard offers his smile and places a soft hand on your head, ruffling you’re hair up gently.

“My sons and I will make sure no one lays a hand on you. That you’ll be safe and sound.”

You smile lightly at the gesture, ignoring the anxiety running through your veins at the thought of your life no longer being the same.

“Okay, pops. If you say so..”

Knowing what you were really thinking, Whitebeard nods and Izo and Marco offer their sympathetic looks.

“Here are our numbers. Feel free to give us a call if there’s anything wrong or you wish to talk about. We’ll be there.” Izo extends out a slip of paper with written numbers.

Taking it with a gentle smile, you nod and Marco does the same. “In the meantime, we’ll continue to be on the lookout for any information regarding your new wanted bounty-yoi.”

“Thanks. See you all soon. Bye, pops! Next time, I’ll visit you!” You call and Whitebeard chuckles. “Of course, you’re always welcome!”

“Axel.”

Said male perks at his sudden name and sees Whitebeard staring at him.

“Miss [Lastname], if you’ll excuse me.” Axel says, walking towards Whitebeard and you raise a brow. “Yeah, sure. I’ll go take a shower.”

Leaving the men to do their thing, you went back to the living room to begin putting away all the teacups and tea into the kitchen.

“What is it, Mr. Whitebeard?”

“Call me pops.” The man sighs before expression turning serious. “Son.. I won’t be around forever, and my boys can’t be there every second. As the one who is by her most, do me a favor.”

Axel widens his eyes at the next thing Whitebeard says and before he knew it, the three were making their leave out the door.

He returns to reality at the sound of the door shutting and he looks down, pushing up his glasses with a clearing of his throat.

‘No coincidence he repeats the exact words as her father..’

Axel looks behind him into the house, seeing your figure retreating into your bedroom with a soft hum of a tune.

“Protect her with your life.”

“Honestly.. how troublesome.”

“How boring!”

Axel’s brow twitches at the sight of your sprawled and slouched form over your father’s desk in his office.

“Miss [Lastname], please behave yourself, you have appointments upon appointments booked to meet.”

You groan out and lay your cheek on the hard wood of the desk, pouting. “They’re all just a bunch of old men discussing business! God, I don’t know any of this stuff!”

“Your next appointment is in five minutes, with a client named Koby. Look sharp.” Axel ignores your complaints and tells you, looking into a small notebook of his.

“Pops warns me of my life not staying the same as it was, but nothing’s happen at all.” You huff and Axel scoffs. “And you should be thankful, right?”

“I guess.. I won’t lie that I was waiting for something exciting to happen..” you mumble under your breath and Axel hisses. “What?”

“Uh—“

Interrupting you was a series of knocks and you exhale in relief. “Come on in!”

Slowly, the door opens and a mop of pink hair peeks out before his face was revealed. “S-Sorry, I’m a bit early.”

Your eyes widen in surprise at the unexpected young face and you smile, relieved it isn’t another old man. “Oh, you’re okay. Are you Koby?”

The pink-haired nods and enters, closing the door behind him. Axel gestures for him to sit, to which he does, and you could sense the nervousness coming from him.

You lean your elbow on the desk and your chin on your palm. “So, what’s up Koby?”

Clearly not expecting such a laidback demeanor, Koby blinks before he scratches his cheek shyly. It was only then did you notice the white uniform he wore and it seems Axel did too.

“What does the police want with [Lastname] business?”

Koby flinches at Axel’s tone, before he speaks up. “I just wanted to ask about your father, if that’s alright.”

Your smile fades and you sigh, not particularly surprised but still.. “about what?”

“Well, uh, first, I’m sorry about your father..” Koby says softly, his expression genuine which brings a gentle smile to your lips. “it’s fine..”

Koby gives his smile before nodding and speaking again. “I wanted to ask if your father gave you anything particularly special.”

“No, he didn’t. I’ve never heard of an all powerful treasure that gives people everything, I don’t know what it is and was never told anything about it. Sorry.”

Koby frowns at that and you shake your head. “Is that all?”

“Uh, actually—“

“LUFFY— DON’T YOU DARE!-“

“AAAAAHHHH!—“

Hearing the loud noise outside the office, Axel narrows his eyes and makes his way over when the door slams open, and Axel swears, his life flashed right before his eyes.

Whatever came shoving through the doors, crashes into Axel, sending him crashing onto the back of Koby’s seat in front of your desk, the impact forcing a grunt from the man.

“Luffy! You idiot! Don’t fucking screw around so much!” The deep voice makes you look up to see a green-haired male with a scar on his left eye.

“Axel, are you alright?!” You stand up, Koby doing the same and widening his eyes. “Luffy?”

You ran over and knelt down by Axel, seeing him under a shorter male with a straw hat and scar, who seemed to be grinning and laughing.

“Shishishishi! That was so fun, let’s do it again!”

You could only slip a laugh of disbelief and reach down to help Axel up. “Who the hell are you?”

Luffy suddenly stops laughing and looks up at you blankly, blinking. “Huh? I’m Luffy. Who are you?”

He looks at you up and down before he suddenly smiles bright and leans close. “You’re pretty!”

“I-“

you couldn’t process what was happening, as a familiar orange-haired girl comes stomping in and punches Luffy hard on the head.

“Luffy, you dumbass! This is the person we’re meeting! You just crashed into her boyfriend, NOW APOLOGIZE!”

“Awh, boyfriend?” Luffy doesn’t even seem fazed by the punch or the Orange-haired girl’s yelling and only sulks with a frown. “Who’s your boyfriend?”

“H-huh? I don’t—“

“My apologize, Miss [Name]! Luffy can’t help himself sometimes, so I sincerely apologize for him crashing into your boyfriend, I hope he’s not hurt. Zoro will cover his medical bill!”

“What? Why the hell am I paying?!” The green-haired one from before shouts at the girl and she scowls. “You let Luffy do this in the first place!”

“Tch, you’re the one who brought him!”

“What was that?!” The girl raises her fists and Zoro quickly shut his mouth and clicked his tongue, looking away.

“Oh, Koby. You’re here. What’re you doing here?”

“Uh.. hey, Luffy..” the pinkette waves slowly and awkwardly, sweat dropping at what just happened.

You blink at the interaction and bickering back and forth with Axel, processing everything.

“What is going on?!”

“You sure you’re alright?”

Axel winces at your touch on his cheek, pushing your hand away as he nods. “Just fine, Miss [Name]. Please get back to your clients.”

You frown and set down the cotton ball and close the lid of the medkit. “It was a hard hit. And just call me [Name] already. The ‘Miss’ is getting annoying.”

“I’ll live. Meanwhile, I’m not sure that black hair one will.” Ignoring the second part, Axel glares, clenching his fist as his eyes darken and you slap his arm. “Stop that.”

You turn away and put the box back into the cabinet under the sink before leaving the bathroom and found your guests still sitting on the chairs, waiting for your return.

“Uh.. okay, so.. what now? What did you guys come here for?” Looking over to the trio that came in, Nami speaks up with a eager smile.

“Nothing much, really just wanted to share our condolences on your father.”

You gave a slow, skeptical nod. “Right.. thanks. But it’s more than that, right? This is about my father’s ‘treasure’?”

Nami blinks before she gave a sheepish smile. “Yeah..” she trails off, and you sigh. “Look, I just found out about it, but I’m sorry to tell you that I have no idea what it is, where it is or if it even exists.”

Axel follows you out and stands beside you, a bandage or two on his face as he pushes up his glasses. “If that’s the only thing you came for, please leave then, as we don’t have anything further to discuss.”

“Actually,”

Luffy’s phone suddenly rings and all eyes go on the straw hat, who blinks and pulls out his phone calmly.

Answering it, he smiles cheerily. “Oh, Usopp! What’s up?” Luffy hums into the call, and you could faintly hear a panicked voice speaking.

“Don’t ‘what’s up’ me! Are you done with the meeting yet?! Bad news, there’s a group of some armed guys heading into the building and-!”

A loud explosion is suddenly erupted and screams and shouts are heard.

The explosion is enough to even reach your floor and you look around in shock. “What was that?”

“Usopp! Are you alright?!”

“I’m fine, but it looks like they’re headed up to where that daughter is so be careful! They must’ve come for the treasure!”

Axel pulls out his own phone and calls the front, to see what’s going on but no answer came in, only an alarm blaring throughout the building.

“Shit, we have to go. Miss [Lastname]!” Axel looks over to you while the others stand up, just as more gunshots are being boomed and heard.

Koby runs towards the door and looks to the others. “I’ll go and try to get everyone out of the building. Meanwhile, you try and escape, okay?”

The pinkette runs off before you could respond and Luffy and Zoro share a grin. “Alright, it’s time to have some fun, haha! Nami, you escape with [Name], okay? Protect her!”

“Leave it to me!” Nami grins and you just gape. “What? Have fun??” Your disbelief is ignored as Nami grabs your hand.

“Come on!” She drags you over towards the window, and with a quick smashing of the glass, she’s peeking out to see the building surrounded in chaos, police sirens in the air.

“W-Wait, I don’t-“

“Miss [Lastname], this way!” Axel calls, grabbing onto your other hand and begins to pull you, only for Nami to pull your other side.

“Sorry, but she needs to come with us, and this way is faster!” Axel scoffs at that. “And risk her life? You’re jumping out the window!” He argues and Nami frowns. “Just trust me!”

All the yelling and gunfire everywhere causes your head to spin and resulted in a growing headache.

“Trust you? Who’s only goal today was to come here in hopes of seeking a possibly nonexistent treasure?”

“Would you quit arguing and get out of here already?!” Zoro shouts from where he stood and Nami growls at him. “Nobody asked you, you stupid swordsman!”

“We don’t have time for this, Axel, come on!” Having enough, you yank Axel’s hand towards you and Nami jumps off the window, leaving you two behind with you on the ledge. “Jump now!”

You inhale sharply and look over to see just how far the ground was, and Nami quickly descending to the ground.

Glancing back to the two waiting for some guys to show up, you just shake your head in disbelief.

“Now or never.”

Gripping Axel’s hand tightly, you look back once more at the two behind you before jumping.

“I REGRET THISSSSS!—“

so.. Whatcha think..? I feel as if I could’ve went longer but this seems okay for now. And I’m like trying not to rush but it’s harddd.

tagging : @deputy-videogamer @vemuabhi @lovelyvillainess

[minijenn]

In honor of it being Sora’s birthday, I figured I might as well repost my favorite portion of Chapter 22 of Keys to the Kingdom since I wrote it roughly a year ago and it is, fittingly enough, focused on our dear boy’s in-fic birthday as well (and its also one of my favorite bits of Keys in general its very emotionally raw and it hits me in the honey nut feelios every time I reread it. Sooooo enjoy!

***

A few days after the first night they’d spent together, Kairi happens to remember a certain special occasion coming up very soon. And as soon as she does, she immediately begins planning, spreading the word to everyone but Sora as she devises a scheme meant solely for him. It comes just in time too as he’d recently regained the ability to sit up on his own again, his upper body now mostly mobile even if his legs still surge with pain any time he so much as tries to walk. Still, it’s enough to satisfy Kairi that her plan will work as she puts it into motion as soon as she wakes up on the intended morning, knowing that this is something neither of them will want to miss.

“Hey, good morning,” she greets brightly almost as soon as she opens her eyes, only to find that he’s already wide awake beside her. Ever since he’d asked to have his bed moved closer to the window, it’s become something of a pastime for him to casually watch the hustle and bustle of the busy streets of Radiant Garden down below, a pastime that she often joins him on in the early hours of the morning they spend together.

“Morning,” he says, turning to her with a smile.

“I have a surprise for you,” she grins as she sits up.

“A surprise? What is it?”

“Well, it wouldn’t be a surprise if I just told you what it was,” she chuckles while getting up out of bed.

“Aw, c’mon, Kairi…” he groans in faux exasperation. “Can’t I at least have a hint?”

“Just be patient!” she scolds, smirking. “I have to go get something for it first. Be right back.” So Kairi hurries off, leaving Sora in complete suspense for whatever she intends on giving him or showing him. She returns about an hour later, fully dressed and ready for the day as she rolls in perhaps the last thing he’d been expecting.

“It’s… a wheelchair…” he frowns, somewhat disappointed by the chair itself as well as what it implies. Namely, the idea that he’s still far more invalid than he wants to be.

“Hey, it wasn’t easy getting this wheelchair, you know,” Kairi protests, hands on her hips. “I’ve been pestering Cid to trade in some old computer parts for it for days . Besides, this isn’t the surprise. It’s just what’s going to get you to the surprise.”

“Wait…” Sora’s formerly dubious tone shifts to anticipation at this. “You mean…?”

“Yep,” Kairi nods as she summons her Keyblade. She points its tip toward the far side of the room as light surrounds it, and from her focus she forms a bright portal to some unknown location. “We’re finally getting you out of this room.”

Sora breaks into a huge smile at this, unable to hide how elated he is by the mere thought of getting out and seeing something other than the same four walls he’s gotten far too used to by now. Yet even so, he does have at least one reservation about the plan. “Uh… can I ask where we’re going?”

“No,” Kairi answers simply as she pushes the wheelchair closer to the bed. “You’ll see when we get there. Now come on; as excited as I am about this whole thing, I bet there’s no one more eager to see you get up and out then, well… you.”

“You can say that again,” Sora readily agrees, doing what little he can to get ready for the trip. It takes some doing between both him and Kairi, and though some significant pain does come along with the transition, he eventually manages to slip out of bed and into the chair. And as soon as she’s sure he’s properly seated and comfortable, Kairi wastes no time in wheeling him into the portal she made, hoping that her surprise, for as simple as it is, will satisfy him all the same.

When the light from the portal clears, the pair arrives in a picturesque place, to say the least; a deep, dense forest of lush, towering trees, drenched in the fresh, bright colors of a springtime morning. Between the gentle breeze swaying the leaves, birds chirp their cheery melodies from unknown perches, creating an air of captivating peace and promise that Sora can’t help but appreciate as he takes in a deep breath of the warm, crisp, clean air. “Whoa... “ he says, absolutely fascinated as he looks around. “Where are we?”

“We’re in a special world Merlin made just for me and Axel to train in,” Kairi explains, smiling as she pushes his chair down a makeshift path through the woods. “But since we haven’t really been training since he’s been gone, so I thought it might as well be put to use somehow. I also thought that some fresh air might be just what you needed.”

“You thought right,” Sora sighs contentedly as he hangs his arms behind his head. “This place is amazing.”

“It gets better,” Kairi stops short just shy of arriving at the edge of the forest. “But… you have to close your eyes for this next part.” Sora raises a curious eyebrow at this, but he ultimately complies when she insists. She says nothing as she wheels him forward a bit more, eventually bringing his chair to a stop in the right spot before scrambling to get the finishing touches ready.

“Will I get to open my eyes sometime today?” Sora asks teasingly, though he still keeps them closed as she had advised.

“Well, if you’re gonna be that impatient, you can open them… now,” Kairi says, watching his reaction with growing excitement as he gets his first glimpse of the stunning view before them.

Indeed, it astonishes him more than even the forest itself had; a vast, wide valley stretches out far before them, just as rich and radiant as the rest of the woods. And yet, what catches his attention almost as much as the view itself is what Kairi has set up beside him. “What’s all this?” he asks with a curious smile as he looks over the picnic lunch she’s prepared. It isn’t anything extravagant, just a few sandwiches and snacks, all of which she’s plated quite nicely. But what’s most interesting about the entire set up is a single elegantly-decorated cupcake topped with a brightly burning candle at the center of it all.

“Surprise!” Kairi cheers, holding the cupcake up to him. For his part, however, Sora simply looks between it and her, absolutely bemused until he shakes his head in confusion.

“Ok, I give up,” he says with a puzzled grin. “I have no idea what any of this is for.”

“...Sora... “ Kairi’s smile swiftly disappears at this. “Do you… not know what today is?”

“Um… I could be wrong, but… I’m pretty sure it’s a Thursday?”

“Well, yeah. But this Thursday also happens to be your birthday.”

Sora starts at this, somehow even more bewildered by this news as he shakes his head slowly. “N-no, it's… it can’t be, it’s not even…” he stops short, his eyes widening as the realization finally strikes him. “Oh my gosh, it is my birthday….”

“Honestly, Sora, how did you manage to forget your own birthday?” Kairi can’t help but chuckle at just how dumbfounded he is. “Especially since you never have any problems remembering mine or Riku’s.”

“Hey, can you really blame me?” Sora protests defensively. “After all, I don’t really remember celebrating my last birthday either…”

Kairi’s otherwise playful expression turns solemn at this as she realizes exactly why he lacks that memory, if what Riku had told her is anything to go off of. “W-well, do you at least know how old you’re turning today?”

“Of course I do,” he scoffs, though his confidence quickly drops off. “I’m… uh… mm…”

“16?”

“Yeah, that’s right, 16,” he nods before being caught off guard once again. “Wait, really ?!”

Kairi lets out an exasperated sigh, placing the cupcake in his lap before taking a seat on a tree stump across from him. “You’re absolutely hopeless,” she smirks, though her tone soon turns wistful as she looks out at the expansive view before them. “You know, if we were back home, then I’m sure everyone would be throwing you a huge party right now. Especially since 16 is such an important milestone.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Sora crosses his arms, though he still smiles all the while. “My mom always used to tell me that when I turned 16, I’d become a ‘man’, whatever that’s supposed to mean.”

“It means you’re all grown up, silly,” Kairi laughs, amused. “And that’s a pretty special occasion. Which is why I wish I could have done more to help make it even more special for you, but… I hope this is at least close to good enough.”

“Are you kidding? This is great!” Sora readily assures her. His bright smile quickly fades however as he looks back down to the treat she’d given him. “Honestly, you might have even done too much. I mean, it’s not like it’s anything actually worth celebrating…”

“...What do you mean?”

He hesitates for a moment, but in the end he simply shakes his head and glances away instead. “I-it… it’s nothing…”

“It’s not nothing to me,” she leans forward, catching his gaze once more. “Sora, if something’s bothering you, then I want to hear about it. I told you before: I’ll do whatever I can to help you. But I can’t help if I don’t know what’s wrong.”

He pauses, clearly anxious about divulging something so personal, but ultimately he folds, knowing that if there’s anyone he can trust with what he’s about to say, then it’s her. “I… I don’t think I deserve this…” he begins carefully, yet honestly. “ Any of this. Everyone’s been so great about helping me ever since all this started, but I don’t get why . It’s like… you all just dropped everything just for me, even though you could be doing so many other important things! Heck, you and Axel even stopped your Keyblade training because of me.”

“Of course we did,” Kairi says earnestly. “Because we care about you, Sora. We all do. If any one of us were in your place, wouldn’t you do the same for us?”

“Of course I would!” Sora exclaims without a moment’s hesitation.

“And that’s why we’re doing all this for you,” she offers him a bittersweet smile. “Sora, you do so much for other people. You care so much about nearly everyone you meet. So… maybe it’s time for you to start caring a little more about yourself too…”

“W-well, maybe that would be easier for me to do if I stopped making so many mistakes all the time!” he snaps, largely without thinking.

“Mistakes?” she places a hand against the side of his chair as she looks at him, concerned. “L-like what?”

“Well, like falling for a dumb trap and failing my Mark of Mastery exam for starters,” he says, going down the lengthy list he’s been keeping mental tabs on for quite some time now. “Then I just lost one of the thirteen Keys to Kingdom Hearts of all things, to a member of the Organization that wants to take it over and destroy everything ! Then I agreed to let myself be captured and chained up and poisoned and the entire time the Organization could just be out there getting even more of those Keys and I can’t even do anything to stop them! And that’s all on top of losing my strength not just once but twice in a row, only now it’s even worse because not only can I not even fight, I can’t even walk ! A-and…” A small, harsh sob escapes him, the weight of his multiple mistakes weighing heavy on his heart, especially the worst of those mistakes, one that he can’t even bear to voice aloud. “And I just keep on making all these stupid mistakes over and over again when everyone’s counting on me! I-I feel like I’m failing everyone who needs me… A-and that’s exactly why I don’t deserve this... “

Tears brim in his eyes as he shakily holds the cupcake out to her, silently begging her to take it away from him. And not just that, but the kindness and compassion that she and all the others have shown him right along with it, all in the belief that he’s done nothing to earn it. That he should be cast out and hated instead of being cared for and comforted. And at that moment, Kairi has never wanted to prove him wrong more than she does now.

“No…” she gently pushes the cupcake back to him. “It’s exactly why you do deserve it … ” He stills, looking to her in genuine disbelief even as she continues. “Sora… I wish you would see yourself the way everyone else does… Because if you did, then you wouldn’t see any of those mistakes. You’d see all of the good you’ve done, all of the worlds you’ve saved, and all of the people you’ve helped. And I should know; after all… I am one of those people…”

“B-but I put you in so much danger!” Sora protests tightly. “All of you! You should have never gone to rescue me! You should have just-”

“Should have what ? Left you there with Maleficent?” Kairi asks, tensing up at the very thought. “I don’t think so. I can’t speak for the others, Sora, but for me? Finding out that you’d been captured, that you were being tortured … It was one of the worst things I’ve ever had to go through.”

“A-and you shouldn’t have had to go through that!” Sora counters, still immensely distraught. “You shouldn’t have to worry about me because I should be stronger than this! I need to be stronger than this, b-because if I’m not then… what good am I to anyone…?”

His last statement is so quiet she barely hears it, but it still nearly breaks her heart all the same. Because it’s at that moment that she finally realizes exactly what his problem is: he has so much love in his heart to give to others, he always has. But he never bothers to spare any of that love for himself. Which was why, in place of what his own heart can’t give him, she decides to give him some of hers instead.

“You’re enough…” she whispers to him, kneeling down in front of his chair and taking his hands in her own. “You’ve always been enough…” She can feel the warmth of tears starting to build up in her own eyes now but still she doesn’t stop; she can’t stop. Because he needs this, more than he really knows. “C-can I tell you something? W-when I first started my training, I felt like it was...  a lot to take in. Everyone expected so much out of me when I-I’d barely even used my Keyblade before. It’s been getting easier but, still, there’s sometimes where I worry… What if I’m good enough? I mean, stacked up against you and Riku and even Axel, I… I can’t help but feel like I’m the weakest link of the bunch, you know?”

“K-Kairi, what are you talking about?” Sora asks, immediately placing all of his worries with her and essentially forgetting about himself in the process. “You’re not a weak link at all! Once your training’s done, I know you’ll do great!”

“See?” she can’t help but smile softly as she squeezes his hands a bit. “There you go again. You always know how to help everyone else feel better, but… all this time, you’ve just been… miserable on the inside, haven’t you?” He says nothing, instead looking away from her morosely as she goes on. “But now I think I finally understand why. I thought I was under a lot of pressure, but you, Sora? You literally have the weight of hundreds of worlds resting on your shoulders! And it’s not fair that you have to carry that weight all on your own. Especially since… you don’t have to…”

“Yes, I do…” he sighs, closing his eyes solemnly. “Because if I don’t, then who will?”

“ I will,” she answers immediately. “Riku will. Donald and Goofy will. Leon, Aerith, Yuffie, and Cid will. Axel will, the king will, Master Merlin and Master Yen Sid will. So many people will and can help you, Sora. We all want to help you carry that weight. All you need to do is ask.”

He takes in a deep, unsteady breath at this as he stares past her toward the rich blue sky above. “I-I… I’m not good at asking…”

“I know. That’s why I’ve already made up my mind that I’m going to help you anyway, even if you don’t ask. And you know...” She smiles, slipping her hands out of his as she places the cupcake back into them. “Even if you are technically a ‘man’ now, I still don’t see any reason for you to waste a perfectly good birthday cake, now do you?”

A small, yet genuine laugh escapes him at this as he accepts the fork she offered him. And with it, the help that she’s so ready to freely give him in both this moment and beyond it. “I can’t say that I do,” he says just as he blows the cupcake’s nearly burnt-down candle out.

“Did you wish for anything?” she asks him curiously.

“Yeah…” he says happily, his gaze resting solely on her as he wipes the last of his tears away. “It already came true.”

***

The sun is just starting to set over the forest by the time they leave it. As the day slowly, peacefully passes by, the rest of their conversation flows much more lighthearted than how it had started out (though the cupcake they end up splitting does raise their spirits quite a bit). And yet, they’re soon met with an even more festive mood when they return to Merlin’s house, only to arrive to find everyone eagerly waiting for them with a surprise of their own in mind.

“Happy birthday, Sora!” everyone exclaims in bright unison the moment they spot the pair emerging from the portal Kairi had made.

For his part, Sora is even more caught off guard by this surprise than he had been with Kairi’s, especially when he notices the extent of it. They’ve decorated the entire house with countless colorful streamers and balloons, and have even gone as far as to collaborate on a sizable cake, one that is, sure enough, topped with 16 candles exactly. “Whoa! You guys did all this for me?” he asks, genuinely touched by their impressive efforts. “How’d you even know it was my birthday in the first place?”

“Kairi told us,” Aerith informs with a warm smile.

“Oh, really…?” Sora glances back at her with a knowing smirk.

“W-well, someone had to,” Kairi huffs, pushing his chair forward a bit. “It’s not like you would have seeing as how you didn’t even remember what today was to begin with.”

“You forgot your birthday, Sora?” Goofy asks with a small chuckle.

“Why isn’t that not surprising?” Donald adds, crossing his arms.

“H-hey! I didn’t forget it!” Sora counters, flustered. “I just-”

“Like I said, you just didn’t remember it,” Kairi cuts in with a wry smile. “Which is exactly the same thing as forgetting it, but don’t worry. None of us will fault you for it.”

“Yeah, especially not when cake’s on the line!” Yuffie quips with a spirited wink.

“Yeah, cake you didn’t even help the rest of us make,” Axel points out, raising a critical eyebrow at her.

“Aw, cut me some slack; cooking is not my strong suit.”

“ Clearly .”

“Would you two cut that out?” Cid scowls, annoyed as he comes to stand between them. “I’m sure the last thing the poor kid wants to hear on his special day is you two runnin’ your traps at each other!”

“I know I don’t,” Leon agrees dryly.

This elicits a small chuckle out of Aerith, one that both Sora and Kairi quickly join in on until soon enough, the entire room erupts into bright, genuine laughter. Once that laughter dies down, the party fully kicks off. While it isn’t a particularly large get-together, it’s certainly an enjoyable one, filled with talking, laughter, and of course, cake. They keep it going late on into the night, until all of them are tired yet content with the time they’ve spent together as they all fondly part ways to head to bed. As she usually does, Kairi stays with Sora, though as she climbs into bed alongside him, she can’t help but notice the almost glowing smile he falls asleep with. It doesn’t take much thought to figure out where that smile is coming from either. After all, he’d told her as much earlier that very evening and when he did, she could tell just how much he had really been needing something like this to begin with.

Because for the first time in a very long time, he’d been given a chance to feel less like the savior of the worlds he’s expected to be, and more like the normal, now-16 year old he really is. And for the first time in a long time, he’d been given a chance to let the weight of the worlds he’s forced himself to carry just wait, if only for a little while.

[my-arlington-academia]

How would the main 10 react if scholar gets jealous ?

Alright 😂 let's make the MC jealous! I hope I'll be able to deliver what you had in mind and thank you for the request as always 💕💖

(On a side-note: when you guys don't specify Scholar's gender, I always write in "you/your" by default so don't hesitate to tell me what pronouns you'd like me to use! I know that some people can find it weird, reading headcanons that directly put them into MC's shoes, but if it doesn't bother you then carry on as always 👌)

Alistair

- immediately notices that you become a bit cold when that "friend" from the athletics department is around

- is it... jealousy?

- Alistair considers that possibility right away, maybe because deep down he kinda wants it to be true? A little bit?

- pulls you aside and asks you what's wrong

- "Y/N... when Sam is around you always act a bit weird. Is something wrong? Does he make you uncomfortable? Maybe I can help you guys talk it out!"

- you shamefully admit that it's not it, from there on, the way you avert your eyes and that obvious blush on your face makes Alistair sure of it

- "Haha... You're jealous, right? You of all people..."

- he's grinning, this is making him way happier than he thought it would and it pisses you off a little bit

- "Hey! What the hell?? D-Don't be so happy about that kind of stuff! It's not funny!"

- despite what you're saying, he can't wipe that smile off his face, instead he hugs you tightly to compensate

- "Sorry... pffthahaha... sorry. Yeah, you're right it's not funny. It's just really really cute."

Axel

- it's actually really easy to make Axel jealous and he always gets annoyed at that part of himself

- so when you're the one being jealous for once? Oh boy is he happy...

- You already knew about the difficulties that can arise from dating Axel so you're usually hard to break

- But this one time there was a girl who was being especially clingy and friendly

- Axel noticed the shift in your behaviour right away

- he's smirking while questioning you

- you decide to be honest and ignore how happy Axel is with this whole situation

- "I uh. I guess I was a little bit... ᴊᴇᴀʟᴏᴜs."

- Axel comes closer to you and acts like he didn't hear what you said

- "Huh? What was that? Sorry you're just so quiet I didn't catch that."

- you remember all the times he was the one being jealous but everytime you brushed him off and told him that he was "just being silly"

- now that you're on the other end, it's kind of ironic

- you know fully well that he did hear you, but feeling pressured you say it again

- "J-Jealous. I was jealous."

- when Axel notices how red you are and your eyes full of tears, he ends the joke and hugs you

- "Geez come on, don't make that face sweetheart..."

Claire

- okay now that's a funny one

- she does catch on the fact that you're acting different but she tries to approach you in a really polite way

- "So um. You know uh... I'm really sorry if I'm jumping to conclusions and it might be really preposterous of me to think of it that way but... Could it be that you're jealous?"

- she's so nervous, as if she's asking something really rude

- you admit it quite easily, there's no reason for you to hide that from Claire

- she's always so caring and understanding about everything

- "Oh! I see! So it really was jealousy... Well in any case please don't worry! I mean I would never, ever cheat on you I swear!! I assure you that it's just your mind playing tricks on you!"

- Even though she doesn't want to admit it, it's clear that she's a little bit happy about the fact that you were jealous

- but still worried about you because jealousy is really not a pleasant feeling

Ellie

- sees that you suddenly become really quiet once that person comes to greet her and have a small chat

- Ellie is friendly with a lot of people and a chatterbox so she easily becomes close with others

- hell, she's the most popular person in her department, if that's not an achievement then you don't know what is

- she tries to talk to you about it but you clumsily dodge her questions

- "Hmmm... Y/N you're acting reaaaaally suspicious right now, you know that?"

- tickles you into submission

- "HHAHAHA O-okayhahahaha Okay!! Okay... Alright, yeah, I was jealous. So what?"

- hugs you and kisses you on your cheek

- "So nothing at all! You're really a worrywart! There's no way I would give up on you silly!"

- from then on, when that person approaches you guys she holds your hand and acts all lovey-dovey in public

- now everyone knows that you guys are dating... but hey! At least no more reason to be jealous!

Karolina

- here we have miss master heartbreaker

- which is funny because she's also the kind of person who gets easily jealous for the smallest things

- someone sits too close to you in class? Back off!

- someone's giving you the soft eyes™? Get lost!

- the joy she feels when you're finally the one to be jealous cannot be described

- she decides to play a bit with you, even if it's a cruel way to do it, she really wants you to be the one to assert dominance for once

- you catch on her little game but break eventually

- the way you shoved that guy aside made him fear for his life

- "Karolina, what you did just now? That was really childish and unfair."

- she playfully rolls her eyes

- "Oh please. You mean how you always do it to me? Or is it not "childish and unfair" when you're the one to do it?"

- welp. She has a point

- but in the end she's fully satisfied with your little outburst of jealousy

- you guys carry on as always: half fighting and half flirting

Neha

- it takes Neha about a day to figure it out

- of course she's emotionally intelligent but she thought that maybe you were going through some personal stuff you didn't want to share yet

- Neha is really respectful about that kind of stuff, she won't pry unless she absolutely has to

- not to mention that you're sulking in a really subtle way, had she not known you for a long time, she wouldn't catch that at all

- figures out that it has something to do with that girl from the fashion department she's been hanging out a lot with (for purely work related purposes)

- "Y/N, there's something you want to tell me, isn't there?"

- she really catches you off-guard

- you decide that there's no use hiding that from her and tell her you understand how illogical your jealousy is but you can't help it

- as you explain your feelings to her, a small smile appears on her face

- "Wait... Neha, are you happy that I'm jealous?!"

- "W-what?! No!!! ...Well okay, maybe just a little bit..."

Raquel

- gets that there's something going on with you but not exactly what

- it does cross her mind that you might be jealous but she writes it off as "wishful thinking"

- Raquel is pretty popular in general and despite that you have never been jealous

- it seemed unlikely that now, all of a sudden you would start feeling jealous

- But since you're being so moody lately, Raquel gets really concerned, it's not like you're always super cheerful or anything but you've never been this... annoyed?

- "Y/N listen, are you like... jelly or something? I mean it's probably not it but you've been acting kinda weird recently."

- But she hit the nail on the head

- Raquel looks at you in disbelief

- "No way... seriously?? You're jealous?? Oh my God..."

- She practically jumps on you to hug you

- "Woah! Easy there... Well in any case, glad to see that my jealousy makes you sooooo happy."

- she tightens her arms around you even more

- "Awww... come on! Don't be so bitter Y/N, you know that you're the only one for me!"

- says it dramatically but she really means it

Tadashi

- this is the dense brick, a stonewall

- the funny thing is that he can be really perceptive when it comes to other people but when it's for himself?

- he has no clue what's wrong with you

- thinks that maybe it'll go away soon enough and he just tries to be there for you

- you're the one to question him

- "So, haven't you figured out why I've been acting like this? Doesn't it bother you or could it be that you didn't even notice?"

- blinks at you a couple of times before answering

- "You mean how sometimes you randomly become irritable? I don't know, is there something stressing you out? If there is I would be happy to help you."

- you facepalm yourself mentally, seems like you'll have to say it clearly rather than making him guess, if you ask him to guess he'll be like "What do you mean? What's the point of doing that? Just tell me."

- "Tadashi it's just that, well... lately I've been feeling kind of... jealous. You spend a lot of time with Veronica and it just... it makes me upset even though I shouldn't be."

- Tadashi stays silent for a couple of seconds and you can see his cheeks switching from it's usual shade to a deep red

- "...Oh? Jealous hm... I see, okay. Well, I'm not sure how to make you feel better since it is an irrational feeling but... I-I would never abandon you. Maybe it's not the right word to use but... I mean it! You matter to me a lot. More than you think."

Tegan

- Tegan has a big brain but he has such a low self-esteem that he didn't even consider your behaviour to be a simple case of jealousy

- tries to brush it off and instead keep your mind away from... whatever is bothering you

- you really want him to catch the hint so you try making your behaviour even more obvious

- thankfully he ends up taking it as a possibility at least

- "Y/N? Do you not... like it when I spend time with Daniel?"

- he's still so unsure that he doesn't even dare to use the word "jealousy", you end up confirming it for him

- "That's right. I wish you would spend that time with me instead of him... I mean of course I'm not telling you to not hang out with the people you get along with but uh... ughhhh... sorry, I'm not making any sense today. Forget I said anything..."

- Tegan shyly grabs your hands, trying to be as reassuring as he can

- "Please, don't worry about stuff like that... I would never think about uh... getting with someone else other than you. I mean, I honestly still can't believe that we're together. It's like I'm living in another reality or something..."

Tyler

- he has seen his fair share amount of drama in movies, he knows what's going on and he loves it

- is super giddy at the idea of you wanting to keep him only for yourself

- he's so smug that it makes you angrier... but you can't stay mad for long with him, he's too witty and adorable

- when you try to be cold with him he either keeps poking your cheeks with his fingers, tries tickling you, hugging you from behind or doing all of those in this specific order

- "Come ooonnn... just be honest with me, you're jealous, aren't you?"

- he's so close to your ear, he's almost whispering

- "Ugh. Fine. Yes. So what are you gonna do about it?"

- you can't even see his expression since you're facing away from him, but you can somehow tell that he definitely has a smirk on his face

- Tyler turns you around to face him and kisses you

- "You're waaaay cuter than any of those people, even though I'm not even sure who you're jealous of since you're being so secretive about it... Maybe if you spill the beans I'll kiss you again? Sounds like a pretty good deal, doesn't it??"

[absinthemadness]

Fictober Day 9, Prompt 24: Are you kidding me?

This is also from an old, old prompt of “I didn’t know you were dating”

Post KH3 Akuroku where Roxas is learning just how he feels about Axel. Mentions of Soriku.

Something cute and silly after yesterday’s spicy post. :) The rest is under the cut for length reasons

---

‘Just live with Lea,’ they said. ‘You two are great friends,’ they said. ‘He needs a roommate and you would be perfect.’ 

What they didn't mention was that ‘Lea’ was a hot mess of emotion that Roxas couldn't even hope to decipher. 

The only emotion that Roxas had really wrapped his head around was anger, and he was only convinced of that because he'd snapped at the fiftieth person who suggested moving, which just so happened to be Isa. 

Roxas had heard the rumors. Some people had been swearing up and down to each other that there was something between the two, always going quiet when they noticed Roxas nearby. 

And he couldn't understand why, but it pissed him off every time someone spread the rumor. It was probably just because he hated gossip. 

So when Isa, of all people, had mentioned to him that Axel needed a roommate, Roxas hadn't even let him finish. "Well then, why don't you just move in with him then? I hear you're all buddy buddy with him."

"Excuse me?" 

Roxas didn't have to dignify that question with a response. He just crossed his arms and glared. Why? Why did Isa's face piss him off so much whenever mentioned with Axel’s name?

"Roxas, what do you mean by that?" 

He refused. He just kept glaring up at Isa. And Isa stared down at him. 

Stupid Isa and his stupid height. He'd look so perfect standing next to Axel. They could look each other in the eye. And without having to stoop down they could—

Roxas’s face flushed hot, and he snapped, "Why aren't you living with him, anyway? Aren't you together?" He wasn't sure what exactly together meant, other than kissing. And he only knew what that was because he stumbled across Sora and Riku smushing their faces together in a way that looked gross. 

Sora had told Roxas that kissing was something people did when they were together with someone special and Roxas hadn't pushed further, thoroughly grossed out and wanting to get away from the two. 

And the thought of Isa kissing Axel infuriated him, made him want to throw a fist into Isa’s stupid face.

Isa blinked at him for a long moment before bursting into laughter. 

"What is so funny?" 

"You're actually jealous of Lea and me." 

Jealous. Roxas wasn’t sure if he’d heard the word before. Was that the blood boiling anger he felt? 

"Am not." 

"Either way. We're not dating. We're just friends." 

"Dating?" 

Isa chuckled. "Maybe you should ask Lea about that one. But seriously, give moving in a thought. Lea really likes you." 

Well, yeah, Axel liked him. They were best friends. 

Isa pissed him off yet again when he reached down and ruffled Roxas’s hair before walking off. 

That evening, Roxas found himself in Axel’s apartment. As he lay across the couch, tucked up under Axel's arm, he wondered if there was any merit to moving in. He spent a lot of his time in the cozy apartment, often spending the night in the spare bedroom. The amount of clothes scattered around the extra room was not insignificant. 

"What are you thinking?" Axel asked, hand absentmindedly going through Roxas’s hair as he stared at the TV.

He almost asked about moving in, but decided against it for now. Maybe if Axel ever brought it up… "What's dating?" 

Axel’s attention whipped over to Roxas, eyes almost glazing over, before a wide grin spread. "You trying to ask me out or something?" 

"What's asking out?"

Axel’s face fell. "You really don't know anything about dating?"

"I know about kissing."

Axel got that strange look again before his face went almost blank.

"I haven't been kissed, if that's what you're going to ask. Sora told me about it."

"Caught them sucking face, did you?" 

“Looked more like they were trying to eat each other. Is kissing dating?”

"In a way." 

"Then is dating being together?" 

"I guess you could say that."

"Are we dating?" 

He could feel Axel's body stiffen, and the look on his face screamed panic. "W-why would you ask that?"

"Well. People always comment that we're always together. I think I spend more time over here than I do in the castle."

"Yes, but we're not together like that?”

"We’re best friends?" Roxas sank back into Axel’s warm side. 

"Yeah, Rox. Best friends."  

"Friends…" Roxas mumbled. He touted that to almost anyone who would listen sometimes. They were friends, always had been, always would be. So what was the weird feeling in his chest? It was almost like a vacuum had sucked something out, leaving him feeling hollow. 

They fell silent after that, leaving Roxas only more confused. 

He waited for Axel to ask him to move in. Only getting more and more annoyed with everyone who suggested it. Especially when Axel would talk about wanting a roommate to Roxas. 

Axel seemed to dance around him, now. And it was starting to piss him off. Axel had been the one to promise Roxas that he would help puzzle out their newfound emotions. 

He finally got fed up, and figured he'd may as well take matters into his own hands, so he packed his suitcase full of the last of his clothes and other things he wanted to keep, and then caught a ride to Axel's. 

"Roxas?" Axel answered the door, probably surprised that Roxas hadn’t just let him in. But his hands had been full, so he’d elbowed the doorbell and waited. 

"Who else?" Roxas paused. "Don't answer that."

"What are you doing here?" Axel stepped back to let Roxas pass. 

"I'm moving in." 

"Why?" 

"Are you kidding me?" Roxas dumped his things on the kitchen table. "You haven’t shut up about wanting a roommate. And everyone and their brother have told me I would be perfect for you. Whatever that's supposed to mean."

"Do I get a say in this?" 

"Do you not want me to?" 

"Of course I do. I've been meaning to ask for a while." 

"Why didn't you?" 

"I… don't know? I was intimidated?" 

"It's just living together. We practically do anyway." 

But as much as he'd stayed the night, he was not prepared for the emotional train wreck that would be living with Axel. 

And Axel was a disaster. He'd get upset over the smallest thing, blustering about whenever he'd misplace something. He was always misplacing something. 

Roxas quickly discovered he had the uncanny ability to know where Axel's lost things were.

 "Roxas, have you seen my belt?" 

"Check under your green hoodie that's halfway under your bed."

"Roxas, have you seen my necklace?" 

"Did you check the fruit bowl?" 

"Roxas, have you seen my…" 

"Check the floor of your closet, left side towards the back. If not there, then under the sink in the bathroom."

And nearly every time there was a long pause, then… 

"Found it!"

Axel would cry all the time watching movies. Romance movies? Kids movies? Horror movies? Hell, he'd cried at animated robots. He'd always wind up leaned against Roxas’s arm as he shook with silent tears. Roxas would silently pat his arm, trying to decipher what was happening on the screen that would merit tears.

Axel practically overflowed with emotion, but he would never get angry with Roxas. He was full of endless patience as he explained things. He never batted an eye when Roxas would get so frustrated and throw a tantrum, shouting at Axel until he was exhausted. 

Axel would just wait and then softly ask, "Are you done now?" 

Roxas would always nod, feeling like a child until Axel would reach out and stroke his cheek and tell him it was ok to be upset. 

It left him confused. 

Not the fact that whenever Axel would answer a question, it inevitably led to more questions. But he started questioning the strange feeling he'd get in his stomach when Axel would touch his cheek. 

But any time he'd ask about it, Axel would kind of bumble his way through a half-baked explanation and make an excuse to disappear into his room. 

He wasn't sure who else to ask. Sora was busy being with Riku. Xion was off somewhere discovering herself. 

So instead, he stormed to his room every time Axel would leave his question unanswered. He'd slam the door as hard as he could, throw headphones on, and drop face down on his bed to scream into his pillow. 

Eventually it got to where he gave up. He didn't give up on Axel completely, just stopped trying to ask him about emotions, about the strange way he'd feel sitting close while they watched a movie, or about the looks that he would sometimes catch Axel giving him. 

But he wanted to ask so badly when Axel would lean in close and ruffle his hair. He wanted to ask why his heart beat so loudly. Why it felt like his stomach would do somersaults.  

But he didn't. He shoved all of those feelings down. He kept his face straight, forced his hands not to shake. And smiled. 

It was fine. 

He was fine. 

He wasn't sure how long it went on. But one day he had been out doing odd jobs when he saw Axel, and then some girl talking to him. She kept leaning in and touching his arm and he would lean away, running his hand through his hair in a nervous gesture. To Roxas’s relief, he didn't look too comfortable. Isa stood with them, watching in amusement. 

Roxas felt his blood boil when she leaned against his arm. He left his skateboard on the sidewalk and stormed across the road, straight up to the trio. He could feel them all looking at him, but his eyes were on Axel as he stepped away from the girl. He nudged through, reached up and grabbed Axel's face before yanking him down and crushing their lips together. 

When he let go and took a step back, Axel was staring wide eyed. His hands hovering just over Roxas’s arms. 

Roxas turned and said hello to Isa, waved at the girl, excused himself, and walked off. 

"I didn’t know you two were dating," Isa said.

He heard Axel’s chuckle, "Neither did I."

He hopped back on his skateboard and took off before he could hear more of the conversation. 

Well... he hadn’t meant to kiss Axel. He’d just wanted to march over there and get some answers about who the girl was. To find out if Axel was interested in her.

He groaned, pressing his hands to his face, thankful he knew the streets at this point and thought of ways to explain his behavior if Axel was pissed when he got home. 

Axel was lying on the couch watching TV when he arrived that evening. Roxas kicked off his shoes and left them by the front door with his skateboard. 

"I’m home," he muttered, shrugging out of his jacket. 

"Welcome home."

He couldn’t tell if Axel was upset from the tone of his voice, so he figured an apology would be a safe bet. Axel pushed up from the couch as he started. 

"Look, I’m sorry about earlier. I don’t know what came over me. I just wanted to ask—" He was cut off when a pair of hands cupped his jaw and tipped his head up. He barely had time to take in green eyes before they were drifting closed, before a pair of lips pressed to his. 

He felt like an idiot, frozen there when Axel leaned back. "What?"  

Axel just leaned in and kissed his forehead. 

"Are we dating?" Roxas blurted, staring up as green eyes opened. 

"I figured you’d tell me after your little display this afternoon." Axel chuckled, thumb stroking Roxas’s cheek. 

"You never really told me what dating was, other than being together. Is it more kissing?" Roxas hoped it was.

"It can be as much kissing as you want."

Roxas grinned and pulled Axel back down.

[jflashandclash]

Tales From Mount Othrys

Fidget Spinners IV

           Once they were aboard the Ferry of the Dead, riding down the River Styx with Charon in his proper creepy and grim black robe, Alabaster stopped vomiting. The ship was an old Greek vessel, something Matthias could have identified immediately. They sat as far from the stern as possible. Apparently this boat was usually brimming with ghosts, but Charon had shoved the three of them aboard in such a hurry, less ghosts had flooded the space.

         This gave them the room to sit on the edge of the boat so Pax, Lou Ellen, and Alabaster could stare off at the inky, polluted river. They wanted to be as far from the ferryman as possible. Charon was cursing under his breath, something about children being electrocuted in bathtubs and getting into car accidents.

         Maybe, in a normal tour, Pax might have been excited by the black stalactites and terrifying horror movie set. For now, all he could do was rub Alabaster’s back. Lou Ellen sat on his other side, pulling one finger off and putting it back in a different one’s place, frequently messing it up. This was her way of acting concerned.

         After he was certain Charon couldn’t overhear them, Pax whispered, “You died coming after us?!”

         Before now, he couldn’t process what was happening enough to ask. The sight of Alabaster with his intestines dragging on the floor and blood spewing out of his mouth—it was enough to make Pax tremble more. And he was already trembling pretty hard in this cold cavern.

         “Of course I died!” Alabaster’s voice rose, making Pax and Lou Ellen flinch. “How else would I be in the Underworld?!”

         Tears threatened to spill down Pax’s cheeks. He could hear Lou Ellen sniffling. Crying would really make her missing-eye illusion less believable.

         Alabaster sighed. Pax thought he was reaching for something in his pocket.

         Alabaster wasn’t. He grabbed the end of his intestines. Casually, the child of Hecate wound them up around one wrist. Once he got towards the end, he ripped off a chunk.

         Pax shrieked.

         “Be quiet,” Alabaster snarled. Softer, he grumbled, “And Mercedes thinks you can keep it cool in enemy territory.”

         Pax wanted to point out that enemies (hopefully) wouldn’t be ripping off pieces of their organs. Was that a thing they did in Camp Half-Blood? Did Percy Jackson, in fact, an organ-eating zombie?

         Before Pax could withdraw his hand, Alabaster shoved the chunk into Pax’s palm.

         Pax almost screamed again. Maybe this was an experience he should have smiled upon—after all, it isn’t every day that your crush tries to hand you an organ, granted, a heart might be better.

         “I knew you idiots wouldn’t bring enough snacks,” Alabaster hissed, shoving another chunk into Lou Ellen’s hands.

         “Oh my mother…” Lou Ellen whispered.

         Pax didn’t want to watch as she held up the chunk for investigation. Then he saw what she saw. The scent of iron vanished like it had been a whiff from a distant breeze. That chunk had some kind of label covered in blood—not blood.

         Pax sniffed.

         The scent of barbeque sauce became overwhelming.

         He rubbed his own chunk with his thumb. The sauce smeared to reveal a packaged sausage, like the kind you’d have on a cheese platter. There was even a bright label on the protective packaging.

         Pax stared at his hand. The spell had been so convincing.

         Lou Ellen made a low whistle. “You’re good,” she said, “Titans, can you teach me how to do that?”

         “When you have enough discipline to pull off your nose instead of your chin,” Alabaster scolded.

         Pax couldn’t think about the spell or the sausage.

         He threw his arms around Alabaster.

         Alabaster made a grunt of annoyance.

         Slowly and firmly, as though not to draw attention to them, Alabaster removed Pax’s arms. There was an embarrassed hue to his pale cheeks as he scowled from Pax to Lou Ellen. “You didn’t come to me to devise this plan?” he demanded.

         “We thought you’d be mad,” Lou Ellen meeped. She sheepishly poked at the fake dent in her head. By comparison to Alabaster’s effects, hers looked like something out of a D-rate horror movie.

         “Oh, I am mad. When we get back, I’m killing you, and then you’ll have to march right back in there and explain to Charon how you’ve shown up twice, then you’ll have to see what he does with you,” Alabaster said.

         Pax couldn’t help but grin. Threats aside, he couldn’t handle looking at this very-much-alive Alabaster. It was cute thinking about it: Alabaster finding their, “Went to Underworld. Will bring back souvenirs,” note and stuffing a bunch of sausage links into his shirt, cussing at the confused centaur that could swear he just took Alabaster and Lou Ellen off the ship. He really cared. At least about Lou Ellen.

         “Are you making us go back?” she whispered, shuffling away from a wandering soul and closer to her brother. Pax understood. Everything here was cold. Touching another warm person was a nice reminder of the above world.

         “How, pray tell, am I to make you go back in our current situation?” Alabaster closed his eyes and rubbed his eyelids. “Mercedes warned me you’d want to go after Axel. I didn’t think the two of you would be stupid enough to throw away your life chasing him or smart enough to get off the boat undetected.”

         Lou Ellen and Pax exchanged a glance over Alabaster’s shoulders. Neither could decide if the comment was more compliment or insult.  

         “So, we’re going after Axel?” Pax clarified.

         “We’re certainly not going back the way we came. I have no interest in angering Charon on his own boat,” Alabaster said.

         That meant that Alabaster had come down here with his own plan. Even if he didn’t have one when he left, trying to catch them before they went into DOA Recording Studios, he would have come up with one by now. Before Pax could hear any awesome details, their ship pulled up along black sand.

         Pax guessed that Hades hadn’t heard the memo—that pink was the new black. If Pax ever got scared while he was down here, he would have to remember to visualize the Underworld in various shades of Easter egg with magenta stalactites meeting a sparkling, rose floor. His stomach dropped about what shade of pink the river would be with its thick eddies. That went too Mayan in his head.

         Alabaster tossed the plastic-wrapped suit backwards into the boat, quickly shuffling the younger two off. They didn’t wait to hear what Charon thought of the contents.

         They walked towards the airport-like security with ghoulish attendants separating people into various lines. There were signs above the lines, ones that Pax couldn’t read since the letters jumbled into incomprehension.

         A low whine, like that of an injured puppy, echoed around the chamber. Yea, there were wails too, but those were human wails. Pax was way less interested in those. He couldn’t find the source of the animal noises until Lou Ellen tugged furiously on his jacket.

         Pax didn’t know how he missed the view before. Unlike Alabaster, Lou Ellen, and Axel, he struggled to see through the Mist. Even so, the Mist deserved a pay raise.

         A few yards ahead of them was a massive Rottweiler with three heads. Maybe the truck-sized dog would have normally been intimidating; Pax had heard some intimidating stories about Cerberus. Instead, the dog just looked pathetic, curled up and nursing a paw. Pax could see why.

         There was a sword imbedded between two toes.

         “He’s hurt!” Pax cried.

         “Ajax, no,” Alabaster growled.

         Lou Ellen joined in the cry, “We have to help him.”

         “What part of—”

         “Please!” Pax and Lou Ellen said together.

         “Grant me the patience of the Furies,” Alabaster said under his breath.

         One of the heads must have caught their scent. It perked up and glanced in their direction, growling.

         The other two were licking at the injured paw still. He looked cute, the way a monster truck might if painted with bambis and rabbits.

         Alabaster stopped in his tracks. He fumbled with his intestines—sausages. Pax really needed to stop thinking of sausage as intestines. “Who do you think stabbed him?” he asked in his you’re stupid if you can’t answer this question and I know you too well to let you play dumb. “See many stray demigods wandering down here with blades?”

         “It wasn’t Axel,” Pax said. Axel was obsessed with mythical creature rights and would have known Cerberus was just doing his job. One caged animal to another—Axel would have likely tried to play-wrestle with the beast. “I’ll bet it was Luke.”

         “Yea, Luke’s an asshole,” Lou Ellen said.

         The two of them vigorously nodded their heads towards Alabaster.

         “Lou Ellen,” Alabaster chided, “I expect more creative insults than vulgarity. And you aren’t going to win me over by insulting Castellan.”

         Despite him saying that, the corner of his lips twitched into a smile. Until then, Pax hadn’t realized how glad he was to have Alabaster along. The Witch Boy would know his way around the Underworld, or Pax guessed he would. Alabaster held that easy calm, even amongst the dead.

         Pax and Lou Ellen would have feigned calm confidence. But, uh, that would have only lasted so long as they got closer to the line’s attendants.

         Another of Cerberus’ heads noticed their movement. It raised and joined in the low growl.

         The noise didn’t seem to bother Alabaster. “How were you planning on getting past?” he asked, gathering the rest of the sausages from his waist—he must have wrapped them under his shirt, and withdrawing them like a towel around a hand wound.

“We brought a chew toy,” Lou Ellen said. Pax could tell that she wanted to sound proud, but had realized a flaw in their plan. There were three heads and only one chew toy.

“Seriously?” Alabaster’s growl chimed in with Cerberus’.

“I heard it worked for Annabeth,” Pax said.

         Although Pax couldn’t see it, he could feel Alabaster roll his eyes. “The amount of inconvenience that girl has caused,” he said under his breath.

         Pax hesitated. Cerberus’ growls were making his body vibrate. This dog was massive, the size of a truck. Pax didn’t even come up to Cerberus’ chest and Cerberus was half-laying down. One of his heads still licked the sword hilt imbedded in his paw. Focus on that, Pax thought, and not on how his teeth are about as long as that sword.

         “We have a treat for you!” Alabaster called. His voice was way too cold for dealing with a ball of cute fluffiness and death. Pax had a feeling that Alabaster had never been allowed pets as a child. Other than Axel and Pax. Pax was fairly certain that they were pets to Alabaster.

         Cerberus stood up. When he applied pressure to his front paw, all three heads whimpered. They pulled the paw up slightly, to alleviate the pressure.

         “Go fix his paw if you wish. I can only hold him for a few moments with this,” Alabaster said. “If you take too long or are sloppy, you’ll get yourself killed.”

         For an instant, Pax wondered if Alabaster was nervous. The Witch Boy unwrapped a link of sausage and tossed it into the air towards Cerberus.

         The two heads less affected by the wound snapped at it, nipping at each other to bite it to pieces, probably the same way they would do with Pax’s limbs if he was caught.  

         Its breath flooded over them, almost as bad as Pax’s little brother’s, Hiro’s breath.

         “You suck at this,” Lou Ellen said, pulling a link from Alabaster. “You heard him, Pax. Have fun getting that sword out. Hey puppers! Look what I got for you puppers!”

         Her voice raised in pitch and excitement. The sentiment worked. Cerberus sat upright, letting his butt drop back onto the ground. From what Pax had heard of Annabeth’s interactions with this dog, he thought their red ball plan might have worked with Lou Ellen’s charm. Uh—natural charm. No witchy charm required.

         Pax puffed up his cheeks and popped them, realizing Lou Ellen had volunteered him for the harder job. His heartbeat pounded in his head. It’s just a cute, injured puppy, he told himself, It just so happens that it wouldn’t need to chew to swallow you.

         Alabaster gave Lou Ellen a look that might have been reproachful or approving. He handed her the rest of the sausage as Cerberus’ short tail thumped against the black sand, echoing around the chamber. Pax thought it was weird that interacting with this dog wasn’t a red flag for the Underworld Security. What dead person wanted to poke at the landowner’s attack dog?

         Alabaster made a few signs in the air around Pax’s head, muttering in Latin. Was he making him invisible? Or at least making him blend in with the stone? Or smell less like a delicious treat? Pax hoped all of the above. When Pax glanced down at his hands, they still looked visible and potentially delicious to a monster.

         “We don’t have enough sausages for you to hesitate,” Lou Ellen said.

         Pax swallowed. He thought about Juana, Axel’s jaguar. Their father bought it for him a few months after they were forced back “home.” Axel warned his siblings not to go near Juana without him, since she could tear them to shreds. Juana was a tenth the size of Cerberus.

         From what he knew of Juana, there was no point in trying to sneak up. He approached Cerberus’ injured paw, hands outstretched in attempt to look non-threatening. Not that a 4’7 rail of cuteness could look threatening.

The other two heads were locked on Lou Ellen, or fighting over bits of sausage she threw.

         The last head faced him. The eyes didn’t quite focus on Pax, showing Alabaster’s spell must have done something. Pax heartbeat thudded in his head as he took the last few steps to Cerberus’ foot. The dog hadn’t batted him out of existence yet.

         The head whimpered and pulled its paw closer to its body.

         “It’s okay,” Pax said, the way he did when his littlest brother had a nightmare. “I just want to help. It’ll be quick, like ripping off a Band Aid.”

         That felt like a threat to Pax. Just gonna take that sharp, pointy thing in your paw and move it around a bit.

         “Pax,” Alabaster said in warning.

         Pax didn’t look over to see why. He figured it had to do with how the middle head had turned to sniff furiously in his direction.

         Now or to Xibalba, Pax thought. He wrapped his fingers around the cold metal of the hilt and pulled up, trying not to twist the blade or yank at an angle.

         It slid out easily.

         Pax wanted to gloat about the Sword in the Paw and how he’d be king of the Cerberi.

         His mouth went dry instead.

         When he wretched the blade out, dark liquid splattered up from the paw. Something clear and goopy dropped on his head from above—saliva.

Pax puffed up his cheeks and popped them, looking up. The other two heads glowered down at him. Their teeth were barred within inches of his face. Their low growl rattled his skull.

He trembled, thinking at least one good thing would come out of this: if he died in the Underworld, he didn’t need to worry about going through Charon’s Waiting Room again.  

 ***

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed! And I hope you and your loved ones are staying healthy and safe!

Stay tuned next week for part X!

[smores100]

once again we’re in full agreement lol. What’s your take on s3 remakes you’ve watched? Wondering how you feel about Skam FR as it’s kind of a similar situation to me where the chemistry & beauty is there but the writing and style is iffy (overwrought &overdramatic). My favorite s3 is druck. As a wlw I had high hopes for españa but it was p slow/v desexualized—a whole discussion, but my other gay friend & I were disappointed given how remakes with guys don’t hold back in that respect.. Thoughts?

Honestly re: wtfock tho I really do wonder if they had like one good writer in the room surrounded by fools. Bc it really does feel like some group projects I’ve been in where I feel like I’m the only one who’s not a fucking fool and carry the whole thing while having to fend off bad ideas (but when the majority rules, those bad ideas/execution get put in). I wonder if that’s what happened w wtfock.

re: wtfock, lol group projects are the worst….idk what wtfock’s writing process was like, but i’d love to know it. according to their wiki there were 3 writers this season? all seem to be male, naturally. did the two other writers have good ideas but there was a main writer who overruled them and did his own thing? or maybe they’re the rl one brain cell squad, that would explain a lot :p in any case, i’m unimpressed (friday’s clips did not help with that).

as for the other part of your ask….oh damn i have so many Thoughts on that, lol. this is probably gonna get long and messy, but you asked for it!

* druck - my absolute favorite. it’s the only one i’ve watched since s1, so that definitely played a part in my emotional investment and attachment. still, there was more to it than that. it was the closest to og imo in vibe and style (it felt small, real, lowkey, quiet, natural like og, as opposed to - as you said - overwrought and overdramatic + overproduced like the others); they cast an actual trans guy to play a trans character, if you wanna talk about a skam remake doing something REVOLUTIONARY? druck is the one; i loved matteo’s and david’s characterizations, how they both had a bit of isak and even in them, and the role reversal in some scenes, made things feel fresh *and* fit their characters/story; i LOVE that teens matteo and david were played by actual teens michi and lukas!! they’ve completely ruined me for all other remakes, bc thissssss is how it’s supposed to be! thisssss is how it should look like! THEY ARE KIDDOS. and they (druck and michi/lukas) truly captured what it’s like to be young and fall in love for the first time, the awkwardness and the nervousness and stuttering and fumbling around, the softness and pureness and innocence of it all!!! also they have THE BEST dynamic - other people might prefer all the hot kissing and steamy making out and the smouldering looks, but me? i just couldn’t get enough of their dumb chaotic energy, best friends who love each other deeply and are also constantly little shits to one another. gimme them pranking each other and playfighting every day! and then being soft and THE HANDS and matteo being a clingy koala basking in david’s affection :3 i also loved how for the most part they didn’t just copy/paste og’s storyline, they made some changes and knew how to make *other* changes accordingly for it to make sense and fit the story *they* were telling - for example, replacing the ‘call your gf’ scene with matteo’s panic attack/breakdown (one of my fave scenes), or their reunion at the end of ep 7 (replacing the desperate kissing + sex with a comforting and relieved yet also bittersweet and melancholic hug), or even matteo getting advice from his drug dealer instead of the school’s doctor, lol. also THE BEST BOY SQUAD, hands down. and matteo is my favorite isak bc to me he felt like his own character instead of just another isak, he was different and reletable and a constant Mood. that being said - it wasn’t perfect and it had its issues. there were a few times when i did feel they stuck too close to og scenes and it didn’t *entirely* work for me, just felt a bit off; i will forever be disappointed that they didn’t directly address and acknowledge matteo’s mental state/depression, bc there were enough signs imo to indicate that he did suffer from something. they mentioned ‘therapy’ in mia’s, alex’s and kiki’s cases, i truly thought they would with matteo as well, but alas, they dropped the ball on that one; i was extremely upset with david’s outing, but i’ve since calmed down and have managed to see it in a more positive light, tho i still have mixed feelings about it and am not fully on board with that decision, still wish it had been done differently (but at least! it wasn’t brushed off and was addressed immediately and eventually led to david having agency and yelling out his pain!!! which was good and important and cathartic); also eps 8 and 9 were pretty messy writing-wise, things either didn’t make sense or would’ve made more sense had the clips were organized differently (that random ping pong clip….?). overall tho, the good outweighed the bad, and it remains my fave

* skam france - now that’s a tricky one. the way i felt about it in the first half of the season, is different from the way i felt about it in the second half of the season, is different from the way i feel about ever since watching druck’s s3. it’s funny you should say how similar it is to wtfock for you, bc i’ve been thinking the same thing for quite some time. those neighboring countries sure have a shared flair for the dramatic! fr’s s3 was pretty much the first s3 i watched (i gif-watched half of skamit, couldn’t get into it). i wasn’t planning to (i was extremely unimpressed by the couple of s1 eps i tried watching, and same by axel’s acting in those first two seasons), but even is the loml and they got me gooood with their eliott pov trailer, which might have affected my excitement over it during the first half. back then i really enjoyed it for the most part, despite some clips being rushed or missing the point thus not fully having the required effect (their locker room scene, for example, or the ‘generalizations are bad’ convo), or how much i hated basile (a character so obviously written by a man it’s amazing), or the cheesy piano music. there were enough good things for me to focus on instead (more in a bit) that i could ignore the things i didn’t like or weren’t as good imo. however, all the positivity got sucked out of me when yann noped tf out after lucas came out to him bc WAY TO MISS THE POINT OF SKAM!!! and things went downhill after the director’s IT’S NOT DISNEYLAND IT’S FRANCE 2019 comment. i’m getting all upset just thinking about it, but to say *that*, to explain that horrendous decision bc lowkey homophobic reactions are realistic!!! only to THEN be all ‘haha jk yann isn’t homophobic! we just wanted you to *think* he was! he’s actually an awesome friend who took several days to reflect on all his past wrongdoings while his bff was at home having a nervous breakdown bc he believed his bff hated him!’ ughhhhhhhhh, miss me with that shit. great that they had yann apologizing for his past comments, but the way in which it was done was for pure shock value and angst, completely ooc for his character (all season he was all ‘tell me tell me tell me let me help let me help let me help’ only to do *that*?? nahh), and interesting how out of everyone the only black character was the only one with a negative reaction (remind you of anyone), highlighted even more during ep 7 aka the ott lucas coming out tour. then ep 8, that should have been 100% all lucas and eliott and building up to eliott’s manic episode suddenly had that weird random pov changing clip in the middle of it which truly wtf, basile was still basile, lucas thanked chloe for outing him, more scenes felt rushed, they had sex in school where people could come and go in front of huge windows in broad daylight and luckily didn’t get poisoned from licking all that paint! and i did not like the flatshare, i absolutely hated mika and lisa kicking lucas out of his room - which he pays rent for! - and manon not even trying to put up a fight, and them being like ‘roommate isn’t just a place, it’s a way of living. that’s a family, and you’re more like a cousin.’ ‘a second cousin.’ ughhhhhh and then when eliott was recovering from his depressive episode, they *still* didn’t give lucas his room back or at least let eliott stay there, he was sleeping on the couch, i’m aldjlajdafj. can’t believe i’m gonna say it, but TAKE NOTES FROM WTFOCK. tl;dr there were some good moments in the second half, but i was feeling bitter more often than not about certain things, so my enjoyment wasn’t as high as when it first started. and after watching druck, druck’s brand is definitely much more my style. plus, i was already struggling with making myself believe axel and maxence were in their teens, but after druck it’s completely impossible, so i just pretend they’re in college or something lol. all my issues with it aside, i’d still rate it higher than wtfock, bc overall the writing was better, more coherent, and made much more sense. i also liked lucas’ friendship with the girls; i loved that instead of copying the underwater kiss + 21:21 like some others have, they came up with their own thing i.e. polaris, which i thought was lovely; the lucas/manon crying in the middle of the night together in front of the tv was one of my fave scenes of the season; also love how we were introduced to eliott on the first week! and they spent time together! and specifically the piano playing scene, ohhhh; and in general elu are sweet and i reeeeally like axel and maxence and their friendship. so yeah, it had some major issues, but i’d rather have a coherent story with something done for shock value and drama ONCE than an incoherent story with several shock value moments.

* skam espana - sorry to hear you girls were disappointed! i only watched half of it, so i can only comment on what i saw. i decided to binge watch s1 and give s2 a shot when i heard they were giving cris isak’s story - it felt a bit weird to me, but it was also something different and new, and i did have an appreciation for their decision to have a wlw season (also much more revolutionary to me than showing a gay bashing), so i was intrigued and willing to try it. sadly i didn’t really vibe with s1? it’s totally a personal preference i think, maybe even a cultural thing idk, but it felt very fast and loud and hectic to me, idrk how to explain it. i was just more into the chill more lowkey vibe of druck and skamnl. but i still gave s2 a shot, and idk, it still wasn’t my cup of tea. i thought it was ok for the most part, but there were some things that bothered me - joana/cris felt underdeveloped to me? and things b/w them felt like they were moving so fast from the second they met, like jona was so intense and forward ALL THE TIME, they had like 6 almost kisses in a really short time, like shhh slow down. i remember disliking their ‘call your gf’ scene, it felt really petty and kinda mean to me? bc i felt like joana came on to cris *really* strongly and *very* frequently, so cris was more than entitled to feel hurt and betrayed when she found out joana had a bf, but then cris was kissing a dude and joana positioned herself and her bf in front of cris so she’d see them kissing too, and i just didn’t like bc seriously?? cris is valid, just apologize to her and explain?? idr much else tbh, they had some really cute and sweet scenes afterwards, i’m still against doing the underwater kiss + 21:21 so i was kinda meh about that (tho aesthetically speaking it was BEAUTIFUL, and i’m like, fiiiiine girls deserve an underwater kiss too, i’ll allow it just this once!), and that cuddling clip in ep 6 i think was sweet and the last one i watched. like i said, i was less vibing with this remake, and iirc it was going on during druck’s s3 and skamnl’s s2 - which were my faves, plus skamfr was on too i think and i was lowkey following it too, so….there was just too much all at once and something had to go, and it was skamesp. it was also around the time when panaphobia-gate happened, so *shrugs* i’m not wlw myself so your opinion on it being desexualized is probably more valid than mine? i just know when i did watch, there was a lot of kissing and making out and being cute and touchy with each other, so i thought it was ok? as i’ve mentioned before, i don’t need to see a naked butt or anything like that to *get* it lol, i thought they were lovely! but that’s just me. i will say that my faaaave part was most definitely the cris/amira friendship. they were so wonderful! one of the best skam friendships imo. i might one day go back and finish the season just for the heck of it, but they didn’t do anything major or highly offensive that made me have negative feelings towards it, it was just a personal preference + circumstances (too many remakes!) that made me be less into it and drop it before the end.

[covnterfeiit]

( adeline rudolph, demigirl, they/she, kingdom hearts ) * &. i know it must be scary for you, xion, after surviving the takeover. to turn into someone like shiloh moon, a twenty-one year-old clerk at one-up arcade and baker & clerk at born and bread castle town, right here in castle town. just remember that you are as optimistic as you are forgettable, and to be wary, be safe, be true to who you are : neutral through and through. ( lightning mcdumbydumb )

          HELLLOOOOO folks m’name is still HYLIA and welcome to probably not only one of the most tragic fuckin’ characters in game history but ALSO the most tragic intro in the history of ever since... this is gonna be baaaaaad. not gonna lie.

— BEFORE CASTLE TOWN. / X I O N

S’OOOOKAY i will admit i’m not the most knowledgeable person on KH lore but I do know the twist & turns of this beautiful character but even so i STILL don’t trust myself since I did watch all the cutscenes a bit ago and i couldn’t even get through playing kh3 bc i honestly,,,, just couldn’t get into a groove and kh lore cONFUSES THE HELL OUT OF ME but !

if u have any kh questions i’ll pull a tommy n just say ask him/fae/bailey since they’re way better at explaining than i could and FOR SURE know more than me.

bt i can tell u the important fax of xion,,, i’ll probs forget some stuff but i rly am gonna try n keep this short bc i have replies + commission stuff + d&d stuff + admin stuff probably to do and SOMEHOW i thought it was a bright idea to pick up my seventh character !

but alright alright ALRIGHT so.

xion is basically.. well, long story short, they weren’t supposed to fucking exist.

the basis is they’re an imperfect replica of roxas made of sora’s memories by organization xiii, kind of like their backup if roxas/sora didn’t do what the org(tm) needed them to do.

THIS MEANS like them, they can wield the keyblade.

buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut since xion was initially just meant to be a puppet ( i honestly liken them to the kh version of an A.I. ), u can probably guess in typical story fashion(tm) their creators’ plans go awry since xion starts to... wait for it... develop a personality & free will & sense of personality

or well as much as nomura is willing to give a female character- // BRICKED

aka, xion and roxas, who’s tasked with looking after them, being fast friends. they also befriend axel but in tHIS TIME,,,, there’s an issue. because they also come in contact with riku which throws xion off since now they start questioning their identity. bc them wielding the keyblade is apparently ?? a nono ??

and they eventually go w/ riku to find answers and then axel’s like SURPRISE MOTHERFUCKERS and takes them back to the org(tm). 

then things really turn for a loop when xemnas’ plans start working - xion becomes better attuned with the keyblade as roxas’ power wanes, which ,,, ain’t good. 

- i’m interrupting this to tell u all as i’m checking my phone to make sure i cover all my points my battery is at 69% NICE -

this is when xion and namine come in contact and they have a lil chitchat and xion uncovers the truth of how they fit in this godfucked hullabaloo - which... they don’t. they’re an anomaly made of memories and like beings made of memories do, once the memories are returned, xion will not only cease to exist but also the memories of them in everyone else will fade.

so this is a catch 22 for xion, giving them an ultimatum - either they continue existing as xemnas’ puppet and roxas loses his power, leaving everything to go to shit OR they go back into sora, but nobody remembers them & the heroic sacrifice they made & the bonds they formed with their friends

because xion is a fucking good person they decide to go back into sora but then axel’s like SUPRISE MOTHERFUCKER X2 and. yeah.

now,,, this is where things get sad.

xion knows what’ll happen if they continue living - roxas will disappear, and xemnas will get what he wants. so they pretty much act like they’re all in xemnas’ hands now and pretty much force roxas to fight them so they can be set free & the memories they’ve absorbed can be returned. and yeah they’re OP as FUCK but somehow roxas defeats them and they die, fading away like shattered glass and saying some sad as hell shit

and this is where jesse mccartney asks ‘bUt wHo aM i sUpPoSeD to hAvE iCe CrEaM wItH’ 

yeah.

it’s also xion’s first ct memory, nice !

but yeah and LIKE NAMINE PREDICTED.... everyone’s memories of them do fade but it takes longer than expected.

and then kh3 rolls around and there’s some even more fuckshit i can’t explain but eVERYONE is happy and reunited and somehow xion’s back thanks to more replica shenanigans so ?? cool ?? 

yeah.

— AFTER CASTLE TOWN. / S H I L O H

okay so for starters because I still can’t wrap my head around their KH3 involvement, I’m going to be pulling from Xion after their death. Fun times !!

bUT in CT they were reborn as Shiloh Moon , younger sister to Ven Moon and someone who... never really knew their place in the universe.

they grew up not really thinking they had any kind of talent for anything since they never stuck with the same people, never got into the same things - nothing was consistent and shiloh always felt like someone who just.. clung to other people and tried to mold with the crowd. 

they kind of are still in a similar state - but they work at both the arcade & bakery; the latter is actually due to an interest of theirs, they love ice cream more than baking but making pastries is a little easier than making ice cream.

the arcade’s simply because it’s fun and shiloh’s never really had a consistent friend group so. they’re honestly there to make friends and money.

they’re not enrolled in college because again they don’t know what they want to do and it’s a little awkward since... well... ven’s the librarian but yk.

they DID survive the takeover so they know who they really are - and they’re sort of using this opportunity to try and live out another life like they wanted but they’re convinced that again, when ct fades, they’ll also fade again and basically, they’re on a clock until this place unravels.

so shiloh’s eager to figure out themselves and try and make themselves their own person - they’re generally very shy and softspoken , tend to catch onto things a little late but when they do you better watch the fuck out

it still. really gets to them though that they basically don’t have an identity to go off of and that they’re still kind of doomed to the same fate but in typical xion fashion they’re just bottling up everything and not telling anybody SHIT

also they identity as a demigirl & both they/them & she/her pronouns are fine but also both feminine & neutral titles !!

also a lesbian uwu

anyways i !! am going to go do SOMETHING i’m not sure what it is yet but heeeere’s one thing done !! i’ll try n message folks for plotting soon !

[nadziejastar]

It seems like Isa and Lea’s relationship will never be the same. They’ll never truly mend it bc we’re going to forced with Sea Salt Trio (Quadruplets I guess) moments instead. And that’s cute and all but Isa’s character got so badly shafted and treated like shit. And it leaves a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.

Saïx’s TRUE Purpose: The Power of Love

Xion: “…It was my choice…to go away now. Better that, than to do nothing…and let Xemnas have his way. I belong with Sora. And now, I am going back…to be with him. Roxas…I need you…to do me a favor. All those hearts that I’ve captured… Kingdom Hearts… Set them free.”

Roxas: “Kingdom Hearts… Free them?”

Xion: “It’s too late…for me to undo my mistakes. But you can’t let Xemnas…have Kingdom Hearts. You can’t. Good-bye, Roxas. See you again. I’m glad…I got to meet you. Oh…and of course, Axel, too. You’re both my best friends. Never forget. That’s the truth.”

I couldn’t agree more. I refuse to sugar-coat it: Isa got treated like SHIT. The conclusion to his story was so poorly-written, that it’s insulting to the players’ intelligence. And I totally agree that Lea and Isa’s relationship could never be the same. How could it? It was never acknowledged that Isa was a victim of Xehanort. He deserved the same level of empathy that Terra got from his friends after getting possessed. He deserved to get rescued with the power of waking and restored to his former self. In KH3, he got none of this. Instead, Lea was mad at him for “letting” himself get reduced to being Xehanort’s vessel. I’m not even looking forward to seeing their relationship in the future games because I don’t feel that the real Isa even came back.

I also agree that they are most likely going to push the Sea-Salt Trio FAR more than the relationship between Lea and Isa. It seems like they are going to push the angle of Skuld being Isa’s love interest, and Isa will be much more involved with her going forward than Lea or anyone else. He did say he “sacrificed everything” for her. I have no interest in that whatsoever. I view it not as a genuine pairing, but more of a desperate attempt to deflect from the original idea that Square-Enix and Disney were too cowardly to allow Nomura to follow through with: the idea of romantic love between two males. That is a terrifying idea to many people. But that’s exactly why it was so important.

Day 276: Behind the Truth

Saïx would laugh at people with no hearts calling one another friends, but that doesn’t make it not so.

From a writing standpoint, I don’t think it was appropriate that Roxas and Xion became the focal point Isa’s redemption arc. Those relationships and character arcs are entirely separate. Lea and Isa’s relationship with each other should have been the focus of his redemption. KH3 sent the message that only Lea’s friendship with Roxas and Xion was worth anything. I have noticed that many fans don’t even think Roxas and Xion should forgive Isa, and they disliked how friendly they were with him in the ending. That demonstrates just how badly KH3 failed with Isa’s character arc, and properly differentiating him from his Xehanort-possessed self, Saïx.

Day 352: What I Must Do

I love Roxas and Axel. I’m sure Saïx would scoff at that. Call it a trick of my artificial memories. But the time I spent on that clock tower was real.

I thought that Roxas and Xion’s friendship with Axel was not only very sweet, but very meaningful. 358/2 Days is a well-written story. KH3 is…not a well-written story. Xion sacrificed herself so that Xemnas would not win. She was more concerned with Roxas and Axel’s well-being than her own. Xion’s name means, “forget-me-not”. She may disappear, but she’ll never forget her friends, nor will she be ever forgotten by them. That is the power of the heart. The power of love. Roxas, Xion and Axel’s friendship sent a very beautiful message. Lea’s relationship with Isa was supposed to accomplish the same thing: send a very beautiful message about the power of love. Unfortunately, this important message got totally thrown by the wayside.

Larxene: “So, love has filled both their hearts with light.”

Naminé added data to Jiminy’s Journal in order to convey that the “pain” of those connected to Sora must be healed. Nomura said that Ansem’s research results would become the key to healing the “pain” of the characters in KH3. He said that data contained the details explaining the way to connect lost hearts. A press release for KH3 released in 2013 mentions something called the “Key to Return Hearts”. Here is what Nomura said about this key when asked about it in an interview:

There are two possible meanings of the “key.” One of which is the “hardware” key, which opens doors - this is what keys are in general, and the other is the “light” key, that opens something else. In this case, it is currently unknown as to which type of key Sora must find. This is the main storyline of Kingdom Hearts III - Sora must go on an adventure to find the “key” without knowing what or where it is.

The “key” being referred to was implied to be a key of light. The 7 Guardians of Light are important for more than their ability to wield a Keyblade. Their hearts have another power. The power of light. This light grants one the power to restore a lost heart. And the power of light…is love. That is the power of waking. Anna sacrificed herself for Elsa. That is the most powerful form of love that exists. Like the memories of Xion, it can never be lost or destroyed. It is the key to rebirth and new life.

Ansem the Wise: “Sora has a heart like that–uncorrupted, willing to see the good before the bad. When he sees the heart in something, it then becomes real. When a connection seems broken, he may have the power to mend it.”

Isa’s character deserved so much better. Instead of healing his pain, or doing anything with the concept of light or love, his redemption arc consisted of…procuring replicas, then quietly shuffling off into the background—even while Xemnas tried to kill his best friend right before his eyes. Again, it merely felt like deflection. Quick! Focus on Lea and Isa’s relationship with Skuld that never even existed until 5 seconds ago! How do we redeem Isa now? Just have him bring back Roxas and Xion! It doesn’t matter that Seekers of Darkness are not supposed to be capable of free will! Just do it!

Anything!! Anything to NOT focus on the love that exists between two male characters. Platonic love between friends and family is perfectly fine. Romantic love between a male and a female is perfectly fine. But romantic love between two males? That is NOT perfectly fine. I have no respect such artistic cowardice. I don’t know if this series is for me anymore, if the future is more oversimplified, big budget spectacles that are not allowed to take any risks with the story or characters.

“Kairi!” Axel shouted again as the girl struggled against Saïx’s hold. He readied his chakrams to hurl at Saïx when a powerful shock wave hit him.

“Traitors like you deserve to lose everything,” Saïx said.

Axel grunted and collapsed to his knees in pain from the direct hit. After only one strike, he felt his consciousness fading. His vision was going black. He couldn’t even tell whether he saw Saïx disappear with Kairi into the dark portal or whether that was only his own eyes closing.

Is this how I get turned into a Dusk…?

Saïx is not just completely cold to Axel emotionally. He tries to kill him when he turns on the Organization. This never happened in the original game, or even the Final Mix+ version. They decided to have Saïx try and kill Axel AFTER they came up with the idea of them being former best friends and (presumably) Isa partying with everyone in the ending.

“Don’t worry about that! Just go!” A Nobody glommed on to his arm, but Axel shook it off and hurled a chakram at it.

Right. Don’t worry about the why. I don’t even know the answer myself.

As he tried to catch his breath, more Nobodies set upon him. Pain surged like a fresh blow from the wound Saïx had dealt him.

Saïx was the one who gave Axel the fatal wound that would weaken him by the time he met Sora. Because Axel was already fatally wounded, he sacrificed the last bit of his life to atone for his actions.

Axel could remember fighting like this beside Roxas…

He wanted to fight that way again. He wished they had talked more, about lots of things. About nothing. He wanted to talk to his friend again.

But why do I feel this way if Nobodies have no hearts?

His time was running out, thanks to Saïx.

They made it abundantly clear that it was Saïx who was responsible for Axel’s demise.

“We don’t disappear… We’re only reborn,” Naminé murmured, perhaps to herself.

“I’m not like you and Roxas,” Axel said flatly. His hand holding the ice pop stick paused in midair.

“But—but you…” She looked down, clenching her fists.

“It’s because I don’t have a heart,” Axel went on. “I don’t want to disappear, but I’m not upset or sad about it.”

Axel truly did not believe he was going to have a “next life”. At the time of his death, he would have felt utterly alone and hopeless. Why would they have bothered making a character like Saïx his former best friend, unless they had something major to reveal about him later?

Luxord: “Perhaps he was ready for it. Perhaps he put his existence on the line and won what he’d been longing for.”

Saix: “That’s absurd. He won nothing, and IS nothing. He couldn’t stand the emptiness of being without a heart. And THAT led to his demise. He was foolish and weak.”

This is what Saïx says right after the the Organization learns of Axel’s death. Saïx genuinely wanted Axel dead. He was a traitor. Yet he looks to the floor with a troubled look, when Luxord says that Axel got what he was longing for. Saïx is seemingly confused about where his conflicted feelings are coming from. It seemed to me that he genuinely had no clue why he was so angry and sad about Axel. It truly made no sense to him. The way he acted reminded me of when Sora cried while saying goodbye to Hayner, Pence, and Olette at the train station. Sora couldn’t understand why he was so sad, because they weren’t really his feelings that he was experiencing.

Saïx: “Do you know what happens to those who lose their true purpose? Inevitably, they destroy themselves.”

This is what Saïx says right after Axel deserts the Organization to find Roxas. In fact, every new scene with Saïx in KH2FM+ involved his relationship with Axel.

Saïx: “There’s something I’ve meant to ask.”

Xemnas: “About Axel? The poor fool. How long will he keep chasing the illusion of friendship, when he himself lacks emotion? Trying so hard to retrieve what he has lost, when it may never have existed in the first place. He deserves nothing more than our pity.”

After Axel meets Sora in Hollow Bastion, Saïx asks about him. He actually seems concerned, which is uncharacteristic of him. Then Xemnas makes his cryptic comment about Axel STILL chasing the illusion of friendship. He truly pities Axel, and thinks he’s a fool.

“Vile traitor!” The great Claymore took shape at Saïx’s back. Axel didn’t waste a second grabbing his chakrams. But his body was reluctant somehow.

I don’t want to disappear… But still, it wouldn’t be so bad if I did. Not here.

Saïx fatally wounded Axel. He later feels sadness and grief over this, but doesn’t know why. Likewise, Axel knows Saïx wants him dead and doesn’t care about him any more. He wastes no time grabbing his chakrams to defend himself. But his body is reluctant somehow, and he doesn’t seem to know why, either. Despite how hopeless their situation is, they are continually drawn towards each other. There’s still a heart connection there. Lea and Isa’s relationship was supposed to be a VERY big deal in the future of the story. It really was not that hard to see.

Saïx: “You’re the one who went off and made other friends. Left me in the dust. I lost…all sense of purpose.”

It’s SO obvious what Saïx’s “purpose” was. His purpose was Axel! He just didn’t realize it. Isa’s heart was able to subconsciously influence how Saïx felt at certain times, particularly after Axel left the Organization. Isa still cared about Lea, and after he was gone, his heart lost its purpose. Saïx had no clue about any of this, though. He would just become enraged at Axel due to the inexplicable pain he was feeling because of him. Saïx wasn’t being too stubborn to admit his feelings. He genuinely didn’t understand them.

Xemnas: “Hearts full of rage, of hate…of sadness and bliss. Shining down upon us is the heart of all hearts—Kingdom Hearts. There in the sky hangs the promise of a new world. We will conquer hearts and make them our own. Hearts shall never again have power over us.”

Xemans hated how strong the heart was. He wanted to have full control over a person, and the heart was an obstacle to that. Yet he couldn’t turn someone into a vessel without a heart. It was why he conducted the mind control experiments in the first place. The Recusant’s Sigil is a symbol of his desire to conquer the heart and make it his own. When Xemnas is talking, the camera zooms in on the moon.

The moon hung in the sky outside the window, a great glowing heart. Sprawled in bed, Axel stared at it without really looking, idling the time away before he had to leave on a mission.

“We will conquer hearts and make them our own. Hearts shall never again have power over us.”

For the past few days, he had been mulling over what Xemnas could have meant by that speech. Hearts having power over them? What was that about? Whenever Axel was whiling away the hours by himself, that phrase kept bouncing around in his head. He didn’t know what was so compelling about it.

Axel had no idea what Xemnas was talking about underneath the moon that day, and it really bothered him. He was pondering this very issue when Saïx came in to interrogate him about Xion, much to his displeasure. Xemnas’ speech was very important.

No. VII SAÏX

Second in command who longs for the heart he does not have. Only the moon breaks his icy calm.

Saïx was always staring at the moon, longing for the heart he does not have. He has a Recusant’s Sigil scar on his face. It only makes sense that Isa was Subject X in the mind control experiments, and he was the sole subject whose heart didn’t collapse, turning him into a vessel. The survival of his heart would have been possible if he sacrificed himself out of love, just like his “Bunnymoon” weapon symbolized. The rocket to the moon was launched directly from a heart.

“Sora or Xion—it matters not. But we need one of them under our control. Bear that in mind.”

Saïx nodded, and a serene smile came to Xemnas’ face. If that smile meant anything it was beyond him.

Xemnas was completely confident that he won the battle over Isa’s heart.

“Don’t let us down now, kiddo. Shouldn’t be too much trouble without a heart,” Xigbar told Saïx.

Xigbar was totally confident about this as well.

In the Round Room, Saïx looked up at Xemnas high above.

“Are you sure we’re dealing with Xion and Roxas the right way?”

His tone was markedly different from usual, as if he spoke to an old friend rather than a superior.

Isa’s heart was captured and his body is now a vessel. Despite wanting to overthrow him, the novel describes Saïx’s demeanor with Xemnas as that of an old friend. Saïx’s heart is one with Xehanort’s, even if he doesn’t know it. On the other hand, Isa’s captured heart is full of rage, hate, and sadness. These feelings come out in his Berserk State under the light of the moon. But the last emotion that Xemnas mentioned was…bliss. And that seemed like foreshadowing.

Axel gazed out at the sunset, as red as ever. That color still looked the same to him now as it had when he was human. Some things didn’t change even when you became a Nobody.

Axel was always gazing into the sun, even before he became a Nobody.

The sun sank lower and lower as Axel watched, his mind wandering.

If he stared for too long, the image would burn itself into his eyes, visible even after his eyes were closed.

A phantom sun.

Someone had once told him why sunsets were red… Who was that?

In the novel, he was doing just that right before he gives Roxas and Xion his “hokey speech”.

“I just…want these days to last forever,” Roxas murmured, slow and pensive. “Hanging out after the job’s done, eating ice cream, watching the sunset…”

Axel peered at his profile as he did just that. The sunset’s glow touched Roxas’s face and Xion’s with warm red.

“Well, nothing lasts forever,” Axel mumbled, looking off to the side again. “Least of all for a bunch of Nobodies.”

At that, both of their expressions fell.

Seriously, you two? You’re always grinning or getting bummed out…just like real live people with hearts. Axel exhaled and gathered some words. “But, you know, hanging out every day isn’t the only thing that matters. We’ll still have one another, even if that changes.”

“Really?” Roxas perked up.

“Yeah. As long as we remember one another, we’ll never be apart. Got it memorized?”

He was clearly thinking about Isa beforehand.

Axel’s face was limned with the sunset’s glow, his red hair shining crimson.

“Bet you don’t know why the sun sets red.” He eyed Roxas mischievously. “You see, light is made up of lots of colors. And out of all those colors, red is the one that travels the farthest.”

When Axel uses his famous line about why the sun sets red, it even zoomed in on the sun—just like it did with the moon earlier, when Xemnas was giving his speech about the ability to conquer the power of the heart. In 358/2 Days, the Moon Arcana of Luxord’s Tarot cards is “Dual Gear.” Axel’s weapon in that category is called “Dive Bomb”. The Sun Arcana of Luxord’s Tarot cards is “Hazard Gear.” Saïx’s weapon in that category is called “Light Year”.

Roxas: “So he wasn’t fighting to protect the rose. He was protecting the people in the castle. Protecting her. She’s what matters most to him. But…Xaldin said it was the rose.”

Xaldin: “Feh. Cloying nonsense.”

Roxas: “Xaldin… When did you get here?”

Xaldin: “That’s none of your concern. Hmph. Love, from a beast? How utterly ridiculous.”

Just look at the way Xaldin speaks about the power of love. He couldn’t even tell that the Beast valued Belle more than the rose.

Roxas: “Love? What’s that?”

Xaldin: “It’s an emotion. The one deluding those two as we speak.”

Roxas: “Oh…”

Xaldin: “They think the power of love will save them? That’s the stuff of poetry, not practicality.”

Roxas: “Love is a power?”

Xaldin: “None you or I will ever grasp. Nor will they, for long. The love between them will wither and die. Love never lasts.”

He says it’s not a power that he or Roxas will ever grasp. 

Xaldin:“Our work here is done. We have the Beast’s weakness.”

Roxas: “We do?”

Xaldin: “That which we treasure has power over us, Roxas. His heart is captive to it. And that makes it his weakness.”

Roxas: “Captive…? I don’t get it.”

Xaldin: “Nor should you. You have no heart to love with. Let’s not linger here.”

In KH2, Xaldin tried to use the Beast’s love for Belle as a weapon, to turn him into a Heartless and Nobody. He wants absolutely nothing to do with love. To him, it’s nothing but weakness that make the heart a captive. I’m sure that’s exactly how Xemnas and Xigbar viewed the feelings “X” had for Lea. Like Xaldin, they would have used Isa’s love as a weapon, to turn him into a captive.

“Do you know what love is?”

“…’Scuse me?”

“It’s something powerful, right? Where does it come from?” Roxas was completely in earnest.

Love… Huh.

“It is powerful, but it’s not a power we get to have.” Axel had very little confidence in his ability to explain it. But whenever Roxas or Xion had questions about the mysteries of the human heart, he did his best to answer.

Compare the way Axel speaks about love to the way Xaldin spoke of it. Axel really wants to experience love, but he thinks he never will. And this deeply saddens him.

“Nobodies can’t love?” Roxas asked.

“Nope. You need a heart for that.”

“Oh… Right.” Roxas fell quiet, pensive.

Axel kept talking. “Love is what happens when there’s something really special between people.”

“More special than friends? Like…if they’re best friends? Inseparable?”

“Well, you can care about your friends, but that’s not exactly it…” Axel paused, groping for words that might make sense to Roxas.

“So it’s a step above best friends?”

“No—it’s not about steps.”

Roxas looked bewildered. As he’d expected, he wasn’t doing a very good job explaining it.

Axel thinks he cannot experience love until Kingdom Hearts is completed. Of course, this is just the lie that Xemnas told them. He used Axel’s desire for love as a weapon, to gain his cooperation and turn him into a vessel. Axel already has the ability to love.

“Not that it matters. We’ll never know the difference.”

Roxas wouldn’t let it go. “Do you think we would, if we had hearts?”

“Once Kingdom Hearts is complete, I bet you’ll be able to figure it out.” The magic words again, Axel thought. It’ll all make sense when Kingdom Hearts is complete. But was that true? No one had ever seen it happen before. So who knew? Still, all they could do was believe in it.

Pitiful Heartless, mindlessly collecting hearts…

“Kingdom Hearts, huh…?” Roxas said under his breath, gazing out at the sunset.

Axel watched his wistful profile and sighed silently.

Like Xaldin, Axel tells Roxas that neither of them can grasp the power of love. But they do so for entirely different reasons. Xemans and Xaldin are trying to complete Kingdom Hearts to conquer the power of love. Roxas and Axel are trying to complete Kingdom Hearts to experience the power of love.

Xemnas: “Ah, ever the rogue pawn. Knocked from the board early in the game. Utterly useless and forgotten. Now it ends. I will purge that light in you…with darkness!”

During the final battle, Xemnas feels like he’s won yet again. He thinks that Lea is a loser who has been forgotten about. He is confident that Isa’s heart has been conquered. He is so confident that he attacks Lea right in front of Saïx, knowing that he won’t do anything.

His words of being superior are reminiscent of the speech he gave while he was standing under the heart-shaped moon. Yet unlike before, Lea is defiant this time. He says that Xemans was never his superior. I have no doubt that Axel’s Mystery Gear weapon with the Recusant’s Sigil, was a reference to his final battle with Xemnas.

Aqua: “It’s the power of true love that defeated you.”

Maleficent: “I will not be defeated by something as insignificant as love.”

Aqua: “You don’t even know the first thing about it. You’re too clouded bydarkness to see that there’s something greater.”

The message of Kingdom Hearts is that Aqua was right.

Terra: “No more borders around, or below, or above, so long as you champion the ones you love.”

The message of Kingdom Hearts is that Terra was right.

Yen Sid: “Just as long as you love him…then Ventus will be able to find you when he wakes. He can follow that love back to where he belongs–the realm of light.”

Love is so powerful, it can even lead Ventus back to the Realm of Light. That’s what the whole concept of the power of waking is.

Day 150: Too Precious to Lose

Axel and I talked for a while about the things we can’t bear to lose. Axel thinks that for Nobodies, it’s our pasts, because that’s all we have to remember the pain of losing something.

Lea’s Keyblade is called the “Flame Liberator”. The Phoenix rising from the ashes represents the alchemical process of transformation, rebirth, and liberation. It’s the red stage of Rubedo, where a person finally realizes their true nature, and they are liberated from ignorance and suffering. But Xemnas destroys Lea’s Keyblade, leaving him totally powerless. Xemnas is about to finish him off, right in front of Saïx. 

Sora: “But if I put aside the hurt, I’ll lose my only ties to people that I cared about. No. My mind’s made up. I want to carry this hurt with me. I can be free of it the day I remember, but until then, it’s what holds together the pieces I left behind…and I accept it.”

Lea’s Keyblade may be broken, but he doesn’t need it. There’s another Key to Return Hearts. The “light” key Nomura mentioned. The power of love. No matter how much pain it caused, neither Lea nor Isa’s hearts could forget about each other. This should have been the moment where Isa’s heart showed its true power. Love is NOT a weakness. Love is what prevented Isa’s heart from being destroyed in the first place, unlike every other test subject. And love makes his heart so powerful, it refuses to submit to Xemnas’ will. This is exactly what the true meaning of a recusant is.

In canon, the relationship between Saïx and Axel felt totally pointless. Being told at the last minute that Lea and Isa became apprentices to look for Skuld is nothing but sequel bait. There was no underlying message to that revelation. It had no thematic value whatsoever pertaining to the Xehanort Saga. There was no ultimate meaning to Isa becoming Xehanort’s vessel and then reviving his friendship with Lea again. Lea and Isa’s relationship had no narrative purpose. But…it was supposed to.

No. I XEMNAS

Organization XIII’s leader. Through power over nothing, he seeks power over everything.

The true purpose of Lea and Isa’s relationship was to prove all the villains wrong. No matter how much he would like to, Xehanort cannot conquer the power of the heart, which is love. Like his description says, he has power over NOTHING.

[nobodies-png]

Org XIII first date HCs (repost)

Listen i’m so sad because I wanted the 69th post in this blog to be a good meme but iNSTEAD ALL I GOT WAS TUMBLR EATING MY POSTS - so here’s me reposting that one post  cause it doesn’t ? show up p r o p e r l y on mobile  

it’s all under the read m o r e cause I don’t wanna flood all of your f e e d s

Xemnas :

He’d choose to go somewhere simple, but also meaningful and with little to none distractions. Probably whichever part of the castle has the best view to Kingdom Hearts - guarded by Dusks so no one would interrupt.

It’s a first date, so Xemnas would like to focus on getting to know you and figuring out if this whole dating thing is a waste of his time or not. Not gonna lie, it WILL be awkward cause the guy is just so intense. In the end, you won’t even know if the date went well or not, but hey he asked you for a second date so ? That’s neat -

Xigbar :

Completely unpredictable. Your guess is just as good as mine here. Xigbar’s choice depends on how he’s feeling that day, but you should expect a little action no matter where he takes you.

This fucker would definitely get you in trouble - if that was intentional or not it’s up for debate - but don’t worry ! He’ll save you and then probably ask for a smooch as a reward. Or just continue teasing and pranking you. If you prove that you can keep up with him and his snarky attitude, then he’ll definitely ask you on a second date.

Xaldin :

Okay l i s t e n. Don’t expect him to choose a good spot or an interesting activity for this date. You already managed to somehow score a date with him, so you’d probably be in charge of everything else cause Xaldin is a sour bih. As long as you don’t pick a really crowded place, you two should be fine.

Despite his super distant attude and permanent scowl on his face, he actually behaves like a gentleman - like he opens doors for you, etc etc. It’s just an habit of his from when he had a heart. If you’re lucky and he’s in a good mood, he might actually talk about himself - the two of you would just talk for hours about d e e p and s m a r t topics.

Vexen :

H A H. This dude is too old for cutesy dates - you should feel lucky that he even lets you hang around his laboratory, which is exactly where your first date will take place. Sooo exciting, right ?

You’ll spend most of the time trying to look for a place to sit down without him screaming something along the lines of “gET OUT OF THERE YOU’RE IN MY WAY-”. But if you’re patient enough, he’ll gladly teach you all the things he’s working on and explain them in detail ! If you convince him to take a break, then you two could bond over how annoying everyone can be while drinking that s w e e t h o t t e a.

Lexaeus :

He’s one of the very few members who would actually t r y to make this date as pleasant as possible, discussing what you’d like to do, what to avoid and of course, b o u n d a r i e s. The guy might be lack a heart but he still has common decency. You two would end up going to Beast’s massive garden, picking flowers.

Lexaeus would be lowkey nervous - mostly cause people tend to misinterpret his quiet nature for disdain and he doesn’t want to give a bad first impression. He’d try to speak more instead of just nodding silently and will gladly hold your hand the whole time, if that’s okay with you ofc.

Zexion :

Zexion hasn’t really had the chance to explore and experiment in this whole concept of dating, so he’d do some research to figure out how to achieve the best outcome. In the end, he’d just simply rely on you and ask what you’d like to do.

Because of his control over illusions, he could easily create whatever scenery or recreate any word you’d like to visit without even leaving the castle. Don’t tell anyone but he likes to show off. If you’re the literary type, he’d love to invite you to his library and recommend you a s h i t ton of good books or just discuss them.

Saix :

Another killjoy. His first date with you include standing in the Grey Room for hours while he assigns every member their missions and makes sure they all do their jobs properly. If you insist on a more “private” date, he’d just show up unnanounced in your room and just sit there on a chair or something. There’s your privacy, what else do you want ?

Everything would be really tense until like, the 25th date or so, when he finally l o o s e n s up. So no cute first date moments other than you trying to think of absolutely a n y t h i n g that could catch his attention. But even with his busy schedule Saix does make time for these dates, as awkward as they can be.

Axel :

Contrary to popular belief, Axel wouldn’t take you to the Clock Tower on the first date. That’s a special place reserved for his close friends and you, if you ever go past the first base. But he definitely would just walk around Twilight Town and treat you to ice cream. You can never go wrong with that strategy.

Out of everyone, he’d flirt the most and also pull those Iconic Date Moves, like yawning just to slide his arm around your shoulder and whatnot. “Y/N, can you hold this for me?” “Axel this is your hand -”. You’d get to hear a lot about Roxas and Xion too.

Demyx :

Oh, Demyx doesn’t mind or really care about where you two go, as long as there’s some water around (so he can impress you with his powers) and absolutely zero heartless (so he doesn’t actually have to use his powers for fighting). I can totally see him just bringing you along one of his missions and then hiding with you at the Coliseum, just chatting under the shade.

He’d probably remember to grab some flowers for you at the last second - they’re a bit…d e a d and uhhhhh in horrible shape, but it’s the thought that counts, right ?  If you’re into music, Demyx would love to try and play your favorite songs or anything you request, cause not many people actually enjoy hearing his sitar.

Luxord :

Since Luxord only has two moods (adrenaline junkie and british gentleman), this date can go in two completely different ways. But don’t panic, he’s very polite and will let you decide. If you feel like having a more adventurous date, he’ll take you to either Port Royale or Neverland to steal a pirate’s ship.

If you want a more tame and safe date, then it’s Neverland (the safe part of it at least) or Wonderland. The date would go really well, he’d even teach you some card tricks if you’re interest. And in return you can just answer all of his questions about yourself, cause the dude is just naturally curious. It would take him a long time to talk more about himself though.

Marluxia :

You can expect Marluxia to go all out and be hella extra for this.  He’d leave little notes for you and a rose petal trail so you can find him and start the date. You two would go to the Red Queen’s gardens in Wonderland (because Beast’s garden is a little too fuckin dark for Marluxia’s taste, cough)

He’d also flirt and try to make you s w o o n with his smooth lines, but he’d be more subtle and gentle than Axel. Definitely gives you a shit ton of flowers so you can “have something to remember him by.” If you ever find more roses upon waking up then that’s just Marluxia asking you out on another date.

Larxene :

Larxene would, first of all, warn you to make this first date worthwhile or else there’ll be consequences. But no matter what you have planned, she’ll end up dragging to wherever she feels like going at the moment, complaining about how “she has to do everything herself.” Lovely.

If she’s feeling active and energetic, you bet she’ll drag you over to the Coliseum to blow off some steam killing heartless and fighting. You get extra Larxene points if you show her that you can fight alongside her - but it’s fine if you decide to just chill and cheer for her too.

Roxas :

Roxas is clueless when it comes to romance, so he’d stress over where you two should go. He’d be reluctant to take you to other worlds because he really doesn’t want to have more b e e f with Saix or risk you getting hurt, but he’s pretty easy to convince so don’t worry about that too much.

No matter what you two end up doing, he’ll take you to the Clock Tower to eat ice cream because that’s just a tradition at this point. He might even get cheeky and try to imitate Axel’s “Bet You Don’t Know Why The Sunset’s Red H U H ™” only to fail miserably. Will definitely ask if he can hold your hand.

Xion :

Same as Roxas, except that she has her shit together. Xion would take you to her favorite spot : that little beach on Destiny Islands to pick up seashells, build sandcastles or just have fun splashing each other in the water, then you two would see the sunset !

I can see her stuttering and just s t r u g g l i n g to start a conversation with you. Like Roxas, she might even explain you why the sunset is r e d - But give these two a break, Axel is literally the only person they can look up to. Xion would also tell you about the Papou fruits and then b l u s h cause “she totally didn’t mean that you two should share one so early, please don’t hate her.”

[pandadoesawrite]

“I’ve missed you” kiss w/ fio and even do it do it do it

hey guess who wrote 11 pages of heart palpitations IT WAS ME

(also not to be an early 2000s emo kid on main but this helps with the vibe)

Nightfall in Radiant Garden was, despite all odds, just as Even remembered it.

The sky of their world existed in a near constant state of dawn, and the lavender of the day would always melt into a deep, bluish violet, speckled with stars. Summer or winter, the night sky was always the same. It was a comfort Vexen had been too proud to admit he’d found comfort in, in the eternal midnight of the Organization’s world, but that was… mostly in the past, now. Even could admit he’d missed it. Taken it for granted, one might even say.

“Well, there you are.”

In retrospect, it seemed like he did that for many things, despite his best efforts.

He turned to face Fiona, one hand still on the castle’s ledge, and his heart swelled in a way it hadn’t for many, many years. “Shouldn’t you be inside resting?”

Fiona just smiled in that infallible way of her, arms crossed, and walked over beside him. Close, but not too close. “Surprising as the whole ordeal was… it would take a lot more than that to knock me off my feet. I’ve learned to bounce back quick.”

She looked out onto the town and the sky, just as Even had, and unable to argue that or the way his heart twisted in his chest, he fell into silence, and looked back out with her. “…Hm.”

Things had settled, since earlier in the day. Fiona’s sudden, surprising return to the world of light had thrown everyone for a spin, most of all her, and she and Even had definitely let their emotions overcome them, once they saw one another again. It took Fiona fainting in his arms after a long overdue embrace, and Aeleus having to tear him away from her chambers before Even was finally able to collect himself. All embarrassing, in and of itself, but understandable; Ienzo, surely, would be asking questions well into the next millennia over this, but at least the others wouldn’t give him any grief.

Well, Aeleus wouldn’t—the jury was still out for Dilan.

When your deceased fiance of two decades essentially comes back to life, one is bound to become a little emotional over it. Of course now, with composure, Even was left with the reality that he actually had to face Fiona. He, and all the sins he had accumulated.

He remembered her in the hospital, before she passed. She’d told Even that she didn’t want him chasing answers for how she ended up there, but also, that she wouldn’t be surprised if he did anyway. “You’re a scientist,” she’d said, with that knowing, wise-beyond-her-years smile he’d come to treasure so dearly, “Experiments are what you do.” But he had wondered then, and Vexen had wondered, and Even still wondered now, if that still held true, with all said and done.

She’d been in his heart all that time, after all. He’d carried her with him those twenty long years, even if he hadn’t known it. There was no hiding the things they had done. The things he had done.

There was a bump into his shoulder, and Even tore his gaze away from the sky and back to Fiona. She’d nudged herself into his arm, a quiet way of getting his attention that he was more than accustomed to, coming from her.

“Everything alright? It feels like you have thoughts.”

She looked at him without a hint of resentment, still smiling in her usual manner, and the first thing to cross Even was how much older Fiona looked. It wasn’t as though he hadn’t noticed before, or that he hadn’t aged himself. They all had. But Fiona, in his mind, had been forever cemented as a young woman. He’d never dared to think about what she might have looked like past where his time with her ended, if only to spare himself from the melancholy.

Vaguely, he remembered that Vexen had similar lines of thinking; his memories of Fiona had still been fond, as fond as Vexen could be, but even with the (admittedly, prematurely reached) condition of the Nobody, he had also made it a point to not let his mind wander. She was gone, after all, and trying to imagine what she would have become would have done him no good.

But, oh, here she was, despite all odds, skin still like alabaster and hair like flowing ink. She was ever so slightly taller now, with a few more curves here and there, and she looked more tired–in the darkness of night, Even thought he caught a glimpse of those scars along her tear-troughs–but after everything she’d just been through, he supposed it was only natural she’d be exhausted. He must have looked the same when he’d been recompleted, as well.

Most of all, though, he saw her eyes. Fiona’s eyes had once been cloudy, with only a faint hint of brown around the film, a distant reminder of what they once looked like when they were children. But they’d changed, one way or another, now a grey white from iris to scalera, laced with spinning gears and ciphers. Something familiar, and beautiful, yet new, and alarming.

Just like all of Fiona.

King Oswald had explained this, as best he could–about the eyes, about Axofin. Those eyes were the only remnant left of her time as a Nobody, and they had made her, for all intents and purposes, into a gorgon. And with these eyes, to a point, Fiona could see.

Could she see him, now? Was her glancing at him more than just muscle memory? Did he even want her to look at him?

“Even?”

“I’m glad you were alright.” He’d said it without thinking, muscle memory of his own, and Even cursed himself for being so familiar so soon. It had been little over two decades. He should be taking this slower. Yet it was too easy to slip back into his old habits around her. “That you were… well taken care of. With how much you were at odds with Radiant Garden, it’s a relief.”

“‘At odds’? That’s putting it mildly.” There was a very obvious tease to Fiona’s voice, and Even’s heart relaxed a bit, eased by her casual nature, and the luck that he hadn’t offended. “The Wasteland welcomed me with open arms, and I’ll never forget that.” Her smile turned a little more frank. “I only regret that it was just me.”

“What for?” If Axofin had tried to contact him directly, Xehanort would have must certainly sunk his claws into her the moment she came into his sight; Even had come to that conclusion rather quick, in the midst of King Oswald’s explanations, and she knew it as well as he did. Just imagining Fiona with those accursed, golden eyes made his blood boil; Even was grateful it had been him instead. “You did the right thing, keeping your distance.”

“Mmm, I know… but it got hard to, near the end.”

Fiona brushed back a lock of hair behind her ear. It had long since fallen out of the ponytail Axofin had kept it in, and was now hanging loose along her back in waves. Even wondered why she hadn’t pulled it back already.

“If I could have guaranteed the kind of reaction you’d have, there wouldn’t have been much keeping me away. Positive enough of a response, I might have even planned a return.”

“…You weren’t planning on coming home?”

Even tried not to make his voice sound so dejected, and if he was to say so himself, he didn’t succeed. But Fiona didn’t seem to take any notice, and if she did, she said nothing about it.

Instead, she sighed.

“I didn’t think I’d have a place here. I wasn’t exactly banking on being complete again, after all. My heart is… trickier, than most. Which doesn’t mean much now, given how all these children turned out, but—“ She shrugged. “More hoops to jump through, at another’s expense. You know I couldn’t have it.”

“The little King did mention something like that.” And as curious as he was about it, Even had to admit they’d all studied the heart more than enough for one lifetime, and so he kept his curiosity to himself. “Still, it wouldn’t have hurt to at least have left a breadcrumb, or two.”

“Oh, I was close to doing that, actually. But I’m glad I didn’t, in the end.” Fiona laughed quietly, barely over a titter. “Axofin would have driven Vexen mad, and not in the endearing way. You and I both know that.”

“…True.” He wasn’t about to deny his own high-strung tendencies, nor how they were amplified on Vexen; if the stories he’d heard about Axofin were true, it might have been like dealing with a second Xigbar, in terms of grandiose and just general flippancy. Good God. If Axel hadn’t ended him first, all the popped blood vessels might have. “Memories alone wouldn’t be enough to ensure the same reaction, with what fragile hearts Nobodies grow.”

“There’s really no telling what the reaction would have been. Half the research into Nobodies was manipulated from the word go, anyway.” Fiona paused a beat, and then added, “Even so, I wouldn’t have wanted to make things harder, in that state.”

“For me? Or for yourself?”

“Both.” No hesitation. “You and I–all of us, were in so much pain. And we each overcame it in time, true, but for you and the others, that was always a promise. But if I were to come back still half a person, when the rest of you were whole, what would you have done? After everything you would have been through, would you have welcomed me back? Just like that?”

Even did not answer. He did not know how.

Fiona glanced back at him. Her smile was still there, ever thoughtful, but now just the faintest bit sad. “It isn’t your fault. It’s just the way things turned out. If the tables were turned between us, it very well likely would have been the same.”

He snorted. It was the closest he’d come to a smile himself all night. “I highly doubt that. There isn’t a force on any world that could have told you what to do, or what to think. Not even Xehanort could change that about you.”

“You flatter me. But that isn’t entirely true.”

“Isn’t it? I seem to recall you saying once that the forces that be had to blind you, because if they hadn’t, you would have murdered them at sixteen.”

“Yes, and that is true! But that’s not what I’m talking about.” Fiona lifted herself off the wall, and she stared at Even with soft, quizzical look.

“Even. Has there ever been a time where I told you ‘no’?”

And Even… Even had to think about that.

As many years as it had been since they were last together, his memories with Fiona were still bright and strong, and he reviewed them in silence. She’d been a stubborn girl when she lost her sight, refusing help from anyone that offered that wasn’t family… or him, when he asked to help guide her. And that give and take happened in all walks of their lives thereafter. Schoolwork, their magic studies, personal lives–for a good while, he was helping Fiona get dressed in the mornings, because she was too intent on not being something to pity, and he was too intent on being by her side, just in case.

He remembered the night he asked her to marry him. It was hardly romantic, and more sudden than he would have preferred, but she had been so terrified for a future she didn’t think she’d live to see that it was all he could think to do to show he wasn’t leaving. He’d told her he didn’t need an answer, if she couldn’t give him one–but she’d told him yes without a second thought. Like it was obvious. Like it was as simple for her to do as breathing.

Fiona, to her credit, had never told him ‘no’.

“…Huh.” Even glanced to the ground, rather vacantly, as the realization fully dawned on him. “I hadn’t realized.”

“You sound shocked!” The tease came back to her voice; the twinge of sadness still remained, but at least Fiona was smiling again. “Is it really that surprising? Why would I refuse you?”

The ludicrousness of that question almost gave him whiplash. “I could very easily think of a few reasons, within the last decade alone.”

“We’re all victims of circumstance.” She waved that all off perhaps a bit too casually. Another remnant of Axofin? Or had Fiona just deduced this was coming, and prepared accordingly? “And if I’m to be honest? As morally dubious as the experiments were, none of you ever actually took another person’s heart. Just… pulled out the darkness, as you saw once before. Xehanort was the one that actually extracted the heart from others, and I’m not going to fault you or any of the others for his crimes.”

She paused a moment, then added. “Well. Perhaps I might blame Braig. But the rest of you are in the clear, as far as I’m concerned.”

“You’re far too forgiving.” And Even was far too self-deprecating–much more than he should have allowed himself to be in pleasant company, but for all he knew Fiona might just slip through his grasp again. Best to say what he had to say now, before this dream ended. “It pays to keep an open mind, but this is foolhardy.”

“King Oswald holds very true to the belief that everyone deserves a second chance, and that’s something I agree with. It’s more than I can say for other Keyblade Masters of his generation. And besides--my loyalty to you has always run deeper than my loyalty to Radiant Garden.”

Fiona crossed her arms beneath her chest; she raised one hand to the air, twirling her fingers like she was reciting a poem. “��For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do us part’.”

“Ah–” Oh, what a blessing, and a curse, to be able to blush properly! Even’s only saving grace was that Fiona was blind and couldn’t see him so flustered, though who could say how much that held true anymore. “I–why on earth would you bring that into this?”

“Well, I’ve been referring to you as my husband for the last decade to my coworkers.” Again, that all too casual shrug. Did this woman never learn to listen to herself in the past ten years? “Why wouldn’t I bring it up?”

“Your–! Fiona, we never got the chance to have Master Ansem sign the license.” Because like hell did either of them want a ceremony. “We aren’t legally–no, wait. Go back to the part about your coworkers, who were you telling this to?!”

“Oh, you know.” No, I don’t know, he thought, but Fiona started to count off the people on her free hand. “King Oswald and Queen Ortensia, of course, Gus, the Doctor… though in retrospect, it’s highly possible some of them might have thought I was joking.”

“Joking how?”

“I wasn’t sure if I should connect myself back here–the walls have ears, you know how it goes–so I referred to my marital status specifically as ‘married to science’, which… well, it does make it sound like I was saying I was married to my job. But, given that we’re both researches, it also wasn’t entirely incorrect of me! I told no lies, just not a whole truth.”

“Unbelievable.” Even squeezed the bridge of his nose, but despite everything, a smile was still tugging at his mouth, unable to be deterred. “You really couldn’t give a straight answer if you tried, could you?”

“I’ve never had to my whole life, and I don’t intend to start now.”

Fiona sounded far too smug about that. It was… nice, to hear that bravado again. Even sighed, and even that sounded more fond that he would have wanted to show. “Well… I suppose that is something to look forward to, now.”

“What is? The delayed presents from the gift registry?”

“No. Your mouth, your two hands, and your burning, eternal desire to make those everyone else’s problem.”

Fiona’s smugness didn’t last, almost melting away as soon as the words left Even’s mouth. She looked at him, vaguely, and vacantly, and when the thought finally came to him that oh no, this is what did it, this is what ruined it–she started to laugh.

It was startling, almost. Even hadn’t heard that laughter in ages. To think he’d almost forgotten how boisterous she could be. But why now? “You think this is funny?”

“No, no, it just… I suppose I’m just… relieved.” 

And it truly did look that way, like a burden Even hadn’t noticed had been lifted off her shoulders. “After all this time… even though we’re all back in one piece, I was so scared of what might happen when we saw each other again. I was preparing for the worst, but, here we are–!”

Her arms gestured widely, between Even and herself. “We went straight from saying our ‘I love you’s, to poking fun at how dedicated I am to being a nuisance.” 

Fiona’s laughter fell into elated sighs. Her arms dropped to her sides, and she glanced back at him with an honest smile, hair wiry and wispy around her face, chest heaving, eyes unseeing but looking straight into him. His heart hadn’t been broken, per se, but looking at Fiona–looking at that face of hers so racked with fear and relief and adoration, an expression he’d only seen on her twice before–she had his heart in her hands, and was squeezing it without having to even lift a finger.

Even had noted earlier that, while beautiful, Fiona was so unusual now. Quietly, he retracted that: she was only beautiful.

“It’s so… like us.” There was such emotion in those four words. Emotions and experiences she’d had over the last ten years that Even couldn’t begin to imagine. “We’re still us, Even.”

It was so rare that he, of all people, was left to silence, but that was a power Fiona had always had over him. From when they were children to now, and a part of him was glad that was still so. 

Even cleared his throat; it was an awkward sound, a move he normally made around His Lordship in regards to research, or even Ienzo, but here, hopefully, it got across his… lack of a proper response.

He had words planned, a sentence on his lips, but what he heard in his own voice, softly, was “…we did not technically say those.”

Fiona laughed again, more like a breathy chuckle. “And? We’ve never once said them in a ‘normal’ way. Would either of us have been walking on eggshells all this time if it weren’t true?”

He didn’t have a rebuttal for that.

“Still,” Even continued, after another awkward cough, “there is something of a, ah… proper procedure to this… sort of thing.”

Some thirty odd years ago, he would have never considered himself in anything remotely like this position. Love in this sort of venue was just… it wasn’t for him. It was childish, in its own way, and perhaps that’s why it took him so long to realize what he had when it was there. Fiona was his constant companion, so yes, of course he loved her, but for it to run so deep, deeper than he’d ever thought it could run, caught him off-guard. 

When had his dedication to her changed so, anyway? It’d been without notice, without warning, and soon, just as much as she could not refuse him, he could not refuse her. He would have guided her to anyplace she wanted to be, would have been her assistant in any field of study she’d chosen, would have worshiped her between her thighs, had she so desired it. He’d pushed all those emotions back as far as he could after she’d passed, in a ditch effort to not drown in that sorrow, but now those carefully locked gates were flung open and he was sinking down in those feelings even more than at first falling. It was like the night he’d asked for her hand all over again.

Except, it was even more, somehow. Perhaps it was due to the sensation of having his true heart back in his chest, or the elation and fear that Fiona still lived. Or perhaps, it was because Fiona had breached the gap between them, and placed her hands on his face.

“Even.” 

Their eyes were locked together, and even without the glimmer of those special eyes and their magic, he knew Fiona was looking straight at him. “It has been more than twenty years since we were last physically in the same space together. It’s only you and I out here on this part of the castle grounds. I’ve been referring to you specifically as my husband to anyone who asked. So I need you. To stop talking. And do something about it.”

His eyes widened. Blindness be damned, with his face under her fingertips, she had to have felt the way his cheeks burned at the insistence of that sentence. Fiona had never been a woman who didn’t make her intentions clear on such personal matters, and, seemingly satisfied with the point she had made, gave move to let go of his face.

But Even caught one of her hands just before it left his skin, and pulled it back flush against his cheek.

He’d done it out of instinct, more than anything. That was what he told himself. But as he placed his own hand over hers and squeezed it, ever so gently, it was impossible to ignore what a longing he felt for this. Fiona was warm; she always had been, much warmer than Even had ever been, and while heat was something he’d been trying to block out the sensation of–thank you again, Axel, for that one–he’d almost forgotten natural her hand in his had felt.

“I missed this.”

His voice came out quieter, more shaky than he’d thought it would, and it really, truly struck Even now that, yes, she was here, and yes, he was allowed to feel that longing, and yes, she had felt that, too. He pulled Fiona’s hand down his cheek, just enough to place a kiss on her palm, and he whispered against her skin, “God, I missed you.”

When Even dared to open his eyes again, he saw Fiona, and how she was smiling at him, tears pricking at her eyes, and all of a sudden they were twenty-something again, side by side, brilliant and unstoppable.

“Weren’t you the one always saying it?” She brought her other hand back to his face, and brushed their lips together. It could hardly have been called a kiss, but it didn’t have to be one. “You and I–we’re a team.”

A sword and shield, the perfect pair. Perhaps he’d been professing his love far longer than he’d thought.

That reaffirmation did it, though, and with no further need to worry about what might or might not happen between them in this moment, Even wrapped his arms around Fiona, and she in turn around him. It was a much more tighter, meaningful, desperate embrace than the one they’d shared this morning, but it wasn’t remorseful, like it was the day she died. It was… dare Even describe it, hopeful. Empowering, even. He placed his chin in the crook of her shoulder, and breathed in her scent, sweet like jasmine, and sighed, his heart finally at ease.

He was here. Fiona was here. And they were together.

And then she shivered.

It might not have been noticeable, had they not been so close, but. It had been a rather large shiver, and Even felt the shudder all the way down her back. He also felt the way Fiona tensed after the fact; she must not have been prepared for it either.

He thought about it, and then shook his head, smiling into her shoulder. “…You just couldn’t have picked a better time.”

“Oh, quiet, you!” She gave his back a hearty pat, but she was laughing right along with him. “It’s the middle of the night, of course I’m cold!”

“Why didn’t you wear your lab coat? It was a much thicker one than mine, if I recall.”

“Dilan insisted on repairing it, and then rather conveniently forgot to tell me where the laundry room in the castle was. And with all the twists and turns the castle has, I thought I might actually die again if I tried looking for it.”

“A most unpleasant hyperbole, please refrain from using it in the future.” He pulled away while he chastised, and when free from her hold, Even removed his own lab coat, placing it around Fiona’s shoulders. It was thinner, as he’d noted, but it would do for now. For her warmth, and in some ways, for his own ego.

“Such a gentleman.” She seemed rather pleased with the outcome though, and tugged the lapels a bit tighter over her chest. “Thank you, dear.”

“Honestly, one would think you’d be used to the cold.” Even thought to offer his arm, like normal, but in a sudden surge of boldness, opted instead to place his hand around Fiona’s waist. “How many times were we told we were joined at the hip?”

“Too many.” Fiona rested her head on his shoulder, allowing him to guide her from behind. “But this isn’t cold to me. It never was.”

“Hmm.” Even said, but it came out more like a “hum”, which was perhaps unfitting of a scientist of his caliber, but right now, he couldn’t bring himself to care. “You certainly pick the strange ones.”

“Then that must go doubly for you.”

“It always has.” 

He squeezed her waist, just enough to pull her closer without making her stop. “Truly, I… I’m glad you’re back. It would take a million lifetimes for me to understand how you are, I’m sure. But I’m grateful I didn’t have to wait until death stuck to see you again.”

“Oh, Even, stop that, now.” 

Fiona did stop walking here, and beat the back of her hand against his chest lightly. “I know I made light of it before, but no more joking about dying, or hopelessness, or futility, alright? From you or me.” 

She unfurled her pointer finger, poking Even in the collar on every beat. “We’re going to get back into that lab, we’re going to continue our research, we’re going to set this town back on the right path... and then!” Her tone turned devious, almost conspiratorial, “We’re going to have sex on every flat surface in Radiant Garden. And I would love to see someone try and stop us this time.”

And here, finally, Even burst into uncontrollable laughter. For the love of the powers that be, he’d never be used to those sudden, tactless proclamations. And he never wanted to be. “F-Fio, you’re too much.”

“Call me greedy.” He felt her lips on his cheek again–perhaps a bit lower than their intended mark, it hit close to his jawline, but still. “I worked a long time to ensure you got a happy ending, and now that I actually get to be in it, we’re going to have it, no matter what.”

“Is that a threat, or a promise?”

“What do you want it to be?”

“Both.” No hesitation. “I do so admire a woman that would kill the gods that made her without hesitation.”

“Not until I’ve gotten them to share the secrets of cold fusion. I have to bring you back a souvenir.”

“Oh, darling, show me the means to manipulate dark matter, and I might not be able to control myself.”

A happy ending, indeed.

~

(“Say,” Fiona said, her arms and legs tangled together with his as they laid in his bed, “I just thought of something.”

Even rose from barely-there slumber,idly rubbing strands of her hair in his fingers; he wondered distantly if he still remembered how to braid her hair. “Mm?”

“We had everything set up to just have Lord Ansem sign our marriage certificate, and have that be that. That’s still more than fine with me, but do you think we can, anymore?”

“Hm… we could certainly try,” That was a good point, actually, but alas, “But I doubt we’ll be getting anything past Aeleus this time. And given the circumstances, he won’t stand for there not being a ceremony.”

“Ohh, why would you say that. I can’t argue The Aeleus Factor.”

“He’d make it an appropriate affair.” Even offered, and placed a kiss on her forehead, simply because he could. Drunk on power, truly. “If I’m correct, it’d be the first wedding since the restoration concluded. A bit more celebration could hardly be a bad thing, in such times.”

“We’ll just have to take one for the team.” She sighed, and one of her hands found its way over his body, lazily tracing circles in the small of his back. “I suppose those boys wouldn’t want that honor right away. Not until Isa’s scar heals, at least. I imagine it wouldn’t be a very fun thing to find in the photo album.”

“Understandable.” Even paused for a second, as though sleep was claiming him once more, and then added, “Just don’t expect me to wear black.”

“Oh? What if I wore black, then?” Fiona’s voice lilted with amusement at the idea. “I could take your old coat, and Queen Ortensia could help me make it into a dress. Wouldn’t that be something?”

“Fio. Could I divorce you before actually marrying you?”

“Good luck. If you couldn’t get rid of me the first time, it’s not happening the second.”

Even shook with silent laughter, and smiled into her hair. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”)

[thegreatpikminzx789]

Face Our Fears - Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold Fanfiction - Chapter 2

Wattpad|Ao3|Fanfiction.Net

Summary: Nightmares born from the void, tend to stay in the void. But upon further thinking, perhaps these nightmares might be a sign of her past fast approaching... While one man searches for a way to null these nightmares, one may see them as an opportunity to protect those whose bonds are close to them.

Previous Chapter|Next Chapter (Not available yet)

AN: Going a bit experimental with this chapter, as I decided to research some Gemstone properties. Of course the moment I wanted to show off some of the knowledge I have of it, I turn the later half of the draft into something else, but that’s how things sometimes go when you write stories. Just turns out a lot different than you expected it to be.

Lynus, Hamza (mentioned), and Axel belong to @theshatteredrose

Darkness. Nothingness... To many, the feeling is unsettling, yet familiar to all who are dead. A place not many visit in their dreams, yet something in the air tells the Forest Princess that this place is not like the past forms of nightmares that plagued her ever since the defeat of the deepest darkness.

"Whither am I?" She mumbled to herself, seeing nothing but black all around her. She tried extending a hand to feel for any walls.

But there were none.

Was it a never ending hall without a single wall to fill it in, regardless of its color? It was hard to determine. She was standing on what she assumed is the floor, so there has to be walls somewhere.

It was worrying her. This couldn't have been a dream, because then she would not be in this situation. Who knows if it's even considered a nightmare...

"Someone! Anyone, please heareth mine voice!" She screamed into the abyss-like world. The echoing of her voice didn't help ease her calm down one bit...

But nobody came.

Hibiki was loosing hope of finding out what was going on. This feeling was reminding her of a place she wished she hadn't come to... Something only she remembered being a child, someone kidnapping her from a land she does not vaguely remember, seeing the stormy clouds once gather around a particular region. It was starting to remind her of the castle she had desperately came to hate...

Silence. It was a sound most comfortable to the Princess, yet also the sound of fear itself. Anything at any moment could strike fear in her heart... The thought is just too much to bear, as the Forest Princess clutched her arms and closed her eyes, wanting this to be over with.

She was struggling to keep herself from crying. Ever since she was locked up in a castle, all she ever did was clean, and eat. If one tiny thing was wrong, or something wasn't done in time, she got punished for it with several strikes of a whip. There was no way this could be the castle...

It was her worst nightmare.

"...un... ki..." A mysterious voice spoke up after what felt like an eternity. The girl looked up and looked everywhere for the source of the voice that spoke.

"W-Who's thither?!" She exclaimed, demanding an answer from the voice. "R... Hi..." The voice responded, dodging the question she asked of it. Though it feels as if the voice wasn't speaking with malice...

"Run... He's coming..." The voice spoke louder than before, almost as if whatever it was afraid of was around the corner.

Faster than Hibiki could inquire the voice a question, an explosion knocks her to the side, quickly getting up to find the source of the attack.

She gasps upon seeing a Hexer, garbed in dark blue robes. The robes were moving around, as if they had a mind of an animal. Simply seeing the smirk on the Hexer's face brought fear in her heart.

"I can see... You didn't miss me..." The Hexer spoke up, letting himself be carried by the robes he wore as he approached Hibiki. "D-Don’t approach me any further, fiend!" She warned the approaching man, simply ignoring her words as his robes prepared to attack.

She dodges the attack from the robe, sprinting away from the Hexer. The Hexer lost his smirk, taking out a Grimoire and started launching some attacks from afar. Some of them miss, and some of them hit her, yet despite being knocked further away, she still had enough time to get up and continue running before the Hexer could grab her, despite the bruises she now bared...

"The land from which you came bears no truth to you, anymore. Best to forget about that place, and live in the abyss..." The mysterious Hexer spoke up, as Hibiki tried her best to ignore his words. Her heart told her to keep running, to not let herself be captured by the mysterious man.

The attacks became less frequent the further she was away from him, finally seeing a door at long last. She had to hide, even if it was only temporary. Hibiki opened the door and locked it behind her, resting her head against the brick wall, looking around as she took a few deep breaths.

It was... familiar. She recalled having used the bay of the castle to escape, as everyone else was rather unaware of her escape. She wasn't sure what was even happening anymore.

"Hibiki, come on!" A male's voice spoke to the Forest Girl, turning her head to the voice that spoke out to her. Her eyes shrunk in surprise, upon seeing who was speaking to her. A male Troubadour and a Dark Hunter... They couldn't be...

"Get on, Hibiki! Don’t let him catch you!" The Dark Hunter urged, extending a hand. Deciding not to risk staying there, Hibiki attempts to run to the Dark Hunter.

"Don't think so." A voice called out, causing an explosion right in front of Hibiki, causing some propulsion to cause the boat the two boys were on to move, causing the Dark Hunter to fall on his rear in surprise.

"No! Please, return to me!" She yelled, trying to reach out for the boat that was moving on its own.

"We’ll meet up in High Lagaard!" The Troubadour exclaimed, hoping his voice reached the Forest Princess. "Stay strong, Hibiki!" The Dark Hunter added, the distance between them getting further and further.

The boys were familiar to her. There was no mistaking it. But it felt like she wasn't getting anywhere just trying to reach out for them...

Her thinking was cut short by the robes of the Hexer she ran from wrapped itself around her neck, catching her off guard, as the Hexer approached to the side of her vision. Hibiki desperately struggled to break free from the robe's grasp on her. The robe lifted her off of the ground, causing her to struggle even more.

"You can’t stop what has begun, Forest Girl..." The hexer grinned, before he busts into a maniacal laughter, laughing at Hibiki's miserable attempt of breaking free. Every movement of her body was getting her nowhere closer to being free...

"...iki..." A voice called to her, while the Hexer still laughed at her efforts. Her struggles only continued from there, before feeling the robes tighten around her neck, gritting her eyes in pain.

"...biki! ...ke up!" The voice called out again, coming to her louder than before. The mix of the two voices before her was getting too confusing for her. "Aaaaaaagh!"

Hibiki opened her eyes as she jolted from her sleep, feeling a pair of hands wrap around her in an attempt to comfort her. "Hibiki, are you alright?!" Korey's voice reached her ears much more clearer, turning to see the worry in the Highlander's face.

Hibiki started feeling tears drop from her eyes, resting her head on his chest. "Another nightmare cameth to plague me from mine slumber..." She replied, trying to wipe the tears away from her eyes.

"I'm sorry you had to have these streaks of nightmares, Hibiki..." Korey uttered, rubbing her shoulder in reassurance of his comfort. "If I may be bold to ask, will talking about it get it out of your system? You were adamant about not telling me the past four nightmares..." He queried, noting the past times she didn't want him to worry about her about speaking her nightmares.

"W-Well," Hibiki started, sitting upwards so he can hear her better. "I was told to run by someone, ere a Hexer hath appeared out of nowhere and started attacking me, forcing me to run for mine life. Then, I saw two men on a boat, calling to me to get on it..."

Korey gazed to the sheets, seeming to think about the events she told him thus far. "One of those folk wast a Dark Hunter, and the other was a Troubadour... those gents both wast urging me to get on, ere that foul Hexer intervened, and... And..." Hibiki continued, wiping a few more tears trying to emerge from her eyes.

"I was losing air due to the Hexer's robes. I hath felt like mine life wast ending ere my eyes..." Korey's arms continued to rub Hibiki's arm, reassuring her that it was all just a nightmare.

Though he wasn't sure how to respond, he needed to calm her down somehow. Without wasting any time, he began humming a song. The Forest Princess stared up at him in confusion, though recognizing the song she heard him hum.

"What art thou doing?" She inquired, stopping the Highlander in his tracks. "Doing something that helped my little sister when we were exploring Yggdrasil. If she wasn’t able to sleep, we would hum a song and it’d wear her down to the point of being tired." He explained, scratching the back of his head with his free hand.

"I apologize if its awkward, it's just the only thing I could do to calm you down..." Korey sighed, before feeling Hibiki nudge against his chest. "No, please, keepeth going... that song thou art humming is reminding me of a song that Troubadour hath used to playeth..."

Korey let out a sigh of relief, as he proceeds to continue to hum the song from where he left off. The girl in his arms soon grew a smile, starting to hum along to him. Hibiki then started to recall the song being sung by the Troubadour she had seen in her nightmare.

She recalled hearing his voice for the first time as he started playing the violin in the castle she was in, beyond the walls of her confinement. He only got to hear his name once after he had introduce himself to her, despite the two of them not being able to meet in person. Almost every night on, he snuck down and sang her some songs he knew, doing so for a couple of months before things changed around the castle...

It was her only salvation... her light of hope to see the world outside her confinement. "Just because there are people with evil hearts, doesn't mean all of humanity is like that." Hibiki recalled the Troubadour's voice from long ago.

"There will be a time where you'll be cared for by people who legitimately care for you. People who will set you free from this wretched ensemble." The voice in her head replayed, seeming to bring her great comfort. Her eyes slowly started to close, feeling tuckered out from humming the all-too-familiar song.

Korey continues for a little longer, seeing the girl in his arms slowly smiling as she drifts back to sleep. He gently lays her down on the bed and pulls the sheet over her, rubbing his hand on her head for a few seconds as he stops humming the song, satisfied with his result.

"Never fails to work..." He hummed to himself, peaking at the window and seeing the sun come through the curtains. The Highlander gets up and closes the curtains so that Hibiki doesn't get blinded by the morning light, soon standing beside a table in the room, placing a finger on his chin as he was left to ponder what to do next.

"How many nightmares will Hibiki go through before it gets too much for her? If her past was really that rough, surely there must be some way for her to forget such a past..." Korey mumbled to himself, gazing back at the sleeping Forest Princess, who turns to face the wall in her sleep.

He can't just remain idly by any longer. If he was able to calm his sister through song, there must be a way to keep nightmares away from Hibiki... The thought of having too many nightmares occur one after another can potentially lead her into madness. Or hell, even worse...

"Perhaps a visit to the library will get me somewhere. Maybe get Simon and Lynus to help me out..." The brown haired Harbinger uttered to himself, grabbing his stuff with him and slowly closed the door behind him.

Thankfully, hardly anyone else was awake yet, allowing him to go through the lobby in peace. Exiting the inn, he asked a nearby explorer where the library would be. The explorer gave the Highlander some directions, as he thanks them before wishing them a good day.

The library he entered wasn't that huge as Simon proclaimed the Midgard Library was, but seeing books everywhere reminded him of a guild house with a huge library... He took his time strolling through the isles, skimming through titles and picking some books that held interesting titles that stood out to his eyes.

He soon found a book with a rather interesting title. "Healing Properties of Gemstones, huh?" Korey read, raising an eyebrow as he took the book off the shelf.

He had to think on that title for a while as he sat down at a nearby table. Other than to look pretty, do gemstones really have those types of properties? Was it even possible?

There was no point in arguing with himself about the potential answer. He wasn't going to get anywhere with that mindset. "I suppose I should make notes of what I found. Simon and Lynus are probably busy, so I hope I can ask them for advice when I get the opportunity."

With his goal set in stone, Korey takes out a few pieces of paper, and a bottle of ink, along with a feather, placing them beside the sheets of paper. He begins flipping through the books, taking his time to look at the information contained with each book, writing notes on things he finds interesting, or ones that will most likely help. Lapis, Hematite, basically anything he can find relating to nightmares.

He had to make sure to look back in previous books about the effects of the gemstones he written, but ended up with either vague answers, or other written details about their appearance and worth in Ental.

"Man, some of these are really good, but not all of them might be available in Lagaard, Yggdrasil, or Ginnungagap..." Korey grumbled, trying to recall if any of the stones he written could be available in the places he specified. "It's a good thing Lynus and the others are willing to help out if needed. Hibiki's safety is becoming a top priority on my list of things to do."

Korey closes the book he was on, wasting a few more minutes reading up on the gemstones and making sure he's written everything he needed to know before concluding his research in the library. He placed the notes he written in an easy to reach area of his bag, and placed each of the books he picked up back on the shelves he found them in, before leaving the library.

As he made his way back over to the inn, Korey came to a halt as he turned to see an orange-haired medic trying to tend to some unconscious explorers. A Dark Hunter and... a Troubadour. Where those the two people Hibiki spoke about earlier?

He had to make sure. Cause even if those two were the classes Hibiki mentioned, the names of the explorers were important to know. The Highlander approached Lynus, doing his best not to startle the Medic.

"Lynus, what’s going on here?" He asked, as the Medic quickly turned to face the Highlander kneeling beside the dark hunter. "I found these guys floating on the water near here when I was on my way back from the hospital. They seemed so wounded, so I’m trying to keep them stable for the moment."

The Highlander looked over the injuries that Lynus had healed, picking up a rather wet violin that likely belonged to the troubadour, checking to make sure it was still playable before placing it right beside the troubadour.

"I don't think any river from Yggdrasil might have carried them here. Especially not on the higher stratums." Korey mumbled to himself, getting up after glancing over the two boys.

"Oi, what are you bloody idiots doing?!" A voice called out, getting Lynus and Korey's attention to see a blue-haired Landsknecht wielding a sword approaching them. Korey turned to face him, not liking where this might be going.

"Hands off my prey, you snobby medic!" The landsknecht yelled, causing Lynus to flinch from the way he yelled at him. "Hey, jerkwad!" Korey called out, diverting the landsknecht's eyes towards the Highlander. "Nobody calls the Miracle Medic a snob and gets away with it!"

The landsknecht simply scoffed at Korey, clearly not seeing him that worthy enough of an opponent. "Pheh, and just who the hell are you supposed to be, some kind of Protector? You don’t even fit that role to a T!"

Oh can he fit a protector's role, alright. He just doesn't need a shield to do the protecting.

"I am Korey, part of the Highlander tribe! If you think you’re such talk, why don’t you just beat it before I strike you down?" Korey challenged, causing the landsknecht to growl in annoyance.

"Such arrogance from such a child. Hiyaaah!" The Landsknecht charges at Lynus, stopping short due to a quick stab of the Highlander's spear at his leg, causing him to come to a halt as Korey quickly steps in front of Lynus.

Just gotta keep this punk busy til Axel arrives...

"Outta my way, you punk!" The man growled, poised to strike with his sword at any moment.  Korey trades his spear for the Ragnarok sword, alongside a Grimoire Stone made by Fafnir.

"Taste Flame Sabre!" He yelled, slashing at the landsknecht and causing him to flinch back, due to the hot metal the sword had been enchanted with from the Grimoire Stone. That did a bit of damage on the landsknecht's armor.

"The hell is this nonsense? A spear and a sword simultaneously?! That’s downright cheap!" The landsknecht ranted.

"Says the man whose class allows him to switch between a Sword and an Axe to use different skills. At least I have the excuse of using a sword because of a Grimoire!" Korey argued, making his way towards the opposing landsknecht.

"Grimoire or no, that’s still considered cheating!" The blue-haired landsknecht yelled, as they clash swords once again. Their weapons kept clashing against the other as they fought for a while.

Lynus, meanwhile, tended to the wounds of the two boys before him. It was the least he had to do, for the moment. He was sure that things would be better for the situation they're in, as long as Korey didn't fall to the opposing landsknecht.

Korey grunts, wiping some blood off of his cheek, staring the landsknecht down as the blue-haired man gets up, using his sword as a crutch. "Ugh, why are you so damn stubborn?! Are you his boyfriend or something?!"

"No, that’d be me you’re referring to!"

A swift punch to the landsknecht's face was made, causing him to fall to the ground, as both Korey and Lynus easily recognize Axel's red hair. Axel picked up the landsknecht by the throat, raising him up from the ground. "I’m giving you to the count of ten to get the hell out of my sight."

He lets go of the landsknecht, as the blue-haired Landsknecht grabs his weapon and starts making his way away from the red haired landsknecht, before turning to them when he was a good distance away. "This isn’t over yet, you damn fools. We will find you, and we will make you pay for this!"

With that threat in mind, he rushes off, finally out of Axel's sight. He walked over to the two boys, scratching his head in confusion. "What the hell was that guy's problem?" He queried, wondering what got that landsknecht in a hussy fit.

The Highlander shrugged as he placed his weapon away. "He just seemed very angry that Lynus was tending to these guys here. Hell, now that I think about it, he didn’t even give me a name to go off of..." Korey explained.

"Regardless, the good news is that I'm safe, and not injured." Lynus chimed in, hearing Axel sigh a breath of relief. "I've managed to stop their wounds, but I'd still like to take these guys back to the hospital so they can recover a bit better without that landsknecht undoing all of my work." He continued, picking up the male troubadour's violin.

"There may be the possibility that landsknecht will come back here with more people with him if we stay out here too long. Korey, I'll take the dark hunter, you take the troubadour." Axel discussed, as the Highlander nods and picks up the boy he was expected to carry.

For some reason, he felt extremely light. Did the troubadour not get much to eat, or something? Axel picked up the dark hunter, holding tight to it in case the unconscious boy wakes up as they were on their way to the hospital.

Lynus grabbed his bag, then proceeded to guide Axel and Korey to the hospital. It took a couple of minutes, but they were lucky the lansknecht from earlier didn't come back during the time they picked up the bodies. The crowd of explorers should provide some cover as entered the clinic, placing the two boys on two separate beds before sitting out in the lobby of the clinic.

Having to wait was a pain, but it was understandable why they needed to do so. Waiting for Lynus to make sure they were properly breathing was the least he can do, and that may take some time due to whatever injuries the two boys he and Axel dragged in suffered from. He also needed to know the names of those boys to see if they were the people HIbiki mentioned in her nightmare.

Speaking of Hibiki, he took out the notes he had and started to read the information he had written about the gemstones he had written about earlier. Axel took a glance at the notes, the Highlander totally unaware of him. "Are those notes about gemstones?"

Korey blinked, his eyes gazing at Axel for a couple of seconds before nodding as he turned back to face the notes he written. "I recently visited the library in search of gemstones that can help quell nightmares, or at least minimize it. I came across a few names, though the books shared minor details of the gemstone’s property." He discussed, flipping the pages between some interesting gemstones he came across in his research.

"Having nightmares suck, as they can cause more worry than needed..." Axel groaned, not liking the sound of where this conversation might be going. "Especially for Hibiki. For her to have nightmares for almost for an entire week worries me to no end."

Korey sighed, feeling like he might have done this research for naught... A touch of Axel's hand reassured the Highlander that he and Lynus were there to help him out. "Maybe once Lynus is done, we’ll ask him about the gemstone you wish to find." Axel suggested, giving the Highlander a reassuring smile.

The Highlander's face grew a smirk. "Thanks, Axel." He thanked, feeling the red haired landsknecht pat his back in response.

"Heh, don’t mention it. The least I can do for you after I punched that damn Landsknecht in the face." Axel chuckled. He knew he was too good that his punches can simply end a fight on its own.

Though Korey might just miss Axel when he prepares to head to the next Yggdrasil...

.....................................................................

It had been almost two hours since Hibiki had gotten some sleep, yet here she is, standing outside the inn. She wore the handmade cloak Hamza made for her, which she held onto tightly to make sure the wind didn't blow it away. It had been some time since she felt this at peace ever since the deepest darkness, Ur-Devil, was slayed by the Gungnir Guild, with the co-operation of the Guardians.

Ever since, she has joined their ranks as a guild member, and has slowly, but surely, told them about her past, as Lynus recommended that to be her course of action. If she spoke too much about it at once, she would break down in tears. Though her mind was focused on the nightmare that plagued her this morning.

That Hexer was no ordinary Hexer. His pressense would make anyone shiver in fear. The robes of his weren't natural ether. Though that may have been due to the fact that it was a nightmare, it wouldn't have made sense it'd react that same way in reality.

She placed her hand where her heart is, as she thought back to the two boys within her dream. They were familiar, cause she at least saw one of them, and heard the voice of another, along with his name. Hibiki felt like she had a connection to them. If only she could protect them from whatever that nightmare was trying to tell her...

The brown skin of that Dark Hunter... The white hair of that Troubadour, his wonderful singing voice, and his name... They were the only key to being reunited with them, as they told to her in her nightmare.

"Nice day today, isn’t it? The weather’s just perfect for another day of exploring." Flavio's voice surprised her, sharply turning to face the Survivalist, placing his hands on the railing, before regaining her composure and faced back the way she originally faced.

"Forsooth tis, man." She responded, getting an eyebrow raised from Flavio. "I have no idea what that means, but I assume it’s something nice."

Hibiki could only sigh. The Highlander was more akin to hearing her kind's language, but clearly Flavio still had a bit of trouble understanding her. "Of course it’s something nice. Thou just needeth to hark harder to my words, man."

"Alright, alright, no need to get worked up about it." Flavio exclaimed, not wanting to try to provoke her early in the morning. The two stand around for a little bit, taking in the busy streets of High Lagaard, before Hibiki soon placed her hands on the railing.

"I pray that thither must be some way to rid myself of these terrible nightmares..." She sighed, resting her chin on her hand to continue seeing the people walk by her and Flavio. The survivalist turned and patted her back in assurance.

"I’m sure there must be something, Hibiki. You can bet that we’ll help you find it." He chirped, placing his hand back on the railing he previously had it rest on.

The hooded girl couldn't help but continue to think about the nightmare she had. It wasn't something she wanted to think back upon, but given the fact she had nearly an entire week with nothing but nightmares, she feels as if there might be a bigger meaning than having it merely be a coincidence of her past memories coming back to haunt her.

"Thither must be some meaning to these nightmares I hast." Hibiki began, feeling Flavio's eyes gaze at her. "Hm? How so?"

Hibiki raised her head to face the Survivalist. "The first nightmare hadst me in a castle of sorts, running from the guards thither. Then, the second wast of the accursed abuse I suffered through." She discussed, starting to feel rather confident in explaining her nightmares to Flavio.

"The third wast seeing two boys taking mine lodging in the abuse, getting slapped or whipped. Fourth time wast all filled with nothing but a mysterious voice speaking to me. Then, the fifth time, a Hexer and two boys from mine third nightmare wast trying to flee..." Hibiki continued, as Flavio nodded in understanding.

"I’m not sure whether this must be a valorous or lacking valor sign of things to come. What doth thee bethink?" Flavio placed a hand on his chin, trying to think of what the common signs were in her nightmares.

The only remotely similar matching portion is the two boys Hibiki mentions, but even then, if what she said about them trying to think is true, it just adds to the whole confusion factor. "I’m not sure what to think of it." Flavio sighed. "Hard to really tell the upcoming events from dreams."

"Dreams art most mysterious, aren’t they?" Hibiki sighed, shrugging her shoulders as she went back to observing the people nearby. "They sure are, Hibiki." Flavio responded, before hearing something bark at them, turning to see a blue wolf coming right at them.

"Whoa, that wolf’s coming in fast! Hit the deck!" Flavio yelped, jumping over the railing and landing on the other side.

"Hm?" Hibiki turned to the sound of approaching footsteps, seeing the blue wolf Flavio spoke of. It slowly comes to a halt, panting as it stares at Hibiki, tilting its head.

Was... a beast just randomly running up to Hibiki for no reason? She knelt down to see the collar it wore. "Thou name is Tyro, eh?" Hibiki inquired upon seeing the name tag.

Tyro barks before sniffing her arm a couple of times, before licking it, startling Hibiki for a moment. Flavio looks over and sighs, as a smile forms on his face from seeing the wolf lick Hibiki's arm.

"I guess this Tyro seems to like you, Hibiki." Flavio hummed, walking his way back up to the inn's front porch. Hibiki was rather confused at the event happening before her. "But I don’t recall owning a blue wolf-"

Tyro barked, interrupting Hibiki as it sat down, wagging its tail. Hibiki notices a envelope lodged between Tyro's fur and its collar, taking the envelope out from between the gap, opening it as she stood up. "Most peculiar..." She hummed, taking the paper out of the envelope.

"Or I guess it can be delivering something to you. Either works, I guess." Flavio shrugged, scratching the back of his head as leaned against the wall.

The paper held in her hand was a rather basic sketch of what Hibiki looked like. Was it from someone she knew? Nobody else knew about a Forest Folk in High Lagaard, so that wasn't possible...

She noticed something out of the corner of her eye... Writing. It was a lot tinier compared to the sketch, but she went through the effort to try and read it anyways.

"To whomever it may concern," Hibiki began to read the writing, as Flavio to her in curiosity, walking over to her and started to see if he can see the tiny writing that was printed on the paper. "Me and my brother are looking for this woman who is likely around High Lagaard. As of the delivery of this message, we have escaped from a castle near High Lagaard, and are awaiting news of seeing our sister. Hell, we might be able to see her if we're lucky."

Hibiki's eyes soon caught of the writer of the message, gasping in surprise. "It can’t be..." Flavio looked at her, a little lost on trying to read the tiny message. "If what this writing sayeth is true, then I might see those two after all!" Hibiki pondered, placing the paper in her pocket as she turned to Tyro and knelt to its height, placing a hand on its head.

"Does thou knoweth whither those gents might be in High Lagaard, Tyro? I asketh that thou must taketh me to those men!" Hibiki declared, removing her hand from the wolf's head as it begins to sniff around, catching on to their scent rather quick. Tyro barks, and begins to make its way towards its destination, as Hibiki soon follows the blue wolf.

Flavio gasps in surprise, rather astonished to see the Forest Folk blindly follow the wolf. "Where are you going? Hibiki!" Despite Flavio trying to call out to her, Hibiki ignored the survivalists' call to her, letting out a sigh as he scratched his head.

"Ugh... Well, so much for wanting to get to know her a bit better. I suppose it’s better to follow along, just to be sure she stays safe." Flavio mumbled to himself, thankful he brought his bow and arrows to be on the safe side. He soon begins to follow Hibiki and Tyro, unsure where they might be going in High Lagaard.

But he's sure they'll be fine. After all, if they happen to run into Korey, all the better... Maybe even running into the man who made the letter, if they're lucky enough.

[singingcookie]

X me, xion and roxas, Dance with me!!

Leave a “X Me” in my ask, and I will write whatever it is that you wish, [specify.]

Another day, another mission.

But even fighting Heartless for, you know, the hundredth time–it wasn’t as bad today. The last few times Roxas had been assigned to Beast’s Castle, he had been paired with Xaldin. And while he didn’t exactly hate anyone in the Organization (apparently he couldn’t with “no heart” or whatever), the man with side burns didn’t really make his, ah, top-picks as far as partners went. Most of the things he talked about went right over the blond’s head. And Xaldin seemed to get exasperated with his cluelessness pretty quick.

But for the first time in a while–Roxas was paired with one of his top picks! He glanced over his shoulder after finishing off his own Heartless. Xion hopped back on one foot, her black coat fluttering around her, and sent a fireball at the Shadow now a fair distance away. Once it faded, she spun around to the final enemy, hefting her own weapon above her head to land a finishing blow. She clearly had it handled.

The Keyblade faded away from his grasp in a shimmer as he decided to take in the room now that it wasn’t crawling with their targets. It was still as bright as the last time he had arrived. Xaldin had said when they investigated the castle before, that it was clear the Beast avoided this room. Judging from the lack of destroyed decor that littered every other inch of the castle. There were hardly even scuff marks on the floor, it was pristine even.

Roxas actually…really liked this room. There really wasn’t much in it. No furniture even. Just the banisters that held up the U-shaped second story, encompassing the wide open space that he and Xion had been clearing the Heartless from. And then full-length windows that showed off the dark forest past the castle grounds. Perhaps it was the lighting. Yeah. The warm red surrounding the windows, the tanned flooring with the pattern in the center, and the powerful glow of the candles… It reminded him a lot of the best view in Twilight Town.

He dropped his head back, gazing at the gigantic chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Somehow it felt like the centerpiece of the mural. Even though he had no idea how a golden chandelier would relate to the mural of clouds, filled with–what had Xaldin called them again?–cherubs, that’s right. He couldn’t explain why but it just worked.

“All right, that was the last one here!” He hummed in reply to her cheerful tone, tearing his gaze away from the artwork above them. He was about to turn around, when she passed him with an interesting hop in her step, her eyes ever forward. “The ballroom’s pretty nice, huh?”

Ah. Ballroom. That’s what Xaldin had called it before too. “Yeah…” He took a few steps further in, his gaze following hers to the windows and the inky scenery that lay through them, dotted with the sparkle of stars. “But what’s this room even for anyway?”

He heard her tinkling laughter beside him, and he suddenly felt very warm in the face. “Roxas, didn’t Xaldin tell you?”

“I mean,” he started, raising a hand to rub the back of his head feeling a bit awkward as he admitted, “sometimes I don’t completely listen when he starts being a downer. Which is, y’know–”

“Often,” she agreed with another peal of giggles. She said that she and Demyx had talked about it on one of their missions here together–another person who was on the lower end of Roxas’ picks for partners–which explained why she had actually listened to the explanation. “It’s for dancing. The people here would hold big parties with upper class people and everyone would dance all night long!”

He tilted his head, mumbling the word under his breath as though it might get it to stick in his brain this time. The word was familiar somehow. But he knew it wasn’t from his time in the Organization. Perhaps in his old memories–his old self and what he couldn’t truly recall–was where it originated. “Xion… Do you know how to dance?”

A grin spread across her face so bright that it had the corner of his lips tilting upwards too. “Yeah! I mean, Demyx told me all about it! He even showed me how it would go at these parties! You wanna try?”

He didn’t know what exactly to expect here, but he gave a tiny nod anyway. “It’s like this…!” He pitched forward when she grabbed the hand closest to her, tugging him closer. They had a step between them and he wondered vaguely if they had ever stood so close before. From the pink that dusted Xion’s cheeks, and how she mumbled an apology about pulling him so suddenly, he didn’t think so.

After he assured her that it was fine, she started to change their position, telling him as she went. First, they were to keep holding their hands this way. He didn’t mind that. It was warm. And then he was supposed to put his other hand on her waist. He was about to ask if that was really alright when she rolled her eyes, and used her free hand to place it there herself. Okay then.

Once that was done, she placed that same hand upon his shoulder. Now there was even less space between them. Now everything was warm. Their hands and definitely his face. Yes, his face was very warm now. “Um, is this it?” he wondered. That was hard to ask–his throat was dry now too.

She was laughing a lot today. But it made him smile and forget about his hot face. She started to explain how the steps went, telling him to watch his feet at first. She counted them out and smiled patiently if he accidentally trodded on her feet. It took a little while but…

“I think I’m getting it!”

“Demyx said that it’s not getting it if you have to stare at your feet the entire time,” she informed him with a giggle. He hummed, giving the smallest nod before glancing back up. Only realizing now that dancing this way, there was no way to really look at anything except for her.

Her short, black hair was messy and all over the place. Probably from fighting earlier–and all the bouncing around she tended to do probably didn’t help. Her face was more pink than it was earlier and he wondered if she felt as warm as he did.

But it was her eyes that mesmerized him. He knew they were blue. But had they always had that purple tint to them? And did they always sparkle like that in this light? He had never really looked at her straight on like this at the clock tower.

He didn’t know how long they spun around the floor. All Roxas did know was that time was definitely passing. And they needed to RTC, but he really didn’t want to stop. “Roxas, I’m feeling a little…dizzy.”

“Oh. We have been dancing for a while.” Their eyes were still glued to each other, and he wasn’t really sure what to do here. And it felt like his words were leaving his lips without him willing them too. “Maybe we should stop.”

“We have stopped.”

And she’s right. They’re no longer spinning, but they’re still holding each other. As though they might pick it back up. Maybe they would, if they stayed like that too much longer. Axel might wonder what happen if they got back too late. And it’s with that thought, that Roxas removes his hand from her waist, taking a miniscule step back. “W-we should probably be heading to the clock tower.”

She takes a step back as well. “Right. Don’t want Axel to eat our ice cream, huh?” Their clasped hands finally separate; and they only look at each other for a moment before Xion starts to lead the way back. It was quiet as they made their way through the silent castle corridors, to return to their portal home. “So”–he sees her brush some hair behind her ear and the pink dust is back on her cheeks–“did you like dancing, Roxas?”

They aren’t standing as close, but he still feels just as warm as when they were dancing. He doesn’t even have to think to answer her. “Yes.” They should do it again, someday maybe. But he doesn’t say that part out loud.

[sirladysketch]

Another drabble for Compilations! This one pushes the fic firmly into the realm of AkuRoku, so enjoy!

Please note-- these are all first drafts, any minor spelling and typo issues will be dealt with when this finally gets posted to AO3.

“Something bugging you?”

Roxas jumps as the unexpected voice startles him from his thoughts, and he has to catch himself before he drops the ice cream onto the unsuspecting people below. When he’s made sure that nothing is in imminent danger of falling from the tower, he turns and Lea nudges him with his shoulder.

“You just have this weird expression on your face, like you’re not happy about something. Someone say something to you?”

“Oh,” Roxas says, then lowers his ice cream. Something is bothering him, but he can’t figure out how to talk to Lea about it, and that bothers him even more. He chews on his bottom lip, stalling for time. “I’m not unhappy.”

“Yeah, I can tell you’re ecstatic,” Lea says with a roll of his eyes, and Roxas flushes, looking down and away. “Seriously, though,” Lea continues. “Is there something on your mind?”

When Roxas still hesitates, Lea sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose with one hand as he lowers his ice cream bar in the other. “Look, I meant what I said, ok? If you have questions for me, just ask. I’m not gonna bite your head off or yell at you or anything. No stupid questions and all that.”

Lea’s said that a couple of times now, and he’s right, he’s never gotten angry at Roxas for asking questions. There were a few times that he got sad, once that he got confused, but never angry. Roxas knows he can trust Lea to be good to his word-- he can feel it, even if memories of Axel are still hazy, half-remembered things.

Still, it’s not like he can just up and say “Did Roxas ever kiss you?”

...He didn’t actually mean to ask that out loud.

Lea stares at him open mouthed, his ice cream bar halfway to his mouth. He does that when Roxas asks questions, takes a bit of food or drink or something so he can ‘chew’ on the question, so to speak, before he answers. But Roxas got the question out before the ice cream got in, and now its melted drips are falling unnoticed onto Lea’s thigh. Roxas flushes, looks down, and mumbles “nevermind” before taking a bite out of his own bar.

But the question has been bugging him for weeks now, more so now that Lea will actually talk to him. At first he thought it might have been an initial contact high from soaking in so much heat when he first woke up (coupled with the pretty face). Lea’s abrupt departure had hurt, but Roxas had chalked it up to his initial confusion and the overwhelming emotions of what had to be the worst day of his life. Granted, technically it had been the first day of his life, too, but after the initial shock and fear and overall confusion he’d felt in the days to follow, Lea continued to be a sore point, almost like an empty hole in his heart.

In the weeks that followed, hearing about things the other Roxas had done, trying to sort dreams from memories, figuring out who he was in all of this-- he’d analyzed everything he knew of Roxas before he went into the data simulation with everything he’d felt since being created. And, unfortunately, he’d come up with only one viable conclusion: Roxas had liked Axel.

Every story had Roxas and Axel laughing about this, or talking about that. Ienzo had hinted that Roxas followed Axel around like a puppy long after his initial confusion and ‘zombie days’ were over. Even thinking about Lea-- or rather, Axel-- left him with a strange warmth and sharp pain. He’d spent a lot of sleepless nights thinking about what the other Roxas would’ve done in this situation, and even more wondering if Lea thought of Axel as the other himself, too.

And now that they’re finally talking-- about ‘Axel’ stuff, nothing about how he feels now that he’s Lea again-- Roxas can’t help but wonder if Axel had known about Roxas’ crush, and if he had, if Lea thinks it disappeared with whatever version of Roxas he’s been keeping in his heart.

Lea’s still dodgy about some topics, and when Roxas asks about certain things or says certain words, Lea clams up and leaves, or worse, he gets sad.That’s why Roxas hadn’t meant to say that. If Axel and Roxas had been kissing, or… more (and he blushes even thinking this) then Roxas had just given him yet another reminder of something he’s lost. It also explains why Lea was so upset when Roxas turned out not to be who he thought-- who he’d hoped he would be.

Now he can feel Lea staring at him and his blush darkens, his cheeks hot and no doubt bright red. He’s an idiot and Lea’s going to get angry-- or even worse, he might make fun of him and Roxas isn’t sure he can take that. But when he finally steals a glance, Lea’s expression is unreadable. He seems tense, like he’s just gonna get up and leave again, and Roxas shrinks in on himself a little, wishing he’d kept his mouth shut.

“No…?”

The reply is soft and tinged with... something. Lea looks confused, but he almost sounds sad and Roxas isn’t sure why that would be.

“Oh,” he says instead, and looks down at his ice cream again. “I think he probably wanted to. I mean, based on everything I’ve heard, and what I can remember,” he admits as an afterthought, then takes another bite of his ice cream.

Lea doesn’t have anything to say to that, he’s just sort of staring at his hands with the oddest expression on his face. Roxas feels…. relieved isn’t the right word, but he’s glad to know that he didn’t forget something like that, something that might hurt Lea if he had to remember it all on his own. He wonders if he should feel embarrassed, admitting the other Roxas’ feelings when there’s no way for Axel to do anything about it now, but he doesn’t, because the other Roxas’ feelings are his feelings, and Lea’s told him he needs to stay true to his heart.

He licks his lips, thinking that over, and looks over at Lea again.

“Can I kiss you?”

Lea blinks for a minute and just stares at him, expression blank. Roxas swallows. He’d just assumed that since Axel had been so close to Roxas and Lea had worked so hard to bring him back that the feelings were probably mutual. That it would be fine talking about how much Roxas liked Axel, because Axel-- and now, maybe Lea-- had liked him back. But maybe Axel hadn’t felt anything for Roxas because he hadn’t had a heart, at least, not a real one, so maybe Roxas’ feelings had been one-sided after all.

Then Lea laughs, and something shifts in Roxas’ chest, because Lea is smiling at him and suddenly nothing else matters.

“I dunno, can you?”

That’s...not the answer he expected, but at the same time, it’s not a ‘no.’ He feels his cheeks burn as he looks into Lea’s eyes, trying to gauge if Lea is serious or if he’s making fun of him. But there’s no hint of derision and Lea’s leaned in a bit, almost as though he’s daring Roxas to give it a try.

“W-what?” he asks, wondering if he’s misunderstanding something, or if Lea’s going to tease him about this because he doesn’t actually return the feelings.

Lea grins, then nudges him again. “I dunno if you can or not. You’re kinda short, can you even reach?”

Roxas blinks. Twice. Then-- “I can too reach, shut up! I’m not that short, you’re just freakishly tall!”

“Prove it.” Lea’s still smiling, really smiling, like, it’s reached his eyes and even though he’s got his shit-eating grin on Roxas can feel the warmth radiating off of him. He’s watching Roxas expectantly and Roxas can feel his heart picking up speed, hear a distant ringing in his ears as his attention focuses on crossing the gap between them. Lea is pretty tall, he’s got almost eight inches on Roxas even when they’re sitting down, and even though they’re sitting pretty close together, it’s still gonna be a bit of a stretch.

Roxas half turns towards Lea, putting a hand on Lea’s thigh for leverage and sucking in breath a bit when he feels Lea’s heat through the fabric. Apparently he hadn’t been delusional that first day he woke up, Lea really did feel like a furnace. A very sexy furnace, sure, one that’s muscles tightened under Roxas’ touch. But Lea hasn’t broken eye contact, although his expression has softened, and Roxas watches his face for some hint of what’s going through his head.

He’s so focused on Lea that he doesn’t notice that in turning more towards Lea, he’s actually sliding off the edge of the clock tower. The lack of stone under his butt doesn’t even register until there’s a sudden weightlessness, followed by a painful yank as Lea shouts and grabs him by the arm and under the shoulder. There’s a scramble for purchase against the smooth face of the stone and then Lea’s hauling him back over the edge, where Lea falls flat on his back with Roxas pulled tight against him.

With his head pressed up against Lea’s chest, Roxas can feel the pounding of Lea’s heart as they both draw in rapid, shallow pants. And then, once they’ve managed to catch their breaths, Lea starts to laugh, a fast, almost wild thing, and Roxas shakes in laughter with him, smiling now that his body’s realized that it’s safe and not plummeting towards a grisly death.

Somehow those eight inches don’t seem all that intimidating now, so he squirms in Lea’s arms until they’re loosened, and uses the freedom to slide the rest of the way up Lea’s chest and bring his face more or less level with Lea’s.

The kiss is tentative. Just a quick brushing of lips, testing, tasting, trying to see if this is all really real, or if he’s going to wake up all alone in his bed, the bed that he’d stolen from Lea, apparently.

Lea makes a noise and he loosens his hold on Roxas even more, which makes Roxas pull away, worried that he’s taken something that wasn’t really being offered. But Lea’s only let go so he could move one hand to the small of Roxas’ back, pressing him closer, while the other runs fingers through Roxas’ hair as it makes its way to the back of his neck.

Lea encourages him down for a second kiss, and this one lasts longer, though the touching of lips is no less delicate, and somehow even more tender, as though Lea is afraid that Roxas will break if he’s too forceful in his touch.

That leaves it up to Roxas to make the third kiss more enthusiastic, and he presses his whole body against Lea’s as he leaves open mouthed kisses along Lea’s jawline. Lea lets out a soft sigh, his fingers kneading the back of Roxas’ neck while his other hand finds its way under Roxas’ shirt and up his spine.

Lea is molten under his touch, all languid heat curled into long muscled limbs, soft and inviting despite his angles and sharp edges. Roxas soaks it all in, reveling in how easily he fits against Lea, and feeling the familiar tingle of magic that’s unique to the sharing of memories and emotions. He’s used to feeling it in his hands, where he holds onto Sora, Ven, and the others while they tell him about things that were. But here, so close to Lea, his skin tingles at the contact of skin on skin, and Lea’s fingers and mouth leave trails along his skin that are almost numb with pleasure.

They end up laying on the stone balcony for some time after they finally break apart, although Roxas eventually slides off Lea’s chest to tuck up against him, head resting on Lea’s shoulder. It’s peaceful, so high above the sounds of city life and traffic, and Roxas realizes that he’s never seen this view of the sky, with its muted colors of sunset and the bright pinpricks of stars. It’s beautiful, and he gets to share it with Lea, their own personal secret.

“Getting me on my back is cheating, y’know,” Lea says after their breathing has leveled out. Roxas can hear the smile in his voice, and he tilts his head back to see Lea wink at him.

“I’ll just have to try again later, then,” Roxas promises, and Lea’s grin widens.

“You can certainly try,” he laughs.

[nakalimutang-sumpaan]

My “2nd best friend”

aka Chris lol

came through today after I literally told mom this morning, “I miss my matcha 😩” after running out yesterday and having to wait for my order haha.

But he bought us all Starbucks and got me a green tea latte 🤗 which hit the spot, even if it’s not quality matcha haha

And thennn after I said hello, the first thing he said was, “Oh Alda! I got you a gift!”

WHAAAT. I WAS ECSTATIC. Tbh I thought he was gonna say the sous vide thing haha

But nah, he got me a box of exotic meats LOL which we did talk about too. Venison, elk, duck, buffalo, etc. But Tita’s reaction was, “Only her?!?” and he’s like, “Well..I mean..it’s for everybody but I know she’ll really appreciate it the most.” I felt so bad 😂 but I was so grateful! I was like, “AWW YAY, TY!!” AND DID A LITTLE HAPPY DANCE HAHA. I’m for sure gonna make him something the next time he comes since when I made ube cheesecake for him last time, he got super excited bc he said cheesecake and taro are 2 of his favorite things ever and he loved it. I just hope Tita lets us know way ahead next time. He was a bit irritated earlier when mom told him that Tita told her at 1AM last night that he was coming... at 10AM... when they have been talking the entire night. And mom explained how she kinda panicked and thought about what she could cook for him so she had to think about what she had in the freezer. And Chris was like, “I told her I was coming over 2 days ago...” And again, Idk, I felt awkward bc of their communication man. Mom and dad told me how every time he’s here, she laughs nonstop. Which is true. But it’s slightly annoying 😅 bc she laughs at everything and I know she laughs but doesn’t understand wth he’s saying sometimes. I get it when couples laugh at everything bc they enjoy each other’s company and understand each other and are kilig and stuff. Which I know they are sometimes haha. But sometimes the communication and being lost in translation makes me cringe. Like he’ll be sarcastic and she’ll take it seriously but I’ll laugh, not only bc it was funny but to hint that it was a joke, and so will he, but she’ll say “di ko na gets, na kakatawa ba iyon” or HE’LL be serious and she’ll laugh inappropriately. And like Idk, I know Tita’s not one to really be able to feel when someone’s annoyed or read people properly, but I can tell when he is and I’m like “...” It literally sucks being the middle man/translator. Like why are you dating a puti, man 😂 he’s reiterated thrice now that she’s the worst communicator. And earlier, you can tell he was trying so hard to not come off a certain way, but he said, “You keep assuming. You don’t even ask me. Don’t do that” and she kinda just had the “haha w/e” attitude but you can tell he was actually frustrated. Bc like on the 4th of July, we all went to the park/had a picnic and she asked him if he wanted to join us, and of course he said yes. She didn’t tell him it was gonna be a casual thing at a park and just sent the address. Which is fine, but the thing is she purposely did it bc she assumed, “Baka pag sabihin ko sa kaniya na sa park, hindi pupunta. Parang hindi kasi siya yung sporty type or yung gusto sa labas sa nature” since he’s Big Chungus. And mom told her to never assume that and to let him know bc what if he feels out of place showing up wearing something kinda fancy when we’re all in shorts. And I asked, “Did he play sports in high school?” “Parang hindi” “I feel like he did. What if he played football or something haha” And he does show up dressed nicely. And when my bro, Mica and I were playing/throwing the football, we asked if he wanted to play. He threw and was almost as good as Axel, and everyone was caught by surprise. Then he caught it too. Then I yelled, “FINALLY YOU FOUND SOMEONE GOOD!!” since we sucked/were learning 😂 So Axel asked if he used to play, and he said he played (I forget what position) in HS, and Axel was like, “Oh yeah?! Nice! I was the (position)” LOL. And I was like, “I KNEW IT!” And then after 30 mins I overheard him tell Tita, “You could’ve told me we were gonna be at a park, I wouldn’t have come dressed like this.” “Sorry, I didn’t think you’d wanna come if I told you that” “Why not?” oof. Man. I really hope if they’re for each other that they communicate better bc I can’t help but feel bad. And I honestly lowkey am reminded of when CJ and his ex were together and he and I ended up understanding each other more/agreeing/saying the same things and actually becoming best friends. That’s why I just lay low now with these 2 lol