#i liked the vanitas one but i KINDA wish my first attempt

[lalesath-blog]

I have a tag for the glow/dark edits now here. I’ll be doing more of them in the future, methinks. Preferably like the Leo/Shion ones. If anyone wants to request/suggest characters from whatever series, feel free.

[kitsoa]

A Case In Stubborn Belief

I don’t feel like I’ve reassessed my theories properly since things started going to hell in khux. The benefit to this torturous slog of releases is it allows me to adjust my mindset and theories in real time so as to have a healthy theorist mindset. In other words I use the time between releases to justify my theories and dig my heels in. Hahaaa-- so like, let me preface this by saying that there is plenty of reason to hold onto seemingly jossed theories and evidence because...

1.) Multiple things can be correct at the same time. 

2.) Red herrings are frequently employed. 

Now. I have, in the past summed up my thoughts in this 3-prong Theory for Khux post which is a little dated but subscribes to three ideas.

The Master of Masters is the Author of Fate

Ava is the Traitor 

Ven harbors a split personality.

And while recent events have definitely had me going to the drawing board. I still kinda believe in all three ideas. Let’s work this out. 

Ven as the Murderer

In my original Split-Personality Theory, I proposed that the Darkness within Ven was suppressed to the point that it gained sentience and acted with a will of its own. As Re:mind supports, Vanitas refers to existing long before their split. 

The primary take away was, regardless of who did the dirty deed of killing Strelitzia, Ventus was innocent because he lacked agency. This is still true. 

Now, it seemed as though this theory was disproven in last months flashback of the murder. Ven is clearly coerced by this physical shadowy Darkness to go to the scene of the crime, from which the Darkness strikes Strel down, orders Ven to pick up the Leader Book aaaand physically takes on the appearance of Ava. 

All interactions with this force suggested that Darkness was an external force simply using Ven as a pawn in the scene. Darkness had to order Ven to pick up the book. Darkness manifested separate to Ven. This isn’t something coming from within Ven, it’s simply grabbing hold of him. 

But then we have to consider the entire context of the scene. Ven was planted in the Leader position by Darkness. Darkness set it up so there was some foundation of legitimacy with Ava being seen with him. It was orchestrated specifically for Ven’s benefit... but to what end? Ven’s a pawn sure, but if the goal is getting a hold of a Union Leader, an external force of Darkness shouldn’t have to go through a very risky murder plot to make room. If the goal is to sow discord among the Leaders then killing someone close and framing one of them is all you need to do. If the goal is BOTH then why Ven? His presumable innocence? Is he just convenient scape goat?

This is where I think this months update comes into play. Darkness, spawns from Ven. Darkness has been hiding inside Ven. Ven is the Trojan Horse. While Ven blames himself for the death of Strel, he asserts that “It’s not me”. Darkness isn’t Ven. But that could be wishful thinking on his part...

That Darkness, no matter how external it behaves, is Ven’s. While not behaving like a split personality in the conventional way, the force is essentially Ven’s darkness given autonomy and sentience while still bound to his heart. That Darkness becomes Vanitas. Same idea different manner of arrival.

Is Darkness Legion?

“You’re finally aware, of us.”

In line with this speculation, this line could be referring to Darkness and Ven in the plural. Vanitas was very fixated on Ven and himself being the same being. I don’t see why Darkness can’t have that same attachment.

But if he’s NOT referring to himself I guess I have to talk about my Author of Fate theory.

This line would then suggest that Darkness is most likely one of those monsters in human form MoM was talking about wayyyy back in Cornerstones of Rebirth. In my Figurative Language post, I use MoM’s potential as a disillusioned author of the entire KH reality as a means to interpret his words more figuratively. 

“Well, if you ask if the darkness they fought was comprised of monsters… maybe so. They looked the same as us, so it’s a bit different from now.”

In my interpretation these beings of Darkness were a summation of the darkness of human nature causing endless conflict. It was MoM’s way of explaining that he is who he is because he’s tired of senseless evil. This is where I think 2 things can be correct at the same time. Darkness can be a manifestation of a pure force of evil similar to the heartless AND be a figurative reflection of MoM’s perspective on humanity. After all, the theory postulates that MoM created everything. It’s a reflection of that “Real Evil” creeping into things.  So is this force which I believe born from Ven a part of some kind of new race of Darkness? Yes and No. Yes because I think MoM’s interpreting a realistic evil through the creatures of the series. Whatever impulses formed Darkness inside Ven, is the same tendencies that MoM witnessed in his youth. No-- because the Darkness by virtue of being in this reality gain a form of autonomy that I don’t think MoM’s story is actually depicting. Literal Monsters in human skin basically detach humanity from the consequences of Evil. And while that’s not the case in reality, Mom’s interpretation paved a way for that to be the case in KH cause he’s the author. 

Got really meta there. In my speculation, MoM is coping with the helplessness of reality. Poor guy. 2020 sucks.

What about Ava?

That’s the question isn’t it? Most of my Ava speculation is based on her behavior leading up to the end of Khx. The suggestions from that line of thought haven’t changed. I mean, nothings really modified the implications of Ava clashing with Luxu and starting the first war. If we take into account that MoM manipulated the Foretellers into their own destruction and Ava potentially discovered this, then her actions would make sense. Even with recent developments we know that Ava took action to defy MoM’s plan by changing who received the BoP. Ava is the Traitor. 

So she is actively trying to circumvent this written fate... and all she succeeded in doing was swapping around a book? Yeah, that’s not enough. 

My original theory speculates that Ava is trying to sabotage the entire Data-Daybreak town because it’s a part of MoM’s plan. And while Luxu’s Secret Report in KH3 has wording that suggest that the Data-Daybreak Town is destined to never have the Keyblade War, meaning that the manner needed to sabotage that is to.... cause the Keyblade War. So the way to ‘save’ her Dandelion’s from being MoM’s play things is to trigger the Keyblade War that they wanted to avoid, all so that she can attempt to remove them from MoM’s clutches (I further speculate this is because she doesn’t understand the extent of MoMs ownership over fate and therefore thinks its possible to defy fate enough to escape him).

So this puts her in the perfect motive to do whatever she can to make sure shit hits the fan and war breaks out. It’s an ironic little reversal cause once again Ava is becoming MoM in order to ‘stop’ MoM and she is really the fool here. This desperation might have her joining forces with some unsavory forces and pushing for some... drastic measures (like permitting murder!). It’s all for the greater good of course and she needs to free them from being in MoM’s creation. 

This is why I still think, Ava is a benefactor/ accomplice to Darkness. I think she ultimately gave it access to the Dandelion ranks and orchestrated a deal that would ensure the escape of some Dandelions (through the Arc business with Maleficent) while also the assured destruction of the Data-Worlds that imprisoned them. This is because of the Darkness’s actions with Maleficent and paving a way out of the Data World which seems counterintuitive to the actions of Darkness through Ven, sowing discord and killing little sisters. Sure there could be more than one with more than one agenda but this can come together if you’re stubborn enough. So yeah. Ava is still in cohorts with Darkness. I really want her to be a well intentioned extremist don’t I? 

---

Anyway. I am not so deluded that I can’t accept my theory being wrong. It’s okay. I’m not like... seriously hung up about it. But, not only do I think these 3 ideas are just insanely compelling, I DO believe that everything is a monthly slow confirmation here. One week seems to destroy an idea and the next resuscitates it. It’s incredible how they don’t just drop every plot twist at once. As someone trying to write a compelling mystery in my KH fic, I am impressed with how this has stretched out over years. 

I’ll let you know when I’ve really given up. Until then, I’ll just start digging my plot on this hill. Read my theory master list while I do that.

[kessielrg]

[Kingdom Hearts] Sabi in the Sky with Diamonds

Summary: In which Ventus wakes from an unscheduled naptime and tries to make heads or tails of the figure over him. He then proceeds to aggressively flirt with the last person who wants him to flirt with her. Inspired by two prompts (x and x) by @dialouge-prompts on Tumblr. [established VentusxOC][modern AU][oneshot]

Word Count: 1,763 words

Rating: K+

If you like this story, please reblog!

---

The last thing Ventus could easily remember was someone shouting his name, and a very loud crack. What he knew now was… not a lot, actually. His eyelids were too heavy to open, his limbs felt like someone had filled them with lead, and somewhere -far too distant from here- was someone trying to call his name.

Panic was probably the first sense that came back to him. He struggled to open his eyes with a sudden desperation. When Ventus could finally open his eyes, he was immediately -and harshly- greeted with a flash of light. Ven squinted as his sense of sight came back to him. As it turns out- light was incredibly bright.

Heh…

Light is bright.

Light bright.

Lite Bright.

Aqua used to have Lite Bright. She had used it as a way to express her current emotion for that day. She never used the backing paper, so the Lite Bright itself became a colorful, one sided lamp. Did she still have it? He felt like she had lost all the little pegs before he and Vanitas moved in. She probably didn't have it anymore.

Regardless, the biggest factor of his brain coming back into consciousness was realizing something was standing over him. This something was blocking a lot of the light coming into Ven's eyes. He was grateful for this something. He tried to get a better look at it. Or them, as it seemed. A girl, to be even more precise, as his eyes were able to adjust for the brightness around the figure.

He originally thought that her hair and eyes were the same color. Both looked incredibly dark in the circumstances he found himself in. But he realized that her hair was actually a different color than her eyes. The girl's long raven black hair was tucked behind her ear on one side, with the rest hanging freely beside her. She was almost so close that if Ven moved his face a certain way, his nose could just barely brush against the ends.

And then there were her eyes. They held a nice soft brown color that nearly made Ven take a deep breath in. There was even a certain kind of haughtiness in those eyes. As he couldn't help but stare into them, Ven found that they trying to hold back a grave concern. He knew those eyes, and a name came to mind that he couldn't quite figure out yet. It was at the tip of his tongue. Didn't it start with an S? Like… Sayuri. Or Sable? Or maybe even… “Sabrina.” Ventus croaked. The girl paused, looking at him now with a quirked eyebrow. If Ven's arms didn't feel like weights had been attached, he might have placed a gentle hand against her cheek. Her skin looked rather smooth. And pale. Almost like a real life porcelain doll. Vanitas tried to scare Ventus with one of those before- and shortly after watching the Chucky remake, no less. Ven still hated his twin for doing that. There were a lot of things he hated his twin for.

“Sabrina.” Ven repeated, his voice a bit more steady now. “You’re… beautiful.”

And just like that, any worry that was on her face was wiped clean away.

“And you’re concussed.” she shot back with a grimace.

For some reason, he felt rather proud about that. Or maybe it was because he had gotten her name right on the first try. However, even though he had her name, he still only had faint inklings of who she was.

“Are you dating anyone?” Ven lazily asked as Sabrina moved to check his pulse rate.

“Yes.” she immediately snapped.

Ven's face quickly fell at the response. He even let out a small, disappointed, “Oh.”

Sabrina looked over and cocked an eyebrow at him. “It's you, you dumbass.”

Ventus's eyes lit up halfway. “Really?”

“Unfortunately.” the young woman grumbled in response.

A wistful sigh escaped the young man's lips as he relaxed his body. His eyes trained up to the inky black sky above them. It was a new moon tonight, and that meant the stars were far more visible than usual. There was going to be a meteor shower tonight, right? That's why he and her were outside? They had come with other people too, didn't they? If that was the case, why was Sabrina the only one that seemed worried about him? Not that it mattered, he didn't want to stop fondly staring at her while she checked him over.

Ven gave another sigh before wistfully remarking, “Look at the stars.”

“Don’t.” came the swift warning.

“Look how they shine for you.”

“Stop it!” Sabrina now demanded without so much looking over at him.

“I wish I could go back in time.” Ven wistfully sighed. “You know why?”

Sabrina refused to answer, but he took it as a sign to continue anyway.

“Because I'd tell the Romans to rearrange the alphabet so U and I are together.”

And that was when Sabrina slapped him across the face. His cheek immediately flared from the impact- if his arms didn't feel like they were filled with lead, he could have rubbed the spot with a pout.

“Ow.” Ven retorted. “Love hurts.”

“Gonna make it hurt more if you don't freaking shut up.”

Ven gave a small groan and a pout as he relaxed his body again.

“Sabrina! Ven!” a new voice called out. It didn't take much for Ventus to know that it was Terra- he'd recognize that voice anywhere. The boy could only manage to move his chin slightly to be sure. Sure enough, the familiar browned hair young adult came into Ven's view. He looked a lot more worried than what Sabrina was letting on.

“Is Ven alright?” Terra questioned, looking to Sabrina. The glare she gave him was practically venomous.

“He's flirting with me,” she spat, “He's fine.”

Terra recoiled at this. His face changing from worry to one of personal affront.

“You do understand that isn't a good indicator.”

“Terra,” Ven tried to speak up, “Am I a good photographer?”

Confused, Terra looked down at Ven. “I don't think you take photos at all.” he admitted. “Why?”

Giving a lopsided grin, Ven looked back at Sabrina and said, “Because I can picture Sabi and I together.”

“See?!” Sabrina demanded.

“That was kinda bad...” Terra admitted, sheepishly scratching the back of his neck.

Sabrina rolled her eyes as she got up on her feet. Standing over Ven, she carefully took his arms to try to hoist him up. Even with the upper body strength of a ballerina, Ven was a lot heavier than he looked, leaving her to have very little luck in even getting him to sit up. After about three failed tries, she turned to Terra and gave an impatient huff.

"Can you help me get this moron so we can take him home?" she prudently asked him.

“You must be so exhausted,” Ventus cheerily told her, “Running through my mind...”

“Before I kick him.” Sabrina added on with a grimace. Terra simply snorted at her. He did get Ven though; taking care to use an arm to support Ven's back, and the other to tuck under his knees, before hoisting him up as simple as a basket of laundry. With Ven securely in Terra's arms, Sabrina absently hugged herself.

“Thanks.” she grumbled.

“He's going to the hospital,” Terra reminded her before starting to head to his truck.

“W-wait!” Ven sluggishly whined. “I want to stay with her! I was told to follow my dreams, and there she is!”

Despite his better judgment, Terra snorted. “Don't worry Romeo, she'll be waiting for you when you get home. I almost guarantee it.”

This seemed to sate the boy somewhat- relaxing in Terra's arms, but still trying to get a last glimpse at Sabrina. She was doing her best not to look concerned. It was here that the casual observer would have assumed a faint ignorance to Ven's safety. But her worry was very quietly hidden in the wrinkles on her forehead. A fool would say it was because of her furrowed eyebrows. Ven knew better than that. He knew her better than that.

When Ventus and Terra were no longer in eye range, Sabrina let her guard down for all of a moment to let out a sigh of relief. That moment of vulnerability was quickly replaced with indifference when she could hear someone coming up to her.

“Well princess,” the voice of someone truly loathsome hissed into her ear, “That was an adventurous ten minutes. Don't you think?”

Sabrina immediately whirled around to smack the newcomer with her fist, but he was faster than her- taking a tight hold of her wrist just seconds before she could make impact. Smirking at her failed attempt was none other than Vanitas. He looked so smug- it only made Sabrina want to punch him harder. She growled as she struggled to get out of Vanitas's grip. But, just like her efforts of trying to pick Ven up, it was useless.

“Why would you purposely hit Ventus with a baseball?” she instead growled at him.

“I was trying to help you out, princess.” Vanitas claimed with half a shrug and a snide smirk.

“By murdering your own brother?!”

“By giving you a chance to flirt back, obviously. It's not like he's going to remember all of this later.”

“I'll make him remember,” she hissed, “Just like how you're going to remember this.” And without any other warning, she kneed him in the exact place where it would hurt the most. Vanitas immediately let her hand go, flinching at the pain he had put himself in. Sabrina adjusted herself for a moment before standing tall.

“If you even dare try to hurt him like that again, I'll gut you in your sleep. Got it?”

Even in pain, Vanitas winched out a smirk. “So feisty,” he snickered. “I see why he likes having you around.”

He didn't really deserve a swift kick to his kneecaps, but it felt cathartic.

With Vanitas in a sufficient amount of pain, Sabrina gave a rather satisfied grin before spinning on her heel to head to her car.

“Wait,” Vanitas tried to argue, his voice only slightly giving away how much pain he was in. “Where do you think you're going? You're my ride home now!”

“Sounds like a personal problem.” Sabrina callously informed him from over her shoulder. And with that, she left Vanitas on the ground, still in pain, as he freely cussed her out.

[mastrechef]

More Kingdom Hearts stuff just because I feel like it.

“I feel like I should know, that there should still be a connection that I could trace. But there’s nothing there.” Roxas growled and ruffled his hair in frustration. “Dammit, there has to be more I can do besides sit here and feel fucking useless.”

Sitting next to him, Ventus hummed in agreement. “I understand how you feel. I was with him for more than a decade. Sometimes I feel like I know him better than I know myself. Yet when I reach out to find his light...I can’t sense anything.”

For a while after that, the two sat in silence, watching the sunset from the top of Twilight Town’s clock tower. Things had been awkward between them at first, what with being near identical at first glance. There were differences, but they were subtle: the shape of the jaw, the placement of the cheekbones, and Roxas’ eyes were a lighter sapphire to Ven’s royal blue. They probably said no more than three words to each other before returning to their own respective worlds. That changed after Kairi returned and Sora did not, and Ven began to seek out Roxas and Xion as the other two who had once resided in Sora’s heart. All three shared a unique pain at the loss of the boy who had gifted them with a second chance at life; the same boy whom none of them had truly had a chance to speak with.

“You two aren’t still brooding, are you?” The silence was broken by the arrival of Xion, three bars of ice cream in hand.

After a quiet thanks for the ice cream, Roxas smirked at Xion. “Nah, that’s strictly my job. Ven’s not the type to brood.”

“Well what type am I then?”

“You’re the sunshine and rainbows kinda guy. Nothing gets you down for long.”

“That’s not even remotely true,” protested Ven.

“No, I see what Roxas is getting at. If you’re upset about something, you seek out other people to talk to rather than hiding away and isolating yourself.” Xion turned to Ven with a sad smile. “That’s why you came to us in the first place, right?”

The playful atmosphere evaporated and turned pensive. Nothing about their situation was particularly normal, their bond even more so. Before all this, Xion and Roxas had at least been friends, with Ven as the outlier. Yet somehow, the trio fit together like long lost siblings. Now all that was needed was to return their missing brother.

“He’s out there somewhere, I know it. We’ll find him.” Her determination blazed as bright as the sun. Both boys could do nothing less than put all their faith in Xion’s words. So long as there was hope, they wouldn’t give up on the boy who saved them all.

...

There was something strange in the ease with which Yozora found him. Hiding from him was about as easy as trying to hide from a bloodhound. Despite hiding in the upper branches of a haphazardly chosen tree or losing himself amid the maze of clothing racks in some random department store, sure enough, Yozora was there. It was maddening. The only upside to this situation was that Sora felt no need to sleep, so at least he didn’t have to deal with being startled awake only to see Yozora looming over him. Getting knocked out by the guy on a regular basis was bad enough.

Of course there were also the nightmares that had plagued him since the botched Mark of Mastery exam. For a while he’d even been afraid to go to sleep, terrified that Xehanort would be there waiting and trap him again. He had pushed his concerns to the side in favor of more important things. There had been a lot to do to prepare for the final battle and no time to dwell on personal demons.

Being in this realm only allowed him to further ignore those particular demons.

Time passed strangely in this place. It could be hours or days between his meetings with Yozora, but it was impossible to tell for sure, and not just because it was perpetually nighttime. Anytime Sora lost focus or zoned out, he had this sense that time somehow sped up. Yet, whenever he returned to consciousness after a round with Yozora he felt as though no time at all had passed. Was this how Aqua felt stuck in the Realm of Darkness all those years?

There was nothing to do but think and wait for Yozora. He found himself pondering about the other boy’s words. What did he mean by ‘I was told to save Sora’ and what was he supposed to be saving Sora from? It couldn’t be from whatever this place was, since it seemed Yozora was the one ensuring he stayed stuck here. From death? Sora’s already saved himself from that fate once, even if the circumstances were different.

Sora was startled out of his musings by a familiar voice. “Aren’t you looking pathetic.”

He lurched in alarm, flailing his arms as he tried to keep himself from tipping over the edge of the roof he was perched on. He regained his balance and twisted around to see an unexpected figure. “Wha—Vanitas?”

“Did all your ‘friends’ ditch you?” Despite the harsh words, the usual arrogance and anger were absent and instead he just seemed...resigned. All the same, Sora would be on his guard; it was too soon to tell what Vanitas planned to do.

Sora shook his head vehemently. “My friends wouldn’t do that,” he insisted. None of them were the type to do that. (He carefully didn’t think about that brief time he had lost the keyblade in Hollow Bastion. And Riku leaving him behind when he gave in to the darkness didn’t count.) He eyed Vanitas in confusion. “What are you doing here?”

The question got him a bitter laugh. “Did you think I had gone for good? You can’t destroy darkness. It will always be there so long as there is darkness in people’s hearts.”

“I get that.” And he truly did. For all that he fought the darkness, he had come to understand that light could not exist without dark. They were counterpoints meant to balance each other. Just like there was no way to be happy all the time, to eliminate all negative emotions, but those happy moments were made all the more precious by the presence of the downs—so too must light and dark exist in equal measure. Besides, he was no stranger to the reality of the saying ‘bright lights cast deep shadows.’ (Distorted flashes of clawstearrendhungerRAGE came to mind.) “But what I meant was how are you here? This place...it’s...” He trailed off, not really sure what to say. This strange city was a complete unknown, seemingly unconnected to any other world that Sora had visited, except perhaps the Final World; but even so it wasn’t clear how he got from there to here.

“I told you before, didn’t I? I’m your shadow, so of course I’d be drawn to where you are.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. If you were able to find me, shouldn’t the others be able to as well?” There was certainly no shortage of people connected to Sora’s heart, although all his attempts to trace the connection back to them resulted in failure. But if Vanitas could reach him, then maybe it was only his end that was having trouble. Who knew how these things worked when you were technically supposed to be dead.

“If they can’t find you, that’s their problem. Hasn’t got shit to do with me,” he replied, face twisting in a sneer. Apparently fed up with their all too brief interaction, Vanitas started walking away.

“Wait! Vanitas!” A dark corridor appeared and he was gone. Sora slumped back. He wondered if Vanitas was able to leave this place, if he himself was the only one stuck here struggling to escape. He flopped onto his back with a groan. Back to waiting in boredom it was. Funnily enough, he actually wished heartless would show up here; that would at least give him something to do.

Some time later his question was answered in such a way that he almost had a heart attack. Evidently, his concerns about waking up to see Yozora looming over him were the least of his concerns, because waking up to see Vanitas looming over him was much more alarming. Eyes blown wide and heart fluttering like a caged bird, Sora scrambled back to put a little distance between them.

Vanitas only continued to frown at him, brows pinched together.

“You’re still here?” Sora asked after getting himself into some semblance of control.

“I should be asking you that.”

“I can’t leave yet.” Something instinctive told him that leaving wouldn’t be possible until he managed to beat Yozora. So soon after his latest loss, it wasn’t something he cared to think about. Might as well make the most of the other boy’s presence. “Can I ask you something?” A noncommittal grunt was his answer. “Why'd you want to join with Ventus so bad? You and he are two separate people now.”

The look Vanitas gave him openly conveyed his low opinion of Sora’s intelligence. Rude, thought Sora. “I’m nothing more than Ventus’ negative emotions that were pulled out of him. I was never meant to exist to begin with.”

“Yeah, well, neither were nobodies, but that doesn’t make Roxas any less real. He’s not just a part of me—he’s his own person with his own heart. And I don’t believe that you’re nothing but darkness and negativity. Even the deepest darkness has a light that never goes out.”

Vanitas scoffed. “You expect me to listen to your light-side bullshit?”

“I’m not just light, you know,” he snapped, suddenly irritated. “I’ve got my own darkness, same as everybody else. I fought on the light side, yes, but I was just doing what I thought was right. Light and dark...they’re not the same as good and evil—things aren’t so clear cut. Riku’s proof of that. Xehanort was wrong to do what he did, so I stopped him. Simple as that.”

An unreadable look overtook Vanitas’ face. Without a word, he disappeared again.

[revengerevisited]

I wanna do something a little fun and just share some of the KH fanfic ideas I’ve had for a while, which are mostly about Vanitas because of course they are. XD But yeah, here are my ideas:

1. A Shadow of Two - a sequel to A Heart and a Half, kinda a fix-it for KH3 but not really since it’s an AU to begin with. Vanitas Aqua and Ventus would be the main trio, but Sora Riku and Kairi are also POV characters, with each of them having their own trio and goals: Sora (with Donald and Goofy) looking for a way to revive Roxas while struggling with his own inner darkness, Kairi training with Axel and getting help from Ienzo in discovering her past, Riku Mickey and an unrevealed character on a secret Realm of Darkness mission and also finding a way to revive Naminé, and Vanitas Aqua and Ventus searching for the new Princesses of Heart while dealing with their own problems: Vanitas still dealing with his trauma while adjusting to normal society, Aqua dealing with something I can’t reveal yet, and Ventus... honestly I don’t know what to do with Ventus. The most obvious answer would be recovering his lost memories, but... well, introducing an egregiously convoluted backstory wherein Ventus and/or Vanitas might be a murderer isn’t exactly appealing to me, to say the least. I really wish Ven’s backstory could’ve been something I was allowed to make up myself. Other than that, the story would generally follow KH3 but with way more Disney worlds and hopefully fewer plot holes. ;P

2. Broken Hearts (Take Time to Mend) - a post-KH3 fic that ignores Re:Mind and the time-traveling Vanitas retcon. This fic is about the REAL Vanitas who was in KH3 and resurrected via scream energy who has returned once again, this time in the Land of Departure but is too weak to leave and is quickly discovered by the Wayfinder Trio. Tensions are high but he’s ultimately allowed to stay, with the focus of the story being on the four of them helping each other recover from their respective traumas: Vanitas’s years of abuse by Xehanort, Terra’s decade of possession by Xehanort (which according to the post-Re:Mind character files was a lot more traumatic than I’d realized), Aqua’s decade spent in the Realm of Darkness and subsequent corruption by darkness, and Ven’s... almost being killed by Eraqus, I guess. While pretty bad, that’s probably not as traumatizing as years of torture and torment, and the more obvious trauma to use would be Ventus committing/witnessing Strelitzia’s murder, but as I’ve established I just really don’t want to deal with KHUX at all. Anyway, this could work as a gen fic but since I love Vanqua so much I might as well make it one, maybe throw a little Terrella in there too 'cause why not.

3. This fic idea focuses on the aftermath of KH3, NOT Re:Mind, where Riku Kairi and Naminé are trying to adjust back to a normal life at Destiny Islands while also dealing with their grief over Sora’s disappearance. Kairi deals with blaming herself for Sora’s ‘death’, Naminé deals with being adopted as Kairi’s sister and learning how to be a normal person, and Riku deals with his growing feelings for Naminé, but the real star of the show is... Sora’s mom! Oh and Vanitas too, of course. Sora’s mom (who really needs a name) has finally been told about everything that’s happened these past two-ish years, and a month after Sora’s disappearance she finds a comatose Vanitas washed up on the beach. She assumes it’s Sora, although Riku and Kairi are quick to correct her. Despite their warnings, Sora’s mom nurses Vanitas back to health and basically adopts him, although he isn’t exactly happy with the situation. Still weak and recovering, Vanitas is unable to leave, and Sora’s mom won’t stop in her efforts to help him adjust to a normal life. This one could be merged into Broken Hearts, since I could imagine Riku informing the Wayfinder Trio about Vanitas’s return and an angry and distrustful post-KH3 Aqua wouldn’t want to let him out of her sight, but it might be better to keep them as separate fics seeing as they’re set in two different locations.

4. My next idea hinges on my theory of what the next KH game could’ve been like... or at least before Re:Mind pretty much shot it down. My theory was that Vanitas, the real Vanitas not the time-traveler, was still inside Sora’s heart and therefore went along with him to TWEWY. I haven’t played TWEWY but I know that Sora would need a partner to defeat the Noise, and what better partner than a former enemy? This would be similar to A Heart and a Half but instead of romance it’s a sibling team-up with them trying to escape Shibuya. This fic could also be combined with the previous idea as well... Maybe Sora allows Vanitas to win the Reaper’s Game and he ends up on Destiny Islands unable to remember what happened in TWEWY. Vanitas would be the key to getting Sora back but only if Naminé can unlock his lost memories. My only problem is that I would have to erase all that character development Vanitas gained with Sora to reset him back to have character development with the Destiny Islands characters instead, at least until he regains all his memories.

5. A different Vanitas and Sora team-up fic. Once again this is the real Vanitas who used scream energy to revive himself, but that made his heart rather unstable. He tries to fight Sora Donald and Goofy in Monstropolis but is too weak and sick and loses. Upon discovering that Vanitas looks just like him, Sora decides to take him back to Yen Sid for healing and answers. But Vanitas’s negativity is too much for the Gummiship to handle and it ends up stalling. Sora Donald and Goofy slowly nurse a very reluctant Vanitas back to health with the power of friendship, which would reduce the amount of negativity so the Gummiship can fly again. Vanitas and the trio travel to a few different Disney worlds and eventually rescue Aqua and Ven. I don’t know what would happen after that though, since I don’t want to just rehash exactly what happened in the Keyblade Graveyard.

6. A pre-BBS Vanqua AU. Only a few months after being created, Vanitas runs away from Xehanort to the Land of Departure, hoping to merge with Ven early. Unfortunately for him Ven is still in a coma, so Vanitas tries to merge with Aqua instead. This doesn’t quite work, but does end up linking their hearts in such a way that neither can go too far away from each other without feeling sick or even dying. Now stuck at the Land of departure, Vanitas is found by Xehanort who is enraged that Vanitas has basically ruined all his plans. Fearing for his life, Vanitas convinces Xehanort that the plan can still be salvaged: Vanitas will become Eraqus’s apprentice under the guise of Ven’s ‘brother’ and is tasked with encouraging Terra’s darkness while making sure Ventus and/or Aqua are trained to their fullest, depending on which one would be better to merge with. Xehanort, not wanting to start this entire endeavor over, agrees to the plan and introduces Vanitas to Eraqus and the others. Since Vanitas is now wearing normal clothing, Aqua has no idea that he is the masked boy who attacked her earlier, but feels strangely drawn to him due to their connected hearts. The rest of the fic would basically be about the four apprentices’ life at the Land of Departure, with Vanitas struggling with his loyalty to Xehanort vs his slowly burgeoning friendship with Terra Ven and Aqua, all while trying not to blow his cover with the Unversed.

I also have a few smaller ideas that I haven’t really thought through yet or might work better as oneshots or fanart: 1. A Lion King Vanqua AU with lion Aqua and black leopard Vanitas, Terra Eraqus and Xehanort also as lions, Ven as a regular leopard, and Braig as a hyena. 2. A KH1 retelling/reimagining with Vanitas reincarnated as Sora’s younger brother. 3. A Nier Automata AU with resistance android Terra, scanner Ventus, attacker Aqua, and Vanitas as a scanner with executioner chips installed by Xehanort sent to infiltrate Yorha. 4. A post-KH3 fic dealing with Sora’s restlessness after attempting to return to a normal life on Destiny Islands, feeling like he doesn’t belong after everything he’s been through. 5. Something about Aqua taking care of Ven when he first arrives at the Land of Departure, possibly Venqua. 6. A Vanqua-ish KH3 fic with Vanitas kidnapping Aqua to be used as a Guardian or Seeker back-up for Org13, but he eventually befriends her and lets her go. 7. And finally, a Namiku fic set between CoM and KH2. I kinda feel like this should be part of the A Heart and a Half ‘canon’, but I’m not actually sure whether it should be its own fic or just flashback scenes in A Shadow of Two.

You’ll notice that I really love stories about villain redemption, abuse/mental illness recovery, and former enemies becoming friends/lovers, which is why I’ve grown so disappointed with mainstream works nowadays rarely exploring those topics (at least not that I’ve seen). I guess that’s where that old saying comes in, “if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself”. But yeah, that’s just a quick list of my KH fic ideas so far!

[party-of-rpg-muses]

Mun Plays Kingdom Hearts 3

............. I finished Kingdom Hearts 3... For those who may be confused, I’m not upset or disappointed. If anything... I’m surprised. Speechless.

Continuing where I left off, I took the Leviathan and sailed to Shipwreck Cove, but found myself getting intercepted by Luxord and his army of Heartlesses. For the first time, I made use of the water wall, which I had completely forgotten about and it really saved me a few times. I just barely managed to beat Luxord with only a sliver of health.

Also, one thing I forgot to mention in my last post, I thought game was going to follow the whole Never say “Die” rule. In Monsteropolis, you can hear Randal saying “Why won’t you just fail already” and in The Caribbean, Jack says “Four of you tried to annihilate me.” when the line in the movie was “Half of you tried to kill me.” So I thought they were going out of their way to not have characters say “die” or “kill” or “death”. But when Jack was traded for Will, Elizabeth did use the word “die”. I just wanted to mention that.

Now, at Shipwreck Cove, I fought against the Kraken, saving the Black Pearl from both it and the Flying Dutchman, allowing me to use the water all even more to protect myself. The fight against Davy Jones was honestly rather difficult, if mostly because of the Kraken, but I managed to win. Not only that, but I won with STYLE!

I was interested in the fact that they didn’t show Davy Jones’ heart, but I understood why they couldn’t show it. Even then, you could just faintly heart his heart beating inside the chest. I was surprised to see them keeping Will dying and even Davy Jones dying as he fell overboard. A little disappointed they didn’t include the marriage between Will and Elizabeth. I also couldn’t help but notice that Sora basically had a hand in killing a normal human being and not a Heartless or Nobody.

After that was San Fransokyo from Big Hero 6. Brief mention: Didn’t care all that much for BH6. Didn’t hate it, but found it kinda average. I’ll say this, I had tons of fun exploring the city and I was able to practice Flowmotion and get used to using it in battle. Funny thing, while out on the town with the others, I forgot the chest that held a map of the area. Like, I saw the chest and planned on getting it after taking care of the Heartless, but completely forgot about it once I was directed to the top of a nearby building, so when I had to track down the Micro-bots, I had to backtrack my steps to find that chest. But other than that, nothing was really major. I know many people would be super happy to have the original Baymax back, but I didn’t really care.

But one thing that was of interest was seeing Possessed Riku from KH1. I’ll admit, I was actually confused about how he was there, but that’s kinda par for the course with a Kingdom Hearts game.

With that done, I went to the Realm of Darkness, YAY! I had the biggest grin on my face when the best character Aqua showed up, even if she was Norted. And I still had that grin while fighting the Demon Tower as Riku. It wasn’t hard, but it did kinda take a while. Then I got to play as Sora to fight my wife Aquanort. Honestly, she was quite difficult, what with her tendency to attack while offscreen and combo Sora for some good damage. But as time passed, I started to figure her out. But I managed to beat her. I want to bring up my theory again and as it turned out, my theory was half-right.

I couldn’t help but shed a tear when Aqua realized she was finally free from the Realm of Darkness, but I couldn’t help but wonder how she lost her Keyblade, but I think they might have been explained in a previous game that I didn’t play, but whatever. I also grinned when I saw Aqua return Castle Oblivion back to the Land of Departure. I grinned even more when I saw how beautiful the inside was, especially when compared to what little was shown in BbS. It feels much bigger than in that game and even more regal.

And I was SO excited to play as Aqua after so long and I was able to take to playing her almost instantly. And I LOVED the new animation for Spellweaver; the way she pirouettes and performs like a graceful ballerina is beyond graceful! Fighting Vanitas wasn’t too difficult, since he pretty much acted the same way as in BbS. I managed to beat him and I was SO happy to see Ventus finally wake up! And the way Aqua and Ven treated each other was adorable, much like an older sister and younger brother. I do wish Ven and Sora could connect a bit more, but I guess there were more pressing matters.

And in the cutscene after, I enjoyed Aqua remembering Kairi and Sora from when they were kids. Of course Sora and Kairi wouldn’t remember meeting her, since they were only children and it was a long time ago. And yay! Axel/Lea and Ventus still remembered each other and they’re still close friends!

After that, I went straight to the Keyblade Graveyard. My blood was pumping during that massive battle against the Heartless and Nobodies, which I called the Battle of A Million Heartless and Nobodies. It was tons of fun laying waste to countless enemies one after the other and once it was done, I continued onward.

While I was happy to see Terra, I instantly knew things weren’t right. Why would Terra just suddenly be there and unpossessed? What followed was the gang getting destroyed one by one while Sora was left in despair as the Demon Tide claimed him. I enjoyed seeing the Chirithy (I don’t know much about the other games, but I know he belongs to Ventus, so there’s that.) It was fun collecting all the different Soras and interesting seeing other people who found themselves in the Final World, clinging on the something in the real world. And going through all the other previous worlds was kinda fun, but the Lich quickly became a pain, what with his Aero magic and leaving behind afterimages that Sora sometimes focuses on, leaving me unable to get away in time. But I managed to get them all. Still confused as to how everyone was seemingly warped back in time to before Terranort and the Demon Tide attacked.

But this time, I was excited to see the Lingering Will return and protect Aqua and Ven. And even pull off these insane moves with its Keyblade that I had no idea it could do. I didn’t fight it in KH2, so yeah... And as for the Demon Tide fight, I was doing... decently until later in the fight. I got combo’d so badly, not even the Kupo Coin could help me and I got a game over. When I tried again, I learned I could damage the core while the tornado is spinning, just not when it turns orange. I eventually managed to win, which then brought one of the coolest moments in the game up!

The Keyblades of the fallen warriors came to Sora’s aid to help him against the swarm of darkness. And not the Keyblades of any fallen warriors, but the people who actually played Kingdom Hearts χ! There were so many names and so many Keyblades being used! And I want to say this; for those who lost their lives in the Keyblade War, I thank you. Your hearts may now rest and be at peace. Light shall prevail.

After that, found myself in Xehanort’s maze, deciding to help Riku against Young Riku, Ansem, and Xigbar. By accident, I focused on Ansem until he ran away, leaving only Young Riku and Xigbar. I focused on Xigbar, since he was always a bit of a pain; both in KH2 and BbS. But thanks to Sora’s amazing aerial combat skills, he wasn’t all that difficult. Young Riku, however, was a bit harder and rather aggressive. But I managed to win. After that, I helped Mickey out against Xemnas, Larxene, Luxord, and Marluxia. I ended up targeting Larxene, but after a few hits, Xemnas left the battle and Luxord captured Mickey, so I focused on Luxord and defeated him first before turning my attention toward Larxene. Once she fell, Marluxia was next.

Later, I decided to help Kairi and Axel with Saïx and a mysterious hooded figure. I focused on Saïx until his Berserk meter filled up, triggering another cutscene. Xemnas managed to defeat Axel (and somehow(?) took his Keyblade away) before having the hooded figure attempt to kill him. I had my guess, but I was so happy to see I was right! Xion is a vessel! Sure, she hasn’t been Norted with the orange eyes and white hair, but she was one of Xehanort’s Organization XIII. I was even happier to see her come around. And happier still with Roxas suddenly appeared to help his friends while Kairi was kidnapped. With Xion and Roxas, I was able to defeat Saïx almost easily. I then went to help Aqua and Ven against Vanitas and Terranort. I focused on Vanitas because he’s kind of a massive jerk and I wanted to see how Sora would react to seeing Vanitas’ face. It was nice to see Ven act so mature towards Vanitas and I was expecting him to accept Vanitas as a part of himself and absorb him back into his body. But honestly, this is fine too.

After Vanitas, I focused Terranort. I was really struggling when he brought the Guardian out and I couldn’t seem to do anything. No way to damage it and no way to avoid it, but I managed to survive. Terranort fell shortly thereafter, since he also got caught in the crossfire against Vanitas. I was surprised to see the Guardian resist Terranort, only to find that the Heartless in question was Terra himself, successfully driving Xehanort’s heart out of his body and reclaiming it as his own.

I then turned my attention to the Xehanorts. I focused on Young Xehanort, managing to defeat him despite having to also deal with Ansem and Xemnas. Once Young Xehanort was defeated, I felled Ansem, followed by Xemnas. My heart stopped when Master Xehanort up and killed Kairi and my jaw dropped when I saw the old man actually stop ULTIMA, AKA THE ULTIMATE MAGIC SPELL with Stopza!

I went into Xehanort’s heart (I think) and entered Scala ad Caelum. I struggled heavily against the masked enemies. Even Rage Mode could only help so much and I eventually got a game over. When I tried again, I wised up to some of their tricks and eventually managed to beat them.

Next cama Armored Xehanort... I barely knew what I was doing during the first phase, struggling to find my footing, but managed to beat the first phase, even making use of Flowmotion attacks. In the second phase, underwater, I was more cautious, since I was out of items. I also bought an Elixir earlier on to use in a desperate situation. I used it during that phase, so... yeah. At times, I would just run away and try to survive until Donald was either revived and healed Sora or my MP was filled again so I could use Curaga. I eventually managed to win as the third phase started.

Almost instantly, I was blindsided and instantly defeated, since I didn’t have time to heal. Now, during the entire fight, I feared that if I died, I would have to go through the whole fight again, but thankfully, I was just sent back to the start of the third phase. I managed to deal good damage and ALMOST WON but thanks to some bad luck, I lost... Rage Mode helped me out a bit. And for the third attempt, I FINALLY managed to win!

Then came the battle against Master Xehanort himself! Honestly, it was much more managable compared to the others and nowhere near as stressful. I did quite well until he summoned Kingdom Hearts, making for a great backdrop. I still fought against him quite well until he took Sora’s light, forcing him into Rage Mode. I wasn’t expecting it, so it took me a while to recover, but when I did, I managed to take back Sora’s light... and found myself in a grey area with the Organization XIII chairs surrounding the area. I was assaulted by hooded figures with weapons of the Organization XIII and barely managed to even gain a footing, let alone heal. And there were the massive lasers. But I managed to heal and hold my own until returning back to the battlefield.

Once the battle restarted, I returned to fighting Xehanort, eventually getting him down to trigger the ending. But he easily deflected Sora’s Ray of Light and countered with his “Ray of Darkness”. And during the struggle, I couldn’t help but notice a different version of Dearly Beloved. This truly was something major! And thanks to the power of friendship, Xehanort was defeated!

And with that, I BEAT THE GAME!!! I watched the ending cutscenes, Xehanort and Eraqus becoming friends again as their hearts pass on. And I liked how Xehanort acted at the end too. I was hoping that Sora could finally return home to see his mom after so many years, but with Kairi missing, Sora went on a journey by himself to search for her while everyone else went back home. AND Naminé is back too! During the absolute final cutscene before the credits, I thought that Sora had found Kairi and they were returning to greet everyone, but it seems Sora was gone somewhere, leaving Kairi alone, despite being with her friends.

And for the after-credits scene? Well... I won’t say~ But I’ll say this, my jaw dropped, since it revealed MASSIVE things! Some characters will be returning, but I won’t say who. I’ll also say this; the end of the beginning and the beginning brings about the end.

I look forward to the next game! Also, my total game time? 25 hours. Yes, if given enough time, I could start and finish the game in a single day, with an extra hour. Honestly, I’m a little disappointed that there were only 2 returning worlds: Pirates of the Caribbeans and Hercules. Sure, the new worlds are great, but still. And the number of worlds overall is disappointing. So few Disney worlds and all of the worlds don’t give much. Winnie the Pooh can easily be finished in a few minutes while the Disney worlds take about an hour or two to finish. But I guess they wanted to focus a bit more on story and wrapping things up. Still, the game felt short overall. I also hope that Final Fantasy characters make a return in a later game. I’m still bothered by the fact that they removed Final Fantasy characters, who have been present in every KH game since the first, 17 years ago! Again, oh well. Overall, I had fun playing the game and really enjoyed KH3!

[astxlphe]

Astolfoé for the ship ask thingie

Astolfoé! my babies ;u; Thanks for asking! 

when I started shipping it if I did: The moment Astolfo tried to kill Noé. Love at first murder attempt, as they said.

my thoughts: Short answer: azqsedrtfgyuhijk Long answer: - I love both of them, and I very aware that they would have a messy, not so good relationship, but I hope we get to see them kinda work together at some point? I like that they’re really opposites in their way of thinking, like Noé assumes a human (or a chasseur) is a potential ally if he could talk to them, while Astolfo considers any vampire an enemy. Also I kinda want to see Noé’s natural “like me I’m nice” vibe in action with him. - Going into HC territory:  Noé is most likely to be the more patient and the best listener of the two (he’s also much more perceptive than he looks?). Astolfo is probably really snappish and can get mean, but Noé wouldn’t take any of his shit and would manage to calm him down.- Noé kinda feels like he has something to prove? That vampires aren’t all monsters, and he feels the need to go through him the same way he did with Roland. He can’t exactly forget about the whole murder things, but he wishes they would give each other a chance.- Noé hates being powerless and that’s something he shares with Astolfo. They’re both stubborn idiots and it’s better to be a stubborn idiot with someone else. Less risk of dying when there is someone as stubborn and reckless with you, I guess? - Astolfo is an angry/frustrated cryer. Like, loud and messy. He hates it and avoids crying in front of people (except Marco). Noé isn’t sure how to deal with it but as I said, he’s patient and understanding.- I don’t think Astolfo would ever let Noé drink his blood either. Would they talk about their respective pasts? Yes, at some point. Kinda reluctantly. But blood drinking is still a big no.

What makes me happy about them: e v e r y t h i n g

What makes me sad about them: Not enough canon interactions.  

things done in fanfic that annoys me: well, I don’t read a lot of VnC fanfics, and there aren’t enough fanfics for someone to do something that annoys me anyway. Except myself, because I’m not actually writing it. 

things I look for in fanfic: Anything. Please.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: For Noé: Vanitas and/or Dominique. For Astolfo: I don’t ship him with anyone else so no one?

My happily ever after for them: As I said, their relationship would be messy and difficult to keep afloat but they’re trying. I doubt they would have a “happily ever after” as in, “they’re happy and in love forever” but more like, “for now it works, let’s keep this up as long as possible”.

who is the big spoon/little spoon: Noé is a hugger so he’s usually the big spoon. But when Astolfo manages to go to bed after Noé is asleep, he’s the big spoon. 

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: Uhm… Sleeping? Or going out for dinner because none of them can cook properly so having a nice meal every once in a while is good.

[asiryn]

my continued first impressions of KH3 (i’ve made it up to the beginning of Big Hero 6). spoilers beyond the cut

okay, i’m attempting to go vaguely in chronological order, so here’s some bullet points:

- in hindsight, i suppose that team darkside were using the toy story world to confirm that beings like replicas can actually have hearts, as apparently they want replicas on their team (to fill out their 13 darkness ranks?? idkkk, i have no idea who counts as an Official Darkness or not)

- woody went Off at young xehanort, which i appreciated. also, i noticed that yx seemed to be parroting a few lines from asod (the whole bit about how hearts begin in darkness and that it’s the heart’s true essence), which is curious to me. was yx already saying and believing that before he started time travelling, or is he picking that up directly from asod?

- it’s interesting to me that the conflict in the toy story world did not get resolved. the world is still split in two, and andy and the others are still missing. normally the disney world reaches some kind of conclusion when you complete it, but this didn’t. makes me curious if this is some kind of hint of events to come, or if it’s just...going to be left hanging. hmm.

- while it makes a bit of sense, i’m still kinda mad that, after you complete the world, rapunzel is no longer allowed to be part of your party. yeah, i get that her moveset revolved around her hair, but come on, just give her a frying pan and she can still kick ass! (also, i agree with donald’s statement, that she’s the strong one between her and flynn)

- this whole thing about the New Seven Hearts, and how the power of a princess of heart was apparently “passed on”.....it’s weird to me, and i don’t think it entirely gels with what we’ve been told about them in every other previous game. idk. also.....if rapunzel, anna, and elsa are 3 of the new ones, and presuming that kairi still counts....then who could possibly be the other 3? (also, if kairi is indeed still a POH....then why didn’t hers pass along with all of the others? and what does that mean for the others? did darkness suddenly appear in their hearts??)

- vanitas getting yeeted is the funniest thing that i’ve seen so far XDDD

- i also find it amusing that vanitas has so far been the most straightforward and honest person in this entire game (apart from maybe ienzo), and that he told sora more info in a single conversation than anyone else had in the entire series up to that point

- and i think that monster’s inc has been the best disney world incorporated into the plot so far, in that it makes perfect sense that vanitas was able to recover his strength in this world

- man, i am so glad that larxene is back, i missed her so much, and i’m loving every second that she’s on screen (also, in the conversation that she had with sora outside elsa’s newly constructed ice palace....she wasn’t actually wrong about anything she said)

- you know, all things considered, i’m not surprised that pretty much the entirety of “let it go” was put into the frozen world. (and i’m not really complaining, as i love the song and idina menzel’s singing XD)

- it was kinda a nice surprise that your disney party member in the frozen world was marshmallow, and it kinda made sense, but i’m still a bit salty that anna and elsa weren’t ever your party members

- the moment when sora was listening to anna talk about her relationship problems with elsa, and he realized it was a lot alike what he went through with riku....ouch, that’s a dagger in my heart (....i am.....slightly wary of the greater implications of this parallel, especially when combined with a couple of other possible parallels being made, as i’m not looking forward to the potential double whammy of forced sokai and pulling a no homo on soriku....but if that is the intention, it’s been pretty subtle so far, so i guess i can only hope it stays on this level :/) (and on a related note, i’m not a fan of the fact that sora and riku have barely had any interactions at all, and that riku has hardly had any scenes in general, at least so far :///)

- man, the voice acting for most of the pirates world, and elizabeth in particular, was so bad and boring :///

- with demyx officially being a reserve member of “true org xiii”.....i give up on trying to keep track of who counts for a 13 darkness or not :///

- xemnas saying something about demyx, luxord, marly, and larxene having some kind of keyblade power.............??????????????

- asod, what girl are you talking about????? that ansem has hidden????? wtfffff

- aqua ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

- yessssssssssssssss, roxas, ven, and xion all have their own hearts!!!!!! so relieved

- you know, it’s so simply brilliant, to create replica bodies for roxas, xion, and namine to exist in; never thought of it myself, but i really should have

- i really wish that everyone would realize that, every time they start talking about saving aqua, and sora speaks up about wanting to be the one to do it....i wish they would realize that it’s really ven talking, and not sora. come on, y’all are now all aware that his heart’s inside sora ://

- still have no fucking clue what happened to terra :////

- according to luxord, the black box team darkside wants is filled with hope.....so does that mean that they want the pandora’s box that maleficent tossed aside? surely in that case, then xigbar already has it, bc he was watching them the whole time. and......i thought the black box in question was the one the master of masters gave to luxu?? is that box filled with “hope”?? idkkkkkkkkkk

- i’m so proud of hayner, pence, and olette, for managing to help ansem escape from asod

- as to vexeven.......idk if he’s lying or not to ansem, about wanting to atone...... >.>

[taliaxlatia]

Double Crunch

I regret everything nothing

Summary:  Vanitas just wants some ice cream that won't catch his mouth on fire.  Minnitas friendship.

(Inspired by @chachacharlieco)

(Read on AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/works/13913931)

Disney Town was repulsive.  Buildings slathered in bright primary colors; tinny music blaring on repeat from some unidentifiable speaker system; anthropomorphic animals happily bleating and squeaking and quacking on top of it all.  Absolutely disgusting.

Which, naturally, made it the best place to hide from Master Xehanort.

In Radiant Garden, he’d told Aqua he was just letting her live to be his backup, but that was only half true.  He’d gotten his butt kicked. It was only because he’d underestimated her, but he still didn’t want to report his failure to the old geezer just yet, not until he’d found a better way to spin the story.

And so, Disney Town.

He crouched on top of one of the bright-colored buildings, one that was nestled in the corner of the street, so he could see anyone coming up on him.  Not that that was likely, but it would be just his luck for Ventus or Terra to show up and see him like this, still exhausted from his fight with Aqua.  He glanced over the street leading down the racetrack - no signs of the keyblade wielders for now, at least.  Just his Glidewinders zipping down the track.  Wait - were they actually racing against animals in carts?

Vanitas scowled.  This place even corrupted his Unversed.  Xehanort had really better not find him here.

But he’d deal with the disobedient creatures later.  For now, he just wanted to rest, and…

Something caught his eye below, and his mouth watered underneath his mask.  Ice cream.  A tiny duck was carrying a cone balanced with at least ten scoops of the frozen dessert.  Vanitas considered leaping down, keyblade bared, and taking it for himself.  But not only would the duck probably spill the dessert in the process, Vanitas also didn’t want to draw attention to himself here.  Not that Xehanort would probably care if he murdered a stupid duck, but he wouldn’t be able to use this world as a hiding place anymore.

Vanitas thought about finding an ice cream shop to steal from instead, when he had an even better idea.  He focused on the hunger inside him and pulled it out, letting it wisp into the form of four Prize Pod Unversed.

These Unversed were even weirder than the Glidewinders.  They never attacked - Vanitas didn’t even know if they could attack - and they would attempt to flee on sight.  Which at least meant Xehanort was unlikely to find them, but also meant that Vanitas had to leap up and tackle one if he wanted to get at the mystery treats inside.

He jumped, barely catching one of the pot-shaped monsters in his arms - but he’d overestimated how much strength he had left, and he stumbled as he landed.

Which wouldn’t have been a problem - if he hadn’t been standing right at the edge of a building.  His boot caught the lip of the ledge, and before he could curse his complete and utter stupidity, he was tumbling through the open air.

But he’d survived worse with even less strength; Xehanort had trained his reflexes by shoving him off cliffs.  With the adrenaline pumping through him, he spun in midair and landed on his feet, his boots absorbing most of the impact.

Now he took a moment to curse.  Had anyone seen him?  No, the duck was gone, and the street was otherwise deserted except for himself and the Prize Pod clutched tight against his chest.

He dissolved his helmet and tossed the lid off of his struggling Unversed.  “Stop that, idiot,” he told it.  Bad enough that the purple pots were useless without them being disobedient too.

He should really get out of here; he was far too exposed in the empty street, especially without his mask.  But the Prize Pod would disappear in a few seconds anyway, and he had his mind set on getting some dessert first.  He plunged his hand into the pot and stuffed the creamy insides into his mouth -

Only to nearly choke, fling the Prize Pod away from him, and start coughing violently.  What kind of dessert was freaking spicy?  His eyes watered; he spat on the ground, trying to get the remnants of fiery goop out of his mouth.  It didn’t help.  Where was a potion?  He searched his commands in vain - he’d used his last one after his battle with Aqua.

That was it: today officially sucked.

“Oh, dear, are you alright?”

And then it sucked even worse.

His eyes shot up before he remembered he wasn’t wearing his mask.  The remnants of his disgust and shock were on full display.   He flinched back, about to disappear through a dark corridor, when his brain processed who was talking to him.

She was a mouse, a little over half his height, wearing a poofy pink dress.  The oddity of it almost made him laugh out loud, in spite of everything.  Then he realized that she looked familiar.  Where was it - of course.  He’d fought a mouse that looked a lot like her, only a few days ago.  He’d shown up at the Graveyard and stopped Vanitas from killing Ventus.

“Is something the matter?”  She asked again when he didn’t reply.  

“I, uh, dropped my ice cream,” he half-lied, mind still whirling.  This had to be the world that that other mouse had come from.  Maybe he could find some answers here, something that would help Xehanort’s plan.  It wouldn’t be enough to save him from punishment over the mishap with Aqua, but it might be the difference between unbearable torture and slightly-more-bearable torture.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,”  The mouse said, noticing the half-chewed goop on the ground.  Then she clasped her hands and smiled. “I have an idea.  How about you come try out the ice cream machine the triplets just got working?  They’re looking for volunteers to help them make new flavors for the Dream Festival.”

Vanitas blinked.  Was she… was she offering him ice cream?  What was the catch?  Why was she being nice to him?

“Of course, you don’t have to,” she went on.  “But it is free, on account of the Festival.  I bet it would turn your frown upside down!”

His hand instinctively went to his face when he remembered his mask was still missing.  He hated that feeling, like he was completely exposed - but for the moment that seemed to be working in his favor.  That was probably why she didn’t run screaming the second she saw him.

“Uh, sure,” he replied, though he wasn’t sure at all.  It was probably a trap.  But his mouth was still burning from that demonic dessert.

“Oh, wonderful!  It’s right this way.”  She took his hand, making him flinch, and started walking back the way she’d come.  “And where are my manners?  My name is Minnie.  Who are you?”

Who was he?  He scowled.  No one had ever asked for his name before, and he didn’t volunteer it.

“...Ventus,” he finally lied, to which Minnie frowned.

“I’m sorry, did I hear you correctly?  I just met a Ventus. He’s the one who helped the triplets fix their ice cream machine.”

“Vanitas,” he corrected quickly.  “It’s Vanitas.”  Thanks a lot, Ventus.  You’d better be gone by now… and Xehanort had better not touch this world with a forty-foot pole.  Stupid, giving his name away, but what else could he do?  Punch the mouse and run?  Maybe he should have, but it was too late now.

And the ice cream was in sight.  Two ducklings licked tall cones full of it.  Vanitas’s mouth watered again; he forced himself to keep it shut.

“It’s so nice to meet you, Vanitas!  Now, if you’ll just have a seat over here, Huey and Louie will teach you how to use the machine.”

The “machine” looked like some kind of mangled musical instrument.  The two armrests were piano keyboards with giant keys, and there was a cannon of all things sticking out of the front.  The distrusting look he gave it was mirrored by the look the ducks gave him.

“Are you sure about this, Minnie?”  One asked in what he probably thought was a whisper.

“Of course!  Do you two not need help with the machine anymore?”

“Well, we do, but…”

“He’s kinda funny lookin’,” the other one piped in.

I can hear you, you know, Vanitas wanted to snap, but considering they were his ticket to free ice cream, he kept his mouth shut.  Plus, he had some questions to ask Minnie later; he’d better behave long enough for her to trust him.

“Now, that’s not nice at all!  The point of the Dream Festival is to be nice to everyone, even if they look a little different.  You were nice to Ven, weren’t you?”

“Yeah, but Ven looked a lot… I dunno, nicer.”

“And he wasn’t wearing a skirt.”

That was it.  Ice cream or no ice cream, clues or no clues, Vanitas wasn’t going to stand around and take ducks talking smack.  He spun, ready to stalk off and open a dark corridor to anywhere else.

“Vanitas!  Wait!”

He didn’t.  He kept walking, then noticed an open storm drain.  Surely no one would bother him down there.  He leapt down and was surprised to find it clean and well-lit, not like a sewer at all.  Well, as long as it was isolated, that was what mattered.

He spat again, wishing he had some water.  Or some ice cream. But he’d been right; there was a catch.  Free ice cream was as much of a joke as someone actually being nice to him.

He stretched out his hand to open a corridor, but stopped when he heard someone descending the ladder behind him.

“Vanitas, wait.”  It was Minnie again - she’d followed him down here?  How had she gotten that poofy dress through the storm drain?  And how had she climbed down without spilling the bowl of ice cream in her hand?

“What are you doing?”  He asked.  Why had she followed him?

“I’m sorry about Huey and Louie,” she said regretfully, then dropped the rest of the way to the ground.  “They’re still young.  I hope you can forgive them.”

“I’m not really the forgiving type,” he replied.  “It doesn't matter.  I’m leaving anyway.”

“So soon?”  She blinked.  “But you haven’t even had time to enjoy the Festival.”

He shrugged.  “Festivals aren’t my thing.”  ‘Enjoying’ wasn’t his thing.  Xehanort had made sure of that when he’d torn him out of Ventus.

Minnie sighed.  “Well, I’m sorry that we haven’t been the best example of kindness to you, Vanitas.  That’s what the Dream Festival is really about.  But I hope you’ll accept this ice cream in apology.”

She held out the bowl.  It contained a giant scoop of pink ice cream, topped with fruit and two disks of chocolate that looked like Minnie’s ears.  Sticking out from the sides were… two tiny chocolate keyblades. And not just any keyblades - he’d seen blades like this.  In a book Xehanort had shown him once.

They were shaped like his X-Blade one day would be.

“Vanitas?”  Minnie asked, stepping closer, her face concerned.  “There’s something else the matter, isn’t there?”

“No,” he choked out.  His eyes didn’t leave the tiny chocolate keyblades.  His hand stretched out, almost against his will. “Can I…?”

“Oh!  Of course.”  She placed the bowl in his hands.  Hiding behind the scoop of ice cream was a spoon.  He didn’t use utensils very often, but he remembered enough from his time as Ventus to use it instead of shoving the treat into his face with his hands.

His tastebuds melted, and this time not from the heat of spice.  The ice cream was sweet, but not like chocolate or candy.  Like fruit.  Strawberries.  When was the last time he’d had a strawberry?

Though he tried to savor it, the dessert lasted less than a minute. All that was left were the two keys, sitting in a shallow pool of melted pink.  Even that he longed to slurp up, but then he noticed Minnie staring with a slightly forced smile.  Instead he plucked out the last two chocolate pieces, crunched them in his mouth, and handed the bowl back.

Minnie still seemed to be waiting for something.  Did she expect him to pay her after all?  He frowned, then remembered that normal people usually said “thank you.”  So he did.

“You’re welcome, dear.”  Her smile turned genuine.  “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

Well, since she asked… “What was the deal with the keys?  In the ice cream.”

“Hm?  Oh, I believe they’re in reference to the ancient Keyblades.  My husband has one, though it doesn’t look quite like those.”

Husband.  Keyblade.  Vanitas nearly threw up.  That mouse he’d fought was her husband?  

“...Huh,” he managed to get out.  “Well.  It tasted good.”

Minnie laughed a little.  “I’m glad.  Oh, I almost forgot - I have one more present for you before you go.”

“What?”

She motioned for him to crouch down, and he reluctantly did.  He was hoping for more food - but without warning she pulled a headband from her pocket and placed it on his head.

“Ah-!”  He jumped back and touched it, slightly afraid it would explode.  It didn’t.  There was something circular sticking out of it, like -

He ripped it off.  It was a pair of mouse ears.

“Gah!”  He threw them at the ground as Minnie giggled.  “What was that for?”

“I thought it might make you laugh.  You look like you could use something to laugh about.”

He scowled.  He would laugh about a lot of things - forging the X-Blade, beating Aqua, taking his body back from Ventus - but not headband with mouse ears.  But, he had to admit… it was kind of funny that she’d tried.

So he let out a little chuckle.  “See you around, Minnie.”

He’d gotten what he came here for.  So he reformed his helmet and stepped back into a dark corridor.  

He smiled as he faded through the darkness, the taste of strawberry still on his tongue.  As stupid as her husband was, Minnie wasn’t so bad. Maybe after he forged the X-Blade and remade the world, he would let her live.