#oh yeah so like why is kairi made Like That

[adriswrld]

Retirement » Jay White ⁰¹

plot: jay white finds out abt reader's potential retirement at wrestlekingdom 17

trope: friends to lovers / he fell first, but she fell harder

pairings: wrestler reader x jay white / reader x (platonic) bullet club

a/n: he's hubby your honor 🤝 reader used to be in bullet club when kenny was leader btw! atp, y'all should just expect to see my oc azalea playing the best friend 😭

THIS WILL HAVE TWO PARTS!! THIS IS PART ONE!

"How's your neck feeling?" Sean, Y/N's personal camera man had asked after turning on the camera and filming. As she and her best friend who is also a WWE wrestler shared a YouTube channel, they were filming an episode of Y/N experience for WrestleKingdom 17. "Well, my neck is literally killin' me so I hope that doesn't effect my match later cause if it does the blame could go on Kairi and I don't want that obviously. People tend to blame the opponent if the champion has a bad match." Y/N shrugged, picking up her phone to check the time.

"I'm gonna get freshened up and then we will be leaving soon to pick up Azalea from the airport. I showered last night so don't even try to say anything." Y/N said, pointing at the camera before Sean switched it off. "I'll be waiting in the lobby, Y/N." Sean said, heading to the door and Y/N gave a nod with a tired smile. Y/N rubbed her neck with a tired groan, still hating that retirement was in the rear view for her. But if she wanted to preserve her neck, she had no choice.

Two hours later, Y/N was standing in the airport with Sean, Mercedes and Trinity as they waited for Pamela (Bayley) and Azalea to arrive. "Are you okay? You keep rubbing your neck?" Mercedes asked in a concerned tone.

"Oh yeah I'm fine, just a bit sore." Y/N lied, glancing at Sean who already knew the truth but understood why she was keeping it a secret. Before anything else could be said, they noticed Pamela and Azalea jog over to them after grabbing their luggage. Azalea grinned and pulled Y/N into a hug, Sean getting it all on video. "I am running completely on energy drinks right now so I'm little jittery," she said.

"Oh it's alright, Iz." Y/N reassured and Azalea pulled away to greet Mercedes and Trinity. Pam smiled and pulled Y/N into a hug, "It's so good to see you again. How are you doing?" Pam asked, pulling away gently, almost as if she was trying to be careful with Y/N and that made Y/N think Izzy might have told her about her neck issues.

"I'm doing alright, thank you for asking. Just a bit exhausted but I'll be okay." Y/N said, giving Pam a reassuring smile. "I'm so sorry I won't be able to join you all, I've got lots of things I've got to do today, I really wish I could join all though. Maybe tomorrow I can join you," Y/N spoke as they had all been discussing where to eat.

"It's okay, Y/N, we understand. We'll be alright," Azalea reassured and the three women plus Sean nodded in agreement with her. "All right. Just be careful, and have fun," Y/N said, hugging Izzy goodbye before gesturing for Sean to come on with her.

"It's probably just me but am I the only one noticing how much her moods changed? Like, she's not as happy and cheerful like she's always been, plus she keeps rubbing her neck like somethings wrong," Mercedes spoke as they walked towards the exit together. Azalea sighed and stopped everyone, causing them to all turn to look at her. "Don't tell anyone this but, ever since she broke her neck, she hasn't exactly fully recovered yet," Izzy explained.

"But the doctors said she was cleared?" Trinity added in confusion.

"She was, but a few weeks ago she started getting really bad neck pain so we went to the doctors and they said something was wrong. They said she was cleared but when she started wrestling it appeared that she didn't fully heal. It's actually extremely dangerous for her to still be wrestling. It's kinda like what happened with Paige's neck. It's why she was so urgent on dropping the title to you." Pam, Mercedes and Trinity were all to shocked and concerned to even speak.

"Does that mean she's retiring?" Pam questioned.

"Look, I'm not saying that she's retiring, but it's definitely in the near future for her. She obviously doesn't want to, but it's what's best for her health." Azalea corrected with a small shrug. She was the last person who wanted Y/N to retire but Y/N's health was more important than that. At least she got to say she had the greatest match of her career with her best friend.

"That does explain why she hasn't been in the happiest of moods," Mercedes mumbled sadly.

》* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 。* 。° 。* 。 • ˚《

"I called my very good friend Okada to help me out for my match yesterday but I just got off the phone with him and unfortunately he couldn't make it. But, as we are already here, I figured why not just train with Sean," Y/N said and Sean smiled. "It's gonna be a pain but I could use the training," Sean agreed and Y/N chuckled and nodded in agreement.

"It's supposed to be closed as of now but I was given a key a long time ago in case I ever needed it. So, let's go inside." Y/N smiled as she unlocked the doors and entered the building. As they walked in it appeared the lights were already on so someone must've already been there. "Oh it looks like someone's already here," Y/N said quietly.

They could hear voices and Y/N couldn't help but find those very familiar. She could pick out El Phantasmo and Jay White's voice anywhere. "I knew I heard my boys," Y/N grinned as the two men both turned to look at her, immediately growing smiles once they saw her. "No way, is it the one and only Bullet Club Princess?" ELP aka Riley grinned and slid out of the ring, walking towards Y/N with open arms.

"Aye, former BC Princess. Not anymore." Y/N playfully corrected as she ran into his open arms. "Oh come on, you'll always be the BC Princess." Riley playfully nudged her once they pulled away and he shook Sean's hand with a polite grin.

Jay sat on the ring, a small smirk tugged at the corner of his lips as he watched Y/N walk towards him. "Still a cocky lil shit, aren't you? Not gonna come and greet me like a gentleman?" Y/N joked, getting Jay to crack a small laugh as he jumped down and let Y/N bring him into a small hug. "Nice to see you again, princess." Jay mumbled into her hair causing her to mentally freak out but she held her usual chill composure.

"Mmm, nice to see you too, Jamie." Y/N pulled away and Jay threw her arm around her, pulling her into his side like it was a normal interaction. "You know you can still call me Jay, right?" Jay raised his brows, still obviously confused on why she used his real name. "Nah, I like Jamie," Y/N winked, flashing a smile, he shook his head in amusement and didn't argue with that.

"So, what are you guys doing here anyways?" Riley questioned, choosing not to tease Jay for his crush on Y/N.

"I originally was suppose to train with Okada this morning to prepare for my match but he got busy so he had cancel. Figured I'd just train with Sean," Y/N informed, crossing her arms over her chest. Sean nodded, confirming her statement as he held the camera. "You can join us then, Riley was helping me train for my match with Okada anyways." Jay offered, Riley also agreeing with him.

"Sounds good." Y/N accepted.

Sean and Riley trained in one ring as Jay and Y/N were training together in the other ring. Riley was helping Sean improve in his wrestling so that was a huge help for him. "I haven't figured out how I wanted the match to finish, you know? All I know is that I really want to pay a tribute to Kenny and Azalea in the match, but I already figured that out," Y/N said to Jay as they discussed how she wanted her match to go with Kairi Sane.

Jay licked the front of his teeth, wondering if Y/N was still involved with Kenny. "Oh, uh are you and Kenny still, ya know?" Y/N's eyes widened slightly, knowing where he was going with that and immediately shook her head. "Definitely not, we ended things in like early 2019. We're still extremely good friends though, he's always been one of my biggest supporters." Y/N pursed her lips, silently wondering why Jay asked about Kenny. "Why?" She questioned.

"Just wondering," Jay shrugged it off but Y/N was still a bit suspicious.

"Well, we should continue now, I want to be at the dome early," Y/N said, getting back on track. "Yeah of course." Y/N stood up from sitting on the middle rope, "Can I borrow the blade runner?"

"I'm not sure, you technically never joined my bullet club," Jay pursed his lips sarcastically and Y/N hit his shoulder playfully with a laugh. "You turned on Kenny, how could I possibly join your club without it seeming like I'm betraying him?" Y/N pointed out as she circled him.

"Easy. You could've just chose me. I would've treat you better anyways." Jay said, adding a little truth to his words. Y/N glanced down in thought, thinking into what he said.

"All right, let's get back to it."

》* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 。* 。° 。* 。 • ˚《

"Oh my god, your hair looks so beautiful, what the fuck," Y/N spoke as she entered the room Mercedes was in. "You like it?" Mercedes smiled, pulling Y/N into a side hug but being careful with her neck. "I love it. It looks amazing on you. It's like you burning the blue hair, putting that in your past and opening a new chapter as Mercedes, yeah?" Y/N asked. "Dude you got it perfectly. Yes, that's exactly what it means."

"I'm gonna get goin' but you call me if you need anything sweets." Y/N said, patting Mercedes's shoulder. "I will, thank you."

Y/N walked out of the room with her suitcase, going towards her personal locker room to drop her suitcase and bags off. "All right, now we are going to go search for the lovely Azalea who I'm sure is around here somewhere. She said she was by the ring since we last texted." Alice spoke, her hands tucked into her pockets of her joggers as Sean followed her with the camera.

"It's so amazing being here again. All the memories I've had here is just so surreal to me. It's gonna really hurt when I perform here for the last time. I'm just glad it's gonna be against Kairi. She's one of my greatest friends." Y/N and Sean both walked down to the ring, immediately did she spot Azalea talking with surprisingly, Jay White. She knew they never even met each other so that was kinda a shock to her seeing them in a deep conversation.

As Y/N walked up to them, Jay turned to look at her, "Why didn't you tell me you're retiring?"

Y/N blinked, being caught off guard with the sudden question. Y/N looked at Azalea with accusing eyes, "I'm sorry babe, but he was asking me why you always looked like you were in pain when you trained. He's really convincing, I'm sorry." Azalea frowned, suddenly feeling bad for telling Jay what was going on when Y/N trusted her with that information.

Y/N sighed, running a hand down her face exhaustion. "I'm not retiring, okay? We don't even know that for sure. Doctors just said that my wrestling days are limited if it keeps getting worse," Y/N explained. "Then why are you wrestling tonight if you know it can end your career? Are you insane, Y/N? Just drop the title before you permanently damage your neck." Jay argued, not understanding why she wasn't listening to everyone's warnings.

"I can't!" Y/N snapped, then taking a few breaths to calm herself down before she got even more upset and said something she might regret. "This is my legacy, Jay. This is my story and if I'm gonna go out, it's gonna be on my terms. Whether it ends tonight or next month, it's on my terms. You can hate me for it all you want, but it's my decision. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to go see my friends cause it might be a while before we see each other again." Y/N plastered on a fake smile and walked past them to go find Okada.

Jay ran a hand down his hair, frustrated but also hurt that Y/N wasn't at least making an effort to preserve her career. "You're in love with her, aren't you?" Izzy tilted her head curiously, making Jay immediately turn to look at her. "Where did you get that idea from?" Jay scoffed in denial.

"Oh I don't know, maybe the fact that you seem to care about her more than you're letting on. And, I've watched her old YouTube videos of her backstage with the Bullet Club and I couldn't help but notice everytime she was with Kenny, you always held that jealous glint in your eyes. She even told me how you tried to convince her to join your bullet club. It was so insanely obvious. You're kinda lucky she's a little oblivious." Azalea smiled sarcastically as Jay rolled his eyes.

"Fine, maybe you're right. But, don't tell her, I plan on telling her myself, tonight." Jay stuck out his hand so they could shake on it, it took her a moment to think before ultimately shaking his hand in agreement.

》* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 。* 。° 。* 。 • ˚《

Y/N paced back and forth nervously, her title strapped around her waist as she watched the TV where Kairi Sane was making her entrance. "You can do this, just go out there, don't fall, don't be stiff, show everyone why you're the best. Do what you do best, win, wrestle and entertain." Y/N spoke to herself, trying her hardest to motivate herself but she was failing miserably, growing more anxious by the second.

"Hey, Y/N. Are you okay?" Jay walked up to them and Sean took it as a sign to let the two talk alone.

"Do I honestly look okay?" Y/N deadpanned then frowned, not liking when she came off as rude. "I'm sorry, that was rude. I'm just freaking out, or panicking or something, I don't know," Y/N rambled, breathing heavily, she leaned on the wall behind her.

"Shit, okay I was gonna do this later," Jay mumbled to himself before placing his hands on her shoulders and her hands went up to his arms. "What are you?-" Jay cut her off, pressing his lips gently against hers, in the process, distracting her from all her previous thoughts. Y/N practically melted into the kiss, immediately placing her hands on his, she kissed back. Hearing her music begin to play, they both pulled away and before she could get a word out, one of the workers dragged her away and up the stairs.

"What happened to waiting till after the show?" Jay jumped slighly hearing Azalea's voice, turning around he noticed her leaning against the wall with crossed arms. "I was trying to calm her down," Jay defended.

"Dude, you realized that literally could destroy her entire focus on the match? You better hope nothing bad happens, if it does, I'm kicking your ass," Azalea stated before walking off to go watch the match with Trinity and Pamela in the stands where they couldn't be caught on any cameras as it went against hers and Pam's contracts with the WWE.

"Shit," Jay muttered, running a hand down his hair.

》* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 。* 。° 。* 。 • ˚《

Y/N took a deep breath, trying to get a breath in as she just superplexed Kairi off the top rope and immediately performed a Blade Runner after. The match was almost over and it was one hell of a match. Kairi was killing it and some even thought she might actually just pull a win over the champion. But, Y/N wasn't gonna let that happen. She had to admit, the kiss was a little distracting. It was just so sudden and unexpected. She didn't even think Jay was single after seeing those rumors about him with a new girlfriend.

Y/N crawled over to Kairi, attempting a cover but Kairi kicked out at two. "Fuck! Just give up!" Y/N leaned against the ropes, running a hand over her hair in frustration.

Kairi stood up tiredly and immediately ran and knee'd Y/N before she could block it. She dragged Y/N to the turnbuckles and began to climb up the rope. The crowd automatically assumed it was over for Y/N the minute Kairi hit the insane elbow. But, as Kairi performed it, Y/N got her knees up at the last second. Kairi groaned and Y/N stood up and jumped onto the top rope, performing her finisher, the Royalty Deathdrop. It was basically a backflip off the top rope into a DDT.

She hit it perfectly. "ONE..TWO..THREE!" Y/N grinned and tiredly crawled to the bottom rope, attempting to pull herself up as they announced her name as the winner. The official handed her the title and raised her hand before she immediately collapsed back onto the mat, barely able to hold herself up. Her body was battered and bruised so it was surprising that she wasn't even unconscious.

Kairi stood up and immediately went towards Y/N, extending her hand in respect towards her competitor. The crowd watched in anticipation, waiting to see if Y/N would accept her hand. Y/N hesitantly took Kairi's hand and the crowd applaused. Kairi pulled the taller woman up and raised her hand, showing a sign of respect for the retaining champion.

All until Y/N's hand dropped, the music hit. The music of Mercedes Moné.

The crowd cheered, obviously most knowing who she was. Y/N sat down on the middle turnbuckle, watching as Mercedes ascended down the entrance ramp. Kairi stood near Y/N as they watched Mercedes enter the ring. A whole new look on her, she was almost unrecognizable if you seen her as Sasha Banks in WWE. This was an entirely different woman and she wasn't here to play games. She was here to make history, money and win championships.

Kairi looked at Y/N silently asking if she wanted her to stay. Y/N shook her head, waving her off and Kairi stepped out of the ring, letting Y/N handle her business. Y/N stepped up, not liking the disrespect of Mercedes. She didn't have to say anything, she just raised her IWGP Women's Championship right in the face of Mercedes, not backing down to her.

Mercedes stuck her hand out, Y/N looking at it in suspicion. She took it hesitantly and Mercedes smiled as they shook hands. A show of respect. Y/N went to pull her hand away but Mercedes held it tightly so she couldn't let go. She pulled Y/N in, making her drop the title and performed what looked to be a gory bomb only it was straight into a DDT. Y/N groaned as she hit the mat, selling it perfectly so it made Mercedes look like a huge threat.

Mercedes walked over to the title and slowly picked it up, then dropped it onto Y/N's barely conscious body. "Give me a mic," Mercedes stuck her hand out, leaning between the ropes, they quickly handed her a microphone and she slowly made her way back to Y/N.

"Y/N, awee, congratulations on making history tonight, once again. I also know a thing or two about making history," Mercedes grinned, the crowd cheering for her. "I am here, in New Japan and Stardom to make some more. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm the standard. The conversation. The blueprint, and the CEO of this women's division."

Mercedes kneeled down next to Y/N's body, the champion not even attempting to get up or open her eyes. "So Y/N-San, enjoy your IWGP Women's Championship while you can. Because at Battle in the Valley at San José. Imma leave you bankrupt bitch. And you can bank on Moné." Mercedes took the championship and lifted it up, throwing the mic to the side as her music played.

Y/N rolled out of the ring once Mercedes made her way out. She grabbed her championship and let one of the officials help her walk to the back. She held an ice pack against her neck, as Azalea rushed up towards her and Sean obviously shortly behind with the camera. "I need to lay down," Y/N spoke, letting Azalea help her walk towards her locker room rather than run to do the press conference. They could hold it back a few minutes for Y/N like they always did.

"I love you, but you need to chill out with these extreme matches. If this next one is your last, don't hurt yourself worse trying to prove yourself. You had thousands of people watching you tonight, I'm pretty damn sure they know you're the best." Azalea said, handing the title to Sean for him to hold it until they got to the room.

"I know, I'm sorry. I'll take it down a notch next time. Sean, you can turn off the camera, I don't wanna film right now." Y/N leaned her head on Azalea's shoulder in exhaustion, not seeing that Jay was standing outside her locker room door. But, Azalea and Sean noticed him.

"I'm gonna go get the ice, lots of ice," Sean excused himself, leaving Azalea to deal with that by herself.

"I need to unlock the door so I need you to hold yourself up for a few seconds, okay?" Azalea slowly moved Y/N's arm from her shoulder and instead of Y/N supporting herself, Jay immediately went to hold her up. Y/N looked at him and sighed, watching tiredly as Azalea hurriedly unlocked the door to the locker room.

"You're probably gonna need a cat scan," Azalea mumbled, opening the door and Jay helped Y/N inside. Azalea switched on the lights as Jay helped Y/N lay down on the couch. "After the amount of neck bumps she took, I'm surprised she didn't break it," Jay added. Azalea pursed her lips, agreeing with him and Y/N tiredly hit his shoulder. "Don't be an ass. I had to make it look like it was killing me," Y/N muttered.

"I'm pretty sure it was killing you considering you can barely stand on your own," Azalea deadpanned.

Y/N rolled her eyes and moved the ice pack from her neck to her forehead. "The match looked good though, yeah?" Despite her current situation, she still loved wrestling and absolutely loved being out there in front of an audience. Nothing could ever take away her love and passion for the sport. Retirement or not. She would always appreciate it.

"You never had one bad match and it hasn't changed yet," Jay spoke before Azalea could respond to her friend. As Y/N went to say something, the door opened and in walked Sean with the ice packs and Mercedes. "Got the ice, and a visitor," Sean tossed the ice to Izzy who caught it with ease before he grabbed the camera and turned it back on.

"Hey, I didn't see you backstage so I got worried. And I noticed you could barely walk so I wanted to come check on you." Mercedes kneeled down next to the couch as Jay moved out of the way for her. Y/N sat up slowly, still trying to control her breathing. "You didn't have to, but I appreciate it. How are you feeling?" Y/N smiled, taking Mercedes's hands in her own.

"I feel like I'm on top of the world. This is all I've ever wanted and honestly, I'm still processing it all. In a way, I finally feel free, ya know?" Mercedes smiled as she spoke, still running on adrenaline from her debut. It completely took her mind off the fact that she was possibly gonna be the one to retire Y/N at Battle in the Valley.

"I understand completely. I'm literally so proud of you, I could cry. You deserve to live your dream, you deserve all of this. Don't let anyone tell you different. You belong here." Y/N stated, being filled with nothing but joy for Mercedes. She couldn't have been more proud of her.

Mercedes smiled, feeling a tear fall that Y/N wiped away. "Thank you so much. For everything." Mercedes said, blinking away her tears.

"You don't have to thank me. Just show me who Mercedes Moné is, and that's all I need." Mercedes chuckled and nodded, being gentle as she hugged Y/N. "I can't wait to beat you," Mercedes teased, pulling away with a smirk.

"All right, don't get all cocky now." Y/N scoffed lightly in a joking manner.

Mercedes snickered and stood back up, now turning her attention to Jay as Y/N leaned forward for Azalea to press the ice against her bag. "I don't think we've met yet. I'm Mercedes, it's nice to meet you," Mercedes smiled humbly as she stuck out her hand.

"Jay, it's nice to meet you as well. I've heard great things," Jay shook her hand gently with a warm smile.

"Well, I should get going. Imma let you rest and we'll meet up tomorrow?" Mercedes said towards Y/N. "Sure thing," Y/N nodded. Mercedes and Azalea shared a hug before she exited the locker room.

"You two have five minutes, then you need to do the conference and we can go back to the hotel or finish watching the show. I'm sure you don't wanna miss Kenny and Will's match." Azalea said before grabbing Sean and exiting the room to let the two discuss the elephant in the room.

Y/N cleared her throat, and patted her hand on the couch, telling Jay to sit down. His sigh was barely heard as he took a seat next to the woman he'd been in love with since their first interaction. "I'm sorry I kissed you. I definitely shouldn't have done that without your consent, that was extremely out of line," he began, causing Y/N to turn her body towards him, groaning at the pain in the process. She had never been so sore in her life. That was another reminder that she had to hang up the boots sooner than later.

"I'm not mad that you kissed me, Jamie." Y/N cut him off, using her left hand to move his face to look at her. "You're not?" Jay feigned confusion, being so sure that she was upset with him. After all, she hadn't spoken to him until Azalea left, which kinda forced them to have to talk.

"No. I'm mad that you didn't do it sooner," Y/N said, catching Jay off guard completely. Jay blinked, not sure if he heard that right or if his mind was playing games on him. "I can't tell if you're serious or not. Can you repeat that again?" He asked, being serious but not at the same time.

Y/N chuckled but stopped when she felt the pain in her stomach. "Look, I've always liked you, from the minute we met. But I wasn't in love with you," Jay's face fell hearing that but she placed her hand on his, silently telling him to keep listening. "I was so obsessed with thinking Kenny was the one for me because I genuinely never experienced love before him. I told myself so many times that he was the person I've always wanted when in reality, he wasn't at all."

"Then when we broke up and a month later I came back to Japan, you and I met up and I finally realized what was in front of my face the entire time. You always cared about me, and checked in after every match and that's something nobody else even bothered to do. You treated me exactly like I thought Kenny would. And I'm so sorry for realizing that way too late. I've always loved you, and when I found out you had a girlfriend, it was too late to tell you that I was in love with you."

Y/N wiped a tear that fell from her cheek, never being a fan of crying even if it was a happy tear. Jay furrowed his brows in confusion, processing what she just said, "I'm sorry, did you say girlfriend?" He questioned.

"Yeah, why? There was reports on Twitter that you had some secret girlfriend or whatever," Y/N shrugged. Jay couldn't help but chuckle, making Y/N raise her brows, not knowing if she should be mad or not. "Y/N, those were fake. That girl I was with was not my girlfriend. Riley and Will tricked me into going out with her. They said it was a guys night and when I show up, they're not even there and she just got caught in the middle of their jokes so I felt bad and just had dinner with her anyways. I don't even remember her name." Jay said, sighing when he realized he could've had Y/N much sooner.

"Oh." Was all she could say.

Jay noted her embarrassment and gave a squeeze to her hand, "I really wish I could go back in time and tell you how much I loved you way sooner. I could've had you this whole time."

"Well, there's no need to wait anymore," Y/N spoke softly, hoping he got the hint. Jay leaned closer towards her, careful with her body as of how sore she definitely was. "Can I kiss you, Y/N?" Y/N smiled and nodded, "Of course you can, Jay," letting him press his lips softly against hers. The kiss wasn't rushed like the first one. It was perfect. It was...everything.

Jay pulled away with a cheesy smile, "You called me Jay," he pointed out. Y/N rolled her eyes and playfully pushed him back, "Shut up, Jamie," she scoffed. Jay grinned and pulled her onto his lap, mumbling small sorrys when she winced. "I love you, Y/N," he spoke softly.

"I love you too, Jamie," Y/N pressed a small peck to his lips.

[strayheartless]

Things heard in the land of departure:

Riku: you know sometimes I think I’ve had enough of today. But then Roxas throws his keyblade full force at my head; Kairi manages to flood the training room while I’m the one babysitting trainees and I think “oh! I was wrong! Now I’ve had e-fucking-nough of today!”

Sora: it only kills me if I die!

Roxas: I regret to inform the council that I have settled on being the problem child today.

Aqua: if anyone needs me I’ll be screaming into the void.

Ven: you know, vanitas isn’t all that bad once you get to know him. he’s only tried to take over my entire being like… *starts counting on his fingers*

Sora: you gunna cry?! Oh, shit man your actually crying! Do you need to talk?

Isa: if I mutilate my face again do I still have to participate?

Roxas: 🎶 someone made my best friend cry, do da do da. That punk ass bitch is gunna die, oh do do da day🎶 *jazz hands*

Terra: I’ll admit, historically I have not always made decisions that place me on the moral high ground. Yet today I find myself with the absolute pleasure of getting to say “ I told you so!”

Aqua: *bodily hands Kairi to Riku like she’s a badly behaved cat* Take her before I do something everyone but me regrets.

Kairi: I’m my defence Lea said ‘probably not’ and he should really know better then to challenge me like that.

Sora: “oh sora, why aren’t you a master yet? Oh sora, when are you planning on retaking the mark of mastery?” Well Susan I’d actually planned on not almost dying every month of the year first!

Ven: It scares me that soon I’ll be the grown up kids need to take with them to Disney town.

Xion: wait no! Why does Kairi have a battle axe?!? Parlé, Parlé PARLÉ!!!!!

Riku: After some careful consideration I’ve decided to give up. Thank you for understanding.

Ven: why is the floor talking?!? *Terra pops up from behind a counter* oh, that’s why.

Lea: *after going toe to toe with Terra* “a little master vs student never hurt.” WRONG I am VeRy mUcH hUrT!

Roxas: People often ask me why I decided to train under Riku if I hate him so much. The answer is quite simple really, How else am I meant to ensure is suffering?

Xion: Master Aqua says that the gods give the hardest battles to the strongest soldier. What I wanna know is, is that legally binding? Cause I don’t remember signing shit!

Riku: I’d ask why you are covered in glitter, but at this point I’ve accepted my fate. *gets attacked by a glittery Sora and Kairi*

Isa: do you ever just… regret existence?

Lea: oh yeah, all the time!

Ven: today I made the mistake of telling Roxas to bite me… now I think I need stitches.

Sora: For all I’m famous for being able to fall asleep anywhere, I sure do be allergic to falling asleep in bed.

Ven & Roxas: mood.

Terra: I shall be unavailable until further notice. I’m not busy I’m just sick of looking at all of you.

[rosie-kairi]

You know watching that clip of Roxas wanting to know the truth of his origins I can't help but laugh nervously like oh Roxas sweetheart honeybun trust me you do not want to know because the truth is so much worse than he thinks in canon.

Cause you think it's pretty simple right? Sora gives up his heart thus Roxas is born. Oh but he looks like Ven? Well makes sense Ven was released alongside Sora's heart and made its way to Roxas. But then we have to get to the how and why they ended up like that in the first place. Cause if you think about it too long like I did you realize jesus christ the road to Roxas creation was paved with blood and mass murder O_O

In order for Roxas to be born Ventus has to be in the future (present? whatever time travel is wonky) and he has to end up alone in the keyblade graveyard and be abused for a year by xehanort and then get dumped on the destiny islands to die. But before that we have to go back to the age of fairy tales when Ven is a union leader traps an original Darkness within himself nearly dying in the process and everyone figures out that MoM essentially is using them as live bait to trap the other darkness' and leave the dandelions to die. But before we get to that we have to go back a year to when MoM purposefully sowed the seeds of discord amongst his apprentices so their friendship would fracture and the fissures would go to the unions causing everyone to turn on each other. Tensions start rising and before we know it a full blown war breaks out and thousands of children are sacrificed as they cut each other down and MoM is just off to the side watching all this like, "yeah this is an acceptable turn of events I am absolutely okay instigating the slaughter of thousands of innocent children and destruction of the world to defeat darkness this is indeed a worthwhile and good plan :)"

But before even that we have to go to like 10 minutes before (well 2 years and 10 minutes before I guess) because Strelitzia was meant to be a union leader but she was obsessed with player and wanted to save them from the keyblade war, and Darkness chose her to be a necessary sacrifice by taking advantage of a little boy's pain and loneliness and swapping their places. Had they not done that Ven likely would've died in the keyblade war meaning none of the following events post war would've played out the way it needed to for Roxas to exist.

So going back to Sora his heart joins with a traumatized and dying Ven as a newborn saving him. Then 4 years go by and Ven seeks sanctuary with Sora after almost dying again. This puts Sora within Xehanort's path and Sora's world eventually falls. His love and conviction for his friends keeps him going but he ends up having to fight his best friend seemingly to the death and has to essentially kill himself to wake up the love of his life not even sure if he'll survive what he's about to do. So before he dies he gives one last big grin and prepares to meet his fate like Ven has before him. And it is the release of Kairi and Ven's wounded heart that leads to Roxas being born.

All it took was a megalomaniac keyblade master deciding yeah the painful death of thousands of children and countless worlds plus the death of a few hundred is absolutely worth trapping darkness but his plan goes a bit sideways and the union leaders escape and manage to build back some of the world that inevitably leads Xehanort to his own crazy scheme and the egging on of the hidden 6th apprentice also manipulating things behind the scenes and destroying the innocence and lives of two innocent boys who only ever wanted to be with their friends and live their lives with them. And we still haven't fully touched on Vanitas which is a different can of worms. If even one bad thing deviated or didn't happen no Roxas. So everything had to go perfectly wrong for everyone for him to be here.

So yeah Roxas are you sure you wanna know where you came from or why? Are you sure you want to burden the full knowledge when even the one's who paid the price currently don't? Is it really worth it Roxas? Is it?

The sheer amount of events in the Kingdom Hearts timeline that exists solely due to an insane domino effect the likes of which humanity has never before seen is frankly ridiculous.

What if Baldr never succumbed to darkness and killed every single one of his friends except Xehanort and Eraqus (and BragiLuxu)? Xeha and Eraqus would've never had their views of Darkness vs Light twisted so much that they became extreme extremists. Without Xehanort doing his. thing. the entire plot of "current day" Kingdom Hearts would not have happened. Same thing goes for the what-if of Xehanort never leaving Destiny Islands.

Similarly, what would've happened if the Destiny trio never left Destiny Islands/DI never fell to darkness in KH1?

What if Strelitzia never died and got replaced by Ven? Or, what if one of the other Union Leaders was killed by darkness? What if the Foretellers never fought each other?

Of course, this all leads back to "what if the Master of Masters wasn't who he is as a person."

Roxas is the culmination of hundreds, if not thousands of years of bloodshed and interfered destiny all represented by a singular teenage nobody who eats a lot of ice cream and cares a lot about a lot of different things (most of all, his friends)

[mirror-to-the-past]

More (Apparently) KH3:Remind and Melody of Memory Stuff

Spiritually pounding on the windows of the Square Enix building- what do you MEAN I find out via YouTube that there's story cutscenes locked behind those egregious Data fights?? (That I'll personally beat... someday...)

(I also just went ahead and watched all the cutscenes for Melody of Memory, because I didn't want to play through a $60 rhythm game, sorryyy)

But first, Re:Mind and its sneaky, sneaky cutscenes...

Everything with Yozora has me Bonkers. I can't believe they've done this. Echoing Sora's first line in the series "I've been having these weird thoughts lately" through his own side of the story, him saying that he doesn't look like how he appears, the 'why do you know that name,' the "save Sora" while immediately drawing a gun on the man in question?? I'm just... *screaming noises* They're bringing everything together with the fiction versus reality stuff they have going on, and guys, I get SO excited when some games go meta. I'm squealing like a little girl; I'm ecstatic. Despite Sora being in (what I now know as Quadratum) and the background of the Yozora fight reflecting that, I can't help but wonder if it was another internal fight due to the arena switching to Sora's Heart Station for a second, akin to Roxas' fight in KH2.

And the music was so pretty... Yozora has a gorgeous theme. The prettier the battle theme, the more insane the KH fight, I say.

Also Riku was dreaming of Sora for a year. Lmao. He just... didn't say anything about it, while everyone was busting their asses. I'll be honest, literally the only way I could take that is that he dismissed his dreams as irrelevant- ah yes, dreaming of Sora? Nothing crazy to see here. Oh, Riku.

Also more importantly than Riku's angst deal- KAIRI WAS LAUNCHED INTO SPACE WHEN SHE WAS A PRESCHOOLER TO ACT AS A KEYBLADE WIELDER HOMING DEVICE, JESUS CHRIST. Kairi 🤝 Megamind 🤝 potentially Superman (I'm not a comics guy):

Getting launched out of their home planets into space in order to escape the destruction of their worlds, given vague and confusing scenarios and instructions to adapt to once they find a new planet, but they really just wanna chill and be loved and keep people safe.

And she's gonna train with Aqua! :D Another professional at getting launched into other worlds (realms). I hope she bonds with Ventus, as I've recently been made aware of their similarities in disposition, and how they are treated by others (hearts of pure light, designated by their groups as "the one who should stay home/be protected", wavering self confidence in their own abilities and self worth). Additionally, the hilarious potential scenarios of Kairi being like "yeah, and my favorite color's actually-" and Ventus interrupts with "Purple. I know," because the man essentially vicariously lived Sora's childhood. I'm super stoked for future Kairi screentime! Loved when she saw Xehanort in her memories and was like 'I don't care if you're a memory, data, manifestation of my heart or any other thing- I hate you, get out of my life forever. Hugs and kisses, die.' Like, 10/10, girl. Fair. Kairi's a volcano wrapped in a sweet package ready to snap at someone.

Riku's like "Y'know Ansem, I'm gonna miss you... 🥺"

And Sora's like "Xemnas, stooop all the violence. How can you take advantage of people with hearts? You should feel your feelings. You're valid, bestie. ☺️"

Kairi's no bleeding heart for baddies, she just wants everyone to get off her damn case, lol!

Also LOL at the fairy godmother of all people being the one to ship Riku off to Quadratum after Sora. My Cinderiku jokes (as well as my previous KH3 post's blurb about Riku determinedly walking into the ocean to find Sora) may not be completely unwarranted, now. Like, Miss 'specialty in dreams?' Miss "If you'd lost all your faith, I couldn't be here. And here I am." Not even to mention "a dream is a wish your heart makes," a very relevant lyric for this set of circumstances, if I do say so myself. I guess that's just gonna be another song I love and sing to myself that now makes me think of KH. 🤷 There's worse things I suppose, for example, like Buddy Holly being stuck in my head for three days straight and making me feel like I'm trapped listening to my uncle's records (thanks, Good Omens).

I ended up re-watching "Cinderella" for the first time in a while because of that part of Re:Mind and MoM. The KH association of the part with Fairy Godmother's appearance is now semi-heartwrenching, given the context of her appearance in "Cinderella," as well:

You have the vocalizing chorus throughout the opening of the scene acting as a callback to Cinderella's "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" song as well as reflecting her inner thoughts, and she has a dialogue with it while she sobs alone in the garden:

Chorus: Whatever you wish for, you keep...

Cinderella: "Oh, no... no, it isn't true."

Chorus: Have faith in your dreams and someday... your rainbow will come smiling through!

Cinderella: "It's just no use. No use at all."

Chorus: No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing...

Cinderella: "I can't believe! Not anymore..."

Chorus: The dream that you wish... *lyric trails off, unfinished*

Cinderella: "There's nothing left to believe in... nothing..."

[Fairy Godmother materializes next to her]

FG: "Nothing my dear? Oh, now you don't really mean that."

Cinderella: "Oh, but I do-"

FG: "Nonsense, child! If you lost all your faith, I couldn't be here, and here I am!"

[the violin and cello come in to finish the last part of the lyric] "...will come true."

Beautiful scene, really. The chorus assisting the animation is delightful... I watched Bambi and Lady and the Tramp (Bella Notte <3) a lot growing up because I loved that old-timey choral work. So dreamy...

Additional funny/sweet bit: I like how Mickey was freaking out to the point of being pinned down over Riku being unceremoniously dropped into Quadratum via Fairy Godmother's spontaneity and enabling.

'You sent my son to the big city ALONE?! He could get mugged, he could get lost, he could get hate-crimed, he could-'

*jump cut to Riku, and he's trying to gauge the value of Earth Money by spying on hot dog stands. He sheds his first known tear of the series by trying to figure out public transit routes*

Anyway, in the words of Cid:

"But what happens next?!"

[thedeliverygod]

and for the KH fans

2 oldie but goodie sokai drabbles for you, Happy Valentines Day~

Coming Home

“Come on, I’ve got a surprise for you.” Riku led Kairi out of his back door and around the side of his house, the dirt path dimly lit by the moonlight. Turning back to glance at her for a moment, he explained, “This is to make up for dropping the ball for your birthday and Christmas.”

She bit her lip, her arms slightly wrapped around herself to keep warm, “Why Valentine’s Day, though? It’s so random. Plus I don’t want you to do anything extravagant for me… I know you were really busy catching up with school.”

“Don’t worry about it. I didn’t have to go too much out of my way to make it happen and I know you’ll like it.” He waved her off, holding out his arm to stop her just as they reached the edge of his house, “Okay. Turn around.” He made a spinning motion with his index finger. Kairi raised an eyebrow, staring at him and not moving. Rolling his eyes, Riku answered, “It’s supposed to be a surprise, remember?”

“Alright, if you say so.” She spun around hesitantly and heard his footsteps moving away from her.

“I’ll be right back.” He called out before making his way around the corner. After that, she heard nothing but the breeze going through the trees and bushes around her.

Wrapping her arms around herself even tighter as the wind blew, she whined quietly, “Brr...” After a moment, she finally heard the soft thud of shoes against the ground again and asked impatiently, “Can I turn around now? It’s freezing out here!”

“Uhh… sure.”

Kairi felt a jolt go through her body as she heard the response and realized it wasn’t Riku’s voice. Wide eyed, she turned around so fast that she almost fell over, “Sora!”

He smiled, “Hey.”

Looking him over a few times to make sure that he was actually standing in front of her, she launched herself forward and embraced him tightly, “I’m so glad you’re home.” Pulling a few inches away from him, she asked curiously, “But wait, how did Riku know you were coming today?”

A small smirk passed over Sora’s lips as he turned his head away, “I kinda got here yesterday, but I wanted to surprise you. So me and Riku set it up this way.”

“You jerks, you should have come and found me right away.” She leaned her head down against his shoulder.

“Believe me, it was really hard not to do that.” He laughed, Kairi feeling the vibration through his chest, “It took a lot of will power to pull this off.”

She leaned back from him, mocking a thoughtful look for a moment before grinning, “I guess I can let it slide, then.”

Sora looked down at her, smiling widely in response. After a moment, he became all too aware that they hadn’t broken their embrace in several minutes. Shifting his arms awkwardly so that he was holding her a little more loosely, he spoke sheepishly, “So… Happy Valentine’s Day, Kairi.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day.” She echoed, her eyes locked on his and her body unmoving.

He let out a nervous laugh, admitting, “To be honest, I didn’t think this far ahead… I was just focused on seeing you again.

Kairi shrugged, “That’s okay. I mean, this is good enough for me.” She hugged him tightly again, “This is more than enough, really.”

“Well, you’re easy to please.” He laughed again, “So, what’d you get me, then?”

“Um… well, I have a card but I was just going to get something once I knew you were home since I didn’t want to get any sort of candy and just let it sit around…” She glanced down, seeming embarrassed.

Sora moved one of his hands to her upper back, comforting, “Hey, I was just kidding. I appreciate it enough that you thought to get me a card while I was gone, anyway. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” She answered softly, looking back up.

He looked around for a moment, unsure of what to say again. “Weren’t you cold? We can go inside if you want.”

She blinked, “Oh. Um, I was… but I kind of forgot. We can if you want to, though. I’m sure Riku is waiting for us.”

“Yeah.” He nodded in agreement. Feeling Kairi beginning to pull away from him, Sora grasped her arms at his sides, “Wait.”

She looked up at him curiously, “What is it?”

“Well, you know the drawing in the secret place?”

Kairi felt her cheeks begin to grow a little warm, nodding, “Mhm.”

He smiled softly to himself before looking at her, “Since we’ve both added stuff now, I was wondering if maybe we can start working towards making that a reality.” He paused, nervously adding, “I don’t mean sharing a paopu fruit right now or anything, I just mean—”

“I know what you mean.” She shushed him, raising her hand to touch his cheek.

He looked to her for reassurance again, asking, “So?” Receiving a nod in return, Sora pulled her closer and dipped his head to catch her lips. She kissed him back, her hand sliding from his face to rest on his chest and just underneath his chin. Both pulling away with a smile, he suggested, “Alright, we can go in now.”

Kairi took a step back from him before slipping her hand into his and tugging him forward, “Okay, let’s go.”

Candy Hearts

“I got some more candy.” Sora slid a box of conversation hearts towards Kairi, taking a seat beside her at the table and opening the box that he still had in his hands, “I know they kinda taste gross but I thought it’d be fun to trade some.”

Kairi flashed a smile before reaching over to pick up her box, “Yeah, they’re definitely cute.  I don’t think I’ve done this since you, me, and Riku used to do it in elementary school. Talk about a nostalgia blast.”

He let out a small laugh at her response before pulling a heart out, reading it, and sliding it towards her, “I think I’ve got this one accomplished already.”

Raising an eyebrow in interest, she looked down to see “BE MINE”. She looked back up with a smirk, answering teasingly, “Hm, I guess so.” Pulling out one and glancing at it for a moment, she slid her own back towards Sora. As he looked down to see the word “SUNSHINE” Kairi commented, “I mean, seems pretty accurate to me.”

“Thanks.” He grinned, looking at her admiringly until she motioned for him to continue, “Oh, sorry…” He dug in the box again and pulled out a heart, sliding it to her without saying anything.

“No comment?” She titled her head.

He responded with a shake of his own, “Nope, it speaks for itself.”

Seeing “LOVE YOU” she smiled again, “How sweet. Love you, too.” Digging through her box for a moment, she sent another one his way.

“Call me?” He read out loud in a questioning tone. Pausing, he shrugged, “Eh, maybe later.”

Kairi pouted, “You’re mean.”

“I’ll make it up to you.” He quickly fired back, reaching into his box again. Sliding it to her, he said, “Here.”

Looking down and then back up at him, she gave a small roll of her eyes, “Very funny.” Sora didn’t respond so she slid him another one that said “KISS ME”.

He couldn’t hold his reaction for that one. “Soon.” He promised before sliding another heart towards her.

“Is this the only one you have left or something?” She squinted at him and he shook his head in return. “Okay… I’m gonna go with…this one.” She slid him one that said “SWEET HEART.” Sora pushed back his chair and stood up slowly, causing Kairi to ask mischievously, “Oh, you want that kiss now?”

He laughed sheepishly, “Sort of. Just wait a minute.” He slid the last two hearts he had given her towards himself and added a third “MARRY ME” heart. Looking back to Kairi, she was still completely confused until he began to lower himself to one knee.

“You’re really—” Her hands clamped over her mouth, muffling the following, “Oh my god.”

Sora let out another laugh at her reaction while trying to keep his own nerve, flipping the ring box open and asking, “Kairi, will you marry me?”

She nodded excitedly and offered her hand, saying loudly, “Yes.” Once he had gotten the ring on her finger, she immediately collapsed against him in a tight embrace. Through a bit of sniffles, she asked, “Is there even a heart that says yes on it?”

“I’m not sure.” He replied, pulling back from her a little bit and suggesting playfully, “But the kiss would be nice, now.”

She pulled back from him as well, giggling, “Right, right.” She leaned in towards him, placing one arm around his neck and the other loosely against his side.

He kissed her back softly, smiling into the kiss and lifting his arm up to support her waist so that she didn’t fall over. When they finally broke away from each other, Kairi stood up and helped Sora up as well.  Reaching over to the table, she grabbed the “LOVE YOU” heart and gave it back to him with a grin. “Love you too.” He answered, giving her a peck on the cheek.

[blackhakumen]

Mini Fanfic #1215: UNO Shenanigans Vol. 1 (Variety)

Destiny Angel Island Gang

'Silence'

Pit: So.....Question.

Viridi: Hm?

Sora/Kairi/Kirby: Shoot./Poyo.

Pit: You guys ever heard of this game called Dos? (Place his Matching Colored Card Down on the Pile) I saw a pack in the Coin Store the other day and it looks like it's the in the same brand as Uno. (Shows Everyone a Picture of the Dos Pack on his Phone) See?

Everyone leans over to take a more closer look at the picture in question.

Sora: Ah yeah. Kairi and I saw one of these in the grocery store the other day. (Place a Matching Card onto the Pile)

Kairi: (Giggles a Bit at the Memory) We were craving over Riu's cooking so much at the time that we really didn't think much of it afterwards. (Tales a Look at the Four Cards She's Holding Before Clicking her Teeth a Bit) Man.....(Draws Another Card From the Stack)

Kirby: (Turns to Riku) Poyo Poyo Poyo?

Riku: Sort of? From what I've heard you only had to match the numbers rather than that and the colors it's based around. You guys think we should give it a try one of these days?

Everyone: (Happily Nodded) Yeah/Sure, I'm down/Poyo!

Viridi: ('Sigh') If it gives me better luck than it's predecessor, then sure, why not.

Pit: (Smiles Sheepishly at his Girlfriend Next to Him) You're not a fan of Uno so far, aren't you, Vi?

Viridi: I will be once this dumb game stop finding ways to screw me over at the last second. (Angrily Points at Riku) And Mister Sore Winner here quit winning all the freaking time!!

Riku: (Gives Viridi Sheepish, Apologetic Smile on his Face) I'm sure you'll have your win soon enough, Goddess. It's not like I win all time, you know?

Sora and Kairi give their boyfriend unconventional glares and grumbles on both their faces.

Riku: What? It's the truth! I mean, come on, there's plenty of areas you guys beaten me at, even in recent years.

Kairi: Yeah. But that pales in comparison to the amount of wins you've gotten thus far.

Sora: Approximately three hundred and nineteen wins to be exact.

Pit, Viridi, amd Kirby's eyes starts to widen up in shock by the amount of numbers Sora just announced.

Sora: Yeah. We counted and kept score since childhood. That's how sucky it was.

The Smash Trio turn their heads to the silver haired Keyblade Master as he sighs in defeat.

Riku: Okay. So maybe I am bit of a Sore Winner-

Sora/Kairi: (Comically Glares at Their Boyfriend) MAYBE!? BIT!?

Riku: (Glares Back at His Idiot Lovers) You know exactly what I mean! shaddup!

Sora: (Crosses his Arms Along with Kairi) We will if you give us cuddles tonight.

Kairi: (Nodded in Agreement) Mmhmm.

Riku: I give you cuddles almost everyday already!

Kairi: Oh. Well.......W-We want more of it tonight!

Sora: Yeah!

Riku: I- ('Ugh') Fine! More cuddles it is then.......

Sora and Kairi shares a victory high five.

Pit: (Turns to Viridi with a Bit of Puppy Dog Eyes) Hey Viridi, can you give Kirby and I cuddles tonight whether you win or loss please?~

Viridi: Sure, I'm in modd for one. (Forms a Smug Looking Smirk on her Face as She Lays her Card Down on the Pile) Especially now that I got myself an Uno!~ ('Haha') Nothing could stop me now-

Kirby: (Happily Lays Down a Draw 4 Card on the Pile) Poyo!~

Viridi: MOTHERFU-

..........................................................................................

Samus and Daisy VS. Chun-Li and Luigi

Luigi/Chun-Li: Uno Out!~

Daisy: (Snaps her Finger While Groaning in Defeat and Sitting on One Side of her and Luigi's Bed with Samus) Damnit! I thought we had you guys that time.....

Samus: Right? How the hell have you two nerds been able to beat us five times in a round sp far?

Luigi: (Casually Shrugs With a Smug Look on his and Chun-Li's Face While Sitting on the Other Side of the Bed) What can we say?~ Lady Luck has been on our side today.

Chun-Li: (Smiles Brightly) Hey, you made a rhyme just now~

Luigi: ('Gasps') Momma Mia, you're right! (Smiles Brightly as He Sticks his Habd Out to Chun-Li) Up top!~

Chun-Li giggles softly aa she gives Luigi a High-Five right in frond of their girlfriends.

Daisy: Awwwww~

Samus: (Starts Snipping her Finger at her Partner) Hey! Focus back on the game, Mayflower! It ain't over yet.

Daisy: (Pouts at Samus) I know that! But can you really blame me though? They look so cute as team~

Samus: (Stares at her Opponent Giggling Among One Another Before Sighing) Okay, I'll admit. They're adorable. But cuteness could only get 'em so far. Hey! Laughing McGees!

Chun-Li: (Turns her Attention Back on Her Opponent While Smirking Along with Luigi) Oh hi there, ladies!~

Luigi: Getting cold feet over there?

Samus: ('Scoffs') Please. The temperature in here feels too good in here to quit now.

Chun-Li: So one more round then?

Daisy: Yep! (Forms a Cheeky Grin on her Face) But how we make ourselves a negotiable dealhere.

Luigi/Chun-Li: A deal? (Looks at One Another Before Turning Back to Their Girlfriends)

Chun-Li: Okay.....(Raises an Eyebrow) What do you have to offer?

Samus: (Starts Smirking) Oh it's simple really. If we win this round, ypu guys have to go to the Haunted House at town.

Daisy: Alone~

Luigi/Chun-Li: (Eyes Widened in Fear) What!?

Luigi: (Starts Shivering in Fear) B-B-But it was crown as the Most......S-Scariest Attraction of the Whole Town.....

Chun-Li: (Starts Shivering as Well) A-And the ghosts there look.....WAY more terrifying from what I've heard.......You seriously want is to go there!?

Luigi/Chun-Li: (Hug One Another While Shivering) It's Julyyyyyyy!~

Samus: (Chuckles Lightly) Oh will you relax, you big babies? It won't be that bad.

Daisy: (Happily Nodded) Yeah, you two are the strongest, bravest pair we know. You got this!

Luigi: (Turns to Chun-Li) We have faced scarier stuff before.

Chun-Li: ('Sigh') True.....(Turns Back to Samus and Daisy) Alright, we'll accept those terms. (Points at the Ladies with Pure Determination) But if WE WIN, we'll....uhh.....uhhh-

Luigi: (Gimmicks his Partner's Action) We'll be taking you ladies on a one free trip to Pound Town tonight!!

Chun-Li: (Turns Back to Luigi with a Taken Back Look on her Face) Huh?

Daisy: (Giggles Softly) Ohoo!~ Sweetie!~ (Forms a Seductive Smirk on her Face) How bold you've gotten~

Samus: No surprise there. (Turns to Daisy) You've been tainting most of his innocence with your perverted tendencies for years now.

Daisy: (Forms a Proud Grin on her Face) And I ain't sorry about it one bit!~ My baby's almost as freaky as I am these days. (Starts Wiping Away a Single Tear From her Eyes) ('Sniff') I'm so proud~

Samus: ('Sigh'') Whatevs. (Turns Back to Luigi) You sure this what you guys want, Weeg?

Luigi: Yep! (Turns to Chun-Li with a Sheepish Smile) T-That is if it's okay with you, of course.

Chun-Li: (Shrugs with a Smile) That's fine. I could use a bit more excitement in my life. (Whispers into Luigi's Ear) I could even teach you a very special position to use on Daisy if you like~ (Winks at Luigi)

Luigi: (Eyes Widened a Bit) Really? You will?

Chun-Li: (Giggles Softly) Of course!~ We're a team aren't we? Plus, I've used it on Sammy multiple times already and she loves every second of it. (Forms of Smirk of her Own Once She Notices her Girlfriend Panickly Swinging her Hand by her Neck) Not surprising considering how she LOVES the way I take charg-

Daisy: (Eyes Widened in Shock at Chun-Li) WOWOWOAH! TIME OUT! You're telling me that Samus Aran, one if the most ruthless Bounty Hunter in all the galaxies......Is the BOTTOM IN YOUR RELATIONSHIP!?

Samus: NO-

Chun-Li: Yes. A Power Bottom to exact~

Samus: (Quickly Glares at Her Girlfriend While Blushing Madly) WOMAN-

Chun-Li: (Gives Samus a Playfully Motherly Glare) Don't you "Woman" me, Samus Aran!~ You love me every second of me dominating you from start to finish. So much to the point that you started begging for more on ocassions, all while calling me "Mommy"~

Luigi and Daisy stares at an already flustered Samus for a brief second before burst out laughing at her dispense.

Luigi: (Trying his Hardest to Calm his Laughter Down) M-Momma Mia!~

Daisy: My god, girl!~ (Points at Samus While Wheezing) You're even more freaky than we are!~ Maybe even more than Lili if you keep this up!~

Samus: (Comically Glares at Daisy and Luigi) Oh piss off, both of you! I bet you're twice as more Bottom tier than I ever was!

Daisy: On the contrare, Sammy, Weegie and I are classified as "Switches".

Samus: Switches. Really?

Luigi: It's true. There are some nights where I want Daisy take extra good care of me while taking charge-

Daisy: -And there's some nights where I want my man to let loose and assert his dominance. (Forns a Satisfied Smirk on her Face) Gets more exciting every time~

Chun-Li: I think that's something we should try and do for a change, eh, Sammy?

Samus: ('Sighs Heavily') If it helps bring my image back to it's normal glory, then sure. But enough talk. We got a Uno game to finish.

Daisy: (Wraps her Arm Around Samus' Shoulder While Giving her Opponents a Determined, Competitive Smile While Pointing at Them) Better prepare yourselves, sweeties! You may have bested us in those past few rounds, but I have a feeling this last one will be our biggest comeback YET-

Samus and Daisy has lost the final round of 2-v-2 Uno shortly after and are now taken to Pound Town for the remainder of the evening.

Happy 4th of July

@caleb13frede

@ma-lemons

@bestpony666

@tampire

[asleepinawell]

i'm in some sort of Mood about finishing the kh series (for a given value of finished) since I've been playing it since kh1 on ps2 a million years ago but instead of dealing with that i'm going to write my mini retrospective of the titles based on my replay

rest below the line

kh1

story - 7/10. it wasn't the most interesting but it was the first and laid the groundwork for the series. maleficent had a lot of screentime which is always a big plus. love her evil ass. it's also the start of the 'kairi never gets to do anything ever and gets kidnapped every time she tries' persisting problem in the whole series

gameplay - 6/10. feels a bit clunky now in comparison to some of the newer ones. it was harder than some later ones, but mostly because of wonky control issues and not great boss fights. but it's very playable and fun still. mushrooms do a little dance and shake their butt at you. i will never not feel nostalgic about traverse town music. THANK GOD YOU CAN SKIP THE PRE FIGHT CUTSCENES ON RETRIES NOW OH MY GOD YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THE ONE BEFORE THE DARK RIKU FIGHT WAS LIKE TEN MINUTES AND BACK IN THE DAY YOU HAD TO REWATCH IT EVERY TIME AAHHHHJHHH *i am tranquilized and removed from the room*

re: chain of memories

story - 8/10. i love the focus on the organization 13 internal drama. bitches are running around bad mouthing and killing each other. larxene is a constant joy. marluxia is pretty and goes swish swish and makes flowers. axel was an instant fave. zexion is a shitty twink and i do so love shitty twinks. there was some disney stuff too i guess

gameplay - 2/10. the first time i played it my brother was crashing at my apartment and watching me play and got very into making cool deck combos. so i had him do that for me and i did the combat and the fun sibling shenanigans got me through it. this time i quit after thirty minutes and watched the cutscenes on youtube. it's just so repetitive and meh

358/2 days

story - 7/10. that's too many soras! put some back! story was a bit slow at times but i did enjoy seeing the daily life of the organization and axel/saïx handling their divorce so so well. needed more demyx

gameplay - it's packaged as a movie now so i did not replay the game and can't fairly rate it. i remember it being not the best combat but not terrible for a ds game

kh2

story - 8/10. it would get higher but the fact the beginning is incomprehensible if you haven't played com and 358 loses it some points....i had not played com when i got kh2 and boy howdy. it made more sense on the replay of course and yeah it's a good story. obsessed with how maleficent remains one of the main recurring characters in this series and just Does Shit from time to time because why not. god forbid women do anything etc. also the gay divorce continues to go terribly. saïx is handling this so well i say as he goes into berserk mode again. needed more riku screentime tho

gameplay - 9/10. huge upgrade from previous titles. it was very fun and fluid. the form shifts were a great addition. there were a lot of options but it didn't feel overwhelming or like it disrupted combat. my only real complaint was it felt a bit too on rails at some parts... like cutscene, battle, walk three steps repeat. oh and i hated the gummi missions but i am a gummi hater in general. oh also antiform was amazing. sora can turn into a feral creature... as a treat

birth by sleep

story - 10/10. fuck i love birth by sleep. aqua my beloved daughter who is the most terrifying keyblade master ever. terra my troubled son who got fucked over by shitty adults on an hourly basis. ven the thousand year old little kid who has never caught a break once. also hey it's xehanort and he also has ex husband drama. only note is that aqua should get to say fuck

gameplay - 10/10. the command deck was right up my alley and command forms were the best form gameplay they've done. i loved how all three kids had a unique style and abilities. i loved melding cards and gems to make new cards. i enjoyed playing monopoly. i thought it was the best game in the series when i first played it and that remains true

re:coded

story - 6/10. it was okay? it was largely a rehash but did add a few things. my friend and i kept saying welcome back alvis whenever data riku used a computer so that was fun

gameplay - this was also presented as a movie in the bundle so i won't score it. i don't even remember how it was from way back when i played it

dream drop distance

story- 9/10. the games that switch between multiple perspectives seem to be my favorites and i think it's partly that it makes the story more interesting. the time traveling norts were a bit wtf but that's just an inescapable part of the series. inspired me to get twewy which i will be playing next. MEOW WOW!!!!!

gameplay - 9/10. flowmotion was really neat and fit the style well. i loved the pokemon aspect so much you have no idea. i was a little sad you couldn't meld command cards but it would have been Too Much with all the other stuff going on. a few fights near the end had some really dumb mechanics (the type where when you look up a guide it just says good luck) but there were also some excellent ones. i do think it lost a little something in the port because the stylus on 3ds was important. however there is nothing is quite as satisfying as seeing meow wow hit xehanort with giant bouncy orbs so I'm willing to forgive it a lot

union x/back cover/dark road

story - 9/10. i was shocked how much i enjoyed the story of these. i got very invested and i was only watching the cutscenes, not playing. really interesting world building and the master of masters was an instant fave. one of the only kh titles that passes (barely) the bechdel somehow. also could be retitled as kh: dead kids, because boy did a lot of kids die! extra points for maleficent managing to set major events in motion twice and being very eh whatever about it. love her for that. and the backstory of the xehanort/eraqus divorce, of course. i love a good divorce

gameplay - didn't play this one, just watched ELEVEN HOURS of cutscenes. no longer available which is hilarious considering how much important lore is in it that is referenced in kh3. hopefully they make it into a single player offline game someday with better gameplay

fragmentary passage

story - 8/10. very short but filled in some gaps. i love aqua so i was predisposed to love this one

gameplay - 8/10. it felt like a rough draft for kh3 and that meant it didn't have all the annoying extra crap kh3 added in and played pretty smoothly. i liked the little puzzles. it was a unique game and i enjoyed it more than i expected

kh3

story - 6/10. the fact i had to sit through entire disney movies worth of cutscenes brings the score way down. we did not need to see 3 musical numbers in frozen. if i wanted that I'd watch the movie. i just wanted to play the damn game. the majority of the game is sora got benched and has to get his groove back which was very disappointing for the climatic finale to the series. once i got into the end game though it was much better (i would rate the later game stuff way above a 6 which just makes my frustration with earlier stuff worse). re:mind added in the bits i felt were missing and i came away satisfied overall with the wrap up. axel/saïx had divorce arc three and then got back together finally 🏳️‍🌈🥂🎉. xehanort/eraqus also got back together as they fucked off to be gay in the afterlife. finally we are free of the norts (OR ARE WE???) and the master and the foretellers are slated to come back next from the looks of things. maleficent continues to hang out in the wings waiting for opportunities to #girlboss and I'm excited too see what cataclysmic events she sets off next

so that's it. i did watch the brief melody of a memory scenes but there wasn't too much new there. i may watch the cs from the missing link beta at some point. otherwise it's back to my life long journey of waiting for the next title to drop

gameplay - 5/10. ugh. i bought the game when it came out but between the full length disney movies and the over saturated gameplay gimmicks i didn't get far. this time i powered through and by the end i was enjoying it for the most part because I'd figured out what things to ignore and how to avoid them. attractions were the worst addition to gameplay ever. everything was too flashy. way too many instances of being locked in a "cool" transition animation instead of actually doing combat which broke up the flow of things. i missed the command deck and how much it let you customize your play style. i didn't like the keys being locked to command forms as much as the bbs forms since it meant if you had a keyblade with better stats but hated the special on it you were kinda fucked. this became less of a problem as the game went but was still annoying. overall felt like a step back from the others. they tried to do too much. oh also why were there ten thousand instances of having to learn new controls for some new mini game in every area??? just let me hit things i am begging you. it really felt like they went for cool spectacles over satisfying gameplay

general notes on all of them: i enjoyed the story much more this time due to being able to play them in order. the fact they all released on different platforms originally made the complicated story even more confusing since i couldn't afford to buy a new system every time a new one came out. i really hope they veer away from that practice in the future but i kinda doubt it especially since they've got another mobile game lined up already. while the disney stories were fun early on it felt like the story outgrew them (except for the characters who were in the main story as well like mickey and maleficent) and they were kinda a drag by 3. i doubt they can move away from those since they're the whole gimmick of the series but it would be better imo. deeply worried they'll start bringing in newer disney acquisitions.

one of my biggest complaints about the series has always been how few female characters there are and how little many of them are used. it got slightly better later in the series but overall was still not great, especially for kairi. i kept wondering if they added stuff for her in re:mind due to complaints about this.... the dlc felt like an apology for several things tbh. aqua was great but she shouldn't be the only one and even she got upstaged in kh3 when she's supposed to be the third most powerful keyblade master. weirdly enough maleficent was probably the best written female character. really wild how much she wove into the plot and affected events so much without even trying to (especially in union x). she should fire pete though (i think she should hire demyx)

I'd like to see them let you play as characters other than sora more often since that was always really neat (he's had a billion games to himself now). I'd love a kairi and aqua game but i can imagine square and disney both clutching their pearls over female protagonists

something i noticed was that playing them when i was older i liked sora much better. when i started the series as a teenager i found him annoying. as an adult i have more sympathy and tolerance for teenaged boys who are Going Through It. growth or something

[sheischerrybomb]

I was just scrolling through Pinterest and I came across some Roger Rabbit art and it got me thinking about how funny it would be if Who Framed Roger Rabbit got some sort of easter egg or cameo in KH4. There's a lot that can be done there I think. It could be anything. Roger could be mentioned by name since he's a well known actor in the plot of the movie (down on his luck but well known) AND Roger knows Goofy so it would be hilarious if Goofy was the one who made some sort of comment- Oh my gosh what if Donald and Goofy were talking about a rabbit they know/knew back in Disney Town and that could easily be a two in one reference where most of the player base would think it's an Oswald mention when it could also be a Roger mention. I really do think if Disney Town ever came back in KH4 they could easily expand the world, make it larger with more districts. Like Roger Rabbit's CarToon Spin is a ride in Toon Town at Disneyland so I pretty sure a reference isn't beyond possibility. Very Unlikely but not Impossible. He doesn't even have to make a physical appearance, it would be cool if he was an NPC or a summon (I personally prefer NPC out of the two). But if he were to make an appearance I thought of a scenario where whomever we would be playing as (Riku, Kairi, Sora yadda yadda) would be in Disney Town with Donald, Goofy, and Mickey (Yeah Mickey be in the damn plot) and the way were reintroduced into the world or new district to the world is by Roger trying to barricade say a fireworks or gag factory saying he trapped some spooky monsters inside and of course something is going to go awry (fireworks exploding or gags breaking down the door) and that's when we see the Heartless (or whatever new enemies we might be getting) are VERY cartoon themed like they were in KH2. Very rubber hose, very silly, looking enemies. After that Roger could easily run and hide or try to help the party fight back the Heartless. It would just be a fun way to introduce not only a bigger Disney Town world, but expand on the character roster and give Roger a bit of love and attention he deserves since he's such a wonderful character. It could just be Roger himself but I personally would also love Jessica to be referenced or show up in some form and I can already hear people saying Jessica would be to sensual for the rating KH has with her dress but to that is silly to me. Like Pirates of the Caribbean is in the KH games Multiple times and it's got WAY more mature content in it than Roger Rabbit if anyone is worried about content in that sense, like Jack doesn't make any 'why is the rum always gone' jokes in game he's just being a pirate, being himself while engaging with his part in the KH plot, so it CAN be done with Jessica. Hell if Jessica was going to show up just put her in a different outfit (Even her detective trench coat if they really have to it's whatevs to me, I would prefer her red or pink dress but if Disney doesn't wanna do that for Kh fine fine whatever blah. A new dress altogether would be really pretty though...). Anyways I think Roger Rabbit being depicted in KH4 would be really really neat and cool and neat and please show this rabbit and his wife some love Disney Thank you for coming to my coffee-fueled Dis-Talk. Expect more in the future when I have more coffee. <3

[kairithemang0]

Alright. Hear me out. This is only going to make sense to me. And maybe 5 other people. The timing of each picture is important. I'm literally just gonna be rambling pls ignore this (or don't)

These two

These two

And these two (this one is half joking but here me out)

The parallels between Riku and Owen to me are so batshit insane I can't not talk about them. I've held back on mentioning them for so long but I truly can't stop thinking about it. Riku starts out as the best friend to the main character, he's a little in over his head, he teases him, but it's clear that their relationship is a tight bond and matters to him. Sora, the main character, leaves him. Riku goes into the darkness.

Curt saw Owen as his best friend, at least post fall, and I'd like to believe Owen felt the same towards Curt. Because it felt like they were all the other had. They're the only one that knows their secret, they're the only one who they can ever talk about it to because they'll lose everything if it's even thought of that they may in any way be gay. When Curt leaves Owen, he spirals. He loses himself, maybe he even thought this was who he was supposed to be all along.

Riku-Ansem is the Ansem possessed version of Riku, the one who's under his control and doesn't have much say in what he does. To me, this is the DMA. He's following orders he probably doesn't want to follow, he doesn't care about BVN's plan, he wants to get his deed and get out of there, in the end he also wants to get his revenge on Curt. Riku-Ansem doesn't care for the plan with the princesses of heart, he doesn't care if Kingdom Hearts is light or darkness, he wants to save Kairi and take Sora down. Other motive, and revenge.

Riku-Ansem, now back as Riku, gets a slightly happier ending than Owen. He gets locked in the realm of darkness, and yet finds his way out. Owen, well Owen gets shot in the head.

ALRIGHT NOW HERE'S HOPE REPLICA RIKU AKA REPLIKU IS FLOPPY DISK OWEN.

So to me, Ansem is the person who invited Owen into Chimera. Organization 13 is Chimera, and Xehanort is the Chimera head. So Organization 13 makes this replica version of Riku, basically a robot with a fake heart and memories, to taunt Sora into thinking Riku still hates him. THIS IS LITERALLY JUST THE MADE UP PLOT LINE FOR LIVE AND LET SPY WHERE FLOPPY DISK OWEN IS REAL.

Oh and for my own personal thing, Dream Drop Distance Riku is Guardian Angel!Owen :). I'm just gonna link my post to that if anyone has made it this far and is for whatever reason care, here.

anyways uh yeah :) not gonna main tag this yall don't care

[phoenix-downer]

Where I Belong Chapter 1

The Big Olive. ~1700 words. Sora/Kairi. Starts during the end of KH3/during ReMind and moves into KH4. Kairi POV. Angst, Romance, Fluff.

Chapter Summary: During their world tour, Sora takes Kairi to Thebes to visit some old friends. Meg insists the two of them take a break from cleanup duty to play hooky, and Hercules asks Pegasus to give them a ride to his villa.

Story Summary: Kairi and Sora spend his final hours at Hercules' villa, trying to enjoy the time he has left while mourning the future they'll never have. After his disappearance, Kairi struggles to cope and throws herself into her training. But when she's sent on a mission with Donald and Goofy to investigate Olympus for clues, a run-in with the Lord of the Dead just might hold the key to finding Sora.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5

Seeing the worlds with Sora was better than Kairi ever could have imagined. She’d dreamed of this for so long that it didn’t seem real, like any minute she might wake up and it would all be over. Of course, any minute it would be over. That was why it was so important to treasure things while they lasted. And their latest destination was just as magical as everything that had come before it.

Thebes was a beautiful, bustling city, filled with larger-than-life statues, soaring columns, lush gardens, and paved streets lined with classical buildings. Its citizens were hard at work restoring their home from the recent fires and destruction, and Kairi enjoyed meeting the people here and learning more about their culture and daily lives as she and Sora helped Hercules and his fiancée Meg rebuild the city. 

They were currently working on clearing a small temple dedicated to Aphrodite. Kairi and Meg swept the floors of small pieces of debris (as Pegasus assisted with his wings) while Hercules and Sora tackled the bigger obstacles. Phil barked out instructions that made everyone laugh, his knack for miscounting words a running joke with the whole group. Bit by bit, the beautiful mosaics on the floor were becoming visible again. 

“So, Sora, I can tell you’re stronger than ever,” Hercules said. He lifted and set down an entire pillar like he was rearranging a wooden block, and it felt into place with a satisfying thud. “I’m guessing you found the answer to your question?”

“It’s all my trainin’, it’s finally paying off,” Phil insisted. He was lounging in the corner on a plush Hercules pillow, eating grapes.

“Actually, Phil, I did find the answer to my question,” Sora said with a chuckle. “Though not so much an answer as an entire shift in my perspective.” He glanced at Kairi and smiled. She couldn’t help but smile back, a blush dusting her cheeks because she would never get used to how her heart fluttered when he looked at her. “I know where I belong now.”

“Glad to hear that,” Hercules said, dusting his hands off. “You’ve gotta make sure you don’t take that for granted.” 

“I never will,” Sora said, his voice soft and low. His hand flickered in and out of existence, and he quickly shoved it into his pocket. Kairi felt like someone had stabbed her in the gut but pretended not to see what had happened. He still hadn’t admitted he was fading away, and she wanted him to tell her on his terms.

Meg frowned and took the broom away from Kairi’s hands. “Enough cleaning for now, we can handle things from here. You two need to play hooky for the rest of the day.” She looked at Hercules, and Kairi noticed the way his pupils dilated and how his entire attention was focused on her. “Wonderboy, whaddya say we let them romp around the villa? I think they could really use a break from all this boring cleanup duty.” 

“Oh! Um, that’s fine, yeah, that’s totally fine. Please, make yourselves at home. I’ll have Pegasus take you there.” 

Kairi gave Meg a grateful look. She was happy to help their new friends, but her time with Sora was running out, and she wasn’t sure how much longer they’d have together. Meg smiled and winked, then tossed Kairi’s former broom to Phil. 

“Goat-man, get up and make yourself useful,” she said. Phil complained loudly and stomped his hooves, making them all laugh, but he did as Meg asked. 

Pegasus dutifully clopped into position and used his head to gesture at his back. Kairi gulped. She’d ridden a horse with a saddle before, but Pegasus didn’t have a saddle or reins, plus he had those big old wings. How was she supposed to get on his back?

Sora smiled softly. “Here, I’ll help.” He put his hand over hers and moved it to Pegasus’s mane. “Grab a tuft of his mane like this, then skip to get a little momentum. You’ll throw your right leg up and use that momentum to get the lower half of your body up. Then you’ll grab his withers to help you pull the top half of your body up too.” 

“If I fall, you’ll catch me, right?” she asked, gripping onto Pegasus’s mane for dear life.

“Always.”

She looked at him, her heart racing, then took a few deep breaths. “I can do this.” 

“You can do this. I believe in you.” 

She nodded, his faith giving her courage. She did what he said, skipping and then throwing her right leg up. Pegasus dutifully shifted position when she under-calculated her momentum and overshot how far she needed to go, but between his help and Sora’s help, she managed to mount successfully.

“See?” Sora said, smiling proudly as she straightened. “That wasn’t so bad, now was it?” 

She shook her head. “I’m always learning new things when I’m with you.” 

He looked at her in a way that made her so flustered she had to look away, her face as red as her hair. He kept looking at her like that, and it was so much that her heart couldn’t handle it. 

Hercules looked at Meg like that, too.

“Hang on, I’ll join you,” Sora said. “Scoot back a little, okay?” She did what he said, and a moment later, he gracefully mounted Pegasus and settled in front of her, grabbing tufts of Pegasus’s mane.

“But what will I hold on to?” she squeaked, realizing there was no easy way for her to grab onto Pegasus’s mane from her current position. 

Sora turned his head and grinned. “Me.” 

Gulping, she wrapped her arms around Sora as Pegasus broke into a trot, then a lope, then a gallop. She’d be more flustered by how close she was to Sora, by how her chest was pressed into his back, if she weren’t scared witless and holding on for dear life.

Then they weren’t on the ground anymore, and her stomach lurched as they rapidly ascended. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to fight the waves of nausea descending on her as the wind whistled past them. 

“Kairi, open your eyes,” Sora called back to her. 

“Ungh, I’m gonna be sick,” she moaned. 

“Trust me, it’s worth it.”

She took a deep breath, then peeked at their surroundings. The steady thump, thump, thump of Pegasus’s wings was soothing, and Sora was right. The view was absolutely worth it. All of Thebes plus the surrounding countryside unfolded beneath them, brilliant greens and lush fields and mysterious forests and winding rivers. In the distance was Mount Olympus, and Kairi marveled at how beautiful this world was, how different it was from Destiny Islands and Radiant Garden.

And best of all, she was getting to experience this with Sora. Now that she was feeling more comfortable, she rested her head on his shoulder and sighed happily. They were so close to each other and it felt really, really nice. She felt him stiffen a little at the increased contact and then melt under her touch.

She wished she could see his face, see how he felt about this, but then again, it might make her so flustered she had to look away again. Maybe touching him like this at first would help them feel more comfortable doing more later. 

No, what was she thinking. There would be no later. All they had was now. 

Presently, they began to descend. Below them was a sprawling villa with verdant walled gardens, elegant buildings with tiled red roofs supported by sprawling columns, and fountains and pools filled with beautiful blue water. This must be Hercules and Meg’s home. It was right by the ocean, and the sparkling sea glittered up at them. The villa got bigger and bigger till at last Pegasus glided to a smooth, easy landing by the foot of a tall stone staircase. They were on a paved garden path near a rounded seating area, and one of the fountains enticed them with its cool waters. 

She, Sora, and Pegasus were all panting, Pegasus from carrying two people on the journey, Sora from doing all the difficult parts of riding him, and Kairi from the thrill of it all. 

“Kairi?” Sora asked. “Mind if I dismount?”

“I wish I didn’t have to let go of you,” she murmured, her face red. She was sad their wonderful flight was already over. Yet another ending on the path to their final separation.

“It’s only temporary,” he promised, and she relented and released her grip. He dismounted and then helped her down, his touch gentle and strong at the same time.

She wobbled a little when her feet made contact with the ground, and he was quick to wrap his arms around her to steady her.

“Thank you,” she said, resting her hand over his heart. They were both breathing heavily, and Sora licked his lips. Their faces were so close that he could lean forward just a little further and kiss her. Her heart hammered in her chest. He had this look in his eyes that she’d never seen before, and a thrill went through her. She closed her eyes and tilted her head, imagining what it would feel like to kiss him at long last—

Pegasus neighed loudly, startling them apart. 

“Sorry, thanks for the ride, Pegasus!” Sora said, his face bright red as he rubbed the back of his neck. An overly cheerful smile was plastered on his face, like he was really embarrassed and was trying to hide it.

“Yes, thank you,” Kairi quickly added. Maybe she’d just imagined Sora had wanted to kiss her. She’d caught him by surprise, that was all. 

Pegasus whinnied appreciatively, then took flight again. Kairi and Sora watched until he became just a small figure in the sky, no bigger than a toy horse. Sora turned to her, a soft smile on his face. He put his hands behind his back in that delightfully charming Sora way of his and tilted his head.

“Well Kairi? We have this entire villa to ourselves for the rest of the day. What do you wanna do?”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: The prompt for this fic was provided by Aquafolia, who requested a story based on the following quote from Hercules during KH3 in regards to why he gave up immortality to be with Meg: “I’d have to be apart from the person I love most, and that life would be empty.” She also suggested Sora and Kairi explore Thebes together as well as a few later plot points 👀 ✨ Thank you for providing the prompt and a basic framework for the story 🙏

Thank you also to Liv for reading through the story, providing suggestions, helping me stay motivated, and providing helpful feedback as always ❤️ I really enjoyed bouncing ideas off of you and hearing your thoughts. Thank you for always being so supportive of my writing, it really means a lot 🥺 ❤️ 

Also, the instructions for mounting a horse bareback are from this YouTube video. I just thought it would be really fun for Sora and Kairi to get to ride Pegasus together, but he doesn’t have a saddle or reins, so reality ensued and I had to do a little additional research. And I also rewatched the actual Hercules movie, pausing to take screenshots and make notes about character dialogue and world details to incorporate. It was a lot of fun and gave me a deeper appreciation for the movie and for how Kingdom Hearts has incorporated various details from the movie over the years. As I was watching the movie too I was like “wait a second, I don’t know that Hercules’ villa has really appeared in Kingdom Hearts yet at all (unless the garden-y areas in KH3 count), it’s so beautiful and I’d really like to feature it,” and thus the end of this chapter (and the next chapter) was born.

Also, the title is taken from one of the lyrics in Hercules’ song, “Go the Distance,” since his search for belonging is such a core part of his character arc, and he finds that place of belonging with Meg. Wink wink nudge nudge I wonder how that will apply to this story 🧐 😉 

As always, thank you for reading!

[yzafre]

we're flying above the valley below | ch 11

AO3

First | Previous

They didn’t leave Rapunzel’s world immediately.  First, they had to determine who was going where, and explain the concept of the gummi ship to Rapunzel and Flynn.  Then Sora gave them a message to pass on to Kairi when they got to Radiant Garden, before Donald reminded Sora he could just use his phone and tell her himself.  Once Sora figured out the messaging system, Kairi reminded him he was supposed to ask Donald about the transformation magic, and then they had to deal with that.

After Donald handed off some enchanted charms, Sora headed over to give one to an impatient Ventus and tuck the others beside the new keychain that had landed in his pocket.  Then, with one final wave, towards Donald, Goofy, Namine, Rapunzel, and Flynn, they finally headed off towards Yen Sid’s.

The trip was uneventful, both of them speeding along until the tower came into sight.  Ven didn’t waste any time on landing, heading inside and up the stairs at a pace just shy of running.  Heart aching, Sora did his best to keep up.  Ven must be really worried about Aqua. 

He… knew what that felt like.

Unfortunately, Yen Sid refused to help them reach the Realm of Darkness.

“Why not?!” Ventus protested.

“It is far, far too dangerous.”

“That’s why I should be there – she's my Flight, and she needs help.  I can feel it.”

“And she will receive it – both Mickey and Riku are searching for her.”

“That’s not enough!”

“No?” Yen Sid asked, an edge of danger in his tone, “Two Keyblade Masters is not enough?  A title which, I may remind you, you have not earned yourself.”

“Then test me!” Ven snarled

“Whoa – wait!  Won’t that take too long?” Sora said, “I mean, our test took nearly a week; Riku’ll probably be back by then.”

This, finally, seemed to cut some of the wind from Ven’s sails, confusion dampening his frustration.

“What are you talking about?  Aqua and Terra’s test took, like, an hour.”

“Wha – An hour?!“ Sora whipped back to Yen Sid, “What’s that about?  Why was mine and Riku’s so hard?”

The sorcerer sighed, “There were powers I was hoping to awake in you, through your trip to the Sleeping Realms – ones that were instead found in Kairi.  And as for your request, Ventus: if you had let me finish, you would also know that it is entirely beside the point.  Even if you were a Master, I could not help you.” 

“What do you mean?”

“The Realm of Darkness is not so easily breached.  To date, it can be achieved in two ways: one, to travel through a rift formed when a heart, be it of people or a world, falls into Darkness.  Two, to create a bridge with a Keyblade that contains ties to the other side.  Without the Key Mickey holds, a doorway cannot be opened.  And I assume you are not willing to cast a heart into Darkness, just to reach this other realm?”

Ven looked away mutinously.

Yen Sid nodded, “And so, even if your request was not helplessly reckless, I could not help you.”

Sora shifted awkwardly as Ven stared at the floor in silence.  Behind them, the door cracked open. 

A greeting brushed against Sora’s heart, soft and bright as the morning sun, and he spun, smile growing on his face.

“Kairi!”

“Sora!”

He reached for her, wings bursting from his back, one reaching forward to brush against hers as their hearts met, hello-I missed you.  After a moment her eyes focused on something over her shoulder, and he felt her interest perk.

“Hello,” she said, stepping away from him, “It’s... Ventus, right?”

“Yeah!  And you’re Kairi; it’s good to meet you in person.”

“Mm. You, too.  I’m glad you made it back safely.  How was your mission?”

“It was,” Ventus trailed off, eyes dropping to the floor for a moment before he answered, “It reminded me of home, in a lot of ways.”

“Rapunzel’s world was great!” Sora added, “I didn’t get to spend as much time with Donald and Goofy as I would have liked, but – oh, yeah!  Kairi, here!”

He paused, digging through his pocket until he found the last charm Donald had given him, “I got these from Donald, so we uh.  Don’t end up in a situation like with Buzz and Woody again.”

“Situation?” Ventus wondered.

“You know, when you get to a world and everything’s really different, and you’re not supposed to stand out, so the magic has to fix it?”

“Uh... sure?”

“You all have done well,” Yen Sid said, ending their chatter, “And I imagine we will need you again very soon.  For now, however, feel free to take advantage of the guest rooms for the night and get some well-deserved rest.”

The sea met the shore, perfectly still, a flat plane of water stretching endless-endless-endless.  The sky above reflected in its mirror-like surface.  If he got close enough, it almost felt like he could step through, like he could fall, like he could –

A hand caught around his wrist, preventing him from stepping out into the sky.

“Don’t.”

His heart somersaulted its way into his throat, then fell back down, landing in the pool of unease in his stomach.  That was close.  The hand on him was steadying, tamping down the fizzling nerves from his near miss, and he turned to thank his savior, only to cut off in surprise.

“Oh,” he breathed, “It’s – you.”

It was the girl, the one Roxas cared so much about, the one the runaway replica looked like – he could just barely see the edges of her face, familiar blue eyes staring out from beneath the hood.  She looked back to the water, letting go of his wrist.

“If you go out there… You’ll be lost.  And I don’t have the strength to pull you back.”

“Uhm, okay,” Sora said, following her as she moved away from the edge and sat down.  He dropped to the ground beside her, digging his toes into the sand.  The last few times he’d felt her power, it had been so fragile – and then there was all that business with the replica…

“Hey, are you alright?  After what happened in San Fransokyo, I mean.  You seemed scared.”

She curled further into herself, burying her chin in her knees.

“That ‘you’ we fought… it was a replica, the one Axel was trying to find for Naminé, right?��� he prodded, “I guess the Organization did something to it.”

“When the Organization made me,” she started – quietly, so quietly, “I was made to steal power from you, and from Roxas.  Just by existing, I was hurting him.  If I fell into their hands, now, it would just happen all over again.”

“I guess, but… didn’t Naminé make the new body?  Riku said she was trying to help you.”

She didn’t answer immediately.  Sora dug trenches in the sand.

Finally, she spoke up, “I saw something, when we touched.  It felt like a memory, except… I didn’t remember it, not at all.  It… no.  I won’t be a tool for them.  I won’t.  It’s not worth the risk.”

For a long moment they sat together, listening to the wind in the trees – though the waves were conspicuously missing.

“Hey,” Sora said finally, “I don’t think I caught your name, last time.”

“My name… I see.”

She stood, walking out to the edge of the water, staring out at it as she twisted her hands together, over and over.  Finally, she sighed, turning to him with a sad smile.

“My name is – “

“Sora?”

With a jerk, Sora woke, blinking blearily through the sunlight doing its best to blind him.  A soft hand shook his shoulder once more, a shadow moving between him and the window.

“Sora.  C’mon, wake up.”

“I’m awake, Kairi,” he mumbled.

“You sure?  You don’t sound awake.”

Grumbling, he rolled over, grabbing his pillow as he went and half-heartedly smacking it into Kairi’s shoulder.  She just laughed, pulling away and tugging at his blanket.

“Come on, breakfast is ready.  It’s time to get up.”

Yen Sid sent the three of them off soon after they ate with coordinates to a world that had steadily growing Darkness readings.  Apparently, it had been that way for a while, but had flown under the radar until it suddenly spiked while they were rescuing Rapunzel.

It was a good thing he’d gotten the charms from Donald, because the moment they arrived he felt the magic wash over him.  Though, maybe that wasn’t such a good thing.

“You really gotta stop being so jumpy,” Kairi teased.

“I can’t help it,” Sora whined, “I keep seeing you guys out of the corner of my eyes, and it creeps me out!”

“Oh, so you’re saying I’m creepy?”

“Yeah – I mean, not you, but – “

And then there were the locals – though, after the initial confusion over the little girl they had with them, Mike and Sully weren’t so bad.  That was made even more obvious when the real monsters showed up.

When the last of them were defeated, Sora squinted at the place where they disappeared into dark smoke.

“Those... weren’t heartless,” Sora said.

“No,” Kairi said, coming up beside him, “Not Nobodies, either.”

“Then, what could they be?  Any ideas, Ven?  ….Ven?”

Ven startled, gaze snapping over to them, and Sora had to hold back a flinch.  There was a dark pit behind the other boy’s eyes as his gaze bored into them, like the rumbling of a storm growing.

“Unversed,” Ven said heavily, “They’re unversed.  They’re… they shouldn’t be here.”

“What do you mean?”

“The unversed aren’t just monsters, they’re fragments of Vanitas.  For them to be here, that would mean he would have to be... but I beat him.  That part of me should have been reabsorbed.”

“I dunno about all that,” Sora said, drawing his words out, “But the Organization is using time travel to bring back a lot of people we defeated before.  Maybe they did the same with this guy?”

“Maybe,” Ven allowed, but he didn’t look happy with it.

Sora exchanged a worried glance with Kairi, all unsure-concern-what-to-do?

Kairi shrugged, and they both watched as Ventus stared darkly into the factory.

The first order of business was getting the little girl, Boo, back home.  A fight like this was no place for someone so young.  As they made their way through the factory the unversed dogged at their heels, constantly getting in their way.  Further, they’d also caused chaos throughout the warehouse, sending machines on the fritz, blocking pathways, and generally forcing them to make endless detours.

None were more heart-stopping than when a scream echoed through the warehouse.

“It came from this way!” Sully called, leading the charge forward.

“What?  No one’s supposed to be here – the factory’s closed!” Mike protested between pants, struggling to keep up with the Keyblade wielders.

“So why are you here?” Kairi asked.

“That’s - none of your business!”

They were lucky the storeroom had been mostly empty, as what was stored inside was absolutely wrecked by the time the unversed were defeated. 

“There’s no one here,” Kairi observed, looking around at the remains of broken, empty palettes, “Do you think whoever screamed was taken?”

“But, that door was the only way in.  Could they have teleported them, somehow?”

“No,” Ventus cut in, “Unless something’s changed, that’s not something the unversed can do.”

Sora frowned, “Then... where did they go?”

“I think I have the answer,” Sully called.

They gathered around as he held up a punctured metal cannister, teeth marks all around the open hole.  Mike scoffed.

“Ugh, scream canisters.  I thought we dealt with all of those.”

“We must have missed some.”

“Scream cannisters?”

As they moved on again, the two explained the history of the company – how they’d once used something called “scream power” for energy but had since changed to using laughter instead after a series of misadventures with Boo.

That mystery taken care of, they returned to trying to find Boo’s ride home – though, it seemed to be taking an unusually long time, even with all the obstructions.

“Wait, how’d we take a wrong turn?” Mike muttered, and Sora sighed, slumping over.  So they had been going in circles – it certainly felt like it.

“Who cares?  All that matters is that it’s the last turn that you losers are ever gonna take.”

Who?

When they turned, another monster – of the local kind, not their usual kind – was standing behind them.  Mike and Sully seemed to know the slime-ball jeering at them, some kind of history surrounding their past adventures with Boo.

“How did you even get back here?” Mike protested, “The door we sent you through is sawdust.”

“Yeah, and I almost got turned into somebody’s wallet,” Randall snapped, “But that’s not the only door out there.”

Sully frowned, “There are protections in place to keep things from coming through – and they’ve only been improved since you were banished.”

“Perhaps.  But none of that means anything to my benefactor.  And in exchange – all he wants is for me to get him more energy.  And lucky for him, that’s what I’m good at.  Top of the leaderboard, baby.”

“You?  Collecting laughs?  Now that’s funny.”

“Laughs?  Don’t be stupid.  I’m after negative emotions.  And my new friends have kindly invaded the factory to get ‘em for me.”

“Negative emotions?” Ventus repeated, and Sora froze at the tension running through his voice, “Vanitas.  He is here.  Where is he?”

Randall clicked his tongue, “Not familiar with the name, but if you mean my new friend – why on earth would I tell you?  Not that it would matter if I did.  After all…”

He flickered out of vision, and they all grouped oup, observing the room tightly.  A moment later, his voice came over the speaker, “You’re not getting out of here alive.  We’re in control of this factory now, and I suggest some improvements.  Still, I’d love to see you try.  Your despair will be an excellent start to my collection.”

Next

[dullahandyke]

supposed to be doing a 2k essay due on monady but i havent been able to focus so have some notes on athena cykes: keyblade revolutionnaire

quite honestly, i think being a keyblade wielder is athena's calling. she fits in there so fuckin well its astounding. she basically has magic, shes an expert in the goings-on of heart and mind and shit, shes already strong as fuck, i think she would love it there

i decided to set this post-kh3 and/or melody of memories, which was a bad decision because ive not played either of those games but whatever

aaverse is in quadratum!!! on their side, trucy was doing a magic show and made thena disappear and couldnt get her to reappear kfldkjflskjdf on the other side, the fairy godmother was doing some shit like 'let us bring back sora' and instead of sora, athena popped out. whoops! now she has to use her emotion powers to get sora back somehow [method pending]

initial chapters have her partnered w riku just bcos i think itd be funny. athena desperately trying to explain what a lawyer is to riku, who wont stop replying 'but if theyre doing bad things why dont you just defeat them in combat'

HER N KAIRI FRIENDS!!! friends they deserveit. i think kairi would remind her of juniper a bit

her n ienzo also friends bcos im predictable :) they bond over widget being cool and then the backstory horrors with a side of 'guy who felt emotions for the first time 2 months ago + guy with emotion reading powers'

i really want her to go to wonderland. i think it would be fun

OH YEAH SHE GETS AN ASS-KICKING OUTFIT!! im thinking crop hoodie with long sleeves + a skirt with leggings + her stupid boots

she gets a keyblade ofc :) idk specifics of the blade but the charm is her earring

also mayhaps slight au where the phantom was from the khverse? torn between nobody bcos Look At Them and one of the primordial darknesses bcos why not

anyway please imagine the end of this au where the khverse and aaverse do tradesies between sora and athena and she turns up back at the office 3 months later, on the missing persons list and holding a big big sword, like 'hey guys funny story'

^and at the end she gets a special quadratum-edition gummi add-on to widget so she can keep in touch with all her kingdom hearts friends :)

[hyunjinspark]

Oh my gosh Jade I can’t with part 12

I felt so many different emotions. But I’m obsessed with it

I’m so happy that Hyun didn’t regret the kiss. I’m also happy the Y/N understand him now and why he doesn’t want to get into a relationship because of the media and the hate.

I feel so bad for Chan, Kairi and Han. None of them deserve any of the hate they have gotten they all deserve happiness.

The one part that got me was the photo booth part and oh my I felt so many different emotions. I had a feeling something was going to happen between them when Hyun offered to go with her to the photo booth but I also wasn’t sure because after everything Hyun said at the château. The thing that broke me was ‘I want to remember what it feels like to have you’ 😭😭 I bawled my eyes out after reading that.

Also pink bear that Hyun won for Y/N🥺 my heart. The balloons were so cute also how they both got them for each other and they got the same colors and how Hyun got both of the colors that Y/N was thinking of getting for him

- Abz 🖤

im so happy that you’re so happy with what happens in this part 🫵🏻 chan, kairi and han do deserve so much happiness, preach.

the photobooth…forever my favorite scene…and yeah it was set up for something to happen with them, but also,,,,,the whole holding back aspect made it happen even more in a way, if you know what i mean.

win me some balloons and a pink bear too, im sold 🥹

[demigodforfend]

Twilight of the Demigods: Forfend Edition - Session 12

"Kairi, will you fly into town and alert Knight Thomas as to what has happened?" Forfend requested. "I fear the demon will melt into the earth if we do not act quickly."

Kairi nodded. She pressed her glimmering pink hands to Kagoshi's chest.

Kagoshi groaned and let some of the tension in his body uncoil itself. He still didn't look up from the floor. His permanent scowl was set even deeper into his face than usual.

"I hope you're feeling okay," Kairi smiled kindly at her downcast friend. "Forfend suggested I go get the guards before the monster melts and we can't prove it was here anymore. I'll be back soon."

Kairi's shining wings lifted her into the air and whisked her from the room, trailing rainbows.

Forfend waved to her as she quickly zipped away.

"Melzaryn, and Kagoshi if you would like, do you think you could scout the next tunnel?" it asked. "I have a hunch it is either an escape route or a storage area for weapons and supplies."

"Sure," Melzaryn grinned. "I'd love to go through that cultist's stuff."

Kagoshi hauled himself off the floor. "Yeah, me too," he grumbled.

Melzaryn waltzed toward the tunnel with a pep in his step, motioning impatiently for Kagoshi to catch up. "Treasure, c'mon! Treasure!"

Kagoshi swore under his breath, but picked up his pace anyway.

Forfend touched its broad forefinger to the spot right between Callan's eyes and let the last dregs of divine energy course into its friend.

Callan's most severe wounds slowly stemmed their bleeding as the soft warmth of the magic flowed through him. It wasn't much, but it would have to be enough.

Callan jolted and turned his head to the side. He coughed, gagged, and coughed again before finally spitting blood.

"What happened?" he groaned.

"Are you alright?" Forfend asked.

"Am I dead? Am I alive or real dead?"

"You are Unbreakable," Forfend announced.

Callan made the incredibly strenuous effort of looking up at and focusing on Forfend's runic face. "What? What happened?"

"You fought bravely! The greater demon intended to smite all of us with its profane red lightning, but you grabbed the spear and bore the full brunt of the impact!" Forfend lit its chest up. "You saved us! We were able to defeat the beast due to your efforts."

"Oh. Hm," Callan creased his brow, trying to recall.

"Kairi managed to heal you because your adamantine slipped in a few places after such a gruesome attack," Forfend continued. "When the demon attempted a lightning strike on me, you again grabbed its spear." It shook its head. "I pulled you away from that attack because I feared it may kill you. I was electrocuted and I am quite damaged, but we all survived due to your Unbreakable stalwart defense."

Callan nodded slowly. "Alright. Okay. I'm going to try to sit up now."

He groaned, gasping for breath as he tried to push himself upright.

"No, no," Forfend reprimanded softly. It gently tugged Callan's arms out from beneath him and laid him back on the floor.

"You're right, that's not happening right now. Oh gods," he managed through grit teeth. "Everything hurts. So much."

"Just rest," Forfend insisted. "We will be out of this pit soon."

"Okay." Callan let his muscles ease and stared at the ceiling. He seemed to be zoning out, his brows knit and his mind lost in quiet contemplation.

Forfend hoped he was alright.

Kairi called out a cheerful greeting in a language Forfend didn't recognize as she fluttered back into the room.

The knight who'd assisted them with filling out their travel papers followed after her, attempting and failing to hide a slight limp.

Forfend wondered how he'd hurt himself and why he was trying to pretend he hadn't. Perhaps the descent into the tunnels hadn't gone quite right. It was a rather significant drop, after all.

Knight Thomas froze when he caught sight of the massive demon corpse.

The hulking beast had begun to melt into the floor, but it still held the majority of its shape. Well, shapes. Two of them to be precise. The Abyssal caricature of a horse's body and the humanoid torso of the unholy monster were still quite separated by nearly fifty feet worth of blood-blackened earth.

Knight Thomas swallowed thickly and let his eyes drift up the flickering pyre burning straight off the stone.

Finally, he glanced down at Forfend and Callan.

Forfend stood and checked to make sure Callan wasn't attempting to follow suit.

Luckily, he stayed on the ground.

Knight Thomas cleared his throat and pressed tense fingers against one another. "What the fuck happened?"

"We killed a greater demon," Forfend answered simply.

Kagoshi wandered into the room wearing a new cloak and carrying his now overstuffed bag. "Nothing," he snapped defensively.

Melzaryn strolled in behind him with a stack of neatly bound papers. "A ritual."

"I am going to need a full report. What happened?!" Knight Thomas asked more frantically this time.

Forfend hummed. "We used Callan here as a means of locating the kruthik den."

Callan gave a weak thumbs up.

"Once we had found it, we descended into these depths and killed every kruthik we ran across," Forfend continued. "In the largest room, we discovered maw demons. If you have never seen them, they are spherical beasts with stubby legs and too many eyes. Their body is mostly made up of massive jaws with several rows of jagged teeth. Their only purpose is to kill and eat. Like all demons, they disintegrate after death. Their bodies are all gone."

Knight Thomas nodded slowly.

Forfend gestured around the cavern. "In this room, we discovered the hive lord and an Atroxian cultist."

"The cultist Plane Shifted to escape," Melzaryn piped up. "Handy spell for him. Bad luck for us."

"A cultist?" Knight Thomas squeaked.

Forfend nodded. "He and the hive lord both had these gems in their heads that enhanced their abilities and made them much more dangerous."

"Not dangerous enough. We kicked their asses," Kagoshi growled. "Bastard was a coward for running."

"This unnatural fire was being used to summon demons." Forfend gazed distrustfully at the towering pillar of flames. "Kruthiks were sacrificed and demons were brought here in their stead. The cultist intended to do this with all of Brightcrossing. By morning."

"By... By this morning? A few hours from now?" Knight Thomas placed a worried hand over his mouth.

Forfend nodded seriously. "We prevented it. In a sense. Particularly, what we did was accidentally complete it too early by Vortex Warping the hive lord into the heart of the fire. I apologize for that mistake. It could have been even more dangerous than the nearly deadly consequences it already held."

"And that summoned the greater demon?" Knight Thomas guessed. His voice was muffled. He hadn't moved his hand.

"Yes. It was a powerful foe. I have not seen a demon of that magnitude in a very long time. Fortunately, fighting together, we were able to defeat it." Forfend glanced around at its companions and lit up its chest. Hurt though it was--hurt though they all were--it was proud of what they'd accomplished. "Callan, Kagoshi, and I were all beaten unconscious as the fight wore on, but we dealt enough damage that Melzaryn was ultimately able to defeat it with some sort of exceptionally powerful new spell."

Knight Thomas slowly dragged his hand down his face. He pulled his shield off his arm, hooked it onto his back, and promptly dropped onto his rear. Shock washed over his features as he drew his knees to his chest.

Forfend hummed. "That is how we all feel regarding the situation as well. Everyone is exhausted and quite rattled, myself included."

"I'm fine," Kagoshi shrugged.

Forfend elected to ignore such a demonstrably false statement.

"Okay," Knight Thomas breathed. "Hold on. Let me make sure I have this right. You fought a great--" he faltered and glanced at the melting corpse again. "A greater demon. And you killed it?" He pointed at Melzaryn. "With a brand new spell you just made up on the spot?!"

Melzaryn nodded casually. "Desperate times."

"Were you the cause of that small earthquake?"

"Probably."

"There was an earthquake?" Forfend asked.

"I thought there was!" Knight Thomas shouted. "Apparently not! Apparently, it was just a new demon-killing spell!"

He pressed his fingers to his temples and massaged at what must've been an oncoming stress headache. "Alright, if what you're saying is true, then I have to contact the Greater Tyrwedian Military."

"That would be a good course of action," Forfend agreed. "The cultist is still at large."

Melzaryn stepped forward, scribbling the final touches to his stack of papers. "Here's a written report for you."

"That was fast," he mumbled in surprise and flipped through the pages, skimming rapidly. "Oh. Oh, I see." He set the stack aside. "I will look through that thoroughly later."

"I'm fast," Melzaryn grinned as his quill disappeared.

"I am going to invoke my right as a Tyrwedian knight to sequester your testimonies until a full report is completed and released by the military," Knight Thomas recited. "You may speak of the successful kruthik extermination, but nothing else that you saw here tonight. Nothing about demons or cultists or giant magical fires. You could cause a panic. The greater public cannot know a demonic incursion nearly happened here. You will tell no one anything."

The group nodded.

"We will have to get specialized arcanists on this and it must remain a Tyrwedian military matter. Exercise the utmost discretion," Knight Thomas insisted.

Again, the group nodded.

"Despite the fact that the Sundering ended eight thousand years ago, the wounds demons left on this plane of existence are still very fresh on an instinctual level," he continued to fret. He looked up at Kairi. "I think it says a lot that the moment you said 'demon,' I felt a full body shiver rise up through my bones. I am a knight. Fear and weakness are not in my nature, nor were they a part of my training."

"Demons tend to have that effect, even upon people who are very familiar with battling them," Forfend responded. "The instinctive fear of something powerful that wants nothing more than to not only kill you but also destroy everything that is and ever will be does not go away."

Knight Thomas set his jaw, worry written into every feature of his body. "The general public would... There would be a massive upheaval. False demon reports would skyrocket. The cultist could use the panic to entrench himself anywhere. We cannot let that happen."

"Agreed," Kairi nodded.

Knight Thomas suddenly stiffened. "You mentioned gems in their foreheads, didn't you?"

"Yes." Forfend tilted its head. What did he know about them?

"I'm sorry. This is so much and it is so very late at night." He rubbed his face vigorously to wake himself up. "Could you describe them again?"

"They were tiny obsidian crystals that cast a blue sheen in the light," Forfend described in detail this time.

"And they made the cultist and the hive lord stronger?"

"Yes, it gave them exceptional abilities that should not have been possible."

"Such as?" he prompted.

Forfend held up its hand and ticked off each item on its fingers. "Telepathy, teleportation, enhanced strength, enhanced intelligence, and likely enhanced durability."

Knight Thomas stared into the raging fire for a long moment. "I see." His shoulders slumped. He buried his face in his hands.

"I would like to try to put that inferno out, but I am uncertain how," Forfend hummed.

"I would rather leave it. We can't risk bringing anything else out of it."

"What if I jump into it?" Kagoshi asked.

"Don't!" Knight Thomas panicked.

Forfend hoped this was another of Kagoshi's failed attempts at humor. "Please do not," it said anyway.

Kagoshi shrugged.

"Well, I'm glad you didn't touch or take those crystals. That would've been really bad news for you," Knight Thomas breathed a sigh of relief.

Forfend's fingers brushed over the pouch on its belt. It suddenly found interest in the blank wall across the room.

"Yeah," Kagoshi huffed. "Anyways. Are we still getting paid for the bugs?"

"Oh, of course!" Knight Thomas exclaimed. "You've done great work with all that, on top of this messier demon business. You certainly deserve a reward for that."

"Why would having the crystals be unfortunate for us?" Forfend asked. Its core spun nervously in its chest.

"Do you know what they were? I mean, I'm sure you do, Mr. Collymore," Knight Thomas deferred with a respectful nod. "But do the rest of you?"

Forfend shook its head.

"Ah. Well." He brushed off his shirt and fidgeted with the fabric of his pants. He was still dazed. "I'm glad you don't have the shards because you would be in violation of a couple different codes established during the Pact at World's End."

Forfend felt its core stutter and drop. "Explain?" it asked, thankful its monotone voice didn't easily portray its rising panic.

"You don't know the Pact at World's End?"

"You recall when we were filling out our papers this morning, yes? I missed something in the vicinity of eight thousand years." Forfend reminded. "I will need to be updated."

"Me too," Kairi admitted.

"Yeah, same" Kagoshi grumbled.

"Oh. Hm. I didn't expect to be giving a history lesson today. Alright, I suppose I'll get started then." Knight Thomas clapped his hands and considered where to begin.

"The Pact at World's End was created by the Celestial Alliance after they brought the calamity to its end," he started and then immediately paused. "You are all familiar with the Celestial Alliance, aren't you?"

"Thanks to Callan here, we are," Forfend nodded.

Callan barely lifted his hand in response to the acknowledgement.

Forfend worried for him, but there was nothing further it could do.

"When the calamity ended, the surviving members came together and established systems and codes to prevent another calamity like that from ever happening again," Knight Thomas continued. "First and foremost was the Celestial Summit. I'm sure you're all well aware of that as well. It was formed to ensure the overall safety of Rozdarta. All nations within Rozdarta must adhere to the orders of the Summit."

Forfend nodded. Callan had mentioned as much.

"One such order would be the Law of Declaration. Another would be the Custodia Caeli. There's also the Supreme Law." Knight Thomas paused to look over the puzzled group for a moment. He drew his mouth into a thin line, but pressed on anyway. "They also established the Templars, the premier warriors and enforcers of the Summit's orders."

"I'll explain in further detail," he promised. "First things first: the Law of Declaration. It covers the rules one must follow to declare rulership over a region as well as the rules for declaring war. The Supreme Law details the Celestial Summit's extent of power over Rozdarta. The Summit preserves the safety, prosperity, and welfare of Rozdarta for everyone. It holds the absolute most political and sovereign power, and every order placed by it must be followed without question or interference. That said, they only step in for really nasty business. As long as a nation is following the Summit's principles, they're free to govern as they wish. Oh, and any laws given out by the Celestial Summit must first be voted on. If the majority of the Summit disagrees, the order would not be put into effect."

Knight Thomas took a deep breath. "Following along?"

"So far, yes. Please continue," Forfend hummed.

"The most important one for this situation would be the Custodia Caeli. That's Celestial. I believe it translates to 'Ward of the Heavens' in Common."

"That is correct," Forfend nodded.

Knight Thomas blinked. "Oh, it speaks Celestial," he mumbled almost too low for Forfend to hear as he looked it over again. He shook his head and waved his hand, dismissing his confusion.

"I am a cleric," Forfend answered the question he hadn't asked.

"Ah, that explains some things," Knight Thomas said in an uncertain tone that meant the revelation actually brought up more questions than it had answered.

"Anyway," he diverted back to his explanation, "the Custodia Caeli is important because it regards defense against extraplanar threats. When a threat is detected, the nation holding dominion over the region it occurred in is responsible for the immediate dispatching and resolving of the situation. In this case, that would be Tyrwedia. The laws regarding how such threats are to be nullified are quite strict and this most certainly falls under the situations outlined. It's a Celestial Summit order and I must obey it as quickly as possible."

Forfend nodded. "I understand, but I feel that does not quite explain the importance of the crystals. Or what they are."

"This is where it gets..." Knight Thomas searched his mind for an apt description for a moment before giving up entirely. "Fucky."

He rubbed at the side of his face anxiously. "The Custodia Caeli is one of the orders this mess falls under. The other is the Carnifex Divinitus. The Carnifex Divinitus established an order of warriors hand picked from the Templars for special training in finding and defeating demonic forces. Their secondary purpose is to recover pieces of the Shards of Calamity, which is what those crystals were. They're left over from the calamity and they're very dangerous. So dangerous, in fact, that the Carnifex Divinitus has a bit of a... scorched earth policy on them. They kill or imprison anyone who's been in contact with the shards."

Forfend straightened sharply. What would it do if they came for it? It would have no choice but to accept the consequences of its actions, even if they were actions performed in ignorance. Could it protect the others? It would have to lie to do so. It didn't like the idea, but it didn't want them to die.

It brushed its fingers over the pouch at its side again. If they were that dangerous, it needed to get them into the hands of the proper authorities. That would mean it was endangering itself, but not doing it could endanger countless others.

Steam hissed slowly. "Is that what these are?" it asked, opening the pouch. "Shards of Calamity?"

"These?" Knight Thomas stood up. "Did you say 'these?'"

"Yes," Forfend hummed. "I did."

"You have some on you..?" he asked slowly. He looked like he was desperately hoping he'd misheard.

"I am going to be completely honest with you," Forfend assured. "I did not know what they were or how dangerous they were. I found a great number of them recently. I kept them because I saw them being used for evil. I knew they were too dangerous to be left lying. What I did not know was that there was a dedicated task force designed to collect and dispose of them. I would have already turned them over, if that had been the case."

"No, no, no way," Knight Thomas shook his head. "Could you... Could you show me real quick? I need to make sure you're not confusing them with anything else like, say, extra dark sapphires or something like that."

Forfend pulled one of the tiny cloth bundles from the pouch and held it out. "Please do not touch this."

"I wouldn't fucking dare!" he shouted vehemently.

Forfend nodded and unfolded the cloth, revealing the blue-tinted obsidian.

Knight Thomas inhaled sharply. "Put it away. Quickly."

Forfend folded it back into its cloth and returned it to the bag.

Knight Thomas pinched the bridge of his nose. He looked somewhere between screaming and passing out.

Forfend launched into the story of the blue demon-like monster they'd fought in Foumedo. It wanted to provide context as to why it had so many of the apparently incredibly sinister shards.

When it finished, Knight Thomas looked like he was heavily leaning towards passing out. He swayed dizzily. "Thirty-one," he almost whispered in sheer disbelief. "You have... thirty-one of them."

Forfend nodded.

"How are you still walking around okay?!" he suddenly exploded.

Forfend stiffened at the unexpected volume increase. "What do you mean by that?"

Knight Thomas gestured wildly instead of answering. The noises coming from his throat were probably meant to be words, but panic made him incoherent.

"They are wrapped," Forfend offered. "So long as you do not touch them directly, it does not appear they can harm you."

He bent down, bracing his hands against his knees and breathing heavily. "What you have there," he managed, "are definitely Shards of Calamity. And I... I don't even know much about them, but they're extremely potent. The stories are always awful. They showed up right after the Celestial Alliance ended the calamity. They say they're a remnant of it."

"Interesting," Forfend hummed. "Touching one directly only gave me a bit of a shock and some melancholy."

"WHAT?!"

"Turned my veins blue and made me really fucking sad," Kagoshi provided.

"Outright despairing," Forfend agreed. "My experience was less severe."

"Well, that's not exactly normal from what I've heard!" Knight Thomas hollered.

"That is why we did not think they were as dangerous as you claim," Forfend admitted.

"Anyone that comes into contact with those things has the potential to become completely influenced by them! That's why the Carnifex Divinitus has such a scorched earth policy towards anyone who's held, touched, or even seen one! They aren't known to leave survivors!" He wavered on his feet. "Gods above. I can't believe you're still alive, much less sane."

"They could fucking try to kill me," Kagoshi rumbled.

"I would prefer if they did not." Forfend shook its head at Kagoshi.

"Yeah," Kairi agreed.

"I can't believe you touched them," Knight Thomas shook his head, his face in his hands again.

"Only for a minute," Kagoshi shrugged.

"You've touched them!" Knight Thomas shouted again, still disbelieving.

"We are alright," Forfend assured.

He rapidly shook his head. "No, listen. Listen to this. I'm going to tell you the stories I know about people who have touched these things!"

Forfend hummed and tilted its head. "Alright."

"The Carnifex Divinitus told us this because they wanted us to understand what we would be dealing with if we ever ran across one of these things. I didn't think I ever would, but..." He wiped his hand down his face. "A jeweler found one and made it into a ring. When his wife put it on, she burst into ashes. We have no idea how or why. It just killed her immediately on contact."

"Unfortunate," Forfend sighed in a rush of steam.

"Weird," Kagoshi huffed.

"When the jeweler picked it up in his confused panic and grief, it turned him into a monstrosity. Some sort of manticore or something. I'm not even sure. Just, definitely a monster," Knight Thomas finished.

"Tragic, but that is more in line with the experience we have had with the crystals' usage," Forfend hummed thoughtfully.

"The fact that you're alive and unharmed is a miracle!"

"I have a hunch as to why that is," Forfend mentioned and turned to gaze at its companions with an unspoken question.

"You do?" Knight Thomas asked, both doubtful and concerned.

Melzaryn shrugged.

Kagoshi followed suit.

"Fuck it," Kairi threw caution to the wind. "Tell him."

Forfend glanced down at Callan.

Callan wasn't paying attention. He looked like he was trying not to black out. He'd never been particularly careful about his identity though. He wouldn't mind.

Forfend turned back to Knight Thomas. "I assume we are alright because we are all demigods."

Knight Thomas's entire nervous, fidgeting body stuttered to a halt. "Are you fucking with me right now?"

Forfend shook its stone head.

"You want me to prove it?" Kagoshi stalked forward.

"Do not do that," Forfend said firmly. It wasn't sure what Kagoshi intended, but it feared he would try to transform again.

Knight Thomas babbled, searching for words he couldn't find.

"If you require proof, you do have that orb you used to interview us when we first arrived back at your guard barracks," Forfend offered.

"H-hold on," Callan groaned. "I can--" He cut himself off and strained heavily to force adamantine to crawl across his skin.

"Callan, no! You need to rest!" Forfend admonished.

"There we go," he panted through grit teeth. He promptly gasped and fell limp again, the metal receding rapidly.

"Please do not stress yourself further. You are already very hurt." Forfend crouched and gently pat Callan's shoulder.

"Alright," Callan wheezed.

"Forfend, remind me how much you weigh," Kagoshi grinned ominously.

Steam rushed long and steady within Forfend's chest. "Upwards of four hundred and fifty pounds. Please do not lift m--!"

Rockfalls tumbled in Forfend's chest as Kagoshi did exactly as it had asked him not to.

He held Forfend precariously above his head for several seconds and then finally set it down.

Forfend spread its arms out and widened its stance, lowering its center of gravity closer to the floor. "I am learning to dislike that more every time."

Knight Thomas stood slack-jawed. He did finally look less frightened. Overt wonder overran his features instead.

"Our collective demigod status is also how we were able to survive such a powerful demon," Forfend supplied.

"All of you?" Knight Thomas asked quietly.

"All of us," Forfend nodded.

He took a short step back, his hand hovering over his mouth. All he could do was stare.

Melzaryn loudly sipped tea somewhere behind Forfend.

Forfend approached and placed a steadying hand on Knight Thomas's shoulder.

He reached up hesitantly and pat Forfend's oversize hand, then stared at his own as though he'd touched a holy relic.

Forfend tilted its head. This kind of reverence was not necessary, expected, or welcome. It didn't want Knight Thomas to treat it as anything other than an ally.

"Are you alright? Calm down," Forfend requested gently.

"Not to state the obvious, but this is a bug cave. You should probably shut your mouth," Melzaryn teased.

Knight Thomas's jaw shut with an audible click.

"The bugs are all dead, I assure you," Forfend hummed, stepping back.

"You're all... actually, honestly... demigods. All of you," Knight Thomas breathed.

"Yes," Forfend confirmed again.

"So I've been told," Kagoshi grumbled.

"As far as my research shows," Melzaryn added.

"This is fantastic!" Knight Thomas exclaimed suddenly. "If you were to tell King Falco Feldrian we could actually have a seat at the Celestial Summit! We could finally be represented!"

"Not all of us are Tyrwedian natives. Callan certainly is not," Forfend interjected.

"That's true," Callan managed. "I'm from elsewhere."

Forfend turned, suddenly curious. "Actually, where are the rest of you from?"

"North," Kagoshi, Kairi, and Melzaryn all chimed at the same time.

Forfend pointed at itself. "Am I the only Tyrwedian native?"

"Are you?" Melzaryn asked, one eyebrow arched.

"It is the first and only established nation I have ever lived in. I have no other nationality to claim. Foumedo is my home," it answered.

"Fair enough," he shrugged. "I'm definitely not from around here. I've just been traveling."

"Alright," Forfend hummed. "I am the only local demigod."

"No, listen, you don't understand," Knight Thomas insisted. "If you aligned yourself with the Kingdom of Tyrwedia, we could secure a seat on the Celestial Summit!"

Forfend's fingers drummed on its shield. "To be perfectly frank, I am not certain I would want anything to do with the Celestial Summit at all."

"Sounds boring," Kagoshi griped.

Forfend huffed steam and shook its head. That was the least of its reasoning.

"Why not?" Knight Thomas asked it.

"Because I am not certain I agree with their methods," Forfend responded evenly. "Demigods have a responsibility to protect those who cannot protect themselves, not an excuse to run a massive overarching government that does not answer to its citizens. It feels to me like an abuse of power."

"O-oh," Knight Thomas nearly choked. He looked stunned all over again as he stared into Forfend's blank runic face. "Uh, uhm, well, I can't argue with you."

"You certainly could," Forfend insisted. "I am open to debate."

"No!" Knight Thomas almost shouted, shaking his head and waving his hands frantically. "No, no, I wouldn't dare!"

"It is not an offense," Forfend assured. "We are just people."

Knight Thomas firmly shook his head again, his mouth a tight line. He was afraid of them, of the consequences of defying them.

That wasn't right. Forfend didn't have all the answers for what a demigod should be and do, but it knew that instilling fear in the common people was not justifiable.

"Since you're demigods, I can see how you might be able to survive touching the Shards of Calamity," Knight Thomas redirected the conversation. "But I would still suggest that you get rid of those as soon as possible. You should hand them over to the Carnifex Divinitus without letting them know you've touched them or been influenced by them at all."

Forfend paused. He was offering to help them lie. He was offering to protect them.

"It is true that we have not been influenced by them," Forfend said.

It thought that was true. Even the one lodged beneath Kagoshi's spine hadn't seemed to do anything yet.

Unless it was related to the demon possession that had come over him during the fight.

Forfend hummed to itself. It didn't know. It hadn't stopped to consider that before.

"I've always been this angry," Kagoshi growled in apparent agreement with Forfend's statement.

Knight Thomas blinked, confused.

"No, what happened was that the crystals made you sad," Kairi reminded him teasingly.

Kagoshi rolled his eyes. "Shit sucked."

Knight Thomas folded his arms around himself. His brows were furrowed. He looked as though he was reevaluating the events of his entire day leading up to this point.

After a moment, he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Hopefully, the Carnifex Divinitus will go easier on you since you're demigods. Though, I don't see you announcing it. You hid it from me until it was critical. Should I assume you want me to keep it secret as well?"

"If you would," Forfend nodded.

"Please," Kairi added.

"Okay. Alright," Knight Thomas swallowed hard. "Well, if you're not announcing yourselves, you definitely need to hand those things over as soon as you can. Unless you want the full might of the Templars, the Carnifex Divinitus, and the Tyrwedian military to come breathing fire down your backs."

"There's a secret compartment in the cultist's quarters. We could leave the gems there and claim we didn't find them when we searched it," Melzaryn offered. "I'm sure they'll tear the room apart much more thoroughly than we did."

Forfend shook its head. "There are too many risks. Anyone could stumble across them. If they touch them, they will die far easier than we would. I took them in the first place to prevent anyone else from being hurt by them."

"Well, what's the alternative? Throw them in the fire? That worked out so well the last time I tried it," he suggested with jaunty sarcasm.

"That is an awful idea," Forfend startled. "I do not intend to put anything else in that fire. Ever."

Melzaryn froze as Forfend turned to look at him, his arm reared back and a rock in his hand. He straightened and put his hands behind his back, subtly dropping the stone. "Yes, anything. Of course not."

Stones cracked in Forfend's chest. Melzaryn was usually more reasonable than this.

It turned back to Knight Thomas. "What would be the proper channels to turn over something like this?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "All I know is that if I encounter those things, I'm supposed to contact my superiors and they will handle it. That's all I was told."

"Well, we are headed to Cragwall," Forfend considered. "Perhaps I could discuss it with someone there. Ah! We will be getting a lawyer! Perhaps I could ask the lawyer."

Knight Thomas looked doubtful. "You shouldn't show any normal people what you've got there. Most won't be as kind as me. You could end up imprisoned or killed. And they could end up monsters or killed."

Forfend nodded seriously. "No one will see them. No one has seen them since I collected them, except you."

"Good, that's good," he relaxed marginally. "Try not to show anyone else."

"On that note," Melzaryn pondered aloud, "Forfend, what would your plan have been if he'd reacted differently?"

"Simple: kill him," Kagoshi answered first.

"What?!" Knight Thomas jolted, his hand hitting the hilt of his sword for the first time since he'd arrived.

"No one is dying!" Forfend shouted at its belligerent companion. It crossed its arms. "I would have accepted the consequences of my actions. I have done no intentional wrong."

Knight Thomas managed to relax a bit again. His hand left his sword hilt, but continued to hover near it.

"Kagoshi," Callan groaned weakly. "Perhaps you should not be so quick to kill people."

"I'm only being thorough," Kagoshi grumbled.

"I thought you were going to say you were only joking again, but that is actually much worse," Forfend reprimanded. "No one dies."

"Kagoshi, I imagine your life would be easier if that weren't your first solution to everything," Callan managed.

Kagoshi huffed irritably.

Forfend stooped and lifted Callan into its arms. It was nearly time they left this awful pit. Callan needed rest.

"Oh, alright," Callan blinked in surprise. "I suppose I am up here now."

"I do not suspect you are able to walk," Forfend hummed.

"Honestly, I think I should be able to," Callan speculated. "Though, it would probably hurt."

"Perhaps, do not try," it suggested.

He nodded. "Okay. I would rather rest for a bit anyway. I am mentally exhausted."

Callan yawned and closed his eyes. Within moments, he was asleep.

Stones ground together as Forfend chuckled softly. It certainly could not have relaxed so easily. It was glad Callan could.

"Goodnight," it said, amused.

"He's all tuckered out," Kairi giggled.

"I'm going to contact more guards and have this whole area quarantined," Knight Thomas spoke up again, nodding to himself as though he were just now coming up with this plan. "We'll keep it secure until the military gets here to take over." He paused. "How are we getting out of here?"

"We will get you out of here," Forfend assured.

"I can help," Kairi almost sang.

"We gotta get our metal box," Kagoshi piped up.

"Ah, I had forgotten it." Forfend turned to Knight Thomas. "Do you know where this shipment of steel we found in the refuse cave would have been intended to go?"

"I'll see what I can do to figure it out," he offered.

Forfend nodded. "Kagoshi, I trust you will carry it for us."

"Yep." Kagoshi rolled his shoulders.

"Thank you."

Kagoshi scoffed and led the way back through the tunnels.

Despite the way it was hobbling, Forfend could feel itself relaxing with every moment spent outside the cave and in gentle moonlight.

It clutched Callan's sleeping form carefully to its chest. It tried to drag up dregs of magic to heal him further. There was nothing to call upon. Forfend was spent.

Ahead of it, the rest of its companions sauntered up to the guard barracks.

The irritable guard from so much earlier in the day it felt it could've been years ago froze in his tracks halfway out the door.

He was no longer in uniform and had his personal bag slung over his shoulder. He cursed under his breath.

"Hello again," he said out loud, his voice flat with annoyance. "What's going on?"

"We have bugs," Forfend answered apologetically when it caught up to its companions.

"Godsdammit, I'm still on shift for ten more minutes," he swore just barely loud enough for them to hear.

He disappeared back into the barracks and returned a moment later with a pair of thick leather gloves. "Let's see them," he grimaced.

Kagoshi dropped the two goopy bundles of dripping bug heads on the ground in front of the guard.

He sighed and rifled through the putrid contents. "I'm going to have to throw away these gloves," he complained. "Thirty-eight juveniles, eight adults."

He pulled the gloves off and dumped them in the garbage before returning to the barracks.

"How many ways am I splitting your hundred and sixteen gold?" he called from inside.

"Four," Melzaryn replied, a glitter in his eyes.

"I know Callan said he does not care for money, but I feel he should get some reward for saving our lives today," Forfend hummed.

"He can have it." Melzaryn cast a scheming smirk at Forfend.

It wasn't quite certain what he was getting at, but it knew what he wanted it to do.

The guard returned and held out four pouches of gold.

Melzaryn snatched one and immediately walked away.

Forfend took two, its own and Callan's share, and followed suit.

"Wait," Kagoshi started. "But that only leaves--"

"I'll rock-paper-scissors you for it," Kairi interrupted.

Kagoshi sighed. "Alright, let's do it."

Forfend carefully wedged its way into the Prancing Dragon tavern.

Kagoshi and Kairi followed shortly after.

"Oh, you're back," the bartender greeted the latter pair. "Looks like you got fucked up. Need a room?"

"My friend here needs a room," Forfend nodded down at Callan.

"Five silver."

Forfend tied the pouch of kruthik gold to Callan's belt and offered up the five silver from its own supply. "Can you help him to his room? He is hurt, thoroughly exhausted, and unlikely to wake before late into the morning."

"I can help him," he agreed and carefully took Callan from Forfend's arms.

Forfend ducked its head politely and left, confident that Callan was in good hands.

It took itself to the open town plaza and found a convenient space to sit where it would be well out of the way when the morning bustle began.

It watched the stars twinkle in the cloudless navy sky for a few minutes. The tension in its body unwound slowly.

It shut off its rune to rest properly.

Forfend watched the sunrise peek over Brightcrossing's walls. People sleepily left their homes and began their daily routines, stretching and yawning and huddling into their jackets as they whispered to one another in the still-shaded streets.

They didn't know how close they'd come to destruction. Forfend hoped they never would.

It lit its rune and stood. The town gates lay just down the main thoroughfare from here. Forfend could see them. Knight Thomas hadn't returned home.

It hummed to itself, hoping he would get some good and proper rest soon.

For the moment, however, Forfend had other matters to attend to. It needed to speak with Gilthur.

Forfend struck out immediately to the forge and carefully edged in through the door.

Gilthur approached the counter. The skin around his eyes sagged with exhaustion. He rubbed at his face and blinked up at Forfend, a smile lifting the edges of his thick beard. "You look like you've seen better days."

Forfend glanced down at itself. Bug guts, demon blood, and golden ichor covered its marble form.

"I have certainly seen cleaner days," it hummed as it stepped up to the counter. "I can tell you beyond any shadow of doubt that the Orison Aegis performs brilliantly."

"Good," Gilthur nodded. "I'm glad to hear it."

"And it occurs to me that I did not pay you for the materials I used to craft it." Forfend's fingers brushed over its coin pouch.

Gilthur put up his hand and shook his head. "No need. You did me a favor. After you left yesterday, some inspiration of my own struck me."

Forfend tilted its head.

"I stayed up all night working and I made something great." He looked Forfend over and glanced off to the side, scratching at the back of his neck. "I hope."

He waved Forfend behind the counter. "Come, come, let me show you."

Forfend followed, curiosity and excitement lighting a dim glow in its chest.

"I completely forgot to lock the shop door last night. I'm lucky no one came in to rob the place while I was working," Gilthur said. "I fell asleep right on my workstation. You actually woke me up when I heard you come in."

"I apologize," Forfend offered sincerely.

"No, no, it was all worth it and I'm glad you're here to take a look." Gilthur pulled a mace out from beneath the counter and set it on top for inspection.

Immediately, Forfend could sense the magic glistening just beneath the metallic surface.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Gilthur traced his fingers across the hilt.

Forfend nodded.

The mace itself was of Gilthur's trademark practicality, though the shape of the head seemed to have been inspired by Forfend's own mace. It was sharp, angular, designed for devastation.

Runes encircled the hilt, all of them invoking Fornax. Strength, durability, balance had all been asked of the Apostle of Iron and they had all been given. Every rune that wasn't a request was praise and thankfulness instead.

Forfend's chest lit up brightly. "Amazing work."

"I think it's magical," Gilthur hesitantly mentioned. "I'm not sure if I did something different or if it was a sign from Fornax, but I left it in the flame for what I thought might've been too long. It was glowing golden when I took it out. It looked divine, like nothing I'd ever seen before. Almost like what you did here with your shield."

"That is incredible, Gilthur," Forfend praised.

"Indeed, it was." Gilthur hefted the mace up and gave it a test swing. He flipped it in his hands and offered the hilt out to Forfend.

Forfend straightened. It wanted to try the mace out, but the look on Gilthur's face told it he wouldn't take the weapon back if Forfend accepted it.

"What is it worth?" it asked.

"Exactly as much as you've already given me," Gilthur said seriously.

Forfend felt the warm glow in its chest brighten. "Are you sure?"

Gilthur nodded without a hint of doubt in his eyes. "In this profession, true inspiration can be very hard to come by. But when it happens, it can go a very long way. In fact, I made several other items last night. Of all of them, I believe this is the finest and I want you to have it."

Forfend tentatively took the mace, feeling the magic within tingle and resonate with its own internal magic and that of the Orison Aegis. It gave the weapon a test swing.

Perfect.

Forfend knelt so it wasn't standing so far above Gilthur. "Thank you. For this and for everything. I should tell you: I awoke in Foumedo two years ago and in those two years, I had heard nothing from Fornax. It was not until I came here and you made this forge into a temple for us to worship that I received word. You gifted me inspiration just as much as I gifted it to you."

"Really?" Gilthur asked, stunned.

"And for that," Forfend continued, placing fifty gold pieces down on Gilthur's counter, "I want you to have this. I will not take no for an answer."

Gilthur slowly swept the money into his own coin pouch. "Thank you, Forfend. I will put it to good use."

"I know it is not much, but it is what I can offer."

"It's plenty," Gilthur countered.

Forfend nodded graciously. "We will be leaving town today, but I hope to meet you again soon. If you are ever in Foumedo, you are welcome to drop by."

Gilthur chuckled to himself. "If I'm ever in Foumedo, I suppose I'd have to visit Byr as well. See what kind of black magic he's getting up to these days."

Forfend chuckled like grinding stone. "Repairing me is the only magic I can think of."

"Perhaps he's dabbling in holy magic now then," Gilthur joked.

Forfend's chest brightened all over again. It waved to Gilthur as it took its leave.

A few steps away from the shop, it heard Gilthur open the door behind it. "Oh, did you bring me this?" he called, pointing to a massive crate of steel bars.

"We found it in the bug caves whilst we were exterminating them," Forfend shared. "It seems the guard have decided it was intended for you."

Gilthur crossed his arms and considered the material. "I'll be putting that inspiration to work today." He cracked his knuckles, grabbed a handful of ingots, and headed back inside.

"Enjoy your day," Forfend called after him.

"You as well," he shouted just before the door shut behind him.

Forfend promptly took itself to its next destination.

It made its way toward the Summerstead Winery, though that wasn't really where it was headed. It just needed to be close by.

Halfway to its destination, it spotted what it was looking for.

The three farmers it had helped yesterday were yawning and stretching as they got their cart ready to take to the fields.

"Oh, hey, Forfend!" the taller one yelled.

"Good morning!" it returned. "We have solved your bug problem."

"I told you he could do it!" the shorter farmer hollered from within the wagon. "He's--" the man cut himself off as he leaned out of the back and caught sight of Forfend. "Oh gods, covered in blood."

"It is a hazard of the profession," Forfend hummed.

"It's just bug blood," Jimmy noticed. "No need to worry."

"I can worry if I want to," the shorter farmer huffed. "If my buddy's covered in blood, I wanna know about it."

"I appreciate the concern," Forfend nodded. It crouched down to eye level with them. "It occurs to me I never caught your names."

"Oh yeah! I'm Jerry," the shorter man introduced himself. "That's Jeffrey. And I think you've heard us holler Jimmy's name enough."

"It is nice to officially meet you all. Have you been able to procure another horse?" Forfend asked.

"Shit," Jeffrey cursed. "No. We need to."

"How much does that cost?" Forfend tilted its head.

"Well, it's been a long time since we've had to buy a horse." Jerry rubbed his face thoughtfully. "For a good strong workhorse, I'd figure around fifty gold."

"That's more than we've got," Jimmy grumbled.

"Fifty gold," Forfend repeated. "I see. I do not have that money in gold, but I have the equivalent in silver."

It separated out the money and passed a large pouch of silver to them.

Jerry hesitated twice before he took the offered pouch. "You're... You're giving this to us?"

"I am," Forfend confirmed. "You need a horse."

Jeffrey snatched the money and shoved it into Jimmy's hands. "Jimmy, go buy a horse!"

"Why do I have to do it?" Jimmy argued.

"Because you made us late eating everything in the damn house! Go! Shoo!"

"Alright, alright," Jimmy huffed and took off towards the nearest stable.

"Thank you, Forfend," Jerry said sincerely.

"It is no trouble. I have the coin to spare," Forfend assured.

"We have to do something for you," Jerry mumbled almost more to himself. "You saved us, you saved our town, and now you bought us a horse."

"What are we gonna do for him?" Jeffrey asked.

"Have you not already gifted me wine?" Forfend reminded.

"Well, yeah. But you can't drink," Jerry sighed. "I'd like to get you something you can use."

"It is a lovely gift nonetheless and I intend to share it with my family. It will see use," Forfend promised.

"Still, I think we should--oh! I've got an idea! Wait here. I'll be right back." Jerry ran back into the house.

Forfend's chest lit up bright orange, gleaming radiantly through the cracks in its body.

Jerry returned a moment later with a small tin.

Forfend accepted it and carefully popped open the lid. Inside were three small animal treats. It tilted its head.

"We found these a while back," Jerry shared. "Jeffrey, you remember when you fed one to that angry little bird that was trying to peck your eyes out?"

"Yeah, and then it got real friendly all of a sudden? I remember. Sat on my shoulder for the rest of the day," Jeffrey nodded.

"Figure it might help you out since you're traveling." Jerry shrugged. "Animals seem to really like them a lot. You can use it to calm down a mean one or make friends with a skittish one. Something like that."

"Thank you kindly." Forfend bowed slightly. It closed the tin and added it to a pouch on its belt. "This will be a great help to me."

Jerry beamed. "No problem."

Jimmy hustled back to the cart, a stout young horse trailing behind him. "Alright, I got us one," he panted.

"It's about damn time," Jeffrey fussed. "That's only your second workout of the month."

"Fuck off," Jimmy snapped.

Forfend chuckled softly, stone grinding in its center.

"Well, we gotta get started working today," Jerry said. "But, uh, we'll see you around?"

Forfend nodded. "We are leaving today, but I will make it a point to return and visit you. If you are ever in Foumedo, you should drop by and visit me."

"Oh, you're in Foumedo?" Jeffrey almost shouted. "That's real close by! We should definitely plan a visit!"

"Work first," Jerry reminded. "We'll go once we've got the money together."

"You're right, you're right," Jeffrey agreed.

Jimmy finished hooking the horse up to the cart and climbed into the back. "Are we fucking ready, you couple of jabberjaws?"

"Yep," the other two replied and hopped into their places.

Jeffrey took the reigns and gave the horse a gently nudge.

The strong beast started off, pulling the cart behind it with ease.

"Goodbye! Enjoy your day!" Forfend called after them.

All three waved as their new companion carried them through the gates and out into the fields.

Forfend placed its hands on its hips and let steam escape from it in a long, satisfied sigh. It was happy with what it had done here today.

With its business concluded, it turned and headed towards the Prancing Dragon to meet its allies.

"Hey," Melzaryn greeted as he slipped up behind Forfend.

"Hello," it replied. "I have been waiting for Callan, Kairi, and Kagoshi for quite a bit, but they have not awakened."

Melzaryn shrugged. "We did almost die yesterday. Maybe they're taking some extra rest time."

Forfend nodded.

Just then, Kagoshi opened the door and stopped dead. He stared at them, his expression falling from neutral to mildly annoyed.

In his hands were several large, expensive-looking gems. The mysterious new cloak he'd worn yesterday had morphed itself into a strange new form, the bottom edges of it charred and trailing ever-present ashes.

Kairi had an odd new medallion Forfend had never seen before pinned to her shirt.

"Good morning," it said. "What are those?"

"Rocks," Kagoshi deadpanned.

"Oh, just the loot he took from the cultist's room," Melzaryn answered. He wore an easy smile, but something in his eyes betrayed irritation.

Forfend tilted its head. "Oh? What else did you find?"

"Just this," he growled.

Forfend straightened, the sharp shing of a knife across a whetstone accompanying the cracking stones within its chest.

Kagoshi was lying to it. For what? Why? After everything they'd been through yesterday, he wanted to keep secrets about the cultist's quarters?

Forfend couldn't allow it. If he'd discovered something dangerous, they all needed to know.

"I am disappointed that you would lie to me so brazenly," Forfend admonished, crossing its arms.

"Fine, let me correct my statement." Kagoshi rolled his eyes. "I found things and they're mine now."

"What are they?" Forfend pressed.

"A cloak." Kagoshi gestured to his outfit.

"And?" Forfend and Melzaryn asked at the same time.

"This orb." Kagoshi held up what appeared to be a sort of magical compass.

"And?" they both prompted again.

"These rocks." He set his jaw, getting irritated.

"And?"

"This pipe." He produced a smoking pipe and quickly slipped it back into his pockets. "It creates tiny smoke monsters."

"And?"

"The medallion I gave to Kairi."

Kairi touched it gently. "It can read thoughts."

Forfend nodded politely to her in response before fixing its gaze back on Kagoshi.

"And?" it and Melzaryn chorused again.

"That's it," Kagoshi said flatly.

"No." Forfend was certain he was lying again. It was clear in his posture and the way he narrowed his eyes.

"Fine, I was saving this for a cool reveal, but I guess I'll show you." Kagoshi pulled a scroll out of his bag.

Forfend leaned down to take a look at it, but Kagoshi quickly shoved it back into his bag and buttoned the flap closed.

"That's everything," he snapped.

Forfend hummed. "It is not. What are you hiding?"

"Fine," Kagoshi growled through grit teeth. "I also found a shit-ton of money."

Forfend leaned back.

Money. He was hiding money. Of course he was.

"Are you going to share it?" Forfend asked.

"Maybe with Kairi," he mumbled. "I was thinking about it."

Forfend felt stones continuing to crack in its center. Kagoshi was genuinely considering cutting out even his one and only friend from the riches he'd found. Unbelievable.

Kairi didn't look angry, but Forfend was angry for her anyway.

"If you found a great sum of money, it is only fair that you share it with all of us. We all stopped the cultist," Forfend insisted. "How much was it?"

"Five thousand silver," Kagoshi answered.

The sharp song of a blade across a whetstone sounded again.

"Not even close," Forfend ground out. Why was he lying like this? What purpose did it serve? "There was more than that."

"What do you want? A thousand gold?" Kagoshi snapped.

"Well, that would be a start." Melzaryn cocked an eyebrow at the disgruntled man.

"Oh, hello," Callan suddenly interrupted. He slipped past Kagoshi and Kairi to look up at Forfend. "Do you know where I got this bag from?" he asked, holding out the pouch of gold it had tied to his belt.

"I do," Forfend nodded. "It is yours."

"Oh." Callan blinked. "Well, thank you. How much did you guys get? Because I counted twenty-nine gold pieces! And quite frankly, that's amazing. I don't even know where I got it from."

"We all got twenty-nine pieces for bug hunting," Melzaryn informed him.

"Oh! That's very nice!" Callan grinned.

Forfend nodded. "Now Kagoshi. Honesty, please. How much money did you find?"

"Fine!" Kagoshi angrily threw his arms up into the air. "A thousand platinum, thirteen thousand gold! It's a lot of money!"

"By the gods!" Callan exclaimed.

Forfend froze, its gaze drifting from Kagoshi to somewhere in the middle distance. "That is... an incredible amount of money," it managed.

It was trying to remember if it had ever actually seen a platinum coin before. It didn't think it had.

"You are going to share it, are you not?" Forfend nudged.

"With Kairi," he shrugged. "Maybe."

"With all of us," Forfend pushed, having to raise its volume over the sound of rocks splitting in its chest.

"Oh, I don't need money," Callan shook his head. "I'm fine with the twenty-nine I have."

"That is fine, if that is what you want, Callan. However, the rest of us would appreciate receiving the fruits of our labor. It is greedy and unfair for Kagoshi to horde resources away from us," Forfend insisted.

Melzaryn nodded. "Magic isn't cheap."

Kagoshi looked down at the gems in his hands. "Alright. I'll compromise." He held them out. "You can have these."

Forfend turned away from Kagoshi and quelled the next biting metal shing in its center. It couldn't recall the last time it had been so angry. "Treat us with respect."

"That's chump change, comparatively," Melzaryn noted. "Grand total of something like sixteen hundred gold. Hardly the two hundred and fifty platinum you actually owe us."

"Two hundred and fifty?!" Kagoshi balked. "You can have the gems and five hundred gold! Maybe three platinum."

Forfend couldn't stand this kind of incessant greed. It started to speak again, but Melzaryn got there first.

"How about this," Melzaryn offered, his tone leaving no room for argument, "you can keep the magic items and twenty-five percent of the coins."

Kagoshi groaned. "Fine! Whatever! Just shut up!" He thrust the money pouch into Melzaryn's hands.

Melzaryn sorted the coins evenly and deposited the remaining money back into Kagoshi's waiting palms.

"Thank you, Melzaryn." Forfend looked towards the town gates. "With that taken care of, we need to have a very important conversation as soon as we report to Roman and leave town."

Kagoshi narrowed his eyes, but didn't speak.

Forfend wondered how much he knew that it knew.

"Oh, in regards to that," Callan interjected, "I am going to say that this is where we part ways for now."

"You are leaving?" Forfend felt its shoulders slump a bit.

"Yes, a lot of things were made quite evident to me during that fight with the greater demon." Callan sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck. "As much as I would love to say that I did survive the encounter, I was taken down in one hit. I only survived because you were all there to save me."

Forfend placed a hand on Callan's shoulder. "You saved our lives. If you had not done that, none of us would have survived."

"Yes, but I'm striving to be Unbreakable. I need to be able to withstand attacks like that. Not just one. Two would be a start. Our survival, my survival, was just luck. I have to face that." Callan straightened his back and tugged on the furs around his shoulders, determination settling over his features. "That's why I'm going to redouble my regimen and train even harder."

Forfend pulled Callan into a hug so suddenly it startled him. "Take care of yourself."

Callan relaxed into the embrace and returned it, gently patting Forfend's arm. "I will. I'm sure we'll see each other again soon. Perhaps at the Festival of Combat in the Kuumedian Desert!"

"Oh, most certainly," Melzaryn nodded sagely.

"For now though, this is where we part ways. So, until next time. Goodbye, my friends. And goodbye to you too, my kin," he said, freeing himself from Forfend's hold and patting its shoulder. "I'm off!"

"Goodbye, kin," Forfend waved him off.

"Bye-bye," Kairi smiled.

Callan turned and tromped confidently away. "I hope whatever conversation you're about to have will be pleasant!" he called over his shoulder as he rounded the corner and disappeared from sight.

Forfend looked back down at Kagoshi's scowling face and knew it would not be.

[funky-sea-cryptid]

I posted 4,128 times in 2022

That's 2,529 more posts than 2021!

658 posts created (16%)

3,470 posts reblogged (84%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@t4tbruharvey

@themischiefoftad

@jettreno

@elytrians

@dingdongyouarewrong

I tagged 1,838 of my posts in 2022

#vikings valhalla - 97 posts

#goncharov - 55 posts

#macbeth - 47 posts

#unreality - 40 posts

#nesbo macbeth (derogatory) - 38 posts

#the last kingdom - 33 posts

#11th century - 30 posts

#tmnt 2012 - 29 posts

#hysteriaposting - 24 posts

#yeah - 23 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#the kingdom key?????? like riku and kairi lucked out on this one and its bc of their tboy and tgirl swag (their keyblades have better names)

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

im a b team enthusiast they're like. they're my best fucking friends

32 notes - Posted August 8, 2022

#4

idk how hawkeye is gonna end but i feel like yelena is gonna text kate all the time like “kate bishop this is my dog her name is fanny” “kate bishop i made macaroni do you want some :)” “kate bishop send me a picture of your dog!” “kate bishop come to visit we need to have a girls night”

kate of course responds bc besties i just think they’d be friends

50 notes - Posted January 7, 2022

#3

i got back into playing love nikki last night and i was having SO much fun for the first 15 minutes like “why did i ever stop the fun fashion game” and then i lost a styling competition embarrassingly and momo (FUCK that cat) was like “im starting to wonder why queen narini brought you here” and the old well of primal rage roared to life. FUCK you momo shut up you walk around naked in a hood what do YOU know about fashion you STUPID CAT

52 notes - Posted April 28, 2022

#2

the amount of Gregory slander on my fyp- HE IS TEN YEARS OLD ALL OF YALL NEED TO NOT. “oh but he hurt freddys friends” YEAH?? THOSE BITCHES WERE TRYING TO KILL HIM???? IF I WAS IN HIS SHOES ID DO THE SAME DAMN THING!! “he’s annoying” HE IS LITERALLY TEN. like WHAT do you expect he is a child. anyways stan this chaotic feral child

78 notes - Posted January 5, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

this is horrifying. dont strip jungle log

1,232 notes - Posted May 29, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[healeroflightanddark]

Serendipity, Chapter 5: Escort

Zarc was really enjoying hanging out with his new friends, but eventually it was time for the five of them to part ways. Yuto, Yuri, Yugo, and Yuya all had to go back to their college dorms to get some sleep so that they would be able to make it to their classes in time the next day, and Zarc had to go home to deal with Kairi since they lived in the same house.

“Hey, let us know how things go with you and Kairi,” Yuri said with a grin. “And you should probably change the locks and have her move back in with her parents or something so that she doesn’t wreck the place.”

“Probably a good idea,” Zarc agreed. “Her parents live eight hours away, so it’ll be far enough that she won’t be able to easily come back home to cause trouble. I’m definitely going to grab some new locks on the way home tonight.”

“No wonder she never invited me to see her parents…” Yuya said. “Then again, she probably wouldn’t’ve brought me to meet them even if they were closer, since she was married.

“Yeah, especially since I have a pretty decent relationship with them,” Zarc agreed. “I am going to miss them when the divorce is finalized.”

“Well, we should probably head back to our dorms,” Yuto said. “I’m honestly surprised we all go to the same university, and the same one you went to, too! You’d think we’d’ve run into each other or have mutual friends!”

“True,” Yuri said, “guess Kairi might have a thing for our shared university in addition to our shared face.”

“Well, she did want to attend it, but the university rejected her,” Zarc explained. “Well, you guys stay safe on your way back to your dorms, okay? I wouldn’t want my new friends to get hurt!”

“We’ll be safe,” Yuya reassured him. “We’ll text you when we get to our dorms to let you know we got home safe.” Zarc blinked, and after a moment Yuya blushed. “Sorry! I’m used to telling my parents that…”

“Oh, no worries!” Zarc reassured him. “Actually, yeah, a text would be nice. I’ll sleep better tonight if I know my new friends are safe.”

*   *   *

Zarc really did worry a bit about his new friends as he sat on his bed later that night. Kairi hadn’t been home when he’d arrived, so changing the locks was a simple task. He was now sitting on his bed, waiting anxiously for Yuto, Yuri, Yugo, and Yuya to text. And finally, they messaged the group chat.

Yuya: Hey Zarc! I’m in my dorm!

Zarc: Oh thank god, I was getting worried. Are the others with you?

Yuya: No, but they did walk me to my room. They should be responding in a few minutes. Their dorms are in other parts of the campus. I’m gonna go ahead and get ready for bed. Talk to you in a few!

Zarc: Alright, talk to you then

The next fifteen minutes was an agonizing wait. Then—

Yuto: I’m home

Yuri: And I’m in the elevator of my dorm building.

Yugo: I’m walking into my building now! Guess we all made it home safely!

Zarc: Good. I was starting to think something might’ve happened to you boys

Yuya: I’m back!

Yuya: Oh, hi guys! Thanks again for walking me to my room. That was really sweet of you!

Yuto: Yeah, well, after seeing how uncomfortable you were with that guy that tried to talk to you at the crosswalk, we didn’t wanna take any chances

Yuya: Yeah, he’s been trying to get me to go on a date with his daughter for like… six months or so? I keep telling him I’m not interested and that I had a girlfriend, but he won’t leave me alone…

Zarc: Why is he so obsessed with you going out with his daughter?

Yuya: His daughter had a crush on me back in elementary school, and would chase me around the playground everyday at recess and lunch, trying to kiss me. I thought she grew out of her crush by high school, but apparently she still thinks she and I were destined to be together

Zarc: Wowwwww…

Yuri: That is some SERIOUS dedication…

Yuto: A bit creepy

Yuya: We have been sorta friends since high school, but I just don’t see her as more than that…

Yugo: Okay, I’ve decided. I’m going to walk you to your classes!

Yuto: Me too

Yuri: Me too

Yuri: lol jinx!

Yuri: buy me coffee tomorrow!

Yuto: lol okay. I can get you some from work in the morning. Text me whatever kind you want when you wake up

Yuri: YES!

Zarc: Well I’m headed off to bed. you boys have a nice night, okay? Sleep well!

Yuya: Good night Zarc!

Yuri: Goodnight!

Yuto: Pleasant dreams!

Yugo: Sweet dreams, Zarc!

Zarc chuckled and set his phone on the nightstand. All things considering, this had been a pretty decent night!