#sora is my son and he is a very good boy

[blacklegsanjiii]

First of all im so sorry for the long askbut!! New parent idea 💥💥 i present to you: King

Now hear me out, you might be thinking ‘really??? King from wano the bird guy?? Why tf’ but my good sir there are multiple reasons

1. Fire! King is from a race called lurarians (he’s infact the last of his people because theyre world wide known as beautiful because of their white hair, dark skin and beautiful black wings) lurarians are also known to be able to set themselves on fire! So that fits prettyyy well with sanji

So if we take pt 1 with us and expand it...

2. Test subject ✨ we all know Sanji is judge 3rd expiriment and also that vegapunk has made the seraphims of the warlords combined with kings lurarian DNA to make very strong clones. Judge and vegapunk were also in a science group together so they might have some shared notes and materials...

So that brings me to the parent King au...

What if vegapunk and judge kept in touch and decided to keep King in germas dungeon for the foreseeable future because its very well guarded etc etc so he is essentially both vegapunk and judges labrat

And when judge is busy with Sora and Reiju he notices that while reiju hasnt failed his expectations for power, he can always do better so with the quadruplets he also decides to mix kings lurarian DNA in for even stronger child soldiers (so 1234ji have 3 bio parents lmao)

Maybe this alters their appearance also a bit? (Mini baby wings 🥺 that they hide becausd its a weakness maybe 124ji got them amputated later in life while sanji ofcourse kept his hidden)

But anyway canon continues and sanji gets thrown into the dungeon with his mask... Here he meets a huge winged man. First days maybe weeks they dont really talk but sanji is a child and starts talking to king because he's lonely

They startbonding and in the next almost year that sanji is stuck there they really learn to love each other and sanji shows king his baby wings and king just decides 'yup thats my kid' teaches him to groom and how to fold/hide them without being in to much pain

But then vegapunk and judge fight and split up, king was originally vegapunks labrat so he is also taken from sanji.

Canon continues with them both respectively escaping,king tried to find sanji but couldnt bc germa is very stealthy and nobody knows where they are so he joins kaido etc etc

And then they meet again in wano.

Thoughts :0?

I had to double check King's age to make sure this is plausible and yeah, he's 47. He can fully adopt Sanji. I support this fully, fire boys unite! Also imagine Heterochromia!Sanji, one blue eye and one red.

King who is Vegapunks labrat being experimented on for a good while before Reiju and the quads come along, hell, even before Sora coming along. Captured as a teenager and being held captive and tortured for years. Eventually he's locked in the dungeon and left there to rot even after Vegapunk leaves to focus on other things but leaves him in Germa. No one really interacts with the Lunarian except to bring him food and water to keep him alive in case they do decide they want to do something with him again. What it could be he doesn't know what more they could do.

Judge however has gotten married and had a daughter already but notices her flaws and while she's not a full failure, he could do better. So he infuses the Lunarians DNA with those of his coming sons, despite his wife taking that poison she won't be able to do much to get rid of that at least. He can deal with the other failures she causes later but right now he's unworried. Even when the children come, the third one is wrong, he's blond instead of darkhaired, he's easily bruised. Unfortunate really. He had high hopes for that one particularly, for the stealth instead of brute force the others were for.

He sees the wings and knows he still at least has the Lunarian DNA, he might still have some use. Maybe.

He's not and it's clear by the time Sanji is six. Weak and crying and frail compared to his siblings. He has a full range of emotions which even Reiju doesn't have. Disgusted Judge throws him in the dungeon, a metal cover his head and unconcerned if he dies down there, Sanji screaming and crying for him to come back. Apologizing to his father over and over again as if it will change anything. It doesn't. He's trapped alone in the cell but there's someone down here with him. There's a man, tall with white hair and black wings like he has, only a few years older than his mother. He's telling Sanji to quiet down, no one will come get him. Sanji can't stop crying so he apologizes and sits in the back of his cell. King gives his real name to the kid, introduces himself as Alber to the boy, he is a boy after all, small and frail and so utterly broken and too young to be there. He knows what it's like to be a failure after all. It takes all of a day for King to see the small black wings the kid has. His wings are in awful condition: Bald spots, cuts, bruises, broken feathers. King remembers what that was like, the uncomfortable feeling and itching, those wings are from Lunarians though, so this kid has his DNA or there's another Lunarian here possibly. Both are bad options, no one should be forced to live as he has. No one.

They're together for a year and some change and in that time 124ji find out about Sanji and King almost burns the little princes for what they're doing. They have wings as well, atrophied and unworked like his are. He can only stretch his so far in this cramped cell. He hears the crunch of bones in the younger's cell. He throws fire at them once and is doused in water unforgivingly. They're incredibly close, King hasn't told the boy this where his wings come from and Sanji asks if he's where his red eye comes from and King says probably, albeit he's confused about that, he's only seen the blue one.

He teaches Sanji how to preen and hide his wings more comfortably and for protection. King tells him they will be his pride and joy and he will be able to fly with them. Sanji says he hopes so. They've been together for a year and some change when they take King away from Sanji. They tranquilize him and the last thing King hears is Sanji screaming and begging for them not to take him. He wakes up to Vegapunk telling him it's time to continue their work. King stays for a year, working on getting his wings back to functioning, preening and carrying for them. Then he escapes. It's a mess getting out but he needs to get out. Needs to find Sanji, his son. He will find his son.

So he breaks out and goes hunting for Germa but hears the kids saying Sanji better be dead since he's out of the dungeon, which means he escaped. As relieved as that makes him it means he has more searching to do. He looks and looks for years and years. He doesn't find him though and ends up in Wano under Kaido, working his way up to becoming an All Star. He hides who he is and decides he'll wait, maybe Sanji will pass by.

Sanji on the other hand is going through canon mostly normally, I think having King there would partially impact how he views woman but also for as much flirting as he does he doesn't actually sleep with anyone. Zeff found out he has wings while on the rock because he's crying about how fucked they are. Zeff is staring at the black wings attached to this kid and helps him hide them when they're saved, threatens the doctor to keep quiet.

Zeff helps Sanji rehab them before Baratie opens and after it does he lets the boy fly to his heart's content. Patty and Carne will save him if he falls in the water, he can still swim but his wings are not made for water. Is he still amazing at it? 100% but like, he's not a duck or a penguin. He's part Lunarian. He wears coats like the vice admirals and admirals do. Off his shoulders to hide his wings, to keep them safe as he goes about his day. He doesn't really over heat thanks to his Lunarian traits but when he gets cold, it's so fucking cold to him.

When he joins the crew everyone thinks he's kind of prissy with the full suit+extra jacket thing he has but...he's illegal. He's an illegal race and if he gets found out he's fucked. Drum island is when Luffy and Nami find out. Sanji is begging for Kureha and Chopper to not tell anyone which they assure they won't. Kureha does tell him he's lucky he only broke his back and not his wings. Chopper says they're in desperate need of preening and Sanji admits he hasn't done it since he left the Baratie because he didn't want to get caught. He mumbles it all of course but Nami and Luffy are looking at the black monstrous wings as they unfurl and Chopper is amazed at them. They're huge. He has to have a ten/fifteen foot wingspan(if not more but anime logic) and Luffy asks how you preen wings and Chopper shows him despite Sanji insisting he can do it himself. It's too late and Chopper and Luffy are preening a wing and it feels good. Zeff didn't even preen him, not unless Sanji asked and Sanji was too proud to ask normally. Even Nami touches them and is surprised how soft they are.

They leave with Chopper and make it off Drum island and to Alabasta and meet Ace. Sanji is fine in the heat, he's in so many layers though it concerns everyone but he waves them off. He's sworn Nami and Chopper to secrecy but not Luffy because he bought his silence with meat. Sanji is so lucky he didn't inherit more traits from Alber because that cigar marine is tailing them and here and if it wasn't for these covers over his wings h would put to death immediately. Even as they take Alabasta back he doesn't uncover his wings. Not until they leave again and Nami is getting upset with him saying they need preened and that she'll do it while he's on watch. Nico Robin has joined the crew and he doesn't trust her that much and he'd rather not trouble Nami at all but she basically throws him to his knees and starts preening. If Sanji moves to help she threatens to raise his debt which he doesn't understand.

Robin probably knows but no one has else finds out until post TS. He can sill sky walk, he still learned it and to keep his secret. But no one else knows, not until WCI/Wano. Sanji notices his brothers wings are gone and Sanji is the only one left with them. The black wings he cannot cover with his red cape so at least one is always showing as well as his red eye. It has wigged some of his crew out until he showed both eyes at the same time and Robin called him interesting in the way she does some poneglyphs or rituals she reads about.

It made his stomach turn. Just as it is now as he's being called interesting again and Pudding is saying their kids have wings like he does. Big Mom says she thought Lunarians are extinct and Judge says they are. The quadruplets are only infused with the DNA, not actually Lunarian. Sanji wants to vomit.

He'd claim to be an illegal race than to be a Vinsmoke. So during the escape he claims it. He flies and it's awkward so it's a combination of sky walking and flying. Carrying Luffy and Nami to safety. His bounty skyrockets as they head to Wano. It's higher than Zoro's as Nami preens his wings and Luffy coming to help after he's had a nap and some food that Sanji made. He's wanted dead or alive with Vinsmoke as his last name unfortunately and being Lunarian added to his list of crimes.

Everyone seeing his wings in Wano is new and he asks everyone not to touch them. Zoro is confused because the fuck cook? I'm your rival? And Sanji shrugs because he doesn't know what else to do. Then fights keep happening. He uses the raid suit a couple of times, the second time is the worst. He's fighting Alber, he's sure of it. He's so fucking sure but he's drilled through buildings and he's certain Alber is going to kill him for this.

Maybe after the raid Sanji finds a moment alone before Zoro and Luffy wake up. Maybe King the Wild Fire finds him and they talk and catch up. Maybe King preens his son's wings like he always wanted to. Maybe King joins the crew.

Maybe King went to the East Blue, found the Baratie, met Zeff. They would bond over the Eggplant. Sanji's second place in the bounties. When he gets to Egghead he has no sympathy for Vegapunk, he does for Kuma and Bonney but for what he's done to his family? Never. He will never forgive him.

[musicofthenightphantomoftheopera]

So I'm back on my percy Jackson bs again and I saw this one post on Tiktok claiming that Solangelo is "Klance Coded" and I simply had to laugh because that couldn't be any further from the truth...

Klance is Red and Blue, Fire and Water type polar opposites in both personality and aesthetics

However, not every polar opposite style ship is "Red and Blue Coded" there's also Sun and Moon, ( Or in Solangelo's case, Sun and Star) Light and Darkness.

so basically, and this might be controversial, but I know those who will get it will get it, what I'm trying to say is.....

Solangelo is NOT Klance Coded.

Solangelo is SORIKU Coded

I can go into heavy detail, and I will!

Will is definitely a lot like Sora in that even when surrounded by so much bad happening or even when he's going through his own stuff, he still puts on a smile and pretends nothing is wrong. of course to his own detriment and also has self sacrificing tendancies. Overworking himself to heal others to the point of exhaustion and even down to the self esteem issues. Sora sees himself alone as worthless without his friends ("My Friends Are My Power") and Will feeling like Healing is the only thing he's good for since he didn't inherit any of the other natural talents most of his other siblings have as demigod children of Apollo. And the incident with Octavian probably didn't help either. They also have somewhat of a hero complex and struggle with dealing with the fact that they can't save everyone. Sora broke a major taboo in order to bring kairi back in kh3 because he didn't want her to die, and Will being a medic that had been through not 1 but 2 LITERAL WARS, one in which he lost several of his siblings and of course being a medic in general, no matter how hard you try or how good at your job, it's just a fact that you cannot save everyone that's put in your care. Also, Both Sora and Will are heavily associated with Light both literally and figuratively

And then we got Nico, who just like Riku was lost for so long in lieral and metaphorical darkness, both trapped in metaphorical labyrinths of their inner turmoil of thier feelings, their pasts, their trauma (wether it be losing someone they care about, or being abused and manipulated at the hands of a shifty adult figure for their own gain) , and feeling that they have no place of belonging. only to be brought back by the people that care about them the most and through their own self determination and strength. And also both characters associated with darkness literally and as a concept.

Riku and Nico also have a teensy bit of Angel character symbolism with Nico's last name being Angel in italian and Riku's original keyblade Way To Dawn having both a monster/demon wing and Angel wing at the hand guard and for the "teeth" of the keyblade

you could also argue Riku could technically be seen as a "Fallen Angel" type character since he was originally chosen to be a keyblade wielder by Terra but lost that right when he fell to darkness hence why the keyblade went to Sora instead, then Riku spent the next several games on a very angsty redemption arc.

And of course, Nico and Riku aren't strictly associated with darkness. Nico is a son of hades, a prince of the underworld, The Ghost King. However, he isn't all doom and gloom. He's still just a teenage boy that's secretly a giant nerd and is actually a a good kid.

Riku as well, has the power to wield both the powers of light and darkness and it was Riku's light inside his heart that sora reached out to that dark and stormy night on the beaches of destiny island that let him wield the keyblade in the first place

And don't even get me started on how Riku is 100% gay coded (don't beleive me? look up the "Riku Is Gay" video on youtube, grab a snack and enjoy. you're gonna be there a hot minute)

Both characters in both medias are opposites to each other but both also compliment and balance each other out. But not like Fire and Water. Like Light and Darkness. Not only hat, but the dynamic between Sora and Riku and between Nico and Will are kinda similar. not identical by any means, but enough to where I definitely noticed it.

If anyone else has anything to add to this, let me know! I had this lightbulb a few nights ago and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since!

[small-world-au]

Sora Aguilar Yuuki

———INCOMING BIG ASS POST———

Age: Same as the main trio

Personality type: ISFP

Ethnicity: Asian (Japanese) & Hispanic (Mexican) <- updated

Hair color/type: Dark purple (tho it looks like dark brown.) straight-curly

Eye color: light blue (beta) brown (officially/currently)

Skin color: super light tan/dark pink

Gender: Male

Family: Natalia Aguilar (maternal grandmother)

Gabriela Aguilar (Mother +)

Shino Yuuki (Father +)

Dante (Stepfather)

Noelia Aguilar (Maternal aunt)

Unknown (Maternal uncle)

Rowan Pagonis (Older half sibling)

Kip (therapy dog/furry baby)

Stone (childhood sweetheart/fiancé),

Friends: Bailey, Jasper, Finn, Skipp, Zaria, Vinnie, pebble, maggot, Bailey’s kittens, Finn’s rat babies, old man Howard, Maroon, Olive, Ray, Rui, Maple, Chris, Zaria, Charlie, and Allay

Neutral: Tre, Rigel & cen, karma, Doña Mari, and Ivan Franzwick

Enemies: Fritz (the butler), ditch, Nadia (personal reasons), arrogant lootbags, street gangs, and AVRILLE!!!!

LIKES

Books

Sewing

Baking

Poetry

Cute animals (Kip and Fern)

Stone

Spending time with friends/family

Exploring

Springtime

Food!!!

DISLIKES

Rude/whiny scraps & loot-bag

Leaving kip behind

Being treated as a 🏆

Discrimination

Art/writing block

Not being good enough

Disappointing his family

Leaving Stone and friends

Obsessive creeps

His dad and avrille

His beloved ones getting hurt

Being unable to help/being useless

Thunderstorms

Arguments

Street fights

Being cooped inside for too long

Sora Aguilar is one of the main character of my au. A sweet, gentle, and kindhearted young boy filled with curiosity, who would do anything for the sake of his friends and family, even if it means sacrificing his own needs and wants.

He is Rowan’s younger half-brother, Gabriela’s and Shino’s only son, Natalia’s grandson, and Noelia’s nephew.

He’s a close friend to the scraps and a mom-friend who cherishes his own group dearly. He is also Stone’s childhood best friend/sweetheart.

He and his puppy (Kip) lived happily (???) in their mansion, until they wake up one night inside a big bag that was left on the streets of ramshackle.

Edit: ABOUT DAMN TIME I DID THIS SHIT!!!!!!!

Update 2: Sora’s now half Mexican!

Why? Cuz am Mexican.

Update 3: references and other ocs from “small world” au!

More facts below!!!!

[an-au-blog]

One more ask about the East Blue Asylum AU! I saw you mentioned Germa 66 and that was something I thought about a lot as well! Whole Cake Island is my favorite arc, so please do talk about those Vinsmokes we all love and hate ^u^

Okay, well in my mind the Sora Warrior Of The Sea are fiction. They're like Batman or Superman but ig maybe more of a magical girl version of the power rangers???

I wanna say that WCI has to be one of my fav arcs as well I live it to bits! And that's one of the reasons I honestly don't know how to do it lol

I have a little post in my drafts about Zou but WCI I haven't really made up my mind. The two posts are kinda intertwined so I'll tey to post it right after this answer.

I did try to shower-think it and I came up with a few ideas but idk if I like them enough':)

At some point, Judge had started getting bad press for having a son he abandoned and is now in a mental hospital. He didn't know how the word got out, but it did and he decided that he'd get him out and treat him in some private place but it was very obvious that he didn't want to go and since he was a legal adult, he could decide for himself. (Even if he wanted to leave, the doctors were the only ones who could dismiss him after he signed himself in.)

About his brothers - They look a lot like the heroes from the Germa comics and act just as uptight and heartless as them. Subconsciously, Luffy must have mistaken them for "The Warriors Of The Sea". But in reality they're just brats who used to bully their brother - mean little kids who grew up to be even worse adults. Sanji's sister, however, I imagine has visited before, only this time she wasn't dressed like she was in hiding. The Vinsmoke family (in my head) is a bit like the Rockefellers - everyone knows who they are and it's hard to drop their name in a casual conversation and not get some kind of reaction.

In regards to his past - Sanji still got abused and beaten up by both his father and brothers. But instead of being a failed experiment, he was just a nice little boy who didn't like sports and competing in things, he just liked stereotypically girly things like butterflies flowers, cooking, and pretty things. His father didn't like that, as he believed that all his dons should be manly men who won chess tournaments, so soccer games, basketball matches or martial arts competitions. If they weren't the strongest, smartest, most handsome men in their circle, then they were no sons of his. And Sanji didn't meet that criteria. He didn't care for sports or competing, he just wanted to have fun and to have friends. Don't get me wrong, he was still smart. But wanting to be a cook is not exactly a good look if all of your family is just CEOs and multimillionaire company holders. Or at least in Judge's eyes. So when Sanji ran away at 12 (I'm making him older to make it more realistic), Judge just closed his eyes and reported him missing in the wrong region so he couldn't be found and so the investigation could declare him dead after the appropriate amount of years.

The golden bracelets were real, but they weren't exploding, Judge just used them to yank Sanji when he got mad at him and threaten him. "I'll cut them off till wherever they reach!" he'd say, so Sanji would wish to be skinnier so if they slip off, then maybe he wouldn't cut his hands off? That was his child logic at least. That's how his questionable relationship with food started, but later on he'd just starve himself to feel like he still has control over something in his life. Anything. That or as a punishment to himself, more than often he wouldn't believe he deserved food or he'd think that there are people with bigger needs than him. So he'd lose appetite and maybe feel sick enough to throw up. (Him having bulimia is one of the many reasons why hates himself and thinks he doesn't deserve food, because why eat if he'd just throw it up?(Zoro hates that he thinks that way btw and he tries feeding him every once in a while because he'd notice that Sanji could scarcely say no to him. Plus he likes taking care of him))

[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

[theink-stainedfolk]

Sunshine For Two

Nikaidou Fumiya, a boy shrouded in an aura of desolation. With a downward gaze,he remained a silent observer, a loner drifting through the currents of social interaction.  Thus the rumor started. 

"if you look in the eyes of Nikaidou Fumiya, you'll be cursed. I looked and after that I tripped and fractured my legs!" said the junior. 

"Me too!! I shared an eye contact with him, even if it was just for a second, I got hit on the head by a toy from which my sister was playing and I've never been hit before" said his classmate. 

As long as these senseless rumors were keeping him away from the students, he wasn't bothered. He didn't care what others thought about him, said or even laughed at him, he preferred to be known as the freaky loner than being the center of attention. 

This was the first day of his 12th class. Few more months and he is free to go. As usual, he sat on the last seat, students began gossiping at his sight, but he just sat and did his work. He knew that this year, would also pass by just like the past few years. Little did he know, it wasn't going to be as easy as he thought. 

Suzuki Akira was a well known name in the high school. He was an athletic prodigy, it only takes him 3 weeks to master any sports he sets his heart on. Especially baseball and dodge ball. He is adored by girls, but he pays no attention and that makes him even more attractive to him. Every day was a good day, except for this one. Maybe the God, son and holy ghost didn't listened to his prayers this morning. The prayer in which he asked not to be in the same class as the kid named Nikaidou Fumiya. 

Because the kid named Nikaidou Fumiya was sitting right behind him. 

"Okay class. Good morning to everyone except the kid who is sleeping and planning to not come to school for half of the semester. I'm Sora Ogura, your class teacher. Seems like all of you are present on your first day since the seats are full. So I'll just straight up write down your duties that you have to do for this 3 months before switching. "

Akira prayed silently as he watched Ogura writing the names in pairs. Even if he is in the same class as him, it's not that bad. But if he is in the same duty as him, he's dead. But alas. God isn't with him, but so is not the holy ghost. He was teamed up with the kid named Nikaidou Fumiya. And he had to clean up the 2nd floor toilet. The girl next to him, her name Haruki Miura whispered "Akira-San! All the best!"  he gave her a very awkward and sad smile. He slowly turned his head around to have a look at his 'partner'. His partner was too focused on his phone to notice his stare. But the focused Fumiya looked really spooky to Akira that his heart almost fell out of his chest. 

Both were cleaning peacefully, not talking to one another only focused on doing their chores. Akira was however, trying his best not to scream and run away. He was cleaning really hard and quick so he could just run away. But as someone said. Work that is done quickly, is a work done by Satan. Akira, slipped on the soapy water while moping the floor, and it wasn't his leg that slipped, it was the mop, as he was applying too much pressure on it. All light got knocked out of him as he fell on his face. He let out a very loud and inhumane screech, followed by a string of curses flowing like water, that was currently flowing from the bucket which was overflowed with water that was falling from the tap which was accidentally left open by Fumiya, who got startled by Akira. After a few minutes of groaning and cursing, Akira got up,checked if he was bleeding or not and then gently rubbed his nose. He then heard a soft chuckle, he looked up and saw Nikaidou Fumiya clutching his stomach and laughing hard. He almost forgot that he was in the same room as him. But what made him astonished was the sound of his laughter. It was so sweet and soothing that if someone outside of the school were to hear him, it would be hard for him to believe that this guy is the sadistic loner of the school that everyone fears.

Fumiya caught his breath and said "What the hell was that?... You are so funny..." this made him think if he really is the sadistic loner that everyone fears or if just everyone assumed him to be? Only he can find the answer to this. 

"You..." he said, making Fumiya look at him "You laughed.... You just laughed like a normal person in front of me." Hearing this Fumiya's eyes doubled in size, almost as if he regretted doing whatever he did. Akira got up and brushed his pants and walked up to him, making Fumiya walk backwards and avoid his gaze.

" You just laughed. You aren't a freak. You seem to be aware of that fact too. Then why don't you speak up against the students? Are you afraid of them?" he bombarded him with questions as he trapped him against the wall.

"No.. No.. No, i-I am a freak. I.. I can curse you! Don't look at me! You'll be cursed!! G-Get away from me! Let me go" he said lowering his head and pushing Akira, trying to get out of here. Akira grabbed Fumiya's shoulders and made him look at him.

"Look at me!!" after sharing a second long eye contact, Fumiya got horrified and pushed him and ran away. After hearing Akira hiss in pain, he apologized but never came back. He rested his hands on his hips, staring at the mess made, he now has to clean all of it before the professor gets mad at both of them.

The next day, he found Fumiya sitting at his assigned seat. He let out a sigh of relief. As if he heard him, Fumiya turned towards his direction and Akira practiced what he has been at his home. He 'accidentally' banged his head on the wall before entering and looked over to Fumiya's direction only to find him placing his hand over his mouth to prevent his laughter to spill in front of everyone. Akira smirked as his planned work. Now all he has to do is get to know him better or maybe.... Make friends with him..

[tsuki-sennin]

Here comes the boy! Cure Wing~! Funny how Murase-san went from the sharks to the birds, huh? First (main) Male Cure~! And he's a vibrant orange, too~!

I have no idea what to expect, but... Well, he's really bustin' down them gender roles, I can tell ya that much.

Spoilers, I guess...

-Borb

-Borb and baby

-Caught her!

-He vanish!

-"You there, bird! Did you catch this infant?"

-Man, I've held off on talking about Cure Wing's design... and I'm gonna do that longer, haha~!

-Birdie can't fly. He's very penguin-like.

-I see Elle-chan's just vibing at the dinner table.

-Sora speaks bird!

-All Skylandians do!

-"WHAT THE FUCK, BIRDS!?"

-Model Peacock~!

-Butler Pigeon~!

-Instant dinner is a ways off, Mashi-ron.

-...Mmm, Instant Dinner...

-Not even a Spicy Fish.

-School's done! Now to put my girlfriend in cryosleep~!

-He was spotted!

-MY MANS JUMPED OUT THE WINDOW

-RUN BOY

-Bird-boy!

-Borb.

-Tsubasa~!

-Puni Baado~!

-Man, somebody should really install guard rails in Skyland.

-I seee... Storm Portals.

-Sorashido's a dumping ground, huh?

-A reflex~!

-"...you scare me :("

-WAN

-She's so mean to this bird, holy fuck

-Is Sora racist?

-Hey, I guess that's another thing like old American comics~!

-I'm kidding, I'm kidding, please, I don't actually think this is the case.

(Addendum, 3/27/2023 2:51PM: Hi, this is Tsuki from the future. I don't usually do this, but I want to inform you that I made a massive error here. I was, just a little bit before the time of this edit, made aware of the actual context of this scene being that Sora's distrust of Tsubasa stems from him randomly appearing in Elle's room while Kabaton was going around trying to kidnap her, and thus it's entirely reasonable that she assumed he was an accomplice.

I obviously intended it as a stupid joke, but it was one that completely missed the point of the scene and, looking back now, just reads as very baseless and mean. I have no idea how I misinterpreted the scene this badly, considering she interacted with the other sentient birds of Skyland just fine in the first episode, but I did. I wasn't paying full attention to the episode, this is all my fault. And I do apologize for it.

We now return to your (irregularly) scheduled programming.)

-Plaaaane

-Chemtrails.

-SHE GONE

-"Observe."

-She stand!

-They catch!

-Tsubasa's quite a chill lad, isn't he?

-"Aerodynamics."

-Quite an immense science for a youngling.

-Don't laugh at the borb boy.

-The lad wants to soar.

-Ahhh, I see... the Puni Bird Tribe can't fly.

-Poor lad's just flailing.

-"Tsubasaaaaa!"

-Holy fuck, your dad is a Chad.

-It's a good thing fall damage doesn't apply to Pretty Cure characters, huh?

-Borb Boy and Hero Girl have become besties!

-Drones. My God.

-Kabaton Orders Drone Strike in Sorashido City, Millions Dead

-"This is a disrespect of science"

-Defend the Baby

-It's Hero Time~!

-Okay, there she goes!

-There calls Ageha, at the exact time.

-"Dude, holy shit, there's so much violence happening here!"

-You know what you must do, lad.

-Fly, my son!

-Oh

-Okay, no transformation today. ...well, not into a Cure, at least.

-Nodaka, hello~! I've been doing my best to keep myself healthy.

-Uhhhhh

-Cure Wing's hat and vest are super cute and the way his hair feathers is really neat, there I commented on his drip.

-They're holding this lad in the back.

[pxison]

send me 💄 for your muse to cover my muse in lipstick kisses

Anon asked:  💄 with Sora and kid Niji maybe?

Visits by any of the brothers aside from Sanji were few and far between. Typically, their days were filled with the teachings and training their father and family patriarch wished to bestow on his beloved children. However, in this one instance when there was a sizable time gap between training and studying, a certain middle child had taken it upon himself to visit his sickly mother.

And what a surprise it was! The Germa Queen smiled brightly upon her son as Niji approached her bedside with training sword still in hand and the other rubbing almost sheepishly at his little nose. His usual goggles were noticeably missing from his face, perhaps pocketed away as he did not wish to hide his face from his mother when it was just him visiting.

“Oh! Niji! It’s been a while my dear. How have you been?” Words so sweet and in contrast to his father’s demeanor, the child found himself a little taken back. Here his mother sat up straight in the hospital bed she was confined to for the rest of her days and yet still her blue eyes glowed vibrantly of the pure love she held for each of her children. Something Niji hadn’t been quite used to unless it was after executing a maneuver or swordplay perfectly.

Tapping the fake sword at the ground, Niji didn’t know what to say other than a “Good I guess.”. He didn’t know what to feel because there was a void where most positive emotions should be. He knew he loved his mother, but it felt strange and distant as each attempt to heal Sora grew to become.

Smiling softly, the matriarch opens her arms in gesture for her son to come closer, an unspoken request of which Niji easily obliges as small hands grip the edge of the infirmary cot to pull himself up and over the edge to rest numbly in his mother’s arms. The sword was briefly set aside as Sora embraced him and small arms came to respond in kind even if he could not connect to that love Sora expressed so deeply and assuredly. A hand comes up to sweep a soothing palm through blue locks that reminded Sora so much of a tempestuous sea with its waves whipped up in the breeze.

She had grown to love the color even if it was meant to be a golden blonde. “I’m glad. I’m so very glad for that.” Pulling back, there is a thought before with a chiming laugh that had Niji quirking a brow at, Sora lunged forth to begin assaulting her sons face with kisses that would paint pale pink stains across his round cheeks.

At first, the boy struggled against the sudden kiss attack. Sputtering and flailing before finally giving up easily as using any of his modified strength to break away was not even a thought in his mind to do to his sickly mother. He even found himself giggling lightly as hands squashed his cheeks and one last kiss was laid across his forehead.

“I love all of you dearly as you are my precious little seedlings, you understand right Niji?” Noddingly dumbly, Niji simply followed along with what he supposed his mother wanted as a response. “I want you to grow up big and strong for your siblings, my precious little bolt.” Suddenly out of breath, Sora found herself collapsing against the backrest of her bed which made Niji jolt up in slight shock.

“Mom?”  “I’m fine, Niji. I hope you can visit again soon enough. I love you.”

Casting one last befuddled look at his mother before descending from the bedside with sword in hand and goggles returned to cover his eyes, Niji would leave the room not knowing that this would be the last he saw her alive.

[sxrrandomfanfics]

Top Ten "SonBoy" characters I like in order of how much I want to adopt them from least to most

Luke (The Professor Layton Series) - I know you're Professor Layton's #1 apprentice, but where are your parents? Doesn't matter, I'm you're new mom now.

Adrien Agreste (Miraculous Ladybug) - This boy has HORRIBLE homelife. Let me give him a good homelife with me working during the times he's at school and his afterschool activities he wants to stay in. Or just working when he's at school so I can see his competitions. If he still wants to make money through modeling, perfectly fine so long as it's his choice.

Razputin Aquato (Psychonauts series) - I know he has parents but he's big SonBoy energy and Dona and Augustus are... questionable. If I can't have him as my son I want him in some form as a younger sibling or cousin.

Apollo Justice (Phoenix Wright series) - I know he's a grown adult but literally all the adults he looked up to aside from Phoenix Wright are dead and gone. Let me be his mother.

K.O. (OK K.O. Let's Be Heroes) - Again another child with not the best family life but all things considered it's pretty good. Good step-father and okay mother.

Hunter (The Owl House) - He has a set of parents already waiting in the wings. I'd like to join that waiting list. He seems like a very nice boy.

Sora (Kingdom Hearts) - Plucky Protagonist who does not care about finding parents, just his friends. I worry about his trauma. This whimsical character has dealt with so much and is still optimistic. Never change, Sora. Never change.

Ash Ketchum (Pokemon Anime) - This boy would not appreciate having a new parent. Does not change the fact he has SonBoy energy.

Clay (Wings of Fire) - Is he a dragon that is most likely going to kill me on accident? Yeah. But damn all of his guardians have left and I know he has unresolved trauma that he resolves through extreme stress eating. Let the boy be OKAY! DON'T BRUSH EVERYTHING UNDER THE RUG, SUTHERLAND.

Steven Universe (Steven Universe) - SonBoy energy but he is now a grown adult with plenty of trauma and while I love him I don't think I could take care of him.

[blacklegsanjiii]

North Blue Language CH. 1

Pairing: Dracule Mihawk x Vinsmoke Sora

Can also be read on AO3 here!

CH 2! CH 3! CH 4! CH 5! CH 6!

Sora holds herself with the grace of royalty and being from the North Blue, where much was in ruins at that moment, he could see it.

Sanji knows his mom has been through hell, he does. She poisoned herself to reverse what his father had done to him and his brothers when they were in the womb and it only worked on him. That's why he's stealing from the little boat, because he owes it to her to make sure they can eat since she's so sick. He chokes as a hand fists into his shirt and pulls him back and Sanji is eye to eye with Dracule Mihawk and oh he fucked up. 

“I'm sorry!” Sanji exclaims dropping what little he had grabbed, which was a loaf of bread and three cans of food. Mihawk looks over the dropped items and then the boy. He pulls the kid off the boat and keeping his hand fisted in his shirt pulls him onto the main road way near the docks. Sanji doesn't say anything and instead tries to follow as best he can lest the swordsman kills him or his mother.

“Where the hell is the orphanage on this damned island?” The man growls before heading off and dragging Sanji with. 

“I'm not an orphan.” Sanji replies weakly trying to look for the abandoned shack that held his mother. 

“Then perhaps your mother should have raised you better.” Mihawk mutters as the boy began twisting his hold. “Quit that.”

“Don't talk about my mother like that!” Sanji seethes. They continue walking, Sanji gripping Mihawk's hand to keep him from ripping the shirt more than it already was when Sanji sticks a finger out pointing. “I live there.” 

“And?” Mihawk growls, dragging the boy further still.

“My mother is there, she's sick, I have to get back to her.” Sanji says, struggling with a new vigor. Mihawk drags him to the derelict building and almost breaks the door as he slams it open and finds a woman, who looks a lot like the boy he has in his hand. They're both very light blond and have sea blue eyes and are very thin. She looks like she's on her way to death’s door if Mihawk is honest. 

“Sanji? What did you do?” She asks as Mihawk let him go and Sanji ran to her, arms wrapped around each other he mumbles his answer to her shoulder. “I'm sorry,” she looks to Mihawk, “I'll make sure he never does it again.” 

“Given the circumstances it’s understandable.” Mihawk states which is as close to forgiveness as he'll give, usually. “You're not from here.” He catches them off guard with that.

“No, we're from the North Blue.” She nods. 

“And what brought you to the East Blue?” Mihawk asks.

“I had to save my son.” She gave Mihawk a look and it stoked something inside the man. She held herself with the grace of royalty and being from the North Blue, where much was in ruins at that moment, he could see it.

“Come with me.” He says, shocking everyone in the shack.

“What?” The woman asked. “You don't even know us.” She argues.

“I can tell you'll both die here without help.” Mihawk says. “You called him Sanji earlier.” The woman and the boy looked at each other, the silent conversation ended with the woman nodding at him. “Then let's get going.” Mihawk orders. The boy stood and helps his mother who is fairly weak. They walk slowly back to the coffin ship, Mihawk glared down any onlookers who dared to simply whisper or gawk.

Once they were settled and Mihawk split the loaf of bread between them and got the ship moving did the woman speak again.

“Why?” Was all she asked and Mihawk took his eyes off the ocean to look.

“You know how to keep a secret.” Mihawk answers and she nods. They sail for two days before reaching an island that knew Mihawk well enough to not ask questions. He also learns Sanji and his mother, Sora, had been struggling for a good few months. They didn't explain much, other than that Sanji had been trying to work to keep them afloat but a child would never be paid much, even if they were better than an adult. 

“You said you had to save your son, why?” Mihawk asks, looking at her. 

“Why did I have to save him or why did I?” Sora asks back. Sanji is asleep, albeit fitfully with his head in his mother's lap. She pets his hair but it doesn't seem to help much. She receives no answer but shares look between the two. “I poisoned myself to save my children, but it only worked on one. He thought I was dead for two years before I managed to get us both out. He blamed himself because his siblings don't have the same faculties as he does.” Sora explains. 

“I see.” Mihawk replies. He doesn't understand it, not really but he guides the coffin ship to the dock. Sanji woke and tied the boat to the dock quickly. The knot was good and tight and Sanji stood on the dock double checking. Mihawk and Sora took some time getting onto land, she was weak but her determination was admirable. They walk for a while, gathering some supplies before heading to an inn where Mihawk got their rooms. “You both need a bath.” Mihawk says without thinking.

“As do you, Sir Mihawk.” Sora smiles at him. “Go take one in your room, we've got it.” 

The swordsman nods and they part ways. Mihawk takes his bath and cleanses himself and tries to pick apart what he had done. Sora certainly held herself like royalty, her posture immaculate and her pain well hidden. She also had more kids than Sanji. He didn't know what other ‘faculties’ his siblings were missing but chances are Sanji was singled out for not measuring up. He finishes his bath and put on fresh clothes when he realizes he had the bag of clothes he bought them in his room. He grabs it and walks to the room they were in, Sanji was nowhere to be found but he can hear humming. It's an old North Blue lullaby, one Mihawk remembers from his time traveling there when he was working to become what he is now.

“Sanji?” Sora calls from the bathroom.

“No.” Mihawk answers. “Are you alright?” He couldn't help but ask. The quiet lasted longer than a few moments and having not received an answer he opened to the door slowly and saw Sora in the bath. They were staring at each other, confusion and shock in both sea blue and ringed yellow eyes. 

“What are you-” Sora starts.

“Are you stuck?” Mihawk asks at the same time. They stare at each other again neither answering other than Sora shyly nodding after a moment. Mihawk helps her out and hands her a towel and rushes out of the bathroom quickly. He was not shy about nudity or sex or any of that, but Sora was not a pirate and had her son with her. She was certainly more shy about certain things than he was. He laid out the clothes he thought best on the bed as Sanji came back into the room.

“Oh, hi.” He whispers meekly as Mihawk nods to him. 

“I got you both some clothes. They'll hold up longer than the rags you both claim are clothes.” Mihawk says and Sanji nods.

“Thank you, sir.” Sanji mumbles. They don't talk and Sora comes out and she gives them both a look.

“Pray tell, what happened out here?” She asks as Sanji hurries past her, successfully dodging past her without bumping her and shutting the bathroom door.

“I brought clothes for you both.” Mihawk answers.

“You're being extremely kind for a pirate,” Sora hums out, "but who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth?” 

“The dress should be easiest to put on.” Mihawk replies instead and Sora nods. “I'll leave you to get dressed, I'll bring dinner soon.” 

Sora nods and Mihawk leaves. Later dinner is a quiet affair, Sora and Mihawk talk rarely and lightly and Sanji doesn't speak at all, despite Sora trying to get him to. Mihawk doesn't push one way or the other. Sora is pleasant company and Sanji is well behaved. Maybe a little too well behaved but Mihawk will tackle that beast later. After they're done Sanji quickly nabs the dishes and cutlery and bolts out of the room, Mihawk spares a glance that followed the boy.

“What time will we be leaving?” Sora asks as she gathers the spare clothes Mihawk had purchased.

“Before lunch.” Mihawk answers, moving to leave.

“I must thank you again, Sir Mihawk.” Sora says.

“You keep referring to me as ‘sir’ yet I am no knight nor am I remarkably honorable.” Mihawk responds looking at her. “Am I right to infer that you're royalty?” 

“Not anymore, though it's a force of habit I will try to break.” Sora answers. “Sleep well.” 

“And you.” Mihawk drawled leaving. Ex royalty then. Mihawk tries to think of any recently fallen kingdoms or kingdoms that lost members of their family and couldn't place any that looked like those two. Sanji's twirly brow would stand out everywhere. Mihawk tries not to dwell on it. Even to the next day as Sanji helps him load the coffin ship and Mihawk helps Sora in. They don't talk much, Mihawk warns them of the dangers on Kuraigana, possible bounty hunters or Marines but neither seemed to be concerned about either of those. There might be much worse after them then, Mihawk thinks, but nothing he couldn't handle most likely.

They're arrival is marked by Sanji taking the first items to the kitchen while Mihawk shows Sora to a room before going to help Sanji who has managed to find the kitchen and has brought in a good amount of the supplies already. The boy was quick so Mihawk follows to make sure they miss nothing and the humandrills won't bother the kid. They don't but Sanji's eyes flick through the trees enough to pique Mihawk's interest into what the boy could do.

[sanchoyo]

arc v 31-40 thoughts. um. um well, yes………these kids need therapy, to preface this…holy shit ? wow. a lot happened in this stretch of episodes, answered some questions and raised 4000 more. anyway.

-SHINGO TRYING SOOOOO HARD TO BE COOL BUT BEING A MASSIVE DORK IS JUST ENDEARING ME TO HIM SO MUCH MORE. HES LIKE SHOOTING UP MY RANKING. which right as im typing this on 31, is yuzu, shingo, sora, masumi, reiji, and michio as my favs (probably in that order, too. im just as shocked sora got up so high, considering i was ANNOYED when he showed up first LMAO his friendship with yuzu is so endearing tho…)

-new opening! interesting imagery in it, but def liked OP 1 way more song-wise. -_-

-every word out of shingo's mouth im like . yeah ok im loving him hes SO funny JSDHFJK . his deck is furry samurai too, which is. well. its very good.

-reiji seems more concerned with his own goals to see yuya as a proper rival! I think he just sees him as the son of someone he admired, and someone of interest bc of pendulum! I dont think he thinks of this 14 yr old as a threat to his status or anything! which is the usual ygo rival MO…feels like shingo really is that rival character, which makes more sense to me given my expectations for a rival lol! 31-32 were the eps that made me start rly like yuya more (not that I disliked him before! just…he felt more like a protag when he started getting super into it!!! yes show some passion tomato boy!!!)

-wasnt too crazy about the new outro, either (the visuals were nice at least!)

-ok shingo is def the rival, right? right. a lil gay with it. theyre so CUTE firing each other up so much, its actually pretty fun and theyre both having a good time getting the crowd worked up together…wholesome! like, very very wholesome! 32 might be one of my fav eps, along with the yuzu/masumi 2nd duel…

-cannot fucking explain the drop in my stomach when getting to an episode just titled 'neo heartland city' and nothing else. NO NONOONO. NOT MY FUCKING CITY WITH MY FUCKING BLORBOS. EVEN IF ITS SOME KIND OF AU SITUATION IM SO SCARED.

-called it with the masumi being some kind of brainwashed to think shun was always lds! me and yuzu are on the same page

-ok seeing heartland city field spell was DISTURBING LIKE WATCHING A ZOMBIE OF A LOVED ONE BEING REANIMATED. all of the charas are calling it futuristic.. so is... is arc v chronologically in the PAST???? are all the dimensions also on different YEARS or??

-christ alive! reiji is doing the heartland city field spell on PURPOSE TO UPSET SHUN??? 'he should be happy' BITCH HE ISNT HAPPY. SHUN IS A HEARTLANDER. WHICH I ASSUMED BC XYZ, BUT YEAH. YEAH. WHAT HAPPENED BUDDY TELL ME!!!

-oh god

-oh god

-oh god. what the fuck, sora.

-ok. well. i knew this would happen. could not have predicted HOW or the fucking tone shift. I have whiplash. this was hard to watch, I literally had to keep pausing to get up, pace, breath, then come and sit again. several times. the actively being super fake from sora, trying to be cheerful and nonchalant and a bit bratty but still trying to hype the crowd, then the gradual, then frantic build up to someone clearly UnWell and Maniacal and SADISTIC and DESPERATE to Say the Least...insanely well done, hard to watch bc it HURTS. LIKE.

-what the hell, sora. -what the HELL. its not like I ever ENTIRELY trusted him, but my GOD. the execution was flawless

-'hunting you all is FUN and not hard at ALL and I LOVE IT' OK???? 13 YR OLD LOVES GENOCIDE. AND THE OTHER 14? 15? YEAR OLD CLEARLY TRAUMATIZED. BUT IN A RESISTANCE OF SOME KIND. COOL COOL COOL. ALL MY FAVS ARE PROB DEAD OR IN CARDS AUGH.

-both of them need therapy. this whole ordeal, soras scary creepy faces, making children cry, using the scariest creepycute monsters ive ever seen? endears him more to me somehow. hes a littol fucked up actually…more than expected…I can VIBE with that. I LIKE characters that are a Little Fucked and yugioh has NO shortage of them. might have to swap around that fav charas order list immediately.

-I felt bad for shun the entire duel, my god it was cruel of reiji to pull this field up! its! fucking heartland city! AAUGH IM SAD TOO, SHUN.

-fucking . horrifying how desperate sora is to win. shun is fighting for resistance and for survival, sora is trying to prove he can easily 'hunt' xyz users…which, he obv Cant Easily Do, he gets Squished, loses, passes out and has to go to the hospital. thru out this ordeal yuya and co are becoming progressively more horrified, but still care for their friend! awful awful painful to watch. but also, they might be the only ppl sora has in this dimension and I think. i think we can Fix Him. hes YOUNG we can FIX that mindset, right…or am I being too optimistic. idk the way it was framed and how much yuzu and yuya care abt him…I feel like he'll be helped (I hope??? child soldiers bad)

-the next ep opens with yuya, gongenzaka and yuzu actually TALKING ABOUT ALL THIS, swapping info, and thank GOD for that!!!! I felt like yuzu was the only one of them involved heavily in the main plot for a while there!!! yuya was actually pretty serious about it, which is Nice to see (again, hes starting to feel more like a 'protag' to me now…)

-sora and yuto confrontation leads to an escape from the hospital and a duel, of course…that shun doesnt WANT to continue bc sora is obviously! hurt! and yuto isnt HEARTLESS. sora is desperate to Prove Himself (making me wonder if academia punishes ppl who dont…do well or agree to help them…) and fucking yuya finally steps in to help. altho given the context clues. well buddy it doesnt sound like soras on the Correct Side! it sounds like! hes the bad guy here! (or, raised in that mindset at least, not the main bad guy but def needs to be treated carefully) n u shouldnt be dueling yuto at all bc u dont understand the situation!! AUGH. I GET it tho, the little blue freeloader has been eatin pancakes with u everyday for how long,, hes grown on ME TOO SO I CANT SAY ANYTHING. AUGH.

-sora got Sucked Back to fusion dimension bc his identity was compromised. THATS why he couldnt tell anyone! actually very understandable.

-yuto and yuya stopped their duel, realizing they have absolutely NO reason to fight, and yuto was very reasonable and explained everything! im shocked at the straightforward answers to a lot of my questions (I still have a lot more…interesting yuya's dimension is 'standard'…hm)

-they analyzed soras memories without consent while he was unconscious………………dude. dont DO THAT!!!

-banana hair is here! on a bike! I'm a lil confused at synchro's role in the war? they were recruited by fusion?? to help crush xyz?? or just yugo was?? or its a misunderstanding somehow bc they both seem to think the other stole something (someone, right?)... is my ASSUMPTION (at the start of 37 as I type this) which is…ok, reiji's dad is behind it for Some Reason. Why? why just target xyz?

-also where is dm in all of this? (…ok I have a THEORY with NO basis, that arc v/standard dimension is the direct branch of dm but years later. NO basis for this but it would explain where dm fits in, maybe? like arc v being an alternate branch instead of gx, and gx being the actual odd one out on the timeline?? I dont KNOW yet. I think zexal implied 5ds never happened at one point, right?? VERY confused LMAO)

-yugo? (sub says HYUGO which is very funny to me, I know theyre all yu-boys tho. cant fool me) is SILLY.

-ok, theres def four yuya-lookalikes (and yuzu, based on the ruri stuff). I've seen their designs before so I knew that obv, and one for every dimension. why…? whenever they summon their lil dragons and those start resonating they start to go. um. murder-y! yuya snapped yuto out of it, but STILL. I'm assuming this has something to do with…why theres four lookalikes, and yuzu and yuya's Magic Accessories. somehow. I assume maybe…not everyone has alternate dimension counterparts, maybe the accessories have a lot to do with it (~dimension magic~ ??) and them being too close starts to make them go a lil. crazy. (like. saying destroy everything jkdafjk) bc theyre all diff versions of the same person? like just born into diff dimensions. (insert trust no one not even urself memes here lol) and they have diff personalities based on their diff lives/families ofc…this is my theory For Now. lets see yuzu and ruri get close together to see if they also go crazy or What. I Am Waiting

-….yuto didnt DIE die just now right? he vanished. maybe he went back to his home dimension. it LOOKED like a death scene, but my god its ep 37! out of 150ish! he was set up as a main player right?? hes not DEAD dead??? yuya passed out for TWOOOO DAYS AFTER WITNESSING THIS???? he has the constitution of a sickly victorian maiden. (but also, is he just in his room and NOT A HOSPITAL??? HES IN A COMA!!! take him to the hospital tf!!! why are they entertaining meirus crystal spiritual healing!!! )

-oh my god YUZU is the one the bad guy wants? shes an important PIECE. NOT YUYA. AGAIN MAIN CHARACTER STATUSSSS I KEEP SAYING IT BUT. SHES SO IMPORTANT. (can I assume this shadowy bad guy figure is reijis dad? like thats gotta be, right)

-omg last yuya lookalike from fusion dimension is SQUIRRELY EVIL YUYA. I love this flavor of character I can tell just from his vibes hes fun. and hes pink and purbly. good! (LMAO at them translating his name as joeri. its yuri right? theyre all yu-names, furthering my idea theyre all the protags of their dimensions lol)

-…i forgot the maiami championship was even happening LMAO would yuya and yuzu just not have participated further if he stayed in a coma??

-….sora being like 'PLEASE PLEASE LET ME GO BACK TO STANDARD I WANT TO MURDER REFUGEES FROM XYZ SOOO BAD' while on some kind of medical table is. so. like do I laugh or cry about this KJHJSDJ

-SORRY BUT YAIBAS 4 SECOND LONG DUEL?? WAS SO FUNNY. GUY WHO JUST BEATS THE SHIT OUT OF YOU WHILE PLAYING A CARD GAME. SURE!!! OK. guess THATS not against the rules! THEY HAD TO CARRY HIM AWAY ON A STRETCHER. and yuya duels this dude next…I hope yuya returns that energy LMAO

-HEY what the HELL yuya is not responsible for your issues kachidoki LMAO how is it his fault he was having fun with his dad as a kid and you werent?? big jealousy match (also, what the hell @ his sensei telling him he wont have 'childish or fun' duels…when he looked like, 5? HES A BABY AND ITS A GAME SIR)

-'so far you've been walking a sunny path without a single shadow' my god dude, just bc yuya SEEMS happy doesnt mean he has no problems? he HELD A BOY WHO DIED(?) IN HIS ARMS 2 DAYS PRIOR TO THIS DUEL. HES GOT AN INTER-DIMENSIONAL MYSTERY ABOUT HIS LOOKALIKES. POTENTIAL DIMENSIONAL WAR TO DEAL WITH. HIS DAD WENT MISSING WHEN HE WAS A KID!! HES GOT!! PLENTY OF ISSUES!!!

-just as I type that. yuya is having a fucking TRIP about yuto and. looks fucking POSSESSED. RED EYES GLOWING HAIR UP. DID YUTO POSSESS HIM?? WHAT THE HELL. yugioh standard I Guess but is yuto for real just a spirit now?? LIKE, did he ACTUALLY KIND OF DIE DIE. UNSETTLED. (yaaaay xyz protag moment tho ^_^) I guess protags going dark/having a dark side IS ygo standard, theyve all been there! (I mean, ik about vrains, go rush or sevens yet…but up until arc v its been a consistent!) yuto was def not THAT level of scary tho (except when the dragons were resonating and he was all 'destroy everything . um.)

-lmaoooo kachidoki rly got what he asked for. he said ur gonna taste the darkness. and YUYA WENT FULL RUTHLESS SCARY MODE. GOT EM SO FAST. yes yuya everyone is scared of you a little bit HOWEVER consider that I LIKE scary characters who are a Bit Fucked up. keep it up bestie

-my god reiji is basically holding shun hostage, not letting him do anything, or not telling him abt yuto's duel disk being found….mean!

-we're 40 eps in and I still have SO many questions. however we must pause the plot for MAGICAL IDOL GIRL DUEL. SHES SO CUTE!!!!! girl duelists > everyone else. of course we dont get to see yuzus duel, we cut to reiji dueling some rando guard of not yuzu's while not yuzu stands to the side. very cool how they keep not letting the girls do Anything

-reiji is like 'yo why da hells there (2) of yuzu too' me too bud go solve mysteries for me scooby doo!

-very nice how reiji is like 'seal this area and dont let anyone enter until I say so' while theres danger, like, feels like he actually gives a shit despite his cool and levelheaded personality, which is nice. hes not gonna be my number one probably, but I do rly like him as a character so far… (except when he chose heartland field for shun, that was FUCKED up and I still cant tell if he was being sincere in thinking shun would like it or purposely being an asshole…)

-oh my god its not ruri this girl is named serena. JSDFKDJF WELL. IN MY DEFENSE. I MAY BE STUPID. I was prepared to type a full paragraph abt how its so scary academia seems to have taken ruri and brainwashed her so she'd think she was on their side,, and serena. is not ruri. theyre two diff characters. like I thought they were the same person. omg. I was just abt to type 'how does anyone genuinely mistake yuya for yuto theyre SO different looking' then I DO THIS. incredible! thats a great stopping place LMAO

[bokura-no-digital-world]

Jou Week 2022 - Day 6: Pathway

Days: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Title: Breaking Away Characters: Jou Kido, Gomamon, Himawari Kido (OC), Shuichi Kido (OC), Takeru Takaishi, Sora Takenouchi and Aiko Takenouchi-Ishida (OC). Summary: Jou decides to turn his life around when he realizes he's being exactly a good father to Shuichi. Note: This story is connected to "The Ties That Bound Us Together". Read the notes on FFN or AO3, I explained the order of the scenes.

Little Shuichi walked into the kitchen in a very happy mood with his partner Pukamon beside him. “Good morning, daddy.” “Good morning, son.” Jou replied without looking away from the newspaper he was reading while drinking daily his black coffee. “Can we go play in the park today?” “I’m sorry, Shuichi. I have to work.” “Ah.” The boy didn’t bother hiding his disappointment and sighed deeply, but Jou was so concentrated in his reading that didn’t even notice it. “Your mother is off today, maybe she can go with you. Or maybe I can call uncle Taichi and ask him to take you with him and Takato.” “No, it’s okay.” He replied sadly and began to head back to his room. “Let’s go, Pukamon.” “Shuichi, are you okay?” Pukamon flew next to his head. “Are you feeling upset about what just happened?” “No.” He shook his head, but knew he wouldn’t be able to lie to his partner. “Daddy doesn’t have free time. He works a lot.” “Don’t be sad over this. I’m sure he will find some time for you soon.” “He doesn’t care about me.” “Don’t say that. Your father loves you.” “I wish he didn’t have to work so much.” Gomamon listened to the whole conversation from the hall and looked at Jou still having his breakfast. He was going to have a serious talk with his partner.

****

“Jou?” “What is it, Gomamon?” Jou asked without taking his eyes off the street. “Don’t you think you aren’t spending time with your son lately?” “What are you talking about?” He hit the brakes suddenly and looked at his partner. “I spend time with him. I just have a busy schedule and it’s not often that I can do that. It’s what means…” “…being a doctor.” Gomamon said a little annoyed. “I know. You say that quite a lot. The point here is that Shuichi misses you and thinks you don’t like him.” “What? Did he tell you that?” “No, I overheard him talking to Pukamon earlier.” “He knows I have a tight agenda.” “I understand that, but he’s your son, Jou. He’s just a child. I just don’t want you to do something you may regret in the future. You won’t get this time back. I know your job is very important to you, but what about Shuichi?” “He’s as important to me.” “Then don’t you think it’s about time you start showing it? He’s growing up so fast and I wouldn’t want you not to enjoy these years while you can.” “I’m trying to provide him a good and comfortable life, Gomamon.” “I know this, but what about showing affection for him? I’m sure that’s all he needs.” “I’m not sure what you expect me to do. Cut some of my working hours?” “That would be a solution, but there’s more than that. You could just take him to the park tomorrow. I’m sure he will enjoy it, he just wants to spend time with his dad.” “I need to check my…” He looked at Gomamon, who gave him a death glare. “Alright, alright. I will take him to the park.” “Good.”

Keep reading it on FFN or AO3

[nehswritesstuffs]

Baratie: Home to Chefs, Strays, and the Occasional Sword Goblin - Part 3

There are so many Good Nehs Dopamine Hits in this chapter that it’s almost unreal, ha.

First chapter on [tumblr] - [FFN] - [AO3] 

Prior chapter on [tumblr] - [FFN] - [AO3]

With Usopp about to arrive with reinforcements, Sanji wonders if really can handle taking care of his sister’s kid and all the things that would entail. [4503 words]

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The remainder of the day passed without much incident. Sanji kept Asido with him as he concentrated on the chunk of paperwork that, if he was honest, he had been pointedly ignoring up until late. There were some children’s books in the lost and found, so he was able to hand them over and allow his nephew to read to himself while he finally was able to tackle the geezer’s bizarro accounting system. Once that was cracked, he was able to move on to the rest of the work, which was decidedly going to be less frustrating and more boring and trite. It would likely take him the entire time he was waiting on Usopp to finish everything up, especially how his mind kept on wandering while he was working.

There was so much that he did not know the answer to, and that bothered him most of all, he supposed. This kid came out of nowhere, reportedly having been off the radar of a man who was completely and entirely all about how much control he exerted over his children and his subjects. It was even likely that Reiju had been followed to the Baratie, and that their father was exacting his revenge on her at that very moment before handing her over to a different sort of captor. He even burnt himself while lost in thought, cigarette sitting idly between his fingers as he watched his nephew bounce around on the back deck. Hissing at it, he threw the stub in the ocean, more pissed that he forgot about it for half the smoke than anything.

“You alright, Uncle Sanji?” He glanced up and saw Asido staring at him, brows furrowed curiously.

“Yeah—I need to cut back on those things anyhow,” he shrugged. “Say, you’re pretty good at playing by yourself. Who did you play with back home?”

“Mom and Miss Cosette, and they couldn’t always play,” Asido admitted. “I had my own secret room, and when I had to be in there, I played by myself a lot.”

That piqued his interest. “How often were you in this secret room?”

“Sometimes a lot, sometimes not—it depended on Mom and Miss Cosette’s works.” The boy did a cartwheel and almost landed in the ocean, which his uncle deftly stopped with grace only brought on by having minded the Pirate King. “It was okay though, because there was a magic door that Miss Cosette made food appear in, and there was a Den Den that Mom would check with me on, and windows like sunglasses so I could see out and no one could see in.”

“My sister knows how to keep her son safe, after all,” Sanji said. The smile on his face did not reach his eyes—just another thing he needed to ask about. “Say, your mom didn’t teach you anything about fighting, did she?”

“Fighting? Only that it’s bad.”

“Well, yeah, it’s bad, but what if someone bad tries to fight you, or steal you, and there’s no other choice?”

“Oh…” The boy went quiet and still, attempting to think clearly. “No… why?”

“This ship gets attacked by bad guys sometimes, and I was thinking that you need to make sure you know how to fight if you’re gonna stay here.”

“Fight like Sora?”

Somewhere inside Sanji, a knife twisted ever so slightly.

“No, but I was thinking that maybe I could help you. That cartwheel you did reminds me of stuff I can do, stuff I can do while fighting, even if it’s just for fun.”

“Why would fighting be fun?”

Sanji didn’t want to tell Asido just yet about the dangers of the seas, how there would be people willing to kill him, to kill for him, to love him, to drive him to ruin, and he needed to be prepared for them all. He thought about petty squabbles with a living scrap of moss, but also a lone, odd night where they made certain they were alive in a very different way. That was once though—a slip—and it wasn’t like it was brought up ever again.

“It can be, because it gets you moving, and your blood pumping, and sometimes in order to not fight-fight, you got to pretend-fight so that you don’t get cranky and grumpy.”

“Ah.” He watched the gears in the boy’s head crank slowly yet methodically. “What can you do, Uncle Sanji?”

Chuckling, Sanji used Skywalk to hop up to the very top of the ship, coming back down again to a very excited Asido. The boy had stars in his eyes as he stared at his uncle, as though he’d just met the hero from the comic pages.

“Wow! When can I learn how to do that?!”

“You gotta master a bunch of other stuff first,” Sanji laughed. Asido pouted, looking like he was going to cry. “Since you seem to be good with cartwheels, do you want to work on flips first? I think you’d do pretty well with those.”

...and so they worked on tumbling for the better part of the afternoon, Sanji guiding the boy’s body as he slowly went through motions his own limbs were well-practiced in. They eventually went inside when it was time to make dinner, with Asido quietly watching the kitchen work in tandem as he stayed in the corner, safe and out of the way. Carne kept staring at nephew and uncle, wondering what it was that he believed, though it also meant that he was being glared at by Sanji, the other man making himself loud and clear without uttering a word.

Anyone were to question the boy and they would see the flaming side of his heel. No exceptions.

Rain moved in while they were eating, and that ended up being the end of training for the day. Thunder rumbled lowly in the distance, though the waves did not become too terribly high; it was the benefit of being in shallow waters with light wind, the crew knew, and they went to bed knowing the ship was strong and the cupboards were sealed tight for a reason.

“Are you sure this is okay?” Asido wondered as he looked all around the bedroom. It was one of the spares that dominated Zeff’s floor of the crew’s quarters, the dresser of which Sanji was currently placing the majority of his nephew’s things.

“This room should get used anyhow; there could be ten visitors up here, me included, and the geezer would still have more than enough room to swing his peg around,” Sanji explained. He didn’t say that it was because Zeff anticipated more than a few comings and goings of his foster son’s crew, but that was a fact better left unsaid for the time being. “I think next time we go into port, we should get you some more clothes.”

“…but I like my clothes.”

“I’m sure you do, but you also didn’t come with very many, and I don’t want to be doing laundry constantly.” He ruffled the boy’s hair, mussing it so his eyebrows peeked out from under his bangs. “Besides, you look like you’re about to grow soon, so we should get you stuff in bigger sizes too.”

“How can you tell?!” Asido’s eyes were wide, making Sanji chuckle.

“It’s a power grownups have,” he only half-lied. “Now climb into bed so you can get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow.”

“We do…?”

“Yeah—there’s some special guests coming, one of whom I haven’t seen in a long time. He’s kind of an idiot, but very, very nice. I think you’ll like him.”

“Yeah…?”

“Yeah.”

Asido climbed into the bed and settled in under the covers. The entire thing seemed to engulf him, as it was a mattress meant for a full-grown adult more than a little kid. He stared at Sanji expectantly, unsure of what to say.

“What is it, azuki?”

“Do uncles give goodnight kisses?”

“Of course we do.” Sanji went into his memory of every time his mother kissed either him or Reiju, trying to remember what it was like. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to the boy’s forehead, which elicited a content squeak. “Better…?”

“Yeah. Thank you, Uncle Sanji. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, azuki bean.”

Another check of the room and Sanji left for his own, deciding it had been a busy enough day for him to turn in a bit earlier than usual. Light was still peeking out from under Zeff’s door, and he left the old man alone. Instead he went and showered, letting the spray run so hot it burned his skin a deep pink.

He wondered if he was strong enough to do this.

Fucking hell, what did Reiju just do to him? He went through the motions slowly, not getting out of the shower until after his skin was starting to prune. Taking him for a week or a month would have been one thing, a fair warning would have been another, but… how did she know to send him there? Did she know he would look at the boy and see a happier version of himself? She had to—his elder sister knew what manipulation was and how to use it to her advantage. He was going to have to go through Zeff’s newspaper collection and see what sort of things Germa had been up to the past six years, as much as it pained him to think of it. Maybe it could give him some clues without writing Reiju some very direct questions… or Cosette for that matter… and that didn’t even get into the fact of he had so little to give the child now slumbering in the other room that he would even need to consider turning to public records for answers.

Towel-dried and in pajamas, Sanji laid down in bed, taking comfort in the act of being horizontal. It had been a long day and he needed to relax. He tried to unwind his brain by going into a list of all the things that Usopp enjoyed eating, since he was presumably staying for at least a dinner and a breakfast. It was just beginning to work when he heard his door creak open—it was Asido, the boy quietly closing the door behind him.

“Hey, why aren’t you in bed?” he asked. The boy’s eyes reached the floor in embarrassment.

“Uncle Sanji…? Can I stay with you…?”

He exhaled heavily and pulled back the blanket. “C’mon kiddo, get in here.” Asido immediately launched himself into the bed and snuggled up against Sanji’s chest, making his uncle frown. “Hey, hey, what’s this about? You alright…?”

“I had a bad dream,” the boy whimpered. Sanji tucked the kid in and laid his arm atop the blanket, hugging him protectively. After all, when it was said and done, he was still just a scared little boy without his mom for the first time.

“You wanna talk about it?”

“…no.” A pause. “Is that okay…?”

“Sometimes, you can’t talk about things like that for a long time,” Sanji mused. He thought about his own childhood nightmares, and how he hoped his nephew’s were nowhere near as bad. “I’ve had my fair share of bad dreams—I get it.”

A nod. “I miss Mom.”

“I miss her a lot too.” Sanji stroked the boy’s hair, reminded of the way Zeff used to calm him down. “You know… I think I remember a lullaby from when your mom and I were kids. Would you like to hear it?”

“Yes, please,” Asido whimpered.

Sanji reached back into the recesses of his memory and began to sing softly. He certainly was no Soul King, but the words passed over his lips as though he had last heard it a fortnight prior, not twenty years. Tears silently fell from his eyes as he blinked in the darkness, emotions he thought he had worked past bubbling to the surface.

By the time the song was done, the boy was fast asleep, if still trembling, and it was all his uncle could do to not give in himself. The pain had been dulled with time, he thought, except having Asido curled into him, desperate for his protection, made it all flare up as though the wound was still open and raw. To make it all worse, Sanji wasn’t even entirely certain who to be angry with—his father? His sister? His nephew’s father, whomever that was? The rich dipshit over in Notice who was likely attempting to canoodle with the wrong woman? He didn’t know, but then again… how could he?

Another low rumble of thunder punctuated the fall of the rain and Sanji felt himself drift off towards sleep as he thought about menu options, grounded to the child shivering in his grasp.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The storm broke overnight and, came with it, a gentle dawn with calm seas and a clear sky. Sanji let Asido sleep in his bed while he went and made breakfast, allowing him and Zeff to eat alone.

“Look at it this way: at least you know the likelihood they are the same nightmares you had as a kid is low,” Zeff shrugged. “I’d take that as a win if I were you.”

“A hollow victory, since I still don’t know what’s going on,” the younger man replied. “At least Usopp will get here today—I don’t like this waiting bullshit.”

“It could be worse—he could be bringing your captain over.” Sanji shuddered at that.

“The kid needs to adjust first before he meets Luffy. Fuck, it’s a risk just bringing Usopp into all this.”

“They’re your friends, eggplant.”

“Yeah, who I made with no thoughts of ever running into anyone from before the Baratie ever again.” He looked at the small photo in the society section of the paper and frowned. “She looks so miserable.”

“She’s smiling.”

“I know that smile—that’s not a good smile.”

The air sat heavy between them as Sanji continued to look at the paper. As much as he wished he could wholly sever himself from his childhood, the fact remained that he was still terribly attached no matter how hard he tried. One look at Reiju and he saw their mother, and with her, a life they could have had all this time. What sort of resistance there would have been were she still breathing, what could have changed if he weren’t the only one who left, what paths their lives could have taken…

“Son…” Zeff placed his hand on Sanji’s wrist, the act pulling the latter back into the room. He felt his face and realized it was wet with tears.

“She’s not coming back for him, is she?” Sanji asked quietly. “She left him here because neither of us fit in and never will, even if we try. He’s been abandoned.”

“Part of me completely agrees with that,” Zeff frowned, “but only part. Without her around to show the family resemblance, he looks enough like your kid to where snoops won’t ask the wrong questions, and I think abandoned is too strong a word to use if he got brought to the only other member of his family that knows what it’s like to be on the outside.”

“It’s not fair to any of us.”

“I didn’t say anything about fairness, eggplant.”

“…but what happens when Chopper clears you to take back the restaurant? What then?”

“Don’t think about that shit—we’ll get there when we get there.”

“…but I don’t know…!”

“Uncle Sanji…? Grandpa Zeff…?” The two men looked to see that Asido had finally woken up and had shuffled into the room. “Why didn’t you get me up?”

“Nightmares need a little extra sleeping time to go away,” Sanji said, passing the newspaper to Zeff for safekeeping. Asido went red and looked down at the carpet, though Zeff let out a laugh instead.

“He knows from experience, azuki,” he chortled. “I used to let him sleep in the morning after a nightmare too. Seems to me it’s like uncle like nephew.” He watched as Asido slowly raised his eyes and looked at him, squeaking in terror before going to sit at what was now his place at the table. “Come now—no reason to be scared here. That dream can’t hurt you when the sun is up and we’re around.”

“He’s right; it can’t,” Sanji agreed. He watched as Asido nibbled at his toast with jam. “Hey, what’s wrong, Asido? Still the dream?”

“What don’t you know?” the boy asked. Sanji glared at Zeff for a moment before turning back to his nephew.

“I don’t know when our visitor is coming later,” he only semi-lied. Fuck—at this rate, he was going to need to take pointers from Usopp while he was on the ship. “Do you remember me telling you last night? About our visitors?”

“Yeah… but I thought you did know when he was coming.”

“Maybe later today, maybe tomorrow if the wind is bad,” Sanji explained. “Now let’s hurry up so I can get a cigarette in before we pop in the office for the day.”

“That stuff makes you stinky,” Asido giggled, wrinkling his nose. Zeff his a laugh behind a cough, earning him a glare from his son.

“Maybe figuring out what I can do instead can be a project for the two of us, hmm?” Sanji posed. His nephew brightened, sending a shiver down his spine.

“You can teach me more of the flippy stuff!” Zeff raised an eyebrow curiously. “Oh yeah! I forgot to tell you last night at dinner! Uncle Sanji’s teaching me how to make sure I can fight enough so I don’t get stoleded if bad guys come here!”

“Stolen,” Sanji corrected, tips of his ears turning pink. “So you don’t get stolen, Asido.” He didn’t need to see Zeff’s face to know the bastard was grinning nearly as wide as his mustache. “That might be something for you and Grandpa Zeff to do once he is allowed to move around a bit more. He was the one who taught me the basics.”

“Feeling better or not, I’m still an old man,” Zeff chuckled. “I can supervise and make sure that Uncle Eggplant is teaching the azuki properly, but my fighting days might just be a thing of the past, aside from putting the odd greenhorn or two in line.”

“Fucking troublesome,” Sanji growled. “Either you’re done or you’re not.”

“Gotta keep him on his toes,” Zeff told Asido, giving the boy a wink. The child giggled—mission accomplished.

“Alright, breakfast’s over; get to your room and pick out your clothes for the day. I’ll be in to help you wash soon.”

“Oh, I can do that, Uncle Sanji!” Asido claimed. “I did it myself all the time at home!”

“Then go show me how big of a boy you are and get ready—I’ll be in to check on you in fifteen minutes.”

At that, Asido hopped off his chair and ran from the room. Sanji gave Zeff an exasperated look and the older man chuckled.

“Yes, you should be tired just watching him,” Zeff chortled. “I went through the same shit with you.”

“I wasn’t that bad, was I?”

“I will neither confirm nor deny, brat.” The older man could not help but give the younger a shit-eating grin—fucking bastard was enjoying this. “Now get going, or the kid’ll beat you to the punch.”

“Sounds like you know from experience.”

Zeff glanced down at his newspaper and pretended to not hear Sanji. Rolling his eyes, the blond took the dishes with him to the kitchen and made sure all the shifts were covered and roles assigned before heading back to his charge. Sure enough, it was fifteen minutes nearly to the second, and Asido was struggling with getting his shirt on correctly. Sanji disengaged the boy from the garment and eased it on him, a bright smile as his thanks.

“What are we going to do today, Uncle Sanji?” Asido wondered.

“Well, we are mostly going to stay in the office until our visitors get here, and then we’re going to be with them until the end of the day.” Sanji left the room and started walking down the stairs to the deck, his nephew close behind. “You know, my friend is bringing someone to help out with you… to watch over you while I work, since the kitchen is too busy for you right now and the geezer can’t physically keep up for long.”

“Oh, like Mom and Miss Cosette taking turns watching me?” Asido asked. Once they were out on the deck he began to bounce around and try out some of the moves he was shown the day before with disturbing accuracy.

“Exactly… I…” Sanji watched the boy as he tumbled about, marveling at his ability to pick things up. His Lineage Factor might not have been altered directly by Judge’s hands, but the boy was still showing the effects of the fucker’s tampering with Reiju. “You know that I’ll still be easy to find, right?”

“Well, yeah—you’ll just be in the kitchen working.” Asido looked at him, head tilted, and seemed nearly Luffy-like in his ability to appear as though he knew everything that Sanji wanted to say. “It’s part of being an adult, right? Working?”

“I normally work a lot of hours, and there might be days where you don’t see me for anything other than meals, if that.” He choked down his emotions, making sure to seem strong and resilient for the lad. “I just don’t want you to think that I’m sick of you, or don’t want you around.”

“Mom said we were going to a fun place,” Asido claimed. “Why would she say this is a fun place, but then you want me to leave?”

Oh, the things he wanted to tell the boy, that he wanted to instill in him; it was neither the time, nor place, however, and he simply offered a wan smile instead.

“Just covering my bases,” Sanji claimed. “Now let me adjust your form—you’re really-super close to getting this right…”

About half of the morning passed with Sanji helping Asido tumble and flip on the deck before they went inside to the office. Once the shopping list for the dry goods run was complete, it was time to make lunch, and they returned to the tiny room after what was thankfully an uneventful meal. They worked quietly, with Sanji tackling payroll and Asido kept busy with books and crayons from the lost-and-found, until about an hour before the dinner rush, when a waiter poked his head in nervously.

“Uh… sir…? You have a visitor.” Sanji glanced at him, trying not to seem hopeful.

“Long nose, more hair than he seems to know what to do with, nervous knees?”

The waiter paused at that. “Braided until about here…?” He awkwardly chopped the base of his own skull with his hand. “Otherwise… well… yeah…”

“Thank fuck, it’s Usopp.” He put his pen down and looked at Asido. “C’mon—our visitor is here. Let’s go meet him.”

“Oh, cool!”

The boy eagerly abandoned his coloring project to grab onto his uncle’s hand and get led through the restaurant to the back deck, where all the varying small craft the staff used was moored up. As Sanji approached the small boat with a familiar jolly roger, he noticed three pint-sized terrors running up to him.

“Uncle Sanji!” the children gasped. Asido hid behind the blond while the other children slammed into the man’s legs, the combination nearly knocking him over. Give him a ship full off attacking pirates any day, but preschoolers? He was dead.

“...and how are you ladies doing?” he laughed. He looked at the girls and tried not to scream—this was not what he asked for, no matter how precious they were. “Did Mom come with you?”

“Nuh-uh!” the eldest said, shaking her blonde curls exaggeratedly. “She needs to stay home annacanta the baby making her feel gross!”

“Do you mean ‘on account of’?”

She thought about it. “Yes!” Her twin sisters giggled—oh, their father was in for it.

Speaking of, Sanji glanced up and saw Usopp ducking behind the supply boat, which caused him to frown. “Get out here, you coward, and meet my nephew.”

“Oh, I wasn’t hiding—what gave you that idea?” Usopp laughed nervously as he walked into view. He visibly cringed as Sanji gave him a look questioning the presence of the children, though didn’t offer a verbal reply. Instead, he let his daughters flock to him, the girls bringing him over to the chef. “So, where’s the lucky kid?”

“Right here,” Sanji said. He looked behind him at the child clutching the back of his trouser legs and pat his head. “Come on, Asido—meet Usopp and the girls. Merry’s just a little older than you. I think they’ll be great cousins.”

Cautiously, Asido poked his head around his uncle’s legs and stared at the newcomers. He balled the pants fabric in his fists, unsure about how to greet the strangers, specifically the ones more his size. The eldest girl approached him, a big smile on her face.

“Hi! I’m Merry!” she said brightly. “I’m almost five, and these are my sisters, Montie and Lea! They’re two and a half! Montie looks like Mom, and Lea looks like Dad, but I look like them both! You kinda look like Uncle Sanji, don’t you? Your eyebrows kind of give it away! Dad says you’re Uncle Sanji’s nephew-nephew, which is different from him being my uncle because him and Dad are friends, and…”

“Merry, give the boy a break,” Usopp sighed. He knelt down in front of Asido and gave him a gentle smile. “Hey, kiddo, you get Sanji taking care of you and you gain a whole ship full of extra bonus aunts and uncles. I’m the best one: Captain Usopp!”

“Uncle Sanji… I don’t feel so good…” Asido mumbled, reaching to be picked up. Sanji scooped the boy up in his arms and rested him against his hip, allowing him to cling to him and bury his face in his chest.

“He’s still a little shy—a lot of this is new to him,” he explained. Merry pouted sourly, while the twins looked confused. Usopp nodded in understanding, however, as he rose to his feet. “You didn’t tell me you were bringing the ladies… or that Kaya is stuffed… again…”

“Yeah, well, we thought some Mommy Alone Time would be nice, and it gives the girls a chance to meet the little guy. Plus, well, they wanted some more time with their babysitter.”

“…and who the flip might that be?”

Right on cue, a familiar yawn came from Usopp’s boat, making Sanji’s stomach drop. He looked towards the craft and saw Zoro stepping out, looking as though he was fresh from a nap.

Oh, fuck.

[ga-yuu]

Hello!

I've kept thinking about Ibuki's son all day!(not kurama lol).

And I also thought of how much this man loves Yoshino to not let her have only one child together 👀

So I decided to create their children with the help of: https://picrew.me/image_maker/1744829

Sora

-The first troublesome child!

-needy of attentions from both parents!

-enjoy fighting very much and is also very mischievous!

-loves to annoy his big bro Kurama❤️

-his name was chosen for the color of his eyes(Sora means sky in Japanese)

-he changed his original hair colours to look more like his mother.

-speaking about his mother: she love him very much! Just as much he exhaust her!

-he likes to train with his father a lot! That much that one he came to his parents room and started to attacking him with his new "move" meanwhile the 2 of them were....

-Ibuki wanted to kill him

-Yoshino stopped him

-Sora laughed

-he can look like pretty dumb pretty boy but he's very smart, thanks to that he easily can manipulate innocent people to his tricks!

-enjoys staying with the Rebels group!

Hitomi

-my beloved daughter(yoshino)

-that one kid who took her eyes from my beloved wife (Ibuki)

-the weak one!(Sora)

-she is really so done with her family!

-she just wanna take her mother away with her and escape from the other 2 jerks!

-her name was given by Ibuki because her eyes reassemble Yoshino's (Hitomi means pupil,a name given to girls with beautiful eyes)

-has a lot of mean things to say but is aware that it will break her mother heart so she just take her mouth shut!

-that doesn't stop her to look at you with a very judging expression.

-the opposite of her father!

-he calls her boring because she spends all her time reading instead of having fun like her brother does

-she can be quite cute!

-to get what she wants usually use her eyes to lure her father have it ready for her (it works quite often)

-only with the people she tolerate.

-prefers staying with Yoritomo's group of people!

Few! That was a lot to write for someone who hates doing that! Sorry for my bad English by the way!

Hope you had fun reading that!

This is really cute!!❤️❤️ I love them both, their personalities and their names😘

I love the part where Ibuki wanted to kill sora for interrupting him and Yoshino...i was imagining that scene in my head lol. Hitomi too...imagine when she finds out Yoshino is pregnant again. 3rd child incoming!! Her reaction would be----

Yoshino: "We're going to be welcoming a new member, honey"☺️

Hitomi: "I HAVE TO DEAL WITH MORE PEOPLE LIKE THESE TWO!!!"😡😡(Pointing at both Ibuki and sora)

To be honest....a while back even before the baby event was announced, I in my mind did create kids for some of the male leads...i wanted to post them but I thought it would look dumb so i just didn't. I didn't come up with their names or anything...just their designs and a little bit of their personalities. If you all don't mind... can I post them? I'm not as good as @ramen-teme but I'll try!😶

[healeroflightanddark]

Love Rivals, Chapter 1: The Rivalry Begins

Yuya sat on a bench in Maiami Central Park with Sora, Dennis, and Shun, and his counterparts, watching a couple of kids duel together. The kids looked like they were having fun, and the eight teens were enjoying watching the duel. One of the kids was a recently enrolled student at You Show Duel School, and Yuya was very proud of her progress. He clapped and cheered when she won the duel.

“Well, that was fun!” Sora said as the young duelists dispersed. Yuya nodded happily. “She’s been working really hard to learn how to duel! I’m so proud of her!”

“All of the kids at your duel school are hard working,” Shun said. Yugo nodded in agreement, “Of course they are! Yuya’s a very good teacher! Anyone who studies under him would be motivated to do their very best!”

Yuya beamed with pride, very happy that his friends considered him to be a good teacher. He was about to respond, when suddenly Yugo’s tummy growled loudly, making the blunana blush. “Ah, let’s go home! I’m starving, and your mom’s cooking is the best!” the Synchro counterpart said. Ever since the four counterparts had somehow split up, Yuto, Yuri, and Yugo had been staying with Yuya and his family. Yoko had even informally adopted them, and referred to them all as her sons.

“Yeah, I’m getting hungry too,” Yuto said. Everyone else nodded, and Yuya stood up. “Well, I’m sure Mom won’t mind having company for lunch! She loves it when I have friends over to eat her cooking!”

They were about to leave the park, when suddenly a voice called out. “Yuya! There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you!” The boys all turned to see Sawatari running towards them. He stopped in front of Yuya, smiling at the tomato-haired boy. “Here, I have a gift for you!”

He held out his hand, and presented Yuya with a lovely red rose. Yuya blushed a little as he took it. “Oh! Thank you, Sawatari! It’s very pretty!”

Sawatari beamed. “A very pretty rose for an equally pretty boy!” he said. Yuya blushed brighter, smiling at Sawatari. “Would you like to come home for lunch with us?”

Sawatari lit up and nodded, “It would be my pleasure!” Yuya smiled and said, “Well, let’s go then!”

*   *   *

The Sakaki house was an hour’s walk from the Central Park, but nobody really seemed to mind apart from Yugo, who started complaining after a while about how hungry he was. Yuya managed to calm him eventually by pointing out that the food would taste better if he was hungrier.

They were almost at the house when suddenly a car pulled up next to them. The back door opened and Reiji stepped out, holding a bouquet of a dozen red roses. The young CEO immediately presented the roses to Yuya, saying, “For you, Sakaki Yuya.”

“Oh!” Yuya was surprised, blushing brightly. “They’re beautiful! Thank you!”

“They’re not as beautiful as you,” Reiji said, smiling warmly at Yuya. A moment later his violet eyes fell behind the tomato-head, and he started glaring. Yuya glanced behind him, and saw Sawatari with an equally venomous glare looking at Reiji. After a moment, Sawatari said, “I’ll meet you guys at Yuya’s house. There’s something I need to do real quick!”

*   *   *

Sawatari arrived at Yuya’s house almost an hour later, holding a massive bouquet of one hundred red roses. He immediately presented them to Yuya, smiling proudly. “Mine is bigger!” he said. He looked smugly at Reiji, who had joined the group for lunch.

Reiji glared at Sawatari, and everyone could see some form of love rivalry forming between the two. Reiji and Sawatari were both Yuya’s rivals in Dueling, but it seemed they were each other’s rivals when it came to Yuya. The tomato-head was quite flustered when he realized it, blushing brightly.

Before anyone could say anything about it, Reiji and Sawatari confirmed their suspicions. Reiji scowled and said, “Yours may be bigger, but I’ll be the one to win Yuya’s heart!”

“Oh, it’s on!” Sawatari replied. “His heart will be mine! You’ll see!”

[markofthewolfwritten]

{Prologue}

There is a clan of Wolves, 34 in total. One fell ill, she's a black wolf named Kuronae, she's the wife of a white wolf named Shiro, and the mother of two twin pups, Sora and Aros who were only 7. She passed away from the illness, it was incurable to the other wolves knowledge. Before she passed away she gave her two sons an item, a dagger to Sora, and a pendant to Aros. Soon after she died Shiro was devastated by this, he tried his best to be a single dad for the pups but her death broke him… Soon after the clan was losing food to eat

Clan Leader: "Fellow wolves, it would seem that our food source is running low. Eventually we'll have to find food in bigger teams, spread out in a wider range."

Shiro: "This isn't good… The hell am I gonna do?"

He looks at the twins, they were practicing a secret handshake

(I don't care what happens to me, but my boys… I need to feed them more than myself. I can take care of myself.)

Weeks later, the food continues to dwindle as the days go by. Another meeting was held

Clan Leader: "As you all surely realized… We hardly have any food left. This famine has to be halted… As much as I hate the decision, but we'll have to eat… Other people… People who aren't in the clan…"

Shiro: (Cannibalism!? That's what were commiting now!?)

Sora: "Dad? Is isn't that bad?"

Aros: "Dad?"

Shiro: Looks at them worried

"I'm so sorry boys…"

He kneels down hugging them.

(What do I do? I don't want them to become cannibals…)

Shiro's only idea he had was to go further out to find what smaller creatures to feed his boys. He managed to keep this up for a few years, though throughout those years him and the twins were ridiculed for being "weak" and not eating another person to survive

"Ha! What's wrong? Don't have the guts?"

"Pathetic weaklings…" More years have passed, either Shiro finds food or he doesn't, that's what the boys learned, he taught them killing others for the sake of one's need to satiate their hunger is wrong. They had to watch so many innocent people be cannibalized by the clan. Until one night, once the boys were 17, Aros woke up to be met with the entire village covered in blood and corpses.

Aros: "Wh-What happened!? What's going on!? Did a feral beast attack!? Maybe I should…"

Touches one of the corpses and closes his left eye, he sees that this person was sleeping while a bipedal figure kill them in their sleep!

Aros: "It's nothing feral, but they killed them while they were asleep!? Whoever they were knew what they were doing, it was in a vital spot."

Aros walks around cautiously, watching every corner. He then hears a sound, its coming from the shelter beside him. He peek in to see Sora repeatedly stabbing another wolf

Aros: "Sora!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"

Sora: Turns around to look at Aros

"Huh!? Aros!?"

His right side was shown to Aros, he was covered in blood, his right eye's pupil was shaped in an "X".

Aros: "Have you lost your mind!? Why do this!?"

Sora: Stands up and faces him

"They were killing innocent people! Someone had to do something!"

Aros: "But why did it have to be YOU!?"

Sora: "Huh?"

Aros: "Dad and I were gonna do this as a last resort! First we were gonna get some mercenaries to deal with them! If they didn't work then we would've…"

Sora: "Oh…"

Aros: Pinches the area between his eyes

"Oh god Sora… Why did you have to do this?"

Shiro: Walks in looking alerted

"What happened!? I heard yel- Sora no…"

Sora: "Dad? Wait hold on!"

Shiro: "Don't worry Sora, I'm not mad, it just what you just did was very stupid…"

Sora: "What's gonna happen to me?"

Aros: "They'll put a bounty on your head, its not safe here you killed too many people at once."

Shiro: "Whoever witnessed this will probably tell the authorities. You need to run." Sora: "But… Where do I go?"

Shiro: "I don't know son… But you have to run, very far away."

Aros: "We're sorry we can't go with you…"

Sora: "No… Its fine, this is what I get for being stupid…"

Shiro: "You were only trying to do what you believe is right son. Don't forget this feeling okay?"

Sora: Nods with a guilty expression

"Okay dad."

Sora walked out of the shelter until Aros grabbed his arm

Sora: looks back at Aros

"Huh?"

Aros: "You did what you did because you didn't want any more innocent lives to be taken, you have a good heart Sora, don't lose sight of it."

Sora: Nods

"Don't worry, I won't."

Aros: Let's go off his arm. He starts tearing up

"Now go, I love you lil bro…"

Shiro: "I love you son."

Sora: Tears up

"Yeah, l-love you too…"

Sora runs far far away wiping his tears. He no longer has a home, he has no one to help him, he was completely…Alone, he has after hours of constant resting and running he begins to slow down… His body was starting to wear out, he collapsed on the ground beginning to pass out, he sees two smaller figures approach him before blacking out

Sora: (Crap…they…found me…)

Sora slowly wakes up, he groans feeling groggy

???: "Aym look! He's waking up!"

He hears a smaller voice

???: "I'll go get mother!"

He sees the small kitten in white run out to somewhere calling for his mother. The other kitten that's wearing black stays with him

Sora: "Where…am I?"

???: "You're in our caravan, we travel around and sell people stuff."

Sora: Slowly sits up and looks at him

"Caravan? Stuff?"

???: "Mhm. We're 'entrapenures'."

Sora: "You mean 'entrepreneur'."

???: "Yeah that!"

The kitten in white came back with a much larger cat. She had a concerned and friendly smile on her face

???: "Why hello lost one! Welcome to our caravan! My name is Forneus, and these are my beautiful kits, the one in black is Aym and the one in white is Baal."

Aym: smiles at Sora nodding Baal: Walks up to Sora

"What's your name?"

Sora: "I'm Sora…"

Forneus: "It's very nice to meet you Sora."

Sora: "Same to you ma'am."

Forneus: "Oh please just call me Forneus."

She giggles

Aym: Looks at Sora's clothing, its covered in dried up blood

"Your clothes are dirty."

Sora: Looks down at himself

"Oh! Umm…"

Forneus: "Aym! That's a very rude thing to say! Apologize!"

Aym: "But I was-"

Forneus: "Aym…"

She gives him a serious look

Aym: He sighs and turns back to Sora

"I'm sorry Sora…"

Sora: "It's okay, I wasn't offended. Though he is right, these clothes are pretty dirty."

(This is all blood that's been dried up, its a good thing I wore black…)

Forneus: "Hmm… Well I do have a washing rake, and there happens to be a river near here. You can wash your clothes there."

Sora: "Okay, thank you."

Forneus: "The pleasures' all mine Sora."

Baal: "You'll need something wear while your clothes are drying, umm mother do we have anything?"

Forneus: "Well, I do have some clothes, but they might be a bit to big for him."

Sora: "I don't mind, as long as I have something to cover with."

Forneus: "Okay, I'll be right back."

She walks over to the other side of the caravan, she pulls out a brown cloak

"This will keep you covered for when you clean your clothes."

Sora: Walks up and takes the cloak

"Yeah, thank you. I'll go wash these clothes then."

Forneus: "Okay, take your time!"

Aym: "Make sure you're very throw! Mom always tells me that."

Baal: "I think you meant 'thorough'."

Aym: "I-I know what I said!"

Sora chuckled and walked out and went by the river. Once he changed his clothes he started washing his old ones, the water became a mix of dirt and blood, it looked murky. Sora was looking around periodically to make sure no one saw him, he then looked back at the caravan

Sora: (It's best if I don't tell them about what I did.)

After a few minutes, Sora was finished cleaning his clothes, he poured the bucket out

The blood and dirt filled water flows and dissipates into the river. He rinses it down to get rid of any residue of the liquid. He then wrings out the wet clothing to speed up the drying process, he walks back to the caravan

Sora: "I'm done!"

Forneus: "Oh good! You can hang up your clothes here."

She walks over and points to a drying rack, she helps Sora with hanging the damp clothes up on it.

Sora: "Thank you for this, you're very kind."

Forneus: "Aww, I'm only just helping someone who needs it."

She smiles sweetly

Sora: (Helping someone who needs it…)

"I owe you fo-"

Sora's stomach growls, he looks down at himself

"Oh."

Forneus: Giggles

"Well it's seems like its time for lunch, how long has it been since you've last eaten?"

Sora: "Yesterday."

Forneus: "Oh my! We need to put some food in you! Please come with me!"

She takes Sora's hand and takes him into the caravan, she gives him some berries to eat

Forneus: "This will keep you from starving for now, I'll go make the four of us a meal. Just hold on okay?"

Sora: "Okay."

He starts eating the berries, the kits walked in from the bedroom

Aym: "Is it time to make lunch mom?"

Baal: "Can we help?"

Forneus: "Of course my beautiful kits, I just need some ingredients like…"

Forneus and the kits were talking about ingredients for a berry meal. It took around 30 minutes to make it, they all sat down and had equal servings except for Sora

Sora: "Thank you, but I have more than you guys."

Forneus: "You haven't eaten in a whole day! You definitely needed more than the usual serving!"

Aym: "You didn't eat in a whole day!?"

Sora: "Yeah, I haven't…"

Baal: "If you are still hungry after your done, you can have what's left of mine. I don't really eat too much."

Sora: "Nah it's fine, thank you for offering Baal."

Sora starts eating the meal, it's the first meal he had in a while. His dad was only able to find small meals he had to share with his brother. Aym: "Sora, do you have a brother or sister?"

Sora: "I have a twin brother, his name is Aros, he's older but you couldn't tell if we stood next to each other."

Baal: "Any parents?"

Sora: "My father, my mom died of an illness when we were young."

Forneus: "I'm sorry for your loss Sora."

Sora: "It's okay, I wish I got to know her better though."

Forneus: "Will you be heading back soon?"

Sora: "I can't go back."

Aym: "Why can't you go back?"

Sora: "We all got separated… I don't know where they've been since yesterday. I don't have a place to stay."

Forneus: "You could stay with us if you want."

Sora: "You would let me stay with you guys?"

Aym: "It would be cool to have you around!"

Sora: "But I haven't done anything to warrant being cool."

Baal: "We still want you to stay."

Forneus: "It would be nice for the kits don't you think?"

Sora: (This caravan looks pretty low key, it's even mobile. I could stay here with them, keep a low profile.)

"Alright fine, I'll stay."

Aym and Baal hugged Sora, Forneus smiles

Sora: "Whoa hey!"

Aym: "Thank you for staying Sora!"

Baal: "This is gonna be so much fun!"

Since then, Sora and the kits spent a lot of time together. To the kits, Sora is like a big brother, maybe a son to Forneus. One day, Sora was asked to find some berries to make a meal with. He was putting on his cloak to head out until…

Baal: "Can I come with you?"

Sora: Turns around

"I'll let you but does Forneus know?"

Baal: "I asked her first and she said 'If you will allow it'."

Sora: "Well I'll allow it, come on Baal."

Baal: "Okay!"

Sora and Baal walked through the forest, Baal staying close by. After a few minutes of walking and chatting they find some fresh berry bushes

Sora: "There they are, help me pick some."

Baal: Picks some berries and put them in the basket

"How many do we need?"

Sora: "Probably as much as it would take to fill up the basket."

The basket wasn't deep, but it was a bit wide

Baal: "This might take a bit…" Sora: "Heh, don't start complaining now."

Baal: "I'm not…"

Sora and Baal spent a bit of time collecting berries, Baal was able to find some fun in collecting some by having Sora catch the ones Baal tosses into the air with the basket. After some time they collected a whole lot more berries than they thought

Sora: "Phew It seems we got more than expected, It's almost to much hehehe!"

Baal: Chuckles

"So does that mean we're done?"

Sora: "Yeah, we're done here."

He smiles

Baal: "Let's go back and see mother!"

Sora: "Yeah let's."

They walked down to the path back to Forneus' caravan, Baal sees a man with 4 beautiful women

Baal: "Wow!"

Sora: Looks at Baal

"What is it little buddy?"

Baal: "That guy has a bunch of girlies with him!"

He points to the group of people

Sora: "Oh wow, that he does."

Baal: "How does he get so many girlies?"

Sora: "Maybe it's the way he looks?"

Baal: "The way he looks?"

Baal looked at the man, he was a penguin with an enchanting smile. His hair was a nice sideswipe, his eyes gave a distinct charming gaze

Baal: "If I look like him, will I get girlies too?"

Sora: "Looks aren't everything Baal."

Baal: Turns towards Sora

"Its not?"

Sora: Shakes head

"Nope, it's also about…"

Sora gives Baal a quick lecture and heads back to Forneus' caravan. She was waiting there with Aym

Forneus: "You two have returned! I see you've brought much more than I thought you would!"

Aym: "Aww I wanted to come!"

Baal: "You would've just ate the berries on the way back."

Aym: "And?"

Baal: "And we wouldn't have had no where near as much as we brought now."

Forneus: "Wait, you eat the berries on the way back?"

Aym: Gulp

Baal: "Oops, sorry Aym."

Sora: "Welp, good luck Aym."

Sora and Baal walked in while Forneus scolds Aym, they begin to make today's meal. Weeks later Aym was watching Sora practicing his fighting skills on a makeshift dummy made out of grass

Aym: "You're pretty good at this stuff huh?" (Bearbeitet) Sora: Looks at Aym

"Hmm? Oh uh yeah, I'm alright I guess…"

Aym: "Think you can teach me how to fight?"

Sora: "You want to learn how to fight?"

Aym: "Mhm, it looks fun!"

Sora: "Fun? This isn't a game Aym."

Aym: "I know, but you make it look fun."

Sora: "I guess it does look fun to someone looking in."

Aym: "Can I join you? I know a little magic, I've been practicing look!"

Sora watches as Aym closes his eyes to focus. He conjures up a lot of heat from his surroundings and fires it at the dummy, having it left with burn marks

Aym: Is breathing heavily

"How's that?"

Sora: "That's impressive! That's really good for someone at your age!"

Aym: "Really? Do you'll let me train with you!?"

Sora: "You know what? Yeah sure bud."

Aym: Starts jumping around excitedly

"Yes! Yes! YES! This is gonna be so much fun!"

They begin training together, Forneus found out eventually though Sora and mostly Aym begged for Forneus to let Sora train him. She allowed it only because she doesn't want to hinder her son's growth. This goes on for about a month, Sora was teaching Aym how to fight properly

Aym: "Ow!"

He falls back on his rear

Sora: "Oh crap did I hit you too hard? I'm sorry…"

Aym: Gets back up wiping tears

"N-No… Again…"

Sora: "What?"

Aym: Has a teary eyed determined look

"I-I want to keep going!"

Sora: Scratches the back of his head

"Don't push yourself Aym…"

Aym: "No! I want to get strong and become a great warrior! I can't do that if you keep being nice!"

Sora: "But…"

Aym: "Sora, stop being so soft with me, I want you to TRAIN me."

Sora: "I- …Okay…just tell me if you had enough."

Aym: Smiles

"Thanks, now let's start again…"

They continue training, eventually Aym started to get hungry and began to head back to the caravan. A week has passed since then Sora woke up to hearing Forneus sobbing quietly

Sora: "Forneus what's wrong?"

He looks around

"…Where are the kits?"

Forneus: "It happened just a moment ago…" Sora: There was deep concern in his voice

"What did I miss?"

Forneus: "The kits were taken as an offering for a God. I'll miss them deeply, but how does one say no to a God?"

Sora: (A God took them?)

"What kind of God are we talking about?"

Forneus: "They were a bishop, a bishop of the Old Faith."

Sora: (The Old Faith!? I've only heard of them… But what do they want with Aym and Baal!?)

"How did it come to this?"

Forneus: "If it's their will, then nothing can be done."

She continues to weep

Sora: Hugs her

"I'm so sorry Forneus."

Forneus: Hugs back tightly

"It's okay Sora, I'll be fine…"

Sora: "I hope the kits will be okay…"

Forneus: "That's all we can do Sora…"

Sora continues to hug Forneus as a means to calm her down. What is Sora gonna do? How can he ease Forneus of her pain? Maybe if he…

{1 week later}

Forneus: picks up a letter by the entrance to the caravan, it reads…

"Dear Forneus, I'm sorry for leaving you like this. I've decided to go and look for the kits and bring them back to you. It might take a while, but I swear to you, I'll find them no matter what! So please, don't cry." Sincerely, Sora. Forneus: Tears up

"Oh Sora, how could you do something so foolish? To defy the Gods is heresy…"

(Just please come back safely…)

Forneus holds the letter close to her chest. Meanwhile Sora was traveling alone yet again… He walks along the path in his cloak, his normal clothes underneath. He has only one lead, they are a bishop of the Old Faith. He only knows one realm to get to, the Darkwoods. As he traveled along fighting off Old Faith members and bounty hunters, he began to realize that this was gonna take longer than he thought…

{15 Years Later} Sora is now 32, still looking for the kits. He writes letters to Forneus to tell her he's still searching, giving updates or any bit of information. He found an Old Faith member to interrogate

Sora: "Tell me, where did the Old Faith bishop go!?"

Old Faith Member: "I-I don't know!"

Sora: Puts his mother's dagger to their throat

"Is it in practice for your religion to lie!?"

OFM: "I'm telling you the truth!? I don't know their location!"

Sora: "Have you heard anything!?"

OFM: "There's a big gathering somewhere in that location! My friends talked about going to it, I wasn't invited so I didn't g-"

Sora knocked them out and took their cloak and mask as a disguise.

Sora: Puts the mask on

"For your sake, you better not be lying…"

He adorns the disguise and heads in the direction to where the follower pointed. They weren't lying! There IS a huge gathering! There's so many followers here, it looks like they're headed towards a direction. Sora blends in with the crowd, eventually they all stopped to watch an execution. Sora managed to wiggle his way through to see a Lamb covered in chains, they kneel before four figures. One was a worm covered in green moss and a bloody blindfold on, a red toad with four eyes and a bandage around their neck like a scarf, a cyan squid with bandages on each of their ears, and a purple spider with four eyes and bandages over their scalp. They each had crowns on, the worm has a green crown, the toad has a yellow crown, the squid has a blue crown, the spider has a purple crown. They tower over everything here, could they…?

Sora: (Could they be the bishops of the Old Faith? And what's this feeling in my chest?)

It feels like a familiar warmth, that doesn't matter! Are they going to kill that Lamb!?

Yellow Crowned Bishop: "Before us stands the last of its kind. All others we have hunted down and put to the blade."

Sora: (They did WHAT!?)

Blue Crowned Bishop: "With this final sacrifice the prophecy will be impossible to fulfill."

Sora: ("Prophecy"? What are they talking about?)

Green Crowned Bishop: "The heretic who lies bound below will be condemned to eternal captivity."

Sora: (They have somebody held captive!? How cruel…) (Bearbeitet) Purple Crowned Bishop: "…and the old faith shall be preserved."

Sora: (They're killing innocents to keep their faith alive?)

As Sora watched on, the giant Old Faith Follower walked up to the Lamb and lifts up the axe. The Lamb starts to cry in fear

Lamb: "Please don't do this… I don't wanna die!"

They cry out, such a sound sends a feeling through Sora's heart. On instinct he ran out too the brute and knocks him over! Sora breaks the Lamb free of their chains

GCB: "Huh? What in the…!?"

Lamb: "Wh-What? Who are-"

Sora: Is still in disguise and points to a direction where there's not that many Old Faith members

"GO! GET OUTTA HERE!"

Lamb: Is clearly confused and scared

"H-Huh?"

BCB: "Has another heretic found it's way into our cult!?"

Sora: "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? RUN!"

Lamb: Was too scared to run

"I c-can't…"

An Old Faith member attacks Sora, Sora's right eyes pupil becomes an X, he pulls out his dagger and cuts the member's throat

Sora: "You gotta run! GO NOW!"

Lamb: Tries to stand

"Wh-Why are you helping me?"

Sora: He turns to them, his voice sounds caring

"Because you're somebody who needs it…"

Lamb: "Somebody wh-"

YCB: Points at Sora

"STOP THAT HERETIC!"

The Lamb jumps and clings onto Sora. Sora snapped back to reality, he picks up the Lamb and starts running

GCB: "DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY!"

Sora held the Lamb close to him, he can feel them trembling in his arms. He moves alongside trees to avoid arrows hitting him, especially the Lamb. He finds a bush to hide them in

Lamb: "What are you doing!?"

Sora:

"I'm going to hold them off, so once the time comes, run. Don't look back no matter what you hear. Okay?"

Lamb: "I-I can't leave you!"

Sora: "You'll have to, we'll met again. I promise."

(That was a bitter lie.)

Lamb: Tears up

"Okay, what's your name?"

Sora: Takes his mask off smiling

"My name is Sora, what's yours?"

Lamb: Tries to smile back

"Lamb…" Sora: "It's nice to meet you Lamb, see ya around."

He gets up and puts the mask back on his face

Lamb: Gets up and leans on the tree, tears flowing

"See you…Sora…"

Sora: Nods and steps out of the hiding spot

Old Faith Member: "THERE HE IS! GET HIM!"

Sora: "Run."

He runs forward, his right eye's pupil becoming an X again. He stabs the follower in the chest, he was surrounded! The Lamb sees them all and reluctantly ran away

Lamb: "I'm sorry…"

They got away, Sora using his special eye to stab and cut the followers in their weak points. Eventually, Sora was getting worn out and they keep coming, he was slowly dwindling down and was overpowered. He was put in chains

OFM 1: "What do you think we should do with him?"

OFM 2: "We should just kill him and bring the body. The leaders would like that."

OFM 3: "No, let's have the bishops kill him."

OFM 2: "Aww no fair, I wanna kill him!"

OFM 3: "Silence. Let's take him away."

He was taken to the sacrificial altar, a member takes his mask off and his head is facing downward. The bishops loom over him, the Blue Crowned Bishop leans down to him

BCB: "So here we are, to whom we owe the pleasure of interfering?"

Sora: "…sora…"

BCB: "Hmm? I'm sorry I didn't quite catch that."

Sora: "Sora…"

BCB: Stands up straight

"Well! It's has been a pleasure to meet you Sora! You have a nice name!"

Sora: "…"

The Yellow Crowned Bishop spoke up

YCB: "Do you realize the weight of your actions?"

Sora: Head is still facing down

"I sav-"

YCB: "You just doomed us all!"

Sora: "!"

(What does that mean?)

The Green Crowned Bishop spoke up

GCB: "That Lamb was the last sacrifice we need to preserve the Old Faith. Now you will take. Their. P L A C E…"

Sora: "If that wasn't obvious enough…"

BCB: "Any last words?"

Sora: "…I have one question…"

YCB: "And that would be?"

Sora: Slightly lifts his head

"I was told there was a bishop that has taken two kits as a gift…" The Purple Crown Bishop reacts to Sora's words

PCB: "Hm?"

Sora: "Do any one of you know about it?"

PCB: "I do…"

Sora: "A-Are they s-safe?"

PCB: "They are…"

Sora: "Can you send them back to their mother?"

PCB: "I will not."

Sora: "Why not?"

PCB: "That doesn't concern you…"

Sora: "But. It. DOE-"

Sora was about to look up to them but was knocked down by a Old Faith Member

Sora: "GAH!"

OFM: "Watch your tone heretic!"

YCB: "It would seem we are done here. Kill him, we will find the Lamb soon after."

The executioner raises the axe up…

Sora: (So…this is it, I haven't done anything meaningful at all. I couldn't even get the kits back, sorry Forneus, it looks like I couldn't keep my promise…I wonder what Aros and Dad are doing right now? I hope they're okay…not like I'll ever know now…)

Sora closes his eyes, tears flowing from them. The executioner swing the axe down at Sora's neck. Sora was dead… He wakes up in what seems to be the afterlife? He sees nothing but boundless white, he hears chains rattling behind him. He turns around to be met with three figures. Two look a bit familiar but they are overshadowed by the giant one. They were a big three eyed black cat, his eyes are black with red scleras and pupils to match. The bishops had similar eyes but they were black scleras with red pupils except for the green one. The three eyed cat spoke to him as Sora approaches

Sora: (IS THAT THE GRIM REAPER!?)

???: "Come closer. Fear not, for though you are already dead, I still have need of you."

Sora: "You do?"

???: "Those foolish Bishops thought they could punish you with death, but instead they sent you straight to me."

Sora: "What can you do?"

???: "I will give you LIFE again, but at a PRICE! All I ask is for you to start a Cult in my name."

Sora: (A cult? I don't really like the occult let alone BE a cultist.)

???: "Do we have a deal?"

Sora: "Y-Yes, absolutely…" ???: "Wise choice… Take the Red Crown which I once wore."

Sora: Notices the crown on his head

(Is he a bishop too?)

???: "With it you shall command the loyalty of Followers and strike fear into the hearts of our enemies. Return to the land of the living, start a Cult in my name, and begin recruiting Followers."

Sora: "Wait."

???: "What is it?"

Sora: "What is your name?"

???: "My name? I go by many: 'Chained One', 'The One Below', 'Death…''. But 'The One Who Waits' would work just fine."

Sora: "I'm Sora. So I'm starting a cult in your name?"

TOWW: "Yes, once you have done so, you will see me again. Now, GO!"

He lends Sora the red crown, Sora's eyes flashed red and then vanishes completely. The One Who Waits has a nostalgic smile

TOWW: "It's been awhile hasn't it?"

Back at the execution altar, three Old Faith Members were taking care of Sora's head and decapitated body. One of them were holding his mother's dagger

OFM 1: "Look at this shiny thing! Maybe I can sell it from a high price?"

OFM 2: "Shut up and help me with this bo-"

They looked down, Sora's body was gone…

OFM 2: "What the he-?"

OFM 1: "Huh? HOW ARE YO- GLK! AAAH!"

OFM 3: Is still holding Sora's head

"What's wro- OH MY LORD!"

OFM 2: "What's wrong!?"

Old Faith Member 3 points over to 1's location. They were getting stabbed repeatedly by Sora's headless body!

OFM 2: "WHAT THE!? HOW IS HE STILL ALIVE!?"

Sora's body pushes OFM 1's body off him, it turns around and approaches OFM 3 who was still holding Sora's head

OFM 3: "W-What do you want!?"

OFM 2: Steps in front of Sora's body

"You stay away bea-"

They were slashed in the throat immediately, pushed to the side choking on their own blood. Sora's body continues the approach…

OFM 3: Is completely panicked

"D-DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!"

They hold out a sword shaking violently. Sora's body knocks away their sword and takes his head back. He has it face forward and puts it over his neck

It reattaches itself to Sora's neck with small black tentacles and twists itself onto his neck like a bottle cap! A black collar with waning crescent pendant wraps around his neck, a red fleece with a white stripe going across comes out of it. The red crown appears on his head. OFM 3 looks on in horror and falls on their rear

Sora: Cracks his neck and opens his eyes

"Wow, that was a doozy…"

OFM 3: "How? HOW CAN YOU BE THE NEXT VESSEL!?"

Sora: Is looming over them

"'Next'? So there was more than one huh?"

Sora puts his mother's dagger in it's sheath takes the red crown off his head with his right hand and looks at it. He look at the Old Faith Member, the red crown becomes a sword. A clanging sound is made as the tip of the blade hits the ground. The member can see their reflection in it

Sora: Walks up to them and lifts the sword over his left shoulder

OFM 3: Holds their hand out

"NO! PLEA-"

With a swift slash, their head was cut off

Sora: "It's nothing personal, I was only showing you the same mercy you showed me."

More Old Faith Members came, they see Sora and pulls out their weapons

OFM: "THERE HE IS! GET HIM!"

Sora: Turns around

"More of you guys? Sorry, but I'm busting out of here!"

Sora dashes at them as his right eye's pupil becomes an X. He takes them down one by one with ease, he travels through the forest cutting down any who opposes him. He finds an elderly rat holding a long stick

Sora: "Who are you!?"

???: "Fear not! I am Ratau. I was once a chosen vessel like you, but those days are lost to the winds."

Sora: "I'm Sora, why are you here? Its dangerous."

Ratau: "I'm well aware, but I was sent to guide you. My instructions are to lead you to safety. Continue through the woods. Escape lies ahead. I will be close by."

He burrows into the ground, Sora continues forward and finds a gathering. Ratau resurfaces

Ratau: "We have nearly reached safety, but look ahead! Another poor soul about to be sacrificed!" Sora: "I can't allow that!"

Ratau: "Then what are you waiting for!? Rescue her and she will have no choice but to join your new cult."

He nods and approaches the altar that has a brown stag tied to it with five followers surrounding her. She sees Sora

???: "PLEASE HELP ME!"

The five followers looked to where she was calling out to and pulled out their weapons

Sora: Readies his sword

"Don't worry! I'll save you!"

Sora takes out all the followers and frees the stag from her chains

???: "Thank you…"

Sora: "You okay? They didn't hurt you did they?"

???: Shakes head

"Not too much…"

Sora: "What's your name? I'm Sora."

???: "Aurora."

Sora: "That's a pretty name…"

He smiles at her

Aurora: Smiles slightly blushing

"Why, thank you…"

Sora: "I can take you somewhere safe, do you trust me?"

Aurora: "More than these creeps…"

Sora: "Good enough for me."

Sora's eyes turn red and lifts his hands up, Aurora gets lifted up in the air, a portal opens up beneath her. She looked a little frightened but continued to trust Sora. She was sent into the portal

Sora: "I don't know what I just did, but I hope she's okay."

Sora continues forward, he takes out more members until we finds a marking on the ground. Ratau resurfaces beside him

Ratau: "We have reached safety. You have done well. The Red Crown will allow you to use those markings on the ground to transport yourself great distances."

Sora: "Where will it take me?"

Ratau: "It will take you to a temple that has fallen to ruin. There you will be able to begin your new Cult. I will meet you there."

Sora: "Okay."

Ratau burrows into the ground, Sora stands over the markings and begins to float up in the air turning completely black, his eyes completely red. A portal appears below him, he falls in while traveling he thinks to himself

Sora: (Oh Sora what have you done? Not only do you have a bounty on your head, you have a bounty AND have become an enemy to the old faith!)

"Sigh" Sora makes it through the portal. He walks out to a field with rocks, berry bushes, and trees

Sora: (At least I know I can trust The One Who Waits right? But I'll have to worry about that later, this place is…)

Ratau resurfaces from the ground to Sora's right

Ratau: "This hallowed ground which once was mine, is now yours. This crumbling ruin is to be the site of your new Cult."

Sora: "Okay."

Ratau: "We have much to do. We begin by indoctrinating this poor soul into the warm embrace of your Cult."

He points over to a stone floor with a marking on it, Aurora falls out of it

Sora: "Oh, there you are…"

He sounded relieved, he walks up to her

Aurora: "Are we safe here?"

Sora: "Yeah, we're safe here…"

(Hopefully.)

Aurora: Hugs him

"Thank you for saving me…"

Sora: Blushes but hugs back

"N-No problem…"

He lifts his hand up, her clothes change from whatever rags she had to much more cleaner clothes. Red being the main palette. Ratau chuckles and approaches the two

Ratau: "Followers can gather resources for you. Order her to collect lumber or stone."

Sora: Kindly pulls away from her

"Hey Aurora, could you chop down some wood? I'll get the stone."

Aurora: Nods

"Okay Leader!"

Sora: Looks confused

"Leader?"

Aurora: "Would you rather I call you Sora?"

Sora: "You can call me whatever you feel comfortable with…"

Aurora: "Okay leader!"

She walks off to chop down trees with an axe she got from god knows where. Ratau watches Sora walk off and break rocks to get stone. Time passes, they come back after getting rid some of the trees and rocks

Ratau: "By your hand, our Cult will grow powerful! But your Followers can not live on prayer alone, they must eat. Gather the necessary resources and build a Cooking Fire. It will allow you to prepare meals for your Followers."

Sora: "Okay, I'm a pretty okay cook if I do say so myself."

Sora sets out a blueprint for a Cooking Fire, he points to the left of the entrance way out of the cult Sora: "We'll build it there, sound good?"

Aurora: "Okay leader!"

After 15 minutes, Sora and Aurora finished making the cooking fire. Aurora's stomach growls

Sora: "Hehe, just wait right here, I'll get some berries…"

Sora walks off to some berry bushes, collecting berries

Aurora: Sits down by the cooking fire

"Okay leader…"

Ratau: Walks up next to Aurora

"So… How's your day going young lady?"

Aurora: "It started off terrible, I thought I was gonna die, but the leader saved me. And now he's looking after me and providing safety. As best as he can…"

Ratau: "The boy shows promising leadership so far, albeit a bit too optimistic but his hearts in the right place."

(I just hope he stays strong when times get tough…)

Aurora: "Maybe he's putting on a front to keep everyone else from worrying about him?"

Ratau: "Maybe…"

Sora returns with some berries, he puts them in the pot

Sora: "I'm gonna make you a meal that great friend of mine makes, I think you two will love it!"

Ratau: "Two?"

Sora: "I'm making you a bowl too old man!"

Ratau: "You don't have to do that for me boy, I'll be okay."

Sora: Starts mixing the berries around

"But you helped me with all of this, I owe you this much."

Ratau: "I- if you insist…"

Aurora: Giggles

"Gosh leader, you're so kind and generous."

Sora: Blushes and scratches his head

"Heh, well I'm only just trying to repay him…"

Ratau: "And that's awfully kind of you, the younguns' never really care about a bag of bones like me…"

He chuckles

Sora chuckles as well and continues making three berry bowls, after 5 minutes he finishes and serves two bowls to them

Sora: "Here you go you two!"

Ratau: Takes a bowl

"Why thank you son."

Aurora: Takes a bowl as well, she sniffs it

"Mmm…it smells delicious leader…"

Sora grabs his own bowl, the three of them take a bite

Sora: "Yep, just like how she used to make it…"

He nostalgically smiles

Ratau: "Mmm! This is really good son!"

Aurora: "I agree!" Sora: "Hehe, thanks guys."

The three of them converse while eating. Once they finish Ratau spoke up

Ratau: "Now we must build a Shrine - but first we will need more Followers and more gold."

Sora: "Where do I find that?"

Ratau: "They can be found when crusading through the lands of The Old Faith. Our mutual benefiter The One Who Waits has been trapped by the four Bishops of the Old Faith."

Sora: "How could they do that? The One Who Waits is not a bad guy!"

Ratau: "Each of them guards a chain that binds him to the realm beyond. We have conjured openings to their realms. It is your task to track them down and slay them so that he may be freed."

Sora: "I will! I can't let these unjust acts go unpunished!"

Ratau: "Now go! There you shall find gold and willing recruits and for those who are not willing, convert them by FORCE!"

Sora: "Will do!"

(Except for the by force part…)

Ratau smiles and burrows away. Sora turns towards Aurora, who was standing there awaiting further orders

Sora: Looks around

"There's still plenty of trees and rocks here, let's get the resources from those!"

He brandishes a pickaxe

Aurora: Brandishes an axe

"Yes leader!"

After a bit of labor, they acquired the resources to make a shrine! The sun was setting, Sora had a blueprint set for a shrine, he points to the center of the field

Sora: "We'll make it there! Perfect!"

Aurora: "Yes! I agree!"

They begin building the shrine, it had a Wolf head on top, the eyes are hollow, black liquid came out of the sockets. Despite all of those creepy features it had a smile on its mouth, cute. It became night time

Sora: "Hokay! We're finally finished!"

Aurora: "Phew…That took longer than expected…"

Sora: "Are you tired?"

Aurora: Nods

"Mhm."

Sora: "Get some rest okay Aurora?"

Aurora: Yawns

"Okay, thank you leader…"

She walks over to a bit of grass, she falls asleep on it. Sora looks a little guilty that she has nothing to rest on Sora: (I don't have enough resources to make her a sleeping bag, I'll need to head out to the Darkwoods to get some…)

Sora walks out to be met with five gateways. Each of them labeled, Darkwood, Anura, Anchordeep, and Silk-Cradle. They were all connecting chains to the center gateway. Sora walks up to the gateway to Darkwood and it opens

Sora: Takes a deep breath

"Okay, let's do this…"

He walks inside