#like. fuck yeah i can do something sora cant

[dreamsy990]

very important headcanon: roxas is ambidextrous and just assumed sora was too. he is Not.

#i think roxas would be shocked #then delighted #like. fuck yeah i can do something sora cant #he would be sooo proud of himself i think #doodles #sora #roxas #kingdom hearts #shitpost #idea from phantom lmao

[ajdrawshq]

@ your tags on my post, i am shaking you like a maraca and yelling "YESSSSS"

i wanna see how kh3 tackles that whole thing because it's so eerily similar to what happens in the manga. and in the manga, he is in so much pain and agony, AND HE'S STILL FIGHTING. ROXAS IS THERE WITH HIM, HIS ONLY COMPANION, and then kh3 just tripped and fell on the glass table.

also, i think about this constantly, i want them to do something with it so bad.

YEA i cant wait to see the rest of kh3 manga chapters and how they handle everything, i especially loved the manga versions for days and kh2 and the way their stories were told - even tho kh3 has a Lot going on that might be hard to show well.. amano's been good at it so far tho so i have faith :]

but yeah that whole thing with Roxas is just . oughh. im not gonna lie even i forgot that Roxas was like. still there with Sora when he perishes until i thought abt it writing those tags but now that ive realized that. why the hell did they not take advantage of that!!!! like ok i get that it was more focused on the destiny trio in the ways i talked abt in the tags but yknow. what happened to "he makes up the difference"?? that wouldve been a great moment for it to shine!! ik they already make an example of it during the Xemnas n Saïx fight but still!!

part of me wishes Roxas couldve have more outward influence on Sora the way Ven did. granted, he arguably had an affect on Sora back in kh2, and while i dont remember if it was canon or even intended, that could be applied to both his appearance (his lighter hair, mostly) and his behavior (his hostility towards the organization members; ive seen this argued both as smth Roxas had influence over and purely based on Soras experiences thus far, and i believe in both personally) but Ven in kh3 was literally able to speak and somewhat act through him. im pretty sure this was meant to show that Ven was fully ready to awaken or smth like that, and that wasnt sonething that was needed for Roxas; hes alright, just needed a body/vessel for himself. but i still think itd be a cool way to express the earlier sentiment. and it wouldnt necessarily have to be Roxas "taking over" either, the manga shows very well how Roxas gives Sora strength from within and that he definitely does make a difference

to be fair tho...... whether that wouldve helped Sora in the moment that he gives in to his despair, im not sure. in kh2, both manga and game, hes in a very different mindset than kh3. in that part of the manga especially, despite thinking everyone (except Roxas) is gone for good, he still has the belief that they can live on within him. and that, plus the literal strength hes getting from Roxas, is keeping him going despite it all. in kh3 his self confidence is beyond fucked, and he truly believes in that moment that hes lost Everything, not just his friends. thats hard to come back from

i wonder if he were to remember that Roxas were still there, if that wouldve helped. whether for comfort in the way that hes not really alone then, or for motive to keep living bc if he dies then Roxas is gone too, or whatever reason, i think it couldve changed something, even if its just a little bit. hell, itd have been great if something like that happened afterwards in the final world. id like to think Roxas had a hand in Sora surviving ..... not sure how but its a nice thought. either way i do wish Sora n Roxas' connection and that moment they have in san fransokyo had more....... More. in kh3. it was a great opportunity that they didnt use/forgot about n im now sad abt it forever

#while writing this im now realizing that Sora rly just keeps going thru the 'the real answer was within u all along' thing over n over . #Kairi. Roxas. then Ventus and still Roxas #ANYWAY BACK TO MY MAIN POINT its part of why i love love love the manga i love how they handle Roxas especially #not that i dont like his game stuff tho dont get me wrong. hes one of the most beloved characters for a Reason #its possible that they didnt do anything bc they wanted Roxas' big moment to be when he comes back as himself once n for all #n didnt wanna take away from that maybe ? idk thats pure theorizing here #but also theres that mention of how Jiminy is still with him after death..... and how Naminé appears in the final world n all that..... #thats not related to the previous thing i mentioned it just. feels connected in a way i cant articulate rn #ok my ability to think is going down now thats all i got rn. ty for enabling me again i havent thought abt these guys like this in a While #god. i need to replay kh2 again sometime #kh #ask #storm-driver #as an add on purely for myself - the thing i said at the very beginning of the tags abt the people within being the answer #or important in some way...... he himself is included in that. bc of remind

[sanchoyo]

i started watching arc v! finally. after years of saying Im Gonna. its Happening. (i've tried to twice and cant recall what eps i got to in those attempts, because I literally dont remember anything at ALL LMAO) I'm like, 15 eps in and may I just say some Things. ep 1-15 thoughts below the Cut

-yuzu best girl immediately my god shes already been done dirty tho. she shouldve gotten to fight shingo! fuck emo yuya for stopping it and stepping in! (altho yaaaay xyz :3 my beloved) and also she loses the first duel we see her get to do? when her dad is literally the owner of a duel school?? and his school was at stake?? bc she was distracted thinking of Not Yuya? no. fuck off with that lol I'm picking her up and mentally rewriting all that. the girl she dueled against was super fun tho, I ship them tbh.

-yuya is finally the canonical clown ygo protag I needed. he dresses as a clown in ep 1! he has! a circus deck! thats so fun! hes a LOT more melancholic/prone to moodiness than I expected...the goggles as a mood indicator is fun. also seems to care VERY much what ppl think/need lots of applause and praise or he gets upset quickly which. like, wanting to put smiles on ppls faces with dueling is a sweet goal, but a lot of it feels self-serving, too, which is Inchresting for a protag...I LIKE it and want to see where it goes

-and the whole 'laugh when you want to cry' is, ngl, very Bad and Unhealthy and I cant imagine we're going anywhere good with that. (seriously, dont recall what ep, maybe 4 or 5, when the kids and yuzu were in danger he started LAUGHING trying to imrpove his own mood and i was like DUDE. UNNERVING STOP THAT.) let him feel his feelings guys. or this is going to go severely Bad I Think

-dont trust sora but also no shit? his intro is him being sus, basically outright saying 'ya where I come from everyone does fusion, nbd' yeah hes some kind of spy or SOMETHING for that academia that emo yuya was taking abt. and his deck is very cute but also has a dark side/creepy cute thing going on and this is ygo where Decks Indicate Personality, so. just kinda Waiting for him to Stab Backs. hes already kind of a little shit

-he 100% shouldve been dueling that guy gongenzaka had to duel! gongenzaka doesnt even GO here and ms Chairman said someone from this school had to duel her school students! if you want to fake being friends with yuya! you need to fucking put in some EFFORT!!! and at least pretend to give a shit dude, this is the school the guy you supposedly admire attends!!! it comes off as u not giving a fuck abt anything besides pendulum/yuya-related stuff which is gonna make yuya less inclined to wanna be ur friend bc u look like a brat! (I know the meta answer is that they wanted to give gongenzaka some screentime to convince me hes yuyas bff or w/e but. in my mind its been 10 or so eps by this point, yuzu is yuyas bff in my mind lol. )

-anyway that aside soras deck is SO cute. the BEARS!! ARE IN!!!! the 'acting younger/cuter than u are' shtick is already kind of annoying tho. I do like his chara design tho (at least his hair/face? Id redesign his outfit ngl if hes going for a cutecore/sweets theme why not go ALL in yk)

-gongenzaka's whole 'no spells/traps' and standing in one spot during an action duel is objectively really funny

-action duels in general are SO FUN!!! i want to ride my monsters too..i kno theyd be soft. pls.

-really wanted to see more masumi or her vs yuya!!! so sad reiji stepped in. pls let the girls DO MORE!!! i love that she used gem knights!! I love gem knights!!!

-didnt know reiji used d/d/d cards, immediately broke out into a cold sweat upon seeing them. those decks always destroy me in duel links in like 2 turns jkasfkjjn.

-its so funny theres entire classes just for synchro and xyz and most ppl in this world can just Do One of them Only. like everyone being SHOCKED reiji can do All of them LMAO.

-surprised at how much I like reiji actually from just what ive seen up to this point, I mean I Like the other ygo rivals and all but usually they have an Attitude...but hes very polite to yuya and him saying he respects yuya's dad is REFRESHING compared to everyone else calling his dad a coward (for?? seemingly going MISSING??) his fashion choices leave a lot to be desired tho. but otherwise him and yuzu are my favs so far I think...we'll see if this changes!

-I KNOW charas from other series get involved, dont know WHEN thatll be, but I am Excitedly Waiting. give me The King Jack. Give me Kaito. I dont know who all besides those two shows up Actually But Im WAITING AAAA.

#btw if the answers to any of these qs are spoilers i dont wanna hear them! #i know SOME thngs but not too much to not enjoy it yk #arc v #ygo #sanchoyorambles #not exactly a liveblog just my Thoughts A Little Bit #sanchoyo liveblogs arc v

[roxasbelongswithsora-blog]

Lets all talk about the why we ship them

Alright while i being a fan of kingdom hearts i have NEVER really thought that much about the ships from the games like for me its more about friendship and the power of having friends by your side to help you threw the hard times in life. BUT now looking back and really thinking about some of the ships that have been drawn out of these games makes me REALLY think hard

Sora & Roxas = Soroku or RokuSor Okay, so!  Soroku.  How do I feel about it?

Soroku  I ship this most because i really cant see Roxas with any of the kingdom hearts girls from the games ....like yeah Namine is cute with him ...but it never really made me want to ship them both ....i still remember the very first Soroku video i saw on You tube and i just knew these two needed to together !  Soroku is mainly the ONLY yaoi ship in kingdom hearts i fully support  ,Roxas always seemed to be looking for something to give his life meaning and i just think Sora is everything he needs to be happy ,Roxas would also be willing to fight to the death for Sora if it is needed i think at lest , Sora would be willing to try to put up a fight if someone wishes to Take Roxas or hurt him

Well, I feel like people don’t genuinely realize how much I actually love Sora and Roxas, individually and together.  Like, I have issues picking favorites, but with Sora and Roxas, I can tell you straight that I absolutely love the both of them so fucking much that they are Best Boys (even if Roxas is currently the holder of that title).  

Individually, Sora’s devotion to his friends makes me so fucking happy, and Roxas’s burning determination to do right by his own is motivational.   Together, Sora and Roxas as a ship and otherwise are a power couple that is just underappreciated.    To this day, their few interactions still give me butterflies.  “It really has to be you.” “You deserve as much as I do to be your own person.”  The fact that Roxas and Sora had no idea about each other in the beginning but came to recognize each other as equals was so WELL written! AND That, my friends, is on another level entirely. Theirs is a subtle relationship, built on a foundation of acceptance and peace and trust. There is love there, undeniably. To accept someone else as “the other me who is meant to be”, and to selflessly and so simply open up his own heart to shelter a person he saw as a separate person from himself.

#soroku #rokusor #i will go down with this ship #kingdom hearts #yaoi

[katslitg]

how the open heart lis would react to you being pregnant. (obvs jackie’s pregnant in her scenario.)

Jackie Varma:

god she’d be pissed!!!!!!

“what do you mean positive??? check the other ten tests!!!!”

“jack, all of them say posi-“ “shut up!!!”

she’d be mad, mostly at herself for not being careful enough

pregnancy on top of money problems is rough

good thing you two already live together

wouldnt acknowledge it until she started showing

“dr varma, ure pregnant???” “yeah, just ignore it.”

shed ignore you at the beginning, not knowing what to do

“jackie, c’mon, you cant keep ignoring me! it takes to two to tango!” “i can and i will,”

when you finally force her to come shopping for baby clothes, supplies, furniture etc, she loves it

“omg look how adorable! can you believe our baby’s feet are this small!”

she’d become insecure further into the pregnancy

“what if im not going to be a good mom, hm?”

“don’t say that, jack, you’ll be a great mom,”

you two would move into the your room, since it had a better view and change her room into a nursery

the boys would help you put everything together.

“bryce, that’s not where its supposed to be- ykw forget it.”

“jesus, dr ramsey do you even know how to-“ bryce would shut up just seeing ethan give him a glare

“see i knew raf would come around to save the day” she’d flirt with him, making him blush

cutest mood swings ever!!!

“all im saying is he’s a fucking jerk and i- ohhh sienna are those donuts?”

jackie would get stressed at the weirdest moments, and you kiss her and cuddle with her to calm her down

“mc, you know i hate kids, why did this have to happen to us!!!!”

she’d slowly come to terms with the fact that she was going to become a parent

god giving birth would scare this woman, and trust me not a lot of things scare her

“mc, what if-“ “jack, breath, everything will be fine!”

when you two found out you’d have a daughter she smiled

“at least i wont have to deal with a little mc” she’d joke

when she got in labour she’d curse at everyone!!!

“AND YOU! YOU MC ARE THE WORST ONE HERE! GETTING ME PREGNANT AND THAN MAKING ME DO THE HARD PART I FUCKING HATE YOU!!!”

“uhhh....”

after a couple of years, the three of you would move into a bigger apartment, still close to the hospital

god, your daughter absolutely lovessssssssss aunt sienna and uncle elijah!!!! these two dorks would hang around with her all the time

“dad, can i stay at aunt sienna’s after school?”

“she’s working today sweetheart but mommy will be there to pick you up”

you two would have some sweet, annoying nicknames for her

love, sweetheart, sugar, honey etc

Bryce Lahela:

he’d be excited and scared

he would freeze when he found the positive pregnancy test in his trashcan

“i wanted to tell you but seems like you already found out,”

he’d shut you out and be less loud at work

“bryce, please talk to me” “uhh, cant have a long shift today”

but one day you’d show up to his apartment, keiki opened the door

“oh hey keiki, is bryce home?” “yeah come in”

youd try to get him to talk but man he was not feeling it

“i just need some space mc,”

wouldnt even take a week for him to come over and apologize to you

“im just not sure if i’d make a good dad, i mean i had two bad examples growing up, what if i-“

youd cut him off with a kiss

“no need to stress, bryce, im certain you will make a great dad!”

you two would have to look for a bigger place, and also someone to fill your spot at the apartment

sienna, elijah and jackie would help you decorate the nursery

“jackie those colours do not match with the blankets i bought” sienna would say while jackie just rolled her eyes

“well maybe you shouldn’ve bought so! many! blankets!” jackie said while holding up multiple blankets

“guys please its mc and bryce’s child we can’t fight over this” elijah was the only one who would think rationally

when you found out you were having a son bryce almost jumped into the air

“a little bryce,,,,” he’d say with heart eyes, making you roll your eyes

when you went into labour, he’d be the one freaking out

“can’t believe im saying this when im the one in labour, but good god bryce calm down!”

uncle raf!!!!! aunt kyra!!!!!

rafael and kyra would absolutely adore your son!!!! theyd fight over whose turn it was to babysit

“kyra, you had him last weekend!” “but mc said he always talks about how fun aunt kyra is!”

“why dont you two take him to the park together? he loves both aunt kyra and uncle rafael equally” bryce would say, making the two adults reluctantly agree

“finally a moment alone with the woman of my dreams” he said the second they left, making you chuckle

keiki would hang out with your son. occasionally.

“aunt keiki can you read me a bedtime story?” “right. im aunt keiki.”

she’d love it secretly

Rafael Averio: (pretending sora doesnt exist here lol)

this man would beam with joy!!!

he had always dreamt of having a big family of his own

“youre pregnant?” “yeah.... i-“ he’d kiss you before you could even say anything else

would brag to everyone about it

“do you guys know im goin-“ “going to be a dad? yes raf you told us like a million times” his paramedic friends would say

it was even funnier when you saw how some people avoided him because of it

would not leave ur side

“jesus ever heard of personal space?” “oops sorry”

he’d be at ur apartment all the time

“raf, not that we don’t enjoy you being here but don’t you idk have other friends?” jackie would try to get him out of the house

sienna’d be fine with it since he would help her cook n bake stuff

“i didnt know you cooked!” “not really just some stuff i picked up from my grandma”

he’d sleep over at your apartment

when you got insecure he’d talk to you and make u forgot about it in a certain way ;)

“what if im not a good mom? or what if your fanily doesn’t approve of me?? oh good god this is not going how i imagined-“ “relax, you know my family loves you, now get over here”

you’d move in with him, and get someone to fill ur spot in the apartment

the two of you going to the senior center together!!!

“now edith you better not get to comfortable” you’d joke, earning a laugh from rafael

kyra and bryce would come over and help with the nursery, of course it was after the boys’ gym day so bryce dragged ethan with them

“hey gu- oh hey dr ramsey!” you’d say with a bright smile when you opened the front door.

“kyra not that i dont love you but what even is this?” “yeah i tried to make a blanket but as you can see it backfired”

“uhm ethan you sure that this is the color we picked out?” bryce would panic, knowing damn well they didnt do the one you asked them to do right

“well good thing aunt kyra did got the good color” she’d go get it from the car while the two men started at her in confussion

when you found out you were having a girl he got super excited

“a little mc running around the house” he’d say, already coming up with names

when you’d go into labour he’d put up a calm gentle persona while in reality he wanted to screammmmm

uncle bryce n aunt jackie!!!

u cant tell me bryce n raf havent become close friends

“hey dad can uncle bryce and aunt jackie stay for dinner?” “sweetie youre ignoring the rest of our guests”

even tho they would admit it bryce and jackie loved babysitting her

“do you want to come with uncle bryce?” “bryce thats enough its MY day!”

his family would come around often, bringing gifts every single time

his grandma would try to get him to propose, earning glares from him

when your daughter heard juliana say something along the lines of “when is the wedding” she’d get super excited!!!

“are you two really getting married??!!”

Ethan Ramsey:

you two would already be in an awkward position bc of the gwyneth thing

what was worse was that he admitted to not wanting to get married and have children

god, that little fight on the way to leland and at house took a toll on you, so when june came to check on you back in the hospital you told her

“so, youre pregnant?” “yeah” you’d sob

she wouldnt force you to tell her who the dad is, but it was obvious

before the fight you’d always come to the diagnostics team’s meetings with a smile on your face but now it was a neutral face or sometimes even a frown

soooo ethan found out. not directly from you, but from june, resulting in another fight

“you told june but not me?” “you dont even want kids i cant just casually bring it up!”

the awkwardness would be there for a while, im talking 2-3 months

“enough already! you two talk this out! not only is this bad enough for the two of you but also for me and baz! think about us! and our patients!” june’d snap one day

you’d talk it out, still awkward around each other

“jesus, ethan we can’t keep doing this, i have an appointment to check on the little one, you want to join?” you would try to keep the awkwardness at a certain level, he’d nod with a smile on his face

so when he found out he was having a son, he’d be happy, still very scared but very happy

“im sorry, mc. i acted as a jerk and didnt listen to your needs. i want to be in your and our baby’s lives.”

he’d ask you to move in with him, which you reluctantly agreed to, i mean there wasnt even enough space for a nursery in your apartment

sienna would invite herself and elijah over to help you with the nursery , since they knew about you two since that time after the hearing

“thank you, trinh,” ethan would say as he accepted the cookies she had baked

“i helped too. just so you know” elijah chimed in, earning a chuckle from you

god labour was the worst, you had to do an emergency c section since it was a bit too early for the baby to be born

so when they send your son off to the nicu, ethan would be there the whole time, very worried

“dr ramsey, you should go we’ll take care of him” the nurses would try to get him out of there with no luck, “no its fine i just want to stay here”

when you two could finally go home he would make sure to never youre side

“mc do you need anything? want me to bring you something to drink? maybe an extra blanke-“ “ethan shut uppppppppppppppppp its 3 am”

of course your friends would come over but not as often since they had to take care of their interns and stuff

uncle baz and aunt june!!!!!

“AUNT JUNE!!!!” he’d yell when you, june and baz picked him up from the daycare at the hospital

“wow so youre just ignoring uncle baz?” baz would act hurt, making the boy laugh

#hope this is sorta ok lmfao #open heart #jackie varma #bryce lahela #rafael aveiro #ethan ramsey #jackie x mc #bryce x mc #rafael x mc #ethan x mc #open heart hc #headcanon

[is0gild]

Ice Cream and Fire Oven Pizza - Chapter 17

Pairing: Elsa x Lea/Axel || Side Pairing: Riku x OC

Summary: Modern AU. She's an introvert ball of nerves who works at Ice Palace, a mall food court ice cream shop. He's the outgoing, sassy goofball who works at the Pizza Planet across the way. Hilarity, snark, and fluffy romcom hijinks ensue.

Word Count: 12,131

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

Credit for super friggin’ cute and super friggin’ amazing cover art goes to the super friggin’ talented ky-jane here on tumblr!

Day three of Operation Boyfriend But Shh Not Really and so far, so good.

Though the thought of this triple date had my inner recluse curling up into the fetal position, I'd manage to convince myself it actually was a good thing when you really thought about it. One, it gave me more practice for trying to do this whole couply… thing I was trying to do. More practice meant I'd eventually, hopefully be more comfortable with it all, as well as less chance for screw-ups in front of my parents when the dreaded but inevitable weekend with them at last came. Two, we were trying to maintain this image of being boyfriend and girlfriend in front of everyone else at the mall. And boyfriends and girlfriends went on dates. What better way to be seen going on said dates than by going out with other actual couples? And three, we couldn't forget about the person the Duke had hired to tail Anna originally and could quite possibly still be keeping tabs on me now. If they were still out there lurking, it was important that they, even more so than anyone else,see me dating.

It was still kind of weird to think about - that an actual, real life PI or whatever had been surveilling me constantly for who knows how long and I'd had no idea. It felt so surreal. Unreal even. But the Duke was absolutely that crazy and I wouldn't put it past him to still have someone keeping an eye on me, looking for any cracks in the story, any slip-ups or mistakes. I'd have to start paying attention more when I was out and about, see if I could figure out who it was, spot any faces that seemed to always show up everywhere I went.

But then, even if I did identify a likely culprit, I would have absolutely no idea what to do with that information once I had it. Even if I marched right up to them and told them their cover had been blown so they may as well scram, the Duke was just insane enough and rich enough to keep hiring new people to do the job instead.

...jeez, I was really starting to sound paranoid now, wasn't I?

With my luck, it'd turn out the Duke no longer had anyone following me after he'd confronted me in the food court.

Best not to think about it too much, because honestly? It'd get me nowhere.

Sighing, I banished the thoughts from my head as I watched the buildings blur past my window from the backseat of Riku's silver Ford Focus. The three of us were on our way to the restaurant now and Lea, Kairi and Sora were going to meet us there. My hand anxiously smoothed out the creases of my outfit - a dark magenta sheath dress with long sleeves and a hemline at the knees. It had a tastefully low v-neckline and a double layered skirt, the top layer made of a shimmering gossamer material. Nice, but nothing too fancy for our "nothing too fancy" date, to use Kairi's words.

Per Lea's request, I'd also worn his leather jacket. It made sense, after all. Nothing screamed "dating" more than one half of a couple wearing their other half's clothes, so it certainly helped maintain the facade. His boy scent still lingered on it, even though he hadn't worn it in a couple of days now, given it had been in my possession. The smell was somehow both soothing and butterflies-in-the-stomach inducing at the same time. It was an odd mix of emotions, to say the least.

I felt a buzz in the jacket's pocket. Pulling out my phone (gosh, it was so weird having one again after going so many weeks without) I checked my notifications to discover I'd received a text.

Well, speak of the devil.

Still cant believe u didnt lemme come pick u up

Shaking my head with a small snort, I tapped out a reply to Lea.

It just made the most logical sense for me to ride with Riku and Rayne since we were all coming from the same place.

Rayne suddenly cried out happily, drawing my attention to her as she clapped and bounced in the front passenger seat. "Ahh, I'm still just so excited for date night! Good food, great company, hot hubby," she slyly pinched Riku's cheek, which he endured with dignity as he drove. "What more could a girl ask for?"

He chuckled as he shifted the car over into the turn lane. "You make it sound like I never take you out."

"You know that's not what I mean!" she playfully smacked his shoulder. "But with the baby on the way, I don't know how many more of these I'll have! This is one of my last chances to enjoy freedom! Jesus take the fucking wheel, hallelujah!"

I felt my phone vibrate in my hand again and I looked down at it.

I know not this logic u spk of

I felt a tiny smile pulling at my mouth as my thumbs typed.

Don't worry about it. Tis beyond your mortal ken.

"I just hope no one's drinking tonight," Riku snerked as I watched those three dots bounce at the bottom of my screen. "Don't need you dancing on any more tables, thank you very much."

"Your face dances on tables!" Rayne shot back, sticking her tongue out at him.

"That doesn't even make any sense."

"You don't even make any sense!"

Rude. Ill have u know I had half a mind 2 drive ovr n get u NEway, logic b damned

My smile turned a touch wicked.

I'm impressed. That's half a mind more than you usually have.

"Here we are!"

My head shot up as I heard the engine shut down. I hadn't even realized we were in a parking lot. I hadn't even realized the vehicle had stopped moving.

As I looked out my window again, I heard Rayne saying, "Have I mentioned how happy I am we're doing this?"

"You may have said something about that once or twice." I could hear the smile in Riku's low voice.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her leaning over towards him, her hand coming up to run slender fingers through his long, ashen strands. "Yeah, but maybe I should show you."

"Maybe you should…"

And that's when I, being the absolute clueless, blissfully naive little fool that I was, chose to turn and fully look at them, just in time to get a front row seat to their little game of tonsil hockey. I blushed, threw up a hand to block my line of sight and made a tiny noise of disgust in my throat. "Ugh! You know you're not the only people in the car, right?"

Rayne pulled away to smirk back at me. "Well, other people can shoo," she flicked a dismissive hand in my direction before grabbing Riku by his collar and yanking him over for a deeper, more passionate kiss. Ding, ding, round two!

Squeaking, I fumbled with my seatbelt until I heard the click release, threw my car door open, stumbled out and slammed it shut behind me with a huff.

Oi, that was the main drawback to this group date plan. We were going to be around actual couples, and actual couples actually, ahem… snogged. Rayne and Riku were going to be bad enough, but let's not forget Sora and Kairi were along for the ride too and I'd seen firsthand how gross those two could be as well. Mark my word, this night was going to have more than its fair share of uncomfortable moments with those four around, being all besotted and smitten and other such rot. But I would survive this and make it through to the other side. Somehow.

Sweeping my braid forward over one shoulder, I glanced up at the building before me now. It bore a colorful banner over its entrance that read Fuente Del Oro. A local, family-owned Mexican restaurant, or so Rayne had told me. I could already tell this was going to be a very different experience from the types of restaurants my ex used to take me to for our dates. Those restaurants had all been about the look, the prestige… you didn't go to any of those places for the food, you went there to be seen, to give off an air of importance. Those places were… dull. Lifeless. This place before me now, on the other hand, was… nice. Colorful. Vibrant and full of character. Not elegant or frilly, but warm and inviting. And the aromas that I could smell coming from it, even all the way out here? Delicious.

I was actually kind of looking forward to this.

Phone still in my grasp, I looked back down at it and frowned.

No message back from Lea yet.

A giggle suddenly echoed out across the parking lot and my eyes snapped towards the source. It didn't take long to spot Kairi a few vehicles over, squirming and laughing in Sora's arms as he hugged her from behind, blowing raspberries against her neck. They were standing with a very familiar redhead who was leaning against a very familiar black muscle car. Said redhead had pulled his hair back into a ponytail again and was dressed in a snug, black tee with a second shirt on underneath, red and black horizontal stripes running down its full-length sleeves. His slim, dark jeans made his already long legs seem even longer and he was sporting his bright red Converse. He had his phone in hand in front of him, but it wasn't the phone he was looking at. Our eyes met and a grin tugged at one corner of his lips.

Suddenly, whatever boldness that I had felt behind the safety of text on the tiny, glowing screen in the palm of my hand had abandoned me and I felt a small pang of anxiety pierce my chest.

But I rallied.

Alright, Elsa, pep talk time. You can do this. You've been mentally and emotionally preparing for this since yesterday. Let him throw at you whatever fluffy, sappy moves he decides to today, all in the name of pretending to be your boyfriend. You can take it.

Shields raised and at full power, captain!

Inhaling and exhaling slowly, I pocketed my mobile and started making my way over to those three. Probably hearing my footsteps against the asphalt, Kairi and Sora looked over at me as I approached and greeted me with waves. I gave them a shy smile and returned the wave as Lea held his phone up, turning the screen towards me and showing the last message I'd sent him as he tsked, "Brutal. You wound me, madame."

I stopped a few feet away from him, my smile twitching wider. "You like it."

"True. What can I say, I've always been a bit of a masochist," he hummed a low chuckle, slipping his phone into the back pocket of his pants. His head tipped to one side and he stared at me for another second, then his eyes crinkled as he stretched a hand out towards me with a soft, "C'mere."

I bit my bottom lip, hesitating for a heartbeat before moving another step forward to take his offered hand.

"Lookit you," he whistled, closing his fingers around mine and leading me into a little twirl. "Digging the look." He then gently pulled me against him, drawing my arms up to hug his neck before slipping his hands beneath the jacket to wrap around my waist, enveloping me in his cinnamon scent. "Didn't get a chance to say it the other day, but my jacket suits you."

I rolled my eyes up at him, doing my best to be impervious to our sudden closeness. I wasn't succeeding. "Not really. It's too big."

"Yes really," he insisted, bowing his head slightly towards mine. "It looks way better on you than it ever did on me."

"Where's Riku and Rayne?" Sora interjected and I turned my head to look at him.

"They-" my words tripped over my tongue as Lea pressed a tender kiss to my temple.

Critical hit, captain! Shields down to thirty percent, but holding!

Ignoring the heat rushing to my face, I did my best to regather my scattered thoughts. "They, uh… they're back in the, uh… the…" Drat, what was the word again? "...car! They're back in the… the car."

Sora pulled a face. "Swapping spit, no doubt."

"Oh-ho, we'll see about that! C'mon, Sora!" Kairi cackled with an evil gleam in her eye, slipping free of her boyfriend's hold to instead grab his hand and pull him behind her as she ran off towards Riku's car.

"Seriously," Lea spoke up again, his voice hushed as I slowly returned my gaze to his. "Pretty sure I've lost all claim to that jacket. It belongs to you now."

My eyelids drooped. "That's not how that works."

"Sure it is." He rested his forehead against mine and I could feel his thumb rubbing light circles against the fabric of my dress just above my hip. "You don't choose a leather jacket, it chooses you. And trust me, that one has definitely picked you over me."

I gave a soft snort. "I'm giving it back to you after tonight."

"Don't you dare," he chided, his breath warming my lips. "You'll hurt the jacket's feelings."

"Stop anthropomorphizing the jacket." I was fighting a smile now.

"Make me," he murmured, something in his voice causing my insides to do that whole warm, fuzzy, squishy thing.

And the academy award for best leading actor in the role of Elsa's boyfriend goes to this guy right here.

But had to say, I thought he might be overdoing it a bit. I mean, Sora and Kairi weren't even around anymore to hear any of this. And if we were being monitored by someone under my great uncle's payroll, they certainly couldn't hear it either. I suppose Lea just… really liked getting into character?

Clearing my throat, I unclasped my hands from behind his neck and shifted them down to his chest in an attempt to push myself free of his grasp as I whispered, "We, ah… should probably go speak to the hostess now."

However, his hold on me didn't loosen, his arms remaining firmly secured around my waist. He didn't say anything, just continued to grin down at me. His eyes became hooded as they flicked down to my lips now, making my heart skip a beat.

What was he-?

A sudden loud yelp ruptured the air around us.

Rayne.

Followed by an annoyed yell of, "Goddamnit, Sora! Kairi!"

And that would be Riku.

The two delinquents in question blurred past us and towards the restaurant's front doors, whooping and snickering and razzing their tongues back at their victims climbing out of the Ford Focus. "We'll grab us a table!" Sora called quickly at the same time Kairi shouted, "See ya inside!" Then they both disappeared through the entrance with Rayne and Riku hot on their heels.

I heard Lea sigh. Or maybe he didn't. It was so soft that it was fully possible that I imagined it. Then he released me, slipping one hand into mine and jerking a thumb towards the restaurant with a lopsided smile, "Shall we?"

I stared at him, feeling the night air cool my warmed face. Then I gave a tentative nod and let him lead me inside.

The others hadn't made it far past the doors and we stepped in to find Riku doling out Sora's punishment: death by a thousand noogies. Sora was smacking his cousin's arm and trying to wriggle free, but to no avail. Apparently Kairi had gotten off with only a warning for she was standing off to one side with Rayne, both cracking up as they watched the boys. I looked past them, taking in the restaurant. Strings of fairy lights hung from the ceiling intermixed with strings of multi-colored papers, each bearing cutouts depicting various imagery. The walls were painted with murals of fantastical, mythical creatures of various shapes and sizes with wings and prismatic fur, feathers and scales. This place was absolutely beautiful.

Once the roughhousing had finally settled down, we all approached the hostess, an extremely tiny, extremely old lady wearing a name tag that read Coco who seemed far more interested in napping than greeting new customers. However, she woke up long enough to squint at her list and find our reservation before calling over a man to seat us. He led us through the restaurant and to a large booth in one of the back corners, leaving menus, chips and salsa on the table before flashing us a warm, genuine smile and saying he'd be back to take our orders in a minute.

I started shrugging out of the jacket, feeling Lea assist me before folding it over his arm and gesturing towards the booth with bow and a, "Lady's first." Smiling at him, I took a seat and scooched towards the middle. Lea wasn't too far behind, sitting close enough for our knees to bump against one another. He tossed the jacket on the back shelf of the booth before draping his arm across the top of the cushioned seat behind my head. Rayne took the spot to my left with Riku of course beside her, and on the other side of Lea sat Kairi and Sora. The waiter came back after giving us a little time to peruse the menus and he gathered our food requests before dashing off again.

"So Ray," Kairi piped up, popping a heavily salsa-laden chip into her mouth, "how's the preggers-life treating you?"

"Really well," she nodded contentedly, one hand going to her tummy. "The jellybean's happy and healthy so far and I've just started barely showing in the past couple weeks. No weird food cravings yet, thank god, but those are supposed to be right around the corner."

Sora leaned forward, propping his chin in both hands and beamed, "Do we know yet if I have a lil nephew or niece on the way?"

"We're cousins, Sora. Nephews and nieces would only be if we were brothers," Riku corrected with a wry curve to his lips.

"We don't know yet," Rayne shook her head, "but I'm about four months along now, so hoping to find out at our next appointment."

Lea had shifted his hand to dangle down so he could idly twiddle my braid between his fingers. I could also sense his gaze on me, causing a bit of a flutter in the pit of my stomach. Reminding myself he was just playing a part and it wasn't real, I resisted the urge to squirm and instead pretended not to notice, directing all my focus into reaching for a chip to dip into the salsa.

"Well whatever the wee monkey turns out to be, you can bet Auntie Kairi and Unkie Sora will be here to shower it with all the love and kisses!" Kairi cooed.

Riku twitched and frowned. "I just said that isn't how it-"

"Shush, hon, they're just teasing you now," Rayne poked his cheek with a laugh before looking back over at Kairi. "And you? How's the new gig over at Mickey's going? You've been there, what? About a week now?"

"Mm-hm! It's been a lot of fun working the jewelry counter. Oh sure, there's the occasional asshole customer, but turns out I'm really good at killing them with kindness."

Riku kicked Sora's foot under the table, "What about you, ya freeloader? Any prospects yet?"

He shrugged with that big smile he seemed to always have permanently glued to his face. Just looking at it was starting to make my cheeks hurt. "Couple of interviews coming up, so we'll see!"

Smirking, Riku said, "Can't wait to hear how you screw them up this time, knucklehead."

"Hey!"

Kairi turned to look our direction now. "So what's new and exciting with you two, hm? Lea, you just had that big test, right?" Silence was her answer as I went for another chip. "Lea? Hello, earth to... ah-ha, there!" She rocketed up to her feet, slamming one hand down on the table and pointing the other right in Lea's face. "Lost puppy look!"

"Hm, what now?" he jolted, his hand jerking away from my braid to lay across the booth backrest once more. "Lost pup-? Bah, I told you already, there's no lost puppy look. You need to get your eyes checked, princess."

She scoffed, plopping heavily back down into her seat and smugly take a sip of her soda. "Please. You were bad at hiding it when you guys were dating in secret, and you're even worse at it now that it's all out in the open."

"What's the deal there anyhow?" Sora cocked his head at me. "There's all sorts of wild rumors flying around the mall, like that you're runaway royalty from some far off country just living off the lam now."

"What?!" I blanched, gawking in disbelief. Doing my best to recover with a tiny, awkward laugh, I hastily said, "No, nothing quite so, ah… dramatic. My parents, they're… well off, to be sure, but certainly not royalty. And not from so far away either. Just Arendelle, which is only about an hour north of here."

Chewing on her straw, Kairi eagerly leaned in closer, "I'd love to hear the story of how you two met!"

I stiffened.

Fudge.

Welp, add that to my ever growing list of things I should have thought about in advance but failed miserably to do so. I fiddled a chip between my fingers as I tucked in my bottom lip. Shoot, what was I supposed to tell her? It's not like I'd gotten any better at lying in the past few days since my visit with Father. In fact, I'd been mostly skirting by since then by dodging questions and letting people fill in the blanks for themselves so I didn't have to. Heart thudding in my chest, I opened my mouth, not quite fully sure yet what was going to come out.

"Last summer," Lea was quicker. "In another city."

"Oh, during that big cross-country road trip you took?" Rayne asked him as she leaned into her husband who slung an arm around her shoulders.

Lea tapped his own nose, "That'd be the one, Raindrop."

Kairi gasped, "You two met in a foreign city? How romantic! That's the dream!"

"You have to leave the country in order for it to be a foreign city," Riku shook his head.

"Cram it, you knew what I meant!"

"It was like one of those scenes straight outta a movie," Lea planted an elbow on the table, rubbing a curled finger over his smirk as he watched me out of the corner of his eye. "There I was, just strolling along minding my own business, smack dab in the middle of a jam-packed city street. But then the crowd parted and there she stood. The most gorgeous creature to ever walk the face of this or any other planet in all the cosmos."

Cue my face turning all new shades of red never before witnessed in the history of human eyesight.

Jeez, laying it on a bit thick there, Lea, don't you think?

"So whatdja do?" Kairi pressed, eyes bright and on the edge of her seat. "Sweep her off her feet right then and there?"

He snerked, "Shit no, I walked headfirst into a lamppost."

I smothered a grin behind my hand as the rest of the table erupted into laughter. Sora reached over to punch him lightly in the arm, "Smooth, ya stud. What city was this anyway?"

"Corona," I was the one to answer, surprising myself. Suddenly self-conscious with all eyes turning to me, I quietly added, "I was there for part of my vacation last year."

"By yourself?" Rayne quirked a dubious eyebrow at me. She knew this story was as made-up as my current relationship status was. I could only assume she was trying to poke holes in order to help us solidify this little tale that was being spun so we'd be more prepared for the next time we had to tell the lie.

The thing is, the best lies have a grain of truth to them. I really had been in Corona last summer. "No, I was taking the trip with Anna. We were actually staying over in Traverse Town, but had planned to visit Corona for the day to enjoy a festival there, since it was only a short train ride away. However, Anna disappeared with a guy before we could go. I'd really been looking forward to this festival though and didn't want to miss it, so I took the train over on my own."

"Wait," Kairi slapped both hands down in front of her, eyes widening. "Are you talking about that big lantern festival they do every year?" At my nod, she squealed. "Lucky! Punzie has shown me pictures in magazines, it looks so goddamn pretty! Oh man, I've always wanted to go! Hint, hint," she shouldered Sora, who just chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

"It was actually right as they were launching the lanterns that I saw her," Lea said, folding his arms atop the table now. "She was wearing this cute sundress. White with a lil diamond patterned hem. Split sleeves that were all flowy. Hair down and dancing in the slight breeze." Wow, he was really selling this. He'd even nailed that whole far away look in his eye, like he was seeing something the rest of us couldn't. "And the way those lanterns lit up her smile as she watched them float up, I knew my lowly mortal self was in the presence of a goddess. Knocked the wind right outta me."

"As did that lamppost," Rayne sniggered.

"As did that lamppost," he agreed with a chuckle.

Totally enthralled now, Kairi breathed, "So what happened next?"

"Yeah, what did happen next?" I grinned over at him, the barest note of a challenge to my tone. To the others, it probably just sounded like I was teasing him since obviously I was already supposed to know this story. But now I was almost as invested as Kairi and was genuinely curious where he'd go with it next.

The corners of his eyes crinkled as he looked over at me and he leaned back, propping his elbows up on the back rim of the booth and once more slipping an arm behind my head. "Well after the lantern bit was over, I watched her get onto her train heading back to Traverse Town. So I did what any self-respecting, red-blooded, utterly bewitched male would do: I followed her."

"Stalker," Riku singsonged.

His wife smacked his leg, "Hush, it's sweet!"

He snorted, eyelids drooping, "Yeah, so sweet, the dumbass left his car behind in Corona."

"Psssh, I just took the train back for it later," Lea brushed off. "Anyway, when I found her on board, I sat across from her and worked up the nerve to strike up a conversation."

Rayne looked at me. "You? Talk to a handsome stranger on a train?" She squinted, repeating for emphasis, "You?"

"Heh… what can I say? He can be very charming," I smiled down at my drink, swirling the ice with my straw.

"Even with all of my roguish charm and devilish good looks though, it wasn't easy," Lea laughed. His hand had drifted down to start toying with my braid again. "But she warmed up to me eventually. By the time we arrived at Traverse Town, I was completely smitten. A total goner. She still needed more convincing though, so I managed to persuade her into joining me for a night out on the town. Luckily for me, Traverse Town has a very active night life that goes on for hours long after most other cities have gone to sleep."

"Yeah? Like what?" Sora burbled out around a mouth full of chips, making Kairi giggle as she put a hand over his face to hide it.

He pursed his lips to one side, looking up at the ceiling, "Oh, nothing too exciting. Few odds and ends here and there though… wandering around a record store… a café with a palm reader… a street poet at one sidewalk corner, a belly dancer at another, some stargazing in a park…" Now he smirked over at me, "A carnival with a kiss at the top of the ferris wheel."

A mock gasp from Rayne, "Scandal! And you with a fiancé, young lady!"

I looked away, suddenly feeling guilty and flustered over something that hadn't even really happened. "...ferris wheels can be very enchanting."

And my streak of helping the lie along while not actually lying myself successfully continues!

"And then, and then?" Kairi insisted impatiently, just eating this whole bit of fiction right up.

He chuckled and shrugged, "Just mostly a lot of meandering the streets and talking. We were out all night and watched the sunrise together. Eventually, she had to go meet up with her sister so they could move on to another city for the next leg of their lil vay-kay. But I didn't let her leave without agreeing to meet with me again in a few months."

Kairi was slackjaw now as she whispered, "And did she?"

"Mm-hm!" he hummed happily. "And from there, we kept meeting up, our little get-togethers getting longer and more frequent over time."

"Then what?" She was relentless.

A wolfish curl tugged at one side of his mouth. "What else? I slowly seduced her until she fell helpless into my bed, hungry for the pleasure only I could give her," he waggled his eyebrows.

Of course I'd chosen that exact second to be taking a sip of my drink. And of course I promptly spluttered and choked on it. "Excuse me?" I coughed, laughing incredulously as I elbowed him in the gut.

He gave a pained grunt, but grinned and snagged my hand before I could retract it, pressing a kiss to my knuckles. "I mean that in the most gentlemanly and respectful way possible, of course," he winked at me before looking back over at Kairi. "From there, I convinced her to run away from her family and ditch her two-bit, loser fiancé to be with me. And the rest, as they say, is history!"

"Wow!" she sighed dreamily, slumping back and fanning herself. Then she blinked, "Wait…" A gasp. "Oh my god! You swore off dating about a year ago, which was last summer! Was it cuz that's when you two met and it was love at first sight?!"

"Huh. The two certainly seem to line up perfectly, don't they?" he chirped. He'd rested my hand back down onto the table, his on top of mine, threading our fingers together.

Our waiter popped up again just then. "Your food will be just another moment. In the meantime, please allow us to entertain you with some music." He then turned, clapped his hands twice and called out, "Miguel!"

Out charged a boy in his early teens wearing a red hoodie and lugging a guitar that was white, etched in swirly patterns, and nearly as big as he was. He flashed us a smile huge enough to rival one of Sora's and without further preamble, started strumming away and singing. The kid was actually really good too!

Kairi clapped in delight and Rayne cooed over how adorable he was. Sora gaped in awe at the boy's obvious talent while Riku just grinned, digging into the chips. As I watched him perform, I couldn't help but feel Lea's eyes on me once more instead of on our little musician. I shifted in my seat, slipping my hand free of his and bringing it up to tuck some bangs behind my ear, hiding the growing warmth I felt in my cheeks behind my fingers.

At this rate, I didn't know how I was going to survive fake dating this guy for the rest of the evening, let alone for two more weeks.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Lea's hand closed around mine, stopping me in my tracks. I glanced over my shoulder at him, then back towards where Rayne and Riku were climbing into their car across the parking lot. "With them?"

"Ahhhnt," he made a buzzer noise, grinning. "Wrong! Would the contestant care to venture another guess?"

I gave him some side-eye, feeling one corner of my lips turn up. "...with you?"

"Bingo!" He started walking towards his car, gently tugging me along with him. "I was already so rudely denied my god-given right as the boyfriend to pick you up from your place. No way am I missing out on giving you a lift over to the movie theater. Same goes for driving you back home later tonight, so better make your peace with it now. It's happening."

I felt my smile twitch a fraction wider as I fell into step beside him. "I suppose being my chauffeur is quite the honor and privilege. Wouldn't want to take that away from you."

"Glad that's settled then," he gave a chipper nod, unlocking the front passenger door of his vehicle and holding it open for me as I got in. As he then jogged over to the driver's side while I buckled in, there was a loud meep meep of a car horn and I looked up just as a hot pink Jeep blurred past where we were parked - Kairi and Sora, it seemed, going on to the cinema ahead of us. I waved at them just as Lea had settled in himself and started the engine.

"So," I began once we were on the road, resting my temple against my knuckles with my elbow propped on the window sill, still grinning as I watched him out of the corner of my eye, "you took a road trip last summer?"

He gave a low hum of confirmation, reaching over to turn down the volume on the rock oldies station coming through the radio. "Decided to have one last big adventure before I really buckled down and started taking school seriously. Did a lil soul searching, that whole shtick."

"Ah." My gaze focused on the road ahead once more and I hesitated for a second, gnawing on my lower lip. "...that was a nice story you told. About how we met."

Lea chuckled, leaving one hand on the wheel while moving the other to lay atop the headrest of my seat. "Liked it, didja?"

"Oh definitely." Now I hid my growing smile behind my hand, trying to keep a straight face. "Though I have to admit, I think I was a bigger fan of the original movie adaptation."

I watched him visibly stiffen. "The…?"

Tapping a curled finger to my chin, I muttered, "What was the title again? Before Sunrise, I believe?"

He snerked, then broke out into a full laugh. "Crap, ya caught me. Yeah, I may have borrowed from the plot there a tad."

"Just a bit," I shook my head at him. "You're lucky Sora and Kairi haven't seen the film."

"Kinda surprised you have," he turned the car down a road that would take us towards the mall. "Pretty sure it's older than you are."

"Nothing wrong with old movies," I shrugged before wrinkling my nose at him slightly with a tiny smile. "Kind of sappy though. Wouldn't have thought that'd be your kind of movie."

Looking my way, he smirked, "What can I say? I'm a sappy guy. And hey, at least I didn't steal everything from that flick."

"True. The stuff before the train was all you."

"You helped," Lea pointed out as he pulled up to a stop sign. He then tapped his index against the steering wheel a couple times. "...outta curiosity, why'd you say Corona? Out of all the other places you must of visited on your trip, what made you pick that city?"

As the car accelerated once more, I tilted my head in thought. "Don't know really… I guess I just felt it would be a nice place to meet someone new in. That'd it make for a good story." I paused, watching some tail lights streak past us. "...the lantern festival really was beautiful. Have you ever seen it?"

Lea shook his head as he glanced up at the rearview before shifting lanes, "Nah. Had plans to on the road trip, but something else came up."

"A shame," I sighed wistfully. "You missed out."

"Wouldn't say that," he murmured, a warm flicker in his eyes. "'Sides, there's always next time."

"Suppose that's true," I nodded. "Nice touch, by the way, describing the dress I was wearing. I think I might even own one that's pretty close to it." Don't think I'd been wearing it in Corona though. But I couldn't really remember. It had been over a year ago after all.

He laughed again, fingers combing his scalp before returning the hand to my seat, now on a spot next to my ear. "Well, I did help you pack your clothes from your old condo just a couple days ago. I probably saw it then."

"Good point." That made sense. It would have been too much of a coincidence if that'd actually been what I'd had on that day. But now… should I be worried that I hadn't really been in that dress? What if someone found out the mismatch in the story? No… no, that was just me overthinking things again. Even if the tale ever reached the ears of the Duke's goon, it's not like they could go back in time to fact check. "Just one more thing now." My eyes narrowed at him, at odds with my grin. "Might want to edit the ending a bit."

"Which part?" he asked a touch too innocently, already turning us into the Dusk Town Center parking lot. "Running away to be with me? Hasn't that been the story all along?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "Try a little before that."

Wouldn't have thought it possible to both purse one's lips and smile at the same time, but Lea proved me wrong in that moment. "Hmm… oh! Well, figured wooing you over the course of months sounded more believable, but if you think it works better as weeks or even days, then-"

"No no. Little after that."

"Well then, now you got me stumped cuz I know you just couldn't possibly be talking about the absolute masterpiece that was the slow seducing, helpless bed falling, pleasure hungry part."

A snort. "Why yes, actually, I could be talking about that and in fact am."

"But that's the best part!" he protested, turning to park in a space right next to a familiar Ford Focus. "It's the heart and soul, the very essence of the story! The pièce de résistance, the crowning glory."

With a good natured scoff, I unfastened my seatbelt as the car shuddered into powering down. "Well decrown it because you're dropping that bit."

He lifted his chin slightly and gave a dignified sniff, "I am a storyteller, El. An arteest. You wouldn't ask Leonardo da Vinci to remove the smile from the Mona Lisa."

Well someone had a high opinion of himself. Which honestly came as zero surprise. I fixed him with a dull stare. "Drop it or your jacket gets a giant, sticky stain before the night is out." And with that, I opened my door.

Lea scrambled out of the car and rushed over to join me on my side just as I slammed the door shut behind me. He had the decency to only spend a couple seconds looking mildly miffed at having been denied the opportunity to open and hold the car door for me before his frown melted into a smile once more. "Jeez, blackmail? Never thought you'd stoop so low. But eh," he shrugged, "jacket's black, it'll be fine."

"You're failing to see the big picture here," I crossed my arms as I waited for Rayne and Riku to get out of their own vehicle. My guess was they were probably going for another round of Seven Minutes in Heaven in there. Smirking at Lea, I elaborated, "Because then I'll wash it."

"Egads," he mocked gasp, splaying a hand against his chest, "the horror."

My smirk curled wickedly. "In a washing machine."

As my roomies finally vacated their car (faces flushed, I might add), Lea actually paled. "But it's dry clean only!"

"That's right," I said smugly and turned to walk away. "So nix that line or the jacket gets it."

"You fight dirty," he muttered as he caught up to me, slipping his hand into mine. However, he was grinning.

Huh. That wasn't what I'd been expecting. IE the face of a man who'd just suffered a crippling defeat by my hands.

I narrowed my eyes up at him. "You certainly seem pretty happy about the impending, inevitable demise of your jacket."

Now the grin was joined by a dimple as we walked. "Well, it's just that in order for you to make good on your threat, you have to take my jacket hostage. Meaning you're gonna hafta keep it after all." His head dipped down closer to mine as he swung our hands slightly. "I count that as a win for me."

...well crud.

Score one for Lea there.

Shrieks and giggles suddenly erupted behind us before Sora tore past us towards the mall's entrance with Kairi riding piggyback. Rayne laughed and tugged Riku into a stumble behind her so they could catch up while Lea and I continued to take our time, bringing up the rear.

We made our way through the food court and over to Cinema XIII. The manager with long, silver hair that I'd seen there last time was present again, off to one side where he was setting up a huge cardboard display for the latest Star Wars movie. I watched him scowl and fiddle with the lifesize lightsaber cutouts as our group purchased tickets from a blonde chick with a weird hairdo that kind of resembled antennae. As we'd approached, I could have sworn I'd seen her boredly cleaning her fingernails with a small knife, but there was no sign of the blade by the time we'd reached her register. Perhaps my eyes had just been playing tricks on me.

Tickets for our whodunit comedy flick in hand, we then moved over to concessions which was being worked by that same teen with the emo haircut that I'd also spotted here a couple weeks ago. He hardly glanced up from the book he was reading as Riku and Rayne ordered snacks and drinks from him, Sora waiting in line behind them with Kairi still latched onto his back.

"Alright, whatcha want? My treat," Lea asked as he watched the flat screens hanging behind the counter scroll flashy ads for crisp, buttery popcorn and fizzing, bubbly soda.

I blinked. "What?" Then I frowned at him. "Oh no, not happening. You already paid for dinner despite my multiple protests. I'm not letting you buy me candy too."

We were only fake dating after all, and I wouldn't even want to make a real boyfriend pay for everything!

"But it's my right as-"

I put my finger to his lips, silencing him as my eyelids drooped. "Enough with playing the boyfriend card already. You're having too much fun with that."

He puckered up and planted a tiny peck on my fingertip, sending a small jolt straight to my heart as I quickly jerked my hand back. He chuckled, "Just tell me what your fave candy is."

"Shouldn't you be able to guess?" I arched an eyebrow, stubbornly ignoring the way the tip of my finger still had a slight tingle. "Isn't that like your special gift or whatever?"

"Only with ice cream," he lightly corrected.

"Right," I crinkled my eyes at him. "How's that coming along again?"

His shoulders bobbed up and down. "It's a process."

"My turn!" Sora suddenly proclaimed loudly in front of us, dropping Kairi off his back and spinning around to get behind her.

His girlfriend gasped, "Sora no!"

"Sora yes!" he cackled, jumping onto her back, arms hugging her shoulders tight and legs wrapping around her waist as her hands automatically shifted to grasp beneath his knees. To her credit, she managed to stand for three whole shaky seconds before collapsing beneath her boyfriend's weight into a tangled heap on the floor with him.

Ah, to be young.

Never mind the fact that I was pretty sure I was only like a year older than them.

With a soft snort through my nose, I glanced back at Lea. "Well, while you keep processing, I'm going to go find our seats."

I turned to go, but he pulled me back with the hold he still had on my hand. "C'mon, just lemme buy ya something small," he insisted as he hopped over the Sora/Kairi knot that was still trying to disentangle itself, forcing me to gingerly step over the two of them as well.

Shaking my head with a sigh, I said, "Why won't you just let it go?"

He beamed. "Cuz what schmoopsie-poo wants, schmoopsie-poo gets."

Oh no he didn't.

"Uh-uh, no. Veto. You are not calling me that," I jabbed a finger into his chest.

There was a sly gleam to his eye. "Tell me what candy you want or I won't stop."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Wanna bet?" he flashed a toothy grin as we stepped up to the counter now that my roommates had stepped off to one side, already munching away at their newly purchased sweets. "You'll think you died and went to schmoopsie-poo heaven."

I gave a small huff and looked away. "Small price to pay. Not budging on this."

"Fine. You've forced my hand." He turned his head to the concession worker, slapping his palm down on the countertop and proudly declaring, "I'll have one of everything, my good man!"

"What?! No, no, stop, he's joking," I hastily told the cashier, who froze mid-ringing the order up as he gave us a flat look with the one blue eye not hidden behind bangs. To Lea, I whispered, "What do you think you're doing?"

He shrugged, grin not faltering. "Figure ya gotta like at least one of 'em."

I stared at him. Then my shoulders slumped and I hung my head, grumbling, "...Junior Mints."

"You heard the lady," he chirped to the theatre employee. "And throw in a small popcorn and large Kupo-Kola too please!"

Once the junk food was acquired and paid for, we moved out of the way to join Riku and Rayne as Sora and Kairi bought their own goodies. While we were waiting, I opened up my candy and reached inside, retrieving a minty, chocolate-coated treat and popping it into my mouth.

"Can I have one?" Lea asked beside me.

I gave him a blank look. Then I glanced down at his hands, otherwise occupied with a full soda cup and a bag practically bursting with popcorn. Digging another Junior Mint out and holding it up between us, my gaze met his once more. "Say ahh."

Face brightening, his lips parted wide.

I inserted it into his nostril.

He blinked a couple times, then snorted which had the byproduct of dislodging the Junior Mint. "Okay, guess maybe I deserved that for being a lil pushy about getting you the candy."

"You most certainly did," I said matter-of-factly, eating another one. A pause while I slowly chewed before swallowing and mumbling, "...but thanks for doing it anyway."

"Heh. Don't mention it."

Kairi and Sora rejoined us then, arms piled high with sugary delights. Jeez, all that on top of the gigantic Mexican dinners they'd both devoured less than an hour ago? One had to wonder how the two of them managed to stay so skinny.

It didn't take long for us to locate our theater and when we entered, all the lights were dimmed for the trailers that had already started to play. We quietly found our seats close to the middle of the auditorium and we settled into them, Lea to the right of me and making up one end of our group while Rayne took up my other side, the rest of the gang to her right. It seemed the cinema had recently renovated with new, barely-used cushiony sofa seating, the kind that reclined.

As I pushed the button that popped out the chair's footrest and made myself more comfortable, I caught a glimpse of the others. Half way through a strand of red licorice, Rayne flinched when Riku was suddenly in her face and chomping down on the other end of the candy. Grinning, he took a few more bites, bringing their lips closer together until he could give her a smooch before pulling away, looking quite pleased with himself as she blushed and snerked, giving his shoulder a light shove. Kairi was tossing Milk Duds towards Sora's open, awaiting mouth and rewarding him with little kisses every time he successfully caught one.

Worrying my lower lip between my teeth, I glanced towards Lea out of the corner of my eye as he crunched away on some popcorn. Should we be acting all… couply right now? Like the others were? I mean, it was a dark theater… did we really need to keep the act up in here too? Would anyone really notice? Then again, I'd noticed our friends being all sickeningly cute and I hadn't even been trying to, my eyes had just wandered. So maybe it wasn't such a stretch to consider the two of us were also possibly being observed, even in here.

My gaze flicked down to the armrest I shared with Lea. It was wide enough for both our arms to lay on it side by side, elbows touching. He wasn't holding my hand at the moment, instead just resting his about an inch away from mine. Which, now that I noticed, actually felt a bit weird, oddly enough. I guess I was starting to get used to it. But perhaps I should look at this as an opportunity for some more practice. An exercise in me being the one for once to initiate a display of affection. I seriously couldn't get away with him being the one to start it all the time, right? Surely, I had to act like I liked him too.

Which, to be fair, I kind of did.

Even if it was a secret.

But now I had to wonder how does one go about, ah… what was the term? ...making a move? I'd never had to do it with my ex. I'd never particularly felt the urge, nor had he ever really encouraged me to have more initiative in that area. He'd always been the one to take charge and that seemed to be the way he'd liked it. It seemed to be what was expected of our relationship, by him, by my family, by the world of upper society that I had lived in for so long. But I was no longer in that world. Things were different here. I was different. And I needed to show that to my parents. And one way I could show that was by doing this.

So then… exactly how do I do this?

...well I suppose I could start by moving my hand in the general direction of his. Seemed simple enough… right?

Gulping and holding my breath, I slowly, oh so very slowly started reaching for his hand. As my fingers crept closer, the pounding in my ribcage grew louder and louder. A hairbreadth away from skin contact, I hesitated, what little courage I'd mustered already dwindling. But after a second, my face hardened. I needed to do this. For the sake of Operation Boyfriend But Shh Not Really. For the sake of a continued future free from my parents' control. With a newfound resolve burning in my chest, I pushed on.

My pinky barely brushed against his knuckle.

Nope! No way. Mm-mm, not happening!

I snatched my hand back, blushing furiously.

The blush of a failure. Pathetic.

However the touch, no matter how light and brief, hadn't gone unnoticed. Lea glanced my way, his head tipping slightly. Then he smiled, shifting his popcorn out of his lap over to his right while moving the soda from the cupholder between us to the one on his other side. Then he lifted the armrest separating us, folding it back between our chairs before slinging an arm around my shoulders and pulling me close so my head was pillowed by his chest.

I tensed for several seconds before relaxing against him, clearing my throat and, if possible, blushing even harder.

Well then.

Guess I no longer needed to worry about us not looking couply.

Even if I hadn't been the one to initiate.

...tomorrow. I would do a better job tomorrow.

As the last of the trailers ended and opening credits for the movie began filling the big screen, Lea ducked his head down next to mine. I could feel him grinning against my ear as he whispered, "This boyfriend model comes equipped with all the latest technology, including hilarious movie commentary. Would you like that feature enabled now?"

I leaned my head back a bit as I turned to look him in the eye. He cocked a playful eyebrow at me. Feeling one corner of my lips tug up, I whispered back, "Commentary on."

"You got it."

I was not disappointed.

"Is this really totally necessary?"

"Oh absolutely. Your uncle's spies could be anywhere, ever vigilant and watching at all times."

"Even here? In the parking lot for my own apartment?" I frowned dubiously.

I could feel him nodding against my hair. "Especially here. I'll have you know I've seen at least three cars pass us already, each one more suspicious and shady than the last."

Date night had been a rousing success, if I did say so myself. We'd had a good time with friends, dinner was amazing and delicious, and the movie had been excellent. But as everyone knows, all good dates (even the fake ones) must come to an end. And at the end of every date, some sort of goodnight ritual is often at the very least customary, if not absolutely essential. Traditionally, this usually takes the form of the infamous goodnight kiss. However, since I'd already taken any sort of liplock completely and one hundred percent off the table, Lea had instead opted for a hug.

One… extremely and uncomfortably long hug.

...okay, that was a lie. It wasn't uncomfortable at all. In fact, was actually quite nice. Pleasant, even. Ten out of ten, would recommend.

We stood next to his car at the moment, my apartment building just a few yards away. After he'd parked and we'd both climbed out, he'd pulled my arms up to wrap around his neck, his hands once again finding their way under the leather jacket to encircle my waist, hugging me close as he'd rested his cheek atop my head. And so we had remained for quite some time now.

Kairi and Sora were no longer with us, having parted ways back at the mall, but I could see Rayne and Riku off to one side near their own vehicle, enthusiastically taking part in some cuddle time themselves while they waited for me. Which actually I really appreciated. Without their added presence here, I'd probably be getting a lot more awkward a lot more quickly about The Hug That Would Not End.

That said…

"We've been at this for at least five minutes now. Wouldn't you call that a bit, er.." I shifted my feet, resisting the urge to squirm, "...excessive?"

His hold on me didn't budge. "Gotta be convincing. 'Sides, we're obviously still in the honeymoon period of our relationship. You know, when the couple takes forever and a day telling each other goodbye a thousand times before actually leaving. Otherwise known as the No-You-Hang-Up-First phase."

My brow furrowed. "I thought that was only made-up for TV. Real people don't actually do that, do they?"

"Yup," I felt another nod. "Trust me, I'm an expert. I know these things."

I squinted off into space. "...haven't you only ever done one night stands?"

"Shush, I said trust me on this," he murmured.

And shush I did. I suppose I could look at this as a sort of… endurance training? Get me more used to his hugs so I'd be less awkward about them in public? Make them seem more natural? Yeah, okay. This might be good for me. Let's see how long I could keep this up.

...answer? Not long.

Tentatively trying to pull away, I began, "Alright, maybe we should-"

"One more minute," he insisted, squeezing me tighter and shifting his head down now to instead nuzzle against my neck. His nose was cold and his breath tickled against my skin, making my cheeks warm. Welp, so much for not squirming.

Huh. He really seemed to be taking this whole pretend boyfriend thing very seriously. This was some extreme dedication to the role.

And there my insides went all over again, doing the whole warm, fuzzy, squishy thing. Alright, just breathe. Deep, calming breaths. Remember: Conceal, don't feel.

...maybe just focus on the concealing part. The not feeling part was already a lost cause.

"Ya know," Rayne's voice suddenly piped up nearby, causing me to jump, "maybe you two don't have to say goodnight just yet." Lea straightened up, loosening his grip on me just enough for us both to turn our heads to see she'd joined us. Gracing us with a sly smirk, she said, "I mean, if you want to really drive this date home for any eyes that might be prying, Lea could always, ya know..." her eyebrows bounced as she leaned in closer to whisper conspiratorially, "stay the night."

"What?!" My face erupted into blistering heat, the likes of which would've put the Sahara Desert to utter shame. "N...No! Absolutely not! How could you possibly even-"

She laughed, her finger booping my nose. "Relax, you silly goose. Of course he'd only sleep on the living room sofa! S'not like your grunkle's minion would have x-ray vision into our home."

Oh.

That's what she'd meant.

Well of course that's what she'd meant. It's not like she'd ever really suggest…

Actually, no, this was Rayne we were talking about here. I honestly wouldn't have put it past her.

She elbowed Lea in the arm, "So whaddya say, stud?"

He smiled, removing one hand from my waist to rub at the nape of his neck. "Well, I'd planned on getting some reading done for my classes tonight. But I do have my book bag in the backseat, so I suppose I could just as easily read here on your couch." His gaze shifted back down to mine, "That is of course, as long as you're okay with it!"

My face still recovering from its abrupt and devastating heatwave, I looked down and muttered, "Well, I… I suppose, ah… sure. Okay. I mean, just to keep up appearances… " My eyes flicked back up towards Rayne, "Thanks. I guess that's… actually a pretty good idea."

"Of course it is! I came up with it!" she beamed, planting her fists on her hips and puffing up her chest. Then she turned back to her husband, pressing her lips to his cheek as she linked her arm in his and led him over to the building entrance. Lea at last fully released me, but only long enough to unlock his car and pull out a messenger bag that looked heavy with textbooks. Kicking the door shut, he slung the strap of the bag over his head to hang across his chest before slipping an arm around my shoulders, grinning down at me as we followed the other two inside.

Once in our apartment, he removed the arm while Rayne pulled some spare pillows and bed sheets from the closet, tossing them onto the longest couch for Lea. Then grabbing a water bottle from the fridge, she unscrewed the cap and held her drink up high. "A toast! To Lea's sleepover! May it be the first of many!" she declared before tossing her head back to chug half the bottle.

Riku just snerked, shaking his head while Lea scratched his cheek with a weak chuckle and walked over to drop his bag on the sofa next to the blankets. I squeezed my eyes shut, pressing my fingers between my eyebrows with a soft sigh. Still, she had a point. I suppose it was only natural for my "boyfriend" to stay the night with some amount of frequency. Oh gosh, I hope this wouldn't be too much of an imposition on Lea.

As Rayne recapped the water bottle and put it down on the kitchen table, Riku stepped up to her, taking both her hands in his and pressing their foreheads together. "Hon, why don't we head to bed early tonight?" he asked, tone low and eyes hooded.

"Mmm," she breathed him in, smiling up at him through lowered lashes and nodding, "sounds good." As he pulled her towards their bedroom, Rayne glanced back at us. "Good night, you two! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" she winked and waved before disappearing through the door, closing it behind her.

Silence followed. It felt strangely sudden and almost deafening.

I slowly turned to look at Lea.

He looked back, giving me a tiny smile.

That's when it struck me.

This was the first time in two full days I'd been alone with Lea. Like, really alone. Not in public, not where we had to put on the boyfriend-girlfriend act. Even when it'd just been the two of us in his car earlier tonight, even then we'd still had kind of been in the relative safety of pretend date mode. Besides, driving around in a car was completely different from being alone with him here, now, in my apartment late at night. Now that there was no more reason for all the hand holding, forehead kisses, and other little touches, things felt… well I wouldn't exactly say wrong per se, but more felt just kind of… off?

Panic was beginning to set in.

My mind was drawing a total blank.

I… didn't know how to be around him now. Not when we didn't have to fake a relationship anymore.

I'd forgotten how to act normal.

I think he could sense it too. The weirdness that had suddenly popped up out of nowhere. His eyebrows knit together, his gaze shifting about for a couple seconds. Then he opened his mouth to say something.

"Good night!" I loudly blurted out first.

Then I was in my bedroom so fast, you would have thought I'd spontaneously developed the power to teleport.

I slammed the door shut behind me, pressing my spine flat to it, eyes wide and taking shallow breaths through my nose. A few seconds passed where I just forced myself to inhale and exhale slowly a few times, trying to calm down. Then I winced, lightly banging the back of my head against the door.

Good job, Elsa. Way to make things mildly awkward. And for no real reason at all, you useless, hermitic dope!

With a small scowl, I shrugged out of the leather jacket and tossed it onto my bed. Then I unzipped my ankle boots, kicking them off and started pacing the length of my room back and forth, my hands twisting at my braid.

I couldn't just leave things like that. I had to talk to him. I had to toughen up and find an excuse to march my butt back out there. But what excuse?

My feet paused mid step as I glanced around my room for a minute before landing on one of my walls. Not just any wall. The one I shared with Riku's and Rayne's bedroom. Then I lightly tapped one fist into my palm. That's it! I quickly moved to my nightstand, opening the top drawer. Amongst its contents was a plastic baggie of earplugs. Digging out a pair and dropping the bag back into the drawer before closing it again, I then stepped over to my door. I took a second to take a deep breath and gather myself, standing up straighter and flicking my braid back behind me. Then with a firm, determined nod, I turned the knob and pulled, walking back out into the living room.

Lea was sitting on the couch that would be doubling for his bed tonight, arms splayed out wide to either side atop its backrest while he read the textbook that laid open in his lap. He'd pulled his hair out of its ponytail so his crimson locks were once again wild and free and he'd taken off his long-sleeved undershirt, now just wearing the tee.

Looking up at me, he all but leapt up to his feet. "El! Hi! I-" he grunted as the book he'd apparently forgotten was in his lap crashed down hard onto his foot.

I sucked in a tiny breath through my teeth with a frown, taking a step forward and reaching a hand out, "You okay?"

"Fine," he groaned. "I didn't need that toe anyway. It was only holding me back. Just dead weight." He laughed it off as he picked the textbook up off the floor, tossing it behind him onto the cushions before crossing his arms, "So, was there, ah… did you forget something?"

"Yes," I took a little step towards him, then frowned, glancing away. "Well, no…" I started to take a step back before catching myself. Wrong way, dork. "That is to say, sort of… er, I just...hm…" I thrust one fist forward, opening it palm facing up to reveal the earplugs, "Here!"

He stared down at them blankly. Then at me.

"Oh!" I gasped. "Right! Some sort of explanation would probably help." I gave a nervous heh. "So… uh… you know, those two," I gestured with my chin towards my roommates' bedroom door, "well, they just… the look they were giving each other before they went to bed, it's… well, it's a look I'm very familiar with from them. You know the look, the kind that should come with its own Marvin Gaye soundtrack. And those two… when they get going, they can really rattle the old headboard, if you know what I mean." A beat. Then I blanched. "Of course you know what I mean! Right, moving on. So uh… they are not quiet about it and they're definitely not quick. And these walls? They're thin. I'm talking like tissue paper thin. And not even the good Kleenex Deluxe kind of tissue, more like the cruddy, two-bit kind you'd get at the dollar store that just disintegrates if you even so much as breathe on it." Great, now I was just plain babbling. "These walls may as well not even be there for all the sound they block. Or rather, don't block. Then again, if they weren't there, then we'd not only hear but also see-" Wrap it up, girl, wrap it up. "A-Anyway! So just… just take these. You'll thank me later, believe me."

His eyes crinkled and he nodded, plucking them from my hand. "Alright, I'll take your word for it. Thanks."

Good. Okay. Yes, this was going well.

...huh. Though… slight hitch in the plan…

What now? I hadn't exactly thought this far ahead.

Maybe this was enough. I could now just make a graceful exit, leaving things in a better place than where I had previously. Yeah, that sounded good.

I gave him a tight-lipped grin, inching backwards as I pointed towards my room. "Okay then, I think I'll just…" But as I turned, my eyes landed on Rayne's and Riku's door again and I froze and grimaced. "Ah, shoot," I hissed under my breath.

"Problem?" I heard Lea ask behind me.

I shook my head, "I meant to ask Rayne to unzip my dress before she went to bed since the zipper is just where I can't reach and-" I blinked, then glanced over my shoulder at him sheepishly before fully turning to face him. "And why am I even telling you this? Forget I said anything. It's nothing, I'll figure it out."

"I can do it," he tossed the ear plugs onto the coffee table between us before stepping around it.

Waving my hands rapidly back and forth in front of me, I said, "No, it's fine. Really, you don't have to-"

"Don't be silly, just let me help you," he came to stop in front of me.

I tucked in my lower lip. Maybe I was just being silly about this. I mean, what was the big deal? Really? "...o-okay," I sighed, turning my back to him once more and sweeping my braid forward over one shoulder, running my hands down its length a few times. At least my old nemesis, The Blush, had the common courtesy to wait until I was no longer looking at Lea before creeping its way up into my cheeks.

I could sense him taking another step closer to me, could hear his gentle breathing as I felt his fingers undo the clasp at the top of the zipper. One of his fingertips incidentally grazed my skin and I couldn't stop a tiny shiver. Then there was a pause. Like… a long pause. I frowned straight ahead, uncertain. Nothing seemed to be happening. I turned my head slightly, stopping just short of actually being able to look back at him. "...everything okay?"

"Uh… yeah, the uh…" he cleared his throat, "...the stupid thing just got stuck for a sec there, but it's all good now." At last, the sound of the dress unzipping reached my ears. "There ya go, you're all set!"

My hand darted to clutch at the back of my dress, holding it together as I whipped around to face him. My blush? Only seemed to be growing in strength. I started backing away, "Th-thanks… for that. That was really… something. Nice! That was nice. Of you. To do that… for me. I-" I crashed into my door frame and stumbled. "Oops. Heh. Who put that there? Um… anyway…"

And on that eloquent and fully formed note, I dashed into my room, banging the door closed. Then I puffed out a breath, slumping down to sit on the floor as I pinched the bridge of my nose.

Great. Just dandy. I hadn't left things mildly awkward this time. Oh no, I'd only left them mega, ultra, super awkward now. Progress! Superb. Just perfect.

That's it. It's decided. I'm not fit for human contact. I was just going to barricade myself in this room and never come out ever again. Ever. Period. The outside world would be better off without me anyhow. Good bye, people. Hello, sweet sweet solitude. I-

I heard a muffled buzz and my head snapped up. It'd come from Lea's jacket on my bed. I squinted at it for a second. Then it clicked. My phone! I half crawled, half scrabbled over to it, digging into the pocket and pulling it out, swiping the screen.

There was a new text from Lea.

2nite was fun

I blinked, looking over at my door. Then back down at my phone, pursing my lips to one side. My thumbs hovered over the keyboard for a second. Then slowly I began to type.

I thought so too.

I waited as those three little dots hopped in a row.

We shud totes do it again sometime

A huff of amusement escaped through my nose, the tension starting to leave my body.

I'd really like that.

Then I tipped my head to one side, grinning slightly as I tapped away further.

I'm paying next time though.

The dots were dancing on my screen again.

Aight, if u insist. But b warned, Im not a cheap date

Now I actually laughed.

I can live with that.

Perhaps I'd been a bit too hasty. Maybe there was no need to barricade myself in here. Not just yet anyway. I'd hold off for a bit.

At least long enough to see what tomorrow would bring.

Author's Note: Anyone else notice Lea's shirts seem to be getting tighter and tighter every new excuse he has to see Elsa out of his work clothes? I think he's subconsciously putting on a courtship display to present himself as a sexually viable mate xD Ahem, moving on… Fun Fact 1: Fuente Del Oro is a real, Coco-themed restaurant over in Disneyland Park in Paris! Google translate says the name means "Gold Fountain", oooOOooo pretty! I really hope Coco makes it into one of the future KH games eventually! Fun Fact 2: Elsa's dress this chapter is inspired by her purple dress from when she sings Into The Unknown in Frozen 2! Just picture it shorter and more cocktail-dressy. And I know in the movie, that purple dress is a nightgown, but shhh, we'll just forget that part. And the dress Lea described in his "how we met" story? Loosely based on Elsa's Show Yourself dress - again just picture it shorter, more practical and more sundressy xD Also if you haven't heard of it, Before Sunrise is a real movie, not to mention a real SAPPY movie. Kind of slow, but cute. I'd actually never heard of it until I started writing this chapter - saw a gif go by on tumblr of the lead couple from the movie doing something adorable that made me go "oh gosh, that's SO Lea and Elsa!" and had to watch it xD I'm kind of happy it came along when it did though, cuz it gave me inspiration for Lea's "how we met" story :)

Next chapter, what new challenges will Elsa face in her adventures in fake dating? Will she ever be able to work up the courage to initiate a display of affection herself? Just how much of a "not a cheap date" is Lea really? What about his shirts? CAN they get any tighter? Stay tuned!

Thanks for reading, I super duper appreciate it! And an extra BIG thank you to those of you who’ve liked, reblogged, and followed so far, seeing those lil notifications always brings the biggest, goofiest smile to my face!

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#kingdom hearts #frozen #elsa #axel #fanfiction #lea #fanfic #kingdom hearts fanfiction #frozen fanfiction #kh fanfiction #kh fanfic #frozen fanfic #kingdom hearts fanfic #axelsa #fluff #romcom #slow burn #kh3 #my writing #ice cream and fire oven pizza #rare pair #crossover pairing #humor #snark

[saintofpride201]

Kairi is the girl Isa and Lea have been trying to find and rescue.

Hear me out while i say this in a sleep deprived state and coffeeless. Pizza and a cup of tea is my fuel. I am absolutely feral right now and have used the last of my essential braincells on this. That’s right, tumblr! WELCOME TO GAME THEORY!

Kairi is THE girl. Kairi is THE experiment of the heart Ansem forced Xehanort and his colleagues to stop. Ansem the Seeker's encounter with Ansem the Wise gives us the proof we need, as well as other things.

As much as i was hoping it'd be a different character, it makes perfect sense!

Remember her Grandma? Yeah, well, she doesn't (at least not until Sora peers into her heart). Remember Aqua saving her and then casting a spell on her to lead her to the light of another? Yeah, well... SHE doesn't.

“Kairi, what was your home like?”

"I told you before. I don't remember."

"Nothing at all?"

"Nothing."

Her visible confusion when Aqua meets her again, this time as a young lady who wields the power of a keyblade AND a princess of light. She doesn't remember this strange blue haired lady, even though she was rescued by her and Mickey. She gained her keyblade by touching Aqua's (bequeathing a keyblade doesn’t require the “in your hand take this key” ritual. It may also be indirect, such as how Sora touched Riku’s light and gained the Keyblade), and was told "when you're in danger, this spell will lead you to the light of another to protect you". Kairi was around 4 years old at the time, old enough to remember what this random woman with a strange weapon did and said.

Except she doesn't. This sweet lady mage is beyond her recollection.

Seeker Ansem confronted his old master. He asked him his questions.

“Do you recall the experiments of the heart you bade me cease? Among the test subjects was a girl. She had lost her memories, just as I had. But... you can reconstruct memories. You did with Sora. I believe you have seen the girl’s memories.”

“What is your question?”

“Where did you put the girl?”

We know from CoM and KH2, the heart possesses memories. Should the heart be tampered with as Sora’s was in Castle Oblivion, it may lose memories. It’s only natural that poking and prodding at Kairi’s heart would yield such undesirable results, such as memory loss, which she has from being experimented on at a young age (there’s also repressed trauma, but I don’t think SE and Disney want to go that route). Is it so unbelievable that she wouldn’t remember something like that if the very source of memories is tampered with?

To answer Ansemnort’s question, Ansem had nothing to do with where Kairi went. She disappeared when she was in danger, as per the spell’s parameters... But I’m focused on when she escaped. That’s right. ESCAPED.

Radiant Garden. Being chased by the heartless and Xehanort himself in a labcoat. She reaches the gates, but cant get through. Xehanort catches up to her and grabs her. She is later put into a pod, as Xehanort pushes a button and closes it. Maybe it was at this moment her spell was triggered. Wise Ansem didn’t have anything to do with it. AQUA saved her life twice. But her fate... Was taken from her by Xehanort. “It’s your fault that my destiny was moved”

Her anger at the cloaked figure in MoM’s trailer? That’s the anger of a girl who just remembered her past and is not fucking around anymore. She isn’t down to fuck with the man who stole her life away. She is not about forgiveness this time. She forgave many of the people who done her wrong. But not this time. Mah girl is out for BLOOD!

#this is all i can think of rn. updates pending because I need sleep #kingdom hearts #kairi #melody of memory

[roxasboxas]

A while back, I joked about rewriting the Frozen world from KH3. I’m excited to announce that I now have a full draft of the return notes I’d submit of someone gave me a concept write-up of the way that the world actually turned out. Draft under the cut

Outline

SDG arrive and immediately encounter Larxene

Sora: “Hm you’re not a vibe but I don’t know you” Larxene: “You’re a rude bitch for forgetting me like that” Sora: “Wait I do know you?” Larxene: “>:) do you >:)”

She’s like “anyways off to torment a princess of heart laterz” and Sora’s like “well obviously we have to go stop that from happening”

They run around for a bit and encounter Elsa who is fleeing Arendelle

Sora: “Hi we’re--” Elsa: “OH FUCK A DUDE” *ice labyrinth* SDG: “oh fuck an ice labyrinth”

Larxene shows up in the ice labyrinth like “HA suckers. Elsa’s gonna turn to darkness because of her fuckin anxiety and shit. We’re gonna get Nobody Elsa. Lexsa or some shit” and Sora’s like “she just needs a hug :(“ and Larxene’s like “are you fucking dense?? She doesn’t want a hug???” and then she leaves

SDG escape the ice labyrinth

Encounter: Anna

Anna: “hey have you seen my sister” Goofy: “whats she look like” Anna: “white hair--” Sora: “oh yeah we saw her. I think she needs a hug” Anna: “she TOTALLY needs a hug let’s go”

They go to Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post And Moogle Shop and get supplies

Kristoff shows up and homeboy is FLAT BROKE

Anna: “hm. What do yall make of that guy?” Sora: “I think we should help him out” Anna: “:0 you’re right let’s go” Donald and Goofy: “oh shit there’s two of them”

They buy him stuff

Kristoff: “Thanks” Anna: “can u take us up the mountain pls” Kristoff: “no” Sora: “ah but see. Youve failed to consider something” Kristoff: “?” Sora: “im baby” Kristoff: Sora: Kristoff: “FINE”

So theyre on their way (hooray!)

Larxene shows up again like “LOOK. whether or not she falls to darkness isnt even any of your business. just leave her be to figure her shit out” and Sora’s like “are YOU gonna leave her be?” and Larxene is like “this aint about me” and Anna’s like “it is now bitch” and Larxene leaves bc shes the only one allowed to swear

But she leaves them with a bunch of wolf heartless

Kristoff: “oh shit evil wolves” Anna: “not to be confused with regular wolves” Kristoff: “exactly”

Olaf time

Olaf: “Hi! My name is Olaf and I’m a representation of how much Elsa has missed Anna since she started repressing her powers and how much she still loves her and wants to spend time with her again” Goofy: “What?” Olaf: “I SAID my name is Olaf and I like warm hugs :)”

Some various shenanigans idk

Arrive at the ice castle

Anna: “Hi Elsa! :)” Elsa: “oh shit” Anna: “pls can u unfreeze Arendelle” Elsa: “would if i could. Get out of my house” Anna:

Sora: “hi again! :)” Elsa: “Please don’t be mad about the ice labyrinth and also please get out of my house” Sora: “im not mad dw i understand youre going through a lot rn which is. a BIG ol mood” Elsa: “.......” Sora: “do you wanna go home now?” Elsa: “i live here now” Sora and Anna: “Oh :(“ Elsa: “oh shit theres two of them”

Anna is very insistent about going home and Elsa accidentally freezes her heart and FREAKS. OUT.

The Gang Gets Banished

Olaf: “well that could have gone better” Anna: “you’re telling ME” Kristoff: “alright lets go visit my family they can fix this”

The trolls: “we cant fix this. get married” Anna: “WHAT ok” Kristoff: “i feel like there are other options” The trolls: “nope. Get married”

Kristoff: “Anna is engaged to someone else” Sora: “maybe they were talking about him then” The trolls: “we were no--” Kristoff: “good call. Let’s go”

They go back to Arendelle

They happen to arrive back at the same time as the ‘taking Elsa prisoner’ gang

Sora: “this is not conducive to her mental health” Donald: “since when do we know what mental health is?” Sora: “I’m gonna need so much therapy when the universe is not in constant danger :)”

Hans is like “I’ll take care of Anna you all can go home” and Sora is like “Cool we’re gonna help a snowman climb in through your window byeeee”

The plot twist of Frozen happens

Anna and Olaf are on their way to Kristoff

Hans tries to kill Elsa but she becomes a boss battle so SDG have to step in to keep everyone from dying out here

Anna gets in the way of Elsa’s limit break and freezes, shielding her newfound friends and preventing her sister from becoming a murderer in an act of true love and self sacrifice

Elsa reverts to regular mode and cries

Larxene shows up for boss fight two electric boogaloo

SDG beat her up

Anna gets better

yaaaaaay

#kingdom hearts #kh3 #i had to remove all my formatting #paste the unformatted text into this post #and reformat it #so that was something #anyways im probably not going to be doing a full rewrite if for no other reason than i have a lot of other stuff i wanna write rn #but this was fun!

[plushievash]

I just realized you tag sea salt trio posts as comfort and honestly me too highkey

yeah!! theyre my fave trio - i think they have the most compelling story of all of them. playing days it was so fun and interesting to watch them all grow together and slowly begin to feel and have hearts of their own. the fact that the 3 of them are something inherently wrong that shouldnt be but they are and theyre so positive with each other. it was especially fun to see roxas in the very beginning freshly recruited taking everything so literal finding a chest bc that was his mission and then not opening it bc he wasnt explicitly told to. then gloating about how easy it was that he couldve done it blindfolded. its such a cute and fun character detail i LOVE how fleshed out the sea salt trio is. xion is my absolute fave character i think she and roxas are the best characters in all of kh - shes especially interesting bc she had even less of a right to exist than roxas and axel. created as a tool to absorb all the power from her best friend finding out what she truly is and her purpose. fighting it but still having the conflict inside that she just wanted to be with her friends forever...she didnt ask to be made but it isnt fair to sora and it isnt fair to her. the xion bossfight is also interesting bc i love how she wont back down she knows she should lose and die so that soras memories can return to him but she wants to put up a fight she wont go down without one - like! on their day off axel slept roxas was so overwhelmed with options he didnt know what to do and xion chose to train! i love that abt them! i love how xion was meant to just become a perfect copy but she didnt and became her own person. AND i think is interesting is roxas and xions reactions to finding all that out - xion wants to set things right shes sorry and filled with guilt for just existing angry and sad to be a tool for xemnas but she loves roxas and axel and just wants to be with them - and roxas who just! doesnt! care! so what! if we arent supposed to exist! so what! we do! its not fair to just take that away now that were no longer of use! that even if he wasnt meant to exist it doesnt matter to him because he DOES and he enjoys it and he DESERVES it he just wants to be with his friends!! he doesnt care who says it isnt real!! he doesnt care if he """cant feel"""!! FUCK saix stan xion.

#assk #sorry for rambling i truly love the seasalt trio especially roxas and xion So much #all the other trios want what they have #roxas said FUCK sora i live now and hes right #anyways so happy theyre back in kh3 #my heart grew 3 sizes every part that included them #especially the team attack in re:mind

[nobodies-png]

how would roxas/sora/riku/ventus/vanitas react to finding a page of sketches of himself in his s/o's sketchbook? And getting a painting of him & his s/o from the s/o for christmas?

WE STAN A GOOD WHOLESOME ARTIST S/OSora :

Sora’s first reaction is to just go “wOAAAAH H H H - Wait. Is that me ?”. Like he knows you draw but he’s always impressed whenever he sees your art. And it’ll take him a hot second to realize that, it is in fact, h i s face plastered all across the page. He’d rush to find you and ask you about all these drawings ! 

Is he fun to draw ? Oh, could you draw him like a superhero ?  ?Wait ! Can you teach him how to draw so he can also draw you ? ? ? He’s so happy and excited he just can’t stop rambling and spitting out ideas. Once he notices he’s being a bit overwhelming, he’ll slow down and apologize with a sheepish smile, asking if he can keep the page ! 

When you give him the painting, he’d have to put it down for a second just to pick you up and excitedly, smothering your face and shoulders with kisses while thanking you. Sora would hang it on his bedroom so he can look at it every day - but first, he has to show e v e r y one..

Riku :

He’d be hesitant to look through your sketchbook - but as soon as his eyes land on those sketches, he’d go extremely fucking r e d. Have you been sketching him without him knowing ? That is both ADORABLE and so eMBARRASSING for this boy. Oh look at that, you drew him with so many different hairstyles - Maybe he s h o u l d let his hair grow again.

Riku would take a s n e a k y picture of the sketches and return the sketchbook. He doesn’t want you to know he’s been snooping buuuuut he also wants to keep this. Of course, he’d smoothly ask you if you want him to model for you someday. If you joke or tell him that y e a h, maybe you need to work on some nude portraits, he’d regret his words and wish for the ground to s w a l l o w him.

When you give him the painting, Riku would try to play off his nervousness and bashfulment by critizicing your technique (despite not knowing much about p a i n t i ng) “Y e a h the lines are very u h h h h, solid and stable.” Unlike Sora, he wouldn’t want to hang this up for everyone’s view - but if you insist theeeen suuure, he m i i i g h t put it on the living room for a few weeks.

Roxas :

Roxas’ curiosity would take the best of him, so he’d peek through your sketchbook without any problem. He had his suspicions of you sketching him from time to time but w o a h, he never actually expected to see an entire page with doodles of himself ! Needless to say, he loves them - buuut he wishes you would just make him a liiiiittle bit taller.

Like Sora, he’d also confront you about the drawings. Roxas would jokingly ask if you’re planning on painting something b i g about him, but it’s fine if he doesn’t catch on the obvious way you s w a l l o w and c o u g h, thinking he’s figured out his Christmas present. He’s too enamoured with the page to notice. 

When you give him the painting, he’d be happy and flustered ! Not full on HYPED like Sora or suuuuper embarrassed like Ventus - more of a healthy in between. He’d admit that he just cant see himself hanging this in his room, but that he still appreciates and loves the painting ! Roxas would ask you to teach him how to paint, just so he can make a little something for you in return.

Ventus :

Ventus would most likely end up seeing that page by accident, since he’s against looking through your stuff without your actual permission and presence. He doesn’t like to invade people’s privacy or have his invaded - but yeah, somehow he manages to catch an eyeful of those sketches. And o h b o y he’s SHOOK. He knew you were a good artist but WOW you made him look s o much more handsome ! 

Ventus would just stare at those sketches, lovestruck, until he remembers that he’s not supposed to look through your sketchbook. He’d put it back where he found it, but in the next days he might subtly try to bring this up. “Sooo uhh, you’re an artist right ? Wouldn’t it be fun if you d r e w m e ,, ,,   HA H”

Once you give him the painting he’d just stare at it, completely speechless. He WANTS to hang it somewhere out of support for you and because let’s face it, it’s such a pretty and well drawn painting - bUT HE’S ALSO TOO EMBARRASSED ? Thats his fACE right thERE - In the end he’d simply store it somewhere safe, somewhere only he can see. But he WILL show it off to Aqua and Terra.

Vanitas :

Vanitas is that one type of person who, as soon as discovers that you’re an artist, won’t stop pestering you with “cAN YOU DRAW ME?” “HEY, WHERE’S THE OTHER EYE” “IS THAT ANIME” “CAN YOU DRAW ME??” - because he KNOWS how annoying those comments are. So if he found out you ACTUALLY filled an entire page with sketches of him, he’d be speechless. 

He’s torn between letting you know that he went through your sketchbook and tease you till the end of time OR just saying absolutely nothing and keeping this page for himself. In the end he’d do the latter and play dumb if you ever find out that there’s an entire page g o n e. Like Vanitas is so good at pretending and faking you won’t know he’s the culprit. 

When you give him the painting during Christmas, Vanitas will try to be smooth and cocky as usual - only to fail miserably. His face is red, his hands are shaky and c l a m m y, his voice breaks a bit - THE WHOLE PACKAGE. It’s obvious that he’s both embarrassed and flattered. He’d be against hanging the painting - if anyone saw that, Vanitas would probably P E R I S H. He’d insist that YOU keep it, saying mean stuff like “it just doesn’t fit my room aesthetics” - but he just doesn’t want to risk the painting getting dirty or broken.

#kh headcanons #reader insert #sora #riku #roxas #ventus #vanitas #Anonymous

[kattimariias]

the live action/cgi kingdom hearts movie trailer

*logos*

narration from some kid while rock music plays: hi im ashley, im just your average teenage girl living a normal life...

random kid: HEY LOSER

narration: ....but its unfortunate because im the unpopular kid

*montage of generic high school shit happening*

ashley’s mom driving a car: why dont you try to make some new friends this new school year

ashley: mom i dont need friends!!!

*cuts to ashley listening to angsty songs on her bed while scrolling through iphone*  i can do things on my own!!!!!

ashley: its like no one understands me :/

*music gets serious as ashley sleeps*

ashley: but things changed when i met a mysterious boy...

*light suddenly shines in her room as she watches in amazement, then sora donald and goofy suddenly flop in*

ashley: *screams*

sora, donald and goofy: *screams*

ashley: *throws pillows at them* HOW AND WHY ARE YOU IN MY ROOM???

ashley’s mom: are you ok up there??

ashley: oh yeah just a bug in my room *continues to throw pillows*

*pop music faintly plays*

sora: we’re from another world and somehow came across here and cant come back

*montage of various characters hanging out on destiny islands*

ashley: well i guess i can help you find a way back home and your friends, but that doesnt mean i like u >:T

*cuts to daytime at high school*

ashley: act normal, okay?

sora: gotcha!

*montage of sora fucking up*

donald outside of the school: *says something incomprehensible*

ashley in an entirely different scene: does anyone know what hes saying???

goofy: GAWRSH

*things start getting pretty damn dark outside the house*

sora: its organization 13!!!!

ashley: what

*fight scene ensues and then ashley somehow pulls out a keyblade*

axel who is there just unaffiliated with organization 13 and is just there as a slight spoiler: well that came out of nowhere

*ashley does something cool, pop version of simple and clean plays*

THIS SUMMER

roxas: wanna try sea salt ice cream?

ashley: uh sure *licks it* ACK OKAY

IS GONNA BE FULL OF

*fight scene, spoilery scene, sad scene, kh characters doing something funny in the real world, also some footage of dance party ending*

HEART

sora: may the light guide you :)

ashley: :)

*cool shot of all characters standing together*

KINGDOM HEARTS: THE MOVIE

*sora, donald, goofy, and ashley arrive at disneyland*

sora: WHOOAAH!!!!

donald and goofy: *look at the costumes then look at the camera* uhh...

COMING SOON

*random credits fly by quick*

#i will never stop doing these #kh #shitpost tag

[ofblademaster]

Gil’s daemon looks (Under construction.)

luravitae replied to your post: ...

oH NO POOR GIL LKJASF. i mean it sounds like its a mixture of all that as to why he’s still there and all– like im not sure if i missed out on ur posts but like did you ever think about what gil may look like underneath the mask? i know you have a faceclaim but that was pre-2,000 years right? unless i missed smth heck but like man in present canon what would he even look like– just a hollowed out, ghastly skull underneath? can he even take off that mask omg lkasjf

//Actually I have not for that very reason, since no canon don't want to get it wrong in case something does happen. But I have come up with some guesses. We know from the armor that he is still humanoid, but what sticks out is though his aura red like Ardyn, his eyes are actually his eyes as shown to be normal in the anime, but his size gets huge at times unlike in the anime. Also, we never see him without the mask, but then again nostalgia no doubt since we do in anime, but what is also weird he lives among daemons, trail or not even Somnus and he be like fuck it and burns them.  

My guesses his skin dark, though could be the shadow and what not usually doesn’t cause that color like that purple like the eyes and armor still shouldn’t fully bring such hues I think anyway. Also his eyes, even Ardyns thought yellow iris, the whites black, nothing like Gil, EVEN THE ASTRALS HAS NO SUCH EYES! But you know who has such eyes? Daemons. Also may explain the skin tone if his skin is purple-blue (dont know) or something only ones really have that is Daemons, yes Ardyn has the ooze, but skin still pale. Also explains why he is wearing armor like that and aura like that still and never takes it off, sun hurts him and again aura a lot of the times like those of daemons and how he acts in the shadows. Also, he is nowhere near food and such as we know off, so we got that.

So guess is eyes are same, skin sort of that as daemons, body still mostly human but either hair mostly or all gone or he has a beard and long mess of hair cant make up on that, guessing based how he is in anime and 2000+ years past then again I mean look at Ardyn. I think skin more hollow but far more muscle, longer and sharper teeth, pointer ears, claws for nails, doesn’t have a tail, so possibly a mix of imp, and those fighter guys and samuri. So still has hair, just a mess, feet still human but hands have some claws that can fit in that armor. Also, the Yojimbo are tall, unlike some more humanoid daemons. Can’t tell if their ears are pointed, so yeah, still working on it. Been because want to see Ardyn and Sora and Somnus react to his over the years transformation and why he never takes his armor off, like, ever.

#luravitae #headcanon

[ajdrawshq]

For the niche ask game: Terra, Repliku, and Namine

FUCK YEAH THANK U OK

I'm gonna skip the smell question bc I literally do not know what to say abt that for anyone

Terra my beloved

• Song that reminds me of them: the only song I've ever associated with him is.. apparently Apocalypse by Sleeperstar according to my spotify playlist for him

• An otp: tbh,, I dont actually ship Terra with anyone

• A notp: anything w the minors and also,,, lowkey Terraqua,,, just bc I dont see them like that but since there's So Much of it its just. Yknow. I'm v sorry Terraqua enjoyers u do u

• Favorite platonic/familial relationships: I enjoy his relationships w Aqua and Ven so much....... AND WITH RIKU their interactions are so good

• Popular headcanon I disagree with: HES NOT THAT DUMB. PLEASE I know its just a fandom joke but I could go on and on abt how the way he was raised and how the total lack of proper guidance fucked him over so so bad but also there was no fucking way for Terra to figure out the stuff happening behind the scenes. Not once does he actually assist the villains without rightfully believing hes doing the right thing, the closest exception I can think of being when he helps Hook bc yeah that dude is pretty shady but he was asked to protect the chest, and only attacked in defense of it - something that is a defining trait of Terra, and his whole job is to protect the light which is vague as fuck so can u really blame him for thinking some of it was in a chest for some reason, plus Peter Pan is kind of a bitch so u can't really fault him for that fight anyway. And don't talk to me abt the sleeping beauty incident bc that wasn't his fault (although I admit its kind of funny that he just,, left) AND the entire Xehanort arc. Dont even get me started if Eraqus just let Terra know that Xehanort is up to shit instead of telling Aqua to spy on him and TELLING TERRA TO FIND XEHANORT WITHOUT ANY CONTEXT WHATSOEVER ALLOWING XEHANORT TO MANIPULATE HIM WITHOUT ANY TRUE HINTS ABOUT HIS MOTIVES we could've avoided like at least half the shit that went down in this game I swear I would've killed this old man with my bare hands. Anyway what was the question

• The position they sleep in: he takes up like 3/4s of any bed without trying i just know it.. and he seems like he'd be very warm. Sleeping next to him is absolute hell in the summer

• A crossover I'd love to see them in: does kingdom hearts itself count as a crossover considering all the d*sney and ff characters.. I just wanna see more Terra

• My favorite outfit theyve worn: how DARE u make me choose between his glorious flowy pants that I desperately want for myself and one of the best armor sets in all of kh.. but I'm going with his keyblade armor purely bc of that one shot thats just like. Terrass. Yknow the one

Repliku

• Song that reminds me of them: oh god I feel so strongly about this. I have a whole (very self indulgent and incomprehensible) playlist for them but I'm gonna say specifically Last Of Me by CircusP

• An otp: ok I wanna say Replinami. But. I've grown so attached to the idea of Repliku n Roxas being together its ridiculous

• A notp: w any adults obviously, and Riku and Replitwo. They're Siblings

• Favorite platonic/familial relationships: on that note I'm very very soft for their sibling relationships w those two. Whenever I think abt the kh3 Riku n Repli scenes I cry. Also love the idea of them being friends w Xion and Vanitas. And Sora..

• Popular headcanon I disagree with: are there,,, really any popular headcanons abt Repliku? I can barely find any for them to begin with lmao but I CAN say they're not cishet. Bi transfem Repliku my beloved

• The position they sleep in: considering how their life has been plus how touch starved they are, they usually curl up into a ball and/or hold something close to them

• A crossover I'd love to see them in: does my idea of showing them Pokemon The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back as a form of therapy and/or enlightenment count. Ok but i actually wanna see them interact with Mewtwo for better or worse i think it'd be fun

• My favorite outfit theyve worn: I've talked enough abt the darksuit for this one to be obvious I think

Naminé

• Song that reminds me of them: ooooh this is a hard one...... I'm gonna say Worlds Apart by Seven Lions

• An otp: Namixi and Replinami are both very very good

• A notp: any adults, n im not rly a fan of her being w any of the destiny trio or Roxas

• Favorite platonic/familial relationships: on that note again i Do enjoy her general relationships with the above four.. and I like her dynamic with Axel/Lea tbh. And the idea of her and Terra being friends is vv neat. And I think she'd have a funky friendship w Vani. She has so many friends!! good for her, good for her

• Popular headcanon I disagree with: I cant think of anything in particular I disagree with I just think she should be allowed to kill people (read: Ansem TW)

• The position they sleep in: similar to Repliku, but she prefers being surrounded by something (whether it be pillows, weighted blanket, etc)

• A crossover I'd love to see them in: I think Naminé, Lunafreya from ffxv and Lillie from pkmn should meet.. they're sisters now

• My favorite outfit theyve worn: theres uh. Not a lot of options here (but all the fan made outfits ppl make for her are so epic and cool i love em)

#i relate a lot to terra's situation so i feel Very Strongly abt how hes treated n uh yea- #this got so long lmao oops #ALSO SORRY IT TOOK A BIT.. I GOT EXCITED #wait on the note of terra i need to write an essay on parallels between him and sora. i have a lot to say abt this #kh #tech #ask

[nerdomlover]

Alright I have now finished Kingdom Hearts III, gods bless. As such after a long journey I have played all the Kingdom Hearts game and it’s time to rank them. I have played every game expect for one so lets get to it shall we? I am biased like all so your free to disagree. No Spoilers. Below are opinions and ratings out of 10

10. Kingdom Hearts Re:coded

So, codded is the only game I truly hate and Yes I’ve never played it. I watched the cut scenes and Jesus it was so boring. Look, we visit the same worlds 3 to 4 times and that’s just too much. The story really has little to no purpose expect the last bit at the end and from what I’ve seen the game play is not great either. Just skip if you can. 3/10-Not even a good try.

9. Kingdom Hearts: Union X

I’m lumping Backcover into this as well, so I’ve downloaded the game and played it and it’s okay for what it is. It’s a cellphone game, I usually cant get more than 3 missions in till I’m bored though. You’re just tapping and sliding and cant really explore a lot. I find the lore bits the most interesting stuff and I love that but honestly it upsets me that there releasing such important lore onto a cellphone game of all things. It brings great mysterious to the series don’t get me wrong especially with the ending to Kingdom Hearts III and Backcover looks amazing but again important lore on a cellphone game? Really? 5/10-Ill play it when I’m bored.

8. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

This is a solid game in my opinion and yes I’ve actually played this one. I remember finding this in a sam’s club as a kid and getting so excited about it and begging my dad to buy it. And it’s good. The graphics haven’t aged well, but it is a fun game. The game play is meh to me at this point, and lets be honest the introduction and implication of Xion is kinda bad. They clearly created her after 2 and were really trying to come up with good reasons she wasn’t ever mentioned. I honestly think it’s a good story like I said it really fleshes out Axel, Roxas, and other organization members, and you get to play as them in the multiply player mode, nice touch, but the gameplay and graphics are far from desired so, it’s lower than some of the rest. 5/10-AverageTime. played it once that was enough.

7. Kingdom Heart: Chain of Memories              

Omg, so I’ve played this on the Gameboy and the playstation2. Dear god, I use to hate this game. HATE IT. I understand why it was made this way but fuck no, I have permeant trauma now of me and my friend screaming at the screen while fighting Vexen. I hate the game play and the combat system. The saving grace of this game is the story. It was amazing, I really appreciate now. Even more after playing 2. Just Namine and the mystery of the organization. Man, I man still have nightmares but the story is at least solid. 6/10-Might actually play it agin.

6. Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage

This really shouldn’t count but screw it. This has lovely, this may as well be a demo but is was appreciated. Aqua is a favorite of the fandom and having a whole game that was just her? Yes please. It was nice having this tie into Kingdom Heart’s finale and I really did like it and the game play even it was just a preview of 3’s gameplay. Overall a good time and I love my baby Aqua *fangirl scream* 7/10 – Love has a face and it’s Aqua’s.

5. Kingdom Hearts

This was the very first game I ever played on my playstation 2. This was my game growing up. I love Disney and as I’ve grow older I’ve grown like final fantasy. This is a great game and I love it. Yeah, the controls are wonking and yes I hate some of the side missions. I was so angry while getting Aeroga but that doesn’t matter. Its fun and it’s a best selling for a reason. Where on the 10th game so it must be great? The fandom thinks so. 8/10- My first love.

4. Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance

This entire game is a freakin tease. Why would you name this 3D….I’ver never played this on the DS so forgive me. But this angered me when it came out, Everything seemed to be pointing at 3 but this came instead and don’t get me started on the Riku hate that I still have. But honestly after playing the game? I’m happy with it. The flowmotion is hella great and they have so many new worlds, I’m so happy and the combat and story are great (ignoring the obvious complaint everyone has cause yeah. 13 Xehanorts is stupid) but the only complaints I have are I didn’t like the dream eaters (I’m not here to nitendog), why is it on the freaking 3DS, and the drop system….why….Otherwise a soild game. 8/10- A really really nice dive into my heart.

3. Kingdom Hearts III

13 Years…..And was it worth. Yes? Like I had major fun playing it. The combat was great. Was there problems? Yes. But I loved playing it. It’s a good game and I will play it over some of the others easily, it looks amazing, sounds amazing, and the story. My most problems have to do with the pacing and the ending. Which leaves it at number 3. 9/10- 13 Years of waiting, complete.

2. Kingdom Heart II

Talk to any fan and usual this is their number one game. It is the golden standard of Kingdom Hearts and their right. It was the best console game for a long time and had the best combat with the drive forms,  action commands, and the combos. It fixed the gummi ships and had so many Disney worlds. I for also enjoyed Roxas stuff and generally like the story throughout, plus it’s the first kingdom hearts game I beat. Actually it’s the first game I ever beat. But, its not number one. 10/10- Love you so much

1. Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep

I love this game so much. I remember being so happy when my brother got a PSP. This was literally the only game I wanted, which to this day I have. I have such fond memories of this game and I love the characters so much. I love playing as Terra, Ven, and Aqua way more than Sora and Riku. The combats more fun and the story is just something I love. Making it my favorite, despite it’s flaws.

#Kingdom Hearts #top #top 10 #opinons #rankings #ranking #video games #kingdom hearts 3 #kingdom hearts birth by sleep #Kingdom Hearts 2 #kingdom hearts 358/2 days #kingdom hearts union x #kingdom hearts 3d

[36horas]

my thoughts on KH3! spoilers ahoy!

every cutscene with sora being dumb/cute was amazing!!, hes one of my favorite characters of all time and watching him in glorious HD was a blessing, thank you nomura, you did great sweetie!

The game was fairly short!! It took us 40 hrs and a half to complete!! it felt especially short because I didn’t play the entire game alone (also a I finished Persona5 two months ago, and that took me 115hrs lol) but taking that aside, I think it was long enough, and went to the point with finishing sora’s story, because he fucking ded

oh yeah lets talk about the ending: it was emotional, I cried a lot (very special franchise to me) but after credits rolled, I kinda felt like it was forced to be a tragic ending??? Soras like “I HAVE TO GO ALONE RIGHT FUCKING NOW” and mickeys like “lol wtf , we can regroup and search for her all together, also if you go alone like that you could not comeback (even if this is not the first time u used the power of waking I guess)” and soras like “I GOTTA GO FUCKING NOW” I guess it was kinda poetic that hes journey started looking for kairi and it ends like that, but it didn’t felt quite right for me

I read a very good explanation for this… it has to do with what young xehanort tells sora about abusing the power of awakening and how its actually supposed to be used, which makes it have more sense for him to go alone, because he knew he was already going to die, knowing this he made his last deed to save kairi without putting anyone else at risk. This is sad because now theres a DEFINITIVE reason why sora was doomed (regardless of what happened after sora saved his friends hearts from the lich).

Someone in 4chan said that nomura cant write romance for shit and I agree, they should have developed kairi’s character alongside riku’s so it didn’t felt so out of the blue (I know its implicit since KH1, see my next point). Someone also said that KH2 kairi is a better character that KH3’s and HES FUCKING RIGHT lol. I kinda appreciate that since she wasn’t very developed they went for this “tranquil, serene” type of character with her, a good contrast with sora being a dumb energy ball. Still, it wasn’t enough.

sora and kairis relationship, heres how I took it:

KH1: its this kind of love/affection when you are not really sure how much you like someone? But both of you know that the other person is really important to you??? :( innocent, pure affection, that’s what it felt like. sometimes you don’t really need a reason to like someone and if sora and kairis relationship in KH 1 was like that, that’s ok!!

KH2 and after: it started to get a lil ambiguous, the reunion by KH2 end was cute! But after that, it chilled, took the back seat and started to get very confusing, specially because rikus relationship with sora EXISTS and it gets developed way better. At the beginning of KH3 I thought that they had scraped the idea of sora and kairi being canon?? Like, I was sure it was gonna be a explicit, real thing but shes being back for a while now… and they never interact?? What happened?? Im not joking.

Basically, they don’t give us reasons to want to see them TOGETHER and right there I think: wouldn’t it be great if they did a “memories” thing like in Zelda BoTW??? Everytime you finish a world and the Disney characters say something about love, courage, passion, etc sora gets a lil flashback of a short moment that happened with kairi?????? That would have been mad cute.

Because of this, you can tell how sora and riku’s development stops at this game, but It turns out they developed so well that the key scenes they have together are GREAT and they feel natural within the game story. This is how you write romance, nomura!!

 FAVORITE SCENES:

WOODY ROASTS YOUNG XEHANORT, we had to pause the game. It was too good

Every scene sora is picked on for being too dumb! Thank you nomuraa

When sora is like “I’ll go alone to fight xehanort” and starts walking, camera on his feet, when goofy and Donald’s enter the shot… this is my favorite scene in the entire franchise.

When roxas comes back!!! Hes my second fave!!! Something falls from the sky and you cant see shit and theres jesse mcartney!!!!!!!!!!! I gasped really hard.

When axel/roxas/xion reunite!!!!!!!!!!! Good cry, xion is safe

When terra/aqua/ven reunite!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fucking finally!!!!!

Sora and baymax fist bump!!

When riku comforts sora that he shouldnt worry about him and just focus on his task at hand (yen sids tower)

WHEN EVERYONES DED AND SORA CRIES AND RIKU IS LIKE “SORA, YOU DON’T BELIEVE THAT” AND STEPS IN FRONT OF HIS BOYFRIEND TO STOP THE WAVE OF DARKNESS INCOMING. SORA LOOKS UP AT HIM, RIKUS CONFIDENT FIGURE STANDS FOR SHORT UNTIL DARKNESS ENGULFES HIM, THEN SORA.

THIS IS HOW YOU WRITE ROMANCE NOMURA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We needed more moments like this with kairi if you wanted me to care enough!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jack sparrow kills luxord!!!!!!!!!

XION GETS A CUTE DRESS. I ACTUALLY WANTED THIS TO HAPPEN AND IT CAME TRUE! (also she gets more screentime than I thought!)

WHEN SORA AND KAIRI ARE IN THE LIGHT PORTAL AND SORA IS SURPRISED AND SAYS “KAIRI! IT WAS YOU! YOU WERE THE LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS!!” JUST LIKE IN THE SONG, GUYS!!!!!!! THE ONE FROM KH 1. REALLY THAT WAS HELLA CUTE NOMURA IT TEARED ME UP (you just needed a bit more like this all over the other games!!!!!!!!!!) also when sora protects kairi hugging her… that was very sweet and desperate! :’(

(Theres probably more but those are the ones that come to my mind right now.)

this franchise is very important to me, and really, besides Persona, the only other one that kept me hyped in every installment. I started playing KH1 back in 2004 and from that point on its been a joy to wait for the next title. Waiting for kh3 was tedious at times but still ended up loving every game.

I’m very happy I could enjoy the franchise as the titles came out. Thank you nomura!!!!

#kh3 #kh3 spoilers #spoilers #personal #vidya #kingdom hearts 3

[thisbethedoortolight]

Xehanort's True Identity...

Just to get this out there before the game comes out, I'm gonna tell ya guys my theory for Xehanort:

Sora is xehanorts younger self. Yes, we see his "younger self" in DDD, but we already have time travel in this game now so I literally don't give a flying shit about that not matching, not to even talk about the retconning. Can easily be explained as different dimensions, with Sora turning out good and Xehanort turning out Evil#trademark#copyrightinc.

This entire theory starts with Ventus and Vanitas. The "official" <s>yea right</> explanation is that, (spoilers for bbs kinda?)Ventus took refuge in Sora's heart and when he did Vanitas took Soras face.

Why would Vanitas' face change after he was born? It shouldn't suddenly change shape and form, should it? Granted, this is kingdom hearts and stuff like that could happen (aka xion but shes different). Therefore.... Ven is stabbed my mister Xeha, mister Xeha transfers something to Vanitas in full on unwitting Voldemort style and Vanitas ends up looking like Xeha's younger self. Before he dyed his hair white, or whatever evil anime antagonists do to change their apparance.

Xehanort and Sora both lived in Destiny Island, Ansem, seeker of Darkness, aka, the big burlap sack, visits Sora in KH1 bc of his connection to Xehanort, aka him. MARK: not Riku, which shoulda been a better choice bc of fuckings darkness, and he shoulda learned his lesson with "pure" lill light bois. No. He visits Sora, the most shining light on the entire island (next to kairi ofc bc of obvious princess reasons but shes a girl and she cant be a protog HAHAHAA, funny).

Why? Cuz he needs to corrupt him, send him down the right path, so he can slowly and surely mold him into young Xehanort so he can <s>TAKE OVER THE WORLD</> get Kingdom Hearts for some reason or other, bc he then MIGHT get rid of this dark cloud (heh, get it?) of depression hanging over him and maybe fill his heart with some joy.

That and he chooses Sora to posess in DDD (sure he says he chose riku first but he was only a puppet to further his goal, twisting Soras best friend to twist Soras heart)

And now Sora's eyes are almost green and I saw someone mentioning that as well for "maybe its cuz he was slightly posessed by xeha in ddd?" Who knows, but yellow and blue makes green, and after Xigbars stupid eye colour change, cuz it was SO DRAMATIC (rolls eyes) I'm open for anything.

So yeah, Xeha=Sora

#spoilers #kingdom hearts #can you only be slightly posessed? #this was a tin foil rant and youre welcome #the new organization in kh is called illuminati we all fucking know t #kh3 #kingdom hearts 3 #sora #xehanort #theories #soranort #i had to seriously pause the game when xigbar showed us his eye colour #i was like #fuck this game #this is stupid #DDD is still my fave game but it doesnt mean that it had a good plot #DARKNESS WITHIN DARKNESS #YEAH YOU KNOW THE REST #kingdom theories #my theories