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changelingsandothernonsense · 11 months

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Accidentally posted too early instead of saving it to drafts @mareenavee so tagging you instead. I imploded the asks! IMPLOADED!

Tackling this one so that I can weed out some of the crossover asks! Yay! Once again answering for Teldryn and Sydari because fun. Under a cut because this got long.

GROWTH What would it take for them to change their mind or perspective? Do they recognize when new paths open for them, or stick to their preferred paths?

Sydari is more open to having her mind changed. She does tend to fall into just agreeing to avoid conflict. She has a few main things that she won't budge on, most of those tend to be fueled by rage. If she does set her mind on a particular outcome she'll push and push and push until she gets it. Even if it destroys everything around her. She won't realise it until it's too late. You can either help her out or you can let her go. When rage is the deciding factor, you can't change her mind.

Teldryn is a contrarian for the sake of being one. He has his mind set almost immediately, and it's going to take a lot of convincing and a lot of evidence just to get him to consider another perspective. It's very difficult to get him to admit openly to being wrong. Sometimes you have to drag him kicking and screaming to the correct answer. Sometimes you have to actively work against him for his own good.

CURIOSITY– How thoroughly do they explore new places, things, or ideas? Do they go out of their way to learn new things?

Sydari is coming out of her shell in this regard... ideas-wise, she'll listen to other opinions in order to inform her own, unless she's got her mind set on something, she'll be stubborn if revenge is on her mind. She's naturally curious and likes to explore all areas for valuables. There's always a stash somewhere. Boots in the rafters, coin stashes in baskets in the cellar. Some bandit leaving his loot in a rock cairn. There's plenty to take if you know how to find it. A new place has so many things to explore! She wants to find it all, this is in spite of her travelling companion's constant protests. If he doesn't like it then he can wait outside.

Teldryn just doesn't want to go to the effort. He likes his things as they are, you can't change his mind, you can't make him accept a new way of doing things. He wants to do it his way, and you'll have to work within those confines. Or you'll have to work against him for his own good. When exploring something like a cave he'd rather get to the other side as quickly and with as few detours as possible. He has an objective, he'll aim strictly for that. Sydari's constant detours elicit his incessant complaining. She'll tell him to just wait outside if he's going to bitch so much. He never waits outside.

BRAVERY– What kinds of risks do they take? What are they willing to risk to help a stranger? Do they consider the cost-benefit of a risk?

Sydari thinks you need to accept risk to be a good thief. She's not the type to overthink her decisions...well unless there's a major heist. You have to plan that kind of thing! If you don't plan that out then you will make stupid mistakes and you will fail. But she believes you still need to be quick on your feet and open to suddenly changing circumstances. She will help out someone in need, though it does need to be for a good reason. She's not about to go out of her way to deliver a letter halfway across the province, that's why there's a courier service and she's not a damn delivery girl. She will drop 10 septims in a street urchin's hat, she knows how it feels.

Teldryn doesn't think about anything, he just does the thing. He is risk. Half of his decisions are made whilst partially inebriated and the rest are made as a direct response to his own stupidity. His mind is in near-constant survival mode. He rarely goes out of his way to help out unless he can get something out of it. Oh, it's not like he didn't try that when he was younger, he did, a lot. But there are only so many times you can help some noble fetch her ring from a lake only to find her bandit friend's shot you in the ass! He fell for that trick a few times due to naivety and he's over it. As far as he's concerned you can get your own damn ring from the swamp, leave his ass alone. There's a reason he asks for his gold upfront. He's going to swindle you before you can do it to him. The last time he went out of his way to help out without asking to be paid he'd caused 1000 more problems and narrowly escaped a hanging. He really should think about what he does but he's so reactionary, he ruminates on it after the fact.

AUTHENTICITY– What are sub- and unconscious things that make them who they are? Who can they be themselves with, and who do they wear a mask for? What kinds of social roles do they perform?

Sydari has no idea who she is. She'll adapt herself to the situation. She's been trying to find exactly who she really is outside of the stories she tells to make others happy. She still sees herself as a scared, grubby, starving little kid with no prospects outside of the ever-crushing poverty that Windhelm had to offer. Really she's incredibly resilient and adaptable. She lies through omission and that tends to be her way of hiding. So far she's found it easier to let loose with some much more recent contacts. Probably because they aren't wound up in Guild politics, they didn't know her as a scrubby street urchin and they're fun. One of them always comes up with the funniest shit!

Teldryn almost always covers himself from head to toe, the guy desires anonymity. There's an equal part of him that craves attention so he's often conflicted. At the end of the day his desire for attention always wins, so he brags about the things he thinks he's good at. He's vain, he knows this and won't apologise for it. He's stubborn to a fault and quick to jump to conclusions. Deep down he wants to do good and be seen as good by others but he's failed that at every turn, so he cloaks himself in bitterness and treats almost every relationship as a transaction, almost. He doesn't completely ignore those in need mind you, he's helped urchins and the like. He has the coin but never stays around long enough to hear a thank you. Though it's been a few decades since the last time he went out of his way to help out, he fucked that up massively. He'd rather play the greedy, bratty, flirty merc.

LOVE– What attachment styles do they experience? How involved are they in their friends, family, and loved one’s worries, hopes, or goals? Do they turn to their loved ones for support? Do they let people who love them help them?

(The attachment styles thing I like to avoid but we are not looking at anything stable...)

Sydari doesn't have much family to speak of. Her brother died when she was 14 and was the closest thing to a parental figure she had. Her father just disappeared when she was 6 in the middle of the night after throwing her out in the cold one night. Her mother, she idealises simply because she never got to meet her. She survived a few days after her birth and that's it. She's been on her own since she was 14 and finds relying on anyone but herself to be difficult. Help is something she finds hard to accept from others but she won't reject it completely. She use to hide her emotional turmoil in a skooma haze. Then she switched to doting over a rabbit. She's started opening up a little more to one person in particular, but only because she suspects that he's more messed up than she is. He feels like a project, maybe she needs that, maybe she doesn't but he fits. Or she thinks he does...

Teldryn had a bit of an absentee family. His father died on a smuggling run when Teldryn was 4 and he doesn't really remember him. Though he'd be reminded of the resemblance every time he messed up as a kid, which was a lot. His mother would alternate between love bombing and gaslighting and he never knew what mood she's be in unless she'd been drinking. Which happened often enough. His grandfather and uncle just see the spawn of a dirty thief and kept him at arms length. They'd have shipped him off if it wasn't for his mother's tantrums at the very thought or his grandmother's protests. His grandmother, she was more of a mother to him. Strict but fair, and she at least believed in his potential. It's because of her that he even got the level of education that he did. She wanted him to join the family business and he was good at talking. Now he can do it in three languages, she created a monster. He was in no way suited for that sort of work, he couldn't sit still long enough. He liked to hit things. When she died in his early teens he was lost. He's still lost. He only keeps in communication with three people, and he's scared of how he feels about the most recent one. He justifies it by believing himself to be in her debt and nothing else. He deals with his feelings in a self-destructive manner and has to be forced to accept help from even those closest to him.

APPRECIATION– What kind of accomplishments do they recognize? What things do they find beautiful or attractive? Which of their senses do they find most joy engaging with?

Sydari appreciates fine things, she grew up with little and indulged as soon as she had the means. Sure she can deal with grit and muck, she can live with shabby things but who wants that? She really, really loves jewellery and will wear as much as she can get away with. She's enchanted a few pieces and most of the designs are custom from Madesi's shop. (He is not aware of her Guild connections, he just knows her as one of Riften's Thanes, she's good at keeping the two separate...mostly).

She says she likes people who pursue similar goals to her, wealth. Though she has found herself gravitating away from this attitude recently, she wants something more substantial in reality. Truthfully she's tired of the shallowness of it all. Maybe that's why she took the job that eventually lead her away from Skyrim. She knows it had a lot to do with her feeling unhappy in Riften, it stopped feeling like home ages ago. She doesn't mind the atmosphere of Solstheim, it's both alien and familiar in a weird way.

Sydari is all about touch, and her background has taught her that sometimes a touch is all she needs in order to get what she wants. She'll get what she wants. She should be the one to approach you, not the other way around. She wants to initiate the conversation, she wants to be in control of every situation. She prefers to initiate any sort of affection, and she'll be discrete.

Sydari loves the water, she loves the sound of waves breaking on the shore, the way the mist floats along its surface. She wants to live as close to the water as possible, if not to swim then just to listen, to watch. She likes observing wildlife as well, she appreciates netches. She thinks they're funny.

Teldryn, for all the emotional neglect, wanted for nothing. He was always placated with a new toy, a wooden sword, cakes, whatever as a kid. It's given him a bit of a spoilt attitude. He'd rather just be good at a thing than work at it, he wants things now. He will persist at something he really wants though. Like his swordplay, he wanted to be the best after all, though he does have a natural inclination for that kind of thing. He wants to be good at the lute, he is not, it leads to a lot of broken instruments.

He's a bit vain but he has absolutely no sense when it comes to fashion. He's comfort all the way, everything he wears should have been thrown out decades ago! He takes care of his equipment though, which is why it hasn't completely fallen apart...yet, he needs to patch his shirt again. He takes care of his hair, he's obsessed with it, despite the fact that he just ruins it by putting a helmet over it anyway. He's perfected that shabby look and he likes it.

Speaking of senses, he's missing two of them, well, almost two, he can still smell to an extent, mostly he notices smells that he doesn't like. Of all the sents he could have retained, it was his ability to smell someone who hasn't bathed in a week, or if something's putrified. Fun! He's more visual, touch and sound-orientated these days. Mostly visual, he likes observing things with no aim in particular. He's a shameless flirt though he's been less active in recent years, and started falling into his reclusive side again.

He likes cities, big ones with lots of amenities. He could get lost again. Though the odd hamlet does appeal to his sensibilities, there's one around Witerun that's not too cold, has decent amenities and isn't too far away from the city if he wants something more fun to do. It's no Blacklight but nowhere really is.

MEANING– Where do they believe they fit in the world around them? What provides them comfort? Do they think about their daily life and routine? Are they satisfied?

Sydari is meant to be the Dragonborn, she's meant to be a Nightingale, she's meant to run the Thieves Guild in Skyrim but none of them feel right. The guild master thing fits better than the rest. She doesn't think she should be Dragonborn, it makes no sense. Isn't that meant to be a Nord thing? Yes she's a quarter Nord but that shouldn't affect anything...Should it? No, taking on that mantel was something she had to be forced into, she was perfectly content ignoring the whole thing. It was fine! She didn't need to be ambushed like that! Of course, she eventually made the trek to High Hrothgar... years after being summoned. She just doesn't think it's her, she can barely use the Thu'um anyway. it takes her voice out for too long and she's certainly no hero.

No, she wants to move into her new home in Raven Rock. It's a nice change, it's the change she wanted, the one she choose. She wasn't forced into it like with her move to Riften. She feels more at home there, Solitude feels odd, and Whiterun feels like a job. She isn't expected to meet with the higher-ups whenever she's in Raven Rock. She can just relax at home, she can watch netches, try to convince her small rabbit army to try ash yams! She can hang out at the Netch, she just, no one needs her to do any more than what she's already done. And they're actually thankful for her help. Something Skyrim lacks. They always want more from her. They want her to choose a side in that damn war! she thinks that both sides are stupid.

She wants to wake up and have nothing pressing to do.

Teldryn doesn't think he fits anywhere. He had a purpose once, he didn't want it, he didn't choose it. It just happened one day. He hated the whole sordid affair, he barely remembers half of it! He wasn't even there. He didn't do that. It wasn't him! Yet he receives the blame for the catastrophic societal destruction that happened as a result. It wasn't him! The reality just sounds ridiculous because it is! He wishes he could forget the parts that he does remember too. He wishes it never happened. He wishes he never agreed to meet his mother in that tavern in Cheydinhal. he should have run as far away as he could.

Maybe if he did that he'd actually look as old as he felt. Maybe people would believe Geldis when he "jokes" that Teldryn is five years his senior. Maybe he'd have grey hair? Actually, scratch that he'd die before he allowed that to happen! He'd rather shave his head again. Not that it matters these days, only a handful of people know what he actually looks like under all that chitin. He likes it that way...though a large part of him still craves the attention he use to get back in Cyrodiil and Morrowind. He just doesn't know who might recognise him. It's only been 200 years since the worst of it and Dunmer have long memories.

At least he can blend in when he's in Raven Rock. No one questions why some guy hangs out in a tavern dressed in chitin, he's one of like 5 other guys who wear it after all... and Slitter is more memorable. Not that he wants to be shown up by that fetcher! He could beat his sorry ass any day of the week! He has! It was funny. He's even slammed Mogrul's stupid head into a table a few times. He lost a molar in the process but hey! He hasn't tried to extort Geldis again! And Geldis can't kick him out for fighting, it's his name on the deed too! He pays for the furniture, and the wall, and the door...

He sticks out in Skyrim like a sore thumb but he just...he just doesn't like metal armour. It's too heavy, he needs to be able to move. His fighting style is made for light armour types anyway.

PURPOSE– What kinds of goals do they have to look forward to? What are their internal goals (having a good relationship, being a certain kind of person, etc)? What are their external goals (making money, being admired)?

Sydari says she wants to make a lot of gold. That's been her line since she was 19. That's the line for the guild. That's what she thought she wanted. She has it now, and she still finds the heists fun but...she doesn't need it anymore.

She's used to making herself fit into other people's ideals. She really wants someone to accept her as she is but she's not sure what that actually is. There's now so many things she's supposed to be now and she wants none of it. Really she wants a home, she almost made herself a good one in Riften but she fucked that up. Had a husband and...plans. He found out about her Guild connections and worse. She no longer feels welcome there and the cistern isn't her idea of a home. It's more like a group of people she use to know. And they all want to hang out in a sewer... She'd been trying to improve that space but there's only so much you can do with canal water.

She's looking to make stronger connections, she thinks she found who she was looking for deep down.

Teldryn wants to be left alone. He wants to disappear. He wants to go back home, he wants to have made a better decision. He wants attention, he wants praise, he wants to be carefree again.

He wants another drink, he wants to stop drinking. He wants to take that ring off his finger but it won't budge. He wants to walk into the ash wastes of Vvadenfell and never come out but he can't even manage that.

So he plays the role of a mercenary, only because it gives him something to occupy his mind. Work is fleeting these days so he helps out the Redoran Guard if they need it... he may as well try to preserve the decaying shithole that he helped found. Maybe that's why he keeps ending up back there.

He thinks he wants something else now but is too afraid to admit it.

#this was an ask I swear #I just imploded it #sydari aralen #teldryn sero #Long post and sad birds

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ofstormsandfire · 11 months

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hey there pal, hows the weather-

i’ll cut to the chase: how do you get writing done, and how do you stay focused on your writing and not get so distracted?

Weather's pretty decent right now! Sunny and hot, which is why I don't plan on going outside for several hours, but I'll take that over thunderstorms that knock out my power for a few seconds and my wifi for longer. My dad calls it "florida flash and flicker" which is as amusing a name as it is way too accurate.

Anyway, uh. Well, I do get pretty distracted, I won't lie. I'm on here right now instead of writing. But there's a particular site I use called 4thewords that, for lack of a better description, it translates writing words into fighting monsters. With time limits. And while it really isn't a big deal if I "lose" the battle by running out of time, it's a big deal to me and it helps me stay on task.

It's a bit of a tradeoff; I've noticed that while I write significantly more on 4tw I also generally have to edit more after the fact too. But you can't edit what's not there at all.

It's also absolutely not the sort of thing that would work for everyone, but it works really well for me. I started using 4tw after I got a free extra month's subscription (it does cost money, but it's not very much, and if it's not feasible in your budget there is a community pool that you can put yourself into for other users to donate subscriptions to) thanks to beating Camp Nanowrimo in... July of 2021? I have written so much more since I got it and I genuinely cannot recommend it more.

More generally, though: it helps to set deadlines for myself, artificial or otherwise. I'm one of those people who will put off important school assignments until the last minute and then dash out a 10-20 page essay the day before it's due and somehow do okay on it, because adrenaline kicked in.

It also helps that I'm generally very passionate about the things I'm writing? Most of the people I know irl have heard about whatever gay fanfic I'm actively working on the most. I'm meeting up with my nana for lunch tomorrow and she is going to hear about the gay people whether she likes it or not. (She is also going to get this story read out loud to her dramatically because she called me when I was reading it out loud to my dad dramatically and was vaguely curious, and I like reading funny things out loud to people I like dramatically.)

...I think it also helps to focus on One Thing at a time. Which, you have presumably seen my AO3, I'm not good at doing that. But it's much easier to keep your thoughts in order if you mainly work on one longer fic at a time.

It's also much easier to keep your thoughts in order if you write things down. I didn't use to outline my writing, I started cowriting a funky crossover between Warframe and RWBY with a friend who was far more of a planner and who did drag me somewhat kicking and screaming into doing that. Taking notes is important, otherwise you run the risk of forgetting important details like which trainer has which Pokémon or if the gay dumbass you're currently writing has had any sort of revelations about that fact lately. They don't have to be organized (though it helps if they are) and they don't have to make sense to anyone but you, but if you write things down you're much less likely to forget important/cool things you came up with like two separate projects ago.

I hope this makes some sense, anon! If you'd like clarification on anything by all means send another ask, I'll do my best to explain in more depth. Thanks for the ask!

#askbox #anonymous #writing things #fanfic things #4thewords

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atdutiesend · 1 year

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random hc/munday ask but!! in what ways do you and dove differ? personality traits? habits? did they inherit anything in particular from you, such as love for food, etc.? only answer what u feel comfortable answering tho!! no pressure hehe

Dove's a lot more aggressive and openly fighty than I am. Dove will kick a mofo in the balls and call them a bitch for insulting them, while I uh... I tend to shut down and internalize a lot. As for what they inherited from me... Well, click readmore if you want to join me in celebrating how far I've come as an artist, and get waaaaaay more information than you asked for!

So, if you want to get technical... Crow, on the left there, started as a character for a project based around a modern Bloodborne 'verse. The characters were very loosely based around us authors in our college years. The project fell through pretty quickly - but it had a really cool concept. I really liked the worldbuilding I'd done for the character, so I made enough changes to make her less Personal and threw her onto tumblr.

Crow quickly took on a life of her own, and I developed a robust backstory for her, rewriting it a few times to put more remove in there - visually symbolized by her going from a brunette college student dying her hair green for cosplay reasons, to a formerly high-society urban explorer with naturally white hair. She was squatting in a modern-day version of Yharnam that had been abandoned to the beasts for a century; and due to being an Eldritch Location, it had connections to other times... and even other realities.

It was in one of these cracks in reality that the events that lead to me making an Undertale-verse specific version of Crow, colloquially dubbed "Dove," happened. It took a few months, but eventually I was playing Dove more than I was playing Crow, and moved Dove fully to their own blog and spent the next several years playing them - at some point, the egg cracked more fully, and Dove shifted from she/her to they/them.

I also made a lot of AUs... including a dragonborn AU that was also a crossover with Bloodborne, because my hyperfixations will come back to bite my brain years later. Anyways~ A few months after my fascination with Undertale ended, a friend who'd been playing XIV for years dragged me and another friend in kicking and screaming, and so I made a version of Dove for XIV. The very first version was a raen malera, followed by a xaela malera... and eventually I went femra because if I'm gonna stare at an ass all day, I want it to be a pretty one.

Then I got to the Azim Steppe, had my brain explode, and sat down and finally wrote a proper, FFXIV-centered backstory. Which is a very long-winded way to say, Dove's got a number of my traits, as filtered through three fandoms and at least six thorough rewrites, and some backstory notes that've been exaggerated, rewritten, and been dumped out and put back together like a box of legos.

On that note, here's my POV if Dove ever met me in person--

#answered;#swerte #out of cryptids #cryptidscreens #about dove

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snackleggg · 3 years

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I love Danny Phantom and Batman crossover fics, specifically the ones where Danny and Damian are twins.

Peak comedy and shenanigans potential.

Because it's Damian and you already know he is gonna be a sassy little shit about it.

Danny making his eyes glow green just to piss Damian off because their eye colour is the one thing that differentiates them appearance wise.

Tim at first being super cautious around Danny because "oh god there's another one" but then realises Danny (while definitely sassy and a smartass) is nothing like his brother and being like "HOW ARE YOU TWO RELATED AGAIN!?"

Danny not putting up with Ra's bullshit and just dragging his brother away like "aye we're out" while Damian is literally kicking and screaming.

I just love it, I love the potential.

On another note, if you guys know any fics where Danny and Damian are brothers I would greatly appreciate it if you could tell me. I need more of this content, I am starved

#danny phantom #batman #batfam #crossover #danny fenton #damian wayne

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whitefantasy21-blog · 2 years

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This post contains some spoilers for Encanto

I just watched the movie Encanto, and let me just say the song is just so goddamn catchy

The whole movie is just a hole of angst waiting to be filled

So I decided to make another crossover cause why not

spoiler officially begins rn so . . .

The Henituse territory was attacked when Cale was just a baby and during that attack, Jour had died protecting him

Deruth whose heart was overflowing with grief turns to work to recover from that attack and build up a defense to make sure that their home is safe

He then met Violan, fell in love with her and her son, then got married

and with their marriage, they receive a blessing

Then let's fast forward a few decades later;

Kim Henituse was born the youngest son of Lily Henituse, it was a well-known fact that he was the only one in his Family that didn't receive a gift from the magical candle

he shrugs it off cause it didn't matter to him but it seems like that was all anyone could ever talk about him

but with cracks in their home, now the magic that was given to their family is in danger of fading away, 'this is problematic' Kim thought with dismay

Kim Rok Soo is the Mirabel of the crossover

Choi Han is Luisa with their superstrength

Alberu is the oldest son (Isabela of this au), the golden child of the family, [spoiler] when Kim manages to talk to Alberu into being himself, he would take the appearance of his dark elf form but before that, he is the golden-haired perfect prince 'your royal highness, the sun that shines brightly in our house' - Kim

so here comes my fav;

[We don't talk about Cale]

Cale is the Bruno of this Au

I honestly can just see him being talked shit about and being painted as an evil bastard, he would just nod in agreement and add fuel to the fire

one day, Cale Henituse had a vision and then suddenly vanished

{ [Note] Cale is weak, he can't use his gift without the drawback of having headaches and would sometimes bleed out for no reason at all, he has never told anyone about this at all

When he was a teenager, he found out that drinking alcohol would ease up the pain, so he grew a bit dependent on it also making him known as a drunk.}

Ron is still the servant that raised Cale from the beginning and till now, still wonders about where his charge had disappeared into

he would often note how similar Kim is to Cale, as he is also the person taking care of Kim

People would often look at Ron with wariness because not only was he the main caretaker of 'the bad luck' Cale, he also took care of 'the giftless' Kim

"Sorry, I don't do visions anymore," Cale told Kim before drinking

lol just a thought, If Ron and Beacrox ever discover where Cale is hiding they'll be appalled with his living condition

They would drag him out, kicking and screaming all the way and then clean him up

Beacrox : You take care of the young master father, I'll take care of the pests *put on double gloves*

Cale : Wait, don't hurt them! they're family!!

then they would proceed to convince Cale to leave the rats behind and just get a new pet, but Cale would stubbornly refuse till they give up as long as they don't multiply, it would be much of a problem cause rats have short lifespan

they would need to vaccinate the rats.

Beacrox would always give the rats disgusted look, and would still leave out poison and traps, wishing to accidentally put an end to the disgusting creatures, Ron wholeheartedly agrees with his son.

another take of this au would be;

Cale had a vision, one day he just disappeared

unknown to his family he was living right under their nose, changing his hair color to black, and is now known as Kim Rok Soo

A man who is well-known for taking care of people but held everyone at arm's length

It still needs some thought into it cause this sounds a bit too similar to canon. Share your thoughts.

#og!cale henituse #trash of the count's family #cale henituse #henituse family #encanto crossover #we dont talk about bruno #We don't talk about Cale but it ain't as catchy as bruno #deruth henituse #kim rok soo #cale henituse can see the future #ron molan #beacrox molan #tcf

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hikarimiyanaga · 3 years

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how would the Dimitrescus(and Donna) react after finding out that their S/O is actually a God(maybe Thor and Loki's youngest sister) when both of them visit/scold us because they're worried after not hearing from us for so long #protectivebrothersmode

I didn't put any ship on my previous one since I had this on stand-by.

Am I getting faster writing on my phone? Maybe.

Do I still prefer physical keyboards? ALWAYS.

I still love writing this requests and crossovers.

1st Part

Alcina Dimitrescu / Lady Dimitrescu

You arrived at the Castle a year ago. Meaning it's been five years since you left your old world. You've been dating Alcina for over 6 months now. She just captured your attention when you arrived at the Castle and she attacked you. You weren't fazed, after all you were a Goddess.

Today was the day Hela was going to check in on you. You whip your phone out and go outside the castle. Hela answers and you could tell from her tone that she was nervous.

"Hela, why are you-? Did something happen?" You didn't want to go back but if there was an emergency situation then you would go. Gladly.

"No... Just both Thor and Loki are looking for you." You let that sink in for a few moments then you groan.

"Just tell them where I am. I'll wait for them." Hela agrees then you hang up. You look up at the sky and yawn as thunder can be heard from it.

"Miss Y/N. Are you going inside? I think there will be a storm." You shake your head at the Grand Chambermaid.

"There's no storm. That's just my brother." She tilts her head at your statement.

"Wha-" Just then a bolt of lightning strikes in the middle of the courtyard and Thor's figure emerges. You sigh.

"Hey, big brot-" You don't finish your greeting as you get attacked by Stormbreaker. You stop it with your hand. You grit your teeth. "Thor! What is-" Just then he strikes you with lightning. You shield yourself then hear the door behind you open. You knew that Alcina and her daughters have come out of the Castle.

"Y/N!? Who-" You lunge at Thor before he could even lay his eyes on Alcina. You notice for a split second that Loki is just watching on the sidelines and you growl. What is the meaning of this!?

"What is your problem!?" Thor holds out his hand and Stormbreaker comes to him.

"You! You are my problem!" He takes a step forward. "Why did you leave, Y/N? And why didn't you tell either me or Loki?" Now that pisses you off. They were both gone. Both you and Hela knew that they were alive, yes but shit their whereabouts? You absolutely had no idea. Were you worried? Of course, they were your brothers.

"Shut up!" The Earth rumbles as you shout. You hold out your hand and a sword forms. "You were both gone! You went to space! Loki travelled through time! So don't be a hypocrite!"

Thor stops at that but it was too late. You were already beginning your onslaught. He desperately defends himself from your vicious attacks.

You weren't the Goddess of War for no reason.

After wearing him out, you kick him over the edge. You hear his scream but knew that he was okay. You kick Stormbreaker in front of Loki who just smiles at you.

"Are you next?" He shakes his head and just goes to Alcina. You see Stormbreaker levitate so you hold out your hand as well. You knew Thor was trying to call it so you were trying to get him to you. The Stormbreaker stays in mid-air as Thor lands on the courtyard again. You stop your hold on the Stormbreaker so the ax hit Thor and he flew towards the gate.

Loki chuckles at your display. "You're really showing him, Y/N. Nice work." You glare at Loki who shrugs. You roll your eyes as you wait for Thor. "She really likes toying with him."

"And who exactly are you?" Alcina asks and Loki bows to her.

"I am Loki. God of Mischief and older brother of Y/N. The one she is fighting right now is also a brother of ours. The God of Thunder himself, Thor."

"I am Alcina Dimitrescu. One of the Four Lords of this Village." Loki nods then smiles at her.

"I am glad Y/N has found you, Lady Dimitrescu. It seems that she would do anything to protect you."

"What?"

"Earlier, if Thor had seen you, I would imagine he would strike you with lightning so Y/N lunged at him."

"Why would he strike me?" He chuckles.

"Because you are the only reason why my sister would stay here, no?"

Just then Thor lands in front of them and you were cracking your neck as you wield Stormbreaker.

"Thor, just stop this. We both know you can't win against Y/N." Thor scoffs at Loki then stands.

"I am her older brother! I can win!"

"Are you sure? Because she's kicking your ass right now and wielding your weapon." Thor splutters as you hold your fist out to Loki who bumps it with his own. You throw Stormbreaker in front of him.

"You're not even the King of Asgard anymore, brother. Give. It. Up." Thor sighs then nods. You roll your eyes then raise an eyebrow at him. "Now what in Father's name was that!? You see me then just attack me!? The fuck is wrong with you!?" He smiles then pats your head.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay." That should have calmed you down. But instead it pissed you off even more. Your eye twitch then you use Stormbreaker to strike him with lightning. It doesn't affect him but it did make you feel better.

After that, you introduce the both of them to Alcina who is shocked but is pushing it down because she needs to look composed in front of your family. They leave for the day, but remind you that they'll check in too. You remind them to do it yearly, not monthly.

When they leave, Bela, Cassandra, and Daniela immediately flock to you and ask you questions. You answer them.

At night, when you and Alcina were alone, you were nervous.

You never told her because you wanted to be treated as a normal human, not a Goddess that can either make or destroy stuff... which you can do but still.

"I'm really sorry." You say before she can even open her mouth. "I know I never told you, and I'm really sorry for that." You sigh. "I'm just so sick of being treated like I'm above others when... I just wanted to be treated like a normal person, that-" She doesn't let you finish as she kisses you. You blush as she smiles at you.

"So you're literally a Goddess." She purrs and you gulp. "I knew you were beautiful inside and out." She whispers and you shiver.

Did you let her sleep at all that night? No.

Donna Beneviento

You were with Donna when Hela had called. She even greeted Donna. It's been a year since you started dating her after all.

You and Donna were having tea when you heard a familiar sound. Thunder. You excuse yourself from Donna and she raises an eyebrow as you go outside. Angie follows you.

"Y/N! Why are you going outside?? Is it gonna rain??" You groan as you look back at Angie.

"No. But someone is coming." She tilts her head at you.

"Who??" You sigh as Thor and Loki land in front of you.

"My brothers." Angie looks at them with shock as you walk up to them.

"Y/N! Long time no see!" Thor hugs you and you free yourself from his grip.

"Got it, Thor! No need to squeeze! Damn it!"

"Y/N." Loki hugs you briefly and you smile at him. Donna opens the door and you three look at her.

"Y/N?" Thor pulls you behind him and you can't help but groan. Their overprotectiveness is showing again. "Who is this?" You quickly get in front of Donna and stop your brothers from doing anything.

"She's Donna Beneviento. She's my girlfriend." They look at each other then relax. You let them meet her.

When they both leave, both Donna and Angie look at you. You grin at them.

"Surprise?" Angie smacks you while Donna just holds your hand.

"TELL US NEXT TIME!" You agree then laugh as you get inside the house.

Bela Dimitrescu

You were just walking around the village with Bela when you hear the familiar sound of Thunder. You look up then groan.

"How the heck did they find me?" You hadn't even told Hela where you were. You pull Bela behind you as Thor and Loki lands in front of you.

"Y/N!" Thor tackles you so you push Bela out of the way. You land with a thud since your brother's strength is no joke. Loki looks at Bela and tilts his head.

"My, my Y/N." You look at Loki who is now helping Bela stand. "Control your powers, will you?" You blast Thor with said powers and fuss over Bela. She assures you that she's fine then you apologize profusely.

"Y/N?" You ignore Thor's call as he dusts himself off. "Who is that?" You sigh then turn to him at that. Right. Not even Hela knows who Bela is yet. Your relationship with her is new, after all.

"She's Bela Dimitrescu... I am currently courting her." You try to break it to them softly as the two can get very protective of you.

"Courting! Ah! Congratulations!" Thor pats your back and you endure through it while Loki just nods with a knowing smile.

You promise the both of them to check in once in a while and they both leave with a promise to get to know Bela better.

When they left, you feel Bela pinch you and you explain what you are... you know, a Goddess.

She squeals then drags you back to the Castle so you could tell her more.

Cassandra Dimitrescu

You were sleeping with Cassandra outside on the courtyard so you don't even notice the sound of thunder from the sky.

Thor and Loki lands and you were still sound asleep... with another girl besides you.

Their voices were loud though so you rub your eyes open then see them still half-asleep. You smile as you sit and even Cassandra stirs awake.

"Thor! Loki! Morning." They both chuckle at you.

"I think it's already afternoon, Y/N." You shrug.

"What are you both doing here? Am I dreaming?" Thor laughs as Loki chuckles at you.

"We heard from Hela where you were... And since we haven't seen you in a long time.."

"You came to visit!? Nice!" You stand just as Cassandra sits on the spot you were both sleeping on.

"Y/N?" She asks and you turn to her with a smile.

"Cass. Morning." You kiss her and she smiles. "These two are my brothers." You gesture to Thor and Loki.

"I am Thor! God of Thunder." Cassandra stops at that then looks at you.

"And I am Loki. God of Mischief." Loki bows and she glares at you.

"Uhhh. Surprise??" She rolls her eyes then stands to introduce herself to them.

You all talked before your two brothers left.

Cassandra ignored you for the rest of the day. She doesn't like secrets and she would rather you tell her everything.

You spend the next few weeks, making it up to her. You just really hope she forgives you.

She does and you tell her everything about who you really are.

Daniela Dimitrescu

You were at the library with Daniela. She was telling you all about her favorite novels while you take notes in your mind so you would know what book you should get her.

When all of a sudden you hear a loud thunder. You tried to ignore it but your gut says otherwise. You excuse yourself then go outside and sure enough Thor and Loki were there. They were ready to attack Lady Alcina who was the first one to hear them, you guess.

You quickly go in front of her by jumping from the second floor. Thor stops at the sight of you and he hugs you. Daniela gets curious and looks from the second floor. She quickly gets down when she sees Thor hugging you.

You push him back and sigh.

"What are you both doing here?" They look at each other and was about to answer when a swarm of flies tackles you. You don't fall down but Daniela materializes behind you.

You look at her and she was glaring at Thor. She must be jealous. So you introduce them to her and Lady Alcina. They look at each other. You have brothers??

Thor laughs loudly as he roughly pats your back, singing praises of your 'adventures' as the Goddess of Water.

Adventures he exaggerated that's for sure.

You groan and promise to talk to them if they leave now. They both nod and remind that they'll check in as well.

You nod in defeat and sigh in relief when they left. You look back and see Daniela glaring at you while Alcina just smiles and gets inside.

You tell Daniela why and what you didn't tell her.

After that, you spend days and days, recalling everything from your adventures.

And spend every day right by her side.

A/N:

I- Can you guys guess who is my favorite?

Is it hard?

I am loving this ex-avenger/Goddess scenario. I think I'm going to write more on this.

Comments and thoughts are always welcome!

Thank you for reading!

If you can, please buy me a coffee.

#alcina dimitrescu x reader #donna beneviento x reader #bela dimitrescu x reader #cassandra dimitrescu x reader #daniela dimitrescu x reader #re #re fanfic #resident evil x marvel crossover #resident evil fanfic #resident evil village

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fictionalfics · 3 years

Note

I had an idea. Could you do a crossover thingy where Aizawa has a daughter and she goes missing and he comes in the next day looking worse than normal and then the broadcast gets sent out and Aizawa sees his daughter in it and he gets either happy she’s alive or sad because she’s in a war?

This is s great idea! I’ve never written a parent fic before, so this is quite a challenge. Hope it came out okay!

Title: Not This Time

Pairing: Dad!Aizawa x Daughter!Reader

!TW: VIOLENCE, KIDNAPPING, MENTIONS OF K*LLING, LIGHT ALCOHOL USE!

(Gifs not mine)

“Aizawa-sensei’s been sleeping a lot more than usual, have you noticed Iida-kun?” Midoriya looks at his classmate expectantly as they make their way to the dining hall.

It was true, their rugged teacher had been sleeping in class a lot more lately. He had barely greeted his class before the yellow sleeping bag made its appearance.

“I’m sure its nothing, Deku,” Ochako chimes in, “This is the first time in a while he’s taught a full class. Besides, you know who he has to deal with.“

Midoriya chuckles as his friend gestures to Kaminari, Bakugo and Kirishima - they didn’t mean to be, but they were one of the main sources of trouble in class 1-A.

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

--------

Back kick. Block. Jump, kick, dodge. Bend the knees, feet to the floor. Breathe, start again.

The thick material of your scarf is tight around your palms as you dodge attack after attack. You hold your hand out and erase the enemy’s quirk, before landing a swift chop to the neck. Another one down. You handcuff them as fast as you can before dodging a beam of light. It just catches you ear, the scent of burnt hair becoming more intense as you roll to the side.

A stakeout operation gone wrong. A local gang that turned out to be something much bigger. You were fighting a war that had nearly run its course, and this mission was meant to be one of the last. That was, until your stakeout partner revealed she was working for the other team, a double agent.

That left you in this mess. You wished your dad was there with you right now, but he wasn’t. He’d taught you to cope on your own, you told yourself. You’d manage.

Smack!

-------

Three days. No text, no call, no you. Shouta had waited in the living room all night, sipping coffee to stay awake. It had been three days since you walked out the door with a great big smile on your face, saying goodbye as you left for work.

Ten years ago, the seemingly heartless man had taken you into his care after saving you from your burning orphanage. The hero saw himself in you, especially since your quirks were so similar. He trained you himself, teaching how to use the capture rope alongside your fists.

You had enrolled in Shiketsu High, in order to separate yourself from your dad, and started your work studies with a mid-ranked but successful pro in your second year.

Shouta was extremely proud of you, and made sure you knew it every single day.

But it was unlike you to stay out for days at a time without contact. The first night wasn’t so bad - maybe she’s at the bar with friends, I’ll see her in the morning, he thought to himself.

You weren’t there in the morning. He put it down to you staying over a friend’s house - he was up pretty early after all, so you’d be home later.

Nope. Nothing. He continued to make excuses up for you all night, and all the way into the morning too, only grabbing an hour’s sleep before leaving for work.

When he came home to an empty house for the third day in a row, he started to panic for real. Texted you every hour, on the hour. Called a couple of times. Called your workplace, to no avail.

6:30 on the clock. Shouta chugged the rest of his coffee and slung his work bag over his shoulder as he noted it was day four now. Work was going to be a long one.

------

Your ears rang as your former partner delivered another slap to your face.

“This would be over so much quicker if you told me where the boss is being held hostage, Y/N. You’re making this so hard for yourself!”

“Go to hell.”

Wack!

A scream held back in your throat, your teeth grind together as you fight through the pain. The edges of your vision began to go black, and you almost considered telling the gang everything.

------

Shouta’s thumb was over the send button when he heard your name on the local news.

Y/N Aizawa missing in action. Something about a fight against a gang, an ambush they said. No other details could be released for citizen safety.

The hero didn’t even realise he’d slid off the couch to kneel in front of the TV. Missing in action. He rested his forehead on the box, his hair sticking to the screen due to static.

Missing. You were missing.

His legs carried him to the agency you worked with. His voice demanded to see your boss, begged for the details of your whereabouts.

They wouldn’t tell him. “We cannot release details to the public, its for her safety as well as theirs,” your boss told him.

Shouta argued that he wasn’t the public, that he was a hero like you.

“There’s nothing more we can do, I’m afraid.”

-------

The ropes had begun to bite into your wrists as you hung from the ceiling. After deciding the initial interrogation was obsolete, the gang had taken you to a new building and strung you up. Your feet could almost touch the floor, but had given up trying to get free an hour ago. Possibly. You didn’t know how long you’d been there. You were sure you’d stayed awake, but even blinking felt like it took days in that dark room.

You strained your ears from information.

Move........found.....kill her.......risk? No......stupid.....

There wasn’t enough for you to piece together the crumbs of information. You were sure you were going to die at this point. So much potential, a great future ahead of you.

No, you can’t think like that! What would Dad do in this situation?

You couldn’t answer that one. Instead, you hummed a lullaby to yourself - your favourite that he used to sing to you if you’d had a nightmare. This entire situation was a bit of a nightmare, so you thought it was appropriate.

The door opened before you, the bright light bringing tears to your eyes.

-----

“She’s gotta be alright Shou, she’s tough! Besides, didn’t you go MIA all the time?”

Hizashi did his best to comfort his friend, handing him a small glass of whiskey, which Shouta drank in one. He slammed the glass to the table with a dull thud.

“That’s different Yamada. I knew where I was, and I was never gone for long. I don’t know where she is, and it’s been nearly a week.”

The blond runs his palm down his face, not wanting to admit the he feared the worst too.

“She’s a hero Shou, bad things happen. You know the dangers and she does too, she’s not dumb.”

“Another whiskey please.”

Hizashi refilled Shouta’s glass, and the liquid disappeared as quickly as he’d poured it.

“She’ll be okay Shou.”

------

Your arms were freed of their painful restraints as your friends occupied the gang and, summoning as much strength as you could, dragged yourself to your feet, using your peer as a crutch. Your head turned to watch your team take on the four or five people that had taken you hostage, silently celebrating as you limped to the exit.

“Sorry we took so long Y/N, it took us a while to figure out where they’d taken ya!”

A tired chuckle escaped you as your co-worker apologised. “At least you’re here now.” Your response wasn’t completely a joke, but you couldn’t blame them. This gang was good at hiding.

“The whole operation is gonna be extended, thanks to the newbie. We had no idea she was a double agent- it’s gonna set us back to square one!”

Double agent. You scolded yourself for not catching on in time. “I’m sorry, I should have figured out sooner. Now the entire mission’s been compromised.”

Your peer sat you in the back of an ambulance that had come along with the police.

“Don’t beat yourself up silly! Even us pros didn’t know, there was no way a student could have guessed!”

The fight was over relatively quickly, thankfully. After the criminals were handed over to the police for interrogation, you were escorted back to the agency to be patched up, and report to the higher-ups.

------

Eraser didn’t immediately jump up when the front door creaked open. He was a hundred miles away, trying to convince you to take a day off instead of going to work. You’d be home with him that way, smiling as you cooked your favourite meal in the kitchen. That smile... How badly he missed it.

He felt the couch sink next to him.

“Sorry I’m late Dad, I had one hell of a day at work!”

Dad? He snapped back to reality as the words sunk in. He looked to where the voice came from - his eyes traced it back to you. Covered in cuts and bruises, dark circles adorning your eyes, but you all the same.

“Y/N!” The dark haired man jumped up and lifted you into his arms. You giggled and squeezed him back, giddy with relief.

“Y/N Aizawa, you are grounded forever! What the hell happened to you?”

He set you down on the couch as you began to explain as much as you could, without giving away classified information.

“But I’m here now! I’ve got about a week to recover, because I wasn’t injured too badly, plus they did hold me in the recovery room for a day.”

“A week?” His shoulders slumped at the thought of you fighting. “They’re sending you back out there?”

“Yeah. The mission isn’t over yet, we have to dismantle them completely.”

Shouta ran a hand through his hair, and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Promise me you won’t go missing again.”

“I can’t. You of all people should know that.”

“Humour me.”

Breaking eye contact, you sighed, before looking back at your father and smiling as wide as you could. “I won’t go missing this time Dad. I promise.”

“Good.” Shouta patted your head before standing up and making a beeline for the kitchen. “You’re still grounded forever.”

“But Dad!”

“No buts!”

“Even if I make you some coffee? Maybe cook some yakitori?”

“I may reconsider,” he chuckled. You always knew your way to his heart.

He loved his daughter so damn much.

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blackypanther9 · 2 years

Text

Zombie Apocalypse – Mobius x Loki with Reader x Loki (Another Loki)

WARNING!: A Loki x Reader with Mobius x Loki crossover, Sad at some points, murder, suicide, attempt of suicide, depressed reader, Reader’s Loki is sick, Loki x Mobius smooch, drama, GET TISSUES !, Blood ! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED !!!

Summary: Loki x Mobius land in an apocalypse of Zombies, the TVA couldn’t find them and the Tempad was dead, they fought Zombies off and Mobius got bitten the someone shot the Zombies dead and they met Y/n. Soon after they met Auri, Londu (Y/n’s and Loki’s kids) and another Loki Variant. But things didn’t look good for the little Family...

Mobius and Loki were stranded on an apocalypse. But not the kind that would destroy the world, no. It was an apocalypse where Zombies took over the whole Universe. He and Mobius stranded here, because the Variant they fought almost killed them both and so Loki acted fast, dragging them here.

They were running into a building, blocked the door and panted.

“This is a nightmare.”, Mobius said.

“I agree.”, Loki huffed.

“We will never get out of here alive, Loki. The TVA won’t be able to find us here. This is an apocalypse.”, Mobius informed Loki.

“Shit…”

“Let us camp here… At night they should be gone…”

Loki agreed and so they camped and waited for the night.

________________________

It was dark and Loki and Mobius decided to sneak out.

“Clear. Come Loki !”, Mobius whispered.

With that they ran. They ran and ran through the destroyed city of New York. They saw Corpses, torn apart bodies and organs lay here and there.

Mobius stopped and hid with Loki in a corner as 2 Zombies passed by their alleyway. They stopped and turned to their direction. One screeched and a lot more came, then they ran at them.

“FUCK !”, Mobius yelled.

He pulled Loki with him as they ran for dear life, only to be cut off by 10 more Zombies. They were cornered. Mobius backed with Loki behind him into a wall and shielded Loki protectively.

Then they attacked and Mobius kicked them away as good as he could. He even punched some into their torn faces. He always made sure that Loki was behind him and shielded. Loki could fight, but he was in a state of shock and he wasn’t allowed to use his Magic much. Also he was badly wounded already from the last fight, so it was all on Mobius.

He fought them all, but didn’t watch out and one bit his arm, making Mobius scream in pain and punch the one who bit him. He clutched his bitten arm and backed away.

PANG !

The Zombie in front of Mobius had a hole in its head and dropped dead. The shooting continued and soon they were all on the floor, not moving. Mobius looked around and saw a hooded figure on a building.

They jumped down and then the person was gone. Mobius grunted and fell to the floor. He got infected.

“Mobius !”, Loki yelled and knelt down his height, inspecting his arm.

Mobius pushed him away.

“Loki…Run. They infected me. I will turn into one of them.”

Loki had tears in his eyes and shook his head.

“I won’t go without you !”

“You have to…”

Suddenly they both heard fast footsteps, coming near them. Loki stood up and summoned his daggers, standing in front of Mobius in a protective way, hissing in pain at his dislocated right shoulder.

Soon the same figure, Mobius saw, rounded the corner. It lifted its hands in the air.

“If you kill me, you won’t survive them.”, the person said in a deep voice.

“Who are you ?!”, Loki hissed.

“A survivor who also fights for their life.”

“How can we trust you ?”, he asked darkly.

“I don’t have time for this shit, Loki Laufeyson ! Either you and your mate follow me to safety or you will DIE out here !”, the person yelled.

They heard groaning and the person pulled out its gun and pointed it next to Loki’s head and pulled the trigger, shooting another Zombie that came from behind him. Loki’s ears rang.

The person pulled Mobius up and carried him bridal style away from this place. Loki ran after them.

“Where do you think you drag him to ?!”

“He is infected ! If you want him to stop or slow down the process you need to follow me and now take him so I can shot us our way free. I will explain everything later !”

The person shoved Mobius into Loki’s arms and then pulled out their guns, shooting every Zombie they came across. Soon they walked down a path where no Zombies were at all.

Loki carried Mobius still and felt him shaking. The person lead them to a house. They unlocked the door of the said house and ushered them in then came inside as well. They closed the door and locked it.

They undressed themselves and soon the hood was gone, showing them long black hair with a green and blue stripe in their hair. As the mask they wore got taken off they saw that the person was a female.

“Follow me quick !”, she ushered Loki.

He ran after her and set Mobius down on the couch as she told him to do so.

“Stay with him !”, she commanded and then left for another room.

“L-Loki I am scared.”, Mobius admitted shakily.

“Everything will be fine. You won’t turn…”, Loki tried to calm the both of them.

Then the woman came back with a syringe. She pulled Mobius’ bitten arm to herself and then shoved the needle into his arm, pushing the liquid inside him. As it was all in his blood she pulled out the needle and put a plaster on his wound.

“You will need to take a needle once a day. I think 5 times is enough. But just to be sure we give you two more.”, she told him.

Loki looked at her.

“What is your name ?”

She looked at Loki.

“Y/n. Y/n L/n.”

“Thank you, Y/n…”, Mobius said softly.

He stopped shaking.

“Sure thing. I will give you a bucket. There is a very high possibility that you will puke out the poison that is trying to turn you.”, she said and then was gone again.

Loki looked at Mobius.

“You will be okay.”, Loki said smiling.

“Seems so…”, Mobius said softly.

Y/n returned with a big bucket. She placed it next to the couch.

“There you go. Have you eaten anything ?”, she asked them.

“No.”, they both said.

Y/n nodded and then left the Living room again. She came back with 2 plates of Pancakes, silverware and a glass of Applesauce and Nutella.

“It is all I have left from tonight. Eat up. You must be starving. After you ate I will look at your other wounds.”, she said.

They took the plates and other stuff from Y/n, thanked her and then started to eat.

________________________

Y/n stitched Loki’s eyebrow back together, relocated his right shoulder and bandaged it, put ice on his swollen ankle and patched up his chest. He had 6 stab wounds there, not deep and too concerning, but still, she took care of it.

Mobius got his bitten arm cleaned with a lot of alcohol and a bandage, his cheek had a scratch, which she cleaned and put a plaster on and his back had scratches, she cleaned them and then wrapped a bandage around him.

“Thank you, Y/n.”, they both said.

“Sure. Now House rules. Don’t go Upstairs, into the Basement and don’t go outside and away from the house. That would be all.”, she told them.

“Why not upstairs ?”, Loki asked.

Y/n was silent.

“Just don’t go up there.”, she said and then left.

Loki looked at Mobius, concerned. Mobius shrugged his shoulders.

“Let us go to sleep, Loki.”, he said.

Loki nodded and laid on the floor. Mobius huffed and pulled Loki up, pulling him on his chest.

“The floor is dirty and hard. Just sleep here.”, Mobius said.

Loki blushed a little red, but slept on top of Mobius none the less.

Y/n made sure they slept as she left the house again, searching for food and searching for semen to plant near her house, so she doesn’t have to go out that much anymore.

________________________

Loki woke up as he heard crying. Loki hovered over Mobius, but he was asleep. The crying was one of a Baby and it came from upstairs. He got up slowly and crept up the stairs, using a spell to make him invisible.

The crying got louder and Loki soon found the room the crying came from. He opened the door and closed it. He was in utter shock what he found. Two Babies laid in 2 cribs.

He looked at them a bit closer. Before he could ask himself who the Father was the door opened again, and someone ran into the room, Loki backed away only to see… Himself.

“Hey, hey, shhh… What is it little Auri ?”, the other Loki asked the Baby.

She stopped crying and held his finger in a death grip.

“Are you hungry, Baby ?”, he cooed.

Auri’s stomach rumbled at that and she got tears in her eyes again. The other Loki held her tightly and rocked her back and forth.

“Shh… I will get you some milk… Shhh…”, he calmed her.

Then he carried Auri to a closet and Loki saw a lot of milk as the other Loki opened it. He got out a bottle of milk and held it out to her, Auri grabbed it and eagerly started to drink. The other Loki smiled softly and continued to feed her.

Then he coughed and turned his head away. He coughed out black goo. After he stopped coughing he continued to feed Auri, pretending like it didn’t happen.

After Auri drank the whole bottle empty, the other Loki softly patted her back until she burped, then put her back inside her crib. Then he sighed and pulled out a Syringe, jabbed it into his arm and released the liquid into his arm, hissing softly at the pain it gave him. He pulled it out after all of it was inside his system.

“I doubt it will get better…”, he whispered.

Just then Loki saw that the other Variant of himself had a bite wound of a Zombie on his arm and his leg.

All of a sudden the other Loki held his mouth closed with his hands and ran out of the room, Loki followed him into a Bathroom and saw that the Variant puked into the Toilet…black goo.

He coughed after he finished and got back up from the toilet, flushed it, washed his face and brushed his teeth. Then he went back to the Babies.

________________________

After a while he left the room, took care of both of them for the night. Loki ran down the stairs and woke up Mobius.

“Loki…what is it ?”, he asked him sleepily.

Loki explained everything to Mobius. And Mobius was from tired and confused to highly alarmed and awake.

“So you are telling me that another Variant of you is in this house and puked out black goo, takes the same syringe I was given and has more than 1 bite wound ?”

“Yes !”

“Damn…”

“I have a bad feeling, Mobius.”

“Me too. Let us go back to sleep and question Y/n tomorrow.”

Loki nodded softly and laid on top of Mobius again.

________________________

Morning was there faster than Mobius and Loki thought.

“Get up you two ! Breakfast is ready.”, Y/n called.

They woke up groaning. Instantly Loki remembered what he saw yesterday. He sprang up and went to the next room, which was the kitchen, looking at Y/n’s back.

“You have to answer some questions.”, Loki told her.

“Oh ? Which ones ?”, she asked as she set the table.

Mobius came in and took a seat, Y/n put the food on the table and sat down too, gesturing for Loki to sit down, help himself and ask away.

Loki hesitated at sitting down, but he did and took some slices of bread. Then he looked at Y/n.

“What is upstairs ?”, Loki asked.

Silence.

“Why do you care ?”, she asked him darkly.

“What. Is. Up. The. Stairs.”, Loki repeated.

“Nothing important.”, she said casually with an emotionless face.

“Stop lying.”, Loki said.

“I am not.”

“I was up there yesterday. Why do you keep a Loki Variant, that got infected, in your house with 2 Babies ?”, Loki seethed.

Y/n was silent, her glare transformed into shock at first, then into an empty look.

“Because that is MY Loki. And the two Babies are HIS and MY Children.”, she answered.

Loki stared at her in shock.

“But he is infected. Even worse than Mobius.”

“Yes he is. He got bitten 6 times. The liquid I gave Mobius is the same he takes. It is a lot of poison that got pumped inside him, which causes him to take a lot more a day than one and have a lot of pain by injecting it. He is puking on a daily basis and sleeps a lot to recover.”

They stared at Y/n in utter shock. Six times he got bitten.

“I couldn’t leave him for dead as he got bitten the first time, so I experimented with things and created something CLOSE to a cure. Enough times taken and it will eventually get rid of the poison and you will never transform. At some point the poison is gone for good. If you take it only once a while, you stretch the transformation. I had no one else to experiment on, besides Loki, so I did what I had to. I injected the stuff inside him when he slept and watched what happened, then I changed it into a way better serum and soon it was perfect and flawless. Since then he takes it 6 times a day. All the puking and coughing out black goo is saying that his body is getting rid of the poison.”

“Why not use his Seidr ?”, Loki asked.

“Odin stripped him from them. And before he could get them back, this whole shit started.”, she said, drinking her coffee.

They stared at her in utter horror.

“He was stripped off his Powers, Title and worth, forced to work with the Avengers for what he did, until he found love. He found it. As Odin came to give him back his Powers, Title and all…this started. They got Odin first. So he never got his Powers back.”, she told them and bit from her slice of bread.

Loki touched himself at that, hoping he was still there. He just imagined how it went.

“But if you have a Loki, how come you are not confused about him and me ?”, Mobius asked and pointed at Loki then himself.

“Oh believe me, I would have asked. But I saw how you came here. Looked like a Portal to me and considering that I never met you and there is another Loki, it can be from another Universe, Timeline or Dimension. Such things were already speculated on. That there is more than space lets us know. So I am not at all surprised.”, she told him and bit again from her bread.

“Oh…”, Mobius said and then slurped from his coffee.

“How come this house is fully intact ?”, Loki asked.

“Well, after Loki and I married I got a part of his Seidr. I don’t know how that is possible, considering that his Powers were locked away, but I ain’t complaining. My Magic is taking care of the house.”, she explained shortly.

“So you put a spell on it ?”, Loki asked.

“No. For that I have a whole Generator.”, Y/n told him, smirking.

“A Generator ?”

“I built one even before this started. It was supposed to make buildings invisible and unable to track down. I used it on this one and repaired the few parts the house was broken at. Loki helped me a lot too. Then I got stuff for inside and he carried the heavy things with me. The Generator is in the Basement and runs nonstop. All I have to do is look a few times after it and be careful that it won’t overheat.”

All they did was stare at Y/n. She continued to eat her food.

“Does he know that we are here ?”, Loki asked.

“He sure does.”, Y/n chuckled.

“Can you call him down ? We know about him now, so he doesn’t have to hide anymore.”, Mobius said.

“I doubt he will come down… I mean we never eat together anymore because he thinks that I would be disturbed how he looks. He doesn’t even look that bad.”, Y/n said softly, staring at her half eaten bread.

“What do you mean ? He looked fine yesterday !”, Loki said.

“It was dark, Loki. He is more than just pale. He is slightly grey already and no matter how many times he washes himself it won’t go away. He also already smells like a rotting corpse. Last time we ate together he even ripped his mouth so wide open and just ate everything on his plate WITH it…and part of the table. His mouth was ripped open until his cheeks after that and I had to stitch him back up. His pearly teeth also turned yellow, no matter how many times he brushes them, they stay like they are.”, Y/n said sadly.

“Doesn’t that mean that he is turning ?”, Mobius asked scared.

“No. Not really. It means that it is trying very hard to change him, but because of the serum he injects into himself all day, it loses. Yes, he may act out some times and act more like a Zombie, but he is none. It is just the serum and the poison fighting each other and Loki acts out because of it.”

“He said he doubts the Serum works.”, Loki said.

“I know he doubts it. He does that now for a while. In his opinion it should have been gone 1 month ago, which was when he started to take it the first time in its successful form. ONE bite takes one week for him, 2 take two weeks, 3 take 3 weeks, 4 take 4 weeks and so on, which means that his 6 bites will take 6 weeks or longer to be gone with all the injections. He just doesn’t get it.”, Y/n sighed.

Loki and Mobius looked at Y/n with sympathy.

“Try to call him down.”, Mobius said softly.

Y/n sighed.

“LOOOOOOKIIIIII !!! COME DOWN FOR A SEC !!!”, Y/n yelled.

They heard footsteps and then the stairs. Soon they saw a gray hand on the banister, then legs, a torso and a head.

“What is it, Love ?”, a hoarse voice said.

“Come here.”, Y/n said.

They saw the person step out and they stared. He really looked like shit. Loki sighed and walked over to Y/n.

“What did you need ? I thought they weren’t supposed to know…”

“They wanted to meet you. This Loki snooped around at night and saw you and the kids. No need to hide it anymore.”, Y/n explained and pointed at Mobius’ Loki.

Y/n’s Loki turned to the other two and glared the other Loki down.

“Can’t say that I am disappointed, but I HATE people snooping around in my house…”, he growled out and drooled.

“Love…did you take the serum yet ?”, Y/n asked.

Her Loki snapped out of it and quickly wiped his mouth.

“Shit !”, he cursed and ran to the cabinet in the kitchen, opened it and got out a Syringe.

He quickly stabbed it into his arm and pushed it all in, scrunching his face up in pain. Mobius and Loki just stared at him. Y/n didn’t even turn around and looked, she only smeared herself another slice of bread.

“When you are done with injecting it into you and puking, sit your ass down on this very table. Refuse and I will go upstairs with you and smack your ass until you can’t sit anymore.”, Y/n told her Loki.

His eyes widened in horror and he looked at her.

“You can’t be serious.”, he said.

“I am dead serious, Loki.”, she growled out.

He gagged and ran to the sink, not a second later he was puking his stomach out into it. Mobius now saw the black goo too and it scared him. It was so much Y/n’s Loki puked out.

As her Loki was done with emptying his stomach from the goo, he was shaking all over and held himself up over the sink. The goo was running down his chin and he had tears in his eyes.

Y/n stood up, washed out the sink, then got a wet piece of paper and wiped his mouth clean. After that she got out a toothbrush and toothpaste. She put toothpaste on the toothbrush and then held it to his mouth.

“Ah, Love.”, she told him.

Her Loki opened his mouth and she started to brush his teeth. Some toothpaste ran down his mouth, which Y/n wiped away. After 5 minutes she pulled out the toothbrush, which was covered in goo now, cleaned it and then gave her Loki a glass with water. He took it and washed out his mouth, spitting the water into the sink.

After he was done she washed out his glass and the sink. Then she gently grabbed his hands and brought him to a chair on the table, then she sat down. Her Loki looked down the whole time, not wanting to make eye contact. With anyone.

“Why was he crying ?”, Loki asked.

“Because it hurts when you throw up. You have the stomach acid coming up with the black goo and when it hits the throat, it burns like someone forced you to drink acid. And a horrible, disgusting aftertaste makes itself present too and you can SMELL it. Also Loki feels embarrassed and ashamed when he throws up in front of someone.”, she said.

“Can I go back upstairs now ?”, her Loki asked.

“No, you stay. All you do nowadays is hide in your room.”, she scoffed.

“Because I don’t want to HURT anyone !”, her Loki yelled at her.

“Since you came down you didn’t hurt anyone, Loki. Calm down. That was ONE time and you forgot to inject the Serum inside your system. It was an accident.”, she said gently, holing his left hand.

He looked away.

“What happened one day ?”, Mobius asked.

“Loki tore a person apart. Someone who was alive. We searched for food. He forgot his Serum and lost it, the Poison made him act out and he tore them apart.”

“I almost ate their HEART !”, he yelled at her.

“But you didn’t. Chill, Loki. At least you know now that you can’t skip an injection.”, Y/n told him.

“I doubt it helps…”, he mumbled, looking away.

“Loki, Love, look at me.”, Y/n said.

He did.

SLAP !

Loki stared into space while Mobius and his Loki stared at Y/n and her Loki.

“I told you many times that ONE bite already takes 1 whole WEEK to be healed and gone for people like you ! NOW ADD 5 MORE TO IT !!! STOP THINKING EVERYTHING WILL BE GONE IN A SECOND !!!”, she yelled at her Lover.

Her Loki turned his head back to her and had a grave look in his eyes.

“It is a mistake to keep me here and you know it. There is no guarantee I will get better.”, he said.

Y/n started to laugh sarcastically.

“Here we go again ! IF YOU SEE EVERYTHING AS A MISTAKE THEN I SEE THE KIDS AS A MISTAKE !”, she yelled into his face.

Her Loki flinched and backed away with his head. The other two stared at her in shock.

“W-what ?”

“YOU HEARD ME RIGHT ! LOOK AT THIS UNIVERSE, LOKI LAUFEYSON, AND TELL ME WHAT YOU SEE !!! TELL ME, IS THIS A PLACE TO RAISE A CHILD ?! WHO WANTED THEM HERE ?! OH RIGHT, IT WAS YOU !!!”

“LEAVE THE KIDS OUT OF THIS !”, he yelled at her.

“MAYBE YOU SHOULD WATCH WHAT YOU ARE SAYING THEN !!! YOU SAY THAT IT IS A MISTAKE KEEPING YOU ALIVE !!! I CAN’T RAISE 2 CHILDREN ON MY OWN !!! I CAN’T BE ALONE !!! I HAVE NO ONE DAMN IT !!! DO YOU HONESTLY THINK I WOULD CARE ABOUT THEM, WHEN I KNOW THAT I WILL DIE ONE DAY AND THEY WILL TOO ?! THEN THEY DON’T MATTER TO ME ANYMORE, BECAUSE I FUCKING LOST YOU !!!”

At this point Y/n and her Loki stood he looked outraged, while she was outraged and hurt.

“You just don’t WANT to understand me, do you ?”, she whispered out.

His glare said everything. Y/n nodded, tears rolling down her chin.

“I am happy to know that you care so much about me.”, she whispered.

Loki and Mobius looked at Y/n in sympathy. They understood her pretty much, but her Loki didn’t seem like it. Before they could talk to her she stormed off, out of the kitchen.

“WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING ?!”, her Loki yelled.

“What do you think ?! Forgot who brings all the food ?!”, she yelled.

“YOU WERE OUT JUST YESTERDAY !!!”, he yelled and stormed after her.

Loki and Mobius sprang up and ran after him. Y/n was already dressed.

“YOU STAY HERE !”, her Loki yelled.

“WHY WOULD I ?! YOU DON’T EVEN CARE ABOUT ME !!! ALL YOU CARE ABOUT IS THAT YOU ARE RIGHT AND THE KIDS !!! SO WHY SHOULD I STAY ?! I COULD BE DEAD ANY SECOND AND YOU WOULDN’T EVEN CARE !!!”, she screeched at him.

Before he could say anything else she was out of the house and running away. Loki grabbed Mobius and teleported outside, hissing in pain, then they ran after her.

________________________

Y/n stopped as she was on a hill and faced a lake. She took off her mask and was crying full on, hugging her knees tightly.

Mobius and Loki carefully approached her and sat next to her.

“I am sure he does understand and he cares about you, but he was just too mad that you saw the kids as a mistake. Laufey saw him as one too. It probably triggered him.”, Mobius told her and rubbed her back.

“I don’t care if it triggered him ! He is supposed to HELP me and support me ! All he does is hide away and only see the kids. We don’t even sleep in one bed anymore ! I fucking miss him and he doesn’t give a FUCK !”, she sobbed out.

They were shocked at that.

“We don’t talk, we don’t laugh, we don’t plan together, we don’t hug, we don’t kiss, we don’t eat together, WE DO NOTHING TOGETHER ANYMORE !!!”, she cried out.

She hiccupped loudly and had a hard time on breathing, her chest was heaving and she held her head in her hands. Her cries were loud and they understood why she ran so far now. When she was upset she cried pretty loudly.

“I DO EVERYTHING FOR HIM AND HE JUST DOESN’T FUCKING CARE !!!!”, she yelled out.

Mobius and Loki looked at one another and knew that they had to help them somehow. All of a sudden Y/n was silent and just sobbed.

“Just what happened to us…?”, she whimpered.

Y/n sobbed more, but stood up and smiled. Her smile was a smile of agony and pain. Loki didn’t had a good feeling about her smile.

“Hey guys…?”, she asked.

“Yeah ?”, they both asked.

“Can you get my Loki here with the kids ?”, she asked.

“I will.”, Loki said and teleported away.

Y/n went over to the lake and dropped everything she had on heavy weapons on her. Everything besides her gun. She kept it in her hands and clicked it. She looked at the bullets that were in it and smiled a very pained smile.

Mobius didn’t like where this was going. Suddenly Magic held him down to the ground, he couldn’t move his legs.

“You need to cause a very strong Nexus Event, so your people will find you, Agent Mobius.”, Y/n sniffed out.

“From where do you…?”

She held up his TemPad and smiled a pained smile.

“A death wouldn’t be it for you. Strong feelings are a Nexus Event. Strong feelings of people from the TVA itself. Or a certain action or decision that could change everything. It will spike a Nexus Event.”, she sniffed and threw it at him.

He caught it and held it. Then Loki appeared again with her Loki and the 2 kids in his arms. Her Loki glared at her with hatred. Y/n gave him a pained smile and a pained laugh, trying to laugh her pain off.

“Y/n what are you doing ?”, Mobius’ Loki asked with wide eyes.

She ignored him and just looked at her Loki. He didn’t even see the gun yet. They came closer. As soon as Loki and her Loki were next to Mobius, she made Mobius’ Loki stay where he was.

“Y/n what are you doing ?!”, he yelled at her.

She ignored him. All she was doing was look at the kids and then her Loki.

“You do know that I only said what I said, because you hurt me, right ?”, she asked her Loki, without looking at him.

“Did you now ?”, he asked her sarcastically.

Y/n lost her small, forced smile and frowned.

“You practically said it was a mistake keeping you alive. The love of MY life. So I called them a mistake so you know how much you hurt me with your words.”, she said.

Her Loki scoffed.

“Why did you call me here with them ?”, he asked her coldly.

“You remember what happened here ?”, she asked him.

“I asked you to marry me here, you told me you got pregnant here and we married here. Why ?”, he asked her emotionlessly.

That he was so emotionless to her, hurt her. It gave her more and more confidence in what she was about to do.

“Remember it, will you ?”, she asked him in a whisper.

He wanted to scoff and laugh at her, telling her that it was all obviously a mistake, but then his eyes spotted the gun in her hand. He grew worried.

“Why do you have a gun in your hand ?”, he asked her emotionlessly.

Silence.

“And where is the rest of your things ?”

He looked around and saw them on the floor, carelessly dropped. Even the dagger he gifted her, the one thing she would never part from. He snapped his head back at her.

She only looked at the floor. Not at him, nor her stuff, the gun in her hand or the kids. Loki began to panic.

“What are you up to ?”, he asked her emotionlessly.

Y/n chuckled weakly. Her Loki could tell it was a weak chuckle, a broken one too.

“What am I up to… I asked myself that a long time… What was I up to all this time ? Fighting for my life, struggling, keeping hope in love, falling in love with you, giving you kids, trying to get a serum right to safe you so the kids have a Father and I have my love next to me all the time…”

Her Loki listened to her, while Mobius and his Loki already knew what she will do. Loki tried to fight off the spell.

“Hoping to be always next to you and the kids, hoping to find a way out of this, hoping for your help…Crying for your comfort and support…Crying for your help as I started to fall apart…”

Her Loki’s eyes widened at that, she was…she needed him and he…he hid away and pushed her away. Now he felt guilt. But soon he had back his schooled expression.

“Losing hope in keeping you and the kids next to me, losing hope in myself, losing hope in us, losing hope in getting what I needed from YOU…”, she stopped.

Her Loki saw her body shake. She lifted her head and looked him in the eyes with a big fake smile and tears in her eyes, rolling down her face. Her smile was one of pure agony and pain and… acceptance…

“Losing h-hope in living.”, she said lastly.

With that she moved the gun to the side of her head, ready to blow her brain away. His eyes widened at that in horror.

“DON’T DO IT, Y/N !!!”, Mobius’ Loki yelled.

“STOP IT !!! DON’T DO IT !!!”, Mobius yelled.

All Y/n did was looking at her Loki, into his eyes. She lost her smile and just cried.

“Don’t do it, Y/n…”, her Loki said.

“I am done, Loki. I reached my limit.”, she sobbed out.

“Love, let us talk about this…”, he said.

“What is there to talk about ?!”, she yelled.

He was silent.

“I can change…”, he said then, after thinking hard.

“I saw that you can ! From MY love of MY LIFE, you became nothing ! I DID EVERYTHING FOR YOU !!! I RISKED MYSELF FOR YOU ALL THE TIME !!! I DID SO MUCH FOR YOU SO YOU ARE FUCKING HAPPY !!! I GAVE YOU EVERYTHING I COULD !!! I HELPED YOU THROUGH EVERYTHING !!! YOU DID THE SAME FOR ME !!! Until the bites… You stopped being MY husband ! YOU ABANDONED ME !!! YOU PROMISED THAT YOU WON’T !!! I NEEDED YOU AND YOU PUSHED ME AWAY !!! I NEEDED YOUR COMFORT, YOUR HUGS, YOUR KISSES, I NEEDED ALL OF YOU AND YOU PUSHED ME AWAY !!! YOU STOPPED CARING ABOUT ME !!! Why would I want to stay now ?”, Y/n asked him.

Silence.

Y/n gave him a look that said it all.

“See ? I know that you stopped loving me.”, she whispered.

“No, you have that wrong. I distanced myself from you so you won’t be disgusted. My flesh is squishy and not like it should be ! I didn’t want to disgust you !”, he yelled.

“STOP LYING LOKI !!!”, she screeched at him.

“I am not !”

“YOU WERE EMOTIONLESS THIS WHOLE TIME !!! YOU THINK I DIDN’T NOTICE ?! NOW SUDDENLY WHEN I HAVE A GUN AT MY HEAD YOU ACT LIKE YOU CARE ?! YOU THINK I DIDN’T SEE THE HATRED YOU HAVE FOR ME IN YOUR EYES ?!”

“I DO CARE ABOUT YOU DAMN IT ! I DO LOVE YOU ! I WAS STILL MAD AT YOU ! I DON’T HATE YOU Y/N !!!”

At that point the kids started crying loudly, not that they had time to shush them. Y/n was ready to die for good and he can’t let this happen.

“I AM DONE WITH THIS LIFE !!!”, Y/n screamed.

Her Loki fell silent.

“ALL I DO SINCE THE BITE IS WRONG !!! NO MATTER WHAT I ASKED OF YOU, YOU REFUSED TO HELP ME !!! I DON’T WANT TO TURN INTO ONE OF THESE DAMNED THINGS !!!”, she screamed at him.

He had tears in his eyes at this point.

“Y/n, please don’t leave me…”, he begged her.

“WHY NOT ?! IN YOUR EYES THE SERUM DOESN’T DO SHIT ANYWAYS ! IN YOUR EYES I WAS DOING THE BIGGEST MISTAKE OF ALL ! SO IF I AM GONE, THEN I CAN’T DO ANY MORE MISTAKES, RIGHT ?! WHEN I AM GONE, I AM OUT OF THIS HELLHOLE !!! WHEN I AM GONE YOU CAN BE HAPPY !!! YOU WANT TO TURN INTO ONE OF THEM, THEN SO BE IT !!!! I WON’T BE HERE TO WATCH YOU TURN AND KILL OUR KIDS !!! I WILL BE LONG GONE !!”

“Please don’t do this to me !”, he yelled at her.

She looked at him, crying full on. He was doing just the same, seeing what damage he caused.

“Give me one good reason why I should stay here.”, she told him.

“I need you, I love you, I can’t raise 2 kids without you, I don’t want you to go !”

“From where do I know you mean it ?”, she asked him.

“Trust.”

Y/n looked at him with eyes that lost all their life and shine of determination. Her finger on the trigger, ready to pull it.

“You don’t trust me with the serum and you want me to trust you ?”

He panicked.

“I DON’T KNOW HOW YOU CAN BELIEVE ME !!! I JUST KNOW THAT I SAY THE TRUTH, Y/N !!!”

Y/n pulled the trigger. All three of them had their eyes closed fearing what they will see. Then a body fell next to Mobius.

Then as they opened their eyes, they saw a Zombie dead on the floor next to Mobius. Then the whole sight changed and they were back in the house.

Y/n collected her stuff, sobbed and teleported to the house too.

Her Loki in the meantime tried to shush the Babies and succeeded. They were asleep in 5 minutes. He put them on the couch and sagged together on the floor.

“She killed it and then herself, didn’t she ?”, he asked Mobius and his Loki.

“We don’t know…”, Mobius said.

He sniffed and went to the exit. Not much later they heard a scream of agony. It was long and loud, but the kids didn’t wake up again. Then he came back inside with tears in his eyes.

Mobius and Loki went to Y/n’s Loki’s side and patted his back. He looked into the kitchen and went to it, pulling out the gun that she hid there.

“If she goes, I do too…”, he said shakily.

“Wait…WHAT ?! And the kids ?!”, Loki yelled.

“I will end them first…”, he said.

He held the gun at Auri’s head as…

“WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING ?!”, Y/n yelled.

“Y-Y/n…?”

“PUT THE GUN DOWN YOU IDIOT !!!”

He did and ran over to her, hugging her tightly.

“I THOUGHT YOU LEFT ME !!! I AM SORRY !!! I DECIDED IF YOU GO WE ALL GO !!!”, he yelled crying.

“Well, I am still here… For now…”, she said.

________________________

After that Y/n made lunch and everyone sat at the table, eating, even her Loki. He looked at lot of times at Y/n, just to make sure that she is still there.

“So…as I said, Nexus Event…”, she said.

“Wait ! Can’t you charge the TemPad ?”, Loki asked her.

“I could, but then it is garbage.”, she said.

“Oh…”

“Now…I have the perfect idea.”, she said.

“Spill.”

“Nope.”

They stared at her.

“Let me surprise you 2.”, she said grinning.

________________________

They stood outside and Y/n and her Loki talked.

“What do you think ? Is Loki in love with Mobius ?”, she asked him.

“Totally. I know that look. Mobius ?”

“Definitely.”

“So what is the plan ?”

“We push them together, they smooch, their feelings overthrow them and a Nexus Event is caused. Then they get home.”

“Clever.”

“I know.”

With that they got outside.

“Now close your eyes you two !”, Y/n said.

They did and Y/n and her Loki went behind one of them. Then they pushed them. They fell and kissed each other. They ripped their eyes open and blushed a deep shade of red.

“Ship is sailing.”, Y/n and her Loki said.

Not long later a Portal opened. Y/n and her Loki hid away and saw how they got found and taken back. They smiled and went back into the house.

“What now ?”, her Loki asked.

“Now I will see you in Heaven.”, she said.

Loki turned to her only to see a gun in his face.

“Y-Y/n ?”

“We can’t live like this. The whole Universe is corrupted. Our kids aren’t safe and we are just the same. When we end our lives now, we can meet in the Afterlife and life happily. We can RAISE our kids WITHOUT worries. Don’t you want that, Love ?”, she asked.

He stared at her and then at the gun, then at the kids. He pushed the gun away and pulled her into a kiss, then he stepped back into place and smiled with a wavering smile.

“Bury us, yes ?”, he said.

She gave him a shaky smile and sobbed.

“Our wedding place ?”, she asked.

He nodded, sobbing too. She nodded at him.

“Okay…”

He closed his eyes.

“I love you, Darling…”, was the last thing he said.

“I love you too.”, she said.

He smiled, tears running down his face.

PANG !

Loki’s dead body fell to the floor, blood pooling around his head, eyes wide open. Y/n knelt down and kissed him softly, then closed his eyes for him. The kids cried and Y/n went over to them, kissing their heads and then shot them too.

She dragged their corpses to the hill they married on and shoveled one big grave. She softly put Loki and Auri down. Loki was on the floor and Auri on his chest, his left arm draped over her. Londu she held in her arm, stood on the edge, making sure she will fall next to Loki and into the grave and the dagger she got from her Lover she had around her waist, she aimed at her head and pulled the trigger. Her corpse fell into the grave, next to Loki, Londu on her chest her left arm over him. The last bit Magic that was there, caused the digged up earth to fall on them, burying them. Y/n’s left and Loki’s right hand over each other.

________________________

She woke up on grass. Y/n looked around, but saw no one. Will she not be reunited with her family ?

“Y/N !!”, someone yelled.

She turned around and started crying loudly, she stood up and ran towards the figure. As soon as she reached them she engulfed them in a tight hug.

“LOKI !”, she yelled.

Then two Babies giggled. Y/n looked at them and was crying even more.

“Auri ! Londu !”

“Welcome to Valhalla, Y/n L/n. Your Husband informed me that you were still arriving. You have been through a lot and so Hel spared you and let you come here.”, a Valkyrie said.

She smiled at the Valkyrie, then hugged Loki and stole Auri from him, cuddling her.

He smiled and chuckled. Y/n was again the silly, carefree girl he met, before the Apocalypse. The same girl he married and loved. And damn did he miss her.

“Now we can finally be a happy family, Loki !”, Y/n said.

“Follow me…”, the Valkyrie said.

They followed her and soon were in the more lively place of Valhalla. They both smiled happily and kissed one another. Now they can be happy and carefree…

________________________

Mobius and Loki got checked on and to their surprise Mobius wasn’t infected at all anymore. They dismissed them after they checked on them both. Y/n did a very good job on them both, there wasn’t anything the TVA could do anymore.

“She said it would take longer…”, Loki said.

“She said she thinks it should take longer.”, Mobius corrected him.

Then he stuffed his hands into his Pockets and froze.

“What is it, Mobius ?”, Loki asked him.

Mobius pulled out the letter in his pocket and unfolded it, reading it. He smiled and let tears escape.

“Mobius ?”

“Y/n and her family moved on after we left, Loki.”, he said.

“W-what ?”

“Dear Mobius and Loki, When you read this, you probably already left. I decided this world is not worth staying and living at. I will tell my Loki that and I know he will agree, thanks to his Powers I see future Events. We will be moving to Valhalla. I will end Loki and the kids, bury them and end myself. We will be okay there. I hope you won’t be sad for us, because I know we will be happy. Greetings… Y/n L/n.”

Loki was actually crying. Not out of sadness or happiness, but something in – between. Mobius smiled. At least they were somewhere better now.

He went over to Loki and hugged him, he hugged back.

“And what do we do now ?”, Loki asked Mobius.

“Figuring this out…”, Mobius said lowly and kissed Loki.

Loki kissed him back instantly, arms around his neck and Mobius’ hands on Loki’s waist.

Both seem to have gotten their happy endings in the end.

Y/n, Auri, Londu and Loki were happy and Auri and Londu grew up happily and they were bombs. Both had Magic, Auri was attractive like Loki and Londu was strong like Thor. They both were very clever, for mischief and carefree like their Mother.

And Loki and Mobius ? Well they ended up getting married.

END.

MASTERLIST HERE !

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castellankurze · 3 years

Text

Nier: Valentine

(art by @rashkah)

Short crossover/expy fic from Yours Truly, based on a running gag between friends about Jack-O’s look for GG Strive.

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

4514 - Among the androids appear "Independists", who hold no loyalty to mankind. They garner much support.

4519 - Strife begins between conservative androids and the Independists.

...

Reports of the renegade android had led them to the mountains of Alaska, close to the day/night terminator where the sky turned an ominous orange. In that endless dusk, with no more warning than a sudden shout of "TRICK OR TREAT!" the pair had been assaulted by a ball-and-chain wielding android that struck the ground with explosive force, separating the pair.

Devola got her staff out just in time to block a thunderous blow from the weapon that shook her frame all the way down to her feet and sent her flying backwards, forcing her to scrabble for her footing and dash to the side as her attacker rushed after her, that macabre glowing-green mask fixing its jagged smile on the android.

"Hey! Cut that out!" she said, doing her best to sound annoyed rather than scared as communications protocols overlapped and competed in her processor. The attacking figure halted, tilting her head so that her shaggy red hair fell over one shoulder. "Come on now," Devola said in a forced calm tone. "We don't have to have a fight, right?" At least, they wouldn't if her distraction gave Popola time to hack the renegade's OS.

There was a high-pitched giggle from behind the mask. "You Observer units are all the same!" the female android taunted. "Hold out one hand with a nice piece of candy and keep the knife in the other!" Without warning she spun the ball and chain at a clip high enough to make the air shake and then sent the weight flying, letting it drag her along into the air to smash into the rocks above. A concealed Popola leaped away just before the crazed android slammed into her hiding spot and demolished it in a spray of fragmented rock and dust.

The twins rejoined one another as they looked up at the chain-wielder. "I thought they'd put you all away!" she crowed. Then, abruptly, her posture changed, a thoughtful hand stroking at where her chin should have been behind her mask. "Though I suppose from a psychological standpoint it does make sense that they would keep one twin-pair around for use as a sort of sin-eater figure, permitting androids to vent their more negative emotional impulses on a controlled target. Such an experiment might even prove useful in slowing the fragmentation of androidkind."

"Excuse me? Who the hell do you think you are?" Devola snapped as her rage index spiked all the way up. On an impulse, she gripped her staff and channeled as much Maso energy as she could gather into the form of a fist, and with a swing and a roar of anger she sent it flying towards the renegade. But instead of dodging, the masked figure merely raised a hand, the nail of her pointer finger braced against her thumb, and as the giant fist came hurtling towards her she flicked her finger. The moment her fingertip touched the dark fist, it shattered like mere sugar glass, the crimson light sputtering out in a chain reaction all the way down the swinging ‘arm’ that had been conjured from Devola’s staff.

"What the - how can she manipulate Maso energy?" Devola breathed, eyes wide.

"And how does she know so much?" Popola demanded from beside her.

"Heh heh heh..." the figure's taunting tone was back. The hand she'd lifted to her chin spread its fingers to grip her mask and, with a clink of metal, she pulled it down to reveal her face. A face that made Devola's fear impulse skyrocket. A face that she'd seen before. Every time she'd conferred with her fellow Observer units. Every time she talked to her sister. Every time she looked in the mirror.

"Holy shit," Devola whispered.

"Observer Number 48, to give my manufacturing number," said the green-eyed woman. She kicked a foot and spun as if winding up for a dance, but instead crossed her arms and leaned into a controlled fall, landing on her elbows with her back bent and feet braced, grinning down at the pair from her new chinrest.

"Bullshit! There was no 48!" Devola yelled back in defiance of the evidence.

"Where is your sister? Did you lose her? Is that why you're behaving like this?" Popola peppered her with questions.

"Sooooo predictable," the renegade Observer said with a giggle, popping back up onto her feet. "You know who else was predictable? Humans. Couldn't stop tinkering with our line. Every new set of Devola and Popola, just a teensy-weensy bit different from the last." Her smile dropped, her cheery tone changing once more. "Minor variations in the production run would allow for a wider variety of acclimatization to stimuli, and would permit a shuffling of assets if necessary. Diversity within a limited set of parameters would make the Observer line more robust and allow for experimentation with regards to in-situ behavioral responses. However it also notably increased the Observer line's potential for erratic behavior which could lead to catastrophic failure. In the end the possibility was considered to fall within acceptable parameters and the variations were authorized." The tonal change came again as the grin returned. "Faaaaiiiiluuuuuures," the figure singsonged. "The Observer series were all failures!"

"Fuck you!" Devola shouted, feeling her eyes well up.

"The point is, every set of twins was a little bit different," the renegade said, tossing her mask to herself. "And for one set, well, they decided to put a Devola and a Popola together....forever, never to be parted!" she laughed, bouncing onto one foot and spreading her arms as if about to give someone a big, sugar-sweet hug.

"You have two sets of personality implants," Popola breathed, scandalized. Devola felt a cold shock as her processor commanded the internal release of nitrogen to cool her overclocking OS. It was unconscionable - an android's internal structure wasn't built to accommodate two full personalities laid overtop one another. A small wonder the android was so erratic - as the decades had turned into centuries the two distinct sets of emotional and logical subroutines must have fused, intertwined, overlapping and becoming inextricable from one another. Had that cackling, sing-song persona started as a gregarious Devola pattern? Had that detached, analytical assessment come from an astute Popola matrix?

Devola shivered.

The figure replaced her ghoulish mask and cackled, backlit by the orange sky. "Yep! Humankind! They jacked things up but good, didn't they? Ever heard the human legend of Jack O'lantern; left behind to wander forever? Well, call me Jack-O'la!" She began to swing the ball and chain once more, and Devola and Popola braced themselves. "And you two might be willing to trudge on as the walking hatesink for androidkind, but me? I WANT OUT!" she screeched.

“It doesn’t need to be like this,” Devola heard her sister say. Popola’s voice was filled with regret.

“Didn’t need to be, sis, but guess it is,” she replied, readying her staff.

“You two ready to find out if androids have a heaven or hell?” the dysfunctional Observer yelled, hurling the ball once more and screaming as she came at the pair.

“LET’S ROCK!”

#Nier Automata #Guilty Gear Strive #Devola #Popola #Jack-O Valentine #kurze writes

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mimiplaysgames · 3 years

Text

Terraqua Week Day 4 (Legends/Tales)

Summary: Someone calls for help from the deepest depths of darkness. Terra and Aqua trace the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. || Word Count: 8,983

Read on AO3

A/N: @terraquaweek hooooo if you thought yesterday’s was angsty dkfjdkfjdk So everyone and their mom compares Terraqua to Orpheus and Eurydice (Orphydice?) and I totally agree. It was time to officially jump that wagon. This one was difficult though - originally, I was going to have them sitting near a fireplace and talking about fairy tales over drinks, but I think I did the sit down apology fic way too many times and needed something different. This one was a huge challenge in such a tiny frame of time though. It took me the longest to write (a whole week, when I normally take months), so I couldn’t clean it as much as I would like to. I hope you like it anyway! <3

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The Long Way Down ~ no further debts to be paid

Aqua has been dragging him all over town, following a call—this gut-wrenching feeling that something is wrong and someone is crying but she doesn’t know who or where. Except here, wandering around Thebes, though Terra doesn’t mind at all. Keyblade wielders are supposed to follow their hearts. Terra will follow hers anywhere.

What he does mind, though, are these screaming fangirls.

He collides head first into a neglected booth of rugs, scampering away from a group of young women who were trying to rip his left arm out of his socket, seeking pieces of his armor. They squeal, they cry, they sigh with all the fever of delusion. Champion! Terra! You’ve come back! You’re more beautiful than the gods!

Aqua strides by him, hiding an amused smirk behind her elegant fingers. “You picked a good hiding place.” She straightens a bent rug and rolls it tighter, letting it lean on its side by the wall.

Terra knocks a rug off of his head. “I did nothing to deserve this.”

“I nearly forgot,” Aqua says in a way that means she didn’t. “You won a championship.”

“Years ago. Once.” He kicks the pile on his back and crawls out. Zack and Hercules would never let it down if they hear about him hiding from harmless girls like he’s a mouse. “I’m no celebrity.”

“I beg to differ.” She unfolds a tapestry. Weaved into the fabric is a figure of a man armored in golds and burgundies, tall with dark hair and wielding a giant key. “You’re a story they share. Be grateful for your adoring fans.”

The only thing he’d be grateful for is the attention of the person standing right next to him. He never thought about the Olympus Coliseum championship while he was possessed and trapped in Darkness, not once. He thought of her every day and night.

“I think you’re jealous they’re chasing me and not you, Master Aqua.”

“Well, I would handle it with more grace.” She beats dust out of the corner of a rug with her hand.

The way she jokes with him is instinctual, natural, but the way her eyes wander is not, like she’s not paying attention. They’ve searched Thebes for hours, and while the city-state’s stairs for hills and elaborate gardens are impressive, they’ve found no lead as to who Aqua is looking for. She unrolls another tapestry like she’s reading a scroll. She doesn’t even have a name, just a dream that spoke to her one night: Find me, please.

“There’s nothing here, either,” she mumbles.

Terra doesn’t know how to lift her spirits. “Maybe the answer is not in Thebes.”

“We haven’t searched everywhere.” She pulls out another tapestry that he’s sure she’s already deciphered.

How many times are they going to circle the marketplace? Terra sighs and risks peeking at the main street from the alleyway. If he stays close enough to Aqua, the fangirls stay farther away, as though she’s a repellant. Who knew Aqua makes for a good shield.

The marketplace swarms with chatter and dust pickup from sandals and wheels. They’ve been through every store on this block. They’ve been through museums, they’ve listened to storytellers on the streets, met with sages and fortune tellers. There’s not much to deduce out of a whisper from a dream.

A high-pitched scream breaks through the loud talk of shopgoers, and Terra summons his Keyblade, watching for Heartless.

It comes from a girl, pointing a finger at him. Everyone else gawks. She shivers from head to toe. “Terra!”

At the sound of his name, like mockingbirds for sheep, they call out. “Terra!”

“Damn the stars,” he mutters and sprints back into the alleyway, a stampede behind him. “Aqua?” She’s not by the rugs. “Aqua!” He turns the corner of the empty alleyway, stuck between choosing a direction in a crossover. There’s no sign of her, no sign of his star in the darkness or his shield.

A hand waves at him through a window.

“Terra!” the girls squeal.

He dashes, throwing himself through the window. He lands on his back, on hard concrete. Aqua cradles his head on her lap and keeps low beneath the windowsill, a finger to her lips as the wave of giggles and cries ride past them and fade away.

“You were gone,” he whispers.

Aqua brushes her fingers through his hair. “I’m sorry,” she says, but she offers no explanation.

They’re in what looks like the back room of a pottery shop, half of them unpainted with the clay still slick, and the rest completed but possibly not inventoried yet.

“We’re breaking into people’s homes now?” Terra asks, grunting.

“You needed a hiding place,” Aqua says. She sounds unlike herself. Too tone-deaf, too distracted, her heart in the right place to help him like she always does, but she’s disregarding the consequences she’d normally consider before making such rash decisions.

“Why are we here?”

Aqua looks at him with a blank expression. “I don’t know.”

“You just waltzed in here?” He sighs. The shopkeeper is lucky Terra hasn’t destroyed anything when he crashed. He sits up and holds her chin, checking for vital signs of injury. “Are you feeling alright?”

Aqua grimaces. “Maybe we’re in here for a reason.”

Or maybe she’s lost her mind.

“Is it too early for me to say that I’m worried about you?”

“I’d say so.”

Terra scoffs and stands up, his knee hitting a table next to him. The vase on the surface rattles and spins. Aqua catches it.

When she glances at the artwork, she glares. “This one.”

“Huh?”

The vase is stamped with an image in black. Two figures, a man and a woman, reach out for each other, but there’s a wall between them.

“You recognize this?” Terra asks.

Aqua waits before she answers. On the man’s side is a lyre. On the woman’s, wisps of smoke. “Not really. But something about it is so unpleasant.”

It’s not much, but her reaction is the closest they have ever gotten so far.

She takes the vase with her and heads out the window, the door to the rest of the shop locked. “I’m borrowing it.”

“Aqua—”

“I’ll bring it back.”

Out in the alleyway, Aqua cradles the vase gently in her arms, desperately looking around for someone to talk to.

As much as he doesn’t want to, he says, “We can head back to the marketplace.”

The shuffle of feet approach them from behind the building next door. A lost girl blinks at them, her makeup smudged and running as though she’s been crying, her lip color smeared on her teeth. She recognizes Terra—

—Terra casts Silence on her and pulls her aside, up against a wall. “Shhh. Please don’t yell, please don’t yell.”

Without her voice, her squeals are replaced with gasps. She throws her arms around him.

“Hey!”

Aqua runs up to them without acknowledging how Terra is peeling this girl off himself. She points to the vase. “Do you know who this is?” The girl stares back. “Can you tell me? Please?”

As much as he really doesn’t want to, there are miles he’s willing to trek just for Aqua. “If I remove my spell,” Terra tells the girl, “and you answer Aqua, very gently, who this picture is supposed to be of, I’ll let you hug me again.”

The girl’s eyes go wide and she nods.

He recants his spell, and the girl suppresses her squeaks.

“Oh gods, it’s really Terra.” She hops, pinning her hands in between her legs. “You smell so good. I love you, Terra. I mean, um…” Instead of speaking to Aqua, the girl just locks her eyes at him. “That’s Orpheus. Everyone knows who that is.”

The look on Aqua’s face tells Terra that her heart is stirring.

“What’s his story?” Terra asks.

The girl is happy to oblige. “He sings the saddest ballads, all about the death of his most beloved wife.” She twirls a lock of hair. “Lost her to a snakebite. They say he went to the Underworld to find her, but he lost her along the way. He wasn’t a strong person.” She stands on her toes. “Not like you, Terra. You wouldn’t leave the one you love in the darkness, would you? You’d save them?”

Terra steps back. The onslaught of such specific questions makes him sick to his stomach.

The girl leans forward. “Can I touch your hair?”

“No.” He slaps her hand out of the way.

“Where can I find him?” Aqua asks, completely serious.

The girl rolls her eyes this time, as though it’s such a rude interruption. “If you trek up Mount Olympus, you’ll eventually cross a forest. You can find his head there.”

“His head?” Terra says.

The girl steps up to meet him face to face. “They say he still sings—that’s how Death came to meet him. Anyone who hears his songs will be instantly enamored. Man and beast alike. Even the leaves and the stones will move just to be near him. That reminds me of you, Terra.”

Aqua—already sprinting back toward his direction from the pottery shop after leaving her borrowed vase at its windowsill—cuts between Terra and the fangirl, pulling him away from her by the hand. The hug he promised this girl is cancelled, and Terra is grateful for it

“Thank you!” Aqua says, not breaking her speed. The girl is left behind, dejected.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Thebes is now a miniature, a toy town of red roofs and sandstone streets, that disappears from view as soon as they cross over a cliff, where the face of a forest is tucked away. The quiet greets them, a chirp of a bird here and there.

Terra follows Aqua, not knowing where she’s going.

“So we’re looking for a severed head?” he asks.

“According to the girl, yes.”

“Isn’t that a bit gruesome?”

“I think what she was hoping to do to you may be worse.”

Aqua skids to a stop. She looks over to her left, and runs in that direction. The treeline gets thicker, casting a dim filter over the ground. Aqua stops at a short, stone monument—a statue of a head on a pillar. The man’s face is carved with an open mouth, like he’s singing an opera. The trees sway in the wind.

“That’s Orpheus?” Terra asks quietly.

Aqua frowns. “I don’t hear a song.”

“I don’t, either.”

“But I feel so sad.” She holds a fist over her heart, her eyes watery.

Terra places a hand on her bare shoulder. She feels cold, and he has a sickly feeling that she’s getting worse. “What do we do now?”

“I don’t know, yet. There’s not much I can do here. There’s no text, no clues.” Aqua walks, scanning the ground for a hint.

For a mural, there are no words or poems honored to Orpheus, no maps or glyphs that lend to any guidance. Terra touches the head of the pillar. He feels nothing. Keyblade wielders can be invulnerable to certain spells, but this is supposed to represent grief, and grief is Darkness. How he isn’t affected is an enigma to him—how he is spared and Aqua is not, is worrisome.

“You know what I think?” he asks.

She’s no longer there. Terra steps away from the statue.

“Aqua?”

No answer.

He jolts into a sprint, passing tree after tree with no sign of blue, none of her sashes flowing in the air. How did she get so far away?

Terra shouldn’t be so worried. The Heartless population here after the Keyblade War is minimal, and Aqua is more than capable of taking care of herself—but how she’s coming in and out of reality is more than Terra can bear. He can’t lose her. Not ever again.

“Aqua!”

Terra cries out in relief. She’s standing in a field of red flowers. Lilies, by the shape of them, speckled in the color of raspberries. Their stems curve over, swaying like bells. They’re not stretched towards the sun but hang towards the ground, as if they’re watching for fingers to climb out through the grass.

“I thought I lost you,” he says when he approaches her.

Aqua crosses her arms. “There’s something here.” When she inhales, she turns around like she just realized he was there. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you.”

Terra fights the urge to hug her. He loses, taking her in his arms. “I think I’m going crazy... I’m so glad you’re okay,” he says, though there’s so much more he needs to tell her.

“What a little, perfect, crispy portrait of a love story,” a heedy voice says, pronouncing every syllable with sweet spite, exaggerated by hand movements. First is the creep of black smoke over the grass. A shadow emerges from behind a tree, bald head with blue fire for hair, a long black cloak wrapped around his body. “Really, it’s a photo op, an exhibition, a grand spectacle.” He frames them with his fingers. “Bluebird and the Waste of Space, classic. All the children will hear about it.”

“Of course you’re involved in this,” Terra spits, letting Aqua go. He keeps his Keyblade near, in case he needs to summon it.

“On the contrary, I’m the victim in this case.”

“Hades,” Aqua says, an icy chill to her voice. “These flowers...”

“You like them?” Hades flashes a grin, teeth sharp as needles. “A specialty from- you could say a good friend. They’re called eurydice, funnily enough.”

Aqua freezes.

“What’s so funny about that?” Terra asks, stepping in front of Aqua so he’s a barrier.

“I forgot you’re not the sharpest rock in the canyon,” Hades mumbles, before animating his hands, presenting his words like they’re a marketing technique. “Eurydice, the pride of the forest. A muse, a sprite, a dryad.” He motions quotation marks with his fingers. “‘She’s not like other girls,’ whatever you want to call her. A gold prize.”

It comes to Terra like the dawn. Orpheus’s wife.

“What is she to you?” Aqua asks, defensive.

“Well…” Hades casually places a hand on his hip and relies on the other to tell his story. “The Underworld is a vibrant culture of flora. There’s still some Heartless mucking about in the crevices, little maggots, doing Zeus knows what, but…” He pinches the air with his fingers. “There was a teeny tiny leak, a blemish in the system.” He shrugs. “And she slipped. You want to save her, and I want her back in my perfectly packaged Paradise. We work together and we both win.”

Terra scoffs. “You lost a ghost in the Underworld?”

Hades bites a breathy laugh, flicking lint off his robe, a gross smile stretching across his face like he knows a dirty secret. “My Underworld is a tight machine. No. She went somewhere darker.”

Aqua is the first to speak after the silence. “I see.”

“You see what?” Terra says.

Aqua casts her eyes downward. She usually never breaks eye contact in the presence of an enemy. “She’s in the Realm of Darkness. That’s why I’m connected to her.”

Aqua has often said that she thinks a piece of the Darkness will stay with her until her final day, a single thorn growing out of her heart.

“It’s not a place for the sensitive.” Hades scoffs with false modesty.

This is something no one has the right to ask of her. “We’re not bringing Eurydice back to you,” Terra says.

Hades disappears in a blink, reappearing by Terra’s shoulder, his hand a warm pot on the stovetop. “You, my friend, are the last person to bargain.” He disappears again and bursts into flames by Aqua’s side. “Aren’t Keyblade wielders supposed to keep a world’s balance at the tip of their fingers? There’s only one place everyone ends up in this world. Who says you can take the dead away from me? Where else would they go?”

Aqua won’t give him the merit of a look. She swats his smoke away like it’s a fly.

Hades continues, “You see, the living owe a debt. You borrow life to breathe here for a few short happy years, and when you’re done, you return back to where you came from. And if you borrow, then you owe.” He flashes the teeth. “Therefore, she’s mine.” Hades flicks a finger on Terra’s chest. “You—both of you—have cheated. You’re thieves, you reek of it. Talk about privilege.”

Terra stammers.

“We’ll do it,” Aqua says.

Hades taps all his fingers together. “I’m glad we came to an agreement.”

“We didn’t agree to anything,” Terra says, his eyes begging Aqua for an alternative way to do this.

“Down boy. Your bite is just as intimidating as your bark.” Hades turns over his shoulder. “Oh, and one other thing.” He raises a finger, and addresses Terra directly. “Have you ever worked with ghosts before? Miserable company. They’re mopey, they babble too much about nonsense. Not the guest you want to invite over for dinner. They’re confused, it’s part of their nature. Being connected to one isn’t the most sane habit. If you’re not careful, they’ll infect you with their pain.” Hades winks, and nods toward Aqua. “You might want to keep an eye on her.”

Terra’s heart strikes his chest like a hammer to the blood vessel, and he swallows bile. Aqua doesn’t seem fazed.

“Well,” Hades says, “it’s a long walk down. Stay healthy, drink water, don’t go crazy.” With that, he vanishes for good this time, leaving the wind gliding through the flowers, all looking for someone below.

“She’s nearby,” Aqua says, her voice breaking a silence that doesn’t want to be heard. Like poison to be drunk, denial to be told the truth, there’s no ignoring this. “I can open a door here.”

“You’re really going back?”

“I can’t let her continue to suffer,” she says. “But I won’t put you in danger, either.”

“Wait,” Terra says, getting in her way. “I’m coming with you.”

“It’s dangerous.”

“I don’t expect it to be anything else. Danger doesn’t scare me.” Terra takes her face in his hand. “After everything you’ve been through, you can’t ask me to let you do this alone.”

Aqua opens her mouth as if to refuse but she grimaces. “I admit I would like the company this time.”

Terra’s heart thumps, stroking her cheek. “I’ll never turn my back on you again.”

“A shame. You look taller from behind,” she says, and he snorts.

When she moves away, he feels hollow, a sudden need to hold her again invading his body. He shrugs the feeling off. “I’m texting Ven.” He pulls out his Gummiphone. “He’ll need to open a Door to Light for our return.”

“Yes.”

“Any tips for how to survive?”

Aqua summons her Keyblade and points to the ground. “The Realm of Darkness wants you to feel hopeless and scared. It feeds from your mind.” She looks at him. “You can’t trust what you think or feel. You won’t be able to tell the difference between you or the Darkness.”

“Then how are we supposed to find her and come back if we can’t even think?”

Aqua lifts an elegant shoulder. “You keep your head up. That’s your best defense. The Realm will do many things to make you want to give up, to make you doubt yourself. You have to choose your battles. Even if you feel like you’re being followed, don’t look back. Don’t give in to its tricks.”

It sounds like hell. It feels like a knife to the liver—Aqua has suffered so much. His biggest regret is not having the strength to break out of his prison and do something about it.

“Are you having second thoughts?” Aqua asks.

“Not at all.”

The way she smiles this time makes her look like herself. “You know, I feel better now. Much clearer.”

Terra hopes that’s a sign of sweeter things to come. The smile he gives is weak when she summons a Door to Darkness.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The Realm of Darkness is a dirt path in a forest that sprawls under patches of stars, as though someone has taken photos of different skies and pasted them together in a collage. Few lanterns light the way, smokey as if caked in fog. It would be similar to a romantic walk on the mountain in the spring if not for what it really is.

Terra trails close behind Aqua, the cape of her armor bouncing in the air. She jogs with such confidence despite that they have no map and have never been here before—well, Aqua has, but not here. According to her, the Realm of Darkness never stays the same. There’s no path back the way they came.

So far, it’s lacked excitement, a still silence as though this world’s heart has stopped beating.

“How do we find her?” Terra asks, his voice loud enough to make him worry if something hidden behind the trees has heard him.

“We keep going.”

A sudden clank, metal on metal. Terra sprints to her. “What’s going on?”

Aqua has stepped onto a metal surface, a sudden cutoff from the forest like mismatched puzzle pieces forced together, spreading beyond what they can see. When Terra steps on it, the boot of his armor reverberates from his weight.

“I don’t like this,” Aqua says.

The river is black and made of torn iron, shards that jut out like shredded waves frozen in time. Lanterns from broken boats wedge into the collisions, a ship graveyard where they all crashed into each other in a hurricane.

“What now?” Terra asks, hushed.

She turns to face him, her helmet obscuring her expression. “We keep going.”

Their only direction is forward. There’s no compass, no horizon to see where they’re going. They curve around mountains of broken war and cruise ships and melted steel, like hills to climb and descend. Whether they’ve trailed a huge arch and are going backwards, Terra can’t tell.

Then again, Aqua has said there is no backwards in the Realm of Darkness. But what if this river doesn’t have a shore?

“Those aren’t lights,” Aqua warns.

Some of the lanterns bob up and down, blinking.

“Stars,” Terra curses, summoning his Keyblade. Aqua has already conjured hers and is throwing a blast against a group of eyes hiding inside half of a ship, its inner scaffolding exposed like bent needles. The impact combusts.

Heartless swarm up and rain on him. They’re stronger here, these small Shadows more resistant, withstanding his powerful swings when they’d normally be thrown far back.

A huge crash rumbles behind them, and Terra is knocked onto his knees. A ship sinks as its bow breaks off. It sounds like a building caving in.

Aqua grabs his elbow. “Forget it,” she yells over the clamor. They run past hordes of Heartless materializing from the metal as if they’re being born, more and more and more until the sea behind them is a mass of yellow eyes. Terra relies on nothing but his two legs, pushing and pushing them despite the strain to catch up to her. Ships and boats disintegrate, about to swallow them if they can’t find solid ground.

They step onto dirt, a slab of earth suspended in space. They’re blocked by a huge stone gate without walls.

Aqua turns and slices her Keyblade across, light thrusting forward to cut through the first wave of Shadows.

Terra grunts when he jabs his Keyblade, a beam striking the gate in the middle. He summons a keyhole, a plea to enter.

The gate opens.

“Come on!” He grabs her elbow and bolts inside. Terra immediately pushes his weight against the gate, Aqua mimicking the same—a desperate slog at first, his breath hitched and pulsating at his temple, until they build momentum and shut it. At the slam of the door, dust drops from the ceiling and lands on their shoulders.

Behind them is a dim hallway of two choices: left and right. The little light they have here comes from nowhere.

Terra sighs, breathing heavily. The air inside his helmet doesn’t smell fresh. “Well, your heart, your pick.”

Aqua chuckles, her voice muffled. He wishes he could see her smile. “Enjoying your stay?”

“You’re sick.”

“Remember not to get too affected by what you see, Terra.” She holds his shoulder, her glove clunking onto his pauldron. “The Realm will probe your mind until it finds what it can use.”

She leads the way right, her steps kicking up clouds of dust. The entire floor is sand, sinking the sound of their steps. The hall turns left. It turns left again.

Terra can’t shake the feeling that they’re being watched. He eyes the ceiling where the crevices that meet the wall are at their darkest, where he anticipates small, yellow eyes blinking at him.

He thinks he hears something, but shrugs it off.

No, he has heard something. Growling.

It thrums louder and Terra is walking slower, growing a distance between him and Aqua who hasn’t noticed yet.

The growling is coming from behind.

He turns.

There’s nothing.

“Aqua.”

“What is it?”

“I’m hearing an aggressive dog.”

“There are no dogs in the Realm of Darkness.”

“But it’s following us.”

“Trust me, there isn’t anything behind you.” She waves with her hand. “Come on. The Realm wants you to worry. The moment you start to believe it is when your heart begins to falter.”

At another two-way junction, Aqua chooses left—they’ve just gone in a circle. Terra expects to come back to the stone gate—but as though the Realm has heard him and is laughing at his assumptions, the hallway opens up into a path of eight directions. One of them a stairway up, one a stairway down. The opening next door is blocked from a staircase turned upside down, and the one next to that leads to a staircase that twists and leans on its side.

Aqua chooses the way straight ahead, a long uncomplicated hallway.

The hallway turns right. She’s no longer there.

“Aqua!” Terra dashes forward and the hallway turns dark, like the twist of the knob on a lantern, a flame fading.

He turns over and heads back. “Aqua!”

They went left, left, left, straight. All he has to do is trek that backwards.

When Terra arrives at the large expanse of eight directions, Aqua comes in from behind him. “Terra!”

She runs into him when he halts and spreads his arms, their breastplates colliding. “Where did you go?” he asks.

“Down the hall, that’s it.” Her voice trembles. He’ll have to do better to be braver, for her. Aqua pulls away to look up at him. He wishes he could see her eyes. “What did I say about giving in?”

He licks his lips. “Don’t go back.”

Aqua swallows as if to stop a sob. “There’s no going back in this place, Terra. You could have gotten lost. The Realm wants you to doubt yourself.” She nods as if to make a point, her voice thick as if to mask how terrified she is. “Do you understand now?”

No. “We keep going.”

“I’ll stay close to you this time.”

“Please.”

“I-I can’t lose you. Not again.”

“You won’t, I promise.”

She points to a hallway different from the one she chose earlier, and walks by his side this time, step by step. Down this way is brighter, the stone newer, the sand thinning until they step on cobble. The walls shrink into a tight foyer framed by fully lit torches, parchment and paper scattered all over as though a storm blew through a library.

Terra bends to pick some up. They’re all blank.

“Love letters and songs,” Aqua says, reading through empty pages, “that Orpheus wrote to her.” She shakes her head. “The stories I grew up with were so stupid.”

“Which ones are we talking about?”

“Those books I used to read when I was a teenager.”

Terra grimaces. “About true love.”

“I believed them until the end.” She sighs. “They seem so silly now. That you could be in love at first sight, without ever bonding with them—without ever knowing the ties you create with them and how much it pains to have those cut. It’s improbable. How does anyone expect them to be willing to pluck their hearts out of their chests and sew them together like that? How is that supposed to be ‘true,’ or ‘pure?’ The trials they’ve gone through to prove themselves in the name of that love—so small in comparison to some.”

“You mean in comparison to what Orpheus tried to do.”

Aqua swipes her hand over a page to flatten the bends. “I can’t imagine how brave he had to prepare himself to be, and how little he cared for his personal safety. That he would descend so deep into darkness for her. After everything I’ve been through, I could say—that is love. The fairy tales I’ve read don’t come close.”

Terra watches her stack parchment together, tapping the edges so that they align, her movements stiff due to the armor. There are no written words to be read on the pages, but there’s not a single word that could describe the epiphany he’s having. That she is sitting next to him, that there are things neither of them uttered a sound for, that she is the same person who fell to the depths just to save him, that she is not the same child who used to sneer at his essays. That day, he only had a feeling that he was being hugged until he went to sleep, then he woke up twelve years later.

“You love me,” he says, part question, part certainty.

Aqua pauses. Her visor reflects his. “I do. I have for a long time.” She scoffs softly at herself. “You know, the Realm has brought you to me in lucid dreams. Five times. The first three, I told you how I felt. And you smiled. Then you were gone. I got fooled each time.” She hangs her head. “It was the fifth time that it was really you.”

“I remember,” Terra whispers.

“I couldn’t say how I felt, but you took those precious few seconds we had to tell me not to give up. I realized later that I needed that more than saying anything.” She sighs, her breath parched from the helmet. “I never expected to say it again, here, of all places, but now… Now you’re here. And I love you.”

Terra leans forward, bracing her arm, the cusp between her shoulder and neck. He feels the inner padding of his gloves. They can’t take their helmets off, not here, but a swelling of solace fills him. For a moment, he forgets where he is, his imagination only seeing her face, his heart asking to break the metal and touch her.

“Do you have any idea how important you are to me?” he asks.

She breathes like she’s laughing. “I have an inkling.”

He leans his helmet against hers. “With all my heart,” he says.

“I thought so.” She squeezes his gauntlet.

When they get out, the first thing he’ll do is take her in arms.

“I think we’re close,” Aqua says, talking about Eurydice.

They have to see the light of day first. When they get out, the first thing he’ll see is her smile.

“Let’s do it and get out here.”

Beyond the next archway is a new place: a cavern maze, the walls roughed up by raw mineral, crystals glowing pastel colors in the dark. It’s beautiful in its own expression, a small memory of whatever the Realm took and couldn’t digest. The single paths here are disorienting, the walls littered with natural dips and holes to take shortcuts.

The cave opens up to a jagged, rocky clearing, its natural structure much like a coliseum. He and Aqua stand at the top. The boulders cut off a clear sight of the path below, a single star in the sky and a single fig tree at the bottom, its exposed roots dug into a pond. Terra and Aqua descend, the rocks down here taller.

“Prepare yourself,” Aqua says, taking the lead.

Terra summons his Keyblade too, bracing himself for Heartless. A shadow moves near the tree, hiding behind one of the roots.

A surprised shriek comes from the tree, like it’s been woken up, and it shifts. The roots straighten out, the branches curl over and sharpen like claws. Cut through the trunk is the shape of a heart, empty and black inside. No yellow eyes.

“What is that thing?” Terra yells before dodging. The tree slams its branches between him and Aqua.

Terra trips. A tree root chokes his ankle, pulling him from under the dirt.

Aqua doesn’t see it happening. She scrambles and ducks behind a boulder before the earth behind her collapses into a sinkhole. She climbs the boulder and jumps onto the canopy.

The tree rocks viciously to knock her off but she stabs the bark with her Keyblade to hold on. It digs its vines and branches into the ground. A flash of purple lighting cracks the boulders into halves.

Terra cuts himself free. The root shrivels, and the ground it touched caves into nothingness. He dashes, taking fast cover behind boulders. It’s hard to tell if he’s effective since he doesn’t know whether the tree has blind spots.

When roots shoot up to throttle him and fail, they punish the earth instead, ripping away respites and hiding spots. If enough of the dirt sinks, the boulders fall with it.

Terra can only keep running.

The only signs that Aqua is okay are the flashes of light from her Keyblade, spellcasting and waves of reflective blues crushing the tree. Stuck on the canopy, Aqua doesn’t have much room to escape when the ground is collapsing at random.

Terra yells and charges towards the tree, calling upon his Keyblade to transform into his glider. He slams into the roots, all of his offense and magic building up and combusting against the bark.

The tree tumbles and Aqua lets go.

Terra catches her and flies up. He hovers a rock that is still holding on at the edge of a newly formed cliff.

A dark lightning bolt strikes from above and Aqua summons a barrier to protect them.

“It’s her,” Aqua says, straining to keep the barrier intact.

“That can’t be possible.”

“We don’t know what the Darkness can do to the dead. We don’t know anything.” Aqua chokes on her words. “But that’s Eurydice, I know it.”

The tree scratches at nothing and wails, its roots crumbling hard onto the ground with every step it makes. Eurydice sounds like anger, a need to make sure everyone else suffers with her.

“The hole in her trunk, where her heart would be if she wasn’t dead.”

“Terra—”

“Say no more.”

He revs his glider and charges towards the clearing, now a gaping hole sunk down the middle with no bottom. Terra sticks to the cliff sides. Aqua jumps off from the back, high into the sky, waiting for his next move.

Terra lets go and holds on to his Keyblade’s grip. It stretches and transforms into a whip. He slaps one of the branches where it hooks, and slams his fist onto the ground. The tree careens. He keeps pulling, forcing the tree flat against the ground.

From the sky, Aqua points her Keyblade towards the trunk and calls. A beam of light strikes through the heart void, glowing.

The tree shrieks and thrashes. Terra is thrown off and the tree slaps Aqua out of its way. Aqua lands on the side of a cliff, climbing up. The tree stampedes towards her with the motion to crush her.

Aqua yells and yanks herself over, rolling onto her back, pointing her Keyblade up again. Her light blinds this time, a force that shocks the air and pushes everything with swept pressure. As though Aqua has summoned water, Terra is thrown, the currents taking him away.

He lands and rolls. It’s quiet.

His muscles ache and sting. He’ll have bruises but those don’t matter. Terra stumbles when he stands, leaning on a boulder near him. He peers over, praying for the image of Aqua climbing over the hole, but what he sees is a picture from before the nightmare: the clearing back in its original state, as though he has hallucinated everything. The rocky exterior makes it hard for him to notice anyone. If she’s crouching due to pain, if she’s stranded somewhere, knocked out…

His knees give out when he runs, and he tumbles down the hill. Summoning his glider, Terra asks it to carry his slacked weight. There is no puddle at the bottom anymore. He keeps himself up high where he has a vantage point, calling her name. There’s no sight of her.

“I won’t be fooled. You’ll take me to her,” he tells the Realm. He scans. No sign of her. What if she’s buried beneath the earth...

A pale glow flickers between rocks.

He drops.

Aqua isn’t here. In her place is a green, ghostly apparition of a woman in a simple, flowy dress that allows for dancing, her long hair swaying to zephyr. Terra doesn’t need to ask for her name. His voice croaks. “Where is she?”

“Of whom do you speak?” Eurydice says. The ghost has no voice but a loud breath, as though she is whispering right into his ear.

“Aqua!” he calls but he gets no answer. No sound of the pebbles crumpled by her bootsteps, nor the clank of armor.

“Ah,” Eurydice sighs. “The one who looks like a naiad. A water nymph.”

“Do you know where she is?”

“In the labyrinth.”

Terra turns over his shoulder and starts up the hill. Where is the entrance they used to get here?

“If you enter the labyrinth, you will lock her inside, Keybearer.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.” His helmet feels tight. “How do you know about Keyblades?”

“The body is an entrapment, a vessel designed to define concepts that we can’t understand. What we call prayers, offerings, angels, the Light, the fountain of the gods, Keyblades, Kingdom Hearts, Paradise, Mount Olympus—all bear the same resemblance depending on the language we use. Without a body, I am not burdened by any of those barriers.” She holds her hands together with reverence. “Your armor glimmers like a star.”

“Can you feel her then? Is she hurt?”

“She is with you.”

That’s the same thing people say to him about Eraqus. Your Master will always be with you, no matter where you are. You just need the faith to know he’s there.

I’m sure he’s proud of you.

I’m sure he knows how much you love him. He’s with you.

“Aqua!” Terra bolts into a run, picking whatever direction because this clearing is a circle and there is no exit. He’ll have to break one open. His helmet presses on the pulse in his neck. He’s losing oxygen. He’s gasping. He’s removing his helmet, collapsing to his knees, yelling at the most his lungs could give him, now that his voice is no longer muffled by metal. “Aqua!”

His throat throbs.

“No panic, no haven for panic, Keybearer.”

Terra stares at the dirt under him—cracked from drought, a single pebble and a patch of grass. “You should have taken me,” he wheezes.

The ground rumbles and he snaps up, dying to see if it’s her. A giant hand pounds towards him, attached to a giant body with beedy yellow eyes and tentacles for a face. A Darkside, towering over him, watching him like it’s going to grant a wish.

“Keybearer,” Eurydice warns.

The Darkside digs its fingers into the dirt like the roots of a tree. A black puddle opens up a pathway for the sprawl of eyes to crawl out.

Terra would summon his Keyblade but he’s slow and tired. Numb. His skin is exposed to the Realm, and it seeps into him. It lulls him, it quiets him. There’s no sanity better than the world the mind makes up.

The Darkside grabs him.

Terra is tired, watching for a hint of blue when he sees black.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Terra.

“Aqua.”

Terra wakes submerged in an ocean. He reaches for her but grabs air.

He’s gently sinking.

So he’s lost her. He’s failed at his duty of protecting someone who needs his help. This is why Aqua is stronger than him. Terra could never survive in a place like this, he could never withstand twelve years of this torture.

“Aqua, I’m so sorry.” He wants to cry but he can’t. The Realm won’t let him, anesthetizing the fall of tears.

What is in the ocean with him? A monster he can’t see? Will it have teeth? Will it swallow him? Or will it watch him float here, waiting for him to turn so he could become one with it? Terra could let go here—

—but a faint glow hovers near, like breath to a limp body, like a light at the exit. There’s still time and a chance. If he can open his eyes, then Aqua could, wherever she is.

Eurydice watches the amoebas in the water, floating by herself.

Terra swims to her.

“‘Twasn’t a long wait,” she whispers when he approaches.

“I’m sorry for turning my back on you,” he tells her. “I’m glad you’re alright.”

Eurydice smiles at him. She looks sickly, hollowed cheeks down to the lines of her skull. But if she was healthy, she would be the beauty that captivated people in the forest.

Terra takes her wrist and gravity takes them. They gently land on solid ground, in the black, in the middle of nothing. Endless dark, endless shadow, endless lack of everything.

“We can’t go anywhere without Aqua. We have to find her first.” Though Terra doesn’t know where he is or which direction he should take.

“We are everywhere, she is nowhere.”

“What does that mean, though? She isn’t here? Then where is she?”

“Below. Nowhere and the end. At the beginning, where you can’t see.”

Terra jerks forward to beg, but a ghost is the last person to ask for answers. He trembles.

“You have a kind face,” Eurydice says. “The bards would have sung in honor of you.”

That’s no consolation. Terra sobs but it’s dry.

“Beware, Keybearer.”

He hears the sloshing of water. His ankles are sunk under.

If he despairs, the Darkness will take him. If he stays calm, he’s betraying her.

“Aqua, what do I do?”

“I called to Lady Aqua because I saw her Light,” Eurydice says, nodding slowly. “The only star in the dark. I would trust her choice, always. I believe in the Fates.” She brings her hand to her chest. “I believe she brought me you.”

The truth stings, a slap to the face, the swallow of a knife, the burn of the tongue with a lighted match. He can’t bear it, but he has to. Aqua would trust him with anything.

“I…” He is such a horrible person, looking at the face of the needy and the hurt but thinking about someone else. He can’t do it. He has to. “I was supposed to hold her when we got out.”

“We were to be married.”

Terra feels as though a pail of water was dumped on him. He takes a hard look at Eurydice, at how she’s trying to warn him with bulging eyes, distorting. Ghosts are emotional. “What happened to you?”

“I died. Vipers are the most unpleasant.”

Terra doesn’t want to ask, afraid of where this conversation will go. “And Orpheus?”

She brightens up, washed over by nostalgia. “He came for me. With his gift of song, he moved Hades enough to agree to be charitable. Hades granted me freedom so long as Orpheus accepted the terms.”

Of course, Hades and his contracts.

Eurydice’s face ashens more than it possibly can. “I was to follow. Orpheus was to lead me to the sunlit earth, so long as he did not look back at me while I was in the dark.” She pauses, as though her lips are sewn together. Talking about this hurts her. “So Orpheus led with much enthusiasm. So much at peace. I was to finally be with my beloved again, to smell the pomegranates and taste the olives.

“Love is powerful but Death more so. Every step was a moment to rethink. He could not hear me behind him, for I was a mere shade. Orpheus could not trust Hades. I could feel his anticipation, his desperate need to hold me dearly, his doubt that he was being played.”

“I can’t blame him.”

“At the end, right as the light was about to touch us, Orpheus lost his faith. He looked back to see my face.” Eurydice hugs herself. “I gave him my farewell and kind regards, then I was whisked away, back into the Underworld.”

“I’m so sorry.” Terra swallows, not liking what this is supposed to mean for him. “Aqua would have chosen to help you.”

“Will you set me free?”

“Yes, of course but—” He inhales. “How could I leave her?”

The look on Eurydice’s face stops him. “I did what was asked of me. I followed him. I kept close. I was loyal. I spoke to him though he could not hear me. And yet he turned and tore us apart. I have yet to understand what I did wrong to let him doubt me.”

“He didn’t doubt you.”

“Then why hesitate to trust Lady Aqua?”

Like a knife to the throat, Terra falls to his knees and grips at his chest, the guilt inside so heavy and thick that he wants to rip his armor off and cut it open, dig it all out so he could finally breathe.

If she were here, Aqua would have told him to save Eurydice. There’s no denying that.

“I’m sorry,” he says, hoping Aqua could hear him. “I’d give you my whole heart if it meant you were here.” He swallows. “I’m so sorry. I’ll be back, just wait for me.” He doesn’t want to stand up, for that would mean that he’d have to walk. But he tells himself that there must be ways around this. There must be an exception, a line in the fine print. “Wait for me, I’ll come to you. I swear with every will I have to live.”

Terra stands. He summons his helmet. When he wears it, he finally cries, soft tears that feel warm then cool, muted because they’re delayed.

“Okay,” he tells Eurydice. “Let’s go.”

He wades across the water, ripples that fan out and reflecting light that isn’t there.

Eurydice floats by his side. “I’m grateful. The vipers are the most unpleasant.”

Terra stops a chuckle. “Yeah, you told me.” Repetition is a symptom for the eldritch, an obsession with what life was. Eurydice deserves so much better. “Do you have to go back to Hades?”

“Orpheus is with him. Once we reunite, we will walk the Underworld together.”

“But it’s a prison.”

Eurydice glances at him. “Man and god are the same. They associate death with misery and see the Underworld as nothing else. But we don’t see what you see.”

“The thought of Hades hating his job is satisfying.”

“He makes for an upsetting neighbor.”

Terra scoffs.

“But I shall be content. Death is powerful but Love more so.”

Terra doesn’t know how to respond, but it spells for him a kind of peace. The Realm numbs everything it touches. As long as they play by the rules, it’s not so bad. Aqua is the only balm he’d need.

“How shall we escape?”

“Ven—my best friend—is waiting on the other side. You see that light?” Ahead of them, far in the distance, is a star. “He has a door open for us.”

“But we’ve been walking for so long and yet it does not come closer. Are you not looking forward to seeing him?”

“Of course I am.” Terra slows to a stop. The water has reached to his waist.

Eurydice studies him with sadness. “You mean to stay here.”

Terra doesn’t answer Eurydice’s remark. “I mean to see you free and happy.” He holds out his hand and she takes it.

Nothing is truly ever following Terra here, for the Darkness wants him to think so. So he will stay, walk forward and walk far without a map or a compass. Eventually, he’ll have to cross paths with her. There is no other place he’d want to go, and any world without her is a world behind him. With that vow to himself, the star finally comes close, the black fading into gray.

“Ven?” Terra calls.

“I have always wondered what it would be like to cross over,” Eurydice says.

Heavy, loud footsteps approach them. Ven appears in the light, in a box colored in white, his armor worn. “Terra? Finally, I’ve been—” He jerks his head towards Eurydice’s direction, the sharp rabbit ears of his helmet tilting. He leans forward as if to peer inside. He does not have a reflection in the water. “Where is Aqua?”

“We are everywhere, she is nowhere,” Eurydice says.

“You don’t see her?” Terra asks, his voice brittle. A tiny part of his heart was hoping he was wrong.

“Dude,” Ven says, “I can barely see you. You’re like an outline.”

“That’s proof enough.”

“Such lies,” Eurydice says.

“What is the ghost talking about?” Ven asks.

“It’s okay, Ven,” Terra says. “I’m going to find Aqua.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“She’ll never forgive me if you follow.” Terra hangs his head. “Please don’t ask me to leave her.”

“That’s not—”

“I’m not afraid of the Realm of Darkness.”

Eurydice turns to Terra. “Such bravery yet you are frightened to cross the threshold for her. Is it natural that faith betrays you? Don’t do this to her. Don’t punish her.”

Ven looks at her, looks at Terra, looks at her.

Terra says, “Once I find her, I’ll be okay.” He moves to turn.

Eurydice holds his shoulder. “Many don’t know how to love. They only know the fall, and they fall, waiting for peace to replace the ecstasy and despair. But it will not come if you do not beckon it. May you listen to your heart?”

His heart aches.

Ven grabs his forearm. “I’m going to listen to the freaky lady. She knows more than you.”

“Ven—”

“I can’t lose both of you. We’ll figure out an action plan, and”—Ven uses all his weight and both of his hands to try to pull Terra over—“you’re coming with me.”

“I can’t leave her here.”

“We’re not! Come on, man, she’s strong.”

“Step forward with me. The vipers are most unpleasant,” Eurydice says.

Terra holds onto the doorframe. The sun hits his gloved fingers, baking them. Aqua, what do I do?

Terra, please.

That’s Aqua’s voice, far away. For the Darkness wants him to think nothing is following him.

“You promise me we’ll come back?” Terra asks Ven.

“Of course. Anything for her.”

Terra doesn’t sob when he wants to. He doesn’t make a decision—he leaps, stepping forward into the light. Eurydice follows.

But a heavy ton, the Darkness, drags him back. Hands from the water grab his cape into bunches and pull on his neck. They hold onto his legs and bend his knees, desperate, like beggars that need his help, need the stars that glimmer in his armor.

One hand grabs his forearm, metal on metal, like it’s telling him not to forget something.

Terra gasps.

He grabs that hand and throws himself forward with a yell, ripping away from the Darkness begging him to stay, knocking Ven out of his balance, and pulling her out.

Terra lands on his back and hears her gasp and whimper out of shock, relieved. He throws his helmet off.

“Aqua.”

Aqua’s blue armor stares at the grass while she takes in the scene, her sobs controlled and hushed.

Terra pulls her helmet off to look at her face, stained with tears and tired smiles. “Aqua.”

“You didn’t hear me?” she asks, crying quietly. “No one heard or saw me, I was there the entire time.”

“I’m an idiot.” Terra weeps with her. He dispels his armor and touches her pauldron to dismiss hers. He holds her tightly. She’s warm and sweaty, small in comparison to him, folded into his chest like she fits perfectly. “Call me an idiot, I deserve it.”

Aqua’s cries tremble into laughter as she buries her face in his neck, twisting his suspenders in her fists. Terra lets her weight pull him onto the grass. “That girl was right. You smell good.”

“What are we talking about now?” Ven removes his helmet and brushes through his hair. Terra is so happy to see that chubby face. “Everything’s so confusing.”

“These girls have been chasing Terra. They’re harpies.” She looks up at him and smirks. “I don’t think they’d be pleased if they saw us like this.”

Terra chuckles into her hair. “I don’t care.”

“Wait,” Ven says, scoffing. “Now we’re going to be murdered by rabid fangirls? Ugh, Terra, why are you always inviting trouble? We don’t need it.” He slams his helmet back on. “Stay here, I’ll scout to see if it’s safe. I’m kicking your ass when we get back home.”

That’s fine. Terra will hold onto Aqua here, stroke his thumb on her cheek, wipe her hair off of her face, massage his hand over her exposed back, under the straps. It’s overcast, the clouds a respite.

Flowers named eurydice watch over them, their anthers hanging close.

“She’s okay,” Aqua whispers, sighing. Her body relaxes. “Thank you.”

Terra kisses her forehead and brings her waist closer. His star in the darkness. She blinks from behind blotted clouds.

#terraqua #terra #aqua #terraqua week #kingdom hearts fanfiction #orpheus #eurydice #AHHHHHH omg i finally finished this monster #the longest piece in the collection for sure #my fic

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