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minijenn · 3 years

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KH Comm # 3

Another writing comm! This one's for @rosie-drawss, who wanted a continuation of the Keys comm I did for them last time around (in which, tldr, Riku finds Sora and convinces him to come home early). You can read that right here if you're interested in getting a bit of background before diving into this one. Anyway enjoy this big ol bundle of hurt/comfort!

***

The Gummi Ship isn’t parked that far away. Yet despite keeping up a steady pace so far, as soon as he sees its familiar red and yellow hull, Sora slows to a stop, something that Riku notices almost immediately. He stops, turning back to check on him, only for Sora to surprisingly tell him what’s wrong, this time completely unprompted.

“I-I… I don’t think I’m ready for this,” he quietly admits, wrapping his arms around himself. “I lied to them and ran from them for so long, Riku, I don’t even know what I’m supposed to say to any of them now, much less to Donald, or Goofy, or Kairi-”

“You don’t have to say anything, if you don’t want to,” Riku reassures him. He steps back over to him, gently taking one of his hands in his. After so many weeks on his own, Sora’s gotten used to living without much physical contact from others; but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t missed it, that he doesn’t selfishly cherish every second of it he’s getting now. “They all know, and they understand. And trust me when I tell you the only thing any of them wants, especially Kairi, is to see you come home safe and sound.”

“T-they’re not mad?” Sora asks, still uncertain.

“At you? No,” Riku shakes his head. His expression darkens a bit as he brushes a few of Sora’s now-white bangs out of his newly golden eyes. “At the one who’s doing all this to you? Well, let’s just say that if it's a war Xehanort wants, it's a war he’s going to get if that’s what it takes to set you free.”

Sora wants to argue at this, wants to insist that no one else should have to fight this battle for him, that he’s not even worth such a battle to begin with. But he’s far too tired to put up that kind of fight now, not when he knows it’ll do nothing to change Riku’s mind or anyone else’s for that matter.

So instead, he lets Riku take his hand, lets him lead him onward, lets him guide him to one of the vacant chairs in the ship’s cockpit. Surprisingly, they don’t lift off right away; instead, Riku briefly heads below deck before returning with a blanket and a small meal composed of a sandwich, an apple, and a water bottle.

“It’s gonna be a long ride back to the tower,” Riku says as he hands all those items over to Sora. “Might as well get comfortable.” He pauses, his face suddenly warm with embarrassment when he sees Sora staring at the meager portion of food sitting in his lap with a look of sheer disbelief. “Uh… sorry, it’s not much,” he clears his throat, glancing away. “It’s been a few days since I last stocked up on supplies and I, um, heard that if you’ve gone without food for awhile, it’s best not to go overboard with your first meal, so-”

“You’re kidding, right?” Sora cuts in, looking up at him with a grateful, incredulous smile. “This is more food than I’ve had in weeks, I-” He stops short when he notices Riku’s immediate alarm upon hearing something like this and as a result, he immediately backpedals on it. “I, uh… t-thank you,” his tone turns soft again, small, but he’s still smiling as he takes his first bite out of the sandwich.

“...Why haven’t you been eating?” Riku asks him, kneeling down beside his chair.

“Couldn’t afford to,” Sora admits somewhat sheepishly. “I don’t have any money, and… well, I found out pretty quickly that most people aren’t willing to give things out for free…”

Riku sighs, wishing that he’d found Sora so much sooner, wishing that he hadn’t had to struggle to simply survive for so long. “You haven’t been sleeping much either, have you?” he asks, noting the dark bags under his eyes.

Sora hesitantly shakes his head as he finishes the sandwich up just shy of starting on the apple. “I can’t…” he mutters tiredly.

“Why not?”

“Nightmares…” is all Sora says, and Riku immediately understands.

He stands, grabbing the blanket and lightly draping it over Sora as soon as he finishes off his small meal. “Get some sleep,” he instructs patiently. “You won’t have any more nightmares, not as long as you’re with me. I promise.”

Sora wants to question that promise, but he’s overtaken by an exhausted yawn instead. With even just a little food finally in his stomach, his eyes soon start to grow heavy, and before the ship is even off the ground, he’s fallen into a stupor. As he prepares for takeoff, Riku can sense the nightmares starting to assail him, can hear his soft, nervous whimpers piercing through the peace of the cockpit. But he’s having none of it. He closes his eyes, takes in a steady breath, and focuses his power into chasing those nightmares away before they can cause him any harm. The terrors Xehanort is trying to force upon him are unspeakable, vile visions of everything Sora’s come to fear and hate. Even the brief glimpses he gets before he destroys them from existence are enough to shake Riku to his very core, to get even just a small taste of the torture Sora’s been forced to go through, torture he’s done not a single thing to deserve in the slightest. And yet, for as much as it all horrifies him, it does something else too; it makes Riku want to put the twisted man responsible for it all through every bit of suffering he’s been shoving onto Sora. He won’t rest until he does.

Riku feels some measure of relief when he finally feels Sora fully fall asleep just as the ship’s engines quietly roar to life. He pulls the vessel into motion, gentle enough as to not wake him, and slowly guides it up into the atmosphere, out of a world in which, up until a few hours prior, Sora had been all but hopelessly lost within. As soon as the ship is steadily adrift between the stars, Riku briefly checks on him, unable to suppress a smile when he sees him curled up him his seat, his blanket tightly wrapped around him as he sleeps soundly, likely for the first time in a very long time.

That smile soon fades, however, when he pulls his Gummiphone out. He hasn’t spoken to any of the other lights in quite awhile, not since his search for Sora began. As their leader, he knows he’ll have a lot to answer for the impulsive haste of that search, and he’ll have much to say he’s sorry for, to Kairi above all the others. But now, he’s finally ready to face them, finally ready to return to them. Finally ready to bring the only one still missing among their number back to where he belongs.

He decides to message Kairi, knowing there’s too much to explain and that none of it should be done over the phone. Besides, he doesn’t want to risk waking Sora up with what would likely be a very emotional, very noisy call. So he sends something short off to her, a simple request without much elaboration at all. Mostly because he has a feeling she’ll understand exactly what he means.

“I’m sorry about what happened before, but I need a favor. Go to the islands and bring Himari back to the tower, please. And tell the others to get a room ready. I have him. We’re coming home.”

***

Sora’s still sleeping when they arrive at the tower. Riku doesn’t have the heart to rouse him, not when sleep is something he so sorely, visibly needs. So he decides to carry him, carefully lifting him from his seat with his blanket still draped over him. His heart flutters in his chest, his face warm as he secures Sora comfortably in his arms. He’s light, far lighter than he should be, likely because of his longstanding starvation, and as a result, he feels fragile, like he could break at any moment if not treated with the utmost care and caution. But even then, Riku isn’t so sure he hasn’t already been broken by fear, by pain, by loneliness, by so many other things he can’t even bring himself to think about.

He isn’t surprised to see Kairi pacing around right outside the tower, her expression torn between deep worry and rising hope. She’s the only one out there, and he’s glad for it; the last thing Sora needs is to be overwhelmed by too many people at once upon arrival.

“Riku!” she cries, running over to him the second she spots him. He’s quick to shush her as Sora lightly stirs in his arms, and she complies, her eyes wide when she sees him, a soft gasp escaping her when she takes in just how much he’s managed to change. “S-Sora…” she swallows hard, trying to fight back tears and failing miserably. “I-is… is he-”

“He’s just sleeping,” Riku assures her. “He… hasn’t been doing too well out on his own…”

“I can tell…” Kairi shudders, wiping a few of her stray tears away. She places a feather-light hand against the side of his face, whispering softly to him as he sleeps. “I can’t imagine what you’ve been going through… But it’s all gonna be ok now. You’re here, and so is everyone else. And we’re all gonna do whatever we can to stop this… to save you…”

While most of this goes largely unheard, Sora does ease his way back into some small semblance of waking after Kairi leans in to lightly kiss his forehead. His golden gaze is initially unfocused, his mind bleary and disoriented as unused to uninterrupted slumber as he’s come to be. Even so, he eventually manages to focus his sights on the pair hovering over him, all but unaware that he’s resting in the arms of one of them. “Mmm… Riku?” he says with a small, comforted smile. That comfort quickly shifts into startled alarm when he notices who else is standing alongside him. “K-Kairi! I-”

“Shh, it’s ok,” she places a soft finger against his lips, her own smile warm but bittersweet. “I’m so glad to see you, you lazy bum. To see both of you…” She turns her sights back to Riku, who returns her apologetic gaze every bit as intently. Whatever they might have said or done weeks before doesn’t matter now, not when they finally have the one who matters most to them both back. Not when he still needs both of them to be there for him so very much.

“Wait a second…” Sora starts, his cheeks flooding red when he tries to sit up, only to realize where he’s lying. Or rather, who’s arms he’s lying in. “R-Riku! Are you--why are you carrying me?!”

“W-well, you were sleeping,” Riku quickly explains, his own face turning a crimson shade to match Sora’s. “And I didn’t want to wake you, so I-”

He’s cut off as Kairi suddenly breaks down into a helpless bout of laughter, one that only serves to fluster both boys even more. “Good to know you’re both just as adorable as ever,” she chuckles, fixing them with a flirtatious smirk.

“Are not!” Sora argues, pouting as Riku carefully sets him down and helps him properly stand.

“I-I don’t know what you mean,” Riku refutes, clearing his throat as he looks away.

“Suuuure you don’t,” Kairi teases, though her tone takes a more serious turn as she begins leading the way toward the tower. “Well, come on you two. Everyone’s waiting.”

“E-everyone?” Sora tenses, at least until Riku’s steadying hand lands on his shoulder.

“It’s ok,” he says solemnly, sincerely. “We’re with you, no matter what happens.”

The most Sora can do is anxiously nod, knowing that there’s no going back now, not when he’s already come all this way. They approach the doors together, though they aren’t the ones to open them. Donald and Goofy are, and needless to say that as soon as they see Sora, they’re unable to contain the torrential tide of emotions that rushes to the surface. And neither can Sora himself, for that matter.

The pair pounces upon him, knocking him to the ground as they engulf him in a noisy, tearful hug. Sora struggles to work up the courage to hug them back, terrified of even touching them after how he’d hurt both of them before. That maddening moment seems to be the furthest thing from either of their minds now though, as they fret and fawn over him, as Donald scolds him for worrying them so much, as Goofy tells him how much they both missed him. It all comes out so rapidly that Sora is barely able to get a word in edgewise, not that he can think of much else to say other than sorry. Which he does, over and over and over again.

Roxas, Ventus, and Xion descend upon him next, each of them greeting him in more or less the exact ways he expected them to. Roxas is a mess of relieved anger, hot tears streaming down his cheeks as he yells at Sora for his recklessness, for his foolishness, for being so surprisingly hard to find. Sora doesn’t protest any of it, knowing he deserves far worse for what he’s done. But in the end, Roxas finally relents, finally embracing him as Ven and Xion do the same. As all three of the hearts once inside his own vow to do whatever they can to protect him even still, even now that they no longer have to call his heart home.

The others all soon follow, Aqua and Terra and Axel and Mickey and Naminé all warmly welcoming his long-awaited return. He does his best to face each of them in stride, to not fall apart in front of them all. He leans against Riku and Kairi for support, his head spinning as they all ask him an abundance of curious, concerned questions, many of which he has no real answers for. The pair can tell he’s starting to get overwhelmed by it all, and they’re more than ready to pull him aside for some of the solitude he’s likely much more used to now. But before they can, one voice among the group rises over all the others; a voice that sparks tears in Sora’s eyes the very second he hears her.

“S-Sora…?”

He turns, his heart aching to find her hurrying down the stairs into the foyer. Her eyes are already red from crying, tears already starting in them anew when he steps forward to meet her. He doesn’t know what to say, didn’t know she’d be here, never thought she even could be here. But he supposes it only makes sense that they’d bring her all this way to see him; after all, the world order can afford to be broken just a little if it means reuniting a worried mother with the son she’s so close to losing.

“Mom…” he returns as the entire room falls into solemn silence around them. “I… I’m-”

He doesn’t get a chance to finish when Himari throws her arms around him, pulling him close and tight toward her. “I-I… t-they just finished telling me what’s happening to you,” she whispers, running a hand through his whitened hair. “I didn’t think this--I… I should have never let you…” she breaks off into a mournful sob, holding him even tighter, terrified of what might happen if she lets him go. “I’m so sorry, Sora…”

“No,” he returns just as quietly, just as sadly as he pulls just a tiny bit away. “Don’t be. You have nothing to be sorry for. This isn’t your fault.” “It’s mine,” he nearly adds, but narrowly refrains. Even though he knows it's nothing less than the truth.

The round of reunions doesn’t continue very long after that. It’s already quite late, and everyone’s already very tired, so they decide to take tomorrow to form a more concrete plan of action. For now, everyone turns into their rooms for the night, with even Himari doing the same after spending a bit more time with her son, vowing to stay by his side through the duration of this situation, no matter how uncertain it might be.

Sora finds himself stunned when Riku and Kairi lead him into one of the tower’s spare rooms. He hasn’t slept in general for so long, much less in an actual bed. And the mere thought of getting to lie in one now almost seems like a luxury he shouldn’t be able to afford, yet here it is, offered freely just like the food he’d gotten earlier, just like the secure shelter now hanging over his head, just like the kind company he still can’t believe he’s keeping. Company that he’d been such a stubborn fool for depriving himself of for so very long.

As he climbs under the soft plush covers, he’s just as surprised to find Riku and Kairi climbing under them alongside him. The bed is plenty big enough for all three of them, with still more room to spare, but they pull themselves close along either side of him, each of them loosely draping their arms over him.

“Are you comfortable like this?” Kairi asks him as she reaches over to turn out the light.

“Yeah…” he sighs, content as Riku pulls the blanket over him just a bit more. “You know, I’ve been alone for such a long time now, I-I guess… I almost forgot what this felt like…”

“What do you mean?” Riku inquires softly, drowsily.

“I… I forgot what it felt like… to be safe,” Sora admits, though that’s not really what he wants to say. Because in truth, what he really forgot, what he’s still trying his hardest to remember is what it feels like to be loved.

Even so, both Riku and Kairi seem to understand what he means without him even needing to say it. A talent both of them have always had, one that he’s always marveled at around every turn. “And you’ll stay safe, no matter what happens next,” Kairi smiles sweetly, slowly brushing a few stray locks of hair out of his eyes. “That’s something we won’t let you forget again. We promise.”

“You saved both of us so many times before, Sora, in so many different ways,” Riku adds, his voice a light, loving whisper leading him back toward slumber. “This time, let us be the ones to save you, ok?”

Sora has no idea what will happen next, and part of him doesn’t want to know either. But what he does know is this: he’s back, he’s here, surrounded by friends and family who are all striving to help him, set his captive heart free. He’s here, lying in the arms of two people he loves more than anything, more than himself even. He’s here, and the only thing they want is to save him, to stay with him, to hold onto him and never let him walk alone again. And, after so long of wandering without anyone by his side, without any love or light to guide him out of the dark deceptions he’d fallen into… Sora can’t help but finally find himself wanting the exact same thing. “Ok,” he says softly, a smile on his face as he falls asleep in the same way he fell in love with them so many years ago.

Slowly, and then all at once.

(Commissions are still open! PM if interested!)

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miss-tc-nova · 3 years

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A Haircut - Riku x Reader

Just a little rough draft for an idea I’ve had for a while. Something kinda domestic but mostly just silly.

~~~~~

“And his little folded ears were the cutest thing I’ve ever seen!”

His gentle laugh makes my heart flutter. “Yeah? Is that the kind of cat you want?”

“Yes!”

School’s out and Riku met me out front to escort me home, just as he does every day. It’s not always home though, sometimes we go to his place or the smaller island, but the point is, he’s there, every day, waiting for me.

We had been neighbors before he disappeared—and yes, I hardcore had a crush on him. I was devastated when he vanished and when he came back, he was different. When I ran into him at the market, I didn’t recognize him at first until he spoke. He was a full head taller with a messy mop of hair but I still felt my heart skip at the sight of him. Turns out he was also softer, kinder, and apparently more informed of my ridiculous infatuation. Several attempts were made to assure me I wasn’t dreaming when he asked to start dating and I’m still not entirely convinced, but if this is a dream, I don’t want to wake up.

“Okay okay, other than day dreaming about cats, how was your day?” he asks with his teasing tone. “Got any homework?”

“Ugh, what are you, my mom?” I complain, bumping a hip against his. “You don’t even go to school anymore, why are you worried about homework?”

A finger pokes against my cheek. “Because if I don’t nag you about it, you won’t do it. Just because I dropped out doesn’t mean you should.”

“So you are my mom,” I huff, tongue showing him my annoyance.

“I am not—”

A bang rings out and Riku is suddenly no longer at my side. Turning back, I find him doubled over, hands pressed to his face.

“Son of a bitch!” he hisses.

My eyes jump between him and an inconspicuous light pole before I burst into a fit of laughter.

“Shut up!”

“Are you okay?” I ask with a wavering voice. Careful hands push back the hair hiding his face. There’s a bright red mark forming but, other than that, he seems alright.

“I’m fine,” he grumbles, rubbing at his forehead. “This pole came out of nowhere.” His griping encourages my giggling to which he glares.

“You make it sound like it jumped in your way.”

“Keep walking,” he orders, an embarrassed blush adding to his reddened face.

We make it home without anymore incidents though there are multiple instances where I have to distract myself before I start laughing again. Riku notices and I see his lips form a scowl almost every time. Part of his revenge is enforcing my homework on me, forcing me to sit at the table to work while he lounges around, waiting for me to finish.

Just as Riku enters the kitchen, probably to badger me more, I point across the table at my calculator.

“Can you pass me that?”

The boy shoves the hair from his face. “What?”

“Seriously?” I snicker.

“What?” he snaps.

Eager to get away from math homework, I jump up. A quick trip to the bathroom produces a brush and hair tie. Upon my return, I shove him into a chair.

“Hey!” he protests.

“Oh hush.”

It takes careful work to detangle all the knots in this boy’s hair—surprisingly, he’s got a soft head and is not thrilled. Once it’s all neat and straightened, I pull his hair back, unable to help myself when I fluff it out a bit after.

“There. Can you see now?”

“I could see before,” he grumbles, pulling it all to the side.

“That bruise on your forehead says otherwise.” He glowers, pulling some of his bangs back down. “Maybe I should cut your hair.”

Shoulders droop. “Yeah. It’s probably way past time I got a haircut.” Those teal eyes he’s been hiding turn on me. “Wait, did you just say you can cut it?”

“Yeah, I can if you want.” I run my fingers through that surprisingly soft mane. “Or I can keep styling it for you. I could have a lot of fun playing with your hair.”

The young man contemplates the offer for a moment before he shakes his head. “Hold on, you’re just trying to get out of doing your homework.” I can’t help the cheeky grin and Riku stands. “No. Stop procrastinating and finish your homework.”

“Yes mom,” I mutter sarcastically, grabbing my calculator and sitting back down.

Riku’s sigh draws my attention but I notice him playing with the few strands he freed from the hair tie. It’s like he’s rediscovering what’s it’s like to actually see. When he catches me watching though, his eyes narrow and he leaves me to my torture.

The days pass and I take every opportunity I can to pester Riku about his hair. He’s given up arguing with me about tying it up, though he was not thrilled with the bow I put in it once—or the pigtails another time. It’s almost become a ritual for us where the first thing I do is pull his hair back before we do anything else. I’ve come to enjoy it, but still make a point of teasing him about a haircut.

And today is the day he caved.

I’ve cleaned my bathroom up and laid out a pair of scissors I bought especially for the occasion. Just as I set the chair down, Riku appears in the doorway.

“Ready whenever you are,” I hum with a wave to the seat.

Heaving a sigh, the boy sits in the chair. My arms cross.

“What?”

I know I’ve been teasing him, but he’s acting like I’m pulling teeth. “Are you sure you wanna do this? I don’t mind playing with your hair.”

He rolls his eyes. “You won’t always be there to pull it back and I’m sick of hearing you tease me about it.”

“Alright,” I sing. As I tuck a towel around his neck, I ask, “How short?”

“Just…do whatever you want.”

Oh, he might regret that. He observes very closely while I assess the work ahead; I’ve been thinking about this for weeks but didn’t think he’d actually let me do it. Once I’ve decided what I want, I start meticulously brushing his hair back, ensuring every strand is in my grasp before binding it with a hair tie. The scissors in my hand get a few test snips and I take the ponytail in my fist.

“Last chance.”

“Just do it.”

I give the boy one merciless smile and chop straight through all of it. His face pales, eyes glued to the mass of hair I lay on the counter.

“These are wonderfully sharp,” I say, knowing my smirk makes him even more uncomfortable.

Riku leans forward to stand. “I think we’re done.”

My grip on his shoulder plants him back in the chair. I point to the half-assed mess his hair is left in. “You really wanna go out looking like you cut your hair with gardening shears?”

“You did this!”

“And I’m not done yet,” I retort. “Look, you said I could do whatever I want. Just relax and trust me.”

He groans but submits to his fate.

His nerves show all throughout my process of fixing up what I’ve left behind. Once or twice he futilely leans away from my scissors but stops when I warn him he might lose an ear doing that. From that point on, Riku sits as still as a rock.

“Are you done yet?” he asks impatiently.

I’m really not, but this is still much more presentable than the lion’s mane he started with.

“Hold on,” I sigh, fluffing up what’s left and brushing the stray hairs from his face. “There, ya big baby.”

While I clean up the mess on the floor, I notice him scrutinizing himself in the mirror. I half expected him to be annoyed or maybe even indifferent; Riku surprises me when he smiles.

“Huh, not bad.”

Dumping stray hair in the bin, I plant a fist against my hip. “I told you.”

“Yeah, okay,” he chuckles. “You’re amazing, you know that?”

“I do.”

A skeptical smile meets my grin but he let’s my arrogance slide. I, too, let it slide, shifting to admiration as I look into the eyes he’s been hiding for so long.

“What are you staring at?” he asks.

My ears burn at being called out but I grin again. “Those pretty eyes that I finally get to see.” That was not what he was expecting. “Oh and that adorable blush!”

“Stoooop.” A hand slaps to his face.

I can’t help laughing, mostly because it’s either that or risk fawning over him again.

The next thing I know, my feet leave the floor and I’m sitting on the counter. His mouth at my neck infests my skin with goosebumps.

“H-Hey!”

I shouldn’t have said anything. Now those beautiful green eyes are inches away, sparking with confidence that leaves me speechless.

“You’ve been picking on me for weeks. Now that we’ve fixed the problem, I think it’s your turn to suffer a little.” Oh dear gods, seeing that daring smirk along with those eyes might set me ablaze. “Unless you’d like to apologize.” When I don’t immediately answer, a finger lifts my chin and he leans closer. “Hmm?”

Knowing exactly what will happen next, knowing I’m being stubborn, I answer with a whispered, “Never.”

“Good.”

#riku #kh riku #riku x reader #gender neutral reader

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ffamranxii · 4 years

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I just finished Fruits Basket Another and I have some Feelings, okay? Under the cut, because spoilers.

THE CHARACTERS

Hoooo boy let’s unpack here. Furubana is about Sawa Mitoma, a nervous first year in high school. She firmly believes that she’s basically human trash, and resolves to take up as little space in the world as possible, and that’s not even me paraphrasing. She says within the first few pages she wants to take up as little space as humanly possible. We find out that she’s the daughter of an extremely abusive mother - emotionally abusive. Sawa’s mother never hits her, but she’s also never once nice to her in any of her appearances. She isolates Sawa from any and all friends, she constantly drags Sawa down, and she’s rarely even at home, even back when Sawa was a little girl. How long has Sawa been looking after herself? Sawa is what Tohru could have become if Kyoko had been involved with a gang member rather than Katsuya.

The main trio of characters is rounded out by essentially the same trio as before: Mutsuki Sohma as the son of Yuki and Machi and Hajime Sohma as the son of Tohru and Kyo. Visually, they look nearly identical, which is why I chose that ^ picture. But they could not be more different. Sawa is every Sohma insecurity rolled into one, and the Sohmas are what their parents could have been without the curse and the constant abuse. Hajime is one of the oldest of the cousins, smothered with love and affection by his entire family, and is lovingly referred to as Dad and Papa (which annoys him), being one of the few in the family who cooks, cleans, or is, y’know, responsible. (Good job, Kyoru! Teach your boy right!) He is unwillingly elected student council president, and manages it easily. Unlike his father’s life, things come easily to Hajime, but he doesn’t let that make him conceited. He’s a down to earth character who trades biting remarks with Mutsuki. Mutsuki, on the other hand, I love. I adore. I want to erect a shrine to this boy. Poor Yuki, his wife hath birthed him a miniature Ayame. Mutsuki is trouble under a beautiful exterior, subtle snark and gentle teasing, but over the top in other aspects (like his thing that was once a desk and complete inability to do the most basic of tasks like buy laundry detergent, his utter willingness to let other people do things for him). He is also a deeply caring individual, and has an extremely close relationship with his cousin Shiki which is the complete opposite of his father’s relationship with Shiki’s mother that I nearly cried right there while reading volume three.

Kinu Sohma is the daughter of Hatori and Mayuko (a pairing of which I am not fond), and I actually was not fond of her until volume three, at which point she became a treat. A college student, Kinu seems to have no real ambitions or life goals (much like many college freshmen), spends much of her time sleeping, and only really sweeps in at the last chapter to comfort a very distressed Sawa in the way only a fellow woman can, delivering a wonderful speech right up with Kyoko’s Words Of Wisdom about how no one has the right to treat you badly, even your own family. No one has the right to abuse you, demean you, hurt you. That is a curse. She actually uses the word curse, and it makes me wonder what her parents told her of the Sohma curse, if Hatori ever mentioned how Akito used to be, or how Shigure was such a piece of shit about the seahorse, and it made me love Hatori all over again, for teaching his daughter such a powerful thing. Volume three also gave wonderful interaction between Kinu and the entirely deranged (but perfectly appropriate) Hibika Sohma, the daughter of Ayame and Mine. Just like Hatori is the only one who has any sort of control over Ayame, Kinu is the only one who can reign in Hibika. I believe these two are the oldest, out of all of the cousins, because in volume two, Hibika just fucking jets off to Paris with no warning, at the top of one of her tiny tophats instead of setting up her parents’ second store, because she needed inspiration to create new dresses. I don’t think a high school student could do that. Hibika may possibly be the oldest (Kinu is still a minor at 19 [Japan’s age of adulthood is 20]), because I don’t think a minor could do that either. She’s obsessed with Sawa and playing dress up with her, something Kinu is able to reign her away from doing with ease. She’s only the tiniest bit toned down from Ayame. I love her.

Michi Manabe is the daughter of Kakeru and Komaki and is sometimes at odds with Hajime. My biggest complaint with Furubana is that she is not in it enough!! Despite not being a Sohma proper, Michi is included in nearly all Sohma activities and all the Sohma cousins know her. She and Mutsuki were raised as siblings and address each other as such, which is precious because awww, but also because Kakeru has a deep sibling bond with his half sister as an adult, Komaki (who I view as another Tohru in a way, from how she was introduced) made an effort to keep Yuki and Machi in their lives and comfortable, and Yuki and Machi both created a family unit with the one family member who wanted Machi around, a bond so strong that their children saw each other so much growing up that they refer to each other as siblings. How precious is that?? Poor Hajime is probably the only voice of reason Mutsuki ever had in his life because you know Michi is to Mutsuki what Kakeru would be to Ayame. God I need a Kakeru-meets-Ayame-centric episode right now. Yuki would DIE. Riku Sohma is one half of the twin siblings born to Haru and Rin, and while he looks like Haru, this boy is a lot like his mother. He doesn’t have the anger issues his parents have, not really (except for instance of punching out Hibika’s brother), but he can be a bit spacey, he’s very serious and literal, and he likes to sleep. Everywhere. This family and their sleep. It kills me. He also gets himself a cute little girlfriend, and because of his crush on this girl and his watching of her, he notices her wanting to reach out to Sawa, and Sawa makes her first friend (mostly) on her own in nearly her entire life! On the other hand, Sora Sohma, his twin sister, is cute and spacey, a bit ditzy, and looks like their mother but is 100% Haru. She has nicknames for everyone in the family, and never calls anyone by their actual name. She’s my second favorite character after Hibika. Sora reminds me very much of Usagi Tsukino: instead of seeing a person, Sora sees a friend.

Poor Chizuru Sohma should’ve been Yuki’s kid. Honestly I’m surprised Ayame and Mine don’t have more kids, given how passionate I’m sure they are. And while Chizuru loves his father, he does declare the man crazy (as does every other character, minus Mutsuki, who says he’s “the most terrific of all uncles”) on more than one occasion. Chizuru is the more responsible of the Ayame/Mine Sohma children, setting up the Ayame II shop essentially on his own until Mutsuki offers Sawa’s help as a part timer (because remember, Hibika decided to go to Paris for the week). He hates that others view his family as eccentric and him as normal and especially hates when they comment on it, and he tends to be a bit foul-mouthed and outspoken. A bit like Hiro. Poor kid. Rio Mosca is Saki Hanajima’s boy and he is NOT KAZUMA’S SON AND THIS MAKES ME SO SAD. His parents’ love story is rather cute, however. His father is a foreigner (Italian, given that his surname is Mosca), and the two met on a plane, making this a cute little callback to when young Megumi prayed for a someone for Saki to “get on a plane and meet her.” Mina Sohma is the most precious baby and is the daughter of our boy Momiji! Although, look at her - could she be anyone else’s child? She is sweet and cute and seems to be without Momiji a lot - Momiji inherited his father’s business (which seems to be international?), and he travels all the time. Mina has a great talent for batting and rather than be privately tutored and follow her father all over the world, she stays behind in Japan to play baseball for her school. Her dream is to take over the family business from her father like he did from his. It seems Momiji’s terribly tragic story ended happily, as it seems he reconciled with his father enough to inherit his business... (more on this later). And then we have Shiki Sohma, who is surprisingly the son of Shigure and Akito! :O Shiki seems to inhabit two worlds, much like the Sohmas of Furuba. On the one hand, he is part of a generation who was raised by those healed by Tohru Honda. Loving, caring parents who love and adore their children. He has friends who care deeply for him - his best friends, despite all being in different grades, are Chizuru and Rio, and they all play Go together in the school club. His family are all deeply committed to him - Mutsuki especially is close to him, as seen in the first volume where Shiki was teased at but not seen, as Mutsuki called him to come to the house where he, Hajime, Kinu, and Sawa were having a hot pot with Michi, Riku, and Sora. His parents both are and aren’t the Shigure and Akito we know from Furuba - Shigure is still the immature jokester and Akito is still the serious head of the family, but they both love their son immensely, totally and completely in a way that Akito remembers being loved as a child by her father, in a way that Shigure’s parents probably loved him. On the other hand, in volume three, it is shown that, being the son of the head of the family, and living in the Sohma compound, with the old servants, the “old timers,” and Ren, subjects Shiki to some truly horrific abuse the likes of which no other second gen Sohma child has had to go through. Shiki would greet guests who would give him gifts, only to find that within those gifts were notes badmouthing his mother. Ren attempted to stab him as a small child, something the old Akito would and has attempted on the first gen Sohmas, and it’s implied the only reason was because Shiki was Akito’s child. Akito threw herself in front of Ren’s knife and took the blow for her boy. Shiki is a quiet and withdrawn child, one foot in each of these worlds, and seemingly paralyzed over how to act. Much like Sawa, especially once she meets the Sohmas.

Remember I said we’d come back to Momiji’s happy ending? See that woman in the top left? That’s Momo Sohma, Momiji’s sister. In Furubana, Momiji has reconciled not only with his father, but with his sister as well! Momo appears to pick up Momo from the Sohma house; she is Momiji’s assistant and Mina seems to stay with her sometimes when Momiji is out of the country. Momiji has his family back!!! Speaking of families, Hinata Sohma, Hiro’s little sister, is all grown up and makes her own appearance in the third volume (and is a slight alcoholic, lol). She also mentions brothers - did Hiro did another sibling after his curse broke?? Megumi Hanajima makes an appearance as a teacher at Kaibara High School, and this is my second complaint about Furubana - there is not enough Megumi!! He grew up sexy! Second best glow up in the series after Momiji! It’s Megumi who tells the romantic story of how Saki met her husband on the plane. Also making an appearance is Makoto Takei, former student council president, unwilling witness to Haru’s natural hair color explanation. He is now a teacher as well, and Sawa and Riku’s homeroom teacher. He’s also still in love with Yuki, and lets Mutsuki get away with anything. He is often at odds with Ruriko Kageyama, the daughter of Motoko Minagawa of the Prince Yuki Fan Club. Ruriko has inherited her mother’s obsession, though unlike Motoko and Makoto (god those two would’ve made a great obsessed couple), Ruriko loves ALL Sohmas. I don’t understand how the worship of an entire family to stalker levels is an official school club but whatever. Ruriko is actually pretty cool, and while she’s pretty strict, she’s also on somewhat friendly (like, “person I talk to at school but nowhere else” type friend) terms with Sawa.

THE STORY

I feel this can best be summed up in five sentences and in reverse: When Sawa was little, she fell down the stairs. She was found by Shiki, who simultaneously called an ambulance and fell in love with her. Her piece of shit mother sued Shiki because he was rich as shit. Ten years later, no Sohmas harbor any grudges against Sawa, her mother is still a piece of shit, the Sohma children are full of Tohru-and-Kyoko wisdom passed down from their parents, and try to help Sawa. And also they all hardcore ship Shiki/Sawa. The end.

No seriously, that’s the story. It’s beautiful. I wish there was one or two more volumes, a cameo featuring the adults, it would be perfect. Could you imagine the terrible awkward jokes Shigure would make? “Honey look, Shiki’s in love with the girl he pushed down the stairs as a kid. Was marrying her one of the terms of the lawsuit? Hahaha.” And Akito would just be like “....baby, you and Sawa go outside while I smack your father, you don’t need to see this.” And the two go outside and we then see Shigure fucking fly through the paper door and a loud “YOU FUCKING MORON” follow him out with the classic -_- “did I say something wrong?” Shigure face. And Shiki is just a fascinating color of ruby fire about the cheeks and mumbles, “so yeah... that’s my father....” and Sawa is a similar color and staring at her shoes like “he seems nice...” and Akito opens the ruined door as though she didn’t just beat the shit out of her husband and calls out to them, “come and have tea, your father had to step out for a bit. Sawa, dear, I’d love to hear more about you. would you prefer jasmine tea or green,” because Akito has done a complete 180 and become a decent human being since becoming a mother and Shiki is EVERYTHING to her and if her son loves this girl then GODDAMNIT SO DOES SHE.

#fruits basket another #furubana #fruits basket #furuba #fruits basket spoilers #furuba spoilers #i just finished the series and i don't know what to do with myself

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angel-with-a-pipette · 5 years

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Dream Drop Distance - My opinion

I’ve waited nearly 6 years to play this game. Now I finally finished it.

With these 6 years come a lot of expectations - but to be honest, a lot of negative expectations. Be it a confusing story, bad execution or supposedly the end of my OTP. Yes, I wanted to play this game, but I also dreaded playing it.

As it turns out, there was really no reason to.

If you’ve been following my DDD playthrough posts, you know that I have criticized DDD at times, but all in all, it’s an enjoyable game. It is not without faults and while none of the negative expectations were wrong per se, but they were often grossly exaggerated.

Yes, the voice direction in this game wasn’t top notch. You can tell by listening to Lea and Xigbar, two people who absolutely nailed their lines in the previous games. You can even hear how poor Young Xehanort sounds while his KH3 performance (as far as we’ve heard) is tremendously better and make him so much more interesting. I’ve braced myself for Sora’s voice and while yes, he is forced to sound young for his KH1 self, his voice isn’t even as grating as I remembered from watching the cutscenes. Maybe it helps listening to his battle grunts in between cutscenes XD Also, his KH2 model voice is A+ and we’ve already heard his KH3 performance is incredible. I cannot wait for more Sora! :D

His “dumbness” also wasn’t as grating as I thought it would be. Sure, he sometimes said stupid stuff and was way too trusting, as always, but playing the game (and seeing the link attacks with his Dream Eaters), Sora just struck me as not taking any of this serious. He didn’t want to take the Mark of Mastery, deeming himself Master enough, and only agreed to for Riku’s sake. He dances with his Dream Eaters, chills with them in a tub, it honestly feels like a big game to him and he’s just trying to have a good time while letting his guard down. I mean ultimately this is one of the contributing factors why he was nearly norted and Riku wasn’t, and I think calling Sora stupid doesn’t quite hit the mark for this game. However, I do enjoy that we get our sassy KH2 Sora back in KH3 as far as we’ve seen, and that shows us that Sora just works best with companions to interact with. The whole franchise actually works best when we have the Sora-Donald-Goofy dynamic.

The story. Ho boy. Well, let me say that I critique the story of DDD a lot and I honestly still have trouble wrapping my mind around which nort was where at what time to make things happen. Or even how exactly Sora and Riku traveled in time and how the heck Riku ended up being Sora’s Dream Eater. However, none of this is truly important when you play the game. The game is engaging, it is fun and the last stretch kept me on my toes even though I knew Sora was going to get out of that unharmed, I can’t even imagine how I would have felt had I NOT known that we’d save him (and this is exactly why I am staying away from the new trailers now, I want this experience! I want to hurt when I play the game, not before!).

I mean, I will go back and read some of the journal entries and rewatch cutscenes, but even if I didn’t grasp the entirety of the concept. It didn’t bother me in the end or make my experience bad. Sure, I was so confused during half of the game and I come out confused, but it doesn’t bother me that much anymore because I had a genuinely good time.

As much as I will always criticize that they barely included Kairi in this game - especially, since the set up would have allowed her to train already instead of doing it in KH3 - I honestly love the portrayal of Sora’s and Riku’s friendship. It makes me incredibly happy to see how much the two of them care about each other, I love the adoration in Rku’s face when he looks at the dreaming Sora. Once again, the characters are incredibly expressive and I love it so, so much.

Now onto the one thing I really, REALLY dislike in this game. I mean I know I mentioned the world building and level design, but none of it is such a deal breaker like the Dream Eater system. I probably wasted a good 15 hours just on this. I know Kingdom Hearts is big on mini games, but the beauty of it is that it’s always optional. Many people enjoy mini games, I don’t necessarily do. But that’s okay, I just skip them.

You can’t skip the Dream Eaters.

It’s really the one big negative point of this game, the gameplay apart from that is quite enjoyable and if they used this experiment to improve KH3, even better, but for the love of God, never make this kind of system again.

And since I wasted 15 hours (at LEAST) on Dream eaters my final clear time is about 35 hours. Which is a little weak. Sure, I know the mini games are part of this game, but still. It is a shorter game and you feel it. But it’s also a handheld game which I guess excuses it again. And I did enjoy myself. Thankfully, KH3 is going to be big!

Oh, I also want to remark that the Ending was NOT High Definition, as well as the renders in the Credits weren’t. This game initially cost 60€ and in contrast to 1.5 and 2.5 which featured 2 full console games, this one only featured one remastered handheld game plus a 3 hour taste of the new engine. Square, no. Bad Square. This is unacceptable.

Now, I have been asked about the ship in this game time and time again and I have said “I can’t say because I haven’t played DDD yet”. Well, now I have and I know the questions will come once I enable asks again, and I honestly just want to be done with them, so please read the read more. This is going to be the last time (hopefully) I make a statement about Sora and Riku because I just want to have fun with my ship and not explain myself again and again why I don’t ship this one, okay?

Alrighty, this is the “SoraRiku” game, huh? I mean, I won’t lie, I see where people are coming from. Some scenes give off a shippy vibe, like when one of them nearly wistfully thinks of the other, but other scenes don’t strike me as even remotely shippy? I know people freaked out about the Dearly beloved thing in Symphony of Sorcery and Mickey’s dialog is quite suggestive, yes, but Sora’s reaction is not. At all. And that’s kind of the theme I keep seeing: One scene is suggestive, but the follow up scene that could actually further this subplot and establish a possible romance is strictly friendship again. But even so, the one scene that could nail the coffin of the rivaling ship is when both of them are awake again, when Sora has his tea party with Donald and Goofy and dives in to hug Riku.

Guys, this is not how you hug someone you’re romantically interested in, but I talked about this before here. And even after finishing DDD, I stay by what I said there.

However, I definitely see where people are coming from - surprisingly, since I expected this to be a repeat of Days, where people claimed they started shipping AxelRoxas after playing the game while the game supplies no foundation whatsoever for that ship. Dream Drop Distance at least gives us some suggestive scenes and some heartfelt scenes that shippers are obviously bound to love.

And I am good with that. It’s not close to enough for me to ship them romantically, but I don’t mind if somebody else does. These two certainly love each other dearly even if we all don’t agree on what kind of love it is.

So now please stop trying to persuade me that this is the better ship and we’re good.

#DDD playthrough

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kukiwi · 7 years

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My Dark, My Light

Series: Kingdom Hearts Pairing: Riku / Vanitas Rating: M - Explicit Summary: Surely no one will see the reason why he extends his hand instead of his Keyblade. But they don't need to. Not while they stay in the comfort of the dull light they'll share. Besides, the only thing dangerous about the darkness is what lurks inside of it and they only want to fall into it together. A/N: ‘w’ I love this pairing so much <3 Find Elsewhere for Easy Reading: AO3 || FFN

The curl of light sparkling around the young man's frame disappears as his glider transforms back into his Keyblade; Way to Dawn. The dark blue and maroon blade is there only a moment before he dismisses it entirely. The heat of Agrabah makes him want to turn around and leave. It's hot to the point where he swears he can feel it soaking up from the sand and into his sneakers.

It makes him appreciate the heat of his home world; it was never this bad.

A wind skirts through the back alley he landed in, swirling up sand for just a moment before it disappears. Riku sighs as he brushes his hands over the black hooded jacket that rests over his blue shirt and black pants. The mere thought of the semi-thick clothing has him hotter than before. He makes a mental note to ask for additional clothing next time he stops by to see Yen Sid.

"I'll just have to hurry.." he mutters to himself as he jumps up onto a ledge and then atop a building. With the sun so high he's not sure if there will be people about; it's better to be safe than sorry.

He makes his way through the city, pausing to take in the palace at the back, before rounding towards the outskirts. He's used to these rounds and he does them quite frequently now that Xehanort and his lackeys are mostly gone; the worlds seem much more at peace. Although there has been some strange occurrences that have been reported.

Naturally, Master Aqua chose him for the task. Surely she was tired of seeing him out in the training grounds alone as he practiced his abilities. Even though she and all the others have accepted him and the use of his darkness he's still put off by it all. He's the only one left that has the ability unless he teaches one of them.

And no one wants to hear it. Not after losing the previous dark user to Xehanort's wrath. Some things just can't be returned once they're lost.

Riku sighs heavily as he drops off the last building and down onto the shaded sand. He's grateful for the cool it brings him even if it's only for a moment. "Figures, nothing here."

Just as the words dare to leave him, his attention shifts. The shattering sound has him on his guard and rushing towards it – never too careful in case of a Heartless attack. He ducks behind a large cloth draped over a cart. Peeking around it he strains to see what lurks in the shadow of the building only to spot something he wishes he hadn't.

Golden eyes.

They make his stomach tighten into a ball as panic surges through him. It's not that he can't take whoever it is because he certainly can. All of Xehanort was destroyed and most of the thirteen vessels. Thankfully one returned to normal and returned to his home world. Only one other managed to escape under the guise of Xehanort fighting till the very end; using battle as a distraction to slip away unnoticed.

Then again, Riku isn't too surprised to see him. There's many Keyblade Wielders patrolling the worlds and they're bound to run across this remnant eventually. He watches for a moment, trying to see what this one has in store. But he's too caught off guard by the appearance and he's not sure he'll ever get over it; he looks the exact same.

That is to say, the same as Riku's best friend Sora. It's as if he's the negative to Sora's positive in every way. From the jet black hair and pale skin to the golden eyes that have left him forever marked. He'll never outrun his past and for a moment Riku pities him despite all that he's done and the havoc he's created with those hands.

Suddenly that piercing gaze is narrowing until suddenly the dark entity is spinning on his heel and firing off a thunder spell. But it's a type Riku knows; blue laced with dark energy that relentlessly homes in on its target. Rolling won't get him away so instead he uses his own darkness to become a blip on the radar, dodging away from the cart just as the magic hits it.

Of course it doesn't survive the blast and crumples to the ground with the fruits it had been holding rolling out over the sand. The darkness melts away from his form as he reappears several feet away with his Keyblade in hand. Fingers gripping tightly around the hilt, Riku spins around to block the slash of a far darker blade. He grits his teeth and pushes back. Riku is able to regain his footing and fall into a comfortable stance as he stares the being down, "What are you doing here, Vanitas?"

"What does it matter to you?"

Vanitas is lunging at him again. They exchange blow after blow in a dangerous dance about the market; around stalls, jumping atop a building and then daring to push the other off the edge. But Riku isn't taking any of it seriously. He doesn't feel the same as when he was forced to pit his life against Xehanort and his lackeys.

This is different and he knows why; partly because Vanitas looks so much like Sora but also because he knows what the man has gone through under Xehanort's twisted mind. Riku, in an effort to put forth some distance between them, back flips and launches a Firaga that's infused with darkness. Vanitas throws up his weapon in an attempt to block despite it being pointless.

The spell was never meant to hit him. Instead it careens off to the side and slams into the edge of the roof. It causes Vanitas to still for a moment. He's… confused to say the least. No one has ever given him a warning shot – to stop or else. He's used to being beaten again and again with no reprieve. While there is some bout of happiness in that, Vanitas refuses to acknowledge the act and instead covers it up with a fiery anger.

"What was that? Are you tired already or did you just cheat on the Mastery exam?"

Riku takes the jab in stride and instead dismisses his Keyblade, "I'll pretend you weren't here. Go."

Vanitas glares back at him but that doesn't mean he's not opening a portal behind himself. One step away from Riku and he's allowing the darkness to swell up around him, gingerly luring him inside a place that doesn't hate him. Not another word is said as the corridor is suddenly gone and Riku is left alone.

Something that Riku is thankful for. He draws a hand up to his face, combing his fingers through his bangs and peeling them away from his forehead. A little hot under the collar is the nicest way to put the way his heartbeat thrums loud in his ears. The last thing he should do is feel anything for Vanitas, so why does he?

-0-0-0-

Weeks pass by before Riku truly encounters Vanitas again. Sure they've crossed paths and bantered back and forth until Vanitas gets flustered or irritated and leaves but they haven't found themselves in a situation where their Keyblades are drawn. Not that it's surprising. Riku received a mission from Aqua to go check up on several worlds that have had a surge of activity recently and then nothing. Of course the concerning part is that none of the wielders had gone to these worlds in the past few days so there's no reason why the activity is down.

That is until Riku finds himself in the dark forest of Snow White's world with Vanitas hacking through heartless. Way to Dawn feels surprisingly light in his grasp as he stands there, staring. "Vanitas… are they attacking you?"

Vanitas whirls around, taking out the last of the Heartless in the process with a light gleam of sweat on his brow. He glares at Riku, "What the hell do you care?"

"I'm a Master, it's my duty."

The typical answer causes Vanitas to grin wickedly. "Does it make you happy; flitting around from world to world not having a life?" Riku stills but doesn't make a move. In return Vanitas chuckles, "So then you do it to not think about how your friends could care less about where you are. While they get to live their lives in their little town without a care in the world."

All Riku can think of in that moment is how Sora and Kairi, especially the latter, heavily disagreed with his decision; to live at the Land of Departure, to devote all of his time to keeping the worlds safe. It's why he can't stop himself from running forward, lunging at Vanitas with a halfhearted attempt to knock him down. Although Vanitas knows this and holds steady, smirking at him over their crossed swords.

"Oh? Did I touch a nerve little Master?"

"You don't know anything."

"I know a lot more than you think I do."

Vanitas leverages his strength and manages to knock Riku's Keyblade away and out of the young man's grasp. He goes even further to drop down and kick Riku's feet out from under him. The move knocks all of the wind out of Riku, leaving him gasping as his back hits the hard ground. Vanitas is quicker than Riku expects as the slightly shorter male is already sitting on his waist and leaning forward, pinning his hands to either side of his head.

"Tell me, Riku, do you have fun playing the good guy now? Or are you just waiting to turn the tables and show them what darkness really tastes like?"

Vanitas leans forward as he says this and it has Riku immediately looking the other way. This is all bad and he knows he has to overpower Vanitas somehow, get out from under him and make a break for it before things get worse. If that's even possible since there's the heat that's building in his abdomen and threatening to make itself apparent.

Although more than anything Riku would love to yell at him; ask what the hell he thinks he's doing grinding down against him like that – if he's even meaning to do that. But that would make it all stop and part of him doesn't want that. All of the conflicting thoughts and wants has him gritting his teeth and pinching his eyes shut, trying to block it all out in hopes that Vanitas will go away and the lust will drain from his body before it solidifies.

"I have plenty of fun when I don't have to run into you. Do you mind getting off me or do I have to make you?"

It would be a half decent threat if it weren't for Vanitas thinking him a weak fool. That should be the reason but even then it's only half of it. The other is aware of the slight discomfort from something poking against his butt. He doesn't make it look as though he knows, instead he rubs back against it ever so slightly in mock movement as he leans down close. His lips hover beside Riku's ear, allowing the latter to hide the slight flush becoming apparent on his cheeks.

"You sure? Seems like you haven't had a whole lot of fun if this is already bothering you," he says as he puts pressure down on Riku once more.

"Only if we can get out of the dirt first."

The words leave his lips before Riku can even think about what he just said. Then again, Vanitas is right. It's not like he gets a lot of time to himself and even then it's usually spent training, in a meeting with the other masters, or sleeping off all the fatigue. He wants this more than he can believe. It's exactly why he's surprised to see the slightly confused look on Vanitas' face from his response.

Although the expression is rather cute.

Riku slips one hand around Vanitas' arms and grabs at the back of his neck. In one fluid motion he tugs the dark-haired man's face closer. Their lips collide in a rough but chaste kiss. Just enough to get the message across. When Riku's hand loosens its hold and Vanitas can pull away he can only notice those eyes that gaze up with him lust. They're so dilated and full of need that he can't help but lick at his lips.

"Fine," is all he says as he stands up. He doesn't bother to help Riku and the latter doesn't want it either. They quickly make their way into the foliage. Rustling bushes is the only thing they leave behind as Riku finds himself back on the ground. His back hits up against a tree only shortly before Vanitas is atop his lap, lips smashing together.

He grabs onto the slightly smaller man, hands dipping down to get a sturdy hold on Vanitas' ass. Riku gives him a rough squeeze as their bodies mold together. It has Vanitas growling in between their kiss, "Masters should be patient."

Riku pays zero mind to his statement and instead focuses on the way the darkness crawls away from his skin. The black and red suit peels away from his body inch by inch and Riku is captivated. The more pale skin that's revealed to him the more he wants to taste it. His lips are on Vanitas' neck before the latter can do a thing about it. He can only tilt his head back as Riku nips and sucks up and down his throat, surely leaving more than one mark in his wake.

Although it does allow Vanitas to work his fingers on the button and zipper that keep Riku's erection trapped beneath fabric. The second he manages to brush his fingers against it and free it from the confines, Riku's lips are on his. It's too hasty and lacks all skill as to what they should even be doing. The kiss is a mess of tongues rubbing together whether their lips are touching or not.

But their hands are completely different. Riku keeps his on Vanitas' rear, guiding him into what rhythm to set his hips too. The motions become more deliberate the shallower their breaths get. All thanks to both of Vanitas' hands wrapped around their cocks, stroking them both at the same time. Except the more they move the harder it is to keep up with their kisses. Vanitas settles on nuzzling his nose against the jacket bunched up about Riku's neck. It only takes a moment or two to jostle it away and give him what he's looking for.

"V- Vanitas! What are you-! Ngh..."

Riku grinds his teeth against the inside of his cheek, refusing to let out the moan that bubbles up at the back of his throat. Much like the way Vanitas bit his neck. The gentle way the tip of Vanitas' tongue flicks over the marks has Riku almost turning into putty. He can only grab harder onto Vanitas as if to pay him back for it. Not that it quite works.

All he can feel is that tongue and hot breath against his neck as they quickly climb to the final moment. The one that has Riku sparing one hand to take hold of Vanitas' chin. He won't dare let out a sound. So instead he crashes their lips together just as the moan of release tumbles from his lips. The muffled noise doesn't go unnoticed. Rather, Vanitas made one of his own and had intended the same solution.

Sticky and hot, Vanitas pulls his hands away far too soon for Riku's liking. His lips follow and as much as he'd like to say something witty, he's just as dazed as Riku is after that. The darkness, however, is already stretching back over his skin so he can escape momentarily. Except he has two hands full of their mixed cum and even though he shakes his hand to the side as he slowly stands it won't all leave.

Riku is starting to get his bearings, buttoning his pants back up and drawing his legs up to stand. Not that Vanitas lets him. He gazes down at the Keyblade Master and smirks. Why he lifts one hand to his face he doesn't know. Nor is he aware of the reason why he licks at some of the white mess to get it off his fingers.

What Vanitas does know is that it leaves Riku captivated; eyes wide, lips slightly parted, and tongue clearly visible behind a perfect set of teeth.

He doesn't so much offer as demand with the way he puts his other hand in front of Riku's face. Sure there's a slight look of curiosity and possibly disgust. But for whatever reason it doesn't stop Riku from grabbing at Vanitas' darkness clad wrist to hold him steady. Riku doesn't let him go until each finger is clean and he's slow about doing so.

Vanitas is almost losing his mind at the lewd way Riku takes one or two fingers in his mouth at a time, licking and sucking every drop off of them. His tongue always pays too much attention to the spot between Vanitas' fingers and even dares to nibble on his fingertips slightly. The dark being can feel something stirring in the pit of his stomach if he's honest with himself – which he is most of the time – he doesn't like it.

The feeling scares him.

Yanking his hand away, Vanitas glares, "That's enough already."

Riku merely raises an eyebrow at him. The lack of response has a faint blush dusting Vanitas' cheeks as he backs away and right into a corridor of darkness. A second later and he's gone. It leaves Riku suddenly realizing just what he's done – what they did.

The other Masters would never approve. Hell, they'd rather Vanitas not exist to begin with. But for him, the only Master that can properly and fully wield both sides, to want to fuck Vanitas until neither can move? He definitely won't be telling anyone that he's come across Vanitas let alone that he's the one keeping the worlds safe. He'll wait, bide his time, and try to salvage something for Vanitas. Anything to get the man to leave the shadows behind, at least a little.

-0-0-0-

There is one place Riku enjoys going to beside Destiny Islands. In fact, thanks to everyone there, Radiant Gardens is starting to look like its real self again. The first thing they rebuilt, in honor of Ansem the Wise, was the fountain area. It's rather calming to come back here for Riku because he has so much to thank the man for. Sitting on the lip of the largest fountain in the middle, Riku waits for Aqua to show up. Of course he's also positioned himself at the back of it to avoid anyone else seeing him.

To be honest he's been avoiding her. It's hard to look her in the eye after doing all those things with Vanitas. Even more so when he plans to bring up the man in question to begin with.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting, Riku."

He smiles back at her as she enters the area. Her armored shoes clack against the cobblestone while her blue and white cloths swish about her legs. Riku gives a small shake of his head, "No, not at all. I just got here."

She stops a few feet before him as he stands, "You had something to speak with me about?"

"It's about Vanitas. I ran across him."

Something flickers in her eyes and Riku knows he's treading thin ice with the subject. He'll never know what happened in their fights but he's aware that it makes Aqua more than a little uneasy. Yet she still manages to remain poised, "Vanitas is dangerous, be careful. We still don't know what he's capable of after not joining with Ventus."

"I think he's the reason why these swarms of heartless we've been alerted to are already gone when we get there."

"Riku… You think he's keeping people safe?"

It's getting harder to look into her eyes the more seconds that pass. Riku slowly turns around, staring down into the water as he tries to think of a way to make things sound better. But it's Aqua who finally sighs and gives in, "We'll have to keep an eye on him and then decide what to do from there. Will you be returning tonight?"

"I'm going to stay here for the night."

"Then I look forward to your report further when you come home."

Her tone is soft and reassuring. It makes Riku's shoulders fall as she turns away, intending on leaving. She's a busy woman after all. But Riku can only stay and continue to stare at the ripples in the water. The streams that come from the main fixture send out an endless amount of them and he's almost transfixed. Everything seems so easy and calm in that moment.

"Still playing hero?"

Riku huffs, but he can barely stop the smile from flicking up the corners of his lips too. Especially when Vanitas' hands find themselves on Riku's hips. The teasing touch is something Riku isn't in the mood for no matter how fond he's growing of the other man. Riku steps to the side and turns to him, "Be quiet for a moment."

"You know," Vanitas begins as he takes Riku's place on the fountain's edge. "We're no different. You just happen to know a few extra tricks."

"Shush," seethes Riku. He can't possibly think while Vanitas is around constantly spouting dribble.

"You're just like her actually. Well except for the obvious. She always fought tooth and nail against me too." Vanitas grins up at him, "Want to go a round?"

Riku doesn't even care if he means actually fighting or sex. Considering all they've been doing is the latter. Walking back over to Vanitas he stands before him. Vanitas looks up just in time for Riku's foot to push against his chest. The splash of water coats where Vanitas had been sitting while managing to miss Riku entirely.

Vanitas, however, is practically steaming when he sits up in the fountain. He's soaked to the bone as he glares up at Riku. "The hell was that for!?"

"You were annoying."

"Jealous that I wasn't talking about you?"

"Still annoying. Don't you have anything better to do? Maybe try being nice?"

A mischievous grin curls onto Vanitas' countenance and Riku should see it coming. His reaction is slow and ill-timed. There's no way to get away from Vanitas' hand as it darts out, grabbing onto the front of his shirt, and tugs him into the fountain as well.

Sitting atop Vanitas' lap, Riku can only gaze down at him. He's not entirely sure why his heart beats faster when they're together or how he's going to deal with it. But he does know he enjoys every second he gets to spend with Vanitas whether or not the latter feels the same way. It's why he cups one hand at the back of Vanitas' damp spikes before pushing their lips together. He forces them back underneath the water, careful to not knock Vanitas' head against the cement bottom of course.

Vanitas' eyes are wide open even under the water, surprised beyond comprehension. Although the way his lungs begin to burn makes all the other emotions sink to the bottom. He grabs at Riku's jacket and gives hard tugs. Just when he thinks Riku won't, they're both back above the water with Vanitas sputtering and huffing.

"Are you trying to kill me? I can't breathe underwater you idiot."

"You seemed to like it though."

The palm that presses between Vanitas legs has the latter narrowing his eyes. If he's honest he'll admit he doesn't mind the loss of control in this situation. But he'll be damned if he tells Riku that. He pushes Riku off. It's something Riku takes in stride; catching the edge of the fountain behind him so his back doesn't hit it and then proceeding to sit atop it.

Vanitas continues to glare, hating the fact that Riku seems too confident even soaping wet. Those eyes are gentle in return and it makes an idea spring forth. Shifting to his knees, he lowers his gaze as he works intently on Riku's belt and zipper. He'll show Riku just who can handle who here. It only takes a few fussy moments of arguing with the pants and underwear in his mind to pull forth Riku's limp cock.

Riku merely raises an eyebrow, having been content with watching the pouting man do what he wants. "What are you doing, Vanitas?"

There's no reply. At least not verbally. Vanitas grabs at the base and holds it steady with the other hand so that it's easier to begin licking at. Riku can only watch as Vanitas almost lovingly tends to every inch until it begins to become hard. He doesn't dare to so much as touch Vanitas, afraid that it'll break whatever spell he's got himself under.

Sucking on the tip, Vanitas swirls his tongue over and around it. But that's only before he begins to take the length in his mouth and allows the salty precum to spread over his tongue. The wet and warmth have Riku's cock hardening as Vanitas swallows it all up to the base little by little – not giving up until it's well past the back of his throat.

Riku is panting by the time Vanitas begins to bob his head, eagerly sucking the erection as he finally dares to lift his gaze. The pained look on Riku's face is exactly what he wants; needing the pleasure so bad that it's almost agony until he gets it. Lost in the feeling of the girth keeping his mouth open and his tongue busy, Vanitas can't help but reach down in between his own legs. But it's not the bulge he's grasping for. It's the aching spot just past that.

The suit gives way so he can slip one finger between his cheeks, burrowing it up to the knuckle with ease. Having his ass in the water at the same time is a completely different sensation than what Riku usually does to him. Vanitas grips hard at Riku's right thigh in an attempt to steady himself. He almost finds himself thankful when Riku finally reaches down for him. Slender fingers rake through his spikes before settling down onto his head, guiding him back and forth.

Vanitas can feel the engorged member twitching against his tongue with each pass and he knows Riku won't be lasting much longer. It takes all he has to pull away from Riku's grip entirely at the sound of what can only be boots clacking on the stone. They're coming toward the fountain and any closer they'll most definitely hear the light splashing of the water along with Vanitas' own moans.

He counts to three to try and get his head back on straight; clear the fog, smack Riku's hands away, and pull his fingers out of his ass. All so Riku can look up at him with a disgruntled and slightly dazed expression. Vanitas was going to leave and let Riku deal with the situation however he wants. But one look at those sea-colored eyes and he's growling to himself.

"Put that away and come on."

Riku stares at him for a moment before tucking himself, albeit painfully, back into his pants and standing up. Vanitas hurries to create a corridor. He grabs at Riku's wrist and leads him in just as the person comes to a stop at the front of the fountain. For them, however, they're exiting in one of the many underground tunnels that Twilight Town houses. Any other time Riku would question why here, but he doesn't have that luxury at the moment.

Vanitas can barely get the dark suit to begin to vanish from the waist down when Riku has him by the hips. He can only brace his hands against the wall at the feeling of Riku's cock pressing against his entrance. Not wanting to let it out, Vanitas swallows the whine back down once Riku finally pushes the head inside. The familiar first stretch has Vanitas hanging his head between his arms as he tries to relax.

It just feels too good once Riku starts filling him up. Each little pull and thrust that puts more in has a soundless moan slipping over his lips. Riku's hands are rough as they grab at his slender hips, surely leaving soft bruises on the pale skin, as he shoves himself in a little harder. Although, Vanitas loves every second. From the way one hand slides up his back and burrows in his hair to the thick cock that reaches deep inside, stirring him up.

"H- Hurry..!" Vanitas manages to groan out between thrusts.

He can't seem to push back against Riku enough, he wants more and that need has him at his wits end. Tilting his head back, he pinches his eyes shut as Riku pulls his hand away. "Just…one second," replies Riku.

Neither can take it any longer nor do they care that their voices can surely be heard throughout the nearby tunnels let alone the sound of their skin slapping together. It's Vanitas that loses it first. Not even needing to be touched, he shoots out his cum on the brick wall before him. The moan that pours out of him is loud but breathy – as well as music to Riku's ears. Between that and the way Vanitas' muscles clench down around him, Riku paints Vanitas' insides a milky white only a few seconds later.

Yet it's not the euphoric release that has a blush crossing Vanitas' face. It's the way that Riku leans forward. Riku wraps his arms around Vanitas to steady him, the latter not even realizing that his knees are quivering ever so slightly. Giving a few kisses between Vanitas' shoulder blades, Riku simply holds him tight after pulling out. Their bodies are hot and sticky from sweat but still they stay together.

Riku hums softly to himself, "Are you going to run away now?"

"S- Shut up and let me go."

-0-0-0-

The smell of the ocean is something that Riku didn't realize he missed this much. Despite being exhausted from missions, since his return to Destiny Islands a couple days ago he has spent all of his time outside with Sora and Kairi. That is until they left off to head to Radiant Gardens this morning. He's sure they told him why but Riku honestly can't remember the reason as he steps out onto the dock of the island that started it all.

Aqua had sent him home for the week in hopes to give him a much needed break. All of the strange occurrences he's been investigating have all but stopped since he's run into Vanitas that first fateful time. While she's hesitant to admit that he's right and it's Vanitas' doing, he's not. Riku knows very well that the once vessel for the darkness is running around taking out heartless whenever he can. He's actually helping people.

Although at the moment he couldn't be happier that it's a calm night. Countless stars shimmer in the sky above him as he makes his way up the ladder to the large deck portion to the left of the island. A huff, one out of exhilaration, leaves his lips as he makes it to the top. He can remember when he was little that the climb used to irritate him. Now it's nothing more than a happy memory.

To be honest, he's not surprised in the least bit to see Vanitas waiting for him. The latter has yet to notice him, however, and Riku takes advantage of this. The rather serene look on Vanitas' face has Riku smiling. Seeing him so peaceful warms his heart and he realizes at that moment he'll do more than whatever it takes to find a place for Vanitas in this world – in any world.

"What brings you out here?"

Vanitas pushes away from the railing he's leaning against and glares at Riku, "Sneaking up on someone is rude."

"Stalking someone is worse."

Striding over to him, Vanitas traps Riku up against the railing he's got to his back. One hand on either side, Vanitas stares up at him. There's nothing said as if he's looking for something in the blue-green pools of Riku's eyes. Riku lifts a hand, brushing the backs of his fingers across Vanitas' cheek and it has the dark haired man reeling.

"The hell! Do you want it that bad? Seeing those friends of yours too much for you?"

"I just want to talk," Riku says as he takes a step forward. It's the truth after all. Sex is the last thing on his mind at the moment. Right now he only wants to wrap his arms around the shorter man and never let him go.

"Tch, then I'm leaving."

Yet he doesn't move a muscle and Riku takes that as his queue. Riku stares hard, not giving Vanitas the chance to look away, "All you wanted were friends." The glare Riku receives goes unheeded. At least, it was a glare until Riku extends a hand. "Well now you have one so quit being a brat."

Vanitas' eyes widen. He doesn't know what to think or what to do. There's something inside that dares to move and he's afraid of it. Fear has him swatting at Riku's hand and taking a step back. "I don't need your charity!"

"It's nothing like that," he replies and takes a step forward.

Only able to back up, all of Vanitas' thoughts are rendered useless. He can't figure anything out. Especially not while those sea colored eyes have his limbs locking in place. "Then what is it? You like playing the hero that much?"

Riku doesn't back down. He only flashes Vanitas a rather worried expression. It's one that has Vanitas wanting to run away. He doesn't like all of these emotions; how they build up inside now that he can't release them to do harm as Unversed. He bites at the corner of his bottom lip, hard enough to draw blood.

"Xehanort hurt all of us but he hurt you the worst." Reaching out one final time Riku intends to grab for Vanitas' hand or shoulder.

"Shut up!"

Vanitas' eyes pinch shut as a shock wave of darkness slams into Riku. The raw power throws Riku backward and he can't manage to stop the motion. His back slams into the railing but it's not enough to keep him steady. The world tilts and before he knows it he's falling backward. Arms flail out as he tries to grasp onto anything.

Opening his eyes, Vanitas watches as Riku's shoes disappear over the side of this contraption – along with Riku of course. His first instinct has him running forward before the murderous intent that was drilled into him can manifest. Without hesitation Vanitas vaults over the shoddily made railing and after Riku.

They're quite high up and the water below doesn't look very forgiving. Vanitas doesn't know how he catches up to Riku but once he's grabbed onto the latter's shoe and got to him, he moves quick. Just before the water welcomes them Vanitas latches onto Riku and turns them around.

His back slams through the surface and knocks the breath out of him to the point that he lets go of Riku. Shutting one eye in pain he forgets that he can't breathe underwater and ends up sucking in a mouthful of water. He tries to gag, to spit it back out, but the air is gone and there's only more liquid trying to get in.

At least until he's being tugged upwards and his head is above the water. Riku's arms wrap tightly around him and Vanitas can't help but ease back into the embrace after coughing up every drop. It's not hard either, especially since Riku is the one treading for the both of them. Although he'll admit his body is killing him from taking that impact. If it wasn't for his dark suit he'd surely have broken something.

"Thank you, Vanitas."

The breath that ghosts over his ear has him shivering. He knows Riku notices but is thankful not a word is said. He doesn't have the energy to pummel the stupid man and swim back to shore. Those hands on his chest are comforting to the point where the tiny voice in his mind begins to win: stay still and let it happen.

However, there's still doubt. Doubt that this won't harm him in the end. Self-preservation and the destruction of others is all he's known. He wants to tell Riku to stop and get as far away from him as possible – to save himself. But Riku's hand is already cupping at his chin and forcing him to lean back.

Rather he follows the lead willingly.

Lips gently touch down upon his own and it sends a shock through his system. For a moment it's all okay. The past is gone and the future can't be thought of. There's only right then as the innocent little kiss takes over his whole being for nothing but a few seconds. It feels like it was forever though and it has scarlet tinging his cheeks.

"You know, you're pretty cute when you're quiet."

'Why ruin it' is what Vanitas wants to ask but instead he settles back into what he knows, "What the hell is wrong with you?!" He tries to push away from Riku but the latter just won't let him go. "Would you quit it already or do I need to bash your head in?"

Riku merely sighs as he rests his head atop of Vanitas'. It only has Vanitas' right eye twitching in irritation. He tries to think of something – anything – to anger the other and release him. But his brain is running on fumes and there's little to nothing he can piece together. "Just let me go already, I'm not Sora!"

The young man holding onto him stills. It's only for a moment before those arms are linking tightly around his waist. "If you don't quit struggling I'll have to dunk you."

"Look you spoiled brat-"

"You could never be Sora. He's kind to a fault and there's probably nothing brighter than his light. You, on the other hand, are like the muck at the bottom of a river."

"Tch! What the hell-"

Riku presses his forehead to the back of Vanitas' spiky tresses and takes a chance. "But sometimes that filth is hiding something just as golden and bright as the sun."

Going lax in Riku's hold he tries to take it all in. He doesn't know what to think or what to say. He's known his entire existence what everyone has thought of him. After all, he's always just a piece of Ventus or some dark being that has to be beaten into submission. He only wishes he could express what those words do to the heart he thought he killed and buried.

Vanitas places his hands atop of Riku's and this time when he goes to pull them away Riku lets go. He swims out a few feet before finally sparing a glance over his shoulder. Riku hasn't moved and it's this that concerns him. It's always a constant push and pull between them but suddenly even that is gone.

There's only a smile, one so gentle that it has a pang shuddering through Vanitas' chest.

"If you want to walk beside me, meet me here tomorrow."

Vanitas glares at the dark water lapping up around him, "Your friends don't want me around."

"Then leave if you think it's not worth it." Riku watches as Vanitas moves again, going straight for the dock. All he can do is cast the line one more time. "Whether you come or not, I won't let them come after you anymore."

He can't look back. It's too hard to have someone there all of a sudden – someone that cares. Vanitas merely summons forth a Dark Corridor and with three steps he's far away from Riku.

-0-0-0-

Just as he said, Riku is back at the small island once more the following day. He can't get back until the sun is already making the slow descent towards the water. Oranges and purples mingle across the sky as he's finally sitting down on the shore. He had laid out a large blanket to not get sand all over himself and in his clothes.

Especially since he lies on it with an exasperated huff. He can't believe he's already going back tomorrow night. Part of him longs for the moment to hurry and come. It's making him restless with not being out and about – exploring just like he's always wanted. Even so Riku tries to relax as he waits for Vanitas to show up.

It's not about if, it's when.

"If you sleep there you'll drown."

"You're right on time then." Riku goes to sit up but there's a hand suddenly on his chest and Vanitas on his lap. He can only manage to push himself up on his elbows. There's something in those bright golden eyes that has Riku relaxing completely. He won't lie. He needs Vanitas and his darkness just as much as Vanitas needs him and the light he has.

Vanitas stares at him hard, trying to gauge what Riku is going to do. It's the silence that slowly draws Riku close. He spares one hand to reach out. Fingers slide up Vanitas' arm and to the chest with the bright red emblem. Riku lingers only a moment before continuing up to cupping at the side of his face. "So you'll go back with me?"

"On one condition," he states firmly as he shoos Riku's hand away.

Riku settles back with a smile, "And it is?"

Vanitas moves off of Riku, settling to sitting beside him instead so they don't have to make eye contact. After all, he's sure Riku can't see the slight blush that dusts over his cheeks this way. "I want to see your dark suit."

This makes Riku pause, "That's it?"

Snapping his head toward Riku, he narrows his eyes, "What do you mean, that's it?"

Riku can't stop the chuckle that tumbles out, "I thought you were going to try and be bad, saying something like go destroy something." He has to bite his tongue right after when Vanitas pouts, the expression beyond adorable in his eyes. Riku pushes himself up to his feet and glances down at Vanitas from the corner of his eye, "If that's what you want."

They both know perfectly well that Riku doesn't have to step out of his shorts or slip his vest off his shoulders to go into dark mode. The suit would replace the clothing with ease – a benefit to the dastardly power. Even so Vanitas doesn't dare look away. He finds Riku intoxicating to begin with. But to see the darkness pool beneath the soles of his feet and begin to snake upwards, coating the lightly sun-kissed skin in black, purples and grays has him feeling more than a little hot under the collar.

Vanitas smirks as he grabs at one of Riku's hands. He tugs at the limb with more than just a slight need. If he has to wait too much longer he might just come unglued. But Riku refuses to give into his whims so easily. Pulling his hand away, Riku proceeds to drag his fingers through Vanitas dark hair. The tresses bow beneath his palm each time Riku pats Vanitas' head.

Although by the fourth pass Vanitas is swatting at Riku's hand, irritated that this is taking so long. He gets closer and continues to shoo Riku's hands away until his face is before the latter's crotch. Riku manages to grasp at Vanitas chin, tilting his head back so that their eyes can connect. There's a smirk on his lips as well as in his voice, "Impatient?"

He'd growl if Riku wasn't already sitting back down. Vanitas is pleased that the suit seemingly melts away, back to the recesses of Riku's mind, to leave only pale skin on display. Immediately moving to kneel over Riku's lap, Vanitas crashes their lips together. It's not as rough as Riku expects and it has him smiling into the lip lock. Riku's hands sneak over to Vanitas; running along his sides, up and down his back, settling on his ass.

Sitting down on him, Vanitas slowly rocks his hips back and forth. His own cock is getting hard, matching the one that's pressed up underneath him. It dares to rise a little, enough to begin poking at his cheeks. Even so, their lips are too busy to pay their lower bodies any mind. Mouths open wide with tongues caressing one another has drool dribbling down their chins.

There's precum leaking from their cocks when Riku places his hands on Vanitas' hips, stopping him. But once there's no movement Vanitas becomes painfully aware of the situation. Heat rises to his cheeks as he surges forward, nuzzling his face into the crook of Riku's neck. He lifts up. It relieves the pressure but it only makes an urge appear in its place. Especially when he has to wait for Riku to reach back for his pants and pull out the small bottle he's been carrying lately.

Vanitas takes it from Riku and eagerly pours an ample amount onto his palm before tossing it to the side. He's quick in his motions despite knowing he needs to make sure they're both prepared. Once enough is lathered onto Riku's cock as well as smeared between his cheeks, Vanitas dares to slide two fingers into his ass.

Just knowing what Vanitas is doing is enough to have Riku twitching anxiously. He can't see the look on Vanitas' face but he can hear the slight mewls of pleasure that come from him. Instead of rushing, however, he says nothing until Vanitas finally pulls his fingers out – satisfied that he's ready enough for this.

Reaching between them, Vanitas grazes his fingers up over the cock that stands up tall. Vanitas lowers down, one hand steadying Riku's manhood while the other grips onto Riku's shoulder. It's not the first time they've gone this far but it is the first time that Vanitas pushes the tip of Riku's cock in and has to stop. Electricity seems to shoot up Vanitas' spine and straight to his brain, as if to melt any thoughts that remain up there.

Riku pecks Vanitas' lips, "There's no rush."

He doesn't need to be told that. Any other time he'd readily take the plunge just to see the bliss take over Riku's face. But for whatever reason, Vanitas finds himself taking it more than just slow. The inches that have to be pushed into his depths take an eternity to do so. His insides are hot and screaming in pleasure each time Vanitas lowers a little further.

It doesn't help that Riku is nothing but gentle while he does so. Riku doesn't hurry him along nor does he show that he wants to be fully inside of him and moving right now – he's the epitome of patient. The self-control dares to slip away when Vanitas exhales against his neck. Slightly damp lips graze over Riku's skin, specifically the spot just below his jaw. He has to pinch his eyes shut to resist anything and everything.

Vanitas, however, lets out a moan of relief when he finally takes Riku all the way in. Sitting on his lap, he can barely think straight. Each and every thought is filled with how full he feels or the way Riku's cock twitches inside of him. Not that Riku is feeling much better. Certainly not when Vanitas finally wiggles his hips.

Keeping a hold of Vanitas' hips, Riku presses his cheek to the side of Vanitas' head. If he breathes he can smell the darkness that lingers on Vanitas' tresses – it's alluring in more than one way. Tightening his grip, Riku rubs his thumbs in circles over the smooth skin that's hardly ever seen the sun.

"You're so tight."

The sultry murmur only has Vanitas tightening up even more. The only thing he can do is to, softly, bite at Riku's neck, "S- Shut… up."

Riku's hands slip further down to grasp two handfuls of Vanitas' ass. It's the only warning that Vanitas wants or needs. Grunting as he begins to thrust up into Vanitas, Riku is more than happy when Vanitas pulls away from the crook of his neck. The dark haired man gazes at him with nothing but love glazed over with a dark lust. Those golden eyes seem to shimmer among the darkening background and has Riku completely enraptured.

Vanitas takes the opportunity to capture Riku's lips in a sloppy kiss of wiggling tongues and nipping on Riku's lips. It's all in an effort to mask the moans that well up in the pit of Vanitas' throat, daring to come out each time Riku thrusts into his depths. The position only helps Riku hit his prostrate, triggering stars to spot Vanitas' vision whether he dares to close his eyes or not.

Lips pushed together, Vanitas mumbles, "I… Riku..."

He doesn't need Vanitas to tell him he's close. He can feel it. Riku can only inhale deep through his nose before locking their lips together, silencing any sounds that aren't the waves behind them or their bodies meeting together again and again. At once their bodies tense up with their minds burning with pleasure from the release.

Toes curling, Vanitas clings onto Riku with everything he has. His cock, trapped between their stomach, covers their skin in sticky white cum. That is while Vanitas eagerly milks out every drop Riku has to give him. The sheer heat and amount that coils into his inside has Vanitas moaning without realizing he has. He's putty in Riku's embrace, allowing those strong arms to wrap securely around him.

The gentle touches return as Riku comes to his senses first. He lays back with Vanitas sliding off of him although not before Riku pulls out. It's there that they discover the warmth from their bodies is all they have left. The bruised sky is gone and the dark blue has invaded, winning the fight for but a few hours. Lying there naked beneath the first few stars beginning to show, Riku pulls Vanitas closer. "You can come with me but you'll be wearing real clothes. I have some that might fit you until I can get some from Yen Sid."

Vanitas glares at him, "I'd rather go back naked."

"I can arrange that as well."

Pulling away suddenly, Vanitas stands and turns hard on his heel. He doesn't care that the warmth of the water is already ebbing away as he ends up stepping into it either. Riku happily follows after him. Coming up behind him, Riku bends down only to scoop Vanitas up into his arms. The latter immediately begins to flail as Riku walks further out into the water.

"What the hell are you doing!? Put me down!"

"Fine."

So Riku does. He unceremoniously drops Vanitas into the water, not caring in the least that the latter glares at him as he comes back up for air. Riku squats down, the water coming up to his chest in the process. Vanitas splashes at him, "You're an ass."

"You said-"

"I know what I said! Just…" Vanitas looks away. He doesn't want to say how much this means to him. The feelings in his chest hurt and make him want to duck back down under the water's surface.

Vanitas is grateful when Riku pulls hims close; one hand on his back while the other reaches up to tangle into his hair. Riku doesn't dare say a word. He can tell that Vanitas understands what he wants to tell him from the way arms wrap around his waist in response. Vanitas looks up at him, smirking, "I should have asked for something else."

"You still can," Riku says as he slowly pulls him up out of the water. Both on their feet, he leads the dark haired man back towards the towel laid out on the ground. He's glad he took a dark corridor here for once, he wants to get back home and in a warm bath quick.

One arm still around Riku's waist, Vanitas waits until Riku is picking everything up that he runs a hand over his ass. "Should have asked to take you for once."

There's a blush on Riku's cheeks but it hardly seems like he's embarrassed as he grabs Vanitas' hand, yanking him to his chest as he opens a corridor. The darkness curls by their feet as he dips his head down and grazes his lips against Vanitas' ear, "You still can."

#fanfic #kingdom hearts #yaoi #vanitas #riku #vaniku #smut #oh the smut #hey is there a plot?#squint your eyes ;3

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xtremedespair3d · 5 years

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Anime Spring 2019 Final Impressions + Plans for Summer

My favorite anime season, Summer, is almost here! As for this Spring season, it feels like this was the most shallow season yet in terms of how many shows I watch. I usually watch over 10 shows total, with one or two every day, but now I only had Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays to watch anime.

It’s more like I’m going back to the good old days where I watched one or two shows before I started watching like a crapton of shows since around 2016.

Regardless, this season still packed a couple of good titles (and one I really wasn’t fond of) that I can’t wait to talk about!

Before I rank all the anime I watched this season, I’m gonna address something:

In my previous Anime Winter 2019 post, after Kemurikusa 12.1′s release, I added this sentence: “ I don’t know how long this is going to be but I’m sure it could be a weekly release,” which I was hoping to see more of what happens next, well, lately I’ve been obsessed with wanting to see 12.2 because there was no way this was going to be just a one-off short given the cliffhanger, but a little while ago as of the writing/publishing of this post, I noticed this tweet from Tatsuki which I had it in my history, I reread the tweet and I just noticed that “there may not be 12.2″... WHICH I’VE BEEN OBSESSED WITH WANTING TO SEE 12.2 FOR NOTHING, I MIGHT HAVE FORGOTTEN ABOUT THIS TWEET OR I’VE NEVER USED GOOGLE TRANSLATE OTHER THAN THE MICROSOFT TRANSLATION FROM TWITTER... Oh well, I guess Kemurikusa 12.1 really is going to be a one-off short, I wanted to see more Wakaba interacting with Ryou, Ryoku and Riku, oh well, looks like we’re going back in full circle with Kemono Friends 12.1. I had to address this so I wouldn’t constantly update the previous post and nobody would have read it anyways (just like every post I make).

Anyways, sorry for making a long speech that drags the purpose of this post, so let’s get right to my rankings! Starting with my brand new tier list, then I’m going to explain what do their rankings mean:

1.- Kimetsu no Yaiba: This is it. This is the GOAT of the season. I have become quite the Ufotable fan since the Fate specials with Emiya-san chi no Kyou no Gohan and FGO x Himuro no Tenchi, and now it was the perfect time to keep up with their recent projects, and I did not expect their next big TV project would happen to be a Shonen Jump series.

Not only I would expect the good old exact same animation from Ufotable from Fate, Tales or even Touken Ranbu, but they have delivered something MORE than that, they delivered like really wild new additions to their style, like the water splashes from Tanjiro’s attacks and stuff. They even started doing CG on the characters when they’re like really far from the camera, which it’s a first for Ufotable and I’m VERY impressed, I’m so impressed to the point where I’d really love to see a Ufotable anime with their inhouse CG 100%, I don’t care if it would look good or bad, I just want that to happen.

I was initially disappointed that they didn’t deliver this face (pictured) like I wanted, but later episodes are really bringing the hilarious faces from the manga (I really haven’t read much, but I did see an image in 4chan which compiles the hilarious faces in one image. I read the first three chapters and then chapter 26 just so I can see when does Inosuke’s face reveal happen).

It’s even better that this is a two-cour series, I’m always really looking forward to watch Kimetsu no Yaiba every Saturday!

Ufotable continues to be the GOAT! I don’t give a shit about tax fraud and stuff, they just keep going!

10/10 - Rank: S++ - 100%

2.- Bungou Stray Dogs season 3: After seeing the film, Dead Apple, I was so ready to watch season 3 if this great series. And surprisingly this season only lasted for one-cour compared to the previous seasons (I always thought it was just like one season but with two-cour episodes and they just called it season 1 and season 2).

Anyways, I hope Bones will continue making more Bungou Stray Dogs seasons. Cheers to another great season of Bungou Stray Dogs!

9.5/10 - Rank: S++ - 97%

3.- Isekai Quartet: This is the perfect isekai crossover I had hoped for, and thank god there’s a second season happening. Now, who are the new characters going to be introduced in that season as teased in the first season finale...? 🤔

9.5/10 - Rank: S+ - 95%

4.- Watanuki-san Chi No: To be honest, I really liked this one a lot than Virtual-san wa Miteiru. There’s just something about the production values(?) that makes this stand out and become way better than Virtual-san wa Miteiru, it’s doesn’t include much over-the-top craziness and stuff like that. Unlike Virtual-san wa Miteiru, this one’s classified as a “drama” (or dorama even) and it’s hard for me to classify this as an anime like Virtual-san wa Miteiru.

Why do I keep bringing Virtual-san wa Miteiru a lot? Well, I think we’ve come to the point where anime with Virtual Youtubers such as this and Watanuki-san Chi No is becoming part of the animation industry’s future. Instead of handdrawing the VTubers (which I would definitely prefer for a VTuber anime 100%), how about just using Unity?

Anyways, let’s go to the topic of Watanuki-san Chi No because I’m dragging this with all the Virtual-san wa Miteiru talk. Though, to be honest, there isn’t much to discuss here. It’s a slice-of-life show with three sisters (Played by Tokino Sora, Sarugakuchou Futaba and Hibiki Ao) and all kinds of random situations happen, that’s about it.

...You know, I think I should rewatch Virtual-san wa Miteiru. I don’t want to disservice how poorly made and wonky it can be, they’re trying to be really wacky as possible (but there are moments that did cringe me out but whatever), this and Watanuki-san Chi No could be one of my Top anime of the year.

By the way, there’s something I forgot to address on Watanuki-san Chi No. Yes, there are torrents, but surprisingly no one has done any subtitles for them and Crunchyroll or any other streaming platform has picked up this series (yet). And everytime I watch an episode of Watanuki-san Chi No, I want to subtitle the series myself.

8.5/10 - Rank: A- - 87%

5.- Attack on Titan season 3 part 2: Seems like the wait was quite worth it, this second part of the third season really delivered some really good plotlines, twists and everything. And season 4 is indeed coming out... and it’s going to be the last.

The planned release for season 4 is, get this, Fall 2020. It’s long ages away and I can’t even process how would WIT Studio be able to adapt the manga’s ending if it’s possible, because Fall 2020 sounds like a good time for the manga to have ended since, depending on when will it be.

I really hope this fourth season could be two-cour, or maybe even more if they can, they’ve come a long way from the long delay for the second part of season 3 only for season 4 to be one-cour to adapt little material, it would be a huge waste if that were to happen. And I really hope we won’t get an anime original ending or something.

Maybe it could be like a Tokyo Ghoul:re situation, where they started doing the anime adaptations when the manga was about to finish (or has already ended?), then the second season came and it adapted the finale. That could defintely work for Attack on Titan, except WIT would definitely adapt the manga properly, unlike Pierrot because they had no idea what to do.

Anyways, we’ve come a really long way to see Attack on Titan end, especially the anime. With the manga and the anime ended, what will it be for the future of Attack on Titan, or even Hajime Isayama himself?

8.5/10 - Rank: A+ - 86%

6.- Fruits Basket 2019: This remake of Fruits Basket, even without reading the manga or seeing the original anime, is definitely quite solid.

Speaking of the original, I started to feel like I wanted to the original just for comparison, but I don’t really feel like watching the original as much as like I did with Kemurikusa. Besides, there are some changes that I’m not too comfortable with in the original, such as minor details like character appearances, and a big one I recently found was Akito’s gender (she’s female in the manga, the original anime made her male), so I don’t need to watch the original and just stick with this one, instead.

Like Kimetsu no Yaiba, this one is going to be two-cours (or seasons?) too, so I’m looking forward to see the ending of the series adapted.

8/10 - Rank: B+ - 82%

7.- Miru Tights: This is one of the shows I legit have mixed feelings on but I don’t know why. I’m trying to find some logical reasons why I shouldn’t make a disservice for this show. Like, this series is supposed to be targeted for Yom and tights fans, which it’s fine, but I’m kind of too biased on stockings than tights, and secondly, there isn’t much of a story that’s supposed to have, all we can do is just watch tights, that’s all. The animation is really quite solid for a newly founded studio and for a 3 minute short series, and they made a pretty good job on recreating Yom’s art style really well.

If what I mentioned sound positive, then why do I feel mixed on Miru Tights? ...I honestly don’t know. 😂

Maybe I’m on the same field as Virtual-san wa Miteiru, this is not for the faint of heart for normal people and such (I searched on YouTube and there was one akidearest video where, even from the title and description, I can tell that she’s confused. I’m not gonna watch the actual video, so I’ll let you watch and interpret from what you saw).

I’ve been expecting someone to ever say this, and it breaks my heart to say this myself, but... Yom, you’re better off doing only illustrations and never do an anime like this ever again.

At least the one thing I can highlight is that it can be viewed on YouTube with English captions and... uh... I just noticed that episodes 2 to 7 are... Privatized... (As of the publishing of this post, the series is up to episode 8)

Okay, I’ve always been feeling mixed on Miru Tights for a while now, but now I have found an actual reason to HATE Miru Tights! Way to waste accessibility for Western viewers, TRUSS.

Some people say that it could be for the Blu-Ray release, I don't fucking believe it because they have uploaded these episodes and I already witnessed them all, how come they could privatize these videos for the BD release? And I can't even bother to care to support TRUSS at all.

Anyways, the other and BETTER highlights are that they actually made the Twitter accounts of two of the main characters featured in one episode. Yua’s account, Ren’s account. This is the kind of meta easter eggs I love to see. Things from in-universe that are in real life.

One last thing, TRUSS...

6/10 - Rank: C - 64%

It definitely deserves these scores!

UPDATE - July 27th:

Now that the series has ended (and a 13th special episode is underway), my impressions on the series remains but I might have slightly changed a bit: This is the most boring anime I’ve ever watched in my life and I can’t stress enough on how TRUSS wasted their YouTube accessibility by privatizing... every episode...

WELL, I’LL BE DAMNED!

Okay, forget about the whole thing about TRUSS privatizing every episode as a new one comes every week, problem solved! 👍

However, my impressions on Miru Tights still remains, it sucks. Not only I’m not the biggest tights person (as I’m mainly biased to stockings), the anime overall is very boring. It has some decent moments here and there and the animation is great too, but the series didn’t impress me and give me high hopes like I wanted to.

I wish I wasn’t this negative on the series but for some reason I feel conflicted about it.

One last thing to say: Getsuyoubi no Tawawa is way better than this.

UPDATE - July 30th:

I randomly checked TRUSS’ channel and... episodes 2 to 11 are gone once again. Jesus christ, this is unbelieveable...

Literally as soon as episode 12 went live, all of the episodes were available, but now you just privatized the rest of the series again? I fucking hate you guys so much.

End of update.

And finally...

8.- One-Punch Man season 2: One-Punch Man 2 was destined to be my worst anime of the season, if not of the year, two seasons in a row (Kemono Friends 2 was my worst of Winter), and boy, it really delivered. The moment I heard that they were changing studios from Madhouse to J.C Staff, I always knew things weren’t going to be right and indeed happen.

There’s a lot to talk about what’s wrong with OPM2 and I can’t even process, let me get straight to the point.

For starters, the story of the season is relatively faithful to the manga. The next arc after the Boros starts with King casually walking, finds a monster and then King runs away freaking out that he’s not a real hero and stuff, that’s the first thing I caught on. I really can’t remember what I read from the manga for a long time, other than the Metal Bat vs Garou and, of course, the Miss Blizzard vs Do-S fights, but still, my point remains that story is faithful.

The story being close to the manga should be one of the things why season 2 shouldn’t be bad, but you’re wrong, let’s talk about the most important thing I’ve been looking forward to find out if it turned out to be good or bad: The ANIMATION.

The animation, well, the animation is not My Sister, My Writer-tier, or worse, Marchen Madchen-tier god awful, let’s get that out of the way. But it just doesn’t go in par with season 1′s visual style and everything. Let’s start with the metal textures because, look at this!

The metal textures just look AWFUL, even worse when they’re in motion, they just don’t blend with everything else. Maybe they tried to emulate Murata’s style with the metal, but they failed miserably.

There are also a couple of moments that had some action but they’re ruined by motion blur, I wouldn’t like to judge their decision on why they’re doing this, I mean, dimming the screen down is one thing, but motion blur? That shit can get really confusing, and the first season never had these kinds of blurs, it’s always been more smear.

There was this one episode from the Metal Bat vs Garou fights that had a giant centipede monster that was fully CGI. Seeing CG in OPM is something I never knew I needed, but it actually looks really well animated and well blended with the background and visuals, this was one of the few decently animated moments from this entire season. (Here’s a GIF of it)

The later episodes definitely have some sakuga, but even so, they couldn’t even come close to redeem myself on being optimistic with this entire season, I just can’t forgive its existence in general.

One last thing to talk about the animation, THE MOST INCRIMINATING THING EVER, was to show this flashback from the first season and LOOK HOW THEY KEPT THE SEASON 1 VISUALS AND STUFF!

Everytime I’m seeing clips of the first season, it’s always so painful to see how awesome they were and then look at season 2, what a big downgrade.

Voice performances and music are the highlights of this season. Though, in terms of the music... JAM Project’s opening for this season is SO DISAPPOINTING. I seriously expected something to top THE HERO!! or be around the same level of awesomeness as THE HERO!! and the Genos character song, Burning Blue ～蒼炎のソルジャー～ , but no, this opening is just boring. While at times it was stuck in my head, but it shouldn’t be somewhat catchy, I wouldn’t like to judge their direction too much, but come on...

And I think that’s pretty much everything I needed to discuss. Overall, I’m not really hoping for a third season of One-Punch Man, or maybe I do want it but with, you know, Madhouse? Just what kind of excuse was for the change of studio from Madhouse to JC Staff? All Shingo Natsume and Madhouse did recently was the new Boogiepop anime with mediocre character designs. But then there’s also the fact that this Monsters Association arc in the manga is taking forever to finish, so we might not see a third season in like another 4 or 5 years.

For some reason One-Punch Man 2 is still praised by Japanese viewers, I saw a screenshot of a NicoNico stream with over 80% of “I really liked it”, even ONE and Yusuke Murata still praise, which I don’t really mind if they like it, but we, Westerners, hate it to death because it’s just not the same at least in terms of animation. The story is mostly fine but it just cannot be told properly with poor animation. Season 1 may not be a perfect adaptation, as there are some things that doesn’t do the manga justice, especialy this, but it did have heart and some really clean animation that season 2 completely lacks.

At least the good thing to spawn from season 2 is more Miss Blizzard fan arts and started to give Do-S fan arts and cosplay. (I’m a simple person, don’t judge me.)

Another weird thing that this second season spawned is... a video game. Like, really? Why a video game of all things now? Not to mention that it has Boros on it, and this game would most likely cover the first season, which it’s been like 3 and a half years (I wish I could say 4 years but not without doing the math) and we’re already into season 2, which is what Bandai Namco is trying to capitalize.

Anyways, let’s settle this:

Ups:

+1: Story faithful to the manga, performances, soundtrack, etc.

+1: Few moments with decent animation.

Downs:

-98: The god awful animation and tryhard sakuga moments, even some action scenes ruined by motion blur.

Overall:

2/10 - Rank: D - 22%

At least One-Punch Man 2 deserves a bit of high score unlike Kemono Friends 2 which I gave it a perfect 0.

Let’s move on to the hottest titles I’m looking forward this Summer!

(Get it? Hottest, because... it’s Summer... and... it’s really hot... uh...)

1.- Girls’ Frontline short anime - Late July: I really want to watch this so bad and yes, it was supposed to be slated for a Spring release but nothing came of it, and I’m angry, but now we definitely have some more information that it’ll come out in Late July... As for Late July when ,exactly? As of the writing/publishing of this, there’s still no info about this series, hopefully they won’t delay it again until the Fall season with a definitive air date or something. (although, if they were, please make sure it’s going to be on October 4th)

Another interesting thing I just discovered was that I saw a random Japanese person tweet this GIF which kinda looks suspicious... I asked them where did they find it and they gave me the Imgur link, which happened to be posted on... JULY 16TH, 2018. HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?!

I don’t know how long this anime has been in development, but for a scene to be leaked as a GIF in Imgur last year is quite something. A scene happened to be leaked but nobody has ever even talked about it, and with how long this has been in the making, only to be announced to Chinese and Japanese streams now really boggles my mind.

Anyways, I really hope I get to watch this Girls’ Frontline anime at long last, at least the one with the story characters like the AR Team and 404, the other one... speaking of which, I don’t think I’ve ever heard about that one either. What if that one is going to be this short series instead of the one with the AR Team and 404? Whatever it ends up being, just give me this Girls’ Frontline short anime series, please. I’ve been waiting so long not to watch it... or if it could ever get downright cancelled.

2.- Lord El-Melloi II Case Files - July 6th: Episode 0 from the Fate New Year in December 2018/January 2019 was relatively solid and I’m definitely looking forward to watch this series. The one thing that’s kind of holding back the interest is that, first off, this is going to be a two-cour series, which it’s cool, but the first cour is going to be entirely anime original, and then the second cour is going to adapt the first volume (or first couple? I can’t remember), like... isn’t that troublesome, especially for the Type-Moon community. At least the author, Makoto Sanda, is supervising the series, but is it really necessary to make an entirely anime original first cour and then the second cour to adapt the volumes? Was there some sort of proper communication or Makoto Sanda really wanted this?

I feel like there’s definitely some Fate anime fatigue going on, people might be getting burned out on these adaptations recently, Fate/Apocrypha and Fate/Extra: Last Encore, neither of which were kind of well-received. I really wouldn’t like to rely too much on opinions from the people I trust or I think way too highly of them, but if that’s what they feel, then I wish to stop talking to them in my entire life.

The thing is, I definitely started to have quite the hatred for fandoms and stuff, not only they could be annoying but I always picture them as hardcore elitists, extremists, etc. (Yes, I have that kind of an outlandish imagination), because I always feel like if I say something like I didn’t have problems with an adaptation, or that I really enjoyed it, I stan it, etc., I feel like I’m gonna get my ass contradicted and I hate when people do that to me. You should learn to respect other people’s opinions and let them have the right to enjoy things you don’t like. That’s why I want to be independent, I want to be alone and have all my interests to myself, instead of being in communities, because people tend to be really hateful on things I don’t care, I don’t have problems with or things I outright love. (I’m very sensitive about my tastes, okay?)

Anyways, I’m still going to watch Lord El-Melloi II Case Files, and then the Fate/Grand Order Babylonia series on Fall and so on. I just love watching Fate anime adaptations regardless of what people think of Apocrypha and Extra: Last Encore (Especially the latter because I have indeed played the original Fate/Extra game, while it did kind of freaked me out with the changes in a negative way, I’ve come to really like Last Encore, I might go so far that it’s an underrated masterpiece for the Fate/Extra players like me, who has high positive opinions on the games, unlike UQXveva sebz ECT Fvgr)

3.- Danmachi season 2 - July 12th: I wish I had seen the film before I start watching season 2. Hell, the film was even on Mexico, but I had to choose John Wick 3 over the Danmachi film.

UPDATE - August 9th:

Long after started watching the season, around the premier day, I had watched the movie which thankfully it got torrented, I thought I had to wait forever for the subs because movies tend to take so long to release, but now I don’t have to worry about it anymore.

End of update.

4.- Okaa-san wa Suki desu ka? - July 12th: I plan on watching this mainly for one thing: Recreating Iida Pochi’s art style faithfully, and from what I’ve seen in the trailers, JC Staff did a very good job, it looks solid. (At least this is one thing I forgive JC Staff for, unlike that piece of shit that is One Punch Man season 2)

So, with this isekai mom series, will we get an Ane Naru Mono adaptation some day?

5.- Fire Force - July 5th: I have never watched Soul Eater but this series is by the same person who did Soul Eater, with David Production doing the adaptation, from what I’ve seen and given that it’s David Production, this is legit giving me Cells at Work! vibes, this is like Cells at Work! but with fire fighters.

(Speaking of Cells at Work!, season 2 babyyy)

6.- Granbelm - July 5th: This little original project seems interesting. Well, probably the main selling point for me is the Re:Zero artist doing the character designs. Since this is an original anime with mecha, I hope the outcomes and everything turns well, because original mecha anime tend to be controversial. Look at Evangelion and even Franxx.

Watching the trailers, for some reason this kind of gives me Princess Principal vibes, but it’s not really like Princess Principal, unless I’m talking about interesting looking original anime with character designs by well-known illustrators. (Speaking of Princess Principal, when will we get updates from the 6 films and who’s going to be the new voice of Ange?)

7.- Dumbbell Nan Kilo Moteru? - July 3rd: I can already feel pain and regret from watching this because I recently decided to quit going to the gym because I was getting bored. 😂

8.- Tejina Senpai/Magical Sempai - July 2nd: I’ve seen some crossover/mash-up fan arts of the heroine and Hotaru Shidare from Dagashi Kashi and I believe that’s quite a lovely selling point. I was feeling 50/50 before but now I’m definitely feeling like doing it.

Why would the English title be called “Magical Sempai”, with Senpai being an M?

Thanks for reading this post, what is your anticipated anime of the season? And make sure you’re well hydrated because the world is fucking burning and I can’t stand a moment without having the AC on.

---

Carrd.

I can’t dividers on Tumblr anymore?! THAT SUCKS!!!

#anime #aots #spring #summer

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miss-tc-nova · 3 years

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Et Tu - Riku x Reader

Hi all! Been a hot minute, but have a Valentine’s Day fic! I mulled over a lot of different ideas (including cliff diving) before I finally came down to this. And yes, I’m aware the title is a bit convoluted.

And thanks again for the request Xeha-non, I too have been all over Riku for the last few weeks.

~~~~~

Jamming along to the song on my phone, I prance around the kitchen, collecting items to throw in the bag on the table. I’m making a mess of my house but I couldn’t care less, a beaming grin on my face as I toss the marshmallows in after the chocolate.

Today is Valentine’s Day; more importantly, it’s the first Valentine’s Day I’ll have with my boyfriend since his crazy adventures ended a few months ago. I didn’t beat myself up or hold his past absences against him—it was just another day to me. But this year, oh, I’m so excited for this year. I’ve been happily hopping around my home all day, trying anything and everything to make the time pass.

The sun is hanging low in the sky by the time there’s a knock at my door. Thank goodness I’m not strong enough to tear the door off its hinges as I rip it open to lunge at the man on the other side. Laughing, he spins me around before setting me back on my feet.

“Excited, huh?” he greets, pressing a peck to my forehead.

“I get to spend Valentine’s Day with my boyfriend! You have no idea!” I say, bouncing on my toes.

“Considering the number of texts I’ve gotten today, I think I have a decent idea.” I jut my tongue out at him. His cheeky demeanor slides into something softer, scattering the butterflies in my chest that always bustle in his presence. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” I return.

The ensuing kiss is gentle, just like Riku himself—when he’s not picking on me. It lingers just long enough to spread a rash of goosebumps and send the butterflies soaring. It leaves me indescribably happy, even when it ends.

“So, are you ready to go?” he asks.

The question breaks the serenity, sending the giddiness back into full swing. Scurrying back into the house, I scoop up the bag. “Yep! You got your swimming shorts?”

“Yeah.”

“Perfect!” The door slams behind me. “Let’s go!”

We make our way to the small island where we set up a little camp on the beach just out of reach of the water. Because the sun is starting to set, the place is quiet and empty; even those wretched birds have vacated for the day—it’s perfect.

Splashing, swimming, floating: water occupies our time as the sun says its last goodbye with the vanishing sunrays. I hold onto Riku as he keeps us afloat, looking to the violet sky where the first stars are beginning to peak through.

“When I moved here, I didn’t think I’d like island life,” I hum.

“I used to hate it here,” he says just as thoughtfully. “But you really start to miss the place you call home when you manage to escape it all. Especially when you find out there are people waiting for you to get back.”

I realize he’s talking about me and my stomach flips. Nevertheless, I grin and pinch at his vulnerable cheeks. “Aww, sweetheart, you missed me?”

Riku suddenly stands; I hadn’t realized we drifted so close to shore. My arms wrap around his neck as he lifts me from the water.

That sneaky simper stops my heart. “Of course I missed you, babe.”

And with that, he throws me out into deeper water.

Clawing my way back to the surface, I chase after the boy. I am in no way an actual threat but he humors me in running away. Somehow it all ends with me clinging to his back while Riku treks back onto the sand.

“Alright, I’m sorry,” he gives. “Can you get off now?”

“Mmm, no.” I press a kiss to his cheek.

“So if I just fall backwards?”

Riku leans backwards. Panicking, I cling tighter and brace for impact but, just before he falls, he steps back to catch himself.

“Yeah?” he goads.

With a huff, I let go. “Fine.”

Ruining my fun as usual, Riku helps me get a fire going in the pit and settled into the sand. Right as I’m about to break out the sweets, he holds his fist out.

“Here.”

I eye him for a moment, growing suspicious. “What is that?”

Green eyes roll. “Just take it.”

“Rikuuu! I told you not to get me anything,” I complain.

“Oh come on. You planned this,” he retorts.

“Yeah, but I planned this for both of us.”

“Are you being ungrateful?”

My mouth clamps shut as I scowl. Knowing he’s got me, Riku smirks and takes my hand to drop something metal in it. I stare down at the trinket. At the end of a silver chain hangs a gleaming, purple charm with an emblem inside. There’s a vague feeling in the back of my head that I’ve seen this emblem before.

“I hope it looks alright. I didn’t really get to pick what it looked like,” he says.

“What do you mean?”

Riku taps the trinket. When it suddenly lights up, I nearly drop the thing. Light grows and expands until, like a balloon, it bursts. My jaw drops. Fluttering rapidly in the air is a round, fluffy bat creature with a big grin. I watch it flap its way to Riku, where it rests on his shoulder.

When I finally get my voice back, I shout, “What the hell is that?!”

“This is my Dream Eater,” he explains. His fingers scritch at its chin like a cat and the thing practically melts. Meanwhile, all I can do is stare at him like he’s insane. “Uh, they usually live in the Realm of Sleep, eating nightmares. He helped me through my Mark of Mastery exam. You can pet him; he doesn’t bite…hard.”

I glare but Riku insistently waves me closer. It takes a little bit of courage before I finally reach up to rest my hand between the creature’s large ears. It leans against my palm, practically purring.

“Aww!” The way the Dream Eater coos and bats his eyes makes my heart soft. “So why is he here?”

“Because I want him to watch over you.”

“What?”

“Things are different now, but I still can’t guarantee I’ll be around all the time, so I want him to stick around and watch over you; that’s why I asked Yen Sid for a charm that would bring him to our Realm.” A hand under the Dream Eater’s feet moves him from Riku’s shoulder to mine. He gives me a look full of soft adoration. “You know I wouldn’t let anything happen to you, right?”

My ears are burning but I refuse to let him see me fluster. “So you gave me a babysitter for Valentine’s Day? Thanks,” I deadpan. It turns to giggling as the bat fluffs and nuzzles against my face.

“More like a guard dog,” Riku replies. “Plus he makes a pretty unique pet.”

“Giving me a pet without asking—so irresponsible,” I tease. “What’s his name?”

He shrugs. “Doesn’t have one. When I got him, I was kinda busy with other things.”

“Well that’s just a shame. Isn’t that right?” I coo at the bat. He cheerfully squeaks. Honestly, he’s so cute I could just squish his face all day. “Isn’t that right, Ceasar.”

“Ceasar?”

“Yeah. I like Ceasar. And I can’t just run around yelling ‘hey you bat!’”

“Fair enough.” A beautiful shade of pink tints his cheeks as he asks, “What you smiling about?”

I lean into the fluffy boy. “Thank you, Riku. I love him.”

That shade darkens. “Good.”

“Alright!” I announce, changing the subject and pouncing for my bag. “Now, I have been looking forward to this all week!”

My boyfriend chuckles. “You mean mauling me in the ocean wasn’t the main attraction?”

“No no no. That was fun and all but tonight’s main attraction—until you brough Ceasar—is smores!” I toss him the box of graham crackers.

Ceasar dances in the sand, looking surprisingly excited for a creature that’s probably never had a smore.

“Oh I see now: today’s just an excuse for you to eat sweets,” Riku says.

I shove his shoulder. “Come on! When’s the last time you had a smore?” I jam a marshmallow onto a stick for roasting.

Riku scratches at the back of his head. “I dunno. Maybe when I was a kid?”

“He says as if he’s an adult,” I mock.

A finger prods my cheek. “I’m more mature than you are.”

“I can be mature when I have to be.” I lean away from the poke. “You, on the other hand, seem to need a lesson on acting like the kid you are.”

His indignation is clear. “What’s that mean?”

“It means stop acting like you’re not a kid.”

“Hey, I’m a keyblade master.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Keyblade Master—you’re still not eighteen. You still got a few months for that. And I know for a fact that you’re not above being childish.”

“Oh yeah? Like when?”

“Like throwing me in the water. Like that time you stole my ice cream and made me get another. Like that time you hid in my closet to scare the ever-living hell out of me!”

“I forgot about that,” he snickers.

“I know we’re kinda out here on our own, but we’re kids. We’re big kids, but we’re still kids; so I know it wouldn’t kill you to act like it more often.”

His laugh dies down. “Sorry. I guess all this keyblade business kinda gets to me sometimes.”

There it is: the seriousness that plagues him even in his brightest moments. His face downcast and all light gone from his eyes—it’s like he’s reliving one of those terrible memories. We’ve been having fun these last few months since he got back, but there’s no denying that he went through hell. He laughed and smiled and teased me, but I could always sense a weary darkness deep in him.

I sigh. “I know. And that’s why you have me. I may not be a fighter but…” Looking him in the eye, I use Riku’s own words, “You know I wouldn’t let anything happen to you, right?”

He stares, awestruck, a second blush overtaking his face. Normally, I would’ve taken a jab at his moment of weakness, but this time, I simply return my attention to the marshmallow.

It’s on fire.

“SHITSHITSHIT! DAMMIT!” I jam the flaming chunk of charcoal into the ground and shovel sand onto it to put it out. “Aww!”

A new kind of laughter, something pure and light, rings through the air. I look back at my boyfriend and, this time, it’s my turn to blush. For once, the darkness is gone—this is pure happiness and it makes for the perfect Valentine’s Day.

I grin. “What are you laughing at?! That one was for you!”

“I know you struggle with a lot of things, but I didn’t think roasting marshmallows would be one of them.”

“Shut up! You can make your own smore!” I retort, pulling the stick from the sand to throw at him.

The projectile bounces off his arm and the young man retaliates by pulling me into his lap by the arm. His strength makes escape impossible and I break into a giggling mess at the mercy of his peppered kisses. His victory ends with a much more loving kiss against my cheek.

“I love you,” he murmurs.

The confession ignites a fire in my chest. Only hiding my face against Ceasar, hopping into my lap to join the cuddling, can save me from the embarrassing blush.

“I love you too,” I utter meekly.

One last kiss meets the top of my head before Riku reaches for the marshmallows. “Now let me show you how to actually roast a marshmallow.”

Rolling my eyes, I play with Ceasar’s wings. “He’s so mean, isn’t he, Ceasar.” The bat happily squeaks. “That’s right.”

“You know he’s only kissing up to you so he can have a smore, right?”

I gasp, holding the Dream Eater at arm’s length. “Ceasar! You would betray me for a smore?!”

Happy cheep.

“Pretty sure he’d sell us all out for a piece of cake,” says Riku, offering the bat a chocolate that instantly disappears.

“You traitor!”

Ceasar’s grin never falters. “Squeak!”

#Riku #kh riku #riku x reader #riku kingdom hearts #xeha-non

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