#they're still slowly recovering but we'll get there

[whumpshaped]

a rather specific prompt for you :)

whumpee is/ was trained and used a a guard dog. during their time with their master they sustained an injury that causes them to not be able to fulfill their job properly anymore. still wounded, they get thrown out, chained in some allay. whumpee expects to die alone and cold, when caretaker comes along and accidentally stumbles across the abandoned whumpee. they (caretaker) think whumpee is just a regular pet and don’t realize they have a still dangerous guard dog at their feet and decide to rescue them and help them recover. whumpee has never experienced anything like this kindness, especially after becoming so useless, so (after having lost their old master) they immediately bond to caretaker as their new master, and would do anything to protect and please them

tw pet whump, amputation, abandonment, past trauma, broken bones, medical setting, caretaker new master, murder, gore, dehumanisation

"Oh, dear..." Caretaker crouched down by the shivering figure, putting the back of their hand against their forehead. They looked... half-dead, honestly, so the feverish warmth eminating from them was almost a relief. "Who did this to you...?"

The poor thing whined, and they reminded Caretaker of a wounded dog; but maybe that was just from how they were chained up. This was all so horrible.

"Okay, don't be scared. I'm gonna get you out of the alley and to a vet, alright? We'll get you all fixed up."

Another whine, and Caretaker suddenly realised there were other issues apart from the visible sickness. The pet's ankle... it was twisted in a way they'd never seen before. It was swollen, a mix of deep red and purple, bent in a way no healthy foot was supposed to.

"Oh... Oh, this is way worse than I thought, isn't it?" They immediately regretted the comment when the thing looked up at them with those wide, fearful eyes, probably expecting them to just give up now and leave them. "That's okay!" they added hastily. "It's okay. Nothing that can't be fixed! I... I hope... I'll call someone for help."

-

So they'd been wrong. Some things were in fact beyond saving, and Whumpee's foot turned out to be one of them. Amputation, prosthetics... Whumpee was handling it badly.

"I know," Caretaker soothed. "I know, sweetheart. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. But it'll be better later on, I promise, the doctors know what they're doing."

Whumpee let out a soft whimper, a scared one, and Caretaker thought their heart was going to shatter even further. The pet hadn't uttered a single word yet, — maybe they couldn't? — but their face was expressive enough to make Caretaker tear up.

"I'll be here," they said gently. "Every step of the way, yeah? I'll be here for you. I'll help. We'll figure it out."

How? Caretaker didn't know. They weren't planning on adopting a pet, but... they couldn't just leave Whumpee alone after all this. They had an obligation, a responsibility.

If anything, Whumpee's awe-filled eyes just made them more determined.

-

"One foot in front of the other. Slowly. There you go."

Physical therapy was a lot, but Whumpee seemed dead set on achieving every goal weeks earlier than planned. The staff had said it would take four to eight weeks for Whumpee to be able to walk again... and many more before they fully got used to their artificial foot. They were out and about within two weeks, much to the dismay of said staff.

"They'll hurt themself," they'd said. "They should be resting."

"They're very eager to come home, I guess," Caretaker had replied awkwardly, but Whumpee had nodded along, completely serious.

So now they were walking along the corridors, Caretaker supporting Whumpee's weight less and less as they learned the ways and limits of their new life.

-

"I know it's not super fancy..." Caretaker opened the door and stood aside, motioning Whumpee inside. "But I guess it's... homey."

The pet surveyed their surroundings curiously, then turned back towards Caretaker with a bright smile. If they'd had a tail, Caretaker wagered they would've been wagging it.

It made them smile, too. "You like it?"

Whumpee nodded enthusiastically, walking over to the new pet bed Caretaker had bought just a week prior. They carefully set their belongings down next to it, — a shirt, a pair of pants, a pair of socks, and a collar — then made themself comfortable. Testing it out.

"I think we'll get along nicely," Caretaker commented absently. "I mean, I like you a lot. And you seem to like me. I don't see how this could go wrong."

-

Caretaker couldn't believe their eyes.

This couldn't be real.

Was that blood? Was that blood on Whumpee's clothes, and hands, and... face?

When the pet spotted them they immediately fell to their knees, whimpering in terror. They tried to wipe their hands on their victim's shirt, to no avail.

"Whumpee, what– what's– what's going on...?"

Whumpee was crying now, getting more and more desperate about ridding themself of the blood, as though that was the only evidence as to what they'd done. As though they could erase it all, if only they managed to erase the stains.

Caretaker walked closer, eyes wide with shock and horror. So much blood. So much gore.

Their sweet pet had done this?

"Why...?"

Whumpee scrambled to pick up some sort of equipment, struggling to hold it between bloody fingers. A lockpick, Caretaker noted distantly. They put it down on the floor in front of their feet, then quickly grabbed something else: a knife, this time. They put it next to the lockpick. Then they crawled back, flattening themself against the floor like a dog who knew it'd done something bad, whining as they waited for the verdict.

The stranger had been a burglar. Was it... self-defence? No, this had been a brutal murder.

"You're– you're a guard dog," Caretaker said softly, because they didn't think their voice could handle anything more. They got but a whimper in response. "This... Oh, dear. This is not... This is not good."

~

general drabbles taglist: @ashh-ed @whumpsday @whump-queen @the-scrapegoat @hidden-dreamland @rosewriteswhump @dismemberment-on-a-tuesday-night @whumpkinpie @delicateprincepaper @whumppmuhw @whump-em @cyborg0109 @morning-star-whump @justanotherlokifan @2in1whump @lthrboy @justletmereadmywhump @florissimps @anonymous-tiangou @whump-kitty

#whump #whump drabble #pet whump #abandonment #past trauma #broken bones #medical setting #caretaker new master #murder #gore #dehumanisation #asks #recovery fic #amputation whump

[kuninkaanmurhaaja]

Crystalline (3)

mwIII zombies au ghoap, hurt/comfort find part 2 here ---------------------------

"Alright, Lieutenant Riley, let's see..." the nurse started, looking over the clipboard in her hand. The anticipation as a short silence settled in the room was eating away at Simon, and especially John. Poor Scot was worried more than he let on around the nurse. "From what our researchers have gathered from a sample we took off of you, these crystals seem to be a result of the infection, yet... it's not turning you into a... zombie." She paused and thought her next words out carefully, "Not that you're exactly immune, of course, you just seem to have an odd reaction to it that we haven't seen in anyone yet." Simon nodded along, understanding what she meant, but that didn't give him an idea of the future. How this was going to affect him further than it already has and if it'll, well, kill him. John seemed to get to the talking before Simon could even get his mouth open, "So what does this mean fer him? Can he still even work? Is this going to kill him? It better fuckin' no, I swear on every last one of yer goddamn scientists they better figure this shite out. I'm no letting him die on my watch." The nurse seemed to take this as calmly and professionally as she could. She let out a short breath, replying slowly, "Sergeant MacTavish, trust me they're doing everything they can to understand why he's reacted this way, but it's not easy. We barely even understand the virus itself." She sighed, glancing at her clipboard, but continued, "In the meantime, we'll have to keep him here for testing. I'm sure you understand." Even Simon himself seemed opposed to the idea of being kept in the infirmary, prodded and tested on. That much was clear from his face. He immediately protested, and so did John. They argued there was some way they could do their testing and allow Simon to stay in John's company and do his work. The nurse tried to reason, but ended up with just a compromise, knowing she won't get through to the two men. "Alright! We'll take samples and while the researchers do their tests, Riley can keep doing his work. I know you don't exactly trust us, MacTavish, so when we get results you can be here with the Lieutenant as we read them out to him." She pinched the bridge of her nose with an exasperated sigh. Gathering herself, she set the clipboard down and leaned against the table, crossing her arms and finally coming to the conclusion of this visit, "Lieutenant Riley will have to stay on bed rest as his injuries recover, the gas did some damage to his lung that need time to heal. I'll be going, but you're allowed to stay with him, Sergeant." With that she took her leave and left the two in silence. ---------------------------

I don't really like this but i needed to get something out, and sorry for being gone for so long, I was having really bad mental health issues and needed to take care of myself for a while, but here's part 3. As always, tips and suggestions are welcome. <3

#cod modern warfare #cod mw2 #ghoap #john soap mactavish #simon ghost riley #angst #cod mw3 #cod mwiii #cod mwii #ghost x soap #soap x ghost #ghostsoap #soapghost #ghost mw2 #soap mw2

[azreactstowormtheserial]

Overboard [8.1-11.8]

SORRY IN ADVANCE FOR THE SCROLL WHEN YOU HIT KEEP READING

--Yeah... Sorry for not keeping to that 'one arc at a time' promise. But whilst I'm in medical-recovery mode I have nothing better to do than Worm [The Serial] my afternoons away.

And look at that! I'm 1/3 through all of the main story. At least, by Arc-No. ? My friend said come the end of Arc 8, I'd graduated from 'Early Worm'. Should I be scared or happy to be gradually approaching 'Late Worm'?

Speaking of.

ARC 8 -- EXTERMINATION

Title Accurate.

ARC 9 -- SE

Okay, okay. I'll talk about Arc 8. It's a little weird to talk about as a whole. Way easier in the moment, reacting to things as they happen.

"1 in 4 of you (at least) will die."

Tattletale "down".

Aegis, Gallant, Iron Falcon, Mr. G,

Taylor -breaking her spine -- she could have died!

And I thought I couldn't handle the stress of the inter-group dynamic potentially crumbling at the end of Arc 7. Don't worry, we'll get to that.

The endbringers are a terrifying concept. Like, what do you do? Wear it down, hundreds dying to prevent hundreds of thousands from dying, only for it to recover for a few years, months, who knows-- before it attacks somewhere else, almost unprompted?

Almost. I have no idea what it was doing, edging slowly towards Coil's base like a fucking NGE Angel. That's almost as scary.

It just, picked people off. Indiscriminantly.

Kaiser. A powerful, influential-- horrible excuse for a human being, but still, a major player-- he's just dead! Just like that!

I'd started to like a few of The Wards towards the the end of Arc 6, I think. At first it was easy to group them into a 'haha these kids don't know any better, they're really snot-nosed about being heroes'-- which feels a lot nicer a label than what's actually happening.

They're just kids! 15, 16, Vista is 13. 13! Kids that've had a traumatic past, in one way or another. Up against, and dying to, an existential threat. Sentinel really helped put this into perspective.

I'd love to talk about individual moments that I thought were cool; Tattletale's analysis of Leviathan, The truce between heroes and villains, Clockblocker absolutely stepping the fuck up and pretty much clutching the entire fight. But I need to talk about Armsmaster.

(These few lines saved me.)

ARMSMASTER. You horrific excuse for a human being. Jeopardizing CHILDREN'S LIVES, YOUR COMRADES LIVES, PEOPLE'S LIVES-- AND FOR WHAT!?!?!?!?

WAIT NO STOP NO

I absolutely hate this fucking guy. How do you ruin everything in the middle of a natural(?) disaster killing thousands.

(Did I mention Shadow Stalker is Sophia. Huh. That's interesting! I'm sure it won't come up again.)

The arc ends really bittersweet.

I'm really sorry, Bitch. Showing up and saving Taylor was an amazing moment, but that's over half of your closest family, just gone.

But, I totally called it.

I know I wanted to take a break after all that, but I couldn't just leave it at "I told her my answer." -- I had to find out what it was!! So, after a few hours of psyching myself up, I got straight into the Interlude.

ARC 8 -- INTERLUDE [COIL]

How do you beat Coil? What -happened- to Coil to give him this power? Applied perfectly, his power makes him practically invulnerable. One of his only weak points being the immediacy after closing his second universe.

I still don't know how to feel about Coil. He's said in vague terms that his plan for Brockton Bay was to improve. Taylor, I think, took this to mean that people's livelihoods would be better. People would have food, shelter, water. But it's so difficult to tell, even with a direct view into his mind like this interlude gave. All I know is that this is a plan he's put a considerable amount of time and his life towards-- it has to mean a lot to him and he has to be strong in his ideals. I only hope that he isn't utterly insane.

Because if he is? If his motives are 'evil', unjust-- if you can even say they have the potential to be just, with how he operates-- I don't know if anyone can beat him.

...

Shit.

ARC 9 -- SENTINEL

This arc was nice. The breather I needed, and was worried I wouldn't get, after Arc 8's Interlude.

I mentioned that I'd started to like The Wards a little earlier in the story, so the emotional beats really worked here for me. And even if I didn't, this arc'd easily have been a turning point.

\=====

[Az.Interlude: Obligatory Wards (And Co.) Tier List]

Bold means #1 in each thing if there's more than 1.

S [Super :)] - Flechette, Glory Girl, ****Shadow Stalker****, Vista

A [A cool character] - *Clockblocker, Gallant, Kid Win, Panacea, ****Weld***

B [Baegis Tier] - Aegis

C [Cant Remember] - Browbeat

(Sorry Browbeat, who apparently died offscreen in Arc 8.)

\====

I say it's nice, but really we're just seeing a few kids grieve the deaths of their friends. Is that what 'nice' is, in Worm?

Sophia/Shadow Stalker is growing into a more and more interesting character. Though everyone got their fair share of attention, I found her scenes, like the one with Flechette in 9.2, quite interesting.

I* think something really awful happened to Shadow Stalker. *

A lot of my thoughts on Arc 9 I think are just snippets at characters I like. I really liked Weld, and felt 'kinda bad for him. He's trying his best! He's just walking into all this mess.

Vista's chapter made me cry. She's so strong for standing up to Shadow Stalker like that! And the story's tackling on trying to 'fill in' somebody's role after they've passed really hit me like a freight train.

\====

[Az.Interlude 2: Now Obligatory Protectorate (and Dragon) Tier List]

S [This is actually based off of the arc 10 interlude, wait for that.] - Dragon

A [Assault- Oh] - Miss Militia

B [Battery] - Battery

C [Cool? I think?] - Assault, Triumph, Velocity

D ['Dunno] - [Anyone who I haven't remembered. I don't know that many...]

F [Fucking Armsmaster] - Guess who

\====

9.3 was a nifty chapter, too. It's probably the only instance of a 'character are bored in an exposition-lecture' that I've actually thought was pretty well done?

Also, it's nice to get some Clockblocker characterisation. He gets a pass for his flaws because of his context. I do hope his dad ends up getting healed-- but the scenario as a whole really makes me feel for Amy/Panacea. There's so much suffering in the world, and it's -technically- preventable. Just through her. How much of a weight on her shoulders is that?

\====

[Az.Interlude 3: Favorite Arcs]

S - [Super Good Arc] [4. Shell] [8. Extermination] [9. Sentinel] [10. Parasite.]

A [A really good Arc] - [11. Infestation] [6. Tangle] [7. Buzz]

B [Breally good] - [1. Gestation] [2. Insinuation] [3. Agitation]

\====

(See what I'm doing there, by the way? Interlude Arc? Load of Interlude Tier lists? Whatever.) KID WIN ADHD TINKER REP!!!!

I think that's my cue to hop on over to

ARC 10 -- PARASITE

Okay, sure, sure-- Taylor's back, but on uneasy terms, swallowing her pride, sure--

ALEC. ALEC! I THOUGHT YOU JUST MADE PEOPLE TRIP! And I thought even how -that- power was utilized was a little horrifying. This is just... I mean. I'll talk about it some more in the interlude.

Hi Imp! It's nice to meet you! Where'd you come from? Or maybe she was here the whole time, and that's her power--

Imp's neat. I like her power, and I'm hoping we see more of her! She doesn't quite live up to the rest of the gang just yet, but, I mean-- they've been around 9 more arcs. I was wondering if The Undersiders were going to recruit some more members...

This Arc's short but sweet. An infiltration à la the bank robbery, some fights with some superheroes-- and, Dragon!!! Dragon is so cool!!! I love Dragon!!!! We'll get there!!!!

I expected Bitch and Taylor to have a proper confrontation about everything, but... She really just sabotaged her mid-mission? Taylor's beatdown of her was unfortunately deserved-- like, c'mon. You're hurt. More than any of the others, really. But you didn't even 'eye for an eye' her, you went ahead and 'eye for a head' or whatever the relevant saying'd be. I

*really

* hope she takes her up on that offer.

Everything was going alright, even if Dragon'd appeared and made the escape a little tricky. And, oh. A meeting with Coil. Maybe Taylor can hash things out, and come up with a deal that reflects her--

So. That's one way to make an impression of a new overarching villain group. What the actual fuck, Jack. The absolute balls of this reveal-- I have no idea what to make of it, and already Jack just in how he's been described in passing, and-- this-- already made me clock him as a huge threat. I can't wait to see how this goes. I'm sure it'll go great. I'm sure.

ARC 10 -- INTERLUDE [ALEC]

Alec, alecalecalec-- What the actual fuck. I really should have thought twice when Lisa clocked you as a sociopath on first sight. This chapter was scary. Even Sophia doesn't deserve that. The "breach of privacy" -- if you can even -call- it that, with how far it went, made me sick to my stomach.

It's 'kinda crazy that this is just something that continued word-for-word from an earlier chapter. What else has happened directly after Taylor's POV left a scene? What has she missed?

I'm sure this won't come back to bite Taylor in the ass.

Or that.

I think something really awful happened to Shadow Stalker. [2]

Even after all that. I still like Alec. I think. In his own, fucked up, twisted way, he's getting payback for Taylor. He just has no limit. And, I mean-- he is still a kid. That had a horrendous, abuse-ridden upbringing. I don't know. I'm allowed to have complicated feelings about the main cast!

ARC 10 -- INTERLUDE [DRAGON]

Dragon, on the other hand, is objectively fucking cool. She's not even human! What?! It's 2011! Or something like that. I'm a bit of a dork for the 'kinda stuff that the opening third of this chapter was. That it was layered with limitations, purposeful, intended ones that dig under Dragon's skin at all times-- that she's keeping this a secret from even her closest co-workers-- only made me root for her character even more. I'm hoping she's, uh. 'One of the good ones'? Is that how you'd put it? Weird considering she's a hero, but--

*Armsmaster. *Come on.

Oh, look. It came back to bite Taylor in the ass.

Taylor in Arc 11 ruminates on how she'd face losing her civillian identity. But I don't think she quite understands the ramification of it just yet. This is the beginning of the end, in that regard-- Dragon found her.

I'll try not to gush about an interlude too much just to get to Arc 11 and wrap up this post before the day's over, so I'll just leave it at:

*The conversation between Lung and Marquis was very interesting. ****I hope Amy is okay.***

Arc 11 -- INFESTATION (I haven't read the interludes yet! I thought the final base-11 was a good place to stop.)

The Merchants are pretty fucked up, huh? 'Might makes Right' as an actual group philosphy never works. And I don't think the leader's are -that- stupid. I wonder what their deal is?

And, yeah. I'll finally bring it up, Worm. You've got me. *I'm interested in whatever the fuck Case 53 is. *And so is Faultine, apparently. Let's hope they stay in touch with Lisa.

Skitter taking over her territory was rad. She'll make a great monarch! (Queen bee? Is there an insect joke you can make here?)

Whatever my views about how things should be handled, Taylor's helping people in the here and now, and keeping groups like The Merchants out. Helping families. I think what she's doing is right.

And, for once, it all works out! Not without a hitch. Or an underlying dread. Taylor being the arbiter of one of the more straight up 'bad' Merchant's fate is a little telling that her moral's have shifted, somewhat. She's more comfortable leaving someone to die than insisting they have the right to a fair trial, etc-- even if the situtation did totally call for it.

Faultline's crew showing up was neat. I don't think I've mentioned Labyrinth, actually. Her and Newter are my favorite of Faultline's crew. I might go back and re-read Gregor's interlude, just for another look at how Faultline runs things.

And, my god. Brian finally picked up some slack, after some nudging via Lisa. Good on her. The dynamic needs some work from the both of them to build up the trust they once had. But they'll be friends in no time. I hope. Everything's working out.

...

*Oh my god, No, Taylor you can't ****say it!***

Everything is going to go to shit, isn't it?

I don't want to read on anymore. Can't it stop right here? Taylor won, got her friends back? Please?

See you all on the other side. Promise it won't take as long.

#worm liveblog #worm spoilers #worm web serial #wormblr #liveblog

[nyx-sagau-dreams]

May I request a continuation of "Rest, Creator"? Some hurt/comfort goodness where Thoma (and whatever other characters you wish to add) help the reader adjust to life in Teyvat? Please don't feel pressured to write this if you don't wish to, and take all the time you may need. Thank you!

Of course! Thank you for asking!

(SAGAU requests are still open, though matchups are not!)

Rest, Creator (Part 2)

Thoma carried you to the Kamisato Estate, the best place he knew to keep you safe until you were more recovered. He already had many of the accomodations set up thanks to planning ahead before he had summoned you. And both Ayaka and Ayato were prepared as well.

Thoma arrived at the estate quickly, and both the Kamisatos were ready for him, shooing the guards out of the way and ushering Thoma and you into a secluded room.

When you awoke, Ayaka was sitting nearby, keeping an eye on you. She was quietly reading a book, and looked as prim and proper as she always did through... the... screen?

You sat up in a panic, drawing Ayaka's attention to you. She quickly sets her book down and rushes to your side, a small flurry left in her chair in her rush.

"Creator, you're safe here, do not worry. Thoma was able to summon you so you can finally rest."

"Wh- WHAT?" You stumbled out of the bed. "No, I must be dreaming. Or worse, dead." You started pinching yourself. "Come on, wake up!"

Ayaka sighed. "Thoma? They're awake now, and I'm afraid they're panicking."

Thoma entered the room with a tray of tea and snacks, which he immediately set aside when he saw you freaking out on the floor.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. You're okay here." He knelt down beside you. "You're free now. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do now. I brought you here so you could get the rest you deserved. Consider it a thank you for all the gifts and talents you've bestowed on me," he said, briefly summoning his weapon and artifacts.

"You brought me here?" You ask, slowly panicking less. "Why?"

Thoma sat properly next to you. "You were being overworked, neglected, and not cared for properly. I could hear you sometimes, when you'd leave in a rush, when you'd forget to sever the connection. I saw you crying."

You looked away in embarrassment. "I didn't know you could hear me, or see me." You wiped away a sudden tear. "You don't have to take care of me, I'm not anyone special."

"But you are!" Ayaka says. "You're our creator, our master. And the people you were with before did not treat you with the respect you deserve. We will be here to help you rest and recover, and then whatever you choose to do, we will support you."

Thoma nodded. "But for now, we want you to rest up. I know how hard it can be to be in that position, where you're exhausted and burnt out and no one cares. And so we'll be here to care. And I'm sure that plenty of people all across Teyvat will be ready to greet you when you're ready."

Ayato entered the room with a nod. "In fact, some people have already caught wind of your arrival. But don't worry, the estate is closed to visitors until further notice. You can rest."

And you did, letting yourself be tucked back into the bed, and letting your worries be washed away in the calming presence of Thoma and the Kamisato siblings.

#sagau x reader #sagau #genshin sagau #sagau brainrot #genshin impact sagau #genshin thoma #thoma x reader #genshin impact thoma #kamisato ayaka #kamisato ayato #genshin ayaka #ayato #genshin impact #self aware genshin #genshin x reader

[icedragonlizard]

Taranza headcanons

I'm still going on with my "series" of tumblr posts that uncover my general headcanons for singular characters of the Kirby series, and Taranza is the one that I'll be going over next!

Like the other wave 3 dream friends, I also have a large amount of headcanons for this spider. So why not begin going over them?

As always, I'll put a 'Keep reading' tag because it'll be a long one again. Like usual, everything below the tag is purely my headcanons.

Shortly after Triple Deluxe's events, Taranza reconciles with Kirby, King Dedede and The People of the Sky. He told them that the reason why Queen Sectonia turned out the way she did was because of the mirror he gifted her, and he very heavily regrets that gift as he has deep grief over her death. They all gave their condolences to him.

The People of the Sky have welcomed Taranza to live in Floralia. That's been his home ever since Triple Deluxe's events. The castle of Royal Road functions as his 'house' that he sleeps in during nights.

Ever since he moved to living in Floralia, he's been the closest thing that the place has to a 'ruler', and he does somewhat act like it to an extent as he'll often make sure the islands are clean and tidy, and will take care of whatever troubling incidents may occur in the islands.

There are other members in the Sectra Clan that are still around, such as sectra dees, but now they're just Floralia residents. When Taranza broke the news to them about Sectonia's death, they were also sad. Floralia welcomed the remaining members of the Sectra Clan to live in the place, just like how they've welcomed Taranza.

Kirby and many other people will sometimes come to Floralia to visit Taranza and see how he's doing, and he of course always appreciates their company as they've been helping him recover from his loss.

It's no surprise that Taranza has been mourning Sectonia, and has been doing so for years and years after her death occurred.

The most painful part of his grief is how responsible he himself feels for causing her demise: with the mirror he gifted to her that corrupted her, and that he had to help Kirby kill her at the end. He's felt horrifically guilty over it, as he's afraid that Sectonia would never forgive him for it. He's been really upset that he'll never get to make up with her, and has sometimes been mad with himself because of it. He's had a really, really hard time forgiving himself.

Kirby once apologized to Taranza for killing Sectonia as he was worried that he'd be mad at him for it, but he never was. Taranza told Kirby that he's not mad at him at all, and that he doesn't fault him for making the final blow that caused her death, because putting her down was ultimately a decision that they all made together.

As much as it upset Taranza to admit it, he knew that Sectonia had gone too far off the deep end. He knew that she eventually became a danger to everyone, including herself, and that it would've ended in disaster if he didn't help Kirby and the others finally put her down.

He, with the help of other Floralia residents, have built a statue of Sectonia in Royal Road as a way to make up for her death. He desperately hopes that she'd forgive him for everything, as he's been feeling so, so sorry for it and wishes he could've taken it all back.

But despite all his grief, he's been slowly recovering over time. A combination of hugs from friends, other nice things that his friends have been doing, memories that he has with friends, and being convinced to have more hobbies and activities to spend his time on have all gone a long way of helping him heal from his loss. Of course, he's never truly stopped grieving, as he likely never will. But as the years go by, he's been getting better! He's actually been capable of enjoying life from time to time with others post-TDX.

There was, however, a time where he learned about something that reopened old wounds for him, and he needed time to recover from it. We'll go over that in greater detail later in this post further down.

Some hobbies that Taranza has developed to help heal from his loss include gardening, making things with magic, and causing mischief.

He enjoys nature, and wants to see more of it. That's what's gotten him into gardening. He does gardening on most of the Floralian islands, more specifically Fine Fields, Old Odyssey, Wild World and Royal Road. It makes him smile to see beautiful stuff come out of the gardens that he's created. He's also had others learn more about nature as they've come by Floralia to see him do garden stuff.

After TDX's events, Taranza plays around with his magic more. He figures it'd be a good idea to use his magic to make things that honor Sectonia to make it more likely that she'd forgive him for everything. This is how he's managed to create the 'Queen's Phantom' that he uses as an attack in Star Allies, although it took a little while to finally be able to perform it.

The stuff he attempts to make with his magic aren't just things to honor Sectonia, though. Sometimes, he thinks outside the box when making things. He's done things like creating a dwarf replica of the Dreamstalk, as well as things such as illusions of other people and miniature 'statues' that he'll use as a reference to eventually get bigger statues built with the help of others. The dwarf Dreamstalk replica also exists as an attack in Star Allies of course, hahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Taranza's arrogant nature that was on display during Triple Deluxe has been crushed significantly by Sectonia's death, as that tragedy essentially broke his ego in half. That being said, however, he starts to slowly regrow that arrogant nature to start causing mischief.

This is thanks to a few of his friends, especially a certain egg wizard, that have helped convinced him to go out of his comfort zone to do fun things. It worked, because despite his loss, he's still a rather silly and smug guy deep down. He'll sometimes be devious in having fun.

One good example of mischief that Taranza likes to commit is to leave web messages in people's homes when they're not there. Some of them are nice messages such as "You're beautiful!" and "Stay winning!", but there's also troll messages such as "Taranza wuz here, sucka!!!" and "Floralia rules, Dream Land drools!"

The reactions that he gets from this kind of mischief delights him. He's still got a devious, shit-faced smile that he'll put up whenever he feels like being silly for a bit. A fun thing to spend his time on!

These are some of the things that Taranza spends his time doing to help have moments of enjoyment after Sectonia's death. Many people have told him that he doesn't need to just be in darkness because she died, and dwell on whatever good memories he's had with her while doing fun things to enjoy himself in the present. Ultimately, he agrees with them, as he tries to not stay in darkness.

Taranza has made many friends post-Triple Deluxe, many of which have actively helped alleviate his grief. Overall, he's good with most of the other dream friends, with only being bad with very few of them.

His four closest friends are Kirby, King Dedede, Magolor and Susie.

Kirby is basically Taranza's little emotional support buddy. The little guy gives him a bunch of needed hugs that he's very much grateful for. Kirby also may not be one to really do a lot of words of encouragement, but he often reminds Taranza that he's cared about and appreciated, and he wishes that Sectonia didn't have to die in order to save Dream Land and Floralia. Taranza, of course, has no hard feelings against the little guy for the things that happened, as he's delighted every time Kirby comes to Floralia to see him.

Dedede can be considered a 'big brother' to Taranza post-TDX. Much like Kirby, Dedede also gives the spider a lot of hugs. He often invites Taranza to his castle to hang out, who is always glad to accept the invitation. There are times where Taranza might playfully mess with Dedede by creating webs around his castle, including making web messages when the king is elsewhere. Dedede always makes funny reactions to the webs and takes it in a good-natured way.

I've already made a previous tumblr post that goes over how Taranza interacts with Magolor and Susie, so go check that out if you'd like!

However, I'd like to mention here that Susie in particular is quite important, to the point that Taranza actually considers her to be his best alive friend out of anyone. While others have, of course, given their condolences to Taranza, they don't quite get it to the level that Susie does, as she has a greater understanding of what he's going through because she herself has been through a similar tragedy.

Both Taranza and Susie found genuine solace in each other, have acted as emotional support to each other, and have been helping each other heal because they've both been through a lot.

Taranza will never, ever stop missing Sectonia, but meeting Susie has been genuinely helpful for him. He certainly appreciates all his friends, but it's particularly comforting and alleviating to have a friend that actually understands what it's been like for him.

Dedede and Susie both often act as 'protectors' for Taranza. If someone were to have the nerve to try to bully the spider in any way, then one of those two will kick that person's ass.

Going past his four closest friends, he's got more friends of course.

Taranza has been getting along with the animal friends like a house on fire! As he's an animal just like they are, he enjoys hanging out and messing around with them, and they've all visited Floralia at least once! The two animal friends that he likes the most are Nago and ChuChu. This is because Nago gives him perhaps the softest and most comfortable hugs, and ChuChu also has a bunch of limbs and an admiration for flowers, as Taranza really likes that about her!

Gooey is another friend for Taranza! The little dark matter defect feels really bad for Taranza's loss, so he's very nice to him, using his tongue to give him things like random flowers. At first, Taranza was a bit weirded out by Gooey, but then surely warmed up to him over time when realizing how cute, sweet and lovable the little blue blob is. Hilariously enough, he doesn't even mind if Gooey licks him!

Taranza gets along well with Meta Knight as well. Meta Knight really pities him, especially when learning that it was a dimensional mirror that corrupted the spider's beloved queen. He thinks that Taranza clearly deserved better than what happened to him, so he'll sometimes find him to try to have a comforting conversation with him.

The mage sisters are also friends with Taranza. Well.... Zan Partizanne and Flamberge at least. To be honest, he's not sure that he can really consider Francisca to be a friend, because he's very much unnerved by the frozen corpse collection that she has. He can't really stomach that, even though he tries his best to not let it show.

He does really like Zan though, and likes her the most out of the three mages with Flamberge being second. Taranza and Zan have both come together over their undying loyalty to corrupted higher-ups, and thus Zan is somewhat like Susie in terms of having a greater understanding about Taranza's woes than most others do, and the spider certainly appreciates having another friend like that.

Adeleine, Ribbon, Daroach and Elfilin are all on largely neutral but also decent terms with Taranza. They've all shown sympathy to him, but he's not really close enough with any of them to actually consider them as true friends. He's pleased to be their acquaintance, though!

There are, however, three people that Taranza is on bad terms with: Bandana Waddle Dee, Marx, and most especially, Dark Meta Knight.

I previously went over this on my post talking about how Bandee is a big hater, but yeah, he bizarrely still doesn't forgive Taranza for the kidnapping of Dedede, despite the king himself having already long forgiven him. Taranza however has no beef with Bandee, and really wishes his hatred would just go away, because he thinks it's ridiculous to still hold a grudge against him after all this time.

Taranza hates Marx a lot, though. This is because Marx has pretty much been acting like a bully to him. The jester does really shitty things to him, such as jump-scaring him at too far of an extent, pulling pranks that sometimes hurt him, and even going as far as to tell Sectonia jokes that will cause Taranza to have a mental breakdown. Marx has literally made him cry many times... what an absolute bully! But there's been other times where Taranza just lashes out and ruthlessly beats Marx's ass, as he's had enough of his bullshit.

While Taranza considers Magolor a great friend, he really wishes that Marx didn't come as sort of a package deal with the egg wizard, because he genuinely cannot stand Marx. He'd tell Magolor (or Kirby) to hold Marx accountable for telling hurtful Sectonia jokes. Fortunately, of course, they don't at all condone it when the jester does that shit. Susie has shot Marx with her blaster for upsetting Taranza, on top of how she herself has been picked on by Marx too!

But Taranza still doesn't hate Marx as much as.... Dark Meta Knight.

Oh. Ooooooh. Taranza hates DMK with every fiber of his being.

Remember in a further above part of this post about how Taranza learned about something that reopened old wounds for him? That something was DMK's involvement in Sectonia's corruption.

DMK wasn't the main thing responsible for Sectonia's descent into madness, but he contributed to its happening. Sectonia could've even been strong enough to resist the mirror on its own, but DMK tilted the scale in favor of ultimately making her corrupt. That was enough to make Taranza want to hunt him down when he learned about it from the other dream friends shortly after Star Allies.

Taranza literally made an assassination attempt on DMK one time, as he really wanted revenge. The rest of the dream friends came to break up the fight, as they've had to enforce separation between Taranza and DMK from now on at that point. Ever since that fight, the two rarely see each other, but in the occasions where they're forced to be nearby one another due to dream friend gatherings, Taranza hisses in sheer aggression and it causes everyone else to prevent a fight between him and DMK from breaking out.

It took a while for Taranza to calm down from the feelings of old wounds reopening after learning about DMK's contribution to Sectonia's downfall. Some of his friends have promised that they'll punish DMK in many ways to make up for the enforced separation.

Taranza and Meta Knight have both formed a 'DMK hate club'.

I'd say that's how Taranza interacts with the rest of the notable cast! Overall, he's good with most of them, and he doesn't have beef with any of them except for DMK and Marx, both of whom he despises. The rest of them, however, have given their condolences to him one way or another, and he appreciates them all for that.

Taranza has distaste for the mirror world in general, because of what happened to Sectonia. If he were to ever see a dimensional mirror again, he'd attempt to destroy it on sight. The rest of Floralia wants nothing to do with a dimensional mirror, as they now fully understand how Sectonia was corrupted by one and they certainly don't want those mirrors posing any sort of threat to their home ever again.

As a result of Taranza's disdain for the mirror world, he'd be very wary of anyone that hails from that place. He has the impression that the mirror world is a shitty place full of untrustworthy people. And funny enough, he wouldn't exactly be wrong with that impression! The mirror world has been a mess since Amazing Mirror's events, as Dark Mind's influence still plagues the place. Shadow Kirby however is one of the most sane mirror worlders, and it's possible that he and Taranza could be friends if they were to meet, since Skirby also hates DMK and he'd certainly pick the spider's side in the Taranza vs DMK bad blood.

Taranza's favorite foods are fruits, especially peaches and watermelons. There are times where he'd attempt to shove an entire watermelon down his throat and then spit the seeds at others as a prank. It's another method of the mischief he does. He thinks it's hilarious to catch people off-guard with it. It's fun for him!

Ever since meeting Susie, he's been trying to learn more about technology. She gave him a phone. He's certainly the least techy out of the wave 3 trio, as he didn't grow up with technology for most of his life, but he's glad to try to know more about something that his friends are into. Susie and even Magolor have helped him learn tech.

Taranza has taken vacations before. While he's the 'ruler' of Floralia, he lets The People of the Sky take over for the time being whenever he decides to go on a vacation. He's been to some planets, such as the planets shown in Kirby 64, as he went to Aqua Star with Susie.

His first visit to the Forgotten Land was with his fellow wave 3 companions, as they all got there through Magolor's ship. Taranza was absolutely adored by the Forgotten Land and everything it had to offer. He loved how beautiful the place looked. He had a really fun time going there! He attempted to try gardening on the flora at Waddle Dee Town when they gave him the greenlight to do so.

Taranza gets lots of gifts on his birthdays, as people give him things as acts of kindness as they still feel bad for his loss. He did have his birthdays be celebrated by Sectonia before she became corrupt, and it makes him very sad that his birthdays can't be celebrated by her anymore, and he remembers her birthday and still silently celebrates it to make up for having to help kill her. Man, that's really touching.

But post-TDX, Kirby and many others will come to Floralia on Taranza's birthdays to celebrate him, and it's a great reminder for how much grace and appreciation he's been given over the years. Even though Sectonia may no longer be around to celebrate his birthdays, he couldn't be thankful enough for the ones that celebrate him in the modern day. Susie actually writes Taranza's birthday as a day off of her job similarly to what she does for Kirby! As she's a close friend for Taranza, he really, really appreciates that.

Well, that just about wraps up the headcanons that I have for Taranza! That also wraps up this 'series' of tumblr posts for the wave 3 trio as a whole, as I've done this for both Susie and Magolor too. If you decide to also give those a read if you haven't already, I'd appreciate it!

So, who will be next to write a big tumblr post of general headcanons about? I think it'll very likely be Marx, but if it's not him, then it'll be Gooey. It will definitely be one of those two, but Marx is more likely. But for now, you have this for all three of the wave 3 dream friends!

Thank you if you've read all of this. I look forward to seeing you for more Kirby series headcanons that I'd like to share in the future!

#kirby #taranza #kirby triple deluxe #kirby star allies #kirby's return to dreamland deluxe #magolor #susie haltmann

[crystalelemental]

Okay so I picked up another demo, now that I'm done with Unicorn Overlord demo. I am a wee bit late to the party on this, but decided to try Triangle Strategy. And this is. A very different experience.

I played for about an hour and a half. Approximately 10 minutes of that was the one (1) map. The entire rest of the game was scenes, and a bit of exploration. In comparison to Unicorn Overlord, which is incredibly fast-paced, this game is veeeeery slow.

The story itself isn't bad by any means. But it's also not that interesting? Like it's fine, but I'm not wowed by much. the protagonist is fairly bland, his friends are fairly bland, Frederica is cute but not particularly interesting, your dad having Old Man Disease at 40 is tragic I guess. The background cause of the war and the fact that all parties seem pretty on the level right now is the most interesting angle. But it hasn't exactly gripped me.

Which is really weird! I'm like an hour and a half in, with barely any gameplay, and despite all this story and character stuff, I have very little to say about them. I don't feel like they're any more developed than the Unicorn Overlord crew, which wasn't exactly a hugely developed group either. It's just an odd, slowly paced experience that doesn't have a whole lot to show for that.

As for the minor gameplay I did engage in, it's fine. Fire Emblem-esque grid movement, but you only attack on your turn (barring counter skills), and positioning matters. After each turn, you need to determine which way your character faces, and the direction you attack from matters, in as much as striking from the back is a sure-crit. There's elevation tactics as well, but that didn't seem to save the cav dude who got fucking annihilated when opponents got behind him and wombo comboed his ass to high hell. Was probably supposed to use healing items but it's map 1 and permadeath isn't a thing, your ass is grass dude. I admit that I think it's a little more involved than I think it needs to be, but I did at least recruit a girl whose stealth tactics are interestingly integrated by having two actions to facilitate getting behind the opponent to attack, and what I assume is the armor knight who moves less distance having the counter skill. Oh, and if you surround them, your ally that attacks from the other side will combo for bonus damage.

The...I forget what they're called. The 3 point stock things you can spend for skills. They're...odd. For characters like Frederica and butler-man, you need 2 for your special, and recover 1 every turn, so you can't do that every turn. But then you have the protagonist's delay attack, or Heal. And these are 1 point free actions. So I seem to be allowed to do this infinitely without any kind of issue. And...maybe it's just me, but nonstop infinite heal seems really fucking good, dude. it's also very...reminiscent of Octopath Traveler, in that it very, very feels like endgame is a matter of maximizing these points for a specific character to spam their big attack to deal with huge HP values on bosses.

I did take a peek at the forge system. Fun fact, I generally don't like forge systems. I dunno, man, just trade out the weapon. The system eats a lot of money, and takes consumable resources, which...okay. Depending on the availability of resources, I might hate this one. We'll see.

I still need to get more gameplay to feel like I have a sense of how the gameplay is. And hilariously, am still waiting for the story to actually ramp up. I'm guessing that will happen at exactly the moment the demo ends.

#triangle strategy

[my1oves]

Ooh boy okay, you’d notice Lycion is in heat during missions from the way he stumbles sometimes, he’s red all over, agitated and sweating profusely but you always make it a point to “get a grip” before threatening to leave him behind. “No one would care to question a criminal’s whereabouts after all” You’re so mean, he thinks, feeling a little dejected (but not surprised). Completely different from what he hears during the night when Fleki spends the night with you. Not to worry tho! He’ll get his revenge later. For a mellow fellow (hehe), he’s a little too rough when he’s in heat. I feel like he’d be petty ngl reciting the exact words you told him that morning while he’s shoving your head into the pillows and plowing you from behind. He’d tell you to “get a grip” when you tell them you can’t take it anymore. Fleki and Lycion are ride or dies fr so any disrespect towards either one is a serious offence. Fleki can just tell when you’re abt to orgasm and stops Lycion from moving. You’re so frustrated bc she keeps doing this, oh, but she’ll stop and let you come if you say you’re sorry. You said such hurtful things after all :(

Side note tho, Fleki and Lycion would definitely knock out cold (esp Fleki) so could you imagine doing aftercare on them? You’re the only one that gets so brain fucked but will always come back to your senses after so you can clean them up. Guess you could say that’s your form of ‘special treatment’ for them but you’d seriously rather die than admit that to them

tw: orgasm denial, overstimulation, heat, mean reader/mean fleki & lycion, aftercare

"Knock it off," You scold, "You're still an elf, have some sort of decorum will you!" Lycion pouts, it's not his fault! It's so painful, you know, his cock is so hard and his brain can only focus in on how much he wants to fuck that smirk off your face. Fleki notices you're being extra rude to Lycion, and she'll give you that look. You don't seem to care though, shrugging and telling them both to 'get a grip' before moving on.

Of course Fleki brings Lycion in later that night, and she watches in great amusement as Lycion fucks you nice and hard into the mattress. 'Get a grip!' Fleki snickers when you're gasping for air, begging for an orgasm. 'Only good little soldiers get to cum, and you were being such a meanie.'

"S- Screw you, Fle- Augh!" More hot tears streaming down your face as Lycion pulls out and flips you over, before slamming his cock back into you. You clutch on to him, wailing.

'Maybe if you apologize, we'll let you cum.' And you're such a stubborn soldier that you get denied 3 more orgasms before finally caving in- crying out apologies. 'I don't know... Do you believe they're sorry, Ly?'

'No, I don't~' Lycion grins at your fervent and pathetic apologies.

"I- I'm sorry! Please! Please! 'm so so sorry!" Lycion will finally forgive you, after a few more pleas, and let you cum. Of course, the overstimulation sets in very quickly bc Lycion is far from done—

Anywaysss yes, you'll likely be the first one to recover some semblance of sanity and sit up and look amongst the chaos that ensued. You can't help but feel a little tug on your heart strings at their sleepy lil faces. Pressing a soft kiss to both of their foreheads before preparing a bath in your fancy suite bathroom.

Carrying Fleki to the bathroom whilst she's snoring, laying her into the bathtub and slowly cleaning her up. Murmuring that she's lucky she's cute before changing her into some of your clothes. Then you help Lycion wash up, and even though he's a bit more conscious than Fleki he enjoys being pampers by you- it's a rare moment where you're genuinely soft. Moments where he forgets he's a criminal and you're a soldier. He knows not to point out how nice you're being though, otherwise the gesture will end abruptly. Sometimes you join him in the bath and clean you both up- maybe even do something like 'cuddle' for a few. Then you'll help him change into clothes and pass out in the bed with the two of them. Lycion is a big cuddle bug and Fleki always is sprawled on top of you.

#i love these two so much omg!!! #dungeon desires #dungeon meshi smut #fleki smut #lycion smut

[hiemaldesirae]

Thorn again: Vox's killer au:

Lol, you'd think Vox would be the most upset, but he's still hurting from his soul wound (the Vees fled without getting any meds for it, so they're 'self medicating', the idiots. Alastor DEFINITELY isn't happy about it when he finds out) so only Valentino and Velvette are pissed, and Velvette is easily, easily bought with a great breakfast.

She's still pissed, but she's going to eat the pancakes Alastor made first. (Vox is too.)

Val on the other hand is bitching up a Storm. "Voxxy doesn't need you, he's fine with us. We're managing his pain just fine. We have enough edibles for it, right Vel?"

And Velvette goes "he ate most of them last night, Val. We probably should have listened to the Princess about soul wounds before just taking off, but we do have alot more weed butter in the freezer, so we'll just make more."

Alastor freezes and his neck cracks: "You're....self medicating my Vox?"

Valentino, handing Vox another weed brownie: "Uh, yeah? It's not like we've ever had a wounded soul before."

Alastor: ".........."

IMG ONNA CRY. self medicating with edibles and weed... not even tylenol or anything ??????? (vox voice) look at my doctors dawg im going to die

honestly though. how DO you treat a soul wound... assuming al knows he'd probably send his shadow to get some materials or supplies to help, yeah? and if he doesnt... hmm would he go and ask charlie if she or her parents knew perhaps? i mean i cant see him trusting anyone else with the info of voxs vulnerability,, then again he might commit his own brand of medical malpractice and simply lock vox away to slowly recover xd

#ran rambles #hazbin hotel #general asks #radiostatic #thorns killer au

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

Could Edward ever lose his pedestal worship for Carlisle (without Carlisle acting OOC)?

Ooh, very tricky question that.

Let's dive in.

Difficult, Very Difficult

The trouble is that Edward doesn't simply admire Carlisle for who he is but is also haunted by feelings of guilt and shame over his own actions.

A few years after turning, Edward left Carlisle to devour humans, believing Carlisle had been depriving him of the one meaningful joy in a vampire's life and that if Edward chose his victims carefully then his feeding habits could even be a good thing for human society/better than what Carlisle does who doesn't seem to do anything about bad humans or man eating vampires.

Edward however not only comes to regret this and returns but is terrified of the meaninglessness of his life in such cases and how he himself was not simply a murderer but one who far exceeded any human's crimes.

As a result, what we see of Edward in canon, is a person who can't afford to not worship Carlisle/be favored by him because then he'll be back in the headspace he was in during the years on his own.

I don't think Edward ever truly recovered from leaving, in other words, and that means he desperately needs the Cullens and Carlisle especially to be his safe haven.

Carlisle is Who Edward Wants to Be

The thing is, in character Carlisle is the man Edward desperately wants to be. As a result, Edward's not going to look to critically at him and doubt himself before he'd doubt Carlisle.

There's Also a Lot of Excuses

The other issue is that Edward can easily make up excuses for why Carlisle's not behaving in a way that Edward would appreciate.

If Carlisle gathers only witnesses during the Volturi trial, rather than an army, it is because Carlisle is naive and believes too well of even people who are not his friends. Edward doesn't see this as a fault but instead an admirable trait.

In the case of not aborting Bella's child, Edward blames Esme. Carlisle chooses not to abort Bella because doing so would upset Esme. It's the only thing holding him back, Edward's certain of it.

The vote to turn Bella into a vampire, Edward truly is upset over, and we don't know his thoughts on it but my guess would be he sees it as Carlisle making a terrible sacrifice so that Edward can live and be happy. Edward doesn't agree but he's not upset with Carlisle over it (and he just has to convince Bella to say no).

If Carlisle were ever to truly do something Edward sees as a betrayal of the family post-New Moon/Breaking Dawn then Edward would blame the Volturi. Either they're threatening Carlisle somehow or else Carlisle's under Chelsea's thrall.

This last especially means that Edward has endless excuses as for why Carlisle isn't disappointing him but is instead either simply too naive, swayed by his love for Esme, or else controlled against his will by an outside party.

So, How Do We Do It?

The obvious one is when Edward left: Carlisle certainly wasn't on any kind of pedestal then. Edward, rather than choose to return, could have been too afraid and ashamed to and his desire to return could have instead become resentment over the certainty that Carlisle would humiliate him and throw him out if Edward tried to come crawling back.

Then, Carlisle would become a figure of contempt and loathing, and I imagine Edward would slowly change so that his every action is to spite the imaginary Carlisle who ruined his life.

Of course, Carlisle's still on a pedestal in a way here, it's just uh a pedestal of hatred I guess we'll call it.

If you mean in canon...

The Blue Moon route.

Should Edward bully Carlisle (with Esme's help) into giving Bella her human experience, Bella then gets pregnant, and Carlisle then refuses to abort the child then it's not him protecting the baby for Esme (as this is the child of an affair and an unholy demon) but it's him committing adultery in a way that Edward did not condone (fuck Bella sure, get her pregnant, no)

Edward would view Carlisle as an adulterer, cheating on Esme who is the greatest of women, condemning the love of Edward's life to death, and having committed the greatest betrayal of Edward.

It's so personal that Edward doesn't even consider the Volturi angle, this is just Carlisle stabbing him in the back and then laughing merrily.

"I DON'T KNOW YOU" - Edward Cullen

#twilight #twilight meta #twilight headcanon #twilight renaissance #blue moon #carlisle cullen #edward cullen #anti edward cullen #meta #headcanon #opinion

[piss-wizard-ao3]

dndads s2ep45 spoilers

re: that one quote that absolutely emotionally obliterated a decent chunk of the fandom

alright fuckin bear with me i have some Thoughts and Feelings about particularly how the Close-Foster-Swifts deal with a) parenting and b) intergenerational trauma Anthony: 'As you're saying this, without even wanting it to, tears are rolling down your cheeks. And in that moment, you, and Taylor, and Nick all realise... That there is no fixing this. That this is as good as it's going to get. That you are stuck with each other in the forms that you are now.' this fucking DESTROYED ME and, from what i can tell, a lot of other people in the fandom also. i think this brings up some really important points that resonate w/ me personally about intergenerational trauma, and that are super important to talk about like with the wilsons and the oaks, they manage to (in varying degrees) realise what they did wrong, or what they could do better, and actively try to do better. they actively try to go out of their way to fix things, which is great! breaking that cycle is important, and it takes a while, but they're trying. with the stamplers (+ marlowes), specifically ron and terry jr, they do the 'acknowledging i havent been good enough' to 'trying my best to be what you deserve' pipeline and its Beautiful. and we get a little of that with terry jr and scary too, with terry jr just trying to do his best and scary slowly coming around to realise that she does, actually, care about her stepdad. and its so wholesome and good. it really pays homage to the ron and terry jr relationship i feel, where they end up before he died (F). BUT THE CLOSE/FOSTER/SWIFT FAMILY. i fucking. it hurts. but its the one that hits the closest to home. 'This is as good as it's going to get' fucking resonated with me. im sure it resonated with a lot of people. intergenerational trauma and the effects it has on people is such a core theme of dndads, and the way its handled so differently through each family line is honestly artful. but an important part of the story of intergenerational trauma is when it's not something that you can fix, or go back and apologise for, or something that you can become better from. sometimes trauma just is. sometimes you can't recover from it. families will break up, lineages will die out, stories and lives will be forgotten. and as tragic as that is, as much as it hurts, it's so real. in a way, its a double-edged sword that they all still talk to each-other, that they still cling to what they have, what they wanted to have. especially in the case of Taylor, who does spend a lot of the series with questions about his dad but ultimately thinking he's pretty neat, to then break down to wishing there was time travel so Nicky could be there for him, so they could re-do childhood. i just. screams. thats such a pivotal moment for him. to finally come to terms with and admit the fact that no, things aren't okay, this isn't what he wanted, and if given the chance he would go back and fix them himself. that his father, and his father's father, have failed to do it, and now it falls upon his shoulders. (this also resonates very well with the whole 'our parents unleashed the doodler and both our grandparents and parents failed to fix it so now that's our burden to bear') i wonder if we'll ever get to know if the teens from this series go on to have families. if Lincoln ever introduces his children to grandpa Grant, or if Normal ever feels, well. normal enough to even consider the possibility of raising kids. if Scary ever takes her children to visit Terry Jr's grave, or tells them about his exploits, or recounts to them the things he did for her before she grew to appreciate him. i wonder if Taylor will ever even consider the concept of having a family, upon looking back like this at his own, upon knowing first-hand the stakes if he gets it wrong. would he think that he can break the cycle? that he could be better? or is it, truly, as good as it's going to get?

#dungeons and daddies #dndads s2 #glenn close #nicky foster #taylor swift #I JUST HAVE SOME THOUGHTS OKAY #gets very emotional over these characters #i talk about the other pcs and their families also but a decent amount is about the close/foster/swifts #talkin shit

[garycxjk]

Second chances

Let's get this out of the way. Throughout this post, I will not name one certain individual, not because she has done anything wrong, but to make ego searching this post a lot harder for her. This also means that this post will not be easily found. The thing is, I don't really even need to mention her to make a point, as her situation isn't a big part of it, it only serves as the backdrop. So I will neither name her previous life nor her current.

Second, I'm not gonna shit on Nijisanji EN. Too many have already done that before, and it's getting a bit tiring. Plus, again, it doesn't serve the point I am trying to make, however, it does serve as a backdrop.

So, basically, to keep it short, recently a certain person had been terminated in a pretty fricken dumb way which I'm not going to get into, which involves them self-exposing their own incompetence. This termination also came after the person who was terminated made two attempts on her own life, fortunately she's still with us.

But that's not the point of this story. Recently, three of the talents have released a not really smart video, basically digging themselves deeper into a hole, if I may so personally, those being Elira Pendora, Vox Akuma and Ike Eveland. Now there are theories going around, but let's keep it as a fact, they were used as spokespeople, either against their will or otherwise, we don't know. We'll get back to the three.

Now, out of all of this mess, one thing was clear. Zaion LanZa, also known in her current life as Sayu Syncronisity, was right. After her termination a month after debuting at Nijisanji as Zaion, she was terminated, and she wrote a scathing expose about how her experience at Nijisanji was, and spoilers, it wasn't great, and later, it turned out a lot of it lined up with what the most recent terminated member experienced.

The thing is, at the time, she was mostly ignored. Not by everybody, but by too many, in my opinion, mainly because she was only there for a month. I know, I was there when it all happened. People either ignored her, or just said that she was salty or straight up called her a liar. Her reputation as Sayu therefore tanked, and it was only after a week after the most recent termination that people slowly began believing her completely.

The thing is, her reputation only improved almost a year after it happened, and from what I understand, her offenses weren't even that severe. People called it mistakes, yes, but not bad enough to warrant a termination. But okay, maybe Nijisanji didn't think she fit into the Nijisanji ecosphere, so she was let go. I'm not going to go into how she got terminated, that's a whole different can of worms, all I'm going to say is, she got terminated, and her reputation didn't exactly recover.

But, and excuse me for repeating the same phrase but, here's the thing. After almost a year, people should have forgiven her. She had already apologized, I'm not sure if she's done it multiple times, but she did at least once. She had admitted she made mistakes.

I'm a firm believer of second chances, everybody deserves one. Now, I do have to say, people don't deserve second chances from everyone, depending on how bad the offense was, but, look. If we can forgive James Gunn for his tweets he made when he was dumb and stupid, we should be able to forgive Sayu for the dumb shit she said, right?

It's as if people don't actually believe in second chances. Now, I'm gonna be honest, I'm not really willing to give Nux Taku a second chance, not after he did Coco's graduation notice dirty, essentially acting like a rrat. But that's my personal issue, I've been betrayed too many times in my life, taken advantage of too many people that my flight response gets triggered quite easily. Fuck, it's why I stopped associating myself with the Steven Universe fandom, despite me still liking the series. It's not that they're inherently bad or that I think they're bad, it's that they're bad for my mental health, which is why I distance myself from them.

And if you ask me what my opinion is of Charlie (penguinz0) or Asmongold, I don't talk about them at all. They just give me too much of an I-don't-trust-them vibe. Not that they're untrustworthy, but I just don't want to burn my fingers on them.

The thing is, yes, the SA jokes were in bad taste, I agree. However, it just feels like people were looking for an excuse to hate on her. And now that all this shit with Nijisanji EN is going on, she's suddenly being hailed as someone who was right all along. It just doesn't sit well with me.

The thing is, we all want second chances, but we don't all want to give them. I personally believe that everybody deserve second chances. Not just one, but many. People continue to make mistakes in their lives, and yes, if it's better for your own mental health, you can decide not to give that person another chance. Maybe there are some people who just don't deserve second chances because they never take them, they never learn from them. As cynical as I am in life, I still believe people can change, either for the worse or the better.

Which brings us to Elira, Vox and Ike. No matter whether they're guilty of whatever people accuse them of or not, their reputation is toast. In the short term, they won't be able to recover it. However, let's look at another case.

Mikeneko. Amemiya Nazuna. Yes, even Uruha Rushia. Her reputation has sunk to the bottom of the ocean. However, I don't think it'll remain that way. In time, there will be people who will give her a second chance. Remember, it's forgive, not forget. People may forgive her, but they won't forget. Honestly, I've decided to stay away from that drama, as I really do not care about it, but I do believe she can, in time, recover her reputation.

I mean, fuck, if Logan Paul can come back from that Aokigahara controversy, as much as I still think there should have been more repercussions from it, anyone can.

So, as a closing thought. Elira. Vox. Ike. Your reputations are pretty much toast, at least at Nijisanji EN, but possibly also in your PLs as well. However, it's not unsalvageable, it never is. As long as you're willing to change, as long as you're willing to better yourselves, as long as you want all of that, you can come back on top.

Tanking your reputation isn't the end of it all. You'll probably have to start over from scratch, and you'll most likely never going to go back to the reputation you had before. But it's not the end. Just live and learn.

But I do think Nijisanji EN is practically done.

#nijisanji #nijisanji en #kurosanji

[galadae]

wayfarer microfic challenge pt 3

Finally finished a few more of these! Prompts from here.

part 1 | part 2

Formal wear or event 305 words

“Aeran, this is serious. Varyn said–” 

“No one will care how we look, Brienne.” Aeran leans against a couch, picking at his nails. “We’re not the important ones.” 

“Yes they will! These people are rich and bored! That’s all they care about.” 

He laughs. “Well, too bad for them.” He’s put on the uniform Varyn provided, just like hers, but he’s still a mess. Everything is half buttoned and rumpled. His hair is somehow more tousled than usual. Brienne glares at him. This is the first time Varyn has brought them on a diplomatic training mission. She told them to get ready while she talked to someone. Brienne can’t remember the name. Someone important. Oh gods, why can’t she remember? 

“Aeran if you mess this up for us, I swear–” 

“You’ll what?”

Brienne huffs. “I don’t know, push you down the stairs while all the prissy nobles are watching. Can you at least button your jacket?”

Aeran groans in annoyance. “No. It’s too warm in this stupid room. When is Varyn coming back? I-“ 

The door opens. Varyn stands above them, a picture of grace and confidence. Her russet hair is impeccable. “They’re almost ready for us.” She looks them both over. “Are you ready? 

Brienne takes a deep breath and smooths her jacket down. “Yes.” 

Varyn nods. “Good. Remember, follow my lead. Don’t worry about talking to anyone. I want you to observe, listen, and tell me anything important you hear at the end of the night.” She smiles. “Let’s go. Kellis, button your jacket, please.” 

Aeran mutters under his breath. Brienne covers her mouth, stifling a snicker.

“Shut up, Bri.” 

“What? I said nothing.” 

Aeran elbows her in the ribs. 

“Hey!”

“I thought you two were ready?” Varyn calls from the hallway. 

“Coming!” Brienne rushes after her, leaving Aeran to close the door behind them. 

First light 313 words

The dim grey light of another Rona dawn filters through the shutters. Rain falls in a gentle murmur on the rooftops.

Brienne’s eyes flutter open. She groans. A steady ache pulses in her left ankle. After yesterday’s tumble from the alleyway roof, it’ll take a few days to recover. She rolls onto her back with her hands under her head, careful not to bump into Aeran. They have 4 days left on this contract, and still no leads. Maybe today they’ll find something.

Aeran mumbles and turns to face her, but doesn't wake. His head rests on his arm, his hair is flopped over it. He looks so different asleep. Brienne smiles. Without his furrowed brows and stress lines, he's almost nothing like the intimidating figure he is when awake.

He’s so tired, all the time. They both are. She sighs. We'll get out of here soon, she tells herself. We have to. She closes her eyes, imagining they're anywhere but here. That they can sleep in without worrying about mercenaries breathing down their necks. Enjoy life for once. Maybe, when things calm down, I can tell him how I feel, and then–

She looks over at him again, her eyes moving between his eyelashes, his mop of curls, the small cut on his lip, the light stubble on his jaw. She wants to reach out and cup his cheek. Gently press her forehead to his. Wrap her arms around his waist, kiss him softly, slowly, till they forget how tired they are. Make him smile. Pull him flush against her. Run one hand down his back, feel his breathless laugh against her mouth as she kisses him again, his hands in her hair—

Brienne sits up. The room is suffocating. A walk sounds good. Fresh air. Her ankle will be fine. She needs to get out of this room and stop thinking.

First meeting 292 words

Today is a new day, with a new contract, and contacts to meet. Brienne makes her way down the streets of Vestra, dodging merchant carts and busy pedestrians. She can hear birds from the clothing lines high above the hubbub. The smells of fresh bread and spiced meat drift through the air behind her. The sunlight beats down. For once Brienne wishes she had time to enjoy the warmth, but there's work to be done. She squints at her scribbled directions on her notes. “Should be here,” she mutters, turning towards a large metal door. The knocker is heavy as she lifts it. 

The door opens. “Do you have an appointment?” Brienne looks down at the petite melusine in front of her. Chin length, wispy black hair frames her heart-shaped face. Yellow eyes stare up at her, impatient. “Well?” 

“I’m here about a contract,” Brienne says, tapping her pendant. “I’m a Wayfarer.” 

The melusine’s eyes brighten. “Oh! Perfect. No appointment needed, come right in.” She gestures behind her and Brienne slips inside. The door closes with a soft thud. 

“Well, Wayfarer, what’s your name? I need to know who we’re working with.” 

“Brienne Varyn.” She pockets her notes. “And you?” 

“I’m not the important one here,” the melusine laughs. “I’ll take you to Morac. He’s the one you really want to talk to.” 

“Sure,” Brienne says. “But tell me your name anyways. Morac had to be a busy man. No use bothering him if you can help me.” 

The melusine lowers her eyes. “I suppose you’re right.” When she smiles and looks up again, Brienne can’t help but notice how pretty she is. “My name’s Myrrha Toranis.” 

“Myrrha. Nice to meet you.” Brienne grins. “I’m sure we’re going to work well together.” 

#wayfarer fic #hannah words #fic #oc: brienne varyn #aeran kellis #couldn't sleep but at least i wrote three of these last night aksdjfhdas #thanks brain

[dzthenerd490]

Kingdom Hearts: The Brightest of Hearts - Chapter 11: The Darkest of Hearts part 1

Back in Traverse Town, after the Gummi ship landed Sora, Donald, and Goofy quickly got off. They were expecting everyone to be in the town square, but there was only Cloud.

"Cloud? Where's Yuffie and Leon?"

"They all went to help the people of Traverse Town, a lot more people have been showing up due to you liberating their hearts from the darkness. Though we did notice one thing, after your mission at Deep Jungle, Sid asked Chip and Dale to make him a device that shows the location of the Gummi ship, so we'll know you guys are on mission and alright. However, I noticed that right after liberating Neverland and London you immediately went to a place called New York City. Why did you do that?"

"We uh... Well..."

"It was me." Sora stepped forward from Donald and Goofy toward Cloud.

"I was excited to know there was only one world left so I rushed into it and liberated as much as I could but... Things didn't go exactly as planned."

"You didn't liberate the world?"

"I did... but I... saw someone else die, and in my frustration and rage the darkness nearly got me."

"... Yeah, that will do it."

"I... I wanted to kill him, I wanted to go down to his level and make him suffer." Sora started crying again, Donald and Goofy were about to comfort him but Cloud reached out first. Cloud got on one knee and extended his hand gently onto Sora's shoulder.

"Sephiroth destroyed my world and killed almost everyone I loved. He destroyed my hometown and killed Tifa's father. There was also Shinra, they killed Zack who was Aerith's old boyfriend. They basically helped Sephiroth destroy our world and drain it of its resources, killing hundreds, enslaving thousands, and ruining millions of lives. Then there was Maleficent who resurrected Sephiroth after we tried so hard to stop him and RIGHT after we saved the world from the DoomsDay Black Materia, she just opened the skies to the Darkness in-between Worlds. Shinra is gone but Sephiroth and Maleficent are still out there. I can't tell you how much I want them to be right in front of me right this moment so I can slice them to pieces." Sora looked at Cloud as his expression darkened, Sora even noticed Cloud's fists were clenching as if to contain his overwhelming rage.

"But you can't, because it's not, right?"

"... I wouldn't say that Sora."

"What? But my mom and dad always said that violence and revenge never solve anything."

"Well, doing things for revenge can be pretty stupid, yeah. I mean if you just focus on the revenge aspect then it will practically consume your life and leave no room for friendship and love. Me and the rest of the group can attest to that, one way or another we let our fears, our sadness, or our anger control us and make us do some pretty stupid things. But these emotions we feel aren't unjustified, they're just a part of who we are. They're only a weakness if you make them a weakness. And you only make them a weakness by letting them dictate everything you do and ignore everything and everyone that tells you to stop."

"... But if our emotions can control us like that then wouldn't it be better to suppress them?"

"Ah! No Sora, don't do that. Trust me, I tried that once and it never ends well. In fact, suppressing your emotions will actually just lead to a brand new emotion that's even easier to get consumed by and leads to even worse results."

"What emotion is that?"

"... Depression. I'm still dealing with that one and it really got worse when I was separated from the group but I'm slowly recovering and doing better."

"How?"

"The same way you deal with any emotion that's taking over your life. You open your heart to those you care about, and the best source is from your friends." Sora then turned back to look at Donald and Goofy, both of which started smiling at him to show how they agreed with Cloud.

"Our emotions are a part of who we are, both the good ones and bad ones. The only time we really lose to the darkness is when we let them control who we are. Don't ever forget it Sora, you're justified in hating the monster who filled your life with misery. But the moment you focus on nothing but them and how you want them to suffer... that's when you become a monster." Sora felt like he mostly understood, emotions are both a gift and a curse but whether they become one or the other is based on how Sora used them. Sora then wiped his tears away and smiled with determination at Cloud.

"Yeah, I think I got it. I won't ever forgive the Dark Army but I'm not going to let my anger for them change who I am."

"Well, said Sora. really glad you figured that out at a younger age than I did."

"Hey, it would have taken me longer if I didn't learn it from you!"

"... ha, you really are a bright and hopeful kid. Alright, I'll stop holding you back. Merlin's back in his old shack, he probably has something else to tell you so you should go ahead and see him."

"Got it. Thanks, Cloud!" Sora then joyfully ran for Merlin's place with Donald and Goofy following him.

"Yeah... don't end up like me. Okay, Sora?"

***

Sora, Donald, and Goofy made it to Merlin's place and entered to find him sipping some tea while looking through another Ansem report. Upon looking at the report Sora realized he didn't get any from either Neverland, London, or New York City. Sora groaned as he facepalmed in defeat.

"Oh? What's wrong my boy? From what I've heard you got back from liberating the last world and are on your way to face off against Maleficent herself!"

"It's not that, Merlin. I didn't get any Ansem Reports. Dang it."

"Oh, don't let such things worry you, my boy. We have more than enough Ansem Reports."

"But what about keeping them out of the hands of the Dark Army?"

"I uh... You don't need to worry about that anymore, my boy. Now then please come in and have some tea." Sora, Donald, and Goofy did as Merlin asked and sat in large and comfortable seats at the round table. Magic tea cups then flew in front of them, and a tea kettle flew over and poured tea for all of them.

"Now then, is there anything else that troubles you, my boy?" Sora thought about this but thankfully it didn't take long for him to remember the voice.

"Uh, Master Merlin, do you know anything about dark voices in people's heads?" Merlin was in the middle of drinking his tea; however, upon hearing this he quickly spat it all out and onto Goofy's face.

"Ugh! So sorry, Sir Goofy! Ahem! now you said... voices in your head?"

"Uh, yeah, it was just an annoying jerk at first but back when we were in the skies of London it attacked us by turning the Heartless into shadow versions of me."

"... I see, hm... When did this start, my boy?"

"When I first showed up in Traverse Town, there was a Shadow Heartless that scratched my back."

"A Heartless scratched your back... hm... "

"What do you think it is, Master Merlin?" Merlin then got up from his chair and started walking.

"That is an excellent question, Sir Donald. Unfortunately, I think I know the answer."

"Don't you mean, fortunately?"

"No Sir Goofy. You see this might be the worst-case scenario. Sora, my boy. Do you remember what I said about what happens when we die?"

"Uh you said your hearts return to Kingdom Hearts to be fragmented and turn into new hearts."

"Yes, but your memories become the inspiration for Kingdom Hearts to create new worlds and new life. This is all part of the great cycle of creation and life itself. But there are those that don't want to die at all and would instead keep their memories forever. Of course, you know that the Dark Army achieves immortality by using the darkness. However, there are those that have taken it a step further, the ancient Masters of Darkness, my old foes who found ways to keep themselves alive even after death. They even know how to resurrect their fallen comrades back from the dead."

"Resurrect the dead?"

"Yes, my boy, they had everything they needed to keep both themselves and others from ever returning to Kingdom Hearts even after death. However, this power was not full proof, some needed vessels, sacrifices, and very complex rituals that took centuries in order to get the spell to work."

"So wait, is that the voice in my head? An old Master of Darkness?!"

"I'm afraid so my boy. He has chosen you to be a piece in the puzzle that will complete his resurrection. But he has made one fatal mistake."

"What's that?" Merlin then smiled, walked up to Sora, then gently poked his nose.

"He chose a kindhearted, brave, and determined boy to be his tool of evil and destruction. Now, his plan might have worked if he chose a foolish boy who wants power and authority. Now tell me, is that what you want, my boy?"

"Ha, no."

"Oh? Then what is it you wish for, my boy?"

"I want to stop the Dark Army and save everyone with the power of light! Including my home and my friends!"

"Hahaha! Then this Dark Master truly made the wrong choice! Hahaha, I'm quite sure you have nothing to worry about my boy."

"But Master Merlin, isn't there a way to remove it?" Merlin's smile then turned into a frown as he sat back on his chair.

"Ah... unfortunately Sir Donald, I am afraid that's impossible. After poking Sir Sora's nose, I was able to find the darkness that infiltrated him, it has united with his heart. Like any magic, there is no removing the darkness from his heart without bringing harm to Sora."

"So, I can't remove it?"

"Not with surgery and not with magic my boy, if you wish for the Darkness to leave your heart you must expel it with an act of great joy, or one of true love. Either one will give your heart the magical energy it needs to expel any magical toxins within it. But again, so long as you have no desire to listen to the Dark Master then you will not have to worry about his influence."

That's what you think! Sora grunted as he heard that voice shouting in his head, but he quickly calmed down and smiled at Merlin.

"Thank you, Master Merlin."

"Merlin is fine my boy."

"I know but besides Donald and Goofy you helped me a lot, so I think it's only fair to call you Master." Merlin chuckled again and offered more tea to Sora, Donald, and Goofy.

***

After they were done with their tea, they went to a place to sleep, surprisingly a hotel owner allowed them to sleep in a luxury room and even gave it to them for free. Apparently, the owner was one of the people cursed as an Emblem Heartless and as such he gave them the room as a "thank you". Though the service still wasn't free, so they didn't order anything. Instead, the three of them just took the room and let themselves fall onto the extremely large bed.

"No offense to the other beds we slept on, but this is the best bed I have ever laid on."

"Ahhh... so tomorrow we're going out to fight Maleficent and the remainder of the Dark Army, you ready Sora?"

"Yeah, I think I... No, I AM ready to fight the Dark Army head on."

"That's the spirit Sora, though there really wasn't any doubt. Every time something pushes you down you always find a way to get back up."

"Haha, thanks Goofy, am I a lot like your son Max?"

"Oh... uh... Gosh, Max is uh... Max prefers to see life, with a little less imagination."

"Huh? What's wrong with imagination?"

"There's nothing wrong with it Sora, Max used to love using his imagination. A-hyuk! We used to have all sorts of fun together, but as he grew up, he started... wanting to take things more seriously and as such he wanted to live life on his own. Me and him still talk... he just prefers we don't talk as often as we used to." Sora could see the growing sadness in Goofy's eyes, and it made him worry about his own future.

"... Am I gonna be like that when I get older?"

"That really depends on what you want to be when you grow up, Sora."

"Oh yeah! Gosh. Don't let us boring adults take all the spotlight, tell us what you want to do after you defeat the Dark Army."

"I... I guess I want to keep being a keyblade wielder of light."

"Really? You won't get paid Sora."

"I don't really want to be paid for it, instead my payment will be the adventures I take Riku and Kairi on! We'll go to new worlds, we can take odd jobs for the cool aliens we meet, and we can find all the bad guys of the multiverse and beat them up, like we did with the Dark Army!"

"Ha! Spoken like a little kid!" Donald continued to snicker at his own joke until he noticed Goofy and Sora glaring at him with disappointment.

"Ahem! I meant that in a good way..."

"Okay, so what do you want to do after we defeat the Dark Army, Donald?"

"hm... I guess I'll take Daisy on a date and maybe finally ask her to marry me."

"Oh?! You're finally committing to her?"

"I've always been committed to her Goofy! I just... haven't been the best at showing it. I was comfortable where we were in our relationship, and I didn't think it was affecting her badly in any way. But after we get home, I'll have a proper talk with her and see what she wants."

"Wow, that's actually really cool of you Donald, hope it all works out for you!"

"Thanks Sora, now what about you Goofy?"

"Yeah Goofy, what are you going to do? Are you perhaps going to go on a relaxing vacation with your wife?" Donald lost all his colors in shock while Goofy just looked at Sora, surprised, leaving Sora confused. Goofy then showed a gentle smile though Sora could see hurt in his eyes.

"My wife died a long time ago."

"Oh... Goofy, I'm sorry."

"Don't be Sora, I don't cry about it anymore. Besides the last thing she ever did was give me Max. It's probably why I love him so much. But I haven't always been the best dad, I guess I smother him too much and don't give him enough space. I was even against his decision to join the Royal Guard. I guess when I get back, I'll give him my blessing to join as both his father and his future captain! A-hyuk!"

"Haha! Well said Goofy!" Sora then yawned and so did Donald and Goofy.

"Alright, then it's a deal. Let's sleep for now but tomorrow we're going to stop Maleficent, save the Multiverse, and spend our lives with our friends and family back home!" Sora raised his fist to show his determination, Donald and Goofy did the same while giving a cheer of triumph.

"But hey, even after we defeat the Dark Army... Let's still be friends, ok? Even if we end up on different worlds, even if we do different things, even if we see different people and make new friends. Let's never forget one another, ok?"

"... Sure Sora."

"We'll always be your friend Sora." Sora then smiled, rested his head on the pillow and slept on the middle of the bed, then Donald scooted to the right to sleep there while Goofy went to the left side of the bed.

***

The next morning the three of them felt well rested but also extremely hungry so they went down to the lunch hall for breakfast. However, after chowing down on a lot of food, they realized they still had to pay for it and didn't have a lot of money. Then ended up having to call Sid for help who was furious despite it not actually costing a lot of money. After eating, they went back to the town square where Aerith, Yuffie, Cloud, Leon, Sid, Merlin, Fairy Godmother, Chip, and Dale were already there.

"You guys ready for your final mission?"

"We'll be cheering you on the entire time!"

"You knuckleheads got this! Give that Maleficent Witch what's coming!" Donald stood proudly at all the praise, Goofy scratched the back of his head while chuckling in embarrassment, and Sora smiled because of all the excitement.

"Thanks, you guys. Today the Dark Army will learn to never mess with ANYONE in the Multiverse!"

"Hahaha! You, my boy, are truly the Champion of Light! The light of Kingdom Hearts shines with hope and victory on you all."

"Thank you, Master Merlin." Sora then looked at everyone with joy but as he did an idea popped into his head.

"Uh hey, this might be too much to ask but, can you guys come with us?" Everyone was then silent as they looked at Sora with surprised expressions. Chip and Dale then went forward to answer.

"Sorry Sora the Gummi Ship can only transport so many people, if too many people ride the Gummi ship and in too little time it could cause disastrous effects to the world." Merlin then stepped forward to continue.

"Unfortunately, my boy, this is correct. unnatural disasters, disease, destruction, and other such chaos. Of course, there's also a chance that the chaos won't happen but it's better to be safe and respect the rules of the multiverse."

"Well, that sucks but no use in complaining! I understand that you all can't come, so just know that I'll be fighting in your guy's honor!" Once again everyone cheered on Sora, Donald, and Goofy. After saying their goodbyes and promises Sora, Donald, and Goofy went off to the Gummi ship.

***

After Chip and Dale started up the Gummi ship and launched them into the light tunnel through the darkness in-between worlds; Sora, Donald, and Goofy were expecting it to be a quick and painless travel from A to B. However, it ended up being anything but, Large Heartless ships were shooting down the Gummi ship. Sora tried using a combo of the laser guns and the Gummi ship missiles but no matter how many Heartless ships he took down, more kept coming. It was getting to the point that Sora didn't take his hand off the fire button for the laser cannons. He couldn't since the entire time the front of the Gummi ship was surrounded by Large Heartless Ships.

Then just like a bad nightmare it was finally over when they reached the end of the light tunnel. As the Gummi ship entered the new world it was practically blackened with all the blast marks and smoking because of all the damage. It landed at the very beginning of the stone steps leading to the entrance of Hollow Bastion. Once it landed the Gummi ship almost fell apart and so did Sora, Donald, Goofy, Chip, and Dale. They all fell to the ground and didn't even move because of how mentally exhausted they all were.

"Ugh... that sucked..."

"Oooh... If it makes you fellas feel better... the chances of us doing that again... are zero..."

"Yeah... sorry by the way... I don't think the ship has ever been this wrecked before..." Chip and Dale then got up and groaned as they walked over to the control pad. Dale pulled out a button connected to the hardware of the ship and Chip pressed it. Suddenly the Gummi ship unleashed a wave of magic outward and back into itself. The magic surrounding the Gummi ship started repairing every large and small bit of damage on the ship. As the magic was done fixing the Gummi ship it then flowed onto Sora, Donald, Goofy, Chip, and Dale; giving them all the energy they needed to physically and mentally recover.

"Ah! That's better!"

"You alright fellas? If that spell worked, it should have fixed you all up too."

"Uh, yeah! That was great! What was that?"

"Just a little pet project we and Sid have been working on!"

"We knew the Dark Army was going to keep hitting harder so rather than increasing our firepower we decided to prepare for what to do when the worst ended up happening."

"And just like you saw, even if they wreck us to the point of near destruction, just like you Sora, we will always get back up!" Chip and Dale jumped and danced around to show their excitement over their achievement. Sora smiled and raised his fist up to them. At first Chip and Dale were confused but once they figured it out, they fist bumped Sora with enthusiasm.

"You guys really are the best Gummi ship engineers in the Multiverse!"

"Aw shucks, thanks Sorry."

"Now don't let us hold you back! Go on and defeat that rotten witch!"

"Yeah, let's go! Wish us luck Chip and Dale!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy then ran out of the Gummi ship. Chip was about to get to operating on the Gummi ship just in case something in the magic spell didn't work but then he noticed Dale looking at the shop console while deep in thought.

"Dale?"

"Hey, Chip. I think I got an idea."

***

Sora, Donald, and Goofy walked up the steps towards the entrance to Hollow Bastion. However, as they finally reached the same floor level hundreds of Shadow Heartless surrounded them. Sora, Donald, and Goofy manifested their weapons ready to fight but ended up standing there confused as the Heartless refused to advance.

"What are they all waiting for?"

"Me." Sora's heart sank when he heard that voice. He felt so conflicted, he couldn't fully feel happy or sad to hear Riku's voice. Yet there he was, slowly advancing while the Shadow Heartless were backing away to clear a path for him. Sora didn't smile when he saw Riku and Riku didn't smile back, how could either of them smile? They both knew how this was going down. Riku stopped when he and Sora were face to face, Sora had Donald and Goofy behind him while Riku had an army of Shadow Heartless behind him. Riku then manifested his Keyblade of Darkness and raised it up toward his head like a knight holding a sword in prayer.

"Sora, I'm gonna ask you one more time, give up your keyblade of Light and join me. Join the Dark Army. Help me take Kingdom Heart's right from under Maleficent's nose and we'll use the power of infinity to fix everything! We'll get our home back! We'll fix Kairi's heart! We'll get our families back! We'll even become Gods! We'll get to go wherever we want, do whatever we want, and never have to worry about anything ever again! We just have to bear with Maleficent for now but when the time is right you and I will take her down! We were a team once Sora, we can do it again. Just drop the Keyblade and take my hand." Riku then extended his hand while giving Sora a gentle smile. A single tear fell out of Sora's eye, he desperately wanted to take Riku's hand, though not for the reason Riku wanted. Sora wanted to take Riku's hand and pull him forward and hug him while he used his own Keyblade to destroy Riku's. But Riku was too fast and too smart for something like that. So instead, Sora just raised his Keyblade and got into a fighting stance.

"You're right about one thing, Riku. I will take Maleficent down! You can either get rid of your Keyblade and join me, step out of the way and don't stop me, or watch me as I kick your butt again. But either way I'm not giving up the Keyblade!" Riku closed his eyes and grunted in frustration, he then glared at Sora full of determination and silent rage.

"Yeah, I was afraid you were going to say that." Suddenly about five Shadow Heartless latched onto Goofy and wrapped around him like restraints, three other Heartless did the same for Donald. Before Sora could react the large group of remaining Heartless were all absorbed into Riku. After Riku absorbed them all, his body was covered in a large dark aura making him stronger than he had ever been before. Sora raised his keyblade to defend but in an instant Riku slashed Sora's Keyblade, breaking it instantly. The fragments fell to the ground, turned to light and disappeared instantly. Sora couldn't believe what just happened, his keyblade was gone and with it, any chance he had of freeing Riku and Kairi from the Dark Army. Sora just fell to his knees, he didn't cry, he didn't scream, he didn't do anything else. He just sat there with the shock still on his face.

Riku saw his friend in despair and tried to reach out to help but suddenly it felt like every atom in his body was being crushed by the weight of the earth. Soon all the Shadow Heartless Riku absorbed were destroyed in an instant and thus Riku could finally breathe again. Doxcrum then showed up and slapped Riku on the back of the head.

"Ye wee eejit, I tell ye that ye weren't duin to handle a spell that powerful. Noo c'moan, we're done here." Doxcrum then picked up Riku and turned back to the castle, but not before giving one final glance to Sora.

"Don't ya be to stonner on yourself, lad. Ye were never aff to beat us in the foremaist steid." Doxcrum then entered the castle of Hollow Bastion while snapping his fingers making the Heartless binding Donald and Goofy disappear. Goofy and Donald quickly went to Sora to check on him and only then did they realize what happened.

"... Sora, the keyblade..."

"It's gone..."

"... guys, what do we do?" Sora looked at them both with hopelessness in his eyes, Goofy and Donald looked at one another not sure what to do. However, Donald stood up while looking at castle of Hollow Bastion with determination.

"Donald?"

"We have to keep going."

"But Sora doesn't have the Keyblade anymore."

"Then we'll go without him."

"A-hyuk! Wha- wha?! But Donald, we need him!"

"No Goofy we needed his Keyblade and now he doesn't have it and without it he's..." Donald then looked at Sora and how hurt he looked while looking back at Donald. Donald then grunted and looked back at Hollow Bastion.

"... We have a mission, assigned to us by the king, protect the Champion of Light and defeat the Dark Army. We already failed one part; I don't intend to fail the other. Now are you coming or not?!" Sora looked at Goofy as tears fell out form his eyes, Goofy then looked back at Donald.

"No, sorry Donald, I can't. Not until I know Sora is safe." Goofy then looked back to Sora, patting his back to try and comfort him. Donald didn't want to leave Sora either, but he felt that the mission was more important. Thus, he simply grunted as he turned back to the castle to walk inside.

"Don't take too long then." Goofy sighed as he tried to continue to comfort Sora but really, he didn't even know what to do. With the keyblade gone there was no way Sora could fight off the Dark Army anymore.

"You should go with him."

"I'm not going to leave you, Sora."

"But I don't have the Keyblade anymore! I'm not the Champion of light anymore I'm just..." Sora then hugged Goofy tightly as he started crying harder, Goofy then hugged Sora back as gently as he could.

"I can't save them anymore; I can't save anyone! I'm just a dumb kid now... Riku was right, I can never beat them." Goofy then sighed, let go of Sora, and got up; leaving Sora still sitting down but now looking up to Goofy with confusion and tears still in his eyes.

"Sora, your so much more than that! Do you have any idea how much you achieved despite where you started! A-hyuk! You were a kid on an island wanting adventure, but you ended up beating the Champion of Light! But even when that isn't what you wanted you still went with it and defeated the Dark Army every chance you got!"

"But I don't have the Keyblade anymore, I can't change that Goofy!"

"No, you can't, but you can keep trying. What about your magic?"

"I..." Sora was about to say he didn't have magic anymore but after thinking about it he wasn't so sure. Sora raised his hand and tried to manifest some fire and sure enough he was able to create a fireball. It was nowhere large as the fireballs he could make with his Keyblade but still it was magic. Sora was still crying but now he stood up while maintaining the fireball in his hand.

"This... this is great! But, it's not enough... without the Keyblade I won't be able to defeat Maleficent and the rest of the Dark Army." Goofy then placed his hand on Sora's shoulder and smiled at him with determination.

"That's why you're not doing it alone."

"Your dang right you're not!" Sora and Goofy were confused when they heard that voice, the two of them then turned to the stone steps in front of Hollow Bastion to see an unbelievable surprise. Sid, Cloud, Yuffie, Leon, Aerith, Merlin, and Fairy Godmother were all there.

"You- You guys? Why are you here?" Chip and Dale then ran forward to talk to Sora and Goofy directly.

"We brought them all Sora; we figured you needed all the help you could get!"

"And for the record we didn't stop at Traverse Town!" Then a web was shot out and Spiderman swung in and stood alongside everyone else. Then Tarzan entered the group as well, and so did Aladdin while holding a sword, Jack Skellington jumped into the crowd, and finally Ariel showed up being carried by Peter Pan who gently flew down. Almost everyone Sora has ever met in all the worlds he has visited was now here. Sora should have felt happy at the sight of all his friends from other worlds but instead he was confused as he turned to Merlin for answers.

"But I thought you said that you guys couldn't come, that if too many people arrive on a world in too little time, it could cause disastrous effects to the world."

"Haha yes I do recall saying that. However, I also recall saying, not all rules are meant to be followed. Rather than following a rule that does not benefit you, try bending it until it does. Is that cheating? Perhaps, but cheating is only bad once you get caught, though you didn't hear that from me." Merlin then winked playfully at Sora, causing Sora to chuckle despite the tears still being in his eyes.

"That's when Dale had the brilliant idea of reengineering the spell, which we made with Sid to give the Gummi ship more magical power."

"Chip then helped me do just that, and with the modifications the Gummi ship is now able to keep the world stable regardless of how many off worlders there are." Sora was still crying but he was now smiling out of genuine joy, he even started laughing because of it. Sora then got up and wiped away his tears, now he was smiling out of determination while facing everyone.

"Thank you everyone for coming. Now this was supposed to be my mission and mine alone. Those are the rules at least, but I'm tired of following them. Still thought I'm not going to force this on anyone, so I'll ask instead. Will you guys help me save my friends, my home, and the multiverse from Maleficent and the Dark Army? There's no shame if you want to say no, but I will be honored to fight beside you if you say yes." No one was hesitant at all, but Peter ended up being the first to step forward.

"You helped save my home, might as well return the favor."

"Ape family safe because of you. Can count on me, always."

"I was a jerk to you in our world so consider this my overdue apology."

"The Pumpkin King will always have your back, Sora!"

"I know we promised to meet again under different circumstances, but you helped me, so let me help you!"

"Come on Sora, I barely got to know you and I could already tell being around you is a ton of fun. What kinda guy would I be to not help a pal like you out?"

"And you helped me find my friends again even after we fought. I think I owe you more than this but for now let's just stick with this for now, ok?" Sora smiled at Cloud then everyone else, now that his friends were here to help, he couldn't help but feel stronger than ever. Sora didn't even notice that his heart was starting to give off a golden glow, but it was so faint that no one else saw it.

"Alright you knuckle heads by the rat's calculations, we have only 5 hours before our presence here starts messing things up so let's move it and show the Dark Army bastards what we're made of!" Everyone raised their fists, weapons, and voices to show that they were ready to fight alongside Sora. Sora then faced the castle gates as the magical platform manifested for them to enter safely.

"Let's go!"

***

In the magical hall of Hollow Bastion, there were several Keyblade Wielders of Darkness operating on magical and evil looking machines. They were all extremely busy, however, they all stopped as soon as Maleficent entered the room. Maleficent was walking casually to the staircase as all the Keyblade Wielders of Darkness bowed to her while she walked past them. She didn't really focus on them, instead she was smiling at all six Princesses of Heart, who were trapped in large crystals of darkness keeping them all in an eternal slumber. Once she reached the staircase there on the top floor stood Riku and Doxcrum. They both bowed to her the moment she reached their level though not once did Riku take his eyes off of Maleficent.

"My loyal servants! The time to obtain Kingdom Hearts is upon us! Bring forth the final Princess!" One of the Keyblade Wielders of Darkness nodded, got up, and walked over to a magical control panel where he pressed a few buttons and like that a seventh dark crystal rose up from a hidden door from the ground. Within the crystal was Kairi.

"Is the draining truly finished?"

"Yes Master Maleficent!"

"Then begin! Reveal to us the Fragments of Light!" The Keyblade Wielder of Darkness pressed some more buttons in the correct order and instantly the process started. Suddenly the hearts of all seven princesses started glowing a pure white and blinding light. After a moment of shining small but powerful white diamonds formed and floated out of the Princesses hearts and toward Maleficent. She smiled and held out her hands as the seven Fragments of Light floated toward her, allowing her to hold them all.

"Good Work Maleficent." Maleficent shuttered for the first time in her life and so did Doxcrum which made Riku confused. Riku didn't recognize that voice, when he looked up out of curiosity, he didn't recognize that man, but he didn't need to feel the same fear as Maleficent and Doxcrum as well as everyone else in the room. That was the true Master of the Dark Army, that was Master Ansem, Seeker of Darkness. Riku didn't even need to use his enhanced magical vision to see that Ansem had an overwhelming amount of energy and was more than powerful enough to crush even Maleficent.

Maleficent knew this as well, hence why she bowed the moment she heard his voice; pride, status, power none of it mattered to her anymore. When in the presence of Master Ansem Maleficent knew she was just another pawn, her hour of glory was over and she was back to being a slave. The other Keyblade Wielders of Darkness knew this as well since they were already pawns from the start. They fixed themselves to bow toward him instead, only now their heads were lower than before. Some of them even smashed their heads onto the ground, not caring how much it hurt so long as Master Ansem knew they were loyal. Ansem then teleported in front of Maleficent, but he was so fast that not even she could see him move. Ansem then held out his hands and the seven Fragments of Light floating over Maleficent, flew into his palms.

"Hundreds of years of planning and hiding are finally over. Kingdom Hearts is finally within our grasp. Doxcrum, you know the ritual, begin now." Doxcrum stood up and held out his hands, Ansem then seemingly tossed the Fragments of Light without actually touching them. The Fragments of Light slowly floated over into Doxcrum's hands and he lowered his head one last time before turning to the gateway. 

However, before Doxcrum could even take a step, the intruder alarms started going off. They Keyblade Wielders of Darkness stopped bowing and went to their respective stations. One of the system managers used his magic to make several holo-screens appear around the room so that everyone could see. It showed Sora leading a group of off worlder's against the Hundreds of Heartless surrounding them. However, no matter how many Heartless kept coming, the group always managed to take them all out. Everyone in the room was speechless because of what they were seeing, Riku was especially shocked.

"Sora?"

"The Champion of Light? He truly lives up to his title. Everyone! This is our only chance to obtain the power of Kingdom Hearts, are you willing to die for the power of infinity? Are you willing to lay your lives for the chance at Godhood? Then prove it! Show these unworthy vermin of Light why the darkness will always be superior!" Half of the Keyblade Wielders of Darkness then ran out of the room to join in on the battle as Ansem ordered. Ansem then turned to Maleficent.

"This area must be guarded."

"Understood, I will get that coward Hades and we will protect this room with our lives." a Void opened behind Maleficent, she then turned to walk inside it. After the Void disappeared Ansem walked up to Riku and Doxcrum.

"Finish it as fast as you can." Doxcrum nodded and quickly ran upstairs to the gateway with the Fragments of Light, Ansem then turned to Riku.

"Finish what you started. Even without a Keyblade the battle is not over until there is a victor." Riku couldn't protest, not like he did with Maleficent, instead Riku just bowed while shaking in fear. Riku then opened a Void behind him and walked in to face Sora.

***

As everyone ran down the hall, Sora cast another ice spell at a Shadow Heartless, freezing it in a ball of ice. Tarzan then ran past Sora, toward the ice ball, quickly grabbed it and threw it at a large group of Soldier Heartless, knocking them down like bowling pins. A Darkball Heartless charged forward but Spiderman shot its mouth with webs and used other webs to catch it like a cowboy catching a horse. Spiderman then spun around while holding onto the Darkball and only letting go once he got enough momentum to throw it at another Darkball Heartless destroying them both. Sora fired another fireball at a Soldier Heartless, when suddenly a Large Body Heartless came in from the ceiling and landed right in front of him. Sora could only use his arms to defend as the Large Body Heartless raised its large fists. But nothing happened instead Sora opened his eyes to see Cloud in front of him having destroyed the Heartless with a single slash of his large sword. However now Cloud was surrounded by a group of Soldier Heartless or at least he would have been if Yuffie hadn't thrown her large Shuriken, slicing and destroying them all.

Sora saw several Soldier Heartless charging toward them, so he quickly cast a fire and ice spell then mixed them together to create a large water bubble. Sora then threw the bubble at Ariel confusing her at first, but she suddenly turned into a mermaid again. Now not only did she have a sword but with the water bubble she could swim in the air easily and quickly as well. It didn't take long for her to swim toward the Soldier Heartless and take most of them out. However, several Shadow Heartless surrounded Sora but thankfully Aladdin slipped by Sora and used his sword to help Sora defeat them all. Ariel was about to get caught by another Large Body Heartless, but Peter Pan flew in to help her slash the Heartless until it was destroyed.

Just as they were about to reach the end of the hall, another Large Body Heartless jumped forward, trying to crush them all, but Sid with his spear and Aerith with her staff quickly swung their weapons toward the Large Body Heartless. Like a baseball the Large Body Heartless flew back towards the direction it was thrown, destroying the Large Body Heartless on impact and every Heartless it landed on. Sora and some of the others laughed at the sight, he was about to keep going afterwards but was zapped by a lighting spell. It was the Wizard Heartless, three to be exact, and they were all charging up fire spells. Thankfully this time Goofy got in front of Sora, using his shield to block the attack. Goofy then overcharged his shield with magic and threw it at the Wizard Heartless in the middle, destroying it instantly. The last two Wizard Heartless tried to retaliate with ice spells but they were suddenly destroyed by Leon whose slash was too strong and too fast for them to survive or even dodge. More Soldier and Shadow Heartless started flooding the Hall, but Jack Skellington jumped forward, unleashed an aura of fire, and roared as he marched forward burning all the Heartless down and forcing the remaining ones out of the Hallway finally clearing the path.

Sora and friends finally made it out however, as they entered the Entrance Hall there were hundreds of Air Soldier Heartless, Large Body Heartless, Darkball Heartless, and even a Crimson Jazz Heartless. There was no way they were going to be able to win this fight without suffering some major damage. However, before Sora could even think of a plan Fairy Godmother and Merlin stepped forward, in front of Sora with their wands out.

"Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo!"

"Higitus Figitus Zumbabazing!" From both their wands orbs of light manifested and quickly expanded until everything in the room was covered by their light. All the Heartless roared in anger as their bodies were slowly being destroyed by the light. Once all the Heartless were gone the light faded too, then everyone just looked in awe as the liberated hearts flew into the ceiling so that they could return to their rightful places in the Multiverse. They were all silent for a short while but then Sid started cheering first and soon the rest started joining in.

"That was awesome!"

"We are unstoppable!"

"I'm gonna be honest, this whole thing is the weirdest thing to happen to me. But I would gladly fight alongside you guys any day!"

"Never thought I would go to an alien world to beat up shadow monsters, but I don't regret a bit of it!"

"Haha! The Dark Army's probably shaking in their boots right about now!" Sora was just as pumped and excited as everyone else; how could he not be? Sure, he lost the Keyblade but with everyone here they might actually be able to defeat the Dark Army. However, the cheering stopped when an explosion was heard at the top of the staircase. Donald was then thrown down and landed right in front of the group.

"Wah- Donald! Are you ok?" Sora and Goofy ran to Goofy, trying to help him back up.

"Ugh... Sora? Why are you still here?"

"Because he still has to fight me." Everyone then turned to Riku who was walking down the staircase while keeping his focus entirely on Sora. He was staring at Sora with a mixture of anger and disappointment, Sora looked back with a similar expression.

"You're not the Champion of Light anymore Sora. give it up."

"No way! I'm not leaving without you or Kairi and even then, I still won't leave till I've defeated Maleficent!"

"You really think your friends can help you? Even if you had an army, it still wouldn't be enough. Face its Sora, without your Keyblade you don't stand a chance." Sora looked down in fear, but Goofy placed his hand on Sora's shoulder. Sora looked at Goofy as he looked back with a smile of determination, Sora then looked back at everyone else who were all smiling and cheering Sora on. Sora then faced Riku again this time with confidence.

"I don't need a Keyblade! My friends are my real power! It's just like Merlin said, when the going gets tough then don't forget who you're fighting for, and everyone in this room is worth fighting for! Whether they are trying to find their place in the world, wanting to unite with friends and family, trying out new things and experiences in life, or just searching for love! They all had unique lives and I got to be there with them to experience it with them all. And every experience only made me stronger! Every friend I gained only made me stronger! Sure, sometimes I wanted to give up and just run away but no matter how hard every battle got, it always ended up being worth it! These guys are worth it, their worlds are worth it, Kairi and the other princesses are worth it, even you are worth it Riku! That's why I'm going to defeat you, because you're my friend and if defeating you is what it takes to get you back then so be it! Because just like with these guys, I'm not giving up on you!" That honestly stabbed daggers into Riku's heart, Riku wanted nothing more than to hug Sora and Kairi right now. But after coming face to face with Ansem he knew that death only awaited them if he failed here and now. As such, Riku cried a single tear from his right eye as he raised his keyblade at Sora.

"You've always been so naive Sora, thankfully I'll always be there to show you just how wrong you are." Sora grunted in frustration but in a way, he knew he couldn't reach Riku's heart with words alone. So, he faced Riku with determination, he wasn't going to hesitate anymore, Riku needed to be defeated right here and now. Sora smiled at first, as he felt energized, but Sora quickly stopped smiling when he was getting too much. Sora then looked down and saw that his heart was glowing with golden light. Suddenly everyone else's hearts started glowing with golden light as well as of them except Riku. The light in their hearts then floated out and toward the light in Sora's heart. Once all the lights were absorbed it flew in front Sora, he was confused but grabbed the light out of a strange necessity too. Once he grabbed it, it slowly transformed back into the Kingdom Keyblade. Sora looked at the Keyblade in awe, besides the golden glow, it looked exactly the same, but Sora felt like he was stronger with it now than he was when he had it before. Goofy, Donald, Fairy Godmother, Merlin, and Riku were particularly shocked at the sight.

"What?"

"A-hyuk! Whaaaa?!"

"He created a brand new Keyblade!"

"But how? The art has been lost."

"WHAT?! HOW?! HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!" Sora wasn't really sure how he did it either, however he was filled with so much positive and magical energy that he couldn't do anything but smile as he raised his keyblade with great pride.

"I guess this goes to show Riku, the power of friendship through light will always be stronger than the power of destruction through darkness." Riku growled in anger as he raised his keyblade toward Sora.

"This ends now! I'm going to prove to you Sora that I'm the ONLY one that can save everyone! Maybe when I take Kingdom Hearts, you'll finally listen to me!"

"Riku, you always thought it was your way or the highway, not this time though. I'll show you the right path. After I kick your butt!" Sora charged at Riku, who managed to block the strike but still felt its full force. Meanwhile everyone was still near the hall watching the fight.

"Uh shouldn't we help him?"

"No, Sir Spiderman. This is a battle between the Champions of Light and Darkness. Only they can decide the fate of the Multiverse therefore it is their battle alone." Riku then manifested large bat wings of darkness from his back as he forced Sora back from him. Riku then flew into the air as his clothes transformed into his Heartless suit. However, as he flew up higher, a beam of light blasted him with the shoulder forcing him back down. Everyone then turned to Merlin with his wand still smoking from the blast.

"But then again what good does it do you youngsters to listen to this old man? Now come on! Let us fight this confused child till he sees the Light!" Everyone cheered in enthusiasm as they all ran forward to stand beside Sora readying their weapons and/or magical powers. Riku then got up, looked at everyone, and growled with growing rage.

"Grrr, annoying old man! Fine then, I'll take you all on!" Sora backed up and shot a lightning bolt at Riku but even on impact Riku, just bit down the pain and charged at Sora. Cloud jumped in front of Sora and slashed down on Riku, but Riku's dark wings covered him like a shield canceling the attack. Riku then threw Cloud out of the way and continued running forward. Goofy charged his shield and Yuffie her shuriken with magic and threw them at Riku. This time Riku was unable to dodge or block and ended up getting pushed back by the combined force. Before Riku went flying back Spiderman caught him with a web and pulled him back but at the same time Spiderman was swinging toward him. Once close enough Spiderman punched him in the chest, making Riku fall hard onto the ground.

Riku coughed in pain but quickly got up only to see Tarzan run up to him. Tarzan punched Riku several times, the first seven punches ended up landing on Riku's face, but Riku caught the eight one and punched Tarzan back. As Tarzan flew back Peter Pan caught him and after gently letting him land on the ground, he flew toward Riku with his sword and alongside him was Ariel who was still in her water bubble and still had her sword. However, Riku shot an ice spell at Ariel, so Peter Pan flew in front of her taking the hit, thus both freezing him and making Ariel crash into his frozen body. Thankfully Donald cast a fire spell to free Peter Pan and managed to quickly cast a lighting spell, aiming at Riku. However, Riku managed to throw his Keyblade at Donald, knocking the staff out of Donald's hand. Like a boomerang the Keyblade came back to Riku and right in time for Aladdin and Sora tried to slash him at the same time. With great speed Riku deflected both their attacks and even knocked Aladdin back.

Once again Sora and Riku were at each other's neck, with their Keyblade's clashing after every slash towards one another. Sid and Leon tried to help by ambushing Riku but once again he used his dark wings as shields to completely block out their attacks. All he had to do was extend his wings to push them both away. He then slashed at Sora's keyblade with all his might, finally pushing Sora away. Jack Skellington roared as he charged at Riku with an aura of fire, Riku slashed Jack Skellington making him fly away while injured. However, Riku was still caught by the flames, they did burn but after unleashing his dark aura they were quickly extinguished.

Finally, Merlin stepped forward and cast a beam of pure light, blasting it right at Riku who only barely managed to block it with his keyblade. Riku then stomped on the ground and a barrage of pillars started going towards Merlin. Thankfully Fairy Godmother got in front of Merlin and blasted a barrage of pure light, vaporizing the earth pillars and burning off Riku's wings of darkness. Riku tried to recover but before he could Donald got his staff back and started shooting fireballs, then Sora got back up and started doing the same. Riku was getting tired and slow, thus he couldn't block all the fireballs. Now Riku was burnt, injured, and exhausted; so too were most of Sora's friends but thankfully Aerith cast a spell allowing her to heal them all thus leaving Riku the only one injured. Riku tried getting back up, but Sora stopped him by pointing his Keyblade right at Riku's face.

"It's over Riku! You lost, please just give up. You can't beat us, but together we can beat the Dark Army!" Riku just glared at Sora while he stared back in disappointment. Sora then sighed as to everyone's shock, he threw his keyblade away and just held out his hand.

"Please Riku, I know you think the Dark Army is unstoppable. Yes, they are powerful. Yes, they have hundreds of members. Yes, they have millions of Heartless. But look at what we have! Everyone in this room was originally a stranger to one another but now they are all here willing to fight the Darkness! And we're winning! If we can beat you we can definitely beat Maleficent. But! We'll have an even better chance if you fight with us, so please Riku. Let's stop fighting, help me save Kairi and our home. I don't want to do this without you." Riku thought that maybe it was true, maybe Sora COULD beat the Dark Army. Maybe now Riku could finally be with Sora and Kairi again, and he wouldn't have to wait to get Kingdom Hearts to fix anything. Riku then took Sora's hand but as he did everything suddenly went cold as he heard a voice behind his head.

You cannot escape your destiny; the Multiverse will never be at peace until one Champion has defeated the other. If you can't do that then the Dark Army will never stop, and your friends will never be safe. We will always find you. We. Are. EVERYWHERE!

Riku then got away from Sora with terror on his face, leaving Sora confused.

"Riku? What's wrong?"

"We... We can't escape! We have to keep fighting! No! I don't want to keep fighting!" Riku then quickly jumped up toward the second floor and ran out of the room.

"Riku! Come back! No!" Sora then slammed his fists on the ground with frustration, causing the floor to crack. Goofy and Merlin then walked up to Sora, and each placed a hand on one of his shoulders.

"Sora?"

"Are you alright my boy?" Sora wanted to cry but he managed to fight back the tears. Instead, Sora just got up, looked at everyone and smiled with determination.

"I will be once we stop Maleficent, if Riku won't help us now, then maybe he will once we stop her and the rest of the Dark Army! What do you say guys? One final push?!" Everyone cheered with excitement and determination, all except Donald who walked up to Sora with guilt on his face.

"Sora... I'm sorry."

"hm... Hey Donald, what's that?" Sora pointed at something behind Donald making him turn around, however Donald saw nothing. Instead, his butt started getting warmer and he looked back to see Sora using a fire spell to heat his keyblade as he was pressing it onto Donald's butt making his tail set on fire. Donald then started quacking around while his tail was on fire leaving most concerned at the sight but others like Sora laughing at the sight. Once Donald finally put the fire out, he fell to the ground and looked up at Sora with a hurt expression.

"I told you if you left me behind again, I would set your butt on fire." Donald then looked at Goofy, annoyed to which Goofy just smirked and shrugged.

"Ugh... Alright! Alright! I was being a jerk and really shouldn't have abandoned you guys. I'm sorry." Goofy then gave Donald a healing potion to help him back up.

"Apology accepted Donald, now come on! Let's go!"

***

Riku ran down the halls and didn't stop until he was sure that he was alone. Riku then finally caught his breath, or at least he would have if he didn't feel a presence around him. It was like something made of shadows was quickly shifting between the walls and corners. Riku tried looking around but could never see it clearly, but then, despite having his wall to the back, he felt a presence behind him. Riku then turned around to see a shadow with four goat horns on its head with evil looking crimson red eyes.

"Who are you? I've never seen you before!"

Oh, my adorable little Knight, as much as I'd love to answer your questions, I'm afraid your main issue is with the King.

"What?" Riku then turned around to see Ansem standing there looking at him with disappointment.

"You failed your task."

"Wait please, just give me another chance! I can do better!"

"I know you can, but not without my help. So as your Master, it seems only fitting that I give you my power!"

***

Sora and friends made it to the Castle Chapel where Maleficent, Hades and several Keyblade Wielders of Darkness were. Everyone on both sides quickly got ready to fight, Cloud and Sora were especially fixated on Hades.

"Oh, great you two again. All we need is the Wonder Boy and we'll have the whole parade of pathetic."

"You won't even need to worry about him if you ever bothered to handle things yourself."

"Ugh, there it is the annoying tough guy persona you got going Storm boy. You know you're not so much of a good guy yourself you-"

"Enough of the useless dialogue you fools! Besides, in a few moments it won't matter anyways. Soon we will have Kingdom Hearts and you all will be nothing but horrible memories as we conquer your worlds as well as the infinite other worlds of the multiverse."

"Yeah, so you see kids, even without baby boy Riku we can still crush you like the... uh... I'm trying to think of a word that's not offensive... Bugs, you are. literal vermin. tiny pathetic worms that squirm under our feet as we crush you slowly! Yeah, I'd say that was pretty child friendly." Just then the room shook as a magical pulse of energy flew through the room making both Maleficent and Hades smile.

"Doxcrum is almost finished with the spell! The time is now! Destroy the fools who dare stand against the Dark Army!" The Keyblade Wielders of Darkness yelled in unison as they charged towards Sora and his friends. Sora then raised his keyblade and charged first while everyone followed, eventually causing a clash between the two forces. None of the Keyblade Wielders of Darkness ended up clashing with Sora, Donald, or Goofy, which was perfect, now Sora could focus only on Maleficent and Hades.

Sora jumped at Maleficent with his Keyblade ready to strike her, but she used her staff to not only block his attack but to also push him back. Hades then unleashed a barrage of fire, to burn the three of them. Donald quickly cast an ice spell on Goofy's shield, then Goofy enhanced his shield with magic making it larger. Goofy's large shield, combined with the ice, was able to nullify the Hades attack. Hades growled in anger, unleashed his dark aura, and manifested six large arms of darkness. The dark arms stretched towards Donald and Goofy, but Sora jumped in front of them, manifested his Three Wishes Keyblade, and slashed at the arms, making Hades get punched in the face six times.

As Hades flew away from the force of his own punches, leaving Maleficent alone and grunting at Sora with anger. However, rather than attacking head on Maleficent made Sora's shadow into a large circle surrounding him. Out of the shadow manifested several chains of pure darkness, they latched onto Sora binding him while slowly crushing him. Thankfully Donald expected a heavy attack, so he powered up a triple core spell of ice, fire, and lightning. While Maleficent was distracted with her assumed victory Donald shot Maleficent with the spell. It did hit, however Maleficent simply looked annoyed as flames, ice, and electricity covered her. Instead, Maleficent simply shook the elements off of her and proceeded to cast dark lighting on all three of them, making them all yell in pain.

"Sora! Hang on!" Spiderman managed to shake off the Keyblade Wielder of Darkness he was fighting, swung by Maleficent, and punched her in the face as he passed her by. Tarzan saw what Spiderman did, he ended up grabbing his web and using it to wing like a vine toward Maleficent. Once he swung by her, he kicked her in the stomach making her grunt in anger and annoyance. Now the dark lighting stopped, and Sora was free. Donald then walked up to Sora and charged up an ice spell; Sora smiled since he understood, he then started casting an ice spell as well. They combined their spells to create an even stronger ice spell and shot it right at Maleficent. Maleficent was now covered in ice now, but she could still move only very slowly as the ice was both hindering and slowly damaging her.

"Come on! Now is our chance!" Sora charged at Maleficent and slashed her with his Olympia Keyblade. Goofy then charged his magical aura and it shot out as a light construct clone of him and ran toward Maleficent bashing her with the light construct shield. Donald then put more magic in his staff than normal to cast a lightning spell stronger than before, unleashing it on Maleficent.

"Hey! Let us help!" Cloud and Leon jumped up toward Maleficent and slashed her as they slowly fell to the ground. Maleficent screamed in anger as she broke all the ice off her body, falling to the ground due to the overwhelming pain and damage she received. However, she wasn't done, instead her eyes ignited in green flames as black smoke started spreading everywhere around her. Soon growling could be heard from within the smoke and not long after, Maleficent rose from it as a large dragon. Hades was only seconds from rejoining the battle but once he saw Maleficent he made a disappointed expression, opened a void behind him, and simply walked in to be transported back to his own world while holding two peace signs in the air.

"Lady Maleficent has lost her mind!"

"Everybody run!" The Keyblade Wielders of Darkness all quickly ran from the room leaving Sora and the others to deal with Maleficent. Maleficent herself rose up tall and roared at everyone, fully displaying just how powerful she was.

"Uh, ok this is going to be hard." Maleficent lowered her head toward Sora so that she could blast him with fire, but thankfully Donald countered with an extremely powerful and long-lasting ice blast. Donald ended up yelling with all his might while casting the ice spell as Maleficent was blasting him back with her fire breath. It was an amazing sight at first but after a while Sora, Goofy, and the others started looking at Donald in confusion, they all wondered how he was still able to yell for so long.

"Uh, Goofy? Is Donald going to be, ok?"

"Well, he's not called the Head Wizard of Disney Castle for nothing." Eventually Donald became the one victorious when Maleficent couldn't breathe fire anymore. Donald, however, could keep going and his ice blast ended up going all the way toward Maleficent, filling her dragon mouth with ice.

"Now!" Cloud, Leon, Ariel, Aladdin, and Peter Pan charged toward Maleficent's front legs causing her to rise up and stand on her hind legs.

"Sora!" Sora saw Spiderman swinging across the ceiling while holding out his left hand for him. Sora smiled, manifested his Fairy Harp Keyblade, and flew up to Spiderman to take his hand. Once Sora grabbed his hands, Spiderman let go of the web he was swinging with, used Sora's weight to spin around and once they were going fast enough, he let go of Sora. Sora was now flying toward Maleficent and once he was close enough, he slashed her with the Olympia Keyblade. With the combination of force and damage, Maleficent was pushed to the ground and landed hard on her back. This did stun her for a while, but it also broke all the ice in her mouth, though thankfully even that did some extra damage.

Once Sora landed on the ground, he tried to charge at Maleficent again in hopes of slashing her until she was defeated. However, Maleficent proved to be faster and used her wings to blow Sora and everyone else away. Maleficent used the chance to get back up and destroy them, but thankfully Merlin and Fairy Godmother stepped forward to stop her.

"Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo!"

"Higitus Figitus Zumbabazing!" from both their wands concentrated beams of pure light shot right towards Maleficent. The dragon tried to use her wings to defend herself, but the blasts of pure light were two strong and Maleficent's wings ended up getting blasted clean off. Maleficent roars with a mixture of pain and anger. However, Maleficent unleashed her Dark Aura and used it to manifest dark tentacles from her back with sharp blade ends. Sora just smirked at the sight of them all aiming for him as he manifested his Three Wishes Keyblade to deflect the attack. However, to Sora's shock Maleficent anticipated this and redirected the tentacles toward everyone else.

Yuffie, Sid, Aerith, managed to use their weapons to block the attack but Peter Pan had to get Tarzan out of the way and Spiderman did the same for Ariel. However, despite dodging the tentacles, they kept chasing everyone to slice them into pieces. Sora kept trying to slice off the tentacles, but they were moving too fast for him to slice them properly. However, suddenly his keyblade started glowing and transformed into a red and blue keyblade with silver spider web details around it. The ring guard was silver and shaped like the outline of a spiderweb and the bit of the key was a silver spider. Sora had no time to figure out what this keyblade did, so he just pointed it at the tentacles and hoped for the best. Thankfully, on command, it tied them all together with spiderwebs keeping them all still and together. However, before Sora could cut them all, Maleficent wrapped all her tentacles together and used them all to crush him into the ground.

Despite being a dragon Maleficent started laughing thinking that she was victorious, all while everyone was silent at the sight of Sora being crushed. However, Sora suddenly started growing while holding his Lady Luck Keyblade. He then used his Keyblade to slice the tentacles off and with his big size he punched Maleficent in the back with all his might, crushing her to the ground.

"Ha... I really gotta stop forgetting I have this Keyblade." Sora then manifested his Crabclaw Keyblade and shot Maleficent with gallons of water while he fell to the ground. Once Sora was getting dangerously close to the ground, he manifested his Fairy Harp Keyblade to slow down and charged up a lighting spell. With Maleficent covered in water and after being hit by the lighting spell, she was instantly electrocuted with five times as many volts due to the water. Sora wasn't done and manifested his Pumpkinhead Keyblade and shot as many Jack-o-lantern missiles at Maleficent as he could before running out of magical energy. Sora then fell to his knees out of exhaustion while the jack-o-lantern missiles blew up Maleficent. Forcing her back into her normal form. Maleficent slowly got up and weakly tried to leave but before she could Aladdin ran up to her and pointed his sword right at her neck.

"Where is Jasmin? What did you do to her?!" When Sora heard Aladdin's question he got up and walked over to him with confusion.

"Wait, Jasmin? But I thought she was safe." Maleficent started laughing at the two of them despite having no energy to defend herself.

"You fool, no number of worlds we destroyed would have gotten us the power needed to obtain Kingdom Hearts. That's why we were really after the Princesses of Heart. Just like your useless friend Kairi, we have imprisoned them and drained their hearts of its disgusting light! With the Fragments of Light, we created as a result, Kingdom Hearts will be within our grasp! And you're already too late! Soon the gate will be opened, and your Princesses will be lost forever!" Aladdin yelled in anger and slashed Maleficent's head off, as Maleficent just smiled sinisterly and continued laughing as her head and body slowly faded into darkness.

"Aladdin! Calm down!"

"I'm sorry it's just... I thought we were safe, and those monsters just took her, they probably took others too."

"We'll get them back, all of them! No matter what!" Aladdin looked back at Sora and smiled but then his body started glitching out and a small earthquake went off. Sora then looked back and saw everyone else in pain as they're bodies started glitching out as well. Chip and Dale quickly ran toward Sora with distress on their faces.

"Sora! We have to hurry!"

"The magic of the Gummi ship is going to wear off and when it does the results are more unstable than we thought! If we don't get these guys home within an hour then not only will this world start suffering unnatural disasters, but these guys will get weaker and weaker until... they won't be strong enough to take a single breath." Sora was afraid to hear the stakes were now even higher, but he shook his head and looked to the staircase with determination.

"Then we better get moving! Come on everyone! This is the final push!"

***

Following Sora, everyone charged into the main ritual room where all seven princesses were being held.

"What the heck?"

"Oh wow, this is messed up."

"Who are all these girls?"

"Hey! There's Jasmin!" Aladdin then ran over to the dark crystal where Jasmin was being held, Sora watched him only to see that Alice was being held in one as well.

"Alice!" Sora ran to her but as soon as he touched the crystal it felt like touching hot coal, so he backed away.

"Augh! I don't understand, we saved Wonderland."

"Actually lad, ye saved ONLY Wonderland." Sora looked around in confusion to see where that voice was coming from. He ended up finding the room right next to the chamber where there was a wide space with a small staircase leading up to the floor where the gateway was. And right in front of the gateway Doxcrum was using the seven Fragments of Light to create the portal to Kingdom Hearts.

"Alice, however, belongs to a different world so getting her was easy. Meanwhile sure ye did snib up Agrabah bit that only keeps th' heartless 'n' wee rank Keyblade Wielders o' Darkness out. Someone lik' me, however, getting in is as easy as crushing a caber."

"... Don't you mean as easy as crushing a grape?"

"I ken what I said, lad." Doxcrum then split in two with one of his copy continuing the spell while the other walked down the staircase and towards Sora.

"Now then, I ken how come you're 'ere 'n' let me tell ye, yer ain't getting it. So, give up, right 'ere 'n' now. Do that 'n' I'll ensure that ye git a piece o' th' infinity bridie that is Kingdom Hearts." Sora looked at Doxcrum with disappointment, he refused the offer of joining the Dark Army so many times, why would he want to accept now. Instead, Sora just shook his head as he manifested his Keyblade to fight. Doxcrum ended up laughing at the sight.

"Hahaha. Yer funeral, lad." Doxcrum kicked Sora in the stomach, making him fly back, forcing Jack Skellington to catch him to break the impact. Jack Skellington then glared at Doxcrum and yelled like a war cry. This time Goofy led the charge and everyone followed him toward Doxcrum.

"Well, isn't this dowie, I bet I could beat ye all wi' one hand." Doxcrum then raised his left arm while holding his right behind his back. Cloud ended up being the fastest and jumped up toward Doxcrum as he descended, he swung his sword downwards at Doxcrum. Doxcrum ended up holding the sword with just his bare hand, but Cloud wasn't done, he held out his hand at Doxcrum's face and used his magic to unleash a lethal amount of electricity. However, Doxcrum was unphased and even managed to flick Cloud's sword away and punch him in the face with both ease and incredible speed.

Leon tried to ambush him with a stabbing strike but not only did Doxcrum use his speed to catch it he also forced the sword back, making the handle of the sword hit Leon in the stomach with incredible force and speed. Yuffie threw her Shuriken at Doxcrum only for him to slap it away, Yuffie grunted in anger as she kept running toward Doxcrum. She started punching him at high speed, or at least that was the plan, but Doxcrum proved to be faster and dodged every single punch with ease. Once Yuffie was done Doxcrum turned around and did a back kick at her stomach making her fly away like the others.

Aerith ran toward Doxcrum and hit him hard with her staff, she managed to hit him several times and it was clear from the impact it was heavy damage. However, Doxcrum didn't move an inch from any of the hits, instead he took them all and once she was done, he flicked her forehead making her fly away as well. Sid tried to back her up with his spear but once again Doxcrum caught the spear, lifted it up and used it to hit Sid in the face three times with the butt end. Doxcrum then forcefully took the spear and used it to hit Sid like a baseball making him fly toward the wall of the room. Doxcrum then threw the spear at Sid just barely missing his head, scaring Sid but also making him grow with anger.

"Is that all ye got, bairns?" Sora was shocked at the sight, he thought that after Maleficent there shouldn't be anyone stronger other than the mysterious Master of the Dark Army. But here they are with someone entirely different who was so strong and fast he literally beat everyone from Traverse Town with one hand. However, Sora still had his other friends, and they weren't out of the battle yet.

"Not even close!" Sora manifested a fire spell but didn't fire, instead he also manifested a lighting spell and just barely did an ice spell. The triple core spell didn't do anything to Maleficent, but he had to try. He shot the spell at Doxcrum who just stood there as it flew toward him. But once the spell was close enough, he raised his left hand but strangely it morphed into three arms with each hand blocking off each of the cores of the spell.

"What?!"

"Haha! all right, looks lik' I was wrong lad!" Doxcrum then opened his arms wide and from his back several other arms started sprouting out.

"I do need more than one hand to beat ye!" More hands sprouted out until Doxcrum he had thousands of arms grown out of his back, each one of different sizes and lengths. Spiderman then swung forward and tried to web up as many of the arms as he could, but Doxcrum combined several arms into a single large one allowing him to grab Spiderman. The large hand then crushed Spiderman and flicked him toward a wall leaving him incapacitated. Jack Skellington unleashed his fire aura and charged at Doxcrum only to be crushed by another large arm. The arms then started stretching and swarming around, Aladdin, Ariel, Tarzan, and Peter Pan tried to fight off the arms or at least get away from them, but the arms were everywhere and grabbed them quickly. Doxcrum then retracted all of his arms except for the ones holding those four, instead he raised them all in the air and slammed them all into the ground. Both Merlin and Fairy Godmother tried to cast more spells to stop him, but his arm split in two and both copies stretched out to punch both their stomachs, leaving them both stunned on the ground.

Suddenly, just in time Donald and Goofy got in front of Sora to help him out, Donald made sure to drink lots of mana potions filling him with lots and lots of magical energy. Donald then started firing consecutive and powerful fireballs at Doxcrum. However, Doxcrum ended up slapping away, each and every fireball away from him with ease. Donald kept firing but Doxcrum wasn't stopping and still getting closer. Donald was no longer yelling but instead getting increasingly scared as Doxcrum just kept getting closer while slapping away all the fireballs with incredible speed. Eventually Doxcrum reached Donald, grabbed him by the face and slammed him hard on the ground. Goofy tried to shield bash Doxcrum but within a second, Doxcrum punched the shield with such incredible force. The recoil forced Goofy to go flying and hit the wall of the room hard, knocking him out.

Now Sora was alone but not out of the fight, Sora charged at Doxcrum while yelling in anger. At first, he tried slashing at Doxcrum, aiming for the waist, head, and legs but once again Doxcrum dodged with great speed. Eventually Sora was getting frustrated and started swinging mindlessly. Doxcrum then slipped past Sora and hit him in the back of the neck making him fall to the ground in pain.

Sora grunted in frustration, got up, and manifested his Spider Web Keyblade to shoot webs at Doxcrum's legs, keeping him still. However, after Sora tried to charge at him Doxcrum kicked Sora in the face after freeing himself with his strength alone. Fairy Harp Keyblade bit down on the pain and used his Fairy Harp Keyblade to fly away from Doxcrum aiming for his copy that was finishing the spell. But the real Doxcrum grabbed Sora by the leg with one of his stretching arms and used it to pull Sora back and slam him hard onto the ground. Sora, still on the ground, manifested his Crabclaw Keyblade and aimed at Doxcrum while charging up both an ice and lighting spell. The combo as well as the Keyblade's power to make water both froze and heavily electrocuted Doxcrum. Or at least it should have, but Doxcrum seemingly took no damage and kicked Sora away from him.

Sora was getting in more and more pain, but he refused to give up, he manifested his Pumpkinhead Keyblade and shot six jack-o-lantern missiles at Doxcrum. Doxcrum took all the missiles head on and just waved away the smoke as if it was more of an annoyance than actual damage. Before Doxcrum could do anything else, Sora manifested his Jungle King Keyblade and shot out a vine at Doxcrum quickly commanding the jungle vine to crush Doxcrum. Instead Doxcrum simply grabbed the vine and ripped it off of him. Sora grunted in frustration, manifested his Olympia Keyblade, and charged at Doxcrum. Again, Doxcrum did nothing to dodge the attack but once he was hit, the intense force didn't seem to damage him at all. Doxcrum then punched Sora in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

Sora couldn't help but whimper in pain but rather than start crying he just looked up at Doxcrum with anger. Sora then manifested his Lady Luck Keyblade, grew very large and stomped on Doxcrum. Sora didn't stop at just one stomp; he kept stomping and didn't stop until he was sure that Doxcrum was down. When Sora finally stopped, he lifted his leg to see a small puddle of darkness left there. Sora felt guilt consuming his heart as he thought about the horrific crime he just committed. However, the battle wasn't over, Doxcrum's arm stretched out of the puddle, grew larger, and grabbed Sora by the neck. Soon Doxcrum's whole body grew out of the puddle and when he was done regenerating, he ended up being larger than Sora, to the point he could barely fit in the room. Sora couldn't help but look in defeat, he tried everything and so did his friends and it still wasn't enough. Doxcrum was unbeatable.

"Had enough Lad?" Sora dropped his keyblade making him shrink to normal size, Doxcrum made sure to shrink himself as well so he could keep his grip on Sora. Once they were back to normal size, Sora started crying.

"Och don't cha start greetin' lad. Soon it will all be over, now that yer done fightin' ye can instead help us get Kingdom Hearts." Sora was still crying but then wiped his tears and looked at Sora with a smirk. Doxcrum was genuinely shocked and confused by this, even more so when Sora's heart started glowing.

"Sorry old man, but I'm too stubborn to give up." Sora then punched Doxcrum and for once not only did it land but it actually made Doxcrum grunt in pain. Sora wanted to cheer knowing he finally found something that hurt Doxcrum but right now he needed to run. Sora ran over to the other room where the other princesses were being kept.

"Augh! Ye wee besom! I'll rip ye to pieces!" Doxcrum stretched his arm out to grab Sora but suddenly stopped and started acting like something was talking to him.

"What? I'm kinda in th' middle o' something! Hauld yer horses- what?! ye serious? but we... Ugh! braw! hope ye ken what yer doing." Doxcrum then widened his arms and several keyblades manifested around him. Doxcrum then held out his hand and Wayward Wind Keyblade came forward and placed itself in his hand. Once Docrum had it all the other Keyblade disappeared, he then raised the keyblade like it was a throwing spear and aimed it right at Sora who was so close to Kairi's dark Crystal.

Thankfully, Sora managed to reach Kairi's dark crystal but now that he was here, he wasn't even sure of what he should do. He just knew that without her the Dark Army's plans wouldn't work and he would get her back after freeing her, so it was a win-win. Sora had this in mind because he forgot about Maleficent telling him that they already harvested the Fragments of Light. Regardless, that didn't deny the fact that Sora still didn't know how to get her out. Though, Sora's heart was still glowing with the golden aura so he thought he could somehow use the power to wake Kairi and the other princesses up so he could get all his friends and get out of here. However, before Sora could do anything suddenly the Wayward Wind keyblade stabbed Sora in the chest. The force from the Keyblade ended up pushing Sora closer to Kairi and unfortunately made her stabbed by the keyblade as well.

"Whoops! that wasn't supposed to happen. This is definitely comin' back to bite us." Sora grunted in pain as his body started to glitch out of existence and so did Kairi's. Though the good news was that her dark crystal started breaking because of it. Once her crystal shattered Sora caught her and held her in his arms as he collapsed to the ground with his body and Kairi's both glitching.

"Ugh! Kairi get up! Augh! Please we have to get out of here!" Kairi remained unresponsive while she continued to glitch out of existence. Sora was barely holding on, but then he noticed his body was starting to stabilize as the light in his heart glowed brighter.

That annoying power does have its perks.

"Wha- what do you mean?"

That power of heart those old geezers gave you. It works especially well since you're such an annoyingly sweet brat.

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

Shut up and listen, the power is protecting your heart and body, but your friend will continue to fade until she becomes an extremely dangerous Heartless.

"... How do I save her?"

Use your power on her instead, it will drain your chances of recovering but it will save her.

"What about the others?"

Forget about them, nothing can save them all now. Sora looked at the other Princesses of Heart, he only knew Jasmin and Alice; he had no idea about the others. But just because they were strangers didn't mean he was just going to keep them here to rot. And the same went for everyone else who came here with him, they all risked their lives to save him. He didn't know how or if he even could, but Sora did know that he wanted to save everyone here with all his heart. Suddenly his Heart started glowing brighter than ever before and from it several tendrils of light sprouted out. One touched Kairi and her body started stabilizing and six others touched the hearts of the other princess, slowly destroying the dark crystals they were trapped in. Then even more tendrils of pure golden light manifested and reached out to all of Sora's friends. Donald, Goofy, Merlin, Fairy Godmother, Sid, Yuffie, Aerith, Cloud, Leon, Tarzan, Aladdin, Jack Skellington, Ariel, Peter Pan, and Spiderman soon started recovering from their injuries and were getting massive boosts in power.

... Well, I'll be damned, you're so full of surprises little rook, but remember what I said. Everything has a price. Sora could feel himself weakening and everything around him fading from vision. Sora then looked at his hands and saw them turning into light particles that slowly faded away as his body slowly disappeared. Sora should have been scared at the idea of him dying but instead he smiled that he got to use his power to save everyone just like he wanted to. To make it all even better, Kairi started waking up and so did the other princesses as they were breaking out of their dark crystal prisons.

"Welp, jobby juist skelp th' fan!" However, the gateway was finally finished and transformed into a portal of magical light. Doxcrum's copy then quickly returned to him and so did the Seven Fragments of Light.

"Well, I got what I wanted so I'm out. See ye losers!" Doxcrum then opened a void as everyone around him slowly got up thanks to Sora's magic. Kairi was now fully awake and saw Sora holding her in his arms. She wasn't aware he was slowly disappearing, so she just smiled warmly at him.

"My knight in shining armor, you did it. You saved us all."

"Yeah, I'm sorry I made you wait so long."

"Don't be, I knew you'd show up eventually. That's what I love about you Sora, no matter how long it takes you always keep running toward your goal." As the other princesses started waking up Merlin, Fairy Godmother, Donald, and Goofy quickly started helping them. Soon everyone else started trying to help. Aladdin ran up to Jasmin, hugging and kissing her out of joy now knowing she was safe. The other princesses were confused but not Cinderella once she saw Fairy Godmother. Fairy Godmother then told the other princesses that they were here to get them all home, allowing the confused princesses to calm down from all the confusion. With their time running out and the princesses finally free everyone was slowly getting ready to leave Hollow Bastion. Kairi noticed this and got up with a smile on her face knowing not only was she and everyone else free, but she was with Sora again. Kairi then grabbed Sora's hand to help him up.

"Come on Sora, thanks to you we can get out of here!" However, Sora's hand fell out of Kairi's grip making her look back at him in confusion. Kairi then covered her mouth in shock as she saw bits of Sora turning into sparks of light and flying away until they faded into nothing. Slowly but surely Sora was falling apart but despite that he kept smiling at Kairi.

"Sorry Kairi, I think you'll need to go back on your own, I... I won't be able to go with you." Once all the other princesses were free, everyone gathered around Sora as they all started to see the bad news.

"What's happening to him?"

"Is he dying?"

"No! Not Sora, no!"

"Someone help him! Master Merlin, can't you do something?"

"I cannot Lady Yuffie, he used the light directly from his heart to save us all, I'm afraid there's nothing that can be done to reverse the effects." Kairi, like many others, started crying as Sora continued to fade away. She then hugged him tightly and Sora weakly hugged her back with all the remaining strength he could muster.

"Sora! Please don't leave me!"

"I'm sorry Kairi... I guess you'll have to go on adventures without me."

"Sora you don't deserve this!"

"Neither did you, I'm glad I had a hand in helping you all. I don't regret a bit of it."

"Sora... I'll find a way to bring you back! I promise! Just like how you brought me back! I don't care how long it takes! I will bring you back!" Sora then smiled as a single tear left his right eye.

"I'll be waiting." Kairi then started crying harder as she hugged Sora even tighter than before, not wanting to let him go. Sora and Kairi continued hugging until Sora was completely gone, all that was left was his heart which slowly floated into the air and faded away as well.

"Well, isn't that unfortunate, but I suppose a win is a win." Everyone then turned to see Riku in his dark suit walking toward them with an entourage of at least twenty Keyblade Wielders of Darkness.

"Riku?"

"Not quite my dear, but I guess you could say he's in safe hands. So frankly I would be more worried about yourself. I find it quite interesting that you're awake despite the fact that we drained your hearts to get the Fragments of Light. But it seems a new form of light has made you all whole again, interesting. Perhaps there's some value in keeping you here." Riku then snapped his fingers and all the Keyblade Wielders of Darkness started running forward. Cloud, Peter Pan, Tarzan, Spiderman, Leon, and Sid all ran to the front of the group to fight them off. The plan was to keep them back while the others got the princesses out but soon their bodies started glitching as a result of the Gummi Ship's magic dwindling.

"Ugh! We can't fight! We have to retreat!"

"Come on everyone! Follow us to the Gummi ship!" Merlin, Fairy Godmother and the Traverse Town group were escorting the Princesses out of the room and everyone else followed. Donald and Goofy were about to follow but they stopped when they saw Kairi. She was still sitting there looking at where Sora once was, wishing he would come back. Then Donald and Goofy helped her up and tried leading her out.

"Please... I want to be with him a little longer."

"I'm sorry Kairi, but he did it so that you could wake up again."

"It's not fair, we just got back together. Why does he have to lose everything just so I could come back?"

"Sora would do it again if he could, he never stopped talking about you and Riku. You were both worth it to him."

"I never got to even share the paopu fruit with him, like I always wanted too." Kairi then stood up and looked back at Riku who was smirking at her as his Keyblade Wielders of Darkness were getting closer.

"... I'll come back and save you." Kairi then looked back to where Sora was before he disappeared. Her eyes shed one more tear before she wiped it away and deeply breathed in and out with determination.

"Both of you. I promise." Kairi then nodded to show she was ready to go. Goofy and Donald then escorted Kairi as they followed everyone else out of Hollow Bastion. All the While the Keyblade Wielders of Darkness followed them, slowly getting closer.

***

Once everyone was out of the room a dark tendril shot out from the ground and into the ceiling. Soon it started pulling down Sora's heart. Once Sora's heart was low enough a shadow with four goat horns and crimson red glowing eyes manifested on the ground. It looked at Sora's heart and started laughing with sinister joy.

Everything has a price, my adorable Rook. Everything. Soon Sora's heart was slowly being consumed by the most powerful and concentrated form of the darkness. 

.

Part 12

Part 10

#DZtheNerd #Kingdom Hearts: The Brightest of Hearts #Kingdom Hearts #kingdom hearts sora #kingdom hearts riku #kingdom hearts goofy #kingdom hearts donald #kingdom hearts fanfiction #kingdom hearts fanfic #Kingdom Hearts AU #Kingdom Hearts OC #Disney #Disney Heroes #Disney Princesses #disney villains #Keyblade #keyblade wielders #keyblade wielders of darkness #Keyblade Wielders of Light

[julieverne]

"If we don't make it out of here alive," Maura starts tentatively. They're in another active shooter situation, hunkered down in a crawl space.

"Mau, we're getting out of here," Jane snaps back, listening to the footfalls of the people downstairs. They'd been checking out a suspect's house, and they'd come home the same time as the person who'd killed the body BPD had found arrived. Frost and Korsak had been outside, and Jane had shoved Maura in a closet, then up into the ceiling, hauling herself up after her.

"Jane! Listen to me! Fuck," Maura says, and Jane's attention is drawn from the situation downstairs, so unusual was Maura's swearing. Her hand reaches for Maura, takes one of her hands.

"I'm trying to make sure we get out of here," Jane whispers. Maura nods.

"But if we don't, you need to know. I've never loved anyone the way I've loved you." Maura's hand is sticky, and Jane looks down. Blood. Maura's blood is covering both their hands. Jane drops the hand, lifts Maura's shirt, looking for the wound, stopping when Maura gasps in pain.

"Fuck," Jane agrees, shrugging off her jacket, pulling off her button down and her undershirt, shrugging her button down back on but not bothering to do it up as she pulls at Maura's shirt, pulling out a knife to cut it away from Maura's shoulder rather than trying to lift it over her head. She wraps the undershirt around Maura's shoulder to staunch the flow of blood, and Maura's forehead presses to Jane's chest. "It's going to be ok," Jane says, wrapping her arms around Maura, using one hand to text Frost.

"Did you hear me, Jane?" Maura's hand slides under Jane's open shirt, pressing against the scar on Jane's abdomen. "I love you. You need to know."

"I love you too," Jane says, listening for the backup, the ambulance she's asked for. "More than anyone. Stay with me, ok? We'll be out of here soon, and it will just be one of those bad days in the office, huh?" Jane can feel Maura's tears on her bared chest, can feel Maura's uneven breathing. "Hurts, huh?" Jane asks, and Maura pulls back, looks up at Jane.

"All the time I've wasted," Maura says vaguely, her unbloodied hand coming up to cradle Jane's cheek, to pull Jane's face down so Maura can kiss her, lips salty from the tears still falling down her face. Jane has wondered what it would be like to kiss Maura, but never like this, while Maura is bleeding and crying, in obvious pain and fearing for her life. Never as a last wish, or whatever this was. But a kiss is a kiss, and Jane takes it, returns it, cradles Maura in her arms as she passes out.

---

Maura's eyes open slowly, reluctantly.

"Hey, you," a voice says, and Maura turns her head. The familiar mane of curly hair, blood on that familiar face. "They got the bullet out." Jane's hand is holding Maura's, and Maura stares down at their hands. Jane presses a buzzer, but Maura isn't ready to deal with anyone else. A nurse comes and explains everything that's happened, everything they did, and Maura just nods, aware of Jane's hand in hers. Aware that she kissed Jane. The nurse leaves, and Jane smiles down at Maura as though nothing is wrong, as though nothing has changed.

"You were pretty insistent about how much you love me," Jane says finally.

"I've never been shot before," Maura defends herself, seeing Jane deflate. "It doesn't make it any less true," she admits, looking away. "I've been too scared to tell you."

"You can tell me anything. Just, not while we're hiding from an assassin and a murderer next time, ok?"

"How about while recovering from a gunshot wound?" Maura asks.

"Sounds good to me," Jane smiles, and Maura takes a breath, flinching as her stitches catch.

"I love you," she says quietly, carefully.

"Love you too, Mau," Jane says. She leans in and kisses Maura, sits back down and kisses Maura's hand too. "Always will."

#rizzoli and isles #rizzles #rizzoli & isles #jane x maura #jane and maura #jane rizzoli #maura isles #rizzles ficlet #rizzles fanfic

[idle-compy]

s5 spoiler review ahead!!

Ok, so I didn't do a review while watching this time so we'll see how much I remember. Also, this is probably more of me talking about my favorite moments rather than a review

First of all, this season was so much better than 4. It actually developed the characters and focused on their relationships with each other. I loved the fact that the characters felt real. They were joking around, trying to have fun when it wasn't really the time. They were being kids. Also, so much more dinosaurs and so much less robots.

Yasammy canon?!?!?! I mean I knew it was gonna happen but when it happened?? Ya girl lost her mind. The kiss??? Absolutely spectacular. Sammy pretending like the didn't hear Yaz so she would repeat her confession?? They're secret "I love you" language?? I will never recover

And on that note, Ben being absolutely the perfect person for Yaz to go to about it. He knew exactly what to say and the scenes of him trying to get them together were so wholesome but also lowkey hilarious

And Ben in general?? Like they somehow took perfect s4 Ben and made him more perfect. Also that scene where Bumpy was going after him while controlled was insane. The way Ben was just going to accept his fate, but not blame Bumpy because she couldn't help it, and then she managed to break control of the chip so she wouldn't have to hurt him :'))

Also I'm so glad that Darius finally got to process and talk about his feeling with someone. Him lashing out at Kenji?? He has been way overdue for all that. I did appreciate that this season adressed the fact that he shoves his feelings down

Brand, Dave, and Roxie showing up early in the season was absolutely perfect. Even though it took them until the last episode to actually find them, I loved getting to watch the lead up to that. Also, Mae working with them was perfect

Mae was also a delight once again this season. The way she was willing to sacrifice herself to Nublar if it meant Mantah Corp not getting what they want. Absolutely iconic of her

Kenji's dad just kept getting more and more awful. Everything you think he couldn't get worse he did. It was hard to watch him lie and manipulate Kenji to get what he wanted. That showdown scene between him and Kenji at the plane?? He couldn't even tell his son he cared about him or that he loved him, and barely put up a fight to get Kenji on that plane before just leaving him there

I actually liked Kenji's development. Watching him slowly fall into this mold his father was making him into, working really hard just to make his dad happy, just to realize he cared about his business and his name more than his own child. The end where he realized he didn't really have parents anymore was painful

But, while it's depressing, he got a better family!!! Seeing Darius' mom take him in instantly made me cry so much

On that note, the reunions scenes!! When Darius and Brand saw each other again?? That's when my tears started and then didn't stop for the rest of the episode. Also seeing how excited Dave and Roxie got to see these kids they only knew for a week, and then the kids reuniting with their parents. I was just a sobbing mess by then

When it cut to grown Darius giving a speech, I just broke. He's grown so much!! And then Kenji was still there!! Living with him!! They're brothers!! And they we got to see the rest of the campfam??? Sammy and Yaz live together, Ben's off working alongside dinos with Mae, and Brooklynn's a detective?? Perfect. All of it. Except for Yaz, Sammy, and Ben's designs?? Yaz and Sammy just looked cheap (Sammy was still in the same shirt) and, I don't know, just wasn't really digging Ben's

Ok, now for some smaller things I loved that I can remember

Darius cried!! Three times!! Finally!!

"But have you ever though about that maybe you want be more than best friends?" "Um, Yaz. Bumpy's a dinosaur? I just don't think it would work"

Also Ben's awful accents?? Peak

Brands new jacket!!

I know I mentioned it above, BUT THE YASAMMY KISS?? I will never stop thinking about it

"I've been trying to tell you something all day just waiting for the perfect moment, but there are no perfect moments and even though I probably still smell like the tunnel and it looks like you have nothosaurus drool in your hair and Ben is standing right there... I can't wait another minute to tell you how I feel!!"

The kids creating a new watering hole for the dinos!! And they dived off the cliff into it!! And Yasammy jumped together!! Holding hands!!

The Nublar Six. That's all I'm gonna say

Ok this is all I can think of for now!! It will probably be updated throughout the day

#jurassic world camp cretaceous #camp cretaceous #jwcc spoilers #s5 spoilers #jwcc #s5 #c posts

[ave-immaculata]

Hey, I want to preface this with that it's kind of long, that however it maybe reads it isn't frustration with you, your post about recovery and things being debiliating brought up some feelings

You're not obliged to read all this, and I see you as sympathetic so don't think any of the open ended questions are directed at you rather than... being said to an empty theatre

So I hope you have a good day, and if you're wise you'll skip everything after this as is your right to do

If you'll forgive an anon about that post you made, the truth is...

I mean... I try... I try to work on things in my life. I don't know if I try to recover, but I try not to stand still. I got myself my place, I got my mom's trailer cleaned out, I slowly work on cleaning up my place even though no one taught me how

...and it just feels like... do I have to fix myself too? I don't want to be here, I've wanted to kill myself for years, but I haven't so I know I can't stand still or I'll be stuck. Is that not enough for people? Must I fix myself too?

I've been quite literally so alone for my whole life. This pandemic, everyone else was really bothered by lockdown, but I didn't even notice because I was just living my life like it was any other day. That's what I mean when I say alone

So despite being alone, do I have to make myself happy too? Do I have to mend every bit of myself alone? Is it not enough that I slowly try and teach myself how to take care of thing when I was never taught how by anyone (as in I'm having to clean up after my mom, you think she taught me cleaning)?

Just... is help too much to ask for? And... yes... it is

I have more friends on here than I have in the past, but even here... I try hard to tell people that they're doing a good job, that I appreciate them and see their hard work and the quality of their character... I tell them the things I'm dying to hear. No one really thinks to say the same things back to me, maybe they're just not true about me, most likely it's just hard to be there for each other

I'm tired, and I'm tired of any time I let my gormless we'll figure it out attitude drop (which I only do here) and I'm honest about how I feel, everyone feels like so bothered by it I feel like I'm supposed to just patch myself back together

It feels like moving your arm and showing that your intestines are spilling out and having everyone just want you to fix it because it's uncomfortable to look at

I managed to push money around that despite not being able to get out of bed enough to get a job, I got my middle of nowhere house, the last affordable house in america and my perfect home... but that's not enough, I need to find a way to be happy alone

I haven't seen a friend face to face in probably over a decade, one of my friends on here who was talking about coming out and visiting just kind of suddenly changed their mind and has never told me why

As far as I can see it's impossible to love me and I will always be alone surrounded by people. It's just like high school, everyone genuinely likes me, but not enough to ever see my outside of school and now... not enough to see me ever

Based on my history, I'd say instead of killing myself like I want to and ought to, I'll make my little dream come true of running classes out of my basement and teaching people woodworking and whatever else I pick up, give them the chance to learn things I wish I'd had

Everyone will like me, I'll be totally alone. No one will ever love me, everyone will be glad I finally stapled my guys closed and even if things aren't back how they need to be at least no one's uncomfortable seeing it anymore

That's a good life, that's my honest and optimistic prediction. I think it's quite likely and I mostly like it. It's so lonely an embittering I wish I'd just quit putting things off and end it like I want to. It's exactly what I figured would happen when I was thinking as a teen, except I thought I wanted to go into medicine, so a change of scenery

I don't know what recovery is. I don't think I want it. I think if people want me to actually feel good and ever see any good in myself I'd like it if they tried, I'd like it if they told me the way I try to keep telling my friends cause I know I could say it 1000 times and it still probably can't internalize for them because of their own trauma

I don't think I want to recover, but years ago I realized I can't stand still, so I haven't, and as much as... I keep getting through everything I can figure out and going oh lord it's only the hardest tasks left, and yet again I'll drag myself kicking and screaming and get those tasks done too, and I'll do it alone like always and it's be mostly good

I'll forever be well liked and totally alone... and I'll work on functioning better alone, but I don't think I want to get better... is being happy in total isolation... is that actually getting better, or is it getting better act coping with a broken situation?

Anyway, you didn't deserve this. You don't have to figure out a response to this. I hope you took my advice and didn't read it. Tumblr shouldn't let asks be this long and I shouldn't send it but... well... I hope you can at least get why I did

I hope you have a good day, and I really am sorry about the way too many words that in the end just say nothing

There is nothing to apologize for.

I think you expected this of me, but I don't have a good answer. I do know, though, that ironic as it is, that feeling of complete isolation itself connects you, it just shouldn't be the only way forever, because you deserve more.

"I am one who has known affliction under the rod of God’s anger, One whom he has driven and forced to walk in darkness, not in light; Against me alone he turns his hand— again and again all day long. He has worn away my flesh and my skin, he has broken my bones; He has besieged me all around with poverty and hardship; He has left me to dwell in dark places like those long dead. He has hemmed me in with no escape, weighed me down with chains; Even when I cry for help, he stops my prayer; He has hemmed in my ways with fitted stones, and made my paths crooked. He has been a bear lying in wait for me, a lion in hiding! He turned me aside and tore me apart, leaving me ravaged. He bent his bow, and set me up as a target for his arrow. He pierced my kidneys with shafts from his quiver. I have become a laughingstock to all my people, their taunt all day long; He has sated me with bitterness, filled me with wormwood. He has made me eat gravel, trampled me into the dust; My life is deprived of peace, I have forgotten what happiness is; My enduring hope, I said, has perished before the Lord." Lamentations 3:1‭-‬18

This is Old Testament, this is despair that is so deeply familiar to some of us, older than the Incarnation. God had such reverence for this suffering that it's part of Sacred Scripture - and the chapter ends with hope somehow.

"But this I will call to mind; therefore I will hope: The Lord’s acts of mercy are not exhausted, his compassion is not spent; They are renewed each morning— great is your faithfulness! The Lord is my portion, I tell myself, therefore I will hope in him. The Lord is good to those who trust in him, to the one that seeks him; It is good to hope in silence for the Lord’s deliverance. It is good for a person, when young, to bear the yoke, To sit alone and in silence, when its weight lies heavy, To put one’s mouth in the dust— there may yet be hope— To offer one’s cheek to be struck, to be filled with disgrace. For the Lord does not reject forever; Though he brings grief, he takes pity, according to the abundance of his mercy; He does not willingly afflict or bring grief to human beings." (Lamentations 3:21‭-‬33)

Humans are very good at suffering, and we can become accustomed to it so much that we would rather stay in it forever than experience the pain of coming out. I know it's familiar, and I know that feeling, but you deserve more. You can be tired, you can be weary, but you deserve the fruits of recovery.

You will not mend yourself alone, you are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. Let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us. I know this was about a post that made it beyond Catholic tumblr but this is all I know how to give. You've given me a good excuse to remember my Rosary today, thank you.