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milaisreading · 2 months

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How about a Valentine's day story in a Blue Lock x Japan U20 match with manager y/n? Like while in the match and the breaks y/n gets lots of chocholate, flowers or gifts from the male fans which causes the players to be jealous and also some of the fans go even far as kissing y/n hand like a gentleman. The players had no idea that y/n made chocholate for both of the teams. She is kinda shy and scared to give them because she thought the boys wouldn't like the taste of the chocholate, the shapes of the chocholates or the color of the packets.

🩷🌱: Happy Valentine's Day, anon! This was such a cute idea, I hope you like what I wrote! Thanks for the request!

Warnings: Reader uses she/her. Requests are open

⚽️Blue Lock belongs to Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura⚽️

"Oh, damn. There are a lot of people here today!" (Y/n) gasped in surprise as she looked at the stadium that was more packed than on the previous match. Today, the JFA had organized a special match between the U-20 and Blue lock. It was nothing serious, and more meant as an entertainment program for Valentine's Day. The board members of the JFA thought it would be a good idea to organize the event as a cash grab for the holiday,which (Y/n) had to admit was a good idea. The ratings and money from the merch shops will definitely give them extra money.

'Greedy bastards.' She thought while side-eyeing the board members while she stood next to Anri and Ego.

"(Y/n), what's with that bag you brought?" Ego questioned as the boys were warming up. (Y/n), confused for a moment, looked at the item and then blushed in embarrassment while scrambling for words.

"I... I made some chocolate for the players of both teams." She whispered to the adults, which caused Anri to squeal at the cuteness.

"That's adorable! When are you giving it to them, though?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I... I don't know. I am a little embarrassed about the possible attention I might get from them... If only I could somehow avoid it." Anri and Ego kept quiet for a moment as they thought of a way to help her. Well, it was more Anri who did the thinking while Ego was busy monitoring the interaction between Rin, Sae, and Shidou.

"Ah! I know what we can do!"

"You do?" (Y/n) raised an eyebrow as Anri happily nodded her head.

"How about you anonymously leave the chocolate in their locker rooms while they are on the field. We should go there once the game starts." Anri suggested, which made (Y/n) smile at the idea.

"Sounds great! Is that ok with you, Ego-san?"

The said man thought the whole idea was stupid, and he wanted to say so, but once he saw the two give him puppy eyes, he sighed and nodded his head.

"Fine. I will just inform the other coach that you will be going into their locker room. Don't be gone for too long." The man said as the two cheered and thanked him.

"Keep it down-"

"Uhm, is someone named (L/N) (Y/n) here?" One of the maintenence staff members asked as he approached the trio.

"Why?" Ego asked bluntly, causing (Y/n) and Anri to facepalm.

"There are some fans who want to see her." The man answered as (Y/n) raised an eyebrow.

"I am her. But, what do you mean by fans?" She asked the man, and Anri and Ego looked back with the same amount of curiosity.

After explaining it to them, (Y/n) followed the older man to the field where some people were. To be fair, they weren't om the field, but on the stands close to it.

'Good God...' The girl gulped as she saw some guys and a few girls looking back at her in excitement while holding some gifts, she assumed at least.

"Don't take too long." The man warned as (Y/n) nodded her head.

"H-hi. How can I help?" (Y/n) wondered as the group smiled, holding out some gifts to her.

"Hello! I brought you these flowers-"

"Happy Valentine's Day! Please be my-"

"You look very cute today! Hope you like this chocolate! It's handmade-"

"I found these flowers! Heard you liked them-"

"Take mine instead!"

"My chocolate is way better!"

"I got you this plush toy!"

(Y/n) watched in shock and confusion as the group showed the various gifts that were meant for her by the sounds of it.

'Why... why are they giving those to me? I am not a player.' (Y/n) thought as she slowly approached the group, not wanting to be rude or anything.

"Th-thank you. You all shouldn't have brought me anything. I am really honored." The group stopped arguing as they watched the manager bow and smile at them.

'So respectful!'

'She looks so cute!' The group thought as they started arguing who will be the first one to give her a gift.

'Ahh... I hope nobody sees this mess. I don't want the attention to be diverted from the players. It's their day.' (Y/n) thought as she went to take the items, thanking everyone individually.

Meanwhile, what (Y/n) didn't notice was the players had already noticed the ruckus that was going on, and they were less than pleased.

"Who are those losers now?" Sae raised an eyebrow, not liking what he wa seeing. The same could go for Rin, who was silently growling as he saw (Y/n) accept those gifts, even going as far as smiling at the people.

'That's my manager. Don't get so comfortable with her.' He thought as Shidou was for once not sporting his usual cocky smile.

'Now, why is she paying attention to those nobodies?'

Aiku was about to speak up, but the 4 froze up when they saw one of the guys take (Y/n)'s hand into theirs and planting a kiss on it.

"Ok, that's about it. I have had enough." Aiku cleared his throat as he walked over to where (Y/n) was, the trip following close by as the rest of thebtwo teams glared daggers at the boy.

While that was going on, (Y/n) was getting more and more uncomfortable with the attention and tried to cut this gift giving short.

'Why did they even give these to me?' She still wondered, unaware of the 4 players approaching her.

"T-thank you again for the gifts. But, I really need to go now-"

"Can't you stay a little longer?"

"Yeah, the game didn't start yet."

The group protested as (Y/n) tried to find a way out. The gifts were too much for her to hold for so long.

"I'm-" She started speaking, but got interrupted by the familiar monotone voice Sae had.

"Having fun? Good, fun is over." (Y/n), surprised by his appearance turned around to scold hin for the rude tone.

"Don't be so rude, Sae-" But, she pretty much cut herself off when she saw the murderous looks Rin, Sae, Shidou, and Oliver were giving the group.

'What's up with them?!'

The game had eventually started after a good 30 minutes and Anri meanwhile dragged (Y/n) away to put the chocolates into the locker rooms. The chocolates were pretty simple. Milk chocolate with a few decorations, all wrapped up in colors that reminded her of the boys. It was pretty cliché in her opinion, but she hoped they would like them and not suspect her as the culprit.

'I really tried to make them look as different as possible.' (Y/n) thought as she put the last one into Neru's jacket pocket, blushing at the thought of them discovering her.

'That would be something I could never live down.'

The game had ended with the Blue Lock team winning after the time got extended to a whole 105 minutes, (Y/n), Anri, and Ego could see the team was exhausted, so they told them to take their time in changing and showering. Meanwhile, the trio would take care of the press or the gifts the Blue Lock team was receiving, which was something (Y/n) ended up taking care of.

'All these gifts look so much better than mine...' She thought, trying not to look sad as she wrote down what was for who. She didn't need fans going after her or spreading rumors.

'Well, at least I hope they taste good.' (Y/n) thought nervously as she took another gift, wondering if they found the chocolates by now.

Blue lock room 💙⛓️

"Hm? There is something in our pockets?" Otoya wondered as Anri giggled while closing the door.

"Yep! (Y/n) made some Valentine's chocolate for you guys! Don't say I told you, tho!" With that, the woman left the teens in a shocked state. That soon disappeared as they quickly looked through their pockets, and sure enough, the chocolates were there. All neatly wrapped.

"Woo-hoo! This is like the first time I got one! She even wrapped it in my favorite color!" Bachira cheered as he looked at the yellow wrapped item. Otoya quickly unwrapped his and took a bite.

"It's so good!" He cheered.

'Ahh! I can die now happily! Wait, is this (Y/n)'s way of confessing?!' Otoya thought as Karasu and Kurona took a bite from their's as well.

"It tastes the right amount of sweet. The decorations look adorable as well." Karasu chuckled while blushing.

"Just like her..." Kurona silently said as he continued eating his, trying to savor the taste as long as possible. Isagi, who took the time to read the message she wrote on the chocolate blushed and smiled.

'You did an amazing job!' He read, feeling his heart beat quicken when he saw the heart at the end.

"She is the best. This tastes amazing." He mumbled, earning nods from Niko and Hiori, who were sitting next to him.

"It does! It does! The packaging are adorable, too. She really put a lot of thought into them." Hiori said in adoration.

"You think she will bake for us one day?" Niko wondered with a red face as he read the message over and over.

"I mean, we could always ask her. (Y/n) is nice, I am sure she would." Reo announced, earning nods from the rest.

"I hope it will be a chocolate cake. Didn't have those in a while. She really made my day with this." Gagamaru smiled warmly, not used to getting chocolate on Valentine's Day from anyone. Nagi kept quiet as his face was a uncharacteristic red shade. The whole time he was staring at the wrapping paper while taking small bites of the chocolate.

'I am keeping this one forever.'

Barou was a blushing mess along with Tokimitsu, so they decided not to say anything as they ate their chocolates. Both were flattered and happy over this surprise. It was better than winning the match in their opinion.

"It has a really good taste to it. Not too sweet and not too bitter. She really thought of everything. So cute." Yukimiya smiled brightly, earning a nod from Aryu.

"Well, it is (Y/n) we are talking about. She is amazing and thoughtful." The brown-haired boy added in. Rin was looking for once relaxed and felt happy as he ate his piece, enjoying every moment of it.

'So good. Definitely better than winning against my brother. I love her so much.' Rin thought, his face turning redder. There was a silence in the room for a while, the team busy eating and thanking (Y/n) mentally for the gift. But, that silence was soon cut off by Chigiri.

"Now, we need to think of some good presents for White Day. Some that will make her forget about the gifts those people gave her today."

The rest of the team quickly nodded their heads.

The U-20 room 🇯🇵2️⃣0️⃣

"Huh?" Shidou hummed as he felt an unfamiliar item in his pocket and quickly fished it out, only to freeze up when he saw what it was. It was a neatly wrapped pink present, and by the shape of it, it was definitely chocolate.

"What is it, Shidou?" Teru asked, noticing the boy's frozen state.

"I got chocolate." The boy answered in confusion as he showed Teru the item, causing the rest of the locker room to look at him.

"You?! Why did you get chocolate?" Sendou yelled out, jealous at the blonde, which earned him a grin from Shidou.

"Probably because the ladies like me more."

"Hm? I got some as well." Sae pointed out as he showed the the team his burgundy wrapped item.

"Ha? And you two didn't put it in there yourselves?" Niou asked skeptically.

"Why would I do such a pathetic thing?" Sae questioned.

"You guys mad that you didn't get any?" Shidou snickered, earning glared from Sendou and Niou now.

"Hey! I got some as well! This is rare for me!" Neru said in excitement as he found a beige wrapped item in his pocket. Now this was a surprise for the rest.

"You as well?" Itsuki and Miroku mumbled as they discretely went through their pockets, only to find chocolate int them as well.

"Hey! I got some as well!"

"Me too!"

"This is weird..." Hayate said silently, blushing as he stared at his present as well.

"Woo-hoo! Hey! I got chocolate as well!!" Sendou blushed in excitement as he took put the present from his jacket pocket. Oliver, who also found a green and purple wrapped present, stared at it in confusion as Teru started eating his chocolate.

"It tastes good as well! It also has some cute decorations on it."

"Mhm!" Niou nodded as he ate his along with Hayate and Neru.

"But still, who put it into our pockets?" Sae asked out loud, earning silence instead of an answer.

"It certainly is weird. We didn't notice anyone near our stuff." Miroku chimed in as their coach walked into the room.

"Ah, I see you found those chocolates. Eat up and let's go." The team stared at the man in horror for a moment as Oliver spoke up.

"Please don't tell me you put these into our locker room."

"Yuck!" Shidou shivered at the idea, earning a glare from the coach.

"No, I have better things to do then make Valentine's Day chocolate." The man rolled his eyes.

"Blue Lock's manager made those for you, as surprise or something. She put those here while you guys were playing. Now, stop acting like school boys and pack your stuff." The man ordered as he walked out of the room, leaving the team in a stunned silence.

'The... The manager...made these for us?!' The team thought as they slowly started blushing at the thought.

"Aahhh~" they sighed happily as Sendou spoke up.

"Lucky bastards at Blue Lock probably get this treatment all the time." He said, sounding jealous as the rest tried to ignore that thought, opting to just enjoy the sweet gifts.

"Achoo!" (Y/n) sneezed as Ego looked at her in confusion.

"You ok?"

"Yeah. I think I am just getting sick." She said back, oblivious to what had happened in the locker rooms.

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gay-disabled-characters-showdown · 17 days

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LGBTQ+ Disabled Characters Showdown Round 1, Wave 2, Poll 5

A character being totally canon LGBTQ+ and disabled was not required to be in this competition. Please check qualifications and propaganda before asking why a character is included.

Check out the other polls in this wave and prior here.

Riku-Kingdom Hearts

Qualifications/Propaganda:

So Riku is neither canonically LGBTQ+ nor canonically disabled but there's quite a slew of subtextual evidence. And this subtext is considered basically canon due to the creator's (Tetsuya Nomura) stance on media, which is that he enjoys leaving clues for players to figure out. So while Riku is never explicitly said to be queer or disabled, there's clear evidence on both accounts.

So first: Riku is gay. There's no doubt about it (despite what the dudebros insist...) Riku is gay for Sora, his childhood best friend/former rival. Long story short, Riku was afraid of Sora's friendship with this girl Kairi, didn't realize those feelings were gay jealousy, and he got gaslighted by the Mistress of All Evil, MALEFICENT HERSELF, into believing that Sora didn't care for him anymore. He went Dark Mode, destroyed their home, and antagonized Sora for most of the first game. But then he gets trapped in the Realm of Darkness after Sora kicked his ass for the millionth time and he realized how *sora voice* stUpid he was being and helps Sora stop the apocalypse (saved the world counter: 1) Then Riku goes through a whole arc of "wow i was an idiot. sora will never forgive me and i have Darkness in my heart and i need to protect sora while he's in a year-long medically-induced coma to undo his amnesia" and. idk. theres a Lot of stuff. So much so that someone made a 6-HOUR video essay about it! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll17V9DJr7g)

Riku is also likely suffering from chronic pain. Throughout the year that Sora is in a coma, he fights Sora's Nobody, Roxas, to get Sora's memories back. During the fight, Roxas breaks Riku's wrist, and it never heals correctly. Throughout the finale of Kingdom Hearts 2, the next game chronologically, Riku wears a wrist brace that goes largely unexplained. During the final boss fight, Riku throws himself in the way of Xemnas (the Big Bad) to protect Sora, getting hurt twice in the process; being struck so hard in the shoulder that he's flung halfway across the battlefield, and then hit in the side so badly that it causes him to collapse as soon as the adrenaline from the fight fades. It's likely that none of these injuries healed properly, as even in Kingdom Hearts 3 (which is like 5 games later. dont ask) he has some interesting tells; his walk is incredibly stiff and his battle stance changes, likely because of the strain put on his wrist for the old stance. (https://www.tumblr.com/nobodyriku/706960754548604929 shows this pretty well, though i can't find the other post i had in mind but whatever)

Anything Else?:

soriku endgame actually <3

Darth Maul-Star Wars

Qualifications:

Maul is canonically disabled; he was bisected at the waist by one Obi-Wan Kenobi, but SOMEHOW did not die, and was in fact teleported into a garbage dump, where he proceeded to live as a spider cyborg for the next 12 years, when he was found and rescued by his long-lost brother. He has used prosthetic legs of one kind or another ever since, and in Rebels, he uses a cane. He is also definitely gay. In The Clone Wars cartoon, he is OBSESSED with Obi-Wan, to the point that Obi-Wan is his entire personality and the entirety of his life goals. All he wants is to kill him and cause him suffering in revenge for being cut in half and subsequently abandoned by his master. However, this obsession is. Definitely homoerotic. Dude fights Obi-Wan naked at one point (the animators forgot that people with prosthetic legs still have to wear pants). He literally builds a hate shrine to Obi-Wan's dead ex-girlfriend, who he killed, AFTER he kills her. In Rebels, once he is able to merge the two holocrons and ask any question he wants, he asks where Obi-Wan is. The answer is Tatooine, of course. He goes there, has one final fight with Obi-Wan, and is fatally wounded. HOWEVER. He dies in Obi-Wan's arms. He dies being HELD GENTLY by Obi-Wan. I cannot adequately explain how insane that is. Makes me froth at the mouth. Anyway.

Propaganda:

I love this severely fucked-up dude so much. He dedicated almost 20 years of his life to a single-minded obsession with Obi-Wan Kenobi, an obsession which literally kept him alive when he was chopped in half in a garbage pit, stuck in a hole on Planet Sith, and just generally attempting to live after being raised for nothing but violence as a child. He is missing half his bones, many vital organs, and got his two biggest blood vessels sliced right open, and yet REFUSED to die. He then became a spider cyborg. The first thing he did when coming onboard the Ghost was critique the interior design. He took over an entire planet just to get a guy to notice him. He was kidnapped as a child and tortured nonstop for the first 20 years of his life, resulting in an attachment style where he can only conceptualize relationships as a hierarchy (master/apprentice), so he searches constantly for an apprentice, and even treats his brother as one; despite how he very clearly just wanted a brother, he didn't know how to be in an equal relationship. He does absolutely nothing but cause problems for people-- be they Jedi or Sith. Ahsoka once released him from a magic strait-jacket as a "distraction" and he immediately began tearing panels off of the walls and decapitating people with them. He has a death grip on my brain.

Submitted by @convenient-plot-device

#polls #poll #disabled characters #lgbtq characters #disability #lgbtq #lgbtq dcs round 1 #lgbtq dcs wave 2 #riku kingdom hearts #riku #kingdom hearts #darth maul #star wars

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andrewwtca · 1 year

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a Soriku Endgame, Actually essay on Light and Darkness

Also available to read on Archive of our Own.

Kingdom Hearts, with Sora and Riku in particular, has been on my mind as of late. It’s always been on my mind, to be honest, ever since I first got into the series. It’s grabbed my hand and hasn’t let go, especially with all the new lore. And yet, I’ve been struggling to make peace with myself.

On one hand, I don't want to get my hopes up, thinking that Sora and Riku would ever become something 'more' or that what I’m seeing is anything other than in-depth speculation. I've had my heart broken before and this series means too much to me for me to foolishly dive in like this.

On the other hand, I can't ignore what the story is telling me, as a literary analysis enthusiast and as a diehard fan. There have been parallels established, setups finally going through, and Nomura has said before that “this series is not intended to be child-focused, and so the complexity of the story is purposely made prominent.” I can’t keep turning a blind eye, knowing everything I know, thinking everything I think. If I did, I feel like I would be doing a disservice to both my experiences with the series and my experiences as a person.

So yeah—Soriku Endgame, Actually. Today, I’m arguing its canonicality because of the balance of Light and Darkness (or lack thereof) throughout the series. Please enjoy my messy and impassioned essay!

a sky of falling stars

The Children of Destiny is a new concept introduced to us in the finale of Dark Road. To summarize, they are people with the ability to feel what others feel, connect, and become one with them—empaths with Light.

It appears that the Children of Destiny are all descendants of Ephemer, characterized by silvery hair. There's Ephemer, there's Baldr, there's Xehanort—and, oh yeah, there's Riku.

Upon the release of the finale, a lot of people—myself included—quickly jumped to the conclusion that Sora is a Child of Destiny, which isn't all that wrong. If we're going by what the games have given us, Sora is very special. What other character has housed five different hearts inside his own? What other character had an entire arc in Birth by Sleep talking about how he felt the pain in someone else’s heart?

But Nomura has insisted since the beginning that Sora is an ordinary boy, that he wasn't born with anything special, explaining that he “had the premise that a heart like Sora’s exists within all the players. Sora is ‘ordinary’, therefore everyone is ‘ordinary.” (Before anyone argues Nomura is just going through a retcon, I doubt he would go through with one to this extent, given how he has had the ending to the Dark Seeker Saga in mind for years.)

Riku, on the other hand, has not been given this kind of treatment at all. He's always been painted as a golden child, better than Sora at everything, being the original bearer of the Keyblade. For crying out loud, he had a light in Birth By Sleep that was seen from space, not Sora. If you factor in bloodlines, it wouldn't be too far off to theorize that Riku is a descendent of Ephemer's line. Riku isn't who most look at first, but all signs lead to him being a Child of Destiny.

But that doesn't explain Sora at all. He may not have been born special like Riku, but he's special somehow. After all, Nomura did finish his ‘Sora isn't special’ line with, “I figure even if you’re ‘ordinary’, for something important, everyone can exhibit a special power just like Sora.” Aqua even calls out that Sora is the one who can set things right, the boy who can touch others’ hearts.

And that is where the necklace theory comes in.

Sora has always been associated with royalty, sitting on a throne in box art or having crowns plastered around him—or on him. From his debut, Sora has had a crown necklace that has never been explained. Despite wearing it in every outfit, it's never been addressed how it came to be.

It’s after Aqua and Terra came, judging by the BBS cutscenes of him and Riku. But it’s before KH1, as that's when his journey began. That’s a huge timeframe, from being a kid to deciding to leave the islands, but it's easy to pinpoint a time when considering something the games still never fully fleshed out: the meteor shower.

In Chain of Memories, Sora and Riku fight over this memory they supposedly both had of Namine one night during a meteor shower. One of them promised they would keep her safe, and it's all cute until we remember that Namine wasn't actually in these memories. And Namine can't make any new memories—she can only rearrange old ones.

Sora and Riku both share this memory. And the way they fought over this memory gave it the utmost importance. It becomes obvious at this point that the both of them witnessed a meteor shower, and given what we know about their dynamic (and that's a lot), it would make sense to assume it was Riku promising Sora to keep him safe—almost like a charm.

The necklace theory has been around for years, but it’s only after the Dark Road finale that it was expanded upon (or perhaps it’s just me and maybe three others who think this, but I don’t mind one bit.) It isn't just Riku promising to keep Sora safe. In giving Sora a necklace, a crown, Riku has metaphorically crowned Sora. He has brought Sora up to his status as a Child of Destiny, putting all his love into a charm that he hopes can keep Sora safe.

There’s a flaw in my logic though, trust me, I know. I just said that this meteor shower didn’t happen until after BBS, and yet it’s during the game that Sora feels the pain of others, it’s during the game that Aqua says that Sora is going to be the one to set things right. But I still stand firm in my belief. Riku has always been painted as the golden child, the Child of Destiny, but his love for Sora runs deeper than his love for anything else.

Riku’s light is the one that brought Terra and Aqua to Destiny Island but Riku’s light shines for Sora; sort of like step one to Sora’s crowning. Riku’s light rubbed off on Sora, ever since they were kids—after all, a Child of Destiny’s power is to connect hearts. Why not connect his own with another? Why not share his light?

Further, in BBS, Sora can feel Ven’s pain and take care of his heart, but he isn’t fully aware of this nor is he able to really do anything about this. It isn’t until KH1 that Sora ever exhibits a power of truly connecting to another’s heart when Sora entered the darkness swallowing Riku and touched Riku’s heart’s light to obtain his Keyblade, explained by Nomura himself. And it isn’t until KH3 that Sora finds the power to wake up Ven’s heart.

Regardless of whether or not I’m right about this, it means Nomura isn't technically wrong about Sora being normal. Sora, no matter what, doesn’t have some divine birthright, but he still has the makings of someone who can bring peace to the world—all thanks to Riku.

This helps set the tone of their relationship, of the depth of Sora and Riku’s bond. It also moves the storyline forward to how they will be the ones to instigate change—but I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s first talk about who once were and who they could’ve been.

in another life

Kingdom Hearts is pretty on the nose on parallels between Xehanort/Eraqus and Riku/Sora. Besides personality, Xehanort and Riku are both Childs of Destiny who give in to the darkness and Eraqus and Sora are endless sources of light. But the parallels don't exist to make us empathize with Xehanort/Eraqus: they're to tell us a cautionary tale of what our protagonists could've been.

So it begs the question, what actually separated Sora and Riku from becoming like Eraqus and Xehanort? Let’s start with Riku.

To recap, Xehanort was a student in Scala ad Caelum alongside Eraqus, who watched all his classmates die. He learned from Baldr about their roles as Children of Destiny and in his grief, became obsessed with wiping the world clean. He wanted a Keyblade War to create a fresh start, void of Light and Darkness, so that the world could try again.

Riku seemed to have been walking the same road as Xehanort. He stopped fearing Darkness and started dancing on the line between it and Light. Riku was angry at the world and angry at his friends, and perhaps in another life, he may too have wanted to wipe the world clean.

But every time I compare him and Xehanort, I can't help but think that a cautionary tale isn't what Xehanort/Eraqus is. Because I can't help but think that it just could never have happened to Riku, and it's for two main reasons:

1) Hope.

Riku has hope in the world. When we look at all the other Children of Light, they all had a Darkness that took them down (although in Ephemer's case, it was a literal Darkness that killed him). Baldr lost himself in grief. Xehanort lost himself in rage. But not Riku.

When Xehanort saw that the world couldn't be fixed (to how he believed it should be), Riku did not even see a world that needed fixing. Riku saw the world in all of its complicated glory. For instance, Riku is one of the first characters to acknowledge the feelings of Nobodies; their pain, and their love. He doesn't see them as an extension of Darkness or Light. They simply are.

Riku believes in redemption. It's been his entire character arc, after all, to redeem himself and walk the Road to Dawn, a term coined way back in CoM. Ever since then, Riku has been closely associated with the sunrise—night turning into day. Darkness becomes Light. Redemption. This symbolism is shown in box art, said in interviews, even his Keyblade is called the Way to Dawn.

The fact that Riku was even able to think of the Road to Dawn proves that he's nothing like Xehanort. Xehanort believes that there is no redemption because the world needs to be wiped clean. But Riku believes that there is a road he can walk, a road he can take to salvation because the world is not good or bad, but made for people to live and learn. But how? How was he able to walk that road? He has hope, but how was he able to use it? And that's the second reason.

2) Sora. Riku has Sora.

It may feel a bit obvious to say, but it's true: the fact that Riku is Riku; Sora is Sora; and their relationship is the way it is, is the key to why they would never have fallen to the same fate. We don't know the full extent of Xehanort and Eraqus's relationship, but it's safe to assume it wasn't as kind or loving as Riku and Sora's ever were. The two would play as kids, promise to keep each other safe, tell secrets—the two became princes of destiny together, destined to fight their way home.

I can't see Xehanort and Eraqus as anything more than students in a fucked up situation. Because when things got bad for Xehanort, he didn't think of Eraqus as his guiding light. He only thought of what he lost. There’s even a line in Dark Road of Xehanort hearing Eraqus crying in the other room, yet he never comforts him, never approaches him. They suffered alone, too afraid or perhaps too blind to reach for one another.

When things got bad for Riku, he saw Sora. He saw how Sora loved Kairi and sacrificed himself for her, and he saw that Sora was forgiving towards him. The reason why Riku and Sora didn't end up like Xehanort and Eraqus is that they simply aren't them. Their bond is deeper and their love is stronger, and Riku’s hope is simply stronger than Xehanort’s ever was.

It’s important to emphasize that this truly is a feat that only Riku (and Sora, one day) could’ve accomplished. It's natural to us that Riku, one of the series' protagonists, was able to do this. It's easy to shrug off the balance he managed to strike between his Light and Darkness, but for so many actually in the series, it's an incomprehensible thought. Mickey even stated in CoM, that Riku introduced Light and Darkness in a way nobody has ever seen before. To understand how this affects Sora and Riku’s relationship, it’s important to understand the way things currently are.

the light we pass down

Light and Darkness are the very core of this series. Light represents the connections you make with others, while Darkness represents the lack thereof—those with Darkness in their hearts are those who walk alone, while those with Light are those with many friends around them. Darkness is selfishness, and Light is selflessness.

Darkness is usually framed as an inherently evil source in many stories, but it's something that cannot be extinguished. Light needs to be there to balance it.

But Kingdom Hearts seems to be going down the path less taken—yes, Darkness isn't 'good', and it isn't desirable to isolate yourself from the rest of the world. But the series is asking the question many like to ignore: when does Light become Darkness?

In nearly every game, you can trace one character fed into the illusion that Light is good, everything else is bad, and the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. MoM to his pupils in Union X; Odin to Baldr in Dark Road; Eraqus to his children in BBS; Yen Sid to Mickey in forbidding him to speak of Aqua; Donald and Goofy to Sora in telling him that their ship runs on happy smiles. It is generational trauma.

A cycle of hypocrisy has been forced on not only the 'defenders of Light' but 'agents of Darkness.' Xehanort doesn't care who he hurts as long as he can get his own idea of balance in the world, believing his judgment to be supreme to others—despite his initial thoughts in Dark Road, that unless someone's heart is pure Light, how can one know for sure what is right and wrong? To which Eraqus responded that they as Keyblade Wielders held the supreme judgment towards morality.

Again and again, this cycle of defending what they believe is good and Light repeats, hurting themselves and hurting others, and even Sora is not free of this hypocrisy. While he doesn't go out of his way to hurt others the way Xehanort has, he is capable of hurting others: Riku was hurt by Sora in KH1 when he was silent when Kairi suggested leaving him behind or when he shrugged off Riku going missing in Traverse Town. In CoM, when the idea of him ‘abandoning’ people was presented, he acted out harshly and completely rejected the idea (this is all another parallel to Eraqus!)

He even denies the idea that Riku has hurt others. Despite Riku acting out of his own free will, the reason he feels the need to atone and walk the path to redemption, Sora believes that the Darkness was forced on Riku by others.

Sora has been carved into the same mindset as so many others, the idea heavily tackled in Dark Road, that Darkness is only brought upon by others, and that it needs to be expunged. Sora is a firm believer that the Darkness is something to be eradicated, such as with his encounter with Vanitas in KH3. When Vanitas states that he is simply Darkness, Ven is quick to understand and even accept. Sora, on the other hand, rejects this and insists that it isn’t okay.

Even our series’ protagonist is unable to shake himself from this self-righteous, black-or-white thinking. Riku is the only character in the series who has formed an actual balance in himself, with all other characters having to pick one side. Lea, Xion, and Roxas leave the Darkness of Organization XIII and become Keyblade Wielders. Terra embraces his Light, Aqua leaves the Realm of Darkness, and Ven is literally separated into a being of Light and Darkness (although not out of his own volition).

The series is not framing any of these things as negative—there’s nothing wrong with embracing Light. However, these characters are falling into the same cycle that the generations before have; they will once again be faced with a Darkness too deep to defeat and ignore. It must be talked to, reckoned with, and faced with open arms. Riku has been the only one able to return the hug and walk away.

We’ve explored what makes Riku’s character arc so significant and what Sora’s flaws are, and it’s time to dive into the murky waters of the future.

when does the sun become the night?

Sora. Oh, Sora. I love you, Sora. Now let me tear you and your smile apart.

The parallels between Xehanort and Riku are very on the nose and easy to distinguish; meanwhile, Eraqus and Sora are a bit more challenging.

In BBS, Eraqus is the Master of Aqua, Terra, and Ventus. He forms a bond between them, as one would expect, mentoring and looking out for their well-being. The Light in his heart is strong due to his connections with them, alongside being a Keyblade wielder. Although not perfect (feeding into Terra's insecurities about his Darkness, cough), he does care for them. But when the world falls to Darkness, Eraqus doesn't hesitate to be selfless, to give up his connections, the Light in his heart, to kill them to save a greater good. As long as someone somewhere can benefit from his actions, he isn't harming.

But is that selfless? Is sacrificing for a 'greater good' truly selfless? Is there a line between the needs of the many and the needs of the few? Or is there a certain ‘darkness’ that comes with these acts? Disregarding yourself, disregarding others, selfless yet selfish; it's not the right thing to do, and the series doesn't hesitate to frame it as that. What Eraqus did was wrong. He hurt others, even if he refused to acknowledge it.

And yet, no one seems to make any noise toward Sora.

Sora is a Guardian of Light. He is the cheerful protagonist who makes everyone smile and feel better. Ever since the first game, when Donald and Goofy (although not with ill intent) told him that the Gummi Ship runs on happy faces, he's been under the precedent that his emotions do not matter in the greater scheme of things. In the long run, what matters is that others are safe, the people he cares about.

Once again, like how Xehanort and Riku deviated in terms of having hope, this is where Eraqus and Sora begin to deviate from their parallels. While both are selfless to the point of ‘darkness,’ they show it in dramatically different ways. Eraqus is willing to hurt the people he cares about (and by extension, himself) to serve this 'greater good', but Sora is only willing to actively hurt himself.

I feel the need to remind everyone that this is a teenager we're talking about. If we weren't in a franchise partially owned by Disney, I feel like more people would be willing to call this what it is: suicidal. This is not Light.

We've already seen ways that this harms Sora outside the narrative and the whole getting sent to Quadratum thing in his Rage form. Sora transforms into a drive form that’s oddly reminiscent of his time as a Heartless and can unleash powerful attacks that lower his HP (hmm). Furthermore, this form only appears when his HP is low (double hmm) and stated by Nomura, “based on him going into a rampage state, controlled by feelings of anger (triple hmm).”

Back inside the narrative, the climax of KH3 was Sora believing that he's worthless without his friends, genuinely worthless, and unable to fight at all. This is the very definition of a Light gone too far when remembering that Light is the connections you form with others. With too much Light, Sora lost himself. He couldn't find himself past who he was for others.

In the section prior that broke down generational trauma as it appears in Kingdom Hearts, I mentioned that Sora does not only end up hurting himself but passively hurting others around him, most notably Riku. Sora is unable to understand that Darkness is not the absence of all good but rather the shadow that simply follows you around. Sora cannot understand that Darkness is not something to be shunned, to never talk about. (This could also be tied back to his Rage form—while he does not actively channel his anger to hurt, that is what happens; only to never be acknowledged by him.)

(Off-topic, but I find it funny that Sora, who is so keen on the idea that Darkness is Not Good, was only ever to have a proper conversation with Riku in the Realm of Darkness. It’s very telling to their characters.)

Kingdom Hearts is setting up a narrative that Light and Darkness cannot exist in excess. That Light doesn't exist to balance out the Darkness, to stop it from becoming too strong—you need Darkness to exist as well.

Sora has gotten this far along the story and still hasn't managed to learn this, because it’s just not something you can learn (or unlearn, rather) on your own. Because this kind of thinking isn’t undone with hours of contemplation; in a fitting Kingdom Hearts fashion, it’s connections that lead to the revelation.

the roads we walk

Xehanort and Eraqus fall out with each other. They stop talking and sever the connection with each other. That was a core reason things got as out of hand as they did for each other; they weren't keeping each other in check. Xehanort's Darkness left him blind and unable to see that there was Light after all, and Eraqus's Light blinded him and left him stumbling with a Keyblade for a 'greater purpose.' Their hearts fell too far to one end of the balance, leaving the scales unbalanced.

Riku and Sora do not have that. They have a connection like nothing seen in this series before—Riku had literally raised Sora to become a Child of Destiny alongside him. The Light of their hearts is just so awe-strikingly bright.

Sora, however, has lost himself in all his light. He is stuck in the same bright room that Eraqus was, stumbling around with his Keyblade. But where Eraqus was forever lost, Sora can be found: because where Riku had Sora to guide him to the Light, Sora will have Riku to guide him through the Darkness.

Riku spends the majority of his character simply proving that he is capable of redemption. It takes him the ending of a game to realize the errors in his ways and another game to figure out the solution he must fight for, and these weren't revelations he finds on his own—he found the first with Sora and the second (in CoM) with Mickey and Namine.

For Sora to even have the revelation that he cannot keep shutting out the Darkness in him unless he wants more pain for himself and others, he needs someone to help show him that is an option. And who else but Riku, who is living proof that existence isn’t just black-or-white, Light or Darkness?

Riku is Sora's foil. A foil is a character who either has pronounced differences between themselves and the protagonist or is so alike that a contrast appears. Riku is the ladder, similar enough to Sora that one can begin to make assumptions about where the story is heading. Their similarities aren't hard to find: they both hail from Destiny Islands, they both have a love for adventure, they both were assumed to walk a path of Light for the rest of their lives, and they both care deeply for each other. The contrast begins in KH1 when Riku begins his fall to Darkness while Sora remains firm in his standing.

Riku’s arc ended with acceptance; he needed to accept the Darkness and the Light inside him to find peace. It’s only natural that his foil, struggling with the same imbalance, would go through a similar arc but still different enough to be his own.

It isn't just the story telling us this. Riku has always been associated with imagery of dawn, the breaking of Darkness into Light, and Kairi is always associated with imagery of dusk, the breaking of Light into Darkness (which is a conversation all on its own). Sora, on the other hand, is associated with a large blue sky (his name, after all, does mean sky.) It's not hinting towards a journey of any kind—not a redemption like for Riku.

He is the daylight. He is the Light in everyone's lives. But ‘Sora’ doesn't mean the day sky. It simply means sky. Sky, at day or night—and I don't mind if you call me reaching at this point, but it feels like it's calling out to the fact that Sora needs to accept that he is both Light and Darkness, the way the sky is both day and night.

Nomura has even stated in an interview before when asked about the two different versions of the Dream Drop Distance illustrations that he “wanted its composition and look to remind [the player] of the title’s catch copy, ‘Darkness becomes light, light falls into darkness.’” The parallel structure of the tagline serves to mirror the parallel structure of Sora and Riku’s paths, Sora’s road to night and Riku’s road to dawn.

But I digress. Exhaustively, it’s very apparent that Sora is heading toward a climax, a Darkness he cannot ignore. His breakdown in KH3 was left unspoken, unresolved, and his disappearance only contributes to the fact that he’s heading toward another breaking point, where the cheerful protagonist can no longer remain cheerful. But like in KH3, something is going to be the same: Riku.

At his lowest point, it was Riku who was next to him, telling Sora that he believed in him. It was Riku who carried on when Sora couldn’t. Riku is going to be key in Sora's journey to night. Riku was able to find his Road to Dawn by remembering Sora. He was able to walk by remembering his love, his passion, his everything, and it was because of Sora that Riku found balance. He found the Light within himself, and he learned to accept that the Darkness would always be a part of him, the way it is for others.

Sora's arc will be spun into motion because of Riku. The next installments of Kingdom Hearts are setting up that Riku's dreams are the key to finding Sora, implying perhaps that it may be Sora and Riku all alone in a world. Whatever the case, Riku is going to be by Sora's side, as that is where they are at their best, to face Sora’s worst.

And it's fitting. Riku had to go from Darkness, defined as a lack of connections, to a balance with Light, having connections. He went from his isolation, wearing a blindfold and not being able to face anyone, to being the charming Riku we all love, fighting alongside the Keyblade wielders. His journey would have him open up, so he would be joined by memories, ghosts, not by people until he began to embrace others.

Sora will be going from Light to a balance with Darkness. He'd be going from connections to a lack (though not in the same extremes that Riku did), in a sense. Understandably, he can’t do it alone, make such a drastic change; he'd need someone.

This change, this balance, this emphasis on connections, it’s guiding us to what the narrative has been trying to tell us all along.

we can be the darkness, and the light, and the sunsets and sunrises too

When asked about the theme of KH3 and the entire series, Nomura answered, “It’s in the title: hearts. The consistent theme across the whole series is ‘What is a heart?’”

Kingdom Hearts is going to be doing something unprecedented in not only a lot of media but in its world itself. While the idea of Light and Darkness existing within characters is not new, the characters aren't exactly behind that idea. Most of the Keyblade Wielders and Guardians of Light cherish the Light above all else—while all the primary villains worship the Darkness. They fight for a balance but don't fully grasp that within (nearly) all of them lies both entities.

Riku seems to be more accepted in the world, as he did join the Light in the end. But what Sora would do is... just absolutely bonkers. He will be embracing a Darkness in him, the same kind that Terra and so many others were taught to push out. Sora will be... well, a teenager. Happy and angsty and all the things teens are.

This is where Kingdom Hearts has the chance to seal the deal, to fully welcome this balance of Light and Darkness: a relationship between Riku and Sora.

For all Guardians of Light, there is a generational trauma hanging over their heads and haunting them, and Sora will need to accept his Darkness to combat it, but the story can't end there. The games have been building up the idea that Sora will be the one to bring change to the world, that Sora will be the one to end this cycle. He won’t just accept his Darkness but lead a new age. He will be the one to show that there's a different way (or really, only one other way) to move forward:

Love.

Unconditional love. Not love depending on whether they fit the wielders' definitions of Light and Darkness, not love depending on the amount of Light in someone's heart, not love clouded by hypocrisy. Just pure love, forever forgiving and growing.

So who better for Sora’s love than Riku?

Let’s get all the arguments for Kairi out of the way first. Some may say that Kairi could still fulfill this role of spreading love in the next games, but that’s only if her role in the story is completely revamped. She represents friends growing apart as they grow older yet remaining close. While Sora and Riku represent a balance between Light and Darkness, Kairi represents holding a Light close to your heart, even when it's so far away; fitting for her story of being ripped apart from her home.

The games keep pushing the friends' growing apart narrative rather than pulling from it, having Kairi remain with Aqua to train while Riku goes after Sora. There is little space for Kairi to suddenly walk a road to dusk that leads to romance. Especially because it’s Sora and Riku who are the Children of Destiny, they are the ones who will connect to other hearts and bring change, not Kairi. Her lesson would be for herself, not for the world to see.

A relationship between Kairi and Sora would just be backtracking on this message. Sora needs to accept his Darkness, but joining forces with a Princess of Light does not challenge any norms, it does not provide a new answer. It makes sense because the core of Kingdom Hearts isn’t a Prince and Princess of Light—it’s two boys who saw the night sky fall one day, two boys who grew up together, two boys destined for something greater who write their own paths anyway. It’s Sora and Riku. Nomura himself has stated that “Sora and Riku represent the theme of the Kingdom Hearts series, which is the ‘light and dark sides of the heart,’” the essence of this essay.

Carrying on, some may stop me here and say that their love doesn't need to be romantic for a point to be made. But I argue that there is no other way.

Romantic love in stories often serves as the culmination of the story’s themes. In Leigh Bardugo's books, her romances serve to show the importance of love and healing. In the Shadow & Bone trilogy, Alina has the options between the Darkling, representing power, Nikolai, representing nationalism, and Mal, representing love. Just love. Not one befitting of a Saint, someone to change the world, but that’s not who Alina wanted to be; she just wanted a happy ending. Shockingly, she picks Mal. In Six of Crows, Kaz and Inej's romance, both traumatized teenagers, serves to show that you can heal and you can love. They're both scared of people, scared of intimacy and yet they still love with all their scars on display.

In Revolutionary Girl Utena, the romance between Utena and Anthy reaches its climax at the end of the show, displaying the vulnerability of both girls and the rawness of their feelings. But most importantly, it drives home the message: that the power to bring revolution is not the power of a prince or a witch. The power to change the world is love. The only way to change the world to be suitable to live in is through love. The power, a revolution, brought by love.

Romance is a revolution. It’s often saved for the last act of stories because of how it acts as a thread between all of the themes. In Kingdom Hearts, the theme needing weaving is balance: balance between yourself and others, balance between selflessness and selfishness, balance between Light and Darkness. Sora and Riku getting together would be Yin and Yang—a boy who had to accept his Darkness and a boy who had to fight for his Light. They complement each other and fill where the other lacks.

Likewise, a relationship between them stresses the importance of connections. Tai Yasue, co-director of the series, has stated that “the theme of the KH series is ‘connections of the heart,’” and the narrative will take advantage of any opportunity to let that theme shine. Previously, many defenders of Light would sacrifice their connections with others for a greater good. But Sora and Riku choosing to love each other, choosing to love the Light and Darkness in each other instead of trying to chase away their Darkness, is showing that love is their other option.

Sora getting with Kairi challenges nothing. It tells the others that Light must be with Light, that good must be with good. Even their grand attack in Re:Mind is two giant angel wings where they proclaim, “Light!” Sora and Riku, however, show that Light does not mean good. It shows that people can do bad things, and it doesn't make them bad, because people are not black and white. Like two kingdoms forever at war with each other, finally coming together and realizing that the other side is human and that you can't simply demonize them.

Sora and Kairi say there is nothing wrong with the world. To carry on. Sora and Riku say that there isn’t anything wrong with the world; it’s the people looking the wrong way. There is nothing wrong with what’s around us. Nothing wrong, nothing right. “Nothing is whole, and nothing is broken.” It’s simply being: being Darkness, being Light, being both, being neither.

It has to be Sora and Riku. It's always had to be them. Riku brought Sora up to the status of a Child of Destiny, and their journeys were led by each other, their character development taught by one another, and their acceptance will come from (an eventual) conversation between the two about their pain and hurt and Darkness, it’s all always been leading here. To this moment in time where they show the world all the hurt they hold and how they carry on with.

All of that, and loving each other?

They are crossing the line, as Hikaru Utada sings in Don't Think Twice. They are going to be crossing every line established in Kingdom Hearts, and this is their power. Their revolution. Their predetermined yet self-made destiny. The payoff for years and years of searching and yearning and pining and chasing is a love that brings revolution, and oh...isn't that just romantic?

That is the answer to “What is a heart?” The heart is the love you have, despite it all. The heart is the connections you make, despite it all. The heart is your Darkness and your Light and your experiences and your fights, despite it all. The heart is Sora and Riku, despite it all.

grant us the power to bring the world revolution

A lot of this analysis really depends on whether or not you believe Sora and Riku are in love with one another, I realize. You may agree with me that it seems fitting that their coming together as a pair would catalyze all the themes in Kingdom Hearts, but you disagree that it means they'd ever be a pairing. Which, I'd like to thank you for at least hearing me out.

The queerness of their relationship means there will always be naysayers to them getting together, there will always be people claiming that I'm reaching. I do not care if you see them as brothers or ‘just’ really good friends. I see a love story. I see a love story and a love story saying to love, above all else. Do not judge others for you don't know what is wrong or right, for you are biased, for you are flawed, for you are human. Love others for that is the heart's will. Love.

I see that their getting together would be a testament to that love. To that forgiveness, to those flaws we have. It would be an acceptance of Riku's pain and Darkness that he mysteriously doesn't want to acknowledge, it would be an acceptance of Sora's pain that he's been bottling up ever since the beginning of his journey, and it would be an acceptance to the Light they both share. It would be the balance that so many generations have looked for and couldn't find because they did not practice acceptance, only judgment.

Sora and Riku getting together is acceptance and it's proof that love is the answer to a generational trauma that has been around ever since the beginning of time. So yeah: Soriku Endgame, Actually.

Thank you so much for reading! I’m a really big fan of stories about light and darkness and the balance between them, stories about love, and just Kingdom Hearts in general. I didn’t want to keep these thoughts in the back of my head and I’m glad I wrote them all out, even if it’s messy (and a shocking 6k words long...) Kingdom Hearts is a bit messy, after all.

If you're interested in more about Sora and Riku's relationship or just literary analysis of KH in general, please check out Constructing Kingdoms on YouTube, as it helped give me the words to write a lot of this essay. Further, if you're in total denial that there is any queer text in Kingdom Hearts, please check out this amazing video essay on Riku being gay.

That's all I have. Please feel free to share if you have any disagreements or if any parts really spoke to you, or if you have anything to add, or anything really. These two live rent-free in my mind, and I don't mind talking about them or about how they're just so perfect to change the world.

Thank you. Spread love (and the Soriku agenda.)

#kingdom hearts #sora #riku #sora and riku #soriku #soriku endgame actually #media analysis #literary analysis is my special interest #andrew's essays #meta essay #kh meta

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ok4ru · 9 days

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I got bored and made a Khux character dynamics board!!

Be warned KHUX SPOILERS!!

Board 1:

Ephemer and Brain: The OG boy in white and boy in black duo. (I'm going by timeline not by games because that would make Ven and Vani the OG duo) You either like it because of Eraqus and Xehanort's dynamic or you love it because how they really care about each other (The Khux secret ending hurt you didn't it?)

Or it is just aesthetically pleasing to your eyes ✨✨

Strelitzia and Lauriam the Flower siblings: God, where do I even start? This poor boy has been looking for his sister this whole series just to learn she died at the hands of one of his closest friend…

The scene of them showing how close they were to each other hurts knowing what their fates are and Lauriam character files make it even worse because he forgot what and who he was looking for then knowing how much it pains him during his Organization days…AND THE WORDS HE SAIDS BEFORE HE DIES IN KH3, UGH!!!

Then, wondering if Strelitzia remembered Lauriam or not which makes me very worried… :/

Strelitzia just wanted to stay by his side but couldn't in the very end…

LET THEM BE HAPPY NOMURA!!! >:(

(I can go on for days about them let's stop now… )

Skuld and Brain: You want it, I want it… Boy, do I have a fic for you! Let's go read Fallen Stars together <3 Ps. Go show the author some love/ support @corishadowfang

Maybe it’s because they’re aesthetically pleasing to you or you just like the smart and serious duo a lot.

These two are such an interesting pairing and wish they just did get more screentime with each other… :(

#I'm posting from my drafts at the moment...#I was gonna make more eventually but we'll see.#kh #khux #Dandelion kids #Dandy kids #Union kids #kingdom hearts #ventus #Skuld #Brain #Ephemer #strelizia #Lauriam

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ephemeralflower · 6 months

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as your resident kiyora collector, i wanted to point out something that i find hilarious. this view of the bench is from the first page of chapter 198.

hiori, raichi, igaguri, and neru are the four in the middle. how cute for the blue lock players to sit together!

except... kiyora decided to sit all the way on the end. away from the other blue lockers. there's an empty seat Right There.

now, it's probable that this was noa's seat and wasn't open to begin with. i was ready to scrap this post altogether, but then i realized...

why is kiyora next to hiori in chapter 184?

and why isn't he there in chapter 192?

if you ignore the possibility that nomura simply forgot where kiyora was sitting (because that's boring), then it would imply that kiyora got up and moved because his teammates were being obnoxious.

i mean, look at that side-eye!

for kiyora, his lack of interactions with other characters is characterization in and of itself. please pray for his sanity when he is forced to interact with his teammates while preparing for the next match.

#blue lock #bllk #kiyora jin #i hope this trend of him being unintentionally funny continues #you know he thinks he's the only normal one there

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winter-leftovers · 2 months

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Til The End Of Eternity || Chapter twenty seven: Eternal Night, Eternal Knights (27/?)

(Douxie Casperan x f!reader)

Summary: Y/n is trying to figure her life out but is going to be hard since her brother is the new trollhunter and she is plagued by dreams and feelings she doesn’t understand.

Chapter Summary: Jim learns about Y/n and Morgana. The last battle begins. What’s going to take to save Arcadia?

Word count: 8026

Warnings: canon violence.

(Season 3 Episodes 12)

Song?:

Brother by Madds Buckley

I guess by Mitski

Daises by Chloe Ament

Previous - Next

Masterlist

The sun had come out but its light didn’t enter the Lake’s residence, not after the group hung thick fabrics in front of every window and filled every crack where the sunlight could threaten to touch.

The war consul met for its first and final meeting. Nervous faces plagued the Lake’s living room as the queakes grew closer like the worry in Arcadia’s defender’s chests.

“I’ve taken the liberty of constricting a rudimentary model of Arcadia” Blinky put the final piece on the table: a milk carton.

Y/n laid against the wall that was directly behind Blinky. From her place, she could see her father fuming, ready to jump at the troll’s face. She threw many warning glances to her father, trying to convey in one simple look “Please, for the love of god, let him finish before you scream”

“If we focus our defensive efforts here, then when the Gumm-Gumms attack…” Blinky stopped at Merlin’s mumbles, looking up at the wizard, his eyes twitching in irritation “Do you have something to say?” Blinky crossed his arms.

“This is a waste of time!” The wizard threw the model to the floor.

Y/n pulled herself from the wall and straightened her back.

“You broke the museum. You philistine!” Blinky screamed as he lifted the carton of milk from the floor.

“Our focus is not Arcadia, it is Trollmarket. If we destroy Morgana, we stop the Eternal Night” Merlin and Blinky walked around the table like two angry dogs waiting for the other to attack first “The trollhunter and I must venture into Trollmarket”

“While Gunmar and Angor Rot turn Arcadia into an all-you-can-eat buffet?” Screamed back Blinky.

“For having six eyes, you are very short sighted. Defeating Gunmar is pointless if Morgana is…”

“And defeating Morgana is still pointless if everyone in Arcadia is dead!” Blinky hit the table as a new queake started “I don’t know my own strength” he pulled back, convinced that the tremors were a consequence of his anger.

“That was the third tremor today” observed Strickler.

“At this rate, I fear the Eternal Night will be upon us within the hour” Merlin nervously scratched his beard.

“The battle of the bands is on. The square will be packed” warned Claire, the image of all her friends running through her head.

“Everyone in Arcadia is there” screamed Toby “Well, anyone who’s cool, at least” he lifted his brow.

“So not you?” Y/n smirked.

“Hey!”

“On the bright side, with everyone clustered, we know where the Gumm-Gumms will strike first” Merlin pointed out, ignoring the teenagers spat.

“How is that the bright side?” Claire screamed.

“Trollmarket will be deserted and Morgana will be unprotected” Y/n explained her father’s logic.

“Gunmar and Angor Rot are my fight” Jim walked down the stairs “First, we’ll do what we can to clear Arcadia Square. So no one gets hurt” he sentenced.

“Actually, there’s no “we” until the night falls” Blinky put his hand on Jim’s shoulder, remembering his new disadvantage “In your current form, sunlight will burn you as much as any of us trolls”

“Maybe Merlin can whip up some SPF on million?” Toby looked at the wizard.

“Uh” Merlin looked at Y/n.

“We’ll go with the children and put a stop to this battle of the bands” Nomura stepped up.

“Then am I to fight Morgana alone?”

“I’ll go with you” Y/n grabbed her father’s arms, laying her head on his bicep “Just like last time” she looked up at him smiling.

“No” he looked down at her frowning “Do you think I don’t know what you've been doing?” he lifted his brow.

Y/n let go of him, slowly stepping back. She felt her lips shake but her eyes didn’t shift.

“I…I don’t know what are you talking about” her voice didn’t shake.

“I may have been asleep for a thousand years, Y/n but I haven’t slowed down” he looked down at his daughter and with a look he disarmed her “I want you far away from Morgana” his voice going deep enough to reach her bones.

Y/n nodded.

“I’ll go. Keep safe” Aaarrrgghh broke the silence.

“Thank you, oh, very, very, big one” Merlin thanked Aaarrrgghh the way he spoke to Y/n when she was child.

Y/n felt tears brewing at the bottom of her throat. She shook her head. This was not the time to fall down to an old wound.

“The moment of truth is upon us all. With fortitude and bravery, we can end the threat posed by Morgana, Gunmar and Angor Rot for all time!” Blinky said.

“Oh, yeah!” Toby screamed.

—

Y/n hung her bag in her closet with the steadiest hand she had in a while. An old practice found her after a thousand years, she never knew why but before something big she would clean up her room. Before the battle of Killahead exploded she cleaned her whole room leaving a small bouquet of wild flowers by her bed. Maybe, young Y/n thought it would make it easier on the grievers, maybe it relaxed her before facing death. She still didn’t know.

“Knock, knock” Jim knocked on the open door.

“Hey, Jim” Y/n closed the door of the closet and turned to her brother “What’s up?”

“Are you…are you okay?”

Y/n frowned

“Of course” she smiled “Are you?”

“Yeah. It’s just…” Jim followed Y/n through her room “What happened with your…is weird calling Merlin your father” he chuckled.

Y/n laughed.

“You can call him Merlin” she opened her night stand and pulled out a hunting knife.

“Woah. That’s bigger than the usual one” Jim looked closer at the knife.

“This one is from Camelot” she pulled out the knife out of the sheath revealing a shiny blade with an ‘A’ engraved at the top.

“Whoa” Jim got distracted by the old relic “It’s really old”

“Hey! It’s not older than me” Y/n put back the knife in the sheath and hid it away in the waist of her pants.

“Well…” Jim laughed.

“Shut up” she laughed back.

Their laughter died down, staying in silence, in each other's company like they did many times before: on the couch laying next to each other while some movie played in the background, while Y/n played piano and Jim laid on the floor listening to the music, sitting in the dining table doing homework until late hours of the night, while Jim cooked and he swatted her hand away from the ingredients, they stood there face to face for what could be the last time.

“Jim” Y/n whispered, scared that death may find them in the darkness of her room “I know we can’t promise to each other to survive” she looked up to his eyes. Since the transformation, her brother was taller than her. She put her hand in his cheek “Promise me that if something happened to me you’ll remember I had a long life and you’ll take care of mom”

Jim shook his head.

“You’ll be okay” he grabbed her hand “We’ll all be okay”

“Yeah” Y/n smiled. She envied her little brother’s optimism even before facing a war with the deadliest wizard and the angriest troll he actually believed they all would be okay “but in case you’re wrong…”

“I’m not” he insisted “Is this about what Merlin said? Is this about Morgana?”

Y/n blinked a tear away.

“No. No” She hugged him “Jim, my father just…likes to make a spectacle out of his anger”

Y/n pulled away. She saw the nervousness in his brother’s face. He was unconvinced.

“I guess this is the worst and the best time ever, huh?” She sighed, graving Jim’s hands, guiding him to the bed “Merlin is mad at me because…because I never forsake Morgana like the rest of the world did”

Jim frowned.

“I know…I know Morgana is evil, Jim, but I know her, she wasn’t always like this” she felt like she’s been repeating this explanation so much throughout the century that it’s been tattooed to her throat “When I was a kid she was the only other female sorcerer that I knew and she was kind and beautiful. She would play with me and braid my hair and she would make magic something fun and something to be proud of. Not a chore or something shameful” Y/n laughed remembering running in the forest hand in hand with Morgana, little golden lights surrounding them. She dried away the tears that fell without her permission “She was my older sister and I’ve been grieving that Morgana. Not the one that hurt Claire or the one that is about to do all this” Y/n squeezed Jim’s hand and looked deep into his eyes “I’m not going to betray you. Please, tell me you believe me”

“I know you’re not going to betray me” Jim nodded, a little offended that Y/n would think he would think that “You’re my sister”

A sob escaped from Y/n throat. She threw herself into Jim's arms one last time.

“And you’re my little brother. Always. Human, troll, gnome” she pulled back “ I don’t care. You can’t run from my love.

“I don’t know if I want to be a gnome” Jim chuckled.

“I’ll ask NotEnrique to teach me how to speak gnome just to talk with you” Y/n kissed his forehead.

Y/n phone vibrated it, distracting the siblings from their talk.

Errand boy 💙:

Where are you??

“Shit” whispered Y/n putting her phone back in her pocket “I guess our sappy time is up”

“I’ll see you later” Jim smiled.

“I’ll see you later” Y/n nodded.

—

Y/n walked alone to Arcana Square. Each step made her question the possibility of everyone’s survival. Last time, Douxie and her came out alive at the price of Morgana’s life and a century without her father. What would this war take?

The square was packed. Y/n found Douxie’s blue hair amongst the crowd like a ship finds a lighthouse in the night. She pushed between the sea of dancing sweaty teenagers to get to him.

“Doux” she grabbed his arm before the sea could separate them.

“There you are” He smiled, grabbing her hand.

“Here I am” she kissed his cheek.

Y/n chuckled when she saw Douxie’s blood rush to his cheeks. For a moment, they were two teenagers on a date and not two soldiers about to embark on their second war. The music stopped dropping the weight of reality back to her.

She got close to his ear and whispered:

“Doux, I…”

“Good job, whatever that was” Señol Uhl said to the microphone.

Y/n shook her head, distracted by the teacher’s words.

“What is it?” he turned, their noses almost touching.

“I came to warn you” she got closer, pressing their bodies together “Morgana is bringing the Eternal Night now” she took the knife out of her pants.

“What? What about M…”

“Doesn’t matter” she didn’t let him finish. If he didn’t ask, she couldn’t lie to him “Promise me you’ll be safe” she put the knife in his hands.

Douxie frowned:

“What?” He looked down “Why are you giving me Lancelot’s knife?”

“Because I’m scared, Hisirdoux” Y/n voice shook like the queakes that had been shaking Arcadia “Please”

“It’s okay” Douxie held her cheek “We’ll be okay” With his other hand he took the knife “I’ll take the knife and I’ll give it back to you in the daylight”

Y/n nodded, no words could escape out of the knot of her throat.

Douxie gave her a reassuring smile and softly kissed her lips. The warmth of his love reminded her of the home that always had existed inside him, the memories that were safe with him.

The feedback of the microphone made them pull apart. Claire stood on the stage, armor on, ready to announce to Arcadia that the world they know doesn’t exist anymore.

Douxie whistled, making Y/n and Claire turn. He gave the teenager two thumbs up, trying to give her the courage to sign her siren song.

“Great work” Douxie pointed to the armor.

Y/n bit her lip, looking down.

“Uhm, hello. Can I have your attention?” Claire asked the confused crowd. “Look, I’ve got something to say. Something about this town. Listen to me. Something dangerous is coming. Strange things happen in our town”

“You didn’t prepare a speech, didn’t you?” Douxie chuckled.

“Uh uh” Y/n smiled at Claire’s brave attempt of convincing Arcadia of the unbelievable.

“Tonight, when night falls, you need to run”

“You need to run” Mary sang, starting to play their instruments.

“Oh god” Y/n whispered, covering her face when she saw Claire keep begging the audience while her friends innocently made it part of the show.

An explosion was heard from behind the audience. Y/n didn’t need her magic to know it came from the canal. She turned and saw a tornado of black fire musicalised by the terrified screams and incredulous gasps of the people of Arcadia. The torch had been lit. The war had begun.

Y/n couldn’t take her eyes away from the smoke. The amount of power used for the spell sent a chill up her spine. She felt like her ship had sunk at sea and was only capable of observing the fire from underneath the water. Her feet were glued to the floor, her instinct was screaming to let herself drown, to run and hide under rock until everything cleared but her reason knew better.

She squeezed Douxie's hand, hoping his voice was able to pull her from the sea.

“Let’s get everyone to safety” he said.

Y/n turned. He was ready. Not a drop of nervousness or fear traveled through his eyes.

She nodded, saying a final prayer before letting go of his hand, running to opposite sides of the fight. In that moment, Y/n decided to not think about anything other than the danger she had in front of her because if she started to think about her friends with a Gumm-Gumms’ blade to their necks, she would lose her mind faster than the trolls blade could cut her in half.

Y/n stood next to her friends in front of a wall of Gumm-Gumms that double their size and number.

“Oh my gosh. This is happening” Toby tightened the grip on his war hammer. The Gumm-Gumms hit the spears rhythmically against the floor announcing their strike “Not another flying truck!” The boy screamed when he saw the truck appear from behind the impenetrable wall of Gumm-Gumms.

With a quick movement of her wrist, Y/n, prepared her staff to return the truck to the troll that sent it.

“Jim!!” Claire’s scream made Y/n look up, never lowering her staff.

In the middle of the air, Jim cut the truck in half with ease before it could reach his friends in the ground.

The Gumm-Gumms lowered their spears, pointing them towards the trollhunter, slowly pushing forward, cornering the team against the empty stands.

“For glory!” Blinky’s battle cry brought forward the trolls from TrollMarket that were ready to fight for their home, giving the team the opportunity to escape the death trap the Gumm-Gumms had put them in and Y/n the opportunity to fight in Douxie’s direction.

She cutted and stabbed with the sharpest part of her staff, making a mental note to remind herself to sharp it back after the battle as she avoided the rain of stones that fell each time a Gumm-Gumm died.

Y/n’s eyes scanned the square until she found Douxie trying to catch his breath about to be speared by a Gumm-Gumm. She felt the adrenaline in her veins multiple, she could feel her brain work overtime as she jumped to the troll’s elbow and pushed the whole length of the staff until her hand touched the throat of the Gumm-Gumm. She stayed there as she felt the tremors of the creature collapsing under her, she wanted to observe the complete destruction of the one who dared to try to hurt Hisirdoux Casperan.

“Y/n?” Douxie catched her before the Gumm-Gumm completely collapsed on the ground “are you okay?”

She turned around, a frown on her face.

“Are you okay? He almost impales you” she pointed to the pile of rocks with the red gemstone of her staff.

Douxie flushed. He didn’t hear him coming.

“Thank goodness you were here, love” he pointed to another pile of rocks “That one punch me in the stomach”

“I swear they are bigger than last time” Y/n threw a rock to the Gumm-Gumm fighting one of the trolls from TrollMarket in the distance turning it into a pile of rocks instantly.

“Maybe” Douxie said, taking a Gumm-Gumm out with his guitar “Oh, fuzz..”

Y/n turned to Douxie. Claire’s friends were being cornered by a Gumm-Gumm. She started running but Douxie was faster, he jumped on top of the Gumm-Gumm throwing it to the ground and finally knocking it out with his guitar.

“I’ve always hated those twits” he grunted.

“Wow” Mary blushed.

“You all right, lovelies?” Douxie turned around, smiling.

The teenagers giggled.

Y/n rolled her eyes at Douxie’s charms with a small smile on her face. She moved her hand, hiding away her staff before climbing to the stage.

“Hey, girls” she turned to Douxie with a smirk on her face “Romeo. Let’s get out of here before more of these things find us” she jumped down.

Douxie tried to catch Y/n's eyes while they helped Darci and Mary climb down but he couldn’t. She was too on edge, or at least that’s what he told himself.

The four of them walked close to the stage when Douxie saw a part of the curtain laying on the ground making a tent.

“Here” he pointed out as he pulled away the fabric.

The four of them crouched down and sat on the floor.

“Where should we go?” Darci grabbed Y/n’s arm.

Y/n looked around the city. Everything was dark, infested by Gumm-Gumms. Running without a place in mind implied fighting and she couldn’t ask that of the girls.

“What about the library?” Y/n turned to Douxie.

“Is too far and I’m not sure how secure” Douxie pointed with his eyes to their new addition.

Y/n nodded, understanding both messages.

“Is too far and I can’t activate the barrier with them there”

“Aren’t you Jim’s sister? You should know what to do!” Mary screamed, grabbing Douxie’s bicep “Do you workout?” She asked, the terror long gone.

Douxie looked up to Y/n and lifted up his brow.

Y/n rolled her eyes and focused on keeping guard.

“This is not the time, Mary!” Darci almost screamed at her friend.

“Sorry…all I’m saying…”

At that moment, Y/n thought that the sound of Strickler’s wings were god’s trumpets as he opened the sky to receive her.

“Stay here” she ordered, running out of that tent of madness before Douxie could stop her. She took her two pinkies into her mouth and whistled to catch the attention of the flying changeling:

“Hey!”

“What are you doing?! Are you mad?!” Strickler screamed back.

“Meh!” She lifted her shoulders “Where do we take the civilians?”

“Careful, love!” Douxie warned, pointing to the Gumm-Gumm charging at her.

Y/n looked down and found the remains of another Gumm-Gumm. She lifted a rock and threw it to the head of the dead Gumm-Gumm’s friend. The Gumm-Gumm fell, hitting its head against a fire hydrant.

“You were saying?” She screamed back at the changeling.

Strickler blinked, impressed at the fighting abilities of Barbara’s older child.

“The school” he pointed.

“See you there” she ran back to the hiding spot before more Gumm-Gumms could singled her out.

Y/n crouched down to face two impressed faces and a proud one.

“C’mon. Let’s go to the school”

“That was impressive! How did you do that?” Mary screamed.

“Yeah! That was so cool! I mean your aim?” Daci screamed.

Y/n turned to Douxie for help.

He nodded, agreeing with the teenagers.

“Let’s go!” Y/n stood up.

“But school is the last place I wanna be” Mary winned.

“Let’s. Go” Y/n sentenced before starting to run on the ruins of Arcadia Oaks.

Y/n ran like a horse with blinders on. The only thing that mattered was getting Mary and Darci to school. She wanted to be useful, to help get down the amount of Gumm-Gumms running around but getting sidetracked wouldn’t help either.

“Y/n!” She heard Douxie’s scream.

She ripped her blinders, stopping in place and turning back to see Douxie fighting with a pack of shadow memphit half a block away.

“Shit” Y/n mumbled.

“Ew! What are those?” Mary stepped back even farther away.

“I’ll be alright! Keep going!” He screamed back, stepping on the creatures.

“Are you sure?” Y/n was ready to whip out her staff and be over with the situation.

“Yes!” Douxie screamed ever louder when he saw her wrist twitch “Go”

“Let’s go” Y/n nodded and resumed her running not before giving him a last reminder “Doux, burn them!”

The three of them kept running through the guttural growls of the Gumm-Gumms. Among those awful sounds, they heard two friendly voices:

“Darci! Mary! Y/n!” They heard Claire and Toby screams.

“Claire! Toby!” The teenagers ran to her friends. Seeing them gave them extra strength needed.

Y/n smiled. She could hear them talking but couldn’t understand them. Her heart was beating in her ears reminding her that she left Douxie behind.

A burst of wind pushed Y/n forward, pulling her out of her mind. She looked up confirming her fear. Stalklings were hunting around them.

“Stalklings!” Y/n warned but it was too late. Before she could finish her warning, the creature flew down, its claws open, ready to grab Darci and fly away into the night.

“Toby!” The girl cried.

“Darci” Toby ran behind the creature, using his war hammer to follow them into the sky.

Y/n, Claire and Mary stood there, looking at the sky, waiting for their friends to come back down, listening to the struggle beyond the sky. They stood there, hearing the creature screeching with no sight from them.

Toby’s giggles made the girls turn around, taking out the grief from their chest. Darci and Toby had escaped the stalkling without a scratch.

The group kept running, avoiding more Gumm-Gumms and monsters in their last lapse than in their whole journey to the school.

Y/n watched Mary and Darci being escorted by Toby to the safety of the walls of the school.

“Do you think they’ll be safe here?” Claire asked.

“I hope so” Y/n smiled “But I think your teachers have it covered” she chuckled at the teachers running around threatening creatures they didn’t understand how dangerous they were.

—

“Have you got everyone to safety?” Blinky ran to the trollhunters.

“Yep. The ones who couldn’t make it home are hiding at school” explained Claire.

“Why is the eclipse still here?” Toby looked up at the sky “Wasn’t Merlin supposed to have his magic back by now?” He turned back.

“I don’t feel his magic yet” Y/n looked in direction of the canal “Something must’ve happened”

“Where is that wizard?” Claire complained.

“Morgana probably had a million tricks ready for him. We…” Y/n turned back. In the distance she heard her brother’s screams “Jim!” she followed the painful screams. Her legs tired of running the length of the city, of avoiding death multiple times but not stopping once until they saw him.

“Jim!” Claire screamed.

On the roof of the museum, Gunmar stood on top of Jim’s chest, he had him under his blade, using his power to try to convert him into his first human Gumm-Gumm.

“We’re too late!” Toby screamed.

Y/n felt her heart skip a beat, her hand slowly losing grip of her staff. For a moment, she imagined a world where Gunmar won, where she lost another sibling, where she couldn’t save her brother.

“In their darkest hour, I burn brightest!” A crimson light illuminated Jim, gaining back his strength, pushing Gunmar back by his sword.

Gunmar grunted, anger dripping out of his nostrils. He shook his head, trying to focus his strike through the rage. He repositioned his sword and changed once last time. Jim easily avoided Gunmar’s angry strike, hitting him while he was distracted.

“No” the troll looked down to the gash that went from his waist to his shoulder “It cannot be!”

“It is”

Blinky took a step forward. His eyes couldn’t believe what was happening. The long awaited end had finally come. His people could finally live in peace without having to fear another war coming. It was finally over.

Gunmar screamed, his body exploding into an expansive ball of light, destroying all the Gumm-Gumms that were still standing before finally becoming stone.

Jim looked into his dead eyes:

“For Draal” he kicked his corpse off the roof, finalizing the battle.

Jim observed the pile of rocks for a moment before jumping off the roof.

“Jim!” Claire jumped the pile of rocks that used to be Gunmar to jump into Jim’s arms.

“Ow! Careful. Sunburn” Jim hugged her back.

“You did it, Jimbo!” Toby screamed “Daylight went supernova”

“At long last, after centuries, Gunmar’s war is at an end” Blinky looked down at Gunmar’s remains, at the nightmare’s remains.

Y/n patted Blinky’s shoulder. She may not be a troll but she lived in Camelot, Gunmar had occupied enough time in her nightmares.

“And you, my dear boy, have ended it” Blinky shook Jim by the shoulders with a smile on his face.

“Um, not to be a total buzzkill, but why is the night still all eclipsey?” Toby interrupted.

Y/n pulled her eyes from the black sky towards the heavy footsteps coming their way. The grip on her staff tightened making her knuckles go white, her body still in high alert.

“Wingman!” Toby started to run towards the troll.

“Where’s my father?” Y/n walked closer to Aaarrrgghh.

“In trouble” he pointed to the sky “Morgana”

Y/n followed his finger. From the tornado of fire she saw Morgana flying down in her golden armor and green cape, just like the last time she saw her. Her laughter echoed around them, like a song trapped inside Y/n’s mind. She felt dizzy. She had to be dreaming, this has to be a nightmare but the world wouldn’t be so cruel? Right?

“But Merlin’s plan…” Blinky turned to Aaarrrgghh.

“Not work”

“Indeed”

The trollhunter team stood there, observing the sorcerer descending from the sky. Not knowing how to react.

“Don’t despair, weak ones. Your lives will soon be over” Morgana laughed, her palms charging with magic.

“She’s beautiful” Toby sighed.

Claire turned to Toby, giving him a nasty look.

“But totally evil” he frowned “Yeah, yeah, we have to stop her”

“Without Merlin, how can we?” Blinky asked.

Y/n felt the side eyes of the troll burning her cheek but she couldn’t do more than what she was doing: observing the impossible before her. She imagined talking to her dead sister through vessels but she never thought she would see her again.

“I…” no words escaped her.

“Merlin’s champion” with an elegant movement of her arms she moved the rocks that Gunmar’s body left behind, leaving the path to Jim clear “I have so looked forward to meeting you” she chuckled.

Y/n tried to move but her body didn’t seem to answer her. She wanted to run and protect Jim but her will was in shock just like her heart.

“And then killing you” she moved her hands again this time pushing everyone out the way except Jim and Y/n.

Jim pulled daylight, jumping to strike Morgana before she could do more harm. The wizard smiled at the trollhunter’s boldness. She barely moved her hand, tying him with a golden rope.

Jim fought against the trap that lifted him into the air and close to the wizard’s face but it was in vain.

“Good morning and…good night” she moved her finger, throwing Jim miles away where the eye couldn’t see.

Morgana sighed, turning her sight onto Y/n.

“I was hoping that this time we would be in the same side, sister”

“You’re alive” was all that Y/n could muster.

The wizard cocked her face, examining the confused girl in the ground.

“After all this time…” Y/n shook her head “You’re alive”

“Well, of course” Morgana got closer, her voice full of something Y/n couldn’t decode “Where did you think I was all those years?”

Y/n looked up, her eyes burning with all the tears that she had been spilling for a century:

“Dead”

“You help him imprison me” Morgana didn’t believe her.

“He said we were going to help you!” Y/n tried to clean the tears as they fell but she wasn’t fooling anyone “I thought I was getting my sister back after the battle”

Morgana laughed, pulling back.

“Morgana” Y/n said, her voice soft.

The wizard disappeared into the distance, where the eye couldn’t see.

Y/n shook her head, trying to not lose the hurt she was feeling. She lifted her staff and used the dagger that Morgana had left on her heart to make a portal to find Jim. Her first attempt failed. Her hand was too shaky to mold the shadows.

“Fuzzbucket” she cursed, throwing a car a couple blocks away “Focus, Y/n, these are your friends”

Y/n took a deep breath, carefully lifting her staff back up. Her mind replayed her conversation with Morgana, her father treating her like a child in front of everyone, the hurt the curse did to Douxie, the amount of pressure that was put on Jim.

This time, the shadow bended at her will. Y/n crossed the portal but it was late. Morgana had everyone tied up with her magic.

“I showed your friends mercy, trollhunter, so they can watch you die” Morgana threw Jim around the pavement as his friends helplessly watched.

“Morgana!” Y/n grabbed the golden rope that tied the wizard and Jim together and cut it with her staff “he is just a boy!”

Morgana lifted her brows as she watched the younger wizard kneel next to the trollhunter.

“For the love I have for you, I won’t hurt you, Y/n but do not intervene” Morgana frowned. She moved her fingers returning the trollhunter to a painful tie and gently pushed Y/n to the side, immobilizing her hands.

“Morgana, please don’t” Y/n screamed, fighting with the rope.

“Pale lady!” Angor Rot scream stopped all pleas.

Morgana turned:

“My champion! On time for the grand finale” she moved to the side to reveal what she had accomplish “Here. For your efforts” she pointed to Jim “I give you the honor of finishing him”

Angor Rot ran, dagger in hand, ready to strike but when the moment came, he didn’t stab Jim, he punched Morgana, almost throwing her out the bridge.

“Witch! I am no one’s pawn!”

“You! What did you tell him?” She stood up, throwing Jim against one of the pillars.

“The boy reminded me who I fight for”

“You fight for me!” Morgana screamed, attacking him with her magic.

“This is the end” Angor Rot growled, avoiding Morgana’s attack.

Everything happened so fast. One moment, Y/n was still processing Morgana’s rebirth, the next, she’s standing in front of her strike, wishing that heaven looks like the forests in Camelot.

Morgana’s ties had always burned. Y/n had always been too weak to break them when her sister didn't want her to break them but when she saw the movement of her hands, when she heard the serious proportion of death, Morgana’s rope broke like cotton.

“Y/n!” She heard her friend’s desperate calls as her body hit the cold cement. She left her eyes closed, her body was too tired to keep fighting.

“Y/n?” A soft voice called.

Y/n slowly opened her eyes. The sunlight coming through the tree caressed her body, nurturing it from the outside in. Here, there was no pain, no tiredness, no war.

She smiled at the familiar tree filled sky. She turned her head and saw the familiar purple flowers that she knew so much. Maybe her wish was granted. She sat up, picking up a flower and taking it to her nose, the smell pulling her into a hug like a greeting from an old friend.

“Little Y/n, you are far away from home”

Y/n stood up, her hand calling for her staff that wasn’t there. She turned back to the place where the voice was calling. Y/n blinked a couple times thinking her eyes were deceiving her. Standing just a couple steps away from her was someone she thought long gone.

“Queen Guinevere?” Y/n frowned.

“It’s been a long time” Guinevere walked up to Y/n.

Y/n gasped, her knees buckling into bow when she saw the Queen’s unmistakable green eyes.

“There is no need for that here” Guinevere lifted Y/n from the ground, pulling a leaf out of the girl’s hair.

“What?” Y/n looked around “Aren’t we in Camelot?”

Guinevere chuckled:

“Yes, but I’m no Queen here. I’m just…Gwen” she smiled.

“Gwen” Y/n repeated, the name foreign in her mouth “Am I…?”

“Not yet” Guinevere locked their arms together and started walking “You were injured”

The memories of the battle came back in flashes: the fight with Morgana, Angor Rot helping them, Angor Rot dying, Jim jumping in front of Morgana’s strike but Y/n being faster and then, the trees.

“I remember… Morgana…” Y/n stopped “I have to save them”

“From what?” Guinevere had no urgency in her voice.

“From Morgana. I have to help her too”

Guinevere shook her head.

“You can’t help everyone, Y/n” Guinevere smiled “Sometimes, people have to grow on their own”

“But they are kids and Morgana…Morgana is hurting” Y/n frowned “I thought you would understand”

“Is their destiny. You can’t fight with destiny” Guinevere explained, her voice soft like velvet.

“I don’t accept it!” Y/n closed her fists.

“Destiny does not need or want your permission”

Y/n let the tears fall freely. She knew this but she couldn’t accept it. Not for her family. Not this cruel destiny.

“I can help my brother and his friends survive. I can help Morgana change” she pleaded.

Guinevere shook her head.

“You can help your friends but you cannot change Morgana, you can only love her”

“Why?” She cried “She deserves better”

Guinevere smiled, looking at a butterfly passing by.

“Yes, she did” the woman cleaned the tears from the girl’s eyes “but, sometimes, life isn’t about deserving”

Y/n looked up at Guinevere, she looked so young. In her eyes, she could see all the unlived life shining through. If someone could understand fairness maybe it was her.

“So, I should let her rot in her anger?” Y/n wasn’t angry at Guinevere, she was mad at the world.

“No. You keep loving the person you knew” Guinevere turned to the side.

Y/n noticed the creek flowing next to them. The creek where Douxie and her would tempt luck one too many times, the creek where they decided to abandon Camelot before the kingdom fell years later. Across it, amongst the darkness of the trees she saw a figure walking towards them and this time, she didn’t call her staff.

“Morgana” Y/n whispered when the woman put her feet in the creek. She walked through the creek, the violent current of the water did not disturb her.

“Birdie!” Morgana engulfed her in a hug, no shadow in her voice.

“Sister” Y/n cried, her nails digging in Morgana’s corset “I’m sorry…I’m sorry”

“No…no” Morgana pulled back with a smile, the smile that Y/n remembered, grabbing Y/n’s cheeks “Don’t apologize”

“They want to kill you” Y/n sobbed “Maybe I can save you”

Morgana shook her head.

“Let them”

“No” Y/n hid her face in Morgana’s neck “I don’t want to lose you”

“I’m not gone just because you cannot see me” Morgana brushed Y/n’s hair with her fingers “I will be in the other side of the creek”

Y/n pulled back, her puffy eyes full of confusion.

“It’s time for me to go, Birdie” Morgana tiredly sighed “I haven’t been myself in awhile”

Y/n looked to the other side of the creek. The forest grew thicker, darker but the longer she saw it, the more she wanted to go.

“Y/n?! What happened?!” She heard the echoes of her father’s desperate screams.

“You have to go back” Guinevere put her hand on Y/n’s back “Your friends still need you”

Y/n nodded.

“Thank you for your words, Gwen. It was nice seeing you again” Y/n hugged the woman.

“You have grown into a beautiful woman, Y/n” Guinevere hugged back.

Y/n turned to Morgana, her heart turning into itself knowing it was the last time it was going to see her again.

“I’ll miss you all my life, sister” Y/n wanted to disappear in Morgana’s arms but she knew she couldn’t.

“Then, I hope you’ll miss me for a long time” Morgana chuckled, squeezing Y/n tight “I wish that Hisirdoux and you live a long and happy life. After that, you can come back to me. We have all eternity to be together”

Y/n chuckled.

“I love you, sister” Morgana said into Y/n’s hair.

“I love you too” Y/n pulled back.

Guinevere stretched her hand and Morgana took it. The ground started to shake, throwing Y/n to the ground but it didn’t seem to bother the older women. Morgana stopped in the middle of the creek and observed Guinevere disappearing into the forest. The ground shook once more, throwing the trees around Y/n to ground.

“Morgana!” Y/n screamed, stretching her hand, trying to reach the woman in the creek.

Y/n woke up, gasping for air. Her chest felt like one of the trees had fallen on it.

“Birdie, are you alright?” Y/n felt the familiar callous hand that had brought her to life brushing away the hair from her face.

She blinked a few times, her eyes adjusting to the new bright light. Between the blurriness she recognised the crystalline blue eyes watching her, the eyes that had followed her all her life.

“Mmmh” she lifted her heavy hand and grabbed her father’s wrist, pushing his hand against her cheek

“You’re alive” Merlin sighed in relief.

Y/n wasn’t sure but she thought she saw a tear fall from her father’s eye.

“I think so” she looked down at her chest with a teasing smile.

“Y/n!” Jim crawled closer.

“Jim” Y/n sat up, pulling her brother into a hug.

“You scared me” Jim pulled back.

“I told you I’ll see you later, didn’t I?” Y/n stood up.

“Don’t ever pass out again, okay?” Toby hugged her back.

“I don’t think I can promise that” she chuckled.

“Just do it” Toby insisted.

Claire rolled her eyes in complicity.

“Fine” she smiled.

The boy let go of her.

“I promise”

“The eternal night is finally over” Blinky watched the ruins of the entrance of TrollMarket.

“Heartstone gone” Aaarrrgghh closed his eyes.

“In Deya’s name…” they prayed for the place they once called home.

“Then we’ll need to find a new heartstone out there” Jim walked up to them, putting a hand on their shoulders.

“I’ve heard tell of a heartstone in a place called New Jersey” Merlin said.

The trolls turned at the news of a new home.

“Well make preparations and gather what we can from TrollMarket” Blinky nodded.

“We live at nightfall” Jim said.

The night came faster than everyone expected. There wasn’t enough time to say goodbye. There never will be. Y/n spent the afternoon reminding her soul that nobody died, that this goodbye was not permanent, a new concept for the inmortal. When the sun started to fall down and her soul started to relax, a new thought crawled her way up to the top in her lists of anxieties: staying behind.

She paced her room, the nail on her thumb almost gone as she thought about how she would tell her father she wanted to stay.

“You seem nervous” Merlin entered Y/n’s room.

“I’m not going with you” Y/n stopped, the thought escaping her mouth before she could think of an excuse “I…I didn’t mean it like that” she turned to the door where her father was standing “I’m sorry…I…”

“It’s alright” Merlin chuckled.

“What?” Y/n frowned. She was sure her father would want her by his side like he always did.

“Y/n, you’re a woman now” Merlin walked around Y/n’s room observing the pieces of a life he wished he could have shared with his daughter “I should've realized that before. It’s time for you to grow on your own”

Y/n swallow the confusion from her throat.

Merlin stopped in front of Y/n and grabbed her shoulders

“Whatever you choose would be alright with me”

“You must be spending a lot of time with Barbara” she smiled, burying herself in her father’s arms “Don’t disappear for too long”

“I won’t” Merlin kissed his daughter’s head, pulling back to see her eyes.

“Besides, someone has to make sure Douxie gets his staff” Y/n joked, unable to hold her father’s gaze for too long.

Merlin rolled his eyes.

“Make sure that boy doesn’t burn the city” he walked away, stopping at the door “and, Y/n?”

“Yes?”

“Not a word of this to Hisirdoux”

She nodded, the secret now weighing heavy on her chest.

—

Merlin watched as Y/n hugged her mother at the edge of a shattered Arcadia Oaks. Barbara had made her part by staying in the safety of the hospital, aiding the wounded.

The clanking of metal made them turn back.

“Hey!” Jim walked out of the woods with a smile, Blinky and Aaarrrgghh walking alongside him.

Barbara walked to Jim, tears filling her eyes.

“I promised I’d never leave you” Jim looked down.

“Honey” Barbara grabbed his cheeks, lifting up his face “I knew this day would come. I just…never knew when” she smiled.

Jim pulled his mother into a hug.

“I hope you find what you’re looking for” Barbara let the silent tears fall “Just call often. Every day. Twice. Text. Now and then?”

“Of course, mom. I love you” Jim chuckled

“Not more than I love you, kiddo” Barbara squeezed tighter.

Jim looked up, seeing her sister observing the scene teary eyed. He lifted his hand knowing that Y/n would run to take it, pulling her into the hug.

“I’ll miss you, Jim” she said “Please don’t get an accent”

“I’ll miss you too” Jim laughed.

“Are you ready, Master Jim?” Blinky walked up to them.

“Ready as I’ll ever be” Jim answered, dissolving the hug.

“I don’t know what tomorrow brings but with our trollhunter by our side, I don't fear it either” Blinky looked at Barbara.

“I really appreciate that, Mr. Blinky” Barbara smiled.

The grass rustled making Jim turn, relaxed as he was sure, the worst was behind them.

“Claire,” he frowned “I can’t ask you to…”

“You didn’t ask” Claire walked up to him.

“She has enough credits to graduate early” Claire’s mom explained “We’re treating this like some time abroad”

“As long as she comes back soon” Claire’s father frowned, pointing at Jim with his finger as if after all the darkness Jim has seen he could be a danger to him.

Jim laughed, relieved that he could have Claire by his side.

Y/n heard the familiar flutter announcing the changeling’s presence. Strickler flew down with NotEnrique in his arms.

“Good luck, young Atlas” he nodded.

Jim smiled before starting his pilgrimage to New Jersey.

“Wait! Wait for me!” Toby’s screams made everyone stop in their tracks. The boy ran until he got to his best friend's side “Whew!”

“I thought that one was staying with you” Merlin whispered in Y/n’s ear.

“Dunno” Y/n shook her head in confusion.

Toby kneeled down trying to recover his breath “Boy, these goodbyes are tough, you know. Nana wanted me to take Mr. Meow Meow P.I., but he does not travel well” his smile dying when he noticed no one was following his enthusiasm “What?”

“Tobes…”Jim sighed “You have to stay”

“What?! You’re going on a quest. I love quests. We go everywhere together”

Jim grabbed Toby’s shoulder:

“I’m hurt. Claire lost her shadow staff. You are the only one who can protect Arcadia”

“Did you tell everyone that Doux and I are bad at our jobs?” Y/n whispered, a smile cutting across her tired face.

“I think they can realize it for themselves” Merlin chuckled.

“No, Wingman” Aaarrrgghh took a step forward “I help. I stay”

“So, you’re staying with me…and you’re leaving?” Toby cocked his head.

“But we’ll be back. Someday”

“You better” Toby engulfed Jim and Claire into a hug.

“And then, we'll get tacos” Jim said into the hug.

“And enchiladas” Claire added.

Y/n turned to Merlin

“Father”

“Hmmm” Merlin looked down at her daughter.

“I wanted to give you this…before you leave” Y/n pulled an old cell phone from her pants “It’s my backup phone. Jim said he’ll help you to text and call” she smiled at the idea of her father having to text “It’s faster than letters”

Merlin smiled

“Thank you” he picked up the device, unsure how to grab it.

“Be careful they’re weirdly fragile, well nowadays” she shook her head, trying not to enter in a weird rant about phones “I put my number in. When you get a “letter” from me it’ll say Birdie”

“I’ll wait for your letters” Merlin patted Y/n’s head.

“Keep Arcadia safe” Jim said “You’re its only trollhunters now” he got closer and whispered “and keep an eye on Y/n. She wanted to stay here and I think something is going on”

Toby nodded.

“I heard that!” Y/n walked to Toby, jokingly punching his arm.

—

Y/n sat in the quietness of her room and waited for her mother to fall asleep. She slowly opened the window so the rail wouldn’t squeak, she jumped out her room into a small pile of dirt that would soften the blow. A routine that she had done before in a world where Merlin was just a legend and trolls was something you would see on tv.

She walked the destroyed streets of Arcadia. Tonight, not even the moon dared to leave the safety of her house, only Y/n.

She climbed the stairs thinking of one thing: Hisirdoux. Douxie’s apartment was dark like Arcadia’s streets. Y/n took off her jacket and hung it by the door along with Douxie’s coats, she kicked off her shoes and walked to the bedroom in her snoopy socks.

“Hey, kids” She petted the cats cuddling on top of the dresser as she walked to the bed.

Y/n pulled the covers away, sitting on Douxie’s bed. Douxie getting pulled by the movement on the bed, his sleeping mind knowing the routine by heart.

She finally laid down, her lungs breathing normally once her head hit the pillow.

“Hhhm…Y/n?” Douxie's arms surrounded her, pulling closer to him.

“Goodnight, Doux” she turned to him, hugging him back.

“I’m glad you’re alright” he whispered into her head.

“War is over, Doux” she kissed his collarbone “Let’s sleep”

A/n: and that was the last chapter of Trollhunters!! I’ll see you in Wizards!!

The amount of times I read this beast is unholy

remember to leave love letters and death threats!! 💖

<Taglist: @douxiesaurus @fandomobbsessedb @queteimporta-99 @adrias23 @wickedlovely121 If your url is crossed it means tumblr didn’t let me tag you> want to be tagged next update? Let me know! 📩

#tales of arcadia #toa #trollhunters #douxie #hisirdoux casperan #douxie x reader #hisirdoux x reader #hisirdoux casperan x reader #my writing #til the end of eternity

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