become-darkness-itself

[become-darkness-itself]

I've taken one of the prettiest photos of my cat

Immediately followed by one of the silliest

[become-darkness-itself]

nathan landers

[become-darkness-itself]

[become-darkness-itself]

Spirit Animal is racist.

Patronus was invented by a transphobe.

I think it’s time we all suck it up and say what we mean: fursona.

[become-darkness-itself]

What's the word for when you realised that what you wished or thought about your life will never come true?

[become-darkness-itself]

keyboard switched to wrong language mid-sentence incident fuair 98 bás agus bhí 106 gortaithe

[become-darkness-itself]

Let’s Talk About Sora’s Necklace

Sora’s necklace is particularly interesting to me, despite the fact that there has never been a single explanation of it or reference to it in the series (even though the crown symbol is EVERYWHERE in the series).  However, I do have reason to believe it may have some significance outside of mere aesthetics and the obvious symbolic reference to KINGdom Hearts-  the significance either being with lore or character, or both.

Let me start by saying I understand that the necklace could entirely be a design choice meant to connect Sora visually with the Kingdom Key, his iconic keyblade, and has no real lore or character significance.  In fact, I would argue that this is likely what it started out as when the character was first designed.  But as any writer or artist knows, ideas and previously insignificant details can develop into happy accidents that spark new ideas that transform them into something more significant.  I have at least some reason to believe this may be the case.

Now let’s just roll with the idea that the necklace does actually have significance.  There are two questions here; how did Sora get the necklace and does it have lore significance (such as magical properties or a literal connection to Kingdom Hearts or the Kingdom Key)? 

The first question actually has some canon clues as to the answer.  I submit to you that Sora may have gotten his necklace from Riku, which doesn’t explain where Riku got it, but does give some emotional weight to the object. As we know, the Oathkeeper and Oblivion keyblades are symbolic of Sora’s relationships with and/or memories of Kairi and Riku, respectively (and each are given to Sora after significant story events regarding these characters in both kh1 and kh2);  “The precious “Oathkeeper”, which Sora received from Kairi. The jet-black Keyblade, symbolic of Riku. The Oblivion, at first, was called Riku’s Keyblade.” - Nomura, Famitsu interview.  (Interestingly, Riku can actually wield Oblivion in 358/2 Days, briefly wields it in his fight against Roxas in KH2, and in the cinematic opening of DDD, Riku’s Way to Dawn keyblade is replaced by Oblivion in the fight against Xemnas, again reinforcing its significance in relation to Riku)

Now about the design of these two keyblades (don’t worry, I’ll get to the point).  Let’s have a look at Oathkeeper:

Two hearts, symbolic of Kairi’s status as a Princess of Heart and also perhaps Sora’s love for Kairi.  The teeth resembling the kanji for “light” and angel wings on the hilt , referencing Kairi’s heart of pure light.  The keychain made up of a braided cord and the thalasa shell wayfinder-esque charm given to Sora by Kairi, a reminder of his promise to return to her.  So, the blade’s design represents Kairi herself and perhaps Sora’s love for her, while the keychain itself is a significant object given to Sora by Kairi.

Now let’s look at Oblivion:

On the handle, demon-like wings and teeth that resemble the kanji for “darkness”, referencing Riku’s fall into darkness.  The purple diamond being a reference to Hollow Bastion, where many significant events took place between Sora and Riku, and where Riku lived during the events of kh1.  The chains that run the length of the keyblade may or may not be a symbolic reference to Riku’s possession by Ansem.  Now the keychain.  Hold on…what on earth could the crown have have to do with Riku?  Surely they could have found a more relevant symbol of Riku, perhaps the eye from his Soul Eater blade, or another variation of the heartless symbol, or more demon wings.  Unless…unless it IS a relevant symbol of Riku.  Just as the Oathkeeper keychain became a symbol of the relationship between Sora and Kairi after she gave it to him, could it be that the Oblivion keychain is a symbol of Sora’s relationship with Riku because Riku gave Sora the crown necklace?!  Even the chain is the same.  The only difference is the color, again denoting Riku’s fall into darkness.

Now the question of whether the necklace has lore significance remains.  This is where speculation gets more uncertain.  While the crown symbol shows up many times, there are some places that I feel may hint at it being more significant.  The outline of the crown can be seen on the teeth of both the Kingdom Key and Kingdom Key D.  The crown symbol can also be seen in KH2 on the floor whenever Sora unlocks a new gummi route with his keyblade.

The Kingdom Key:

I can’t understand why such a significant lore related keyblade would have a hidden mickey keychain of all things.  After all, we know that these specific keyblades, Kingdom Key and Kingdom Key D, are necessary for locking the Door to Darkness on both sides, and the light Kingdom Key is the basis for the design of the X-Blade itself.  Wouldn’t it make more sense to have a crown keychain? This lends to the idea that the crown symbol in this case has no lore significance and is just a symbolic reference to Kingdom Hearts.  However, we all know how Nomura likes to take minute details that were in all likelihood not originally intended to be significant and make them significant in later games.  This is just wild speculation, but could it be that Sora’s necklace was in fact originally a keychain?  Could it be THE keychain of Kingdom Hearts?  There is barely any evidence to go on here, except one very small thing: the logo of the Keyblade Graveyard.

Notice how the letters K, E, and G are all designed to resemble the default keyblades of Terra, Ventus, and Aqua.  But what about the letter D?  One would expect this to be a reference to Mickey, seeing as he was there at the graveyard as well- and on one level it might be.  But for one thing, Mickey didn’t even have Kingdom Key D yet, and secondly, the  keychain is wrong.  Even though the design of the handle is the Kingdom Key, the keychain is Sora’s necklace.  What would be the purpose of referencing Sora or the Kingdom Key here?  I suppose it could just a case of the crown being a reference to Kingdom Hearts, which was the focus of the Keyblade wars and was summoned by Xehanort here.  But why a keychain, and why on the Kingdom Key?  What would happen if Sora actually used his necklace as a keychain?  Could there be another version of the Kingdom Key we haven’t seen yet?  I don’t have any answers here, but it does spark a lot of fun speculation.

Edit: Expanding on this theory-When and Why Would Riku have Given the Crown Necklace to Sora

[become-darkness-itself]

if you cant handle me at my pronouncing words funny autism then you dont deserve me at my eloquent infodumping autism

[become-darkness-itself]

People feel like they have to... Justify their ships now? When the hell did that start? Ask me why I ship something and it's like, the characters were in a room together one time. The fuck more do you expect from me?

[become-darkness-itself]

exciting! i hope marriage dies once and for all 🩷

[become-darkness-itself]

Every "online autism test" is like

Question n: Do you struggle with answering ambiguous or unclear questions?

Yes

No

Question n+1: Are sounds good?

Yes

No

[become-darkness-itself]

[become-darkness-itself]

When was the last time you went outside?

The fuck are you, my doctor?

[become-darkness-itself]

bella was lucky she didn’t have a cell phone of any kind because you know ya boi edward would be blowing up that phone 24-7 going “saw a snail today…. effervescent” or some shit equivalent

[become-darkness-itself]

I want someone to make one of these new sterile teen gay romance shows on Netflix but halfway through they pull a Doki Doki Literature Club and it turns into a fucked up fourth wall breaking psychological thriller that deconstructs the heteronormative and middle class ideals of the genre

[become-darkness-itself]

hopefully they never take away the way you can drag the little post icons around the screen on the android app