#Kairi. Roxas. then Ventus and still Roxas

[ajdrawshq]

@ your tags on my post, i am shaking you like a maraca and yelling "YESSSSS"

i wanna see how kh3 tackles that whole thing because it's so eerily similar to what happens in the manga. and in the manga, he is in so much pain and agony, AND HE'S STILL FIGHTING. ROXAS IS THERE WITH HIM, HIS ONLY COMPANION, and then kh3 just tripped and fell on the glass table.

also, i think about this constantly, i want them to do something with it so bad.

YEA i cant wait to see the rest of kh3 manga chapters and how they handle everything, i especially loved the manga versions for days and kh2 and the way their stories were told - even tho kh3 has a Lot going on that might be hard to show well.. amano's been good at it so far tho so i have faith :]

but yeah that whole thing with Roxas is just . oughh. im not gonna lie even i forgot that Roxas was like. still there with Sora when he perishes until i thought abt it writing those tags but now that ive realized that. why the hell did they not take advantage of that!!!! like ok i get that it was more focused on the destiny trio in the ways i talked abt in the tags but yknow. what happened to "he makes up the difference"?? that wouldve been a great moment for it to shine!! ik they already make an example of it during the Xemnas n Saïx fight but still!!

part of me wishes Roxas couldve have more outward influence on Sora the way Ven did. granted, he arguably had an affect on Sora back in kh2, and while i dont remember if it was canon or even intended, that could be applied to both his appearance (his lighter hair, mostly) and his behavior (his hostility towards the organization members; ive seen this argued both as smth Roxas had influence over and purely based on Soras experiences thus far, and i believe in both personally) but Ven in kh3 was literally able to speak and somewhat act through him. im pretty sure this was meant to show that Ven was fully ready to awaken or smth like that, and that wasnt sonething that was needed for Roxas; hes alright, just needed a body/vessel for himself. but i still think itd be a cool way to express the earlier sentiment. and it wouldnt necessarily have to be Roxas "taking over" either, the manga shows very well how Roxas gives Sora strength from within and that he definitely does make a difference

to be fair tho...... whether that wouldve helped Sora in the moment that he gives in to his despair, im not sure. in kh2, both manga and game, hes in a very different mindset than kh3. in that part of the manga especially, despite thinking everyone (except Roxas) is gone for good, he still has the belief that they can live on within him. and that, plus the literal strength hes getting from Roxas, is keeping him going despite it all. in kh3 his self confidence is beyond fucked, and he truly believes in that moment that hes lost Everything, not just his friends. thats hard to come back from

i wonder if he were to remember that Roxas were still there, if that wouldve helped. whether for comfort in the way that hes not really alone then, or for motive to keep living bc if he dies then Roxas is gone too, or whatever reason, i think it couldve changed something, even if its just a little bit. hell, itd have been great if something like that happened afterwards in the final world. id like to think Roxas had a hand in Sora surviving ..... not sure how but its a nice thought. either way i do wish Sora n Roxas' connection and that moment they have in san fransokyo had more....... More. in kh3. it was a great opportunity that they didnt use/forgot about n im now sad abt it forever

[cynnoct]

wish things could stay like this forever

[empyreasheart]

i need to sleep but im imagining the kh kids excitedly opening all their presents 😭😭😭 the fact that santa is real in the kh universe makes it so much better tbh

[transselkie]

Started thinking about Kingdom Hearts character classpects and now that KH3 has given Sora a new aspect to fill I have honestly never had characters slot so cleanly into unique classes and aspects before. Enjoy my self indulgent mental experiment:

Sora - Rogue of Time (one who steals from time for the benefit of others)

Kairi - Muse of Space (one whose agency is denied but inspires the actions of others)

Riku - Seer of Life (one who benefits themselves with knowledge of life and uses it to guide)

Roxas - Heir of Heart (heir of identity/self/soul)

Xion - Sylph of Doom (one who heals for others through death/fate/doom)

Naminé- Thief of Mind (one who steals mind/thoughts/consequence)

Axel - Page of Blood (one who creates bonds/provides others with bonds and serves the bonds created)

Saïx - Lord of Void (one who has command over emptiness/commands the emptiness of others)

Vanitas - Witch of Rage (one who creates negativity/creates using negative emotions) OR Bard of Blood (one who invites destruction through bonds)

Ventus - Maid of Breath (one who provides freedom/confidence, one who tends to freedom/confidence)

Aqua - Knight of Hope (one who serves and protects hope/ideology)

Terra - Mage of Light (one who arms themselves through the pursuit of knowledge/one who is manipulated through their pursuit of knowledge)

[dreamdripdistance]

sneak peek :3

would i be burned at thr stake for making a kingdom hearts in stars and time au.... lol......

[strayheartless]

Vanitas and the Chaotic Good learning curve:

Leaving complete darkness behind isn’t hard exactly. After having Mr. Giddy goofy light bringer (Sora) witter in his ear for a good nine hours about the “benefits of not being evil” Vanitas isn’t willing to say he caved…. But he caved.

Besides if little miss “How can I face everyone” Martyrdom (Riku) can find the balance, how hard could it be right?

Turns out it’s not hard, it’s just… interesting. He’s observed a lot from those light bringers who still have to find a balance with the darkness in their hearts. Here’s what he’s learning:

Dawn (Riku) is not above small acts of violence against Sora. Whacking him with a paperback, flicking his forehead, tripping him when he gets up to do to the bathroom. It’s all fair play apparently.

It is not acceptable to firaga people for annoying you, but that doesn’t mean Kairi hasn’t.

The real-boy (Roxas) can hit HARD and no he won’t apologise for braking something if he thinks you deserve it.

Raggedy-Anne (Xion) has a higher kill rate then Vanitas does… which is only mildly disturbing.

Biting people is bad, but Terra and Aqua always seem to be covered in Bite marks anyway. He has been informed it’s a different kind of biting. He doesn’t wish to explore that further.

His own natural eye colour after possession is red, and ain’t that a kick in the teeth.

Dawns a bitch when he’s grumpy and apparently the way to deal with him is to be a bitch back. Kairi is very good at being a bitch back. Sora just wishes everyone would get along.

The-real-boy and Dawn have serious history and it makes families dinners tense sometimes. Vanitas would not like a repeat performance of helping Ven drag Roxas into another room whilst Terra heals Riku’s fractured cheek. Roxas apologied but Riku still didn’t get out of bed for three days after.

Spikes and fire (Lea/Axel) apparently has the power to kill a man with the snap of his fingers. ApPaReNtLy he has killed someone with the snap of his fingers.

Moon boy (Isa/Sïax) has a limit beaker that could level city blocks. Wild.

Cry baby dislikes Cloud Strife for reasons only Ventus, Aqua and Hercules (apparently) know. Vanitas is pretty sure not even Cloud knows what he did. Van recons it has something to do with the big sword and the… Squats???

“I will not summon Floods until Xion and Sora cry. It is bad and I will apologise for it” … In Vans defence Naminé thought it was hilarious.

Dawn blindfolds himself when he’s upset about… something?

He gets along surprisingly well with Roxas… apparently shared trauma and distaste for stupid people goes a long way. Neat!

Raggedy Anne knows there is a spot on the back of Axels neck that if you dig in hard enough he passes out…. Isa showed her this.

Sora it not above throwing things at Riku and Kairi when he’s overtired and upset. He gets more upset that he threw the thing at them though.

Apparently master water slide (aqua) can still open dark corridors, she just doesn’t.

Dawn knows how to access dark gear. He’s done it exactly once in Vans presence and they didn’t see him for DAYS afterwards… that’s how Vanitas learned about the blindfold.

Naminé can get in your head. She hasn’t but she can. It makes for tense moments between her and Sora when she says something she shouldn’t know.

It is acceptable to throw water at Axel when he gets “fired up” during training. This was a delightful discovery.

Upon being introduced to the restoration committee it is not acceptable to point out that Leon looks like if Simba was a person… but it does make Sora and Aerith laugh so hard they end up crying on the floor.

Cloud strife is apparently more trauma then man and now Terra feels bad for hating him.

It is not acceptable to to tell Winnie the Pooh that forest fires are caused by thinking too hard. Sora and Ventus will slap you in the head and it will hurt

And possibly the most disturbing discovery of them all in Vanitas’ opinion… Sora has a Rage form AND an Anti-form. And they come out to play regularly in training.

Ultimately what Vanitas is learning is that nobody is amine to the darkness. He’s learning that it’s not about being evil or good by nature it’s about deciding who YOU want to be. For all he makes fun of them and calls them soppy lights, it’s…. Good to know that there is hope for him, even if it means he can’t get rid of the darkness. He can still exists in the light.

[masterfuldoodler]

Okay let's talk about Kingdom Hearts and sacrifice.

There's a lot of stories where someone sacrifices themselves, but then gets brought back. And sometimes it feels right, and other times it hits weird. Kingdom Hearts is one of those stories that gets it right for me. But why does it work? The obvious answer is bias, but I think there's some other stuff at play.

1. Steeped into the world building of kh is the thought that death is not that permanent. There's Nobodies and Heartless, and they're dead but not exactly. And they could come back. It's very hard to die all the way in kh

2. The magic system of kh is pretty loose. Somethings have rules. Somethings have multiple methods. Somethings we know can do stuff, but we don't know how it works. So in this landscape pretty much anything could happen.

When Sora is brought back by Kairi in kh1 it feels pretty cheap at first. Oh he can just...come back? The game does explain it but we don't really understand what that means since it's game one and this is the first we're seeing it in action. (Princess of light and the connection of the heart) The idea that you can call someone out of the darkness through the bonds of the heart does come up in other kh games! This isn't a throw away idea to bring Sora back.

Something else is the way it effects the story. Sora dying and coming back is like a second starting point for the series. It doesn't just give a happy ending yay he's not dead! No it snowballs into multiple games. Whole characters are created and the story gains complexity. If Sora hadn't been called back by Kairi, Roxas would probably have been a more normal Nobody and not a person of his own right. There would have been no Castle Oblivion, and what would happen to Namine? Xion probably wouldn't exist.

Also often the sacrifice isn't Necessary. There were other routes that could have been taken, but the characters choose this instead, which makes a statement about them. (The power of Waking could have gotten Kairi's heart out, but Sora doesn't know this and doesn't stop to find another option. Ventus would rather put an end to himself. Axel burning himself up all at once.)

Axel coming back is funny because it feels like a trick played on him. "haha thought you could die your way outta this one, guess what there's a round two."

I'd love to talk about Roxas and Xion's return, but I still haven't seen the end of kh3. So I guess the best I can say is that them coming back shouldn't feel contrived (same as Ventus, Aqua, Terra) because it's been a goal out characters are working towards, same as bringing Sora back in kh2. There's build up to it!

Kingdom Hearts is riddled with sacrifice, some moments bigger than others. It's very fascinating to watch, pretty much every character has had their moment.

[aitsuheart]

When talking about Kairi I always thought she should interact with more characters because it could lead to some interesting interactions, but then I realized a lot of characters don't interact enough out of their small little groups.

Kairi only interacts with Sora mainly, sometimes with Riku, and then she is given some nice interactions with Axel which I really like.

Then we have Riku he mainly interacts with Sora, a tiny bit with Kairi, some with Mickey, and a bit with Terra but it's still not enough. Oh and he had a tiny conversation with Naminé in COM.

Ventus only interacts with Terra, Aqua, and Vanitas. Oh and somewhat with Sora too. It would be nice to see him interact with Roxas since they look alike or even Axel because they could have been friends like the interaction in BBS. Him and Kairi would also have good intentions because they are both only light.

Aqua doesn't interact outside her trio either, but she probably will interact with Kairi more. I hope we actually get to see her interact with Kairi along with some of the Twilight Town Trio.

Naminé actually interacts with a bit more characters however it's not that much. She talks with Roxas on nobodies, she talks to Xion, and then she talks a bit to Riku and Sora as well.

I'm just going to say most characters interact with Sora. Sora is the character that interacts with everyone and binds them all together besides the fact they have a common goal.

Even in organization 13, several of the members don't interact. I would have loved to see Vanitas interact with Dark Riku. It would be nice to see Vanitas interact with the other members of Organization 13. Marluxia and Larxene basically only interact with each other too.

There are so many other characters and examples but I would love a lot more interactions for more characters.

[starlightwayfinder]

I got the sudden urge to share about an AU, and I actually think it’s one I’ve never talked about here before?

Anyway, it’s just for fun, but a while ago I decided to make a Pixie Hollow AU. I liked the first couple Tinker Bell movies a lot as a kid, so it’s fun for me to revisit that world now. (The AU takes place in Pixie Hollow/Neverland, but the characters themselves are all from KH. Most of them would be KHUX-style keykids, but they’re not exclusively from any one point on the KH timeline)

As far as world building goes, it’s mostly the same as the movie. The fairies are born from dandelion seeds + children’s laughter (perfect, right?) and end up in Pixie Hollow. There, they choose their talent and work to prepare for the change of the seasons. There’s a minister who oversees each season, in addition to a ruler over all of the fairies. (I think in the later movies they made it so the winter fairies are separate from the rest, but I’m choosing to ignore that since… it wasn’t really a thing back when I was watching them.)

They do still have Keys, but they’re lost keys that become magical when they appear in Neverland. They can all open any lock, but additional abilities will depend on the wielder’s talent.

So now to the fun part—assigning talents! 

First, the seasons: 

Ava is the Minister of Spring, Gula is Minister of Summer, Invi is Minister of Winter, and Aced is Minister of Autumn. Similar to his role in Back Cover, Ira is the king in charge of overseeing them. (And yes, Aced would still prefer to have Ira’s role as leader!) 

I made concept designs for them when I first came up with the AU, but now I’d probably change the masks to make them simpler. Dust-keepers:

Sora

Skuld

Player

Vor

The Dust-keepers store/distribute rations of pixie dust. It’s a somewhat mundane job, but all of the other talents depend on them to keep things running. Sora of course is happy to have a role supporting his friends, and Player and Skuld are known for being dependable helpers as well. Vor is the most unsatisfied with her talent, and will often get in trouble for flying off to do fun things with the others. 

Garden talents:

Kairi

Lauriam

Strelitzia 

Sigrun

These four are chosen for fairly obvious reasons, haha. They help to plant and grow flowers on the ‘mainland’. Lauriam and Strelitzia are still siblings, in the sense that they’re seeds from the same dandelion that were enchanted by the laughter of two human siblings. 

Water talents:

Aqua

Hermod

Xion

Roxas

Water talents are in charge of rain, morning dew, ponds, etc. Xion spends her free time with Roxas looking for seashells around mermaid lagoon.

Frost talents:

Xehanort

Urd

Baldr

Heimdall

Frost talents are in charge of making snowflakes and ice. They’re great at what they do, but have a bit of a rivalry with the garden fairies after an incident of freezing their flowers... Baldr and Hoder are ‘siblings’ like Lauriam and Strelitzia. Hoder chose her talent first, and Baldr almost picked the same to stay with her. However, he ultimately felt more called to be a Frost talent.

Light talents:

Eraqus

Hoder

Vidar

Elrena *

Odin 

Light talents are in charge of storing light, making rainbows, guiding sunbeams, and looking after fireflies. They’re also the ones who melt snow when it’s time for spring to arrive—so there’s a bit of irony in Eraqus and Xehanort’s friendship. Hoder probably would’ve preferred her brother becoming a light fairy, but they still spend plenty of time together outside of their roles. Elrena is something of an odd one out, as she creates lightning and works with the water fairies to make storms. Odin is primarily a ‘supervisor’ figure for them.

*edit—apparently Storm talents are a thing, so Elrena is one of those now 🌩️

Fast-flying talents:

Ventus

Vanitas

Vali

Vala 

The Fast-flying talents use wind to transport seeds and pollen. They make deliveries and send messages thanks to their incredible speed. They also guide newcomers to Pixie Hollow. 

Vala and Vali are close friends, but Vanitas and Ventus don’t get along well. Vanitas is competitive, while Ven is much more easygoing. Sora was a fairy Ven guided, so he got to see him choose his talent.

Tinker talents:

Ephemer

Brain

Naminé

Remus

Tinkers are in charge of everything that needs to be made or designed. Ephemer and Brain are always working together on a new gadget to help the other talents. Naminé is more of an artist, so she’s interested in finding and restoring lost things. She often helps people to remember something they’ve forgotten by returning their lost item. (I put Remus here even though we don’t know much about him, because he seems to have an interest in ‘lost things’ as well.)

Scout talents:

Riku

Terra

Helgi

Bragi

Last but not least—the scouts! They’re in charge of keeping an eye out for hawks, pirates, and any other potential threats. It’s the most dangerous talent by far, but they’re determined to protect their friends. (Bragi in this AU is not ‘Luxu’, he’s just himself!)

Starlight. Where are the animal talent fairies?

So, they exist, but they’re mostly just the generic keykids I mentioned before. I’m honestly not sure who out of the main characters would fit as an animal talent…

Regarding other characters: I’ve limited the fairies to just the Keyblade wielders, excluding Lea. The others exist in the AU, but they’re either mainland humans or pirates, haha. Roxas and Xion would eventually befriend the (human) Lea and Isa, but that’s a story for another time.

[thetwilightroadtonightfall]

your khux finale post makes me unwell (positive) and it also made me realize how in kh even though several of the bosses are friends fighting each other khux is the only one (that I can think of) where the playable character is the one on the “bad” side. sora vs riku-ansem, aqua vs ventus-vanitas and later terranort were ones were you fight a character who’s possessed and not fully in control of themselves. in days and kh2 roxas wouldn’t have fought xion or axel if they hadn’t forced him to. but with player vs ephemer and skuld YOU are the one “possessed” and forcing the others to fight. a fun new layer of tragedy!

YEAH YEEEAHHH!!!! It’s so juicy in so many ways, especially from a gameplay/video game media standpoint

khux starts with Player as a more or less blank self insert and slowly and subtly builds them up as a character with their own agency. They’ve probably sometimes said or done things that you yourself wouldn’t do, but it’s usually not a big deal. You’re still the one in control here, you’re still the player.

Like you said, in the other kh games, you fight as the character on the “good” side. You want to win because you want to save Kairi, or you want Terra to snap out of it, or you want to protect somebody from getting hurt, etc etc. You know you’re fighting for a good cause.

But the khux finale forces you into an uncomfortable position. Suddenly all that control you have over Player must be used to hurt two beloved characters, their friends, your friends. You must win, even if you don’t want to. You, player, are the villain here, and you have no choice in the matter.

Of course we learn after that Player was also fighting for a good cause. They were on the “good side” all along too. But no one else knew. It’s a lot like Xion’s fight in Days actually. There wasn’t really a right vs wrong. Just friend vs friend(s) and the circumstances that forced them into this impossible situation. And it didn’t feel like anybody won in the end, even though a larger crisis was ultimately averted/delayed.

It’s incredible. A fun new layer of tragedy indeed!!

[gulava]

I think it's possible Riku will never return or at least will not end up living where the others are...And though he will be letting all that go, he'll still leave pieces of himself behind to fill the void. Now, there's two moments I've noticed that could hint towards this but only as a fan of the Roxas is Riku's Nobody theory and everything it entails.

The First Scene

In the KH3 ending, you see the framing of Roxas directly behind Riku as his shadow, actively engaging in an interaction with Terra and Aqua while Riku isn't even looking their way.

Then we see Riku glance at the Paopu tree and he moves forward, leaving Roxas where he stood alongside the friends he's made...in order to be with Sora, his most precious person.

The Second Scene

In the Radiant Garden episode, Riku has a little laugh with Terra inside a heart shaped symbol and Ventus comes running by to see what they're discussing, effectively taking Riku's place in the conversation and going forward...without him.

Ventus is shown to stand in front of Riku now as he's leaving with the others and the imagery is kind of a gut punch to me as it looks like Ventus is leaving Riku's heart behind because he's strong enough to exist on his own. I'm curious if he'll find WTTD in the Dark World.

If these aren't small nods to Riku's inevitable separation from Terra and Aqua, I don't know what they are. There's always been this underlying pain knowing that Riku could've been apart of the Wayfinder Trio if Xehanort hadn't gotten his way. It's something I'd compare to Sora and Kairi always passing each other by as Riku also drew himself with Terra and Aqua in the Secret Place.

"I can see my family anytime I want. If I stayed, I'd have to be apart from the person I love most...And that life would be empty. I finally know where I belong."

And Sora will be the reason for this separation, of course.

[rinsilverstar223]

Well, last week has really inspired me to work on that au I mentioned in my last post for the SoRiku Week event. I'm gonna call it the Princess of Heart AU until I come up with something better. And yes, there is genderbending and role-swapping because I enjoy dealing in what-ifs.

Here's some basics for the characters:

Sora is a Princess of Heart. Ansem does steal her heart, and she still becomes Roxas

Riku does get controlled by Ansem in this au as well. She breaks free and eventually gains the power of the keyblade.

Kairi is a keyblade bearer. She once had the potential to be a Princess of Heart, but Xehanort's experiments force her to pass the power on to Sora.

Namine is a witch. She's the combination of Ventus's body and Sora’s heart in this AU. Organization XIII still finds her and experiments on her in Castle Oblivion.

Xion is a Replica. She is created by Vexen to replicate Riku’s powers in this AU, kind of a combination of the original Xion and Replica Riku. She is very protective of Roxas and Namine.

[storm-driver]

imagine, if you will, the Final World segment of KH3, but shortly after Sora wakes up, he remembers everything that happened. he recalls Ventus' corpse getting thrown, Axel being pummeled, Aqua giving into despair, Kairi swept away, Riku dissipating into darkness.

He starts to tear up, barely able to realise where he is. Just remembering how everyone got ripped away from him. How ready he is to give up, without his friends...

But out of nowhere, someone speaks up for the first time in a long time. When Sora opens his teary eyes, he can actually see him there. Wearing that same black coat, knelt down in the endless watery sky, hands reaching out to grab hold of Sora's shoulders and provide any comfort he could.

Despite everything being lost to him, Roxas still hadn't left Sora. Roxas was always here for him, and if Sora ever faltered, he would make up the difference.

[empyreasheart]

honestly it would have been a lot cooler if xions appearance wasnt based off sora's memories of kairi and rather something distinctly hers. her face isnt even hers. :(

[refulgent-penumbra]

Character list

Taken:

Aeleus

Aerith Gainsborough

Ansem Seeker of Darkness

Aqua

Auron

Beast

Cid Highwind

Cloud Strife

Dilan

Eraqus

Even

Genesis

Ienzo / Zexion

Isa / Saïx

Joshua Kiryu

Kairi

Larxene / Elrena

Lea / Axel

Luxord

Marluxia / Lauriam

Myde / Demyx

Naminé

Olette

Reeve

Rhyme

Riku

Roxas

Sephiroth

Sora

Squall (Leon) Leonhart

Vanitas

Ventus

Vincent Valentine

Xehanort

Xemnas

Xigbar

We are still looking for:

Ansem the Wise

Donald

Fairy Godmother

Goofy

Hayner

King Mickey

Merlin

Pence

Replica Riku

Terra

Tifa

Xion

Yen Sid

Yuffie

[yoroshiu]

There's something so cruel about how Sora had to carry the weight of multiple people's feelings alongside his own.

We, as people, already struggle to handle our emotions but imagine feeling two, or three, or four or more people's emotions as well. Like in Dream Drop, imagine taking in Roxas's grief and trauma within a single moment. Or feeling Ventus's own urges to save his friends throughout KH3. It's not shown as much with Xion or Vanitas, but I'd like to imagine that he felt echoes of what they felt in waves. And heck, while we're at it, how about anyone who was in his heart for some time, like Kairi.

Even if Sora wasn't feeling all of those feelings constantly, could you imagine being just overfilled with others' memories and the emotions they felt directly as if it was you experiencing it?

I think about that moment with Roxas a lot and remain in awe that Sora could keep moving forward after that. That game had him getting hit with a barrage of people and emotions, and he still kept fighting until it literally broke his heart enough to make him susceptible to being possessed by darkness.

That one quote from Xigbar about putting too much power (or in this case, feelings) in one place might break it haunts me in my dreams.