#LET ME SEE THE BOY NOMURA

[lazy-cat13]

chat I'm not doing well

[milaisreading]

Imagine Crossdresser! reader passing out during an interview live while the rest of the team watches it lol

🌱🩷: I wrote something similar to what your request is! Hope you like it🩷

Warnings: Reader uses she/her, but she is crossdressing as a guy, keep that in mind! Requests are open

⚽️Blue Lock belongs to Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura ⚽️

'This is so annoying. And I can already imagine the jokes Ness and Kaiser will be making at my expense for this interview.' (Y/n) thought as she glanced at one of the cameras. It took everything in her willpower not to yawn as she knew everyone who follows BBLKTV was watching this. The sleep-deprivation pretty much stopped any nervousness she could feel at the moment. The past few weeks weren't that kind to her, from the constant back and forth between Rin and Shidou's fights, watching over Kunigami and the rest of Blue locks BM players, to her parents and the JFA scolding her to be on her best behavior, (Y/n) was ready to call the quits.

'It's like I am their parent or something.' She thought as the interviewer entered the room.

'Not to mention that my period is about to start soon. Do I have any pads left?' The girl thought, looking over at Anri, who was standing behind the camera and sending her a thumbs up.

"Hello, (L/n). I will be interviewing you today, thanks for taking the time of your day for this." The man said warmly, causing (Y/n) to give him back a small smile.

"Thank you for inviting me, Nihei-san. It's a honor to be here." The girl got up and bowed at the man before sitting down again.

'All this media training will be the end of me.' The girl thought as she looked back at the man, who let out a sigh of relief.

'Thank God it's not another Itoshi Sae situation.' The man thought as he looked through his papers.

"So, you don't need to be nervous or anything. The questions are very easy and you can take your time to answer them, there is no time limit or anything. And, the cameras are filming right now, just a warning." Nihei said as he pointed at the camera behind him. (Y/n) slowly nodded her head, blinking the blurriness away and focusing back on the man.

"Of course. Thank you very much, I will keep the things in mind. And the staff already warned me about the cameras as well, I am very greatful for that."

'The amount of times I would have yawned...'

"Alright, let's start then. Ok?"

"Of course."

Back at Blue Lock...

"Kaiser, I swear if you don't move away I will kick you." Kunigami warned as the blonde smirked, still standing in front to the TV.

"I don't know. I like it here a lot." Isagi rolled his eyes as Yukimiya and Kurona sighed in annoyance, while Hiori was whispering something to Gagamaru.

"Nobody wants to see your flat ass, Kaiser."

"His ass isn't flat, Yoichi!"

"Shut up, Ness!" Noa was about to interject, but stopped when he saw Hiori and Gagamaru tackle the blonde to the ground.

"Shut it! (Y/n) is speaking!" Yukimiya yelled as Isagi and Kurona kept their focus on the TV.

"So, how was your experience with Bastard München so far? The fans would like to hear from the player who is in that stratum now."

"It's been great so far. I am grateful that we have a coach as experienced as Noel Noa to help us, and I am happy to I am able to play withgreat teammates. Especially the ones from Blue lock, they all progressed tremendously." (Y/n) answered back as the boys blushed a little.

"Hahaha, what can I say. I did progress quite good, actually." Yukimiya boasted as Hiori chimed in.

"So did I. (Y/n) even said he was proud of Isagi and I after the Ubers match."

"Right. It's even better for me since (Y/n) has seen my developments from the beginning." Isagi added in as Kurona thought over his words.

"(Y/n) has said the same thing to me 2 nights ago. He was even sad that I couldn't continue playing for the rest of the Uvers match."

"I got compliments on blocking Barou's shots as well! It felt really nice." Gagamaru admitted. Kunigami cleared his throat, looking nervous to everyone's surprise.

"I got told that my defense got better after the Barcha match."

Ness and Kaiser kept quiet as they spoke about the player, feeling a little jealous that they never got any compliments.

"Whatever. He probably only compliments the Blue Lock players." Kaiser rolled his eyes.

"Not really. I got complimented as well. (Y/n) also added in he likes my hair." Grim told Kaiser.

"Same for me. He complimented me after the Manshine match since my passes helped him a lot to score his 2nd goal then." Sachs added in.

"What?!" Kaiser asked in disbelief, then looked at Gesner.

"And you?"

"He complimented me on my strength when we were both on the gym." Gesner said nervously as Kaiser looked at the trio as if they had betrayed him.

"This isn't fair..." Ness pouted while looking back at the Blue Lock team.

"Sucks to suck." Kurona chuckled.

PXG...

Now, Rin tried (and failed) to pretend that he didn't care about the whole interview, but he couldn't. He cared way too much. So that's why he was now sat down in front of thr TV, ignoring whatever Tokimitsu, Karasu, and Shidou were saying.

"Shut up!! I want to hear what he is saying!" Charles yelled at the group while Loki tried to calm him down.

"Calm down,you all."

"While we are at the topic of foreign teams." The group stopped and looked at the TV again.

"Is there any foreign player you would want to play with in a team?"

(Y/n) blinked at the reporter and stayed quiet as she thought it over.

"Boooriiing. He would never pick a foreign player over one of us. Especially me." Karasu smirked, earning a few glares from the others.

"You mean me! I am the one he said he could barely keep up with during our first match." Shidou butted in.

"And yet you still lost." Karasu jabbed back.

"Shut it! He would be pick me. I am the number 1 here, after all." Rin rolled his eyes.

"Being the 1 isn't the only thing that matters, Rin. Besides, (Y/n) admires my dribbling."

Charles rolled his eyes at the team and cleared his throat.

"Please don't." Loki begged.

"Yet the interviewer cares about none of you. (Y/n) will definitely pick me here-"

"I really enjoyed playing against Julian Loki during one of our selection rounds. While I don't know his current abilities yet, I would definitely pick him as a teammate. He is very easy to get along with." (Y/n)'s answer quickly shut up the group. The Blue Lock team kept quiet as they looked at Loki while Charles looked at him in utter disbelief.

"You stole him away!" The French player said as Loki looked at him in disbelief.

"I did not?! Besides, he knows me for longer than he knows you."

"So now you are showing off?!"

"Are you stupid?!"

Ubers...

"(Y/n) should gave asked me for some fashion advice. Why would he wear the Bastard uniform during an international interview of all times." Aryu tsked in disapproval as he looked at the TV. Niko rolled his eyes at the comment and looked at the taller player.

"How does that matter now? He is having a interview about Blue lock, not a fashion show."

Snuffy chuckled at the younger players comment and ruffled his hair.

"Calm down, Niko. But, he does have a point, Aryu. (Y/n) was told to wear that, after all.

"They purposely wanted him to look ugly." Aryu pouted.

"Will all three of you shut up? I am trying to listen." Barou groaned as Lorenzo looked at him in amusement.

"Didn't thing a king like you was invested in stuff like this."

"Shut it-"

"As you are aware, the whole world is looking forward to your final match against PXG. But, the fans would like to know which game was so far the most exhausting one."

"Hmm... that's an easy one, definitely the one we had against Ubers. While Barcha and Manshine were challenging as well, the Ubers one outweighs them a lot. Not only did the team already have good and experienced players like Don Lorenzo, and their coach Marc Snuffy. But, my own teammates have evolved quite a lot. While I was annoyed that the end of the match kept getting delayed, I was very happy to see them give their all on the field."

The trio kept quiet as they blushed while looking at the TV. Snuffy and Lorenzo silently laughing at their reactions.

Manshine...

"(Y/n) looks a lot paler than I remember him to be. Don't you two think so?" Reo asked, looking back at Chigiri and Nagi for an answer. The redhead narrowed his eyes and inspected the captain before slowly nodding his head.

"It sure looks like it. I wonder if he is sick or something." Chigiri said in worry while Nagi kept quiet.

"I hope Bastard aren't stressing him out too much." Reo rolled his eyes as he thought about the German team.

"We all pretty much witnessed your hat trick during the match against Manshine city, how did you feel back then? Excitement? Confusion?"

The three looked at the TV, silently waiting for an answer.

"Well it was a mix of both, but mainly confusion. I really wasn't sure, and still I am not sure what had possessed me om the field back then. But, I am grateful for the chances Isagi, Kurona, and Sachs-san gave me to score."

"I can only imagine, especially when you got such a high bid offer from Re Al right after."

"That was a surprise to me as well. I didn't imagine they would notice me like that." (Y/n) chuckled as Nagi and Reo facepalmed.

"He really needs to work on his confidence."

"Nothing changed with him."

"It's cute. He reminds me of a puppy." Chigiri laughed as a blush coated his cheeks.

Barcha...

"Keep it down you two. You won't be able to hear anything." Lavinho said as he looked at Otoya and Bachira, which immediately shut them up.

"We didn't see (Y/n) in so long! Can you blame us?" Otoya said as Bachira nodded along.

"Do you still stand by your statement that the game against Barcha was your favorite one?" The trio looked back at the TV, waiting impatiently at the answer.

"Yes. It was probably more relaxing since it was our first one and, personally, I had a lot of adrenaline rushing through my body. Also, Lavinho-san made the match more interesting with his antics." (Y/n) laughed as the Brazilian laughed along.

"Finally someone who understands!"

"And this is why we should have kidnapped him out of the Bastard stratum."

"Bachira, no." Otoya said in a scolding manner.

Back with (Y/n)...

'Can this be over already? I van barely keep my eyes open.' (Y/n) thought, trying to keep her focus on the questions and the interviewer, but that focus was slowly slipping away.

"We have a few more questions and then we are done. Are you ready to answer the next one?"

"Sure-" Before (Y/n) could finish her answer, her vision turned black and she fell unconscious.

"(Y/n)!" Anri yelled in fear as the interviewer caught the girl before she could fall face first on the floor.

"He is fine. He just fainted. Turn off the cameras." Nihei said as the camera man quickly turned everything off. Anri ran to (Y/n)'s side, sighing in relief when she saw the girl was still breathing.

"Bring me some water and call a medic." Anri told the interviewer then looked back at (Y/n) in worry.

'I knew this whole interview was a bad idea. And the PIFA and Re Al higher-ups are watching this as well. The last thing I need is for (Y/n) to get scolded for being exhausted.'

Panic in the stratums pretty much started the moment they saw the girl faint and the cameras got cut off. Ego felt of course worried, and along with Noa and the other coaches was immediately at the medics office.

"So, he was exhausted?" Loki asked as the doctor nodded his head.

"Pretty much. Lack of sleep caused his body to crash. Aside from that, I have noticed he was under a lot more stress the past few weeks, either caused by the games or the JFA, I can't tell right now."

"What is the next best thing I can do now? I am his coach, after all." Noa spoke up.

"Just let him rest for a few days. If possible, delay the match against PXG for a week or so."

"Sure. Ego-san-"

"Consider it done, Loki." Ego said back, interrupting the French player.

"Also, I would like you all to keep the players at bay for now. Just let him sleep, visitors will only cause more harm now."

"Don't worry about that."

"We will handle it." Chris and Lavinho nodded along as Snuffy patted Noa's back.

"The boys need to practice, anyway. So keeping them away will be easy."

The doctor nodded his head and looked back at Ego.

"Anri is currently with him, so you don't need to worry. Should something happen I will immediately inform you. But, as I said, everything will be fine. He just needs rest."

"Alright." Ego said back, a little bit relieved that (Y/n) wasn't in a life-threatening condition or anything. As the doctor left, Loki and the adults silently thought over their plans to tell the other players.

"It will be quite a headache. Especially since Nagi, Reo, and Chigiri are so stubborn." Chris groaned as Lavinho shrugged his shoulders.

"Just give them punishments if they don't listen. What else can we do."

"True, but let's try being reasonable first." Snuffy added in.

"Lucky for me I have the most unreasonable players in my team." Noa butted in as Loki chuckled a little.

"You clearly didn't meet mine yet."

"I don't care how unreasonable they are, if they defy the rule, inform me. I will give them a proper punishment then." Ego told the coaches in a serious manner.

[hiorintruther]

Dragging myself out of inactivity to grossly overanalyse/scream about the chapter 213 Kunigiri stuff coz I’m so mentally unwell and it’s their fault.

First of all, I love how in order to get into the other stratums, players first have to submit a request form. Presumably they’d have to state a reason for going and I doubt “I want to see my friends” would be allowed because some people would end up using it as an excuse to slack off, so I wonder what Chigiri said to get his request accepted? Obviously he was actually coming just to see Kunigami but he probably needed to make up an excuse (either that or Ego/Anri let him through because BLTV really is just football Love Island atp).

Anyway, I love the intro panel for Chigiri in this chapter coz it says SO MUCH about him.

It’s the hair.

Chigiri barely ever wears his hair up, not even while playing football (and I’ve made my thoughts on that clear in the past so I’ll refrain from any ranting). On the field he’ll have that weird half-braid thing going on, and off the field he usually just wears it loose. One of the only other times we see him with a ponytail is in chapters 150-151, during the 2-week break post U-20 match. I think this shows that Chigiri is putting active effort into his appearance for his visit with Kunigami. He puts his hair up when he wants to make a good impression — in the Shibuya chapters he’s also wearing a rather nice outfit, so he was focussing on his appearance then too. This time around, he’s specifically doing it for Kunigami because he’s unsure about what Kunigami thinks of him after “ghosting” him during the MC match. This is Chigiri going all-out to impress through subtle gestures and small changes that are consciously made and will subconsciously be picked up on.

(There’s also Kunigami’s canonical thing for the napes of necks (egoist Bible) to take into account which… listen we have no proof that Chigiri is aware of it but we also don’t have any proof that he’s not. Who’s to say he didn’t choose this hairstyle specifically because he knows it shows off his nape, which is usually kept hidden under his hair? He’s already a bit of a flirt after that “such an insensitive hero” comment back during the Second Selection. It isn’t impossible.)

Next, the iconic “keep an eye on me” line.

First off, Nomura really decided to make Chigiri look that pretty when he said this. Boy looks absolutely gorgeous. I’m aroace but I would’ve folded. Kunigami is stronger than me.

Second off, I like how this shows Chigiri being attentive towards Kunigami. When they first reunited, it did come across a bit like Chigiri was being dismissive of what Kunigami went through in the Wildcard, saying that he’d treat Kunigami as exactly the same person he was before (although it’s arguably understandable since they’d only just met again and Chigiri has no idea what happened in the Wildcard). Now though, it’s clear he’s observed the change Kunigami went through and a) wants to make amends for his previous comments, and b) still wants to be with Kunigami. While there’s never a direct apology given, it’s clear he doesn’t think of Kunigami the same way he did before the Mc match and wants to make amends. Honestly, idk if a direct apology would’ve been a nice addition or would’ve just made Kunigami feel worse — Chigiri is a proud person and Kunigami doesn’t want pity, so this less direct approach was probably the best way to go about things.

Thirdly, when Chigiri says “from now on, I’m gonna be keeping an eye on you”, it’s not just a promise to acknowledge Kunigami’s skills as a footballer. It’s also a subtle way of saying “you’re not getting rid of me. I’m staying right here”. Adding to that the “so, you better keep an eye on me too, got it?”, it’s both a declaration that Kunigami shouldn’t underestimate Chigiri and a “you’re gonna be seeing a lot of me so get used to it”. (Side note: Isagi’s face on this page is so fucking funny to me he’s just like “yeaaaaaah, these bitches gay. Good for them” lmao.)

Last thing I’ll scream about is this:

FIRST NAME BASIS!!!

Obviously Chigiri is specifically using “Rensuke” as a little jab at Kunigami to get him riled up. Chigiri is just like that when it comes to teasing. Still, it’s nice to know that he feels comfortable enough around Kunigami to say something like this without Kunigami getting angry or making things awkward between them. We’ve seen Bachira do this with Isagi too during the Barcha match, so that’s nice little bachisagi parallel. At the very least, Chigiri is showing that he wants their friendship to continue and is going to continue to treat Kunigami as a close friend, no matter how much Kunigami might try to push him away.

Conclusion to my ramblings: Chigiri is putting in the work and I respect him for it. Kunigami is in a bad place rn and what he needs is someone as stubborn as Chigiri to see him through. Chigiri knows what it feels like to feel depressed and push everyone else away because it happened to him too. He thought for a time that everything was over for him. No doubt he’s recognising those things in Kunigami and wants to help him out, especially since the two of them had grown pretty close before being separated.

Kunigiri has my whole heart!!!

[lazysublimeengineer]

you're no good for me but baby, i want you, i want

Summary: Do you think we'll be in love forever?

Characters: Itoshi Rin, Nanase Nijiro, Isagi Yoichi, Hiori Yo & Tokimitsu Aoshi

(A/N: Please be mindful of the tags and warnings beforehand. Unnecessary comments will not be tolerated as enough warnings were provided beforehand. Some scenes are excerpts from the latest chapters of the manga hence spoilers tag is in there. Proceed at your own risk. Inspired by the song, “Diet Mountain Dew” by Lana Del Rey. I own nothing from this franchise. Respective ownership belongs to Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura for this wonderful manga and Lana Del Rey for this beautiful song.)

You're no good for me Baby, you're no good for me You're no good for me But baby, I want you, I want

Tears of pleasure pooled around Nanase’s eyes as the wide girth of Rin’s cock continued ramming inside his quivering walls in avid ferocity and lust.

“Ngh... Ah...! S-slow d-down R-rin...!” Nanase moaned out lecherously as he struggled to keep up with the ferocious pace and movements of the younger Itoshi who seemed to have a long-standing stamina when it comes to sex.

Rin was more vicious and rougher than usual, fucking him harder than what it used to be for them.

He can see the way his eyes darkened, his teal irises swirled with unbidden lust and something else entirely...

...

Was it frustration?

He couldn’t be so sure.

But it wasn’t part of Nanase to be asking him things like that.

They’ve already crossed the boundaries between their mentor and mentee relationship, but he didn’t know what they were now currently.

Boyfriends?

No. That's not quite right.

Friends?

Not the correct term either.

Friends didn’t even do this kind of thing.

They weren’t even friends to begin with.

He was just a straitlaced country boy who lucked himself out to be Rin’s student and now his own property to put him to his own use.

“What? Is your stamina that shit that you couldn’t take me that properly? Remember what I told you before about those people who couldn’t keep up with me hmm?” Rin’s cold yet husky voice jolted him out from his spiraling thoughts and brought him back to the present where Rin was leaning down to lick away the sensual tears that streamed down his face.

His mouth almost reached his lips before it slanted away on the crook of his neck where he bit and licked on the sensitive expanse of his skin.

Right.

He shouldn’t expect a kiss.

There shouldn’t be in the first place.

It’s the only sacred thing that’s tethering them on the obscured lines of reason and lust. A reminder that a kiss should be only shared between two lovers who were passionately smitten with one another.

And they were not like that at all.

“Sorry Rin... I’ll try harder from now on... Please don’t leave me like this...” Nanase whimpered needily, grinding harder beneath him in response to his rough movements. He wasn’t even sure if it meant about the sex or something else entirely.

“Good boy.” He chuckled darkly as he railed him recklessly on the mattress, letting the flames of lust and desire consume them both into oblivion.

Diet mountain dew, baby, New York City Never was there ever a girl so pretty Do you think we'll be in love forever? Do you think we'll be in love?

Nanase couldn’t even say no to him in the first place.

His mind was a mess, and his heart was weak when it came to Rin.

He’d let him use him. Toy with his body. And claimed every inch of his skin possessively.

He knew that there was something wrong, but Nanase was just a foolish bumpkin in front of him.

Rin had taken his firsts in almost everything.

But not his first kiss.

He ignored how his heart twitched excruciatingly at the fact.

Diet mountain dew, baby, New York City Can we hit it now low down and gritty? Do you think we'll be in love forever? Do you think we'll be in love?

In the cold expanse of the bathroom with nothing but only them inside in the ungodly hours of the night that Nanase could pretend.

He could conjure up the vivid images of him and Rin ensconced inside the fragile bubble of their own reality away from the oppressive tension and pressure of the program.

He could pretend that Rin was also his as much as Rin owned his body and soul.

He could pretend that he possessed Rin’s heart just as much as the latter had taken his heart into his own palms.

Because he could pretend that the tears streaming down his face was tears of pleasure of being fucked wildly against the stalls instead of tears of being brought down into a harsh realization that it was an illusion to begin with.

And there wouldn’t be any forever between the two of them to begin with.

Baby, put on heart shaped sunglasses 'Cause we gonna take a ride I'm not gonna listen to what the past says I've been waiting up all night

Rin’s tongue dragged lazily along Nanase’s chest as his hands were planted firmly on his hips to secure him on his lap and let him bounce on his cock like a spinning top.

“I can hear you thinking all the way over here bumpkin.” Rin said throatily as his mouth encircled on one of his sensitive nubs and sucked on it greedily.

“Hhhh... Ah... R-rin... Does it feel g-good f-for you t-too...? A-am I making you feel good...?” Nanase asked in between moans as his cock reached deeper inside of him while he rode him like a professional horse rider.

Rin paused and glared at him heatedly. “You’re a fucking idiot. What do you think huh?” He set the pace punishingly hard which made Nanase quiver and tremble like a leaf on his lap.

“Ah! Ah! Ah! I-I'm s-sorry R-rin! So—.”

His words died on his throat when Rin took him by the nape and brought him down towards his face to capture his lips in a deep yet wild kiss which made his thoughts came into a screeching halt and heart jumped out of his throat.

The soft yet hot sensation of his lips against his own sent his entire being into a frenzied mess and he could do nothing but melt against him, letting Rin take all of him that he was willing to give him.

“Never ask stupid questions like that again got it bumpkin?” He mumbled hotly against his lips.

“Y-yes Rin... I won’t.” He murmured back against his lips as his hands tangled around his damp locks and tugged on his scalp, letting their bodies and union become one that night.

Take another drag turn me to ashes Ready for another lie? Says he's gonna teach me just what fast is Say it's gonna be alright

A deep breath was exhaled from Nanase’s lips as he readied himself for the match today.

Today was the day that he’s gonna put all his efforts and what he learnt from Rin’s training.

A match against BM was not an easy feat to win but if he wanted to make it to the top 23, he needed to make himself useful out there in the field and help Rin in scoring.

As he tried to prepare himself physically and mentally for their match, his gaze caught on to something that made his brows speak in volumes and mouth thinned into a firm line.

“Hey Rin.” Isagi called out to him and stopped right in front of him.

 “Let’s put the title of the “No. 1” on the line and see who’s the strongest once and for all.”

Rin looked down at him. “...No. 1? I don’t give a fuck about that. What I desire the most, Isagi... Is the moment I destroy you.” He replied coldly as he glowered at him.

Nanase looked away from their proximity towards each other.

He couldn’t be distracted now.

He couldn’t.

Even if there were pinpricks of agony raining down on his heart.

Diet mountain dew, baby, New York City Never was there ever a girl so pretty Do you think we'll be in love forever? Do you think we'll be in love?

“Rin! I’m here. Use me.” Nanase declared as he tried to catch up to him on the field.

Their gazes locked.

He couldn’t let him down.

He needed to be used.

‘Rin helped discover my hidden talent! If this leads to Rin scoring goals, then I’ll gladly sacrifice myself over and over again!’ Nanase thought in determination as he kept the ball under his heel firmly before he sent it flying towards Rin’s direction perfectly.

For a moment, Nanase was mesmerized at how he easily sidestepped away from Kaiser while keeping the ball under his control, but his eyes grew wide as saucers when he saw that Rin easily took Isagi on the back of his shirt and lifted him like a wet cat when Isagi’s hand was holding into his shirt as well.

“I told you before. You will have a front row seat to witness my ascension to becoming the world’s no. 1 player. Here’s your VIP seat.” Rin snarled at him as he kicked the ball ferociously going into the net before it was surprisingly blocked by Hiori himself.

“Sheesh. Quit the makeout sess ya lovebirds! You prima donnas are all hopelessly predictable. Trying to show up Isagi-kun by purposely drawing him in before taking a shot. If ya wanna score ya might wanna come up with a better script that even I can’t predict. Dumbass!” Hiori smiled mockingly at them.

“Tch.” Rin’s eyes darkened before he let go of Isagi and walked away.

Nanase stood there rooted on the spot, the image of Rin’s expression and manhandling of Isagi replayed inside of him and gnawed at his insides.

‘Focus on the match dumbass.’ His mind chastised him harshly.

Diet mountain dew, baby, New York City Can we hit it now low down and gritty Do you think we'll be in love forever? Do you think we'll be in love?

“We were on the same team but... If I’m being honest, I'm not thrilled every time Shidou-kun socres.” Tokimitsu said nervously.

“Yeah.” Nanase sported a grim expression on his face.

“To raise our value and survive beyond the Neo Egoist League we need to do everything we can to help Rin-kun score goals. If we don’t make Rin-kun the hero of the match, we’re screwed!” Tokimitsu added dejectedly.

“Yes. If Rin fails, we fail.” Nanase replied seriously, refusing to listen to any other thoughts inside his head.

Nevertheless, the viscous, green of envy slowly festered inside of him as he watched Rin’s gaze firmly planted on Isagi’s spot.

He waited for a good feeling to come but it never came.

Let's take Jesus off the dashboard Got enough on his mindㅤ We both know just what we're here for Saved too many times

Maybe I like this roller coaster Maybe it keeps me high Maybe the speed it brings me closer I could sparkle up your eye

(A/N: This fic was born out of curiosity and misery blended together. I just want to see some Nanarin angst and porn today so might as well serve it piping hot to the fandom. Reviews are amusing so let me hear them from you.)

[andrewwtca]

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.)

[indzae-mayumi]

The Day Before The Last

(Rin x Nanase fanfic. "Blue Lock" is by Kaneshiro Muneyuki, and illustrated by Nomura Yusuke).

Rin explicitly told Nanase that because the country boy is now his property, Nanase has to train exactly how Rin tells him to. Being the strict trainer that he was, Rin later explained it would include Nanase mirroring his routine like Rin's: time when to wake up and sleep, meal time, yoga exercises. This excludes, of course, the group training which would revolve around Loki's schedule.

However, Rin told him that whatever Nanase does before bedtime is up to him, though he had to strictly adhere to the sleeping time. By twelve midnight, Nanase should stop whatever preoccupied him and sleep.

However, the day of waiting finally came to an end.

That day was a nerve-racking day. After their group practice that afternoon, Loki gave some announcements. Then he let out a battle cry, telling his minions to give their all for tomorrow's match: the game against Bastard Munchen, the last game of the Neo Egoist League. It was a day of reckoning for tomorrow, for both teams had never tasted defeat. Tomorrow would determine which group would proudly call itself the best European league in the match.

And for Rin, it would mean finally crushing Isagi and that other guy named Michael Kaiser. For Nanase, it was the final day he could prove himself and somehow increase his bid after getting a bid following the game versus Manshine City weeks ago, and increasing his bid while being at the 24th after the game with Barcha.

After their yoga session that night, like their usual, Nanase and Rin took a bath together at the communal bath. For more than a week already, it was a common sight for the other members of Paris X Gen to see the two together despite the fact that they didn't do that prior to the special training.

Initially, Rin had a room to himself, just like Loki, Shidou, and Charles. But after the start of the special training, Rin informed Loki that Nanase should room in with him so he could monitor his minion closely. Loki just agreed to it if it would mean increasing the chance of PXG winning against Bastard Munchen.

Since rooming in together, Rin found out that Nanase always used the shitty hair dryer that Ego provided for his players. Rin knew that the most notorious one to use that device was Chigiri, who Rin had seen twice while preparing for the match against the original U-20 team. The other person he knew would do that was the fashionably long-haired Aryu, though Aryu would do that once his hair was a bit dry from a towel wrapped around his hair. Though it was common for guys to use a hairdryer, but in Blue Lock, only a handful ever did that. And it included his roommate. However, Nanase seemed to use the lower setting, so it was not that noisy. Rin knew that Nanase had learned by now what pleases him or what irks him.

But tonight, the country bumpkin was unusually quiet and was not his chatty self. Even at the communal bath, Nanase scrubbed himself in silence. The pressure of tomorrow's match must have gotten into his nerves. So when Nanase finished drying his hair, Rin just observed the country boy keep the dryer and sit on his bed, staring at the floor pensively.

"Oi, what's up with you?" Rin finally asked him.

Nanase finally lifted his head and looked at Rin. The ace of Blue Lock noted that something was off with the way Nanase looked at him. The country boy looked... wistful.

"Tomorrow's the day, Rin-san," Nanase said in a soft voice. "I am glad Loki-san chose me fer the starting lineup, but it's mah last chance ta increase mah bid so I can join the U-20 team."

Rin scoffed before replying, "Of course, you will. Who do you think trained you?"

But Rin felt his cheeks warming up and he wondered why, especially when Nanase only smiled at him with those sad eyes.

"Rin-san. Rin-san trained me hard," Nanase replied. "I will do mah best ta be useful ta ya on the field."

"Of course, you should. Remember, I told you I will not hesitate to throw you away if you don't work according to how I want you to function."

"I know," Nanase replied again.

"Be confident, Bumpkin. Your lukewarm behavior is killing my mood tonight," Rin said in his usual stoic remark.

"Still, I wanna thank ya for training me," Nanase said, "Despite the fact that at first, ya didn't really wanna train me at all."

"You took the first step," Rin reminded him. "That's the most important thing."

But Nanase only smiled before staring back at the floor. Rin knew that theirs was just a transactional relationship, but somehow, he realized during the sixth day of training that he had grown a bit fond of this sunny young man, the opposite of him. He remembered the first time they met during the game between Team A vs Team B during the Third Selection. When Nanase greeted him politely, he ignored Nanase and heard Isagi tell the country boy that Rin was just like that. Of course, Rin remembered that well. Despite the fact that Nanase had a headband and had thicker eyebrows, he and Isagi could pass off as fraternal twins.

"I'm going to the pantry to get me some water for bedtime. Do you want me to bring you some too?" Rin offered. It was only rarely when he did something for someone.

But Nanase only nodded, his gaze still at the floor. Rin rolled his eyeballs. His mentee should stop being so emo tonight. So Rin stood up from his bed and started to go to the door.

But just as he was about to hold the door knob, he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist, a head leaning on his back. Rin was shocked and felt his cheeks heating up again. But the tsundere that he was, he coldly asked Nanase.

"Is there anything else you wanna tell me?"

With a soft voice, almost in a whisper, Nanase replied, "Nothing."

The voice was so tender that Rin felt his stomach doing somersaults. The contented moan coming from the other boy told him what he wanted to know, what he had learned during their times together but had refused to acknowledge: Nanase liked him. Looking back in hindsight, he realized he was also wondering about himself, why he found himself staring into those periwinkle irises. He realized that Nanase was cute, and he was forced to admit, on the day before their final game, that he also had fallen for his teammate. Rin put a hand on Nanase's own and gently held him.

Nanase felt himself blushing. He felt his cheeks warming up when he realized that Rin held his hand and intertwined their hands together. The next thing took him by surprise. Rin let his arms go and turned around, and he wrapped his arms around the shorter guy.

"We can do it, Bumpkin. Just trust me. Look at me."

"Hai..."

Rin hugged Nanase tighter and carded his fingers through the other boy's hair. The shampoo and conditioner at Blue Lock were shitty. No wonder Aryu used to complain about it. No wonder Yukimiya once said if only he could smuggle inside the facility the hair products he endorsed as a model. Despite that, Rin still felt how soft Nanase's hair was.

"Let's get some water from the pantry before we sleep. And once we come back, I want you to stay next to me, hm?"

"Hai," Nanase whispered while wrapping his arms around Rin tightly. The thought of sleeping next to Rin somehow made Nanase at ease.

"What will I do with you, my Bumpkin? How could have I noticed you only now?" Rin confessed.

"I like ya, Rin-san," Nanase confessed too.

"I know," Rin told him. "I observed you for fifteen days, and I realized that the way you look at me differs from the way you look at others."

It made Nanase bury his face on Rin's shoulder.

"Trust me, Nijiro," Rin said to Nanase in a voice more tender than what he intended to. "We will win this. We, Paris X Gen, will win this."

"Hai," Nanase replied once again.

The moan escaping from Nanase's lips had Rin, once again, feeling his cheeks heating up and his heart fluttering.

"Is this how a crush is supposed to feel like? It feels nice," he admitted to himself as he held the other boy in his arms.

--end--

[autumn-may]

Please tell me about the data boys AU I love the data boys so much and you draw them so CUTE AAAAA

(Im gonna @ the people who asked about the fic: @dergshadow @mosttsundereofplants @bloody-holly)

(It’s more of a fix-it fic than a au but lol)

Ask and ye shall receive ig 

The short of it is I force data sora and data riku back into the story while flipping nomura off for the re:coded ending ft. Riku and data-riku being friends, data-soriku being fun, and minor 358/2 references. I’ve been calling the au Re:Boot! 

Full concept under cut: (it’s pretty long)

edit:I’m writing it

The long of it is during re:mind the data battles crash, and the Final Fantasy group+Riku theorize that it might have something to do with Jiminys Journal (seeing as the data battles are made with data from the journal) Riku goes to Disney castle and it turns out yeah that’s probably what’s happening! The Disney castle computer displays the words ‘there are new hurts to be undone’. Riku is sent into the datascape in order to help with said hurts. 

   The long of it is  Riku enters to a really bugged up version of the data destiny islands, and is told by the Disney gang from the outside to find a way to get deeper into the datascape and help out. (System sectors). Riku finds it and enters. 

  First and second levels of the sector go pretty standard, fight the buggy heartless and all that however one of the bugs for the second level has a similar silhouette to sora, which is a little unnerving to say the least. The third level looks like rikus data(from when he got bugs in him) and the Disney gang loses contact with riku at this point. 

(YES the three stages getting more buggy the deeper you go is a reference to the boss stages in re:coded. If you even care) 

Riku looks around for a bit and D!riku (that’s what I’m calling data-riku rn) notices him from somewhere in the datascape, and teleports or something to him. After the initial ‘we’re the same guy’ convo D!riku tells him about the bugs, and how he believes that they are caused by D!soras amnesia, as he gained a heart, which is currently sleeping due to the reset (hearts can be destroyed and all that yk the deal). Since the datascape is sorta centered on d!sora, if something’s wrong with his code it might affect the datascape. D!riku tells him that since the reset, he’s been working to attempt to find soras heart, but he hasn’t been able to make much headway (maybe because a heart is separate from data, and isn’t as easily manipulated) 

(That’s my idea for why he wasn’t really there in the post reset stuff on soras side at least ) 

Well where is D!sora you ask? Well let’s go see! They teleport away and oh frick is that the memory pod. (Things are getting uncomfortably familiar for riku) D!riku has him in there as he works to find and wake soras sleeping heart, (instead of having to like, chase him around the datascape with a computer or something, sleeping heart doesn’t necessarily equal sleeping guy in this situation so we just put him in a coma). D!riku opens the way to D!soras data, and in they go.

They search for a bit, and when D!riku gets frustrated at the lack of progress, the bugs slightly worsen (riku notes this). Riku asks a bit about d!rikus relationship with d!sora, saying his drive to protect him is something they have in common. D!riku actually somewhat denies this, reminding riku about how the datascape is centered on sora, d!riku—to some level— is the datascape. it’s just a part of his programming, the journal correcting a glitch in the system through him. Besides, d!soras the one with a heart, d!rikus just a really good AI and also kinda a clone. Riku is so skeptical of this.

Riku says that he doesn’t believe that, d!riku fights to protect d!sora because he just cares about d!sora. Surely d!rikus noticed the bugs grow stronger the worse d!riku feels, if the data scape affects him, surely he affects the datascape as well. And a system as advanced as the data scape wouldn’t be programmed to destroy itself. By going to such lengths, d!riku proves he’s more than his programming, he’s more than the datascape, he has a heart, and he cares about d!sora in a way a line of code couldn’t. 

Well that revelation kinda broke d!riku but that’s fine. The bugs lessen however, so that’s a good sign also the final boss dark side shows up. The rikus prepare for  a fight, and d!riku recognizes this as d!soras heartless. (Bond between d!soriku manifested in the datascape bringing their hearts together)  They win the fight, and recover d!soras heart, which is still sleeping. Riku uses the power of waking, tracing the bond between him and d!riku, and d!riku and d!sora. Rikus able to wake up d!soras heart, restoring his memories, and the rikus leave his data. 

D!riku thanks riku for the help, and releases d!sora from the memory pod. D!sora and d!Riku reunite (i fight the urge to reverse the kh2 scene yk the one) riku feels comforted in his search for sora (idk he sees the bond between data!soriku as able to physically manifest into bringing them together so I mean why not real soriku?)  

The trio go back to the surface of the datascape, Disney gang gets to reunite with the data-gang and they apologize for not being able to help more (“gee well, if we knew you were hurting, we would of sent someone way sooner” “We can’t just leave our friends behind!” Or something idk) and riku comes back to the real world.

Riku talks to the data boys through the computer, d!sora asks about sora which is just a little bit of a punch in the gut (reminder this takes place during re:mind) but anywayyyy d!sora wonders if there’s a way they could enter the real world, since riku was able to come to the datascape. (They probably couldn’t :( they never had physical bodies, they have data bodies) Riku thinks about it and realizes hey wait a minute isnt Evens whole job making bodies for hearts that need them they totally could come to the real world. 

So riku calls up Even who’s intrigued by the idea of hearts that existed only in data, and how they would manifest in the real world. So needless to say, he gets to work. A while later d!rikus separated from the journal, and the dynamic data duo is brought to the real world yippee!! 

(If you’ve ever seen my redesigns of the two data’s they would get their new outfits right here) 

And that’s the main idea! I’ve had it for like,,,a couple months? But it’s been stuck in my brain for a while and i like it a lot, just got a Ao3 account so maybe I’ll write it but no promises 

[katkeyboardmastah]

The Young Xehanort inconsistencies

Originally posted: September 3rd 2022.

I want to slowly migrate some of my Kingdom Hearts lore musings instead of just sharing links:

Speaking of links, the original Google doc version of this post can be read HERE.

First up! The YMX doc that I had made after playing through the remainder of Dark Road's story.

Disclaimer: I will only reference material such as in-game cutscenes, interviews and Ultimanias, so other supplementary pieces such as the novels and the like will not be considered. Everything written here is my own personal interpretation. Interview translations were done by KHInsider.

Putting everything else under the cut cuz boy this is gonna be a long one-

First of all, let us review the updated timeline provided by KHDR itself:

----------------------------------------------------

So, Kingdom Hearts Dark Road did not shed light on a couple of things, Xehanort’s eyes becoming golden being just one example. While I cannot say anything concrete about the hows and whys behind the fact that his eye colour changes at some point in time, I CAN, however, make an educated guess as to why the time-travelling Young Xehanort seems to flip flop between gold and silver eyes.

(Xehanort throughout time: 9 years ago, KHDR’s story, 7 years later and 54 years later)

Xehanort’s eyes are naturally silver throughout his youth. Chronologically, the first instance we see him with golden eyes, if we rule out time-travel, is when he is already in his late years, as an old man, 54 years AFTER KHDR. The latest point in time shown to us before that era is when Xehanort leaves Scala Ad Caelum, 7 years AFTER KHDR’s main story. Meaning, the point in which Xehanort’s eyes change colour can be ANYWHERE between age 22/23 and 69/70, assuming the Xehanort in the main campaign is 15/16 years old (if we take Nomura’s statement from TGS 2018, that old man Xehanort is around 80 into account).

Here’s the big kicker though: What about the time-travelling Young Xehanort? In both KHDDD and KHIII his eyes are gold. But then you might say: Well, maybe he was pulled from that blank period of time you just mentioned, his early 20s onwards? The problem with that is the fact that the encounter between Xehanort and the Master of Masters takes place only ONE YEAR after the main events of KHDR. Additionally, in the second part of that very same encounter Xehanort implies that he has already time-travelled at least once:

The MoM: Sounds like you already know where you’re headed. YX: It’s funny. Somehow, I can sense where I’m supposed to go, and what I’m supposed to do. Yes, even this coat, there’s something familiar about it, as if I’m meant to wear this.

This corresponds with what he told Sora in KHDDD:

Since in both KHIIIRM’s and KHDR’s version of the scene his eyes are silver, this means that upon time-travelling they become gold but upon returning they go back to silver. My answer for this ‘switch’ can only be the following:

YX: I will return to my time, and grow into the man who becomes all these others. While I know this future now that I have lived it, returning to my own time will erase the memories and experiences I have gained here. Still my appointed path is now etched in my heart, which will first lead me to seek the outside world. (will return to this part later in the post)

The old man Xehanort gave Young Xehanort a piece of his heart.

Which sounds kinda ridiculous (even for KH standards), but I can prove that might be the case. Let’s remember who makes up KHIII’s true Organization XIII:

The recompleted Master Xehanort, the version furthest on the timeline;

The recompleted people turned once more into Nobodies: Xigbar, Saix, Marluxia, Larxene, Luxord, Demyx and Vexen. The last two being reserve members;

The versions of Xehanort pulled from the past but came to be after KHBBS-era Master Xehanort: Terra-Xehanort, Xemnas and Ansem Seeker of Darkness;

The non-Xehanort characters pulled from the past: Vanitas, Xion and Dark Riku (Replitwo);

The first of the Xehanorts, the Xehanort of the most distant past: Young Xehanort.

You can see that none of the other members aside from YX originate from a time before KHBBS. And as it is now established, this iteration did not originally have golden eyes. To add onto that, as stated in group 4, these 3 were the only characters that travelled to the future by having their hearts be placed inside replicas and are not a version of Xehanort. Vanitas is debatable because we don’t  know if he had that eye colour inherently even when his face changed to reflect Sora’s or was it because of old man Xehanort. The statement about Vanitas originally having red eyes while he was still faceless does not apply because its source is solely the KHBBS novel, which is not canon material. Replitwo’s change is more noticeable since you can directly compare him with the original Riku Replica who even appears in the same scene as him at the very end. As for Xion’s change, it’s only visible if you bump up the brightness while her face is not fully covered or mod out the shadow cast by her hood. If there is a need for official confirmation that these 3 characters do come from the past look no further than this chart from the KHIII Ultimania:

Do note that ‘eliminated’ can also refer to simply returning to their own time period but ceasing to exist in KHIII’s time as it’s said in Young Xehanort’s section of the very same chart.

Ok but, why would there be any need for this. Simple, that version of Xehanort was not ready to handle the darkness the same way old man Xehanort does yet. He needed the Black Coat or the armour or any other form of protection. And as seen in KHDR itself, were it not for the MoM saving him in the Dark Corridor, he would have perished. The following lines from the second encounter cement this further:

The MoM: No… you’ll ditch it soon. YX: What do you mean? The MoM: I mean that one day you’re going to outgrow it. YX: How so? The MoM: If you truly possess great power, the darkness can’t control you. You won’t need a silly old coat to stay safe. In fact, you’ll be the one controlling the darkness instead.

It wouldn’t seem far-fetched either knowing that the explanation behind the Young Xehanort boss fight at the end of KHDDD that the Ultimania provides is this:

Question: Did King Mickey’s time magic not work properly on Young Xehanort because Young Xehanort has the power to control time? Nomura’s answer: Not Young Xehanort’s but rather Master Xehanort’s power. King Mickey was surprised at the time, seeing his Keyblade and noticing he harboured the power of Master Xehanort…

Additionally, aside from King Mickey, Master Xehanort and Young Xehanort are the only other characters who directly take note of Sora’s reckless usage of the Power of Waking in KHIII and KHIIIRM, meaning that at the very least, YX was imparted with such knowledge as well the power to transcend time, which he receives from potato sack Ansem SoD.

The secret endings to KHRe:Coded in the KH HD II.5 Remix collection are another piece of evidence, because we see YX already in place before KHDDD begins, ready to gather the remaining vessels. Meanwhile, since both Ansem SoD and Xemnas have been vanquished, Master Xehanort should by now exist at this point in time as himself given how the same thing has happened with the other ex-Nobodies of the Organization.

To add onto that video we finally have a confirmation from Nomura himself that yes, the design used in KHDR that depicts Young Xehanort’s time on the Destiny Islands is the correct version while the one used in KHBBS and KHDDD is outdated according the most recent Q&A:

Now here’s the funny part. When did Young Xehanort time-travel? Or a better question, if KHDR has revealed that his initial encounter with potato sack Ansem SoD was not the point from which he began his journey to the future but rather his what led him to Scala Ad Caelum… did he encounter him again at some point which finally did spur him to time-travel?

Sonny Novus made a video about how fleshing out Xehanort’s backstory by deaging him even further caused more problems in hindsight and I believe it still holds up so I recommend watching it if you haven’t done so by now.

Question: In previous titles, we saw the Xehanort who leaves Destiny Islands as a young man. He seems a lot younger in KHDR. Nomura’s answer: KHDR presents the correct version. For previous games, we used the young man model we already had as a catch-all symbolic representation of "his youth," in order to save cost modelling a young boy version. In KHIII, they were specifically split. I'd like you to interpret it as the symbolic representation becoming a rich one.

So the only time Young Xehanort could time-travel to the future while still having a consistent design with the one we see in KHDDD and KHIII can be anywhere between the point he changes his hairstyle and his second encounter with the MoM that takes place 1 year after KHDR’s main campaign. Thus, confirming that he could not have possibly transcended time after his first encounter with potato sack Ansem SoD. While it does go in line with the implication that at the time, Xehanort did not realise he was talking to a version of himself, it still contradicts another line in KHDDD by suggest that his now forgotten time-travelling escapades were not the reason he sought out the outside world by rather his dreams of the Player’s life (or lives).

YX: Still my appointed path is now etched in my heart, which will first lead me to seek the outside world.

Putting this contradiction aside, there should have been a second encounter between these two during that 1 year year interval. Either YX found his way back to Destiny Islands or has met potato sack Ansem SoD somewhere else, realising that he is a future version of himself, which would finally spur him to travel forward in time.

Now let’s address the other elephant in the room, Young Xehanort’s Keyblade. We still do not have an official name for it but what we do know is that it’s supposed to be No Name (the goat themed Keyblade) with the hourglass keychain you can see on No Name (the Keyblade you receive after defeating Mysterious Figure aka. Young Xehanort in the Land of Departure).

Nomura: That Keyblade was designed as the one Master Xehanort used in KHBBS combined with an hourglass, you see. (KHDDD Ultimania)

It’s weird, because you can easily interpret that scene in KHDDD as him technically borrowing MX’s. Not to mention that he does not use a Keyblade at all in his fight as the Mysterious Figure in KHBBS. But come KHIII and KHDR, where in the former, YX still uses his unique Keyblade, while in the latter he uses the nameless default Keyblade of that era (KHML has its own default Keyblade too judging from the footage) even during his encounters with the MoM. Let’s try to wrap our heads around this without just saying it’s a retcon that we should move on from:

Nomura changing his mind about plot beats and having genuine oversights is nothing new, there are more examples in this series one could ever hope for, like the eye colour switch that started this whole document. If you recall, the first time we have ever seen an even younger version of Xehanort was in KHIII’s E3 2015 trailer (man I feel old), where his eyes were gold. And in the finalised version of the same scene, his eyes have been changed to silver.

Ok, so let’s say that from YX’s own youth, without his time-travelling escapades, he wields the default Keyblade all the way until him and Eraqus become Keyblade Masters 6 years after KHDR’s main campaign, then they inherit No Name and Master’s Defender respectively to use them from that point onwards. Now winding back to the interval of about 1 year between the ending of KHDR and YX’s meeting with the MoM, you can say that he somehow gains another unique Keyblade upon travelling to the KHDDD era and decides to stick with it in KHIII as well. The time of KHBBS in which he travels to become the Mysterious Figure in order to grab Vanitas for the true Organization XIII, you can maybe stretch it and say that he possibly has foregone that unique Keyblade (or any at all) during that particular fight, much like how Xemnas does throughout the whole series despite also having the ability.

From that you can guess that Nomura reconsidered the meaning of the golden eyes. Because from DDD (not counting BBS since that game only implied it) up until KHIII, when someone would have that colour it would mean they were a vessel of Xehanort or, if we are to use the fan-coined term, ‘norted’. I think we all collectively assumed that Anti-Aqua was actually one of the 13 vessels when she was revealed in KHIII’s Frozen trailer in E3 2018, only for that to not have been the case at all. If anyone needs a refresher for her Gummiphone entry:

Anti-Aqua: Aqua, after she fell to darkness. Years and years of wandering through the realm of darkness ended with her being cast into the watery depths beyond its margin.

Sure, for the members of the true Organization you can say that this still applies (again, Vanitas being debatable) but it’s not exclusively golden eyes = Xehanort’s influence anymore. It’s as if they are meant to represent darkness like they have been prior to KHDDD. And this change sort of makes sense, since the story’s focus is shifting heavily to be about the primordial darknesses and shifting back to how one can fall to darkness due to strong negative emotions. One can conclude that maybe Xehanort’s eyes have changed from silver to gold over time due to him actively trying to become a “dark vessel” as seen in KHDR, and that subsequently, since he has gained them, they have become a trait of his other selves. A parallel to this scenario is how the characters on the protagonist's side associate the Black Coat with the Organization even though, in truth, it dates back much further back into the past.

Like I’ve said before, KHDR did not manage to cover and explain every single facet of Xehanort’s life, for better or for worse. However, it did give a lot of context to preexisting scenes and other character moments in the series, and I think it did a good job at that. As for the remaining mysteries such as the now discussed golden eyes, the fate of Scala Ad Caelum and more, depends entirely on whether or not Nomura wants to or has the chance to flesh out, much like how KHDR’s existence itself was once in a lifetime opportunity to dive deeper into the mind of one of the most important antagonists in the series.

I know what you're probably thinking: the Dark Seeker Saga, which depicted the battle against Xehanort, finished with KINGDOM HEARTS III, didn't it? Well, it's a grey area, but I wouldn't call this title part of the Dark Seeker Saga. Why? Because this isn't about battling against Xehanort—it's about the battles of Xehanort.And maybe you're thinking that's a bit of a reach, but… okay, maybe it's a bit of a reach. However, I had the concept in my head for many years. It got shelved because it never really fitted what our team wanted. But around then, I heard from the Union X team that they'd like to do a parallel title with a new protagonist. And, since it seemed there was an unexpected number of Xehanort fans out there, it all came together like it was destined to be. I do tend to believe in destiny. (Tetsuya Nomura on the launch of KHDR in June 2020)

Author’s note: Sorry if this turned out to be more of a ramble than an actual theory post but… I wanted to say that… I feel content with this story, even without the answers I may have wanted. I still thoroughly enjoyed following Xehanort’s journey from start to finish, which made me like him more as a character even. Anyhow… thank you for bearing with me and I hope you have a wonderful day!

[lightmelodyva]

October 1866, a few new people had joined the Shinsengumi during the summer. Among them was Kazue Souma and Risaburo Nomura, they are to became Kondou’s pages. Another young man had also joined, Tetsunosuke Ichimura, who has become Hijikata’s page. Along him was Tatsunosuke, his older brother. The brothers were both taken in, though with how young Tetsunosuke was, there was a bit of resistance until Tatsunosuke convinced Kondou and Hijikata.

Chizuru was to be in charge of teaching them how to do their job, being she’s Haruka’s page. Of course, none them knew she was a woman as her pretending to be a male.

“Yukimura-senpai?” Souma said. “Is this tea alright?”

“Ah, well..It might be a bit too hot.” Chizuru said.

“Oh. I guess it is hot today..” Souma looked down at the tea.

“So what do we do? Water it down? ” Nomura asked.

"I-It will lose flavor that way, Nomura.." Chizuru pointed out

"Ah, right..." Nomura tilted his head back thinking.

“What about cooling it down with well water?” Tetsunosuke said.

“Oh! That’s smart!” Nomura looked at the younger boy in delight.

“Ah! Wait!” Chizuru said. “It doesn't have to be that cold, just a little warmer than room temperature.”

“Oh, yeah, you’re right. Hmm…” Tetsunosuke crossed his arms to think.

That’s when they heard footsteps. “I see we have new members.” The four of them turned to see Haruka.

“Haruka-san! You’re back!” Chizuru said. “Did things go well?”

Haruka sighed. “It bared no fruit, I’m afraid. I thought it was worth the trip but it seems it really was too good to be true. Sorry, Chizuru.”

“Oh..I see.” Chizuru then put her hands together. “Ah, I should introduce you!” At each them, Chizuru introduced the boys to Haruka. “These are new pages. Kazue Souma, Risaburo Nomura, and Tetsunosuke Ichimura. Souma and Nomura are Kondo-San’s page. Tetsunksuke is Hijikata’s.”

Haruka put a hand on her hip. “Oh? Didn’t think Hijikata would take a page for himself.” She then smiled at the three. “I’m Haruka Shinomi. And Chizuru is my page.”

“Sorry but I wasn’t aware the Shinsengumi let women joined.” Souma said.

“Yeah, thought it was just men.” Nomura said.

“I’m not part of the Shinsengumi. I’m an Okuzume working with them.”

“O-Okuzume!” Nomura said.

“Shinomi…” Tetsunosuke thought for a second. “Ah! The Icy Okuzume!? Then you are Shinomi-sama!” The three boys then stepped back.

Haruka caught on to the young boys words and kept them for later. “No need to be so formal.”

“W-We don’t?” Souma asked.

Haruka shook her head. “No. Not at all.” She then looked at Chizuru. “Did Shigeru give you any trouble?”

“Not at all.”

“Wait..that baby is yours?” Nomura blinked at Haruka.

Haruka just nodded her head. “He is. I’m married to the 10th division captain, Sanosuke Harada.”

“This…is a lot of information to take in.” Souma said.

Haruka chuckled. "Well, you'll get used to it. Along with other surprises the Shinsengumi can come up with.... Anyway, Chizuru, how do you think their doing?"

Chizuru smiled. "They're eager to learn and get along well. I've been teaching them what I know, like serving tea and how to attend to Hijikata-san and Kondo-san."

"That's good." Haruka said. "Guess you're actually a good teacher. And for you three," she turned to Souma, Nomura, and Tetsunosuke, "I'm available for advice if Chizuru can't help you with something."

"Thank you, Haruka-senpai," Souma said, expressing gratitude.

Haruka nodded. "Alright, I'll let you continue what you were doing." She then walked away, off to find her husband and son. But when she found a moment, she was able to pull Tetsunosuke alone in a room.

“Tetsunosuke…Why did you call me Shinomi-sama?”

“B-Because the Shinomi clan protects us..”

“Who told you this? And what do you mean by us?”

Tetaunosuke looked down. “My father told me that we could rely on the Shinomi clan if we ever ran into one. Tatsunosuke and I are..well..”

“Ichimura…You were a small demon clan right?”

Tetsunosuke nodded his head. “We were..basically ran out of our home by humans. And not a lot of us found a place to live. My older brother and I are the only ones left.”

Haruka sighed. “Ah. I guess I need to update that...Tetsu-kun..If you want to call me Shinomi-sama, it’s okay. But do not reveal what you are, okay? The only people who now about demons at the moment are myself, Miko, Shota, and My husband, Harada.”

“Not even Hijikata-san knows?”

“No. There may be a time where that comes but not soon. If anything, I will reveal it when the time is right. Understood?”

Tetsunosuke nodded his head. "T-Thank you, Haruka-sama." "Thank me?" "Yeah. Tatsu-nii and I have a home again. Even if it is with the Shinsengumi, we feel we belong. And with you here, it feels even better! We owe you!"

Haruka gave a soft smile. "Just don't get in trouble, Tetsu-kun. Tell you're brother the same thing I just told you, Okay?" Tetsunosuke just nodded his head gratefully.

[thequietmanno1]

TheLreads, Vigilantes ch 103, Replies Part 2

1) “…

They fucking WHAT now

I hope I got that wrong, and you mean to say that Koichi is keeping track of McBee even at higher speeds, because otherwise…”- It seems that the shots somehow follow Koichi’s intended target, albeit with a low curving turn to them. It’s more noticeable with the softball shots, but it makes sense if Koichi’s firing them half on instinct at the indistinct blur Nomura’s become at high speed without really being certain of what part of him to hit. 2) “Bahahaha- McBee got defeated once again by the weakest of shits, oh my god man, AfO did a damn good job with this one, didn’t he?”- Koichi has been beating Nomura back with a nerf gun, when he actually has a genuinely dangerous arsenal hidden as backup. When Nomura finds out that he’s being handled with kiddie gloves this whole time, he’ll flip. 3) “Oh do you Phelps? I thought that you didn’t worked with Vigilantes, and rules and you let this run for too long and blah blah blah just let us see Koichi chasing McBee already.”- It’s actually a task that falls well within the purview of ordinary citizens, albeit rare because of the onset of mobile communication these days: Call for Help. 4) “oh, you mean the guys that you could’ve used before? what a fascinating fucking idea McBee, shame it’s too late for it now.”- It does clear the area of Nomura’s backup to allow him and Koichi to have a solo one-on-one at long last. 5) “Avoiding wasting them… like you did already against Aizawa? Oh my god man, he’s even talking to himself, I think the O'Clock tulpa started to grow sick of his shit.”- Between him and Tomura’s headspace, it seems the writers of the MHA verse have a real thing for giving their main villains multiple mental issues and personalities. 6) “HE FUCKING BETTER NOT

YOU HEAR ME FURUHASHI. YOU BETTER NOT.

IF YOU DO THAT I’LL STEAL YOUR FEMUR AND USE IT TO PLAY XYLOPHONE WITH YOUR RIBS”- Crises has been averted…for now. It’s kinda funny how summoning All Might is as much of a threat to our enjoyment of reading the story as it is to the villains. 7) “YES YES YES THERE’S STILL A CHANCE TO SALVAGE THIS STORY YES McBEE GO AFTER KOICHI AGAINST YOUR BETTER JUDGMENT”- Didn’t have to this time, as Koichi came to him for the final showdown. 8) “OH MY GOD THE O'TULPA JUST WENT “WELL, YOU’RE A LOST CASE, I DON’T KNOW WHAT I CAN SAY TO MAKE YOU NOTICE HOW STUPID THAT IS””- Hey, if rational arguments won’t cut it, indulge in his emotional breakdown so he at least cooperates a bit more, rather than standing still arguing with his imaginary friend, which helps nobody. 9) “OH THANK THE FUCKING GOD!

IT WAS KOICHI

…

WHY IT WAS KOICHI?

IS THIS PART OF THE PLAN SOMEHOW? HUH?”-  Koichi: I Am Here!....to draw Aggro! 10) “McBEE IS LIKE >)

NOW THINGS ARE STARTING TO LOOK PROMISING ONCE AGAIN”- Koichi is the only one not looking forward to this upcoming destined showdown. 11) “And that’s the end of the chapter, and boy did we just dodged a bullet there. Not like McBee that is.

But now that they put that card on the table I’m really fucking concerned that this is how it’s gonna end, with All Might showing up. I’m feeling scared that Koichi is there to cause a distraction while Soga leaves on his bike to call for backup.I’m terrified of that possibility.”- The one time we don’t want the mega-hero to show up and rescue everybody, because that’d mean stealing Koichi’s thunder. @thelreads

[moonknightproductions]

For the character bingo, Xehanort and your favorite Yu-Gi-Oh character?

Gonna put this under a cut because the explanations are gonna get a little long lol

For Xehanort:

Explanations:

I absolutely love his design (any of them), Nomura knocked it out of the park with this one (although him being darker skinned than most of the cast is kinda… you know). Love the coats, love the boots, etc. BUT they could’ve gone even further with his character, even as a kid. Establish his weird empathy powers and run with it. Second row’s are pretty much self-explanatory.

As much as I want to say he’s got a big fanon focus, it’s really only a select group of people who’re in the know about Dark Road (see bottom left of the bingo lol). He very much is THEE character for me, the one who solidified my love for KH.

Autism beam.

If I think about him too long I get a headache (affectionate). Changed my life (as a package deal with kh obviously but Xeha specifically was a big part of it). I really want him to come back in KH4 even if just a cameo. Let me see my boy again in Quadratum living his best 14th life.

For the Yugis (I got a bingo!):

This is for both Yugi and Yami (which is why the dynamic one isn’t filled in; they work as standalone BECAUSE they’re so often in a dynamic). They’re a package deal.

Everyone makes fun of his hair but is it really any worse than, say, Goku’s? Yami especially could be a lot weirder (I know he mellowed out by Duel Monsters with Yugi’s help but l wish he retained some of his season 0 energy, he was very fun in that). The only ship I don’t really hate is Yugi/Anzu, actually. Yugi’s very transmasc to me but also I saw this fanart of fem-presenting genderfluid Yami and she was kinda hot ngl, so.

They very much captured my attention (in a “godammit why does every media I get into nowadays feature a characters with multiple personalities/accidental DID rep (affectionate)” way) and is basically the reason I kept watching past the first few episodes.

His name means game (how original, Takahashi). Autism.

Similarly to Xehanort, if I think about them for too long I start to cry (they’re just so sad and sweet to each other and aughhh). Due to his main character status, people constantly try to kill Yugi and he was bullied a lot before finishing the Puzzle.

Also similarly to Xehanort, he changed my life for the better (in combination with the series but it was mostly Yugi and Yami). However, in exchange, they will not leave my head. At all. They’re the form my consciousness is deciding to take for when I need to talk to myself (and it’s only natural that it’d do this considering the above-mentioned accidental DID rep). Not that I mind, I love him!

For context (even though this means nothing to people who aren’t also into it), I haven’t gotten to GX’s fourth season yet, but I have watched/read all of s0, watched both the og and dub of Duel Monsters, and am in the middle of reading the Duelist manga. I’ve also watched most of the Yugi-related movies except Bonds Through Time, so it’s pretty safe to say I’ve seen a lot of Yu-Gi-Oh media with Yugi in it. YET SOMEHOW I MISS HIM ALL THE TIME? I know I could always reread/watch stuff but every time I finish doing that I just wanna see my boy again??? I’m never satisfied with the amount I’ve seen him???

Despite all that, I do hope he’s happy. I haven’t gotten to 5Ds yet so idk what he’s like in that but I hope the protagonist of that show can help him if he needs it.

[altocat]

After grinding for HOURS to get my FS trio strong enough to beat the boss to complete the closed beta chapter, no Seph. He only just appears in that opening cutscene with the cellphone. We probably won’t be seeing him until the full story releases. My estimations for that are probably Late September, early October. So there’s still lots of time.

Chapter ends with the random boy calling the FS trio out on their bullshit as being “peaceful SOLDIER emissaries”. My guess is that this is going to serve as a reveal for Sephiroth’s take no prisoners power throughout the era of the Wutai War. The boy is said to be “entangled” with Sephiroth somehow. Likely he’s heard or witnessed Sephiroth’s destructive deployment. It’s either that or he’s just a smart kid who knows exactly what the score is. We’re just going to have to find out.

Glenn, Matt, and Lucia are...okay. Glenn is really the only one with an actual personality and even then, he’s kind of a doof. Sorta like Zack, but without the puppydog charm. Glenn is more of an actual dumbass. Matt is kind of just...there to be the no-nonsense straight man and Lucia basically functions as diet Tifa but with a bit more sarcasm. They’re sort of blank slates that I assume are all doomed by the end of this story. I doubt even Glenn is going to survive up against an adult CC era Seph.

The random boy never gets a name, at least not yet. I am willing to bet my left hand that Sephiroth probably pissed all over his village and/or has been building his reputation little by little to the point where stories have leaked. While this island isn’t Wutai, it’s basically just another place SOLDIER is looking to colonize. Which means Seph is likely to show up very soon to rain on everyone’s parade. 

My predictions? The chapter might switch back and forth between Seph and the trio, as Nomura mentioned that teen Seph would be playable. It’s likely going to be some sort of rivalry between them, with Glenn’s group probably getting killed and Glenn himself defecting. Sephiroth barely seemed to recognize him in the opening cutscene despite Glenn’s “long time no see”. So they likely didn’t have an actual strong relationship. And given EC’s apparent lack of narrative depth that comes with a mobile atmosphere, I’d be very surprised if the FS trio wasn’t just a casual observer of Seph in future encounters at best. I don’t think they’re going to be sharing very meaningful dialogue, other than a “STAHP” when Sephiroth inevitably burns the place down. Sephiroth is a tragic figure and a complicated person. But he’s also a destructive force of nature and I wouldn’t put it past Shinra to dump him across random islands and villages to get shit done on their behalf.

(Also Sephiroth was definitely crying during the cellphone scene over Genesis SHHHHHH it’s not rain his face is wet IT’S NOT RAIN LET ME HAVE THIS)

[milaisreading]

Hiiii, it's me again, I saw you posted that your request are open, and was thinking if you could write something about Sae and Manager reader please? I really miss himmm, and maybe add to it wherein he gets to spend most of the time with reader making him him all smug towards the other players. That's all thank you!!! I really love all your works ❤️.

🌱🩷: This one was just dusting away in my drafts! Hope u like it!!

Warnings: Reader uses she/her. Requests are open

⚽️Blue lock belongs to Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura ⚽️

It felt like a dream to Rin that he didn't hear of or see Sae for 5 months. No mention of him on the news, the other players, or magazines. It was heaven for Rin, but all good things have to end somehow. And today it was the turn for Rin to remember the cruel reality of his brother being in the same facility as him. And, truthfully, it would have been more bearable if Sae minded his business and wasn't hogging all of (Y/n)'s attention right now!

"Rin..." The said boy turned to look at Karasu, who was resting his head on the table, glaring at the older Itoshi's back.

"What?"

"I will be kind enough to warn you now, your brother will be dead meat by the end of his stay here."

"Whose genius idea was it to host Re Al, again? This is hell." Otoya added in, narrowing his eyes as Yukimiya kept quiet. He was pissed just like the other three were, but he needed to keep quiet. He didn't want to have an outburst in front of (Y/n). Speaking of her, where was she? Well, (Y/n) was occupied with catering to Sae and whatever his needs were. The JFA did hold him to a certain standard, so someone making sure his needs were met was expected by the Blue Lock team. But why did (Y/n) have to be that someone?! She was their manager!

"I am tired to this. Can I just go and punch him?" Otoya asked as he looked at Rin for approval.

"Make sure to knock his teeth out." Rin narrowed his eyes as Sae moved closer to the girl, who was busy explaining something to the redhead.

"Don't do that. You will make (Y/n) mad." Karasu groaned, looking away from the scene.

"But-"

"Karasu is right, Otoya. Sae might use that as a way to hog even more time with her." Came Yukimiya's response.

"Sae-san, you really aren't listening, are you?" The group of four turned to look at the said boy and (Y/n), who had an annoyed look on her face.

'Adorable!' Otoya thought.

'Like an angel!'

'Can she look at me like that?! God, please.' Yukimiya and Karasu's thoughts followed after. Rin started blushing himself, not paying attention to Sae moving closer to her to look at some note she made. That was until Sae sent a small glance at Rin, his face decorated with a satisfied smirk.

'Jerk bastard of a brother!! This is war now!'

"(Y/n) this and (Y/n) that. Ahh.... when are Re Al leaving again? Why do I have to cater to Sae-san's every need?" The girl groaned as she held a basked of freshly folded laundry. Not just any laundry, but Sae's. He was training with his team so she had to finish some arrangements for him.

"(Y/n)!! Where were you?! We need your help!" The girl jumped in surprise and turned to look at some of the Blue Lock players running towards her.

"Bachira, Chigiri, Isagi? What did you three need? Also, you have a substitute manager for now?"

"It's hell! (Y/n), we need you back! The manager mixed up my shampoo with Nagi's, now my hair smells like wood." Chigiri whined, hugging the girl tightly around her shoulders. Isagi nodded, chiming in as well.

"And it's boring without you, too. You always make training more fun."

"And you don't mind feeding me. I miss that." Bachir added in as he and Isagi moved closer to her.

"Please come back."

(Y/n) blushed a little and laughed in amusement, trying to get Chigiri's hold off of her.

"You guys are being a little too dramatic. I will be back soon. After all, Re Al won't be staying here for too long."

"I hope so. They got annoying." Isagi rolled his eyes as Chigiri let her go, pouting a little.

'I lied. It's only Sae who is annoying."

"Can't you at least hang out with us now?" They turned their attention to Bachira.

"After all, you aren't doing anything with Sae now."

"Hey, yeah. You can join us now!" Chigiri said with star eyes.

"Sorry, you three. I need to bring Sae-san his laundry."

"What?! He can do it-"

"Ah, (Y/n). There you are. I need your help with something." Isagi got interrupted by Sae's voice echoing down the hallway. (Y/n) immediately looked away from the trio and back at Sae, nodding her head.

"Sure. Sorry, I need to go now." Giving them an apologetic smile, (Y/n) turned and walked to where Sae was. The trio felt deflated for a moment, but their anger ignited as Sae discreetly sent them a satisfied look.

'Sucks to suck.' What what that look read.

'Bastar!!'

'(Y/n) is my manager! Not yours!'

'Stupid Itoshi!!'

"Was it necessary for me to eat with you?" (Y/n) questioned as she took a bite from her salmon. Sae stopped eating for a moment. The boy looked around for a bit, as if in deep thoughts before nodding his head.

"Of course."

Inwardly, (Y/n) groaned as she started eating her food again. It was silent for a bit as she kept on looking at her food, but when she looked up, she felt like screaming in fear.

'Does he hate me or something? The glare is frightening.' (Y/n) thought, looking down at her food again. It was true, Sae was glaring in her direction, but not at her. He was glaring at two peers of his from Re Al, as he did notice them trying to walk up to their table.

'Nobody is interrupting my lunch with her.' The boy thought, sighing in relief as the two teammates finally backed away. Sae returned to eating his food, ignoring the glares he was receiving from the players of the Blue Lock team.

'This isn't fair! I was supposed to eat with her tonight!' Hiori thought. A gloomy aura had surrounded Niko, who was glancing at them from time to time. Barou was the most frustrated of the bunch, nearly breaking his knife in half.

'That reheaded bastard.'

'This is just a slap in the face. I wanted to eat with her. Why him and not me? I have red hair, too... kind of.' Kurona thought, putting his head on the table. Aryu kept on huffing from time to time, trying to ignore the jealousy he was feeling. It was, in his words, not stylish to feel it.

'Stupid Itoshi.'

'Is it because he is a pro that (Y/n) hangs out with him more now?' Tokimitsu gulped a little. Kunigami was gloomier than usual. 

"Hmmm... I lost my appetite..." Gagamru pouted, playing with his food as he stared at (Y/n).

"Reeooo." Nagi groaned, his eyes never leaving the duo. The said boy, who was beyond annoyed by now, sharply looked at the albino.

"What, Nagi?"

"Do you know people who can make someone disappear?"

"I wish I did..."

"Hmmm? You have food there." The group that was present watched in shock as Sae took a napkin and removed some of the food that was near (Y/n)'s lips.

"T-thanks." The girl said, blushing from the embarrassment.

"It's nothing." Although he sounded bored, Sae really enjoyed the view.

'Losers.' The redhead thought, feeling their glares even more.

'This is war!'

'Why him?! Why not me?!'

Sae eventually learned what sort of annoyance the Blue Lock team felt as he watched his captain, Luna and (Y/n) interact. The older was giving her his usual nonchalant smile as the girl was clearly flustered. He kept his annoyance in for a good 5 minutes.

"Thanks again for the help, (Y/n)."

"Ahm... No-no need to thank me, Luna-san! I will gladly help you out with anything-"

(Y/n) let out a startled gasp as Sae grabbed her wrist and dragged her away.

"Come. I need your help with something."

"You just said you didn't need anymore-"

"I lied." Sae shrugged, keeping up his cool act.

"You Itoshis are confusing."

Luna's laugh was heard from behind them, already understanding what was going on.

[water-writings]

What’s your role in the tragic play?

I was tagged by @nightwingshero to do this quiz. Thank you Jo! I’m sorry I’ve been absent on here! I do see your tags!! 

I’m tagging @loopally @oathofoaks @starsandstormyseas @witchofinterest @pen-in-hand @umfleur it’s been a while since I’ve been on here doing anything so I’m sorry if I didn’t tag anyone I normally tag. If you see this and want to do it please play along too!

I’m on a Tokyo Revengers and Mandalorian high so I’m using my two Tokyo Revengers OCs and Mandalorian OC. 

Maiko Kenamoto - Tokyo Revengers

bold protagonist

you're the star of the show, baby! and boy does that come with a lot of emotional turmoil. you have a seemingly endless supply of determination. whether you have a lot of goals, or one big one, you're constantly working towards it. you're pretty restless, and struggle with imposter syndrome and generally feeling like you should be doing more. your insecurity might not be immediately obvious to others, however, as you come across as very strong and bold. vulnerability is not your strong suit, and that's likely to be your downfall. if only you had just let people in, and asked for help... well, maybe this was always gonna be a tragedy.

Yoko Nomura - Tokyo Revengers

sweet supporting character

i wanna be your grandma so bad, please let me pinch your face and knit you a sweater. you're most likely the best friend of the protagonist, and there's some possible overlap between you and the narrator. you're sweet and try very hard to be selfless. you watch the ones you love descend into darkness, and make every effort to help them through it all. it's not enough. you keep trying to make it enough. you provide comic relief, a listening ear, a hug, advice── any method of support you can think of. your own personal tragedy isn't documented. sometimes you wish it was, even though you're the one who ensures it is not. you want people to care for you the way you do for others. but you refuse to ask for it, so you wait for others to read between the lines. they usually don't. at least you're the one who gets to survive the tragedy. no matter how many times you beg to trade places, it is always you at the end, sitting at someone else's grave.

Casali Purlan - The Mandalorian

sweet supporting character

i wanna be your grandma so bad, please let me pinch your face and knit you a sweater. you're most likely the best friend of the protagonist, and there's some possible overlap between you and the narrator. you're sweet and try very hard to be selfless. you watch the ones you love descend into darkness, and make every effort to help them through it all. it's not enough. you keep trying to make it enough. you provide comic relief, a listening ear, a hug, advice── any method of support you can think of. your own personal tragedy isn't documented. sometimes you wish it was, even though you're the one who ensures it is not. you want people to care for you the way you do for others. but you refuse to ask for it, so you wait for others to read between the lines. they usually don't. at least you're the one who gets to survive the tragedy. no matter how many times you beg to trade places, it is always you at the end, sitting at someone else's grave.

[benditozorrito]

IN CONCLUSION

That appears to have been my last post per the KH3. And while I cannot remember exactly when and where for the drop off, I do remember why

Because I enjoyed the game riiiight up until we decided that for some reason, Aqua is no longer the awesome badass she was in KH:BBS. Oh sure I mean she's written the same, it's the same voice actress and the same behaviors, but the game's narrative won't let her be the amazing master she's proved herself to be in the past. Because Sora's here now.

Suddenly Aqua isn't a match for Vanitas this time, even though she fought him, Xigbar, and defeated Terranort. She even steps forward to fight the final battle with Xehanort, but is stopped to let Sora handle it. And I don't even like, have anything against Sora, but there are ways this could have been done without robbing Aqua of her own strength or choices.

And don't even get me fucking started on the absolute bullshit it was that Kairi has been dragged through this entire series with the desire to do ANYTHING to help: only to have her regulated to side story training we never see, and then get plonked into the final fight, only to get shelved immediately

And like. I knew this was a boys club. The KH series has always been shonen as fuck. Right down to the "there's 95% boys here so that's where all the significant relationships are" writing.

But then KH:BBS happened, and Aqua and her story happened. And even though I knew at the time, the director was not responsible for that, it was the co-director, and Nomura inexplicably could not understand why Aqua was so popular-that was 10 years ago.

Surely, some amount of growth and reflection could have happened in 10 years time. Right? RIGHT?!?

Lord I never hated being so wrong.

So yep! Don't care! Black box and all the old masters-don't care! Xigbar is the apprentice with the no name keyblade-don't care! and I especially, don't care about Yozora.

I wash my hands of this maidenless series

[artirific234-blog]

Ideas for Kingdom Hearts x Disney Chills stories

(warning: very BEEG and tall wall of text and spoilers)

... I kinda once got some weird ideas about some stories of the Disney Chills storybooks with something that could be considered as well strange too, and that is: Kingdom Hearts. 

Now, you may be wondering: What’s sort of thingus have you drank to think of a weird idea like that?! or, what the heck is Disney Chills or Kingdom Hearts?!

And to that i tell you: i did not drank anything except water and milk, and cola... and orange juice, i just thought of the idea because it’s cool and i kinda wanna see it, but before speaking of how, i will tell what exactly both series are about:

Disney Chills is a series of 6 books (7 in the making) made by Vera Strange that mixes the scary spooky storytelling from the Goosebumps series and the classic villainy of Disney’s Animated Villains. The stories are about a random kid (often a middle schooler) being down in the dumps for something that they lack or because they’re ostracized due to having any quirk. Then comes the Disney Villains to help them at the expense of turning their lifes for the worse in the long run, and then the villains wins at the end while the kiddos suffer the consequences for what they did, too bad~!

Kingdom Hearts is a series of videogames made by Tetsuja Nomura, who at first just started as one boy named Sora and his friends Riku and Kairi getting separated from their homeworld Destiny Islands and then Sora masters the keyblade to seek and find his friends from the claws of the Heartless and the Disney Villains who controls them (but there’s a bigger evil than they don’t know about) then became more confusing adding Nobodies, Time Travel, Replicas, and even bigger bad, a keyblade wars and various VARIOUS games that made from going from game 1-2-3 to UX-ML-DR-BBS-0.2-1-CoM-358/2D-2-RC-DDD-3-4. Aka there’s a lot of story spread over multiple games.

Soo, now that you (kinda?) know what those series are about what sort of weird ideas i kinda got into making, since these are too big (even for me) but still, i’m just gonna say what sort of ideas i thought and what sort of villains from the series would fit the best for them, and soo... Let’s dive into the Darkness.

Ansem, Seeker of Darkness:

The very first antagonist from the Kingdom Hearts series. Ansem was created after getting Terra-Xehanort’s heart out when he unlocked it with his keyblade, he then went to the past to help Young Xehanort to go towards his dark road and stayed in there, eventually manipulating Riku into joining the darkness and then eventually taking over his body to become “whole”. He also has a heartless bodyguard that is actually Terra’s Heart. He was eventually defeated by Sora, but still manage to return thanks to Riku’s darkness and eventually Xehanort’s Time Traveling shenanigans.

In a way, a story featuring Ansem would be kinda interesting persay; since the ideas about these sort of stories are about choices or wanting to get something "physical", i imagine that the kingdom hearts-related stories would be more about ourselves as people and how we threat each's others, as well understanding our emotions too. Ansem's Story would be about the Darkness in our hearts due to our own physical and emotional struggles, as well on how we affects others without not noticing at all. 

In this story, we would get a protagonist that feels preety weak and sad because of how much he gets bullied, so one night, he find at some place, he finds Ansem and then he helps him to get strong, by calling to the darkness inside it’s heart and then our protagonist gets courage to be strong, so next mornign, he puts a bully on it’s place, and everything goes, but also, he felt something, like he somehow felt that there were less and less people around the school, and that there were reports of some “shadowy” beings roaming around the streets (these being being pureblood heartless like shadows, neoshadows, possesors, dark balls and dark servants), and then, he finds out that the more he looks at his reflection, he sees himself less and less of a human, and more like a dark silhoutte of what he is. (based on Antisora). So, he decides confront Ansem before things spiral out of control (but sadly, thing spiralled out of control, so now he has to run through a darkness-ized city full of heartless to follow and stop Ansem once and for all.

(bonus points if the protagonist in a way is like Riku but different, and that a sora and kairi-look a likes would be important for the story too.)

(Alternatively, Ansem’s story could also be about Dabbling in the dark arts, like how Dr. Facilier did, albeit, with a few differences since Facilier's Story was about being at the shadow of someone else though. in this idea, it would be that an occultist based character got the help of a “Master of Darkness” that managed to summon the heartless (just some shadows) to prove that the occult itself is real and then get more members for it’s club or what not, only to realise that it might had condeem the entire city to the darkness....)

I kinda thought that the final battle would be on a toy shop, and that the heartless would ended up posessing some toys that would be weirdly-reminesent from the emblem heartless from the game (mostly first and second and maybe third game too) and the near-final obstacle would be Ansem summoning a version of the Phantom Heartless as a “puppet” before being faced at the rooftops. in the end, Ansem would tell that he still has potential in his heart for a greatness and stuff, our protagonist doesn’t believe it but then, a heartless attack one (or two) of his friends, he then succumbs to the darkness and ask Ansem to help them, and Ansem replies, by “returning” our protagonist’s friends’ hearts back, but taking his own.

The idea i thought that at the end (of theses two ideas), our protagonist would then be turned into the Dark Guardian by Ansem (using it’s heartless magic), thanks to the inmerse hatred and darkness it had during the story condeming it to be Ansem’s personal servant and fighter, collecting more darkness for his master to use.

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Xemnas

Xemnas is the main antagonist of Kingdom Hearts II, being the leader of organization XIII and the leader of the nobodies, he was born after terra-xehanort unlocked his heart, leaving him to be his nobody. He then created the organization for his nefarious needs.

Xemnas's Story would be more about the opposite of what most of the stories you made are: Popularity, while in most of the disney chills stories are about any characters trying to be popular and outshine anyone else (Part of your Nightmare and Fiends on the Other Side comes to mind), in this story the protagonist would already start as a popular person, but it would get tired of it and wanted to live a simple life (probably thanks to peer preasure and other stuff like toxic fanbases and stuff too, in a way, it would be like a “kid-friendly” version of Oshi no Ko, and how popularity (As well the internet) can be like a double-edge sword., that's went it's meets Xemnas, and stuff goes on. 

I’m not sure exactly how the plot afterwards would it be but i imagine it having to be similar to Fiends on the Other Side and our protagonist at first embraces the fact he’s no longer picked up but then more and more people start to forget him and he doesn’t know what to do. I also thought of an idea that it would get a bittersweet ending that after the protagonist get’s forgotten by almost everyone, Xemnas comes and then gives him a “second” life with him, afterall, he also found other kids that were forgotten too so he brought then to be part of a “family” (in a way, it would be related to Organization XIII) and that our protagonist was number xii.

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Master Xehanort

Master Xehanort is the antagonist of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, 3 and Dream Drop Distance, as well the overarching antagonist of the series as a whole. he wants to redo the keyblade war to get the X-Blade and unlock Kingdom Hearts, he summoned Vanitas as a copy of Ventus, he manipulated Terra to give into the darkness and took over his body turning it into Terra-Xehanort, and he sent Aqua to the realm of darkness as terra-nort. He also sent himself from the past to get to follow it’s dark road and help his future self to gather the new 13 darknesses to fight agaisnt the guardians of light.

Master Xehanort's Story would be a bit more... "tricky" (since he’s a chessmaster sort of villain sitting in the shadows while everyone else is doing their thing and help him without knowing about it), but since his motives rely on more manipulation from the shadows, he would kinda use the protagonist to help it be the best, only to end up as "the best" as Xehanort himself (Kinda mirroring what happened to Terra in BBS.) yeah, i know it’s simple but it’s kinda what i got.

(in a way, i thought that by the end of... whatver happened, Xehanort would do the same thing that Ansem did a few characters above, but instead of using it as a heartless, he would use it as a way to get a physical body since he’s technically not a live/he’s a “ghost” of somekind, and after getting to posses it, we get a time skip of Xehanort now using the protagonist’s body as it’s own, ready to relieve a second life to path it’s path to sucess and darkness.)

(in a way, when our protagonist meets Xehanort, he would see it as a cloaked figure that needed help and then, after telling about what happened, he helps the protagonist to become better at the expense of being a pawn for something the protagonist doesn’t know about until the end. his cloaked appearance would look like Ansem’s Cloaked form when he met riku and sora on destiny island, while his possesion of the portagonist at the end would make him look like the protagonst but with white hair and yellow eyes, barley looking like Young Xehanort.)

(I have a feeling that the cloaked figure would fit better with ansem on the occult-based story but changes can happen down the line, i think?)

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The Heartless/Anti Black Coat/Dopperganger.

... Basically, an original idea, now you may be wondering: but why? well... why not? Plus, the Heartless as a whole could be an intereting as they being born from the darkness inside of out heart. In a way, what’s interesting is that they could also be the first villain our protagonist doesn’t know about, but everyone else kinda manages to see it as it’s follow the protagonist’s shadow whetver it’s goes, and then use their inscurities to power themselves more and more to become like the protagonist.

In a way it would first start out as a normal shadow at the ground (both psylosofically and literally, like the kh enemy), then it would evolve into the Neoshadow, and Finally it's become like afusion of the Anti-Black Coat and Shadow Roxas, who, went reveal it's hood out, it's turn like the dark version of our main protagonist, but all black, and after the protagonist falls to his darkness, it’s posses the protagonist to become 1, as well the main personality, erasing the original’s as a whole as he slips into the darkness, to no longer cause any problems at all...

(in a way, if there’s a final battle, i imagine the Shadow Dopperganger cummonig some sort of silhoutte barely reminesnce of the Darkside, or getting it’s hair spiked up and wavy like the darkside too.)

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Ho boy, this ended up being far more longer than i anticipated, but yeah, what do you think of my ideas? are they good or way to far out to be considered anything at all? i may post another idea soon-ish though, but still, i have a feeling i wouldn’t work to deep since i have other projects doing on my own, but i would like to see your own ideas on these ideas i had and see what you can do about them, even if it is the covers for books or which sort of protagonsit deisgn, age, gender and maybe even nacionality could be good too, until then, if you have read up to this end, i’m happy you got time to listen to me. it’s makes me happy.