#Riku angst arc

[griffin-ktb]

Forever thinking about him ☝️✨

[nitunio]

i pretty much know ur ryou thoughts so hmm. touma, banri, and torao (for the bingo)

THANQ FOR THE ASK... im not good at thought articulation but 👍 incoherency is the key

As for Touma...

He has been my ultimate ZOOL fave ever since they were shown together as a group (even though he was nice to my nemesis Riku) . He's adorable in all the senses you could imagine this word in, but most importantly, I care about him a lot. He's honest and shows his feelings and sure, the moments when he is are shown as silly sometimes, but there is a lot about his internal struggles, (CRYING OVER HIS ARC). Him helping Re:vale in pt3? Amazing. Guy got a lot of guts

Toraaaaooo

I HATE HIM (affectionate). HE IS GENDER, I FUCK WITH HIS AESTHETIC SO HARD, HIS CARD ART IS NEVER A MISS, HE MAKES ME SO ILL (lighthearted). Of ZOOLs he and Minami share the "second fave" place, and I used to hate him (enraged) so much after what he's done especially in relation to Ryuu. But in the part 3 already you can see some of the Very subtle cracks that let you peek inside the kind of core values and mindset he has. I'm really glad they've fleshed out his character this much, and the issues he's working on are. Wow. I would have wanted to give him a pat on the shoulder in reassurance IF IT WASN'T FOR HIS DAMN SINGLE. "DUSTYYY LOVE", and i need to prefix it with a big "I LOVE THE SEIYUUS RANGE AND VOCALS AND VOICE", RUINED MY LIFE. ever since ive heard it i could NOT for the life of me stop whatever vocal repetition it's called and randomly start singing the chorus of this damn song in the weirdest voices imaginable to try to recreate the absolutely phenomenal vocals DUSTYYY LOOOUVE I WANNA KISSE YOU. eevery time im in the voice chat i hold myself back from the song thats spinning in my head. Torao you need to get bullied more (lovingly) but also people cam be mean about you (rightfully so, for serving so much)

Banri!

I'm putting him in a salad spinner. I have a version of Banri that's in my head and it only serves my angst fantasies, but I haven't really got much to say about him. I really care about him as a character, and from pt1 he's been. So good. And then bam. Light fixture! I CRIED LIKE HELL. I got chills when Ryou was near him I thought it could go to a 100 real quick (and it only got to about 50, wjat a cute ponytail (i agree btw))

I love him as a MEZZO manager, I love him as the guy that denies Yuki which is the funniest part of their dynamic. I loveeeee him as a dilf lover that's good for him. I also love how kind he is to Momo. To me personally he is the Supporting Character Ever

[shitpostdevil]

Epiphany, prologue;

Preface;

This is a story that will alternate between the points of view of Akaza, Riku, then Rengoku, in that order. 

It is written in mostly freeform poetry.

This right here is a very serious warning that there will be A LOT of NSFW content, including but not limited to: gore, swearing, (borderline?) yandere, sexual themes, death, and a lot of angst. I will try to update tags as they fall into place.

This story is set to end after the infinity castle arc and I am going to try to follow the timeline loosely.

Every Rengoku chapter will be a glimpse into their past, so beware of time jumps on those chapters. I will attempt to label where we are in the story as points of views change with the chapters. 

My goal is to write Rengoku chapters as if we are following their story from the beginning- pre Mugen Train incident, how their relationship came to even be in the first place, etc.

The chapters with Riku all deserve a warning in and of itself because that boy is crazy and would fight anyone who tried to take away his treasure. He is the reason the borderline yandere tag exists. I’m not even sure at this point in time how to write the character I’m dreaming up for him, so we will see how that goes as time moves.

Please do not judge me too harshly for inconsistency, I am mentally ill and things do not come quickly for me.

The only demand I desire to fulfill is my own.

All that I write I am creating for my own pleasure, but if someone out there enjoys even a chapter, then that's cool too. I like knowing that people enjoy my art. It makes me feel like I have a reason to be here.

So enjoy, or don't, but regardless, kindness is key. We are all alive trying to find our way.

Keep your helmet, keep your life, son

Just a flesh wound, here's your rifle

Crawling up the beaches now

"Sir, I think he's bleeding out"

And some things you just can't speak about

With you, I serve

With you, I fall down, down

Watch you breathe in

Watch you breathing out, out

Something med school did not cover

Someone's brother, someone's lover

Holds your hand through plastic now

"Doc, I think he's crashing out"

And some things you just can't speak about

Only 20 minutes to sleep

But you dream of some epiphany

Just one single glimpse of relief

To make some sense of what you've seen

With you, I serve

With you, I fall down, down (down)

Watch you breathe in

Watch you breathing out, out

With you, I serve

With you, I fall down (down), down (down)

Watch you breathe in

Watch you breathing out (out), out

Only 20 minutes to sleep

But you dream of some epiphany

Just one single glimpse of relief

To make some sense of what you've seen

-Epiphany, Taylor Swift, revised

[angelthefandomobsessed]

Where Kingdom Hearts III Went 'Wrong'

I should probably open this by saying that I love Kingdom Hearts III. I love KH for what it is, and the usual "Omg it's so weird, the plot doesn't make sense, eVeRyOnE iS sOrA" thing doesn't strike me as the best form of criticism for the series.

Instead, I wanted to highlight why things got so convoluted (in my opinion, anyway, it's not like I was in the writer's room or anything). I think the direction KH has gone (and is going) serves as a good lesson for any aspiring writers out there - we can learn from these shortcomings and love a series. Wild, right?

So... where did KH3 go 'wrong'?

The writers wrote themselves into a corner in DDD. That's it. It doesn't seem like a lack of planning that came back to bite them, but rather, that they went about planning in an inefficient way.

Let's look at the conflict of KH3.

(Warning: There will be a few spoilers for KH3 ahead!)

Xehanort has put together the 'real organisation' so that he can do a keyblade war reenactment, forge the χ-blade and summon Kingdom Hearts. His main goal (as I understand it, which might be very, very incorrect) is to create a new world where darkness and light can be equal, quashing the imbalance of power that is skewed towards light.

It's not a bad conflict to have. KH has very strong motifs of 'light vs dark', and having a villain fight the inequality between these sides is interesting.

The big problem is the setup behind it. The complicated, hard-to-grasp, tedious setup.

Thirteen darknesses have to fight seven lights. Cool, okay, we can see the imbalance between the sides, we have slots for our characters to fill, roles for them to play... Except, there's not enough room in the plot for them all. By sectioning off each side with neat, numerical values, the bloatedness of the cast becomes obvious.

There are seven lights:

Sora has to be one of them. He's the main character, not to mention the poster child for the light.

Riku's been there since the start, plus he's had the most fleshed-out arc by far, having overcome his own darkness. He's a worthy guardian of light and a true keyblade master.

Kairi is a princess of heart and has been there from the start. This ties a bow on our three main-est characters.

Mickey Mouse. He kind of has to be there, it's a Disney game, right?

Axel/Lea. Roxas and Xion are out of the picture, and he's a fan favourite, so sure, why not?

Aqua. A keyblade master who's suffered for ten years, torn apart from her best friends... Sure, maybe a war isn't great for her right now, but she's a lost master, so she should be.

Ventus. Pure cinnamon roll Ven, newly awakened and ready to beat up some Xehanorts.

Okay, but... what about Donald and Goofy? Oh, okay, they can just... hang out with the seven lights. As moral support, I guess? At that point, why not make it nine lights?

Double but - what about Terra? He's going to be saved at some point, so he can just... join the herd. And Roxas? And Xion? Eh, they can act as sub-ins in case anyone accidentally dies.

Oh, what's that? Kairi's dead? Wow, sucks for her, call in the reserves. Wait... If the 'Guardians of Light' can be swapped out, then what's the point in having a set number of them?

It's almost like it's entirely arbitrary.

Right. So our seven lights are more like ten-ish lights + friends. It happens, maths is hard! How do our darknesses fare?

The thirteen darknesses are (in no particular order):

Xehanort

Xemnas

Ansem

Young Xehanort

Terra Xehanort

Riku Replica

Saix

Vanitas

Marluxia

Larxene

Luxord

Xigbar

Xion

Somewhat hilariously, the dark side also has a team of reserves.

Demyx

Vexen

The wiki lists 'Replica Xehanorts' as reserves, but I'm not about to unpack that one

Imagine being Vexen, the guy responsible for dealing with replicas, the invention sustaining this organisation, and being benched in favour of teenage angst incarnate Replica Riku. Ouch.

By this point, you might be wondering how this use of arbitrary numbers actually impacted the storytelling. Organisation XIII only had thirteen members for like, a week, so clearly counting isn't a strong suit of Xehanort's.

It all falls apart when the writers say (in DDD):

"KH3 will be about this, where this happens, with this many people, at this specific place, so get your popcorn and buckle in!"

On its own, that's not a problem. But when there's a giant pile of other plot points to worry about (Aqua's in Disney hell, Ventus is napping, Terra is somehow, kinda sorta, three different people whilst also being trapped in heartless thingy (whilst also being a suit of armour, but not quite), Roxas is stuck in Sora's heart, Xion has been wiped off the face of the earth via memory nuke, Naminé is in Kairi's heart, Sora needs to discover the mystical (and vague) 'power of waking' to deal with half these problems, Lea and Kairi need to train, and Riku needs to go to the 'Heartless Barbershop in Disney Hell' (the most relevant plot point of all)).

What we get is a tangle of 'this can happen when this happens, but first we need to do this one thing, and to do that we need this other thing' (i.e. "To find Ven we need to find Aqua, who is evil and needs to be good again, and Sora needs the power of waking to deal with this... probably, let's put a pin in it and hang out with Buzz Lightyear").

The plot is murky. The plot is confusing.

This entire plot raises the question of 'Why don't Sora and co. just... not go?' That's a good question, which should have a simple answer (if they don't, the org will do baaaaad things, wooOOOoooOOO), but instead what we get is "If they don't, Xehanort will use the new seven hearts (because there are new ones now for some reason, but Kairi's still one of them, dw about it) instead, guaranteeing bad things... probably?"

Xehanort's a bad guy who needs to be stopped. That's it, that's all we needed. But that avenue was closed off once they said 'nah, it's more complex because of prophecies, I guess'.

So, what's the moral of this long, drawn-out post?

Sometimes, it might seem like a super cool idea to have a group of characters band together to defeat evil. Sometimes mashing them into a prophecy can seem appealing (the five great owls will do the unholy hoot, defeating the nine-and-a-half orange rats at sundown in Mississippi). But sometimes, this kind of self-restriction won't work for you.

KH3 could have just had 'the bad guys' and 'the good guys', and nobody would have to worry about the arbitrary parameters set by the writers.

Keep your options open and don't overcomplicate things just for the sake of it! It'll only give you and your consumer a headache.

.

.

.

All that being said, KH3 really delivered on the emotional payoffs so like, forget the randomly numbered groups, let's appreciate the joy that (most of) these characters are allowed to feel now.

[fangirling-heart]

well I gotta say Kingdom Hearts for that ask game :]

Hey look at that! A chance to ramble about Kingdom Hearts! Yay!

my favorite female character

Aqua! Aqua's story (like many of the characters in this series) is incredibly tragic and heavy, and we can actually see and feel how her experiences changed her (I personally headcanon she hasn't fully forgiven Mickey yet). But we also see how strong and resilient she is and how much she loves her friends. The thought of them was what pushed her to phydically and mentally survive literal hell!

my favorite male character

Vanitas! Gremlin darkness boy with tragic backstory and awesome design, incredible foil to basically 2 characters, overall great story, a redemption arc waiting to happen! Ughhhhhh!!!! I love him so much!!!

my favorite book/season/etc

I'm gonna say favorite game, since that's a game series, and it's Birth By Sleep. Awesome worlds, Awesome characters, Awesome gameplay (command board my beloved) and an amazing story that makes absolute use of the different perspectives. Also, it's tragedy and angst at its finest and I'm a sucker for both!

my favorite episode (if its a tv show)

It's not a tv show, and I already said what my favorite game is, so I don't know what to answer here.

my favorite cast member

I... don't know.

my favorite ship

Tie between Terraqua and Soriku.

a character I’d die defending

Riku, Vanitas and Namine. I will protect those silly children with my life!

a character I just can’t sympathize with

Ansem the Wise. I hate, loathe, despise this guy! I want Roxas to meet him again so he can kick him in the shin (did I write that right?)!

a character I grew to love

Hmmm.... I'm not sure. Noone is coming to mind right now.

my anti otp

Any ship that includes a child and an adut and Ven x Vanitas.

[themattress]

Wow! Thank you! You just summed up exactly what turned me off Soriku!

Seriously, look at what you wrote.

I think part of the reason Riku/Sora became a more popular ship was because people were more sympathetic to Riku than to Kairi. Kairi was the ‘perfect’ idealized girl. She’s pretty, popular, a princess of heart, and one of the boys. Whereas Riku was the third wheel of the group. He was left out by everyone and even locked behind the door in the ending. Many female fans could probably relate more to Riku than Kairi. I know I could. So, they wanted Sora to be with him, not her.

In other words, a bunch of female fans made up completely different characters in their own head out of internalized misogyny. Kairi was a "perfect" girl? As if her whole arc in the game wasn't about how anxious she was and willfully indirect in actually dealing with this problem? She's "pretty" as if that's a crime? "Popular" even though we only ever see her around Sora and Riku? Meanwhile, Riku is "the third wheel of the group" and "left out by everyone"!? WHAT!? Riku, the big man on campus, the unquestioned leader of the group who is better at Sora than anything and praised as a paragon of coolness by Wakka and Tidus (basically, he's the real popular one!). He was "left out" of...what, spearheading the whole raft project, getting to vent his existential angst to his friends while not especially caring how they might be feeling, or being the real destined wielder of the Keyblade which makes him feel entitled?

That's not these fans relating, it's them being fucking mental.

But what I really didn’t like was Riku having feelings for Kairi. I didn’t know why he was so obsessed with saving her and giving into darkness for her because they had NO scenes together. We never once saw them spend time one-on-one or bond with each other. There’s no reason why Kairi would have had such a special place in his heart. 

Now I'm questioning if you played the game. Kairi (before the stupid Terra retcon anyway) was what made Riku start thinking about other worlds, and about how much stronger and smarter and better he could be if he could get off these islands and explore. And even then, it's not like the feelings he has for her based on that are romantic. It's more like he puts her on a pedestal as this inspirational curiosity. He doesn't really engage with her as a person to the same extent Sora does. His obsession with saving her, meanwhile, wasn't about her, it was about Sora. He feels like Sora betrayed him by stealing his Keyblade and palling around with Donald and Goofy and going down the adventurous, explorative path without him. So he clings to Kairi, partly because she's the only friend he has left, and partly because he knows him winning her over for himself would stick it to Sora. It's petty revenge that objectifies Kairi on top of it. It's bad and ugly; that's the point. Riku in KH1 was not a good person or friend.

But Sora immediately brought up the new girl who arrived during the meteor shower. That was the first time Riku saw the Keyhole. It might have been a sign that seeds of darkness were planted in his heart at that moment. He probably didn’t like the idea of sharing his best friend with anyone else.

No, that wasn't a sign of darkness. Him seeing the Keyhole was related to Kairi being a Princess of Heart and him being the destined Keywielder. It's the whole reason Xehanort cast Kairi out of Hollow Bastion; because he knew she'd end up where the destined Keywielder was. And Riku was clearly fine sharing his best friend with Kairi. It was Donald and Goofy whom he took issue with, and even then it was less them and more that they're following Sora as equals which makes Sora look better and cooler than him. He was jealous of Sora.

He drew himself sharing a paopu with her, not all THREE of them sharing paopus with each other.

Paopus are a romantic thing. While a Sora/Kairi/Riku romantic threesome would be awesome, Disney and Square Enix would never go that route. Let's be realistic here.

Basically, Riku was kinda painted as the villain in KH1, trying to steal Sora’s prize. However, Riku was a much more complex and sympathetic character than Kairi. So, it kinda had the opposite effect. If the writing had been more neutral, maybe SoKai wouldn’t have seemed like a generic romance and SoRIku wouldn’t have become so much more popular instead.

Riku was not "painted as the villain" in KH1. Riku WAS the fucking villain. Because of what he did, because of the choices he made. Because of his arrogance, his entitlement, his jealousy, his immaturity. Because "trying to steal Sora's prize" was not the way we were supposed to view it, but was the way Riku viewed it because he was a petty asshole out to hurt his best friend for daring to step out of his shadow and make him feel lesser. Being "a complex character" doesn't change his evil anymore than it does for any other complex villain.

And he was "a more sympathetic character than Kairi"? HOW? Kairi didn't join a group of villains knowing damn well they were villains, Kairi didn't physically assault a princess and drag her off into captivity, Kairi didn't kidnap a child and almost deliberately get his heart consumed and even dismissed that child's father when he begged for his little boy back, Kairi didn't go around controlling the Heartless to ravage entire worlds, Kairi didn't hold any of her friends captive, Kairi didn't try to kill one of her friends twice, Kairi didn't mercilessly strike at an already weakened Beast, Kairi didn't gloat over how worthless one of her friends was and over how she was the real important one, and Kairi didn't let herself get possessed by Ansem. Riku did all of those things. But he's "more sympathetic than her"? And then you blame Kairi for the hate she received because "well, the writing should've been more neutral and pretended that the villainous asshole was not a villainous asshole"? Fuck that noise.

This. ALL of this is why Soriku shippers and die-hard Riku fangirls have earned my contempt, and their ship along with it. It's sad since Riku in KH2 had a really good redemption, but clearly it goes unappreciated by many since they think he didn't need to redeem himself for anything and that it was that icky, nasty girl who was the real problem. Just....ugh, fuck off.

How do you imagine Sokai could have been handled better in the KH-series, be it feel more believable instead of stereotypical/generic or how some scenes could have given some development thier relationship?

Well, I think SoKai would have better received by the fandom without the love triangle. I think part of the reason Riku/Sora became a more popular ship was because people were more sympathetic to Riku than to Kairi. Kairi was the ‘perfect’ idealized girl. She’s pretty, popular, a princess of heart, and one of the boys. Whereas Riku was the third wheel of the group. He was left out by everyone and even locked behind the door in the ending. Many female fans could probably relate more to Riku than Kairi. I know I could. So, they wanted Sora to be with him, not her.

I don’t dislike SoKai. But when I was a kid, I thought I didn’t like it. But what I really didn’t like was Riku having feelings for Kairi. I didn’t know why he was so obsessed with saving her and giving into darkness for her because they had NO scenes together. We never once saw them spend time one-on-one or bond with each other. There’s no reason why Kairi would have had such a special place in his heart. 

Sora was the one he wanted to go on adventures with.

But Sora immediately brought up the new girl who arrived during the meteor shower. That was the first time Riku saw the Keyhole. It might have been a sign that seeds of darkness were planted in his heart at that moment. He probably didn’t like the idea of sharing his best friend with anyone else.

Riku’s most intense relationship was always with Sora. Not Kairi.

When they started to develop romantic feelings for each other, Riku could tell. Kairi joked that they could take the raft and it could be just the TWO of them.

Sora wasn’t daydreaming of an adventure with his best friend Riku anymore. He was imagining himself with just Kairi. Just the two of them. He drew himself sharing a paopu with her, not all THREE of them sharing paopus with each other.

This was where I let Maleficent trick me into bringing her Kairi. Where I stayed by Kairi’s side while she slept. Kairi never moved or spoke, just like a doll. But I stayed with her…and I felt happy, just a little bit. Because I had her all to myself.

I know that in KH1, we were supposed to see that Riku was jealous because he liked Kairi. 

Right…I really liked Kairi. She was special to me. But Kairi liked Sora. I always knew that.

“I’ll make your wishes come true.” 

He didn’t want someone else to grant his wishes. He wanted to earn those things for himself.

But back then…I wanted Kairi to be mine, no matter what it took.

He wanted her all to himself and was jealous of Sora for ‘winning’ her. I wish that was a red herring, though. It would have made everyone more sympathetic. Everyone on the island thought Riku was cooler and more ‘deserving’ of Kairi’s affections. Sora thought Riku was out to steal his girl.

However, it would have made more sense if Riku was actually jealous of Sora and Kairi becoming so close and leaving him behind. That’s why he teased him about the paopu fruit. He didn’t want to share one with Kairi. He was jealous that he used to be the most important person to Sora, but now it was Kairi. Basically, Riku was kinda painted as the villain in KH1, trying to steal Sora’s prize. However, Riku was a much more complex and sympathetic character than Kairi. So, it kinda had the opposite effect. If the writing had been more neutral, maybe SoKai wouldn’t have seemed like a generic romance and SoRIku wouldn’t have become so much more popular instead.

[regallibellbright]

Well, that sure was eleven minutes and eighteen seconds of pilot trying desperately to sum up KH1 in far too little time.

And it sure did take me like an hour to watch it because I kept needing to pause and process what I was viewing.

[dawnwalks]

@seaoftales​.     /     starter call.

‘ xion. ’ 

it’s  weird  ,  riku thinks  ,  seeing her again after everything.  the last time they spoke  ,  he was  desperately  trying to get her  &  roxas to return the memories they held to sora  ,  trying to save his best friend.  he was doing that again  ,  but that wasn’t why he was looking for her  ,  not this time.  he shifts awkwardly  ,  hands in his pockets as he tries to speak  ,  tries to say what he  came  here to say. 

‘ i....can we talk ?? ’

[embraceyourdestiny]

I have a theory about KH4 that I am terrified might actually happen if MoM is going to be the major antagonist for the Lost Masters Arc. And it has to do with Riku's arc in KH1

Throughout the first game, Riku was so desperate to leave the islands, to explore other worlds, and to gain the strength to protect the ones he cares about, that he ended up getting manipulated by adults who promised him just that (first Maleficent, then Ansem SoD). And in the end, it was all to further their own goals.

I have a very strong suspicion that Sora will go through a parallel arc while he's stuck in Quadratum. I can 100% see him being so desperate to see his friends again, to return to the world he came from, to have the strength so he will never lose his friends again, that he'd be willing to offer himself fully to the light to do so. Or rather, MoM takes advantage of our very vulnerable but very powerful keyblade hero and decides to hijack his body (someone had to teach Luxu how to do it).

We've never seen someone truly "lost to the light" in the series in the same way many have been "lost to the darkness" before (discounting Eraqus because his case was more philosophical than literal). And considering how dead-set MoM is on destroying any and all darkness, and how morally dubious so many of his previous actions have been, possessing Sora wouldn't be out of the question at all for him.

Also, Riku having to fight Sora in a role-reversed battle is all kinds of angst fuel that I know the fan base would go absolutely insane over.

You are so right anon. Part of me thinks Sora would never fall to anyones evil plot if he was aware of what was happening (ie. He didn’t mean to help the org in kh2 and felt extremely stuck when he realized the truth) but if MoM positions himself as a good guy? Who knows. And who knows how desperate sora is atp.

[shade-without-color]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favourite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💖

Hello @fawn-eyed-girl my dear!!!

Thanks for the love 🥰🥰🥰🥰

So for favourite fics so far to me that I have (It is pretty mixed which shows my versatile styles)

You go whenever you go: My first big scale canon divergence YH fanfic about the background of Toga and Kirinmaru’s friendship and its downfall, along with Riku which I made him as his adopted son, I really liked the human psychology on Kirinmaru as he respond to the changes of his present circle and all. I mean all of us can be weary on YH’s writing (I am the same too), so this feels canon for me; I highly recommend the second half as it is angsty in a beautiful manner

To enchanted Lands and beyond : My own take on the Kirinmaru x Midoriko ship, basing loosely on Jerusalem Delivered by Torquato Tasso-Rinaldo and Armida. It shows more of my romantic side which Kirinmaru is a witch figure and Midoriko is the enchanted knight-I particularly loved the wedding night scene as it forever give me the warm fuzzies

Sustenance for a god : A little cute Kamisama Kiss fic which is my first go to, since forever (most I published on Tumblr), I love the comedy there and its wholesomeness, which is good news as I am going to work on a spiritual idea for KH!

The God with Many Names : This one, oh man I am obsessed with this story; Mayonaka is such an underrated character as a whole (Screw the writers LOL, his arc is sooo underwhelming), I call this a spiritual successor to You go Whenever you Go, as it focus more of world-building and mythical side, as I want to dump all my head canons on the Kirin clan, and Mayonaka deserved all of the fox-petting 🦊🦊🦊🦊🦊; I particularly like the childhood of Kirinmaru and Zero here

Stolen: I did not share God of War Fics that much, but yes I do write God of War once, and this is a smaller adventure which I spun a mystery-in fact the ending was inpsired by Inuyasha and Kagome here

More honourable mentions below because I am indecisive LOL

Usurper 

The Affair  (SHIT the angst is crazyyyyyy)

The Doll and the Picture Frame  & There is a season in time

Only If for a Night

BTW I will summon @mynightshining @moon-ion for this 💖💖💖💖💖

[goldensunset]

Honestly With the idea of a crossover, the idea of Mr. redemption arc Riku kingdom hearts getting to interact more with Joshua what are consequences for my actions what is taking responsibility twewy. Intellectually I think it be interesting.

Riku is the one character that like anything Joshua could say to him….Riku has already said that to himself already and more harshly. That’s like his character flaw. If there was ever a character that could tell Joshua he’s a self destructive depressive lonely liar and he’s only hurting himself by being so high on his own misfortune it’s Riku who had to learn the hard way what it means to rebuild himself.

Apologies. This is very pretensions but at this point I think the idea of someone having to cross literal words to slap therapy into Joshua is the only option left for him.

see the concept of redemption arcs in the context of a crossover here is very interesting because kingdom hearts seems to have an ‘all’s well that ends well’ kind of mentality. it doesn’t take that much for characters to turn hero, mostly because sora is so kindhearted and loving he’ll forgive almost anyone relatively quickly. but especially with riku, someone he already cared about before he went villain and knows for certain has good inside him. i get the feeling sora would care a lot about joshua too. probably the ‘i can fix him’ mentality.

in twewy, neku distrusts josh initially but comes to really care about him following week 2. the betrayal at the end of the game hurts him so insanely much but he still chooses to spare joshua out of love. but as he says himself in the ending scene he can’t just brush aside what happened to him during the game, what joshua put him through, even if it made him a better person in the end. (this scene, this speech has to be one of my favorite monologues in all media i’ve ever consumed)

so if riku and josh interacted? riku, who probably still feels some lingering guilt about having been let off the hook so easily, and his jealousy of sora for his bright and optimistic outlook on other people and the world? joshua, who was spared by neku but (unsurprisingly to him) never got the comfort of reconciliation, and is jealous of neku’s newfound character development and friendships?

i could just imagine riku trying to tell joshua to pick himself back up again and start over new, while joshua is certain deep in his heart that it’s just not that simple in his world and that he can’t just return to the rg and stick himself in neku’s friend group. it would be a profound interaction

i’ve seen the question raised and thought about it before and i’m convinced that the next character arc riku should have is not his own development, but him helping someone else with theirs. because there are a lot of characters out there who need help. the boy’s already had so much screentime spent getting over his internal angst and he’s come so far. he’s a keyblade master! instead of rehashing that storyline i think he should play the role of support from here on out personally bc he’s such a good guy

[atomic-taco-muffin]

The Legend of Hana Chapter 122

Warnings: We are now at the end of the KH3 arc. And there’s a lot that has yet to be told 😉. Angst with mystery if that makes sense

Rating: SFW

Back at the crossroads of the Keyblade Graveyard, a single Keyblade fell from the sky and stuck into the ground upright. A man was there to pull it out of the soil, as if he had always known where and when it was going to arrive. The Keyblade was the one that Master Xehanort has once used. The man wore a black coat with his hood up, and behind him was a black box.

“Finally, back where it belongs,” he muttered. He suddenly heard someone approaching from behind and found a woman in a white, elegant dress approaching him. She too, had her face covered with a hood. “About time you got here, sis.”

“Well, excuse me for wanting to spend time with my family. You of all people should know that,” the woman replied. 

“You know why I can’t.” 

“I know but your wife and daughters are grieving. Not only that, but Sora went missing, leaving your daughter’s heart shattered.” Before the man could say anything to the woman, four paths led from the crossroads, dust swirling up in the distance. From the cloud emerged four figures, wavering like mirages on a hot summer day and growing more solid the closer they approached. They each wore masks--a unicorn, a snake, a bear, and a leopard. The man in the unicorn mask was the first to speak. 

“Did you summon us back?” he asked. 

“Yep,” the man in the black coat replied.

“Mukuro? Luxu? Is that you?”

“Haven't heard that name in a long while,” the man in the coat replied as he and the woman removed their hoods, revealing their faces. “These days they call me Xigbar, but hey, whatever suits you.”

“Is it...really you?” the woman in the snake mask asked.

“Yeah, last we from you, Mukuro, was when you and Junko got sent on a mission but you never returned,” the man in the leopard mask said. 

“That was because it was a trick to get me killed. But thanks to a couple of friends, I came back,” Mukuro explained. 

“As for me, some time ago, I had to cast my old form away. Been through plenty more semblances since, but it's still me underneath it all. Took a while for Muki to get used to my new look though.” 

“What happened? Why are we here? You tell me,” the man in the bear mask demanded. 

“I had a role to play. And after all these years, it's done.” 

“And now it’s time to get our revenge,” Mukuro added. 

“What role? And what revenge?” the woman in the snake mask asked. 

“C’mon, Invi. Don’t tell me you don’t remember what happened when we were all kids,” Xigbar said and then looked around. 

                                                          ☽✧☽✧

Two other figures stood watching the scene unfold from atop a cliff. 

                                                         ☽✧☽✧

“I guess Ava didn't make it after all,” Xigbar said. 

“Another thing to blame my father for,” Mukuro added. 

“Meaning what?” the young man in the leopard mask wanted to know. 

“I told her, clear as day, what it is I had to do,” Xigbar said. 

“And is that why you decided to exclude her?”

“As if. Ava had her own mission, and she carried it out.” 

“I've heard enough! Luxu, Mukuro, what are you talking about?” the man in the bear mask growled, frustrated. 

“I hope you like long stories. Really long stories,” Mukuro said as she looked at the black box by Xigbar’s feet.

                                                        ☽✧☽✧

...On that window seat in Scala ad Caelum, young Xehanort and Eraqus sat across a game board from each other. 

“Oh, right,” Eraqus said as he cleared their old game board and arranged new seven pieces atop it. 

“What’s this?” Xehanort asked.

“I heard about this new game.”

“Seven black pieces. And?” Xehanort said as he looked at the setup, confused. 

“Just watch...” Eraqus said as he placed a single piece on the board. 

                                                        ☽✧☽✧

Sora awoke in an unfamiliar city, surrounded by dazzling neon lights. He had never seen anything like this before. Riku, too, woke up to find himself in a strange city. The streets around him were lined with towering buildings, light twinkling out from their windows. Atop one of the tallest of these buildings, a lone boy was watching the streets below. Meanwhile, in another part of the city, a man wearing a black coat surveyed the streets and buildings glittering in the moonlight. 

“My queen of darkness will soon be mine and I will rule over the kingdom with her,” he said. 

                                                        ☽✧☽✧

In the Land of Departure, Riku and Terra stood facing each other in the grand hall of the castle, where Terra had once undergone the Mark of Mastery exam. As they were talking, Yui chased Ruby around the grand hall as she took something that was not a toy. 

“Well, look at you,” Terra said warmly, and the praise made Riku stand up a little straighter. 

“Thanks. I finally fulfilled my promise to you,” he said back.

“You did. Now there's nothing left for me to teach you. You're a true Keyblade Master, not to mention a great leader to those around you. You've even found the strength to save your friends.” But Riku shook his head. 

“It's not enough,” he said and Terra placed his hands on Riku’s shoulders. 

“The very fact that you were able to make your way here proves just how strong you are. That is why I called for you.” 

“Look out!” Yui said and suddenly Ruby ran into Terra and Riku, sending the two to the ground. 

“Oh shit! Are you okay?!” Yui asked as she ran over to them. 

“We’re okay, bunny,” Riku said as Terra helped him up. Aqua, Naminé, Era, Lily, Roxy, Kairi, Ventus, and Rumi then entered the hall. 

“Ooh, do I smell a poly relationship building?” Roxy teased, causing Rumi and Lily to giggle a little. 

“S-shut up!” Yui retorted as she walked over to them. Lily, Era, Aqua, and Ventus walked over to Terra and as they stood together, they donned their armor and set off into the Lanes Between. 

“Good luck,” Riku and the girls called to them as the gateway closed. 

                                                        ☽✧☽✧

A year had passed since then. Riku and Hana were visiting a small house located in a corner of Radiant Garden, and a group of familiar faces were there with him. 

“But if we still remember him, then he must still be with us,” Aerith said. 

“Yes, that would stand to reason,” Leon replied. 

“But we've been searching everywhere for Sora, and we haven't found a single clue. If he's really out there, don't you think we would have found something by now?” Hana said. 

“Hmm...” Yuffie said as she put a finger to her head. 

“Cid's been looking into the data for a year now. Aren't the people at the castle doing the same thing? No one's found anything yet?” Leon asked. Riku turned to Cid, who was starting at the computer. 

“Well...it's outside their field of expertise,” he said. 

“Come on, Cid! Can you throw us a bone here, please?” Yuffie begged. 

“Be quiet!” Cid barked as he spun to face her. “I'm tryin'! I'm this close to somethin', I know it!” 

“Cid, you are a million times worse than a broken record!” 

“Can’t help but agree with that,” Hana said. Their comebacks got a chuckle from everyone. 

“By the way, how are the others?” Leon asked. Apparently, this had been bothering him. 

“Well, my dad apparently got my mom pregnant before he died and I now have a little brother named Sage,” Hana said. 

“Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are searching for clues in every past world that Sora's been to. Terra, Ven, and Aqua went to the realm of darkness. And the Twilight Town gang are studying Roxas and Xion's memories. Yui’s been recently crowned the new queen of the Organization and she and the Organization have been also searching for Sora,” Riku added. 

“And what about Kairi?” Aerith asked with concern.

“Kairi...She believes her heart might hold a clue about Sora. For a year, she's been sound asleep while they search her heart. I would do the same but ever since I got accepted into the Twilight Town Ballet, I haven’t really had a chance to try it,” Hana said. 

“So there's been no progress...” Aerith replied, seeming disappointed.

“What in the-- What in the world is this?!” Cid suddenly exclaimed and jumped to his feet. Riku and the others peered around him at the screen. 

“What is it?” Leon asked. 

“This computer, the one in Twilight Town, and the one in the castle are all connected to the same network. They sent me all of their data and I merged it with the stuff I already had, and looky here,” Cid answered and leaned into the screen. There, in the monitor--was a very familiar face.

“Sora?!” Hana and Riku leaned in closer. 

“Sora's inside the computer?!” Yuffie asked. 

“No, no. That's just the data I constructed based on Sora and his fightin' abilities,” Cid replied, plopping back down into his chair.

“So you gave us a heart attack for fucking nothing?!” Hana complained. 

“No, that group Sora was fightin'...you know...Battalion somethin'? Well, I recreated their data too.” As Cid described, several gateways opened before the Sora on the monitor. There were thirteen of them. 

“Psycho and Crusty’s Organization...are you suggesting that their data will lead us to where Sora is?” Hana wondered. 

“Well, it crossed my mind, but I must be better at this than I thought 'cause their data, it's so powerful, I can't access any of it,” Cid told her. 

“Can you use Sora's data to gain access?” Leon suggested. 

“Oh, good idea. Worth a shot!” Cid said, quickly typing away at the keyboard. 

“Yeah...let's try,” Riku said as he watched the version of his friend on the screen. Sora ran through one of the gateways and fought the Organization member beyond. He defeated all thirteen of them, but...

“No sign of the boy,” Cid said, and Yuffie and Hana were equally disheartened. 

“What a bummer,” Yuffie said. Suddenly, there was a flicker of light behind them. The unexpected arrival was the Fairy Godmother, the very one who had used her magic to help Cinderella. 

“Fairy Godmother!” Aerith cried with surprise. 

“Oh-ho-ho, I hope I didn't startle you,” she said cheerily. 

“Not at all. What brings you here?” Leon asked the fairy. 

“Well dear, I was asked to come by Merlin and Master Yen Sid. Now, where is...Oh, Riku! Yes, Riku is his name, ” she replied looking around the room.

“Here. I’m Riku,” Riku said as he walked over to her. 

“Why, it's nice to meet you. Now, I'd like you to tell me about the dreams that you've been having, dear,” Fairy Godmother said with a smile, her magic wand in hand. 

“Huh? My...dreams?” Riku thought for a moment. “There's one... It was dark...and I was surrounded by tall buildings. I was looking around for Sora, when I felt someone watching me from way up high.” 

“And?!” Hana prodded, impatiently. 

“And that's all I remember.” Riku shook his head. 

“Ugh!” 

“But what happens next?!” Yuffie asked. Cid may have been a let down, but Fairy Godmother seemed to understand quite well. 

“Oh, I know,” she said. 

“Why Riku's dream?” Leon asked. 

“Oh, because Master Yen Sid was worried. You weren't having any luck finding Sora. And because Riku had been in Sora's dreams before, he thought perhaps Riku just may be the key. That's why he and Merlin asked me to come here and look into his dreams, since of course dreams are my specialty,” Fairy Godmother answered.

“So Riku's dreams might...hold the key?” Hana wondered. 

“Yes, dear. I'm sure there's something there that leads to Sora.” 

“In my dreams...?” Riku said softly. 

“And...the other two,” Fairy Godmother chuckled with a wink. 

                                                       ☽✧☽✧

“This place...” Sora was back in that world of sea and sky--only the sky wasn’t clear anymore. Night had fallen over the world. He couldn’t tell if the dark sky reflected on the water, or if the dark water was reflected on the sky. Were the stars above him or below? The one thing he was sure about was the moon up high. 

“At least...I'm all here,” Sora said as he checked himself over. He then stood up and tried calling out. “Heeey! Is anyone out there?”

No response.

“Hellooo!” he tried again. This time there was a soft sound. It could’ve been the water--or footsteps coming this way.

“Hey,” a voice said. Sora broke into a run as he heard what sounded like a faint voice.

“Over here!” Sora called out. In the distance, he could see them, and he hurried as fast as he could. 

“I see you,” the person said, standing illuminated by the starlight. 

“Hey, aren't you--” Sora knew this guy. He’d never actually met him, but he had seen him before. 

“You know me?” the man asked. 

“Yeah, you're Yozora, right?” Sora replied. He’d seen him in the game back in Toy Box. 

“How do you know that? Who are you?” 

“I'm Sora. And actually...there's something I have to ask you--” Sora remembered that he had heard that name somewhere else once before. But as soon as Sora introduced himself, Yozora had questions. 

“Sora? You're Sora?” he asked, surprised. 

“Huh? You know who I am?” 

“Sure, I've heard of you.” It seemed that Yozora was familiar with Sora too. 

“If you're here, then this can't be the real world, can it? But wait, that girl, she told me about you. Maybe you are real after all,” Sora thought out loud. 

“Are you done? No, this isn't the real world, and I am here. But this isn't what I really look like. How'd you recognize me as Yozora?” 

“Huh?” Sora asked, unsure of where this was going. 

“Why are you using Sora's name?” 

“Because...I am Sora.”

“If you are who you say, and it was fate that brought us here...then...my path is clear.” Yozora made a fist, and suddenly he was holding what looked like a sort of ranged weapon. It was almost similar to the one’s Hana and Xigbar used. Sora closed his eyes and braced himself. When he opened them again, he found himself somewhere he had never seen before. Or...maybe he had. In a dream. Streets lined with buildings, and buildings lit with neon. 

“I accidentally wandered into this place, and went through some trials. Then, I was told to ‘save Sora,’” Yozora said. 

“Huh?! Then what's with the weapon?” Sora asked. But Yozora only called a glowing red blade in his other hand. 

“Time to end this,” he said, emotionlessly, then swung the sword. Sora summoned his Keyblade so he could block the attack. But the fight was over before it began. 

“How could--” Yozora’s attack tore through Sora and dropped him to his knees. 

“Sorry, but I don't lose,” Yozora said as Sora began to glow and turned to crystal. He then laid his hand on Sora’s frozen form. “I will save you.” 

A light swelled from the crystal and engulfed the world--and then Yozora was standing back in that realm of nothing but sea and sky. He closed his eyes quietly. When he opened them again, he was sitting in the back seat of a car. 

“Commander! Commander!” someone said. Yozora’s eyes drifted to the one speaking to him from the driver’s seat. “Impressive, is it not?” (I am 100% sure that’s Luxord! No one can tell me otherwise!) 

Yozora looked out the window of the car. 

I've been having these weird thoughts lately. Like, is any of this for real or not? None of this...makes sense to me.

Was that his voice or Sora’s? All he could see beyond the window was the sprawling cityscape. Suddenly, the car pulled to a stop and Yozora saw that they had stopped in front of a large building. Standing in front of it was a man who seemed to be in his early to mid fifties. His face was so chiseled that it looked like his face was skinny. He wore a lab coat, indicating that he was a scientist of some sort. Standing next to him were two plush sized bears. One was all white and had gauze covering one of its eyes. The other was all black and wore a hat and chain necklace, as if it belonged in a mafia of some sort. 

“So, how’d it go, commander?” the man asked. 

“To my surprise, it went just as you had said it would, Doctor Ramona,” Yozora responded. The doctor smiled and turned around, as did the bears, and walked inside the building. 

“It’s time for the next stage. Prepare the warriors,” he said to the bears. The two bears nodded and headed deep into the building to search for the warriors. The Warriors of Hope. 

                                                      ☽✧☽✧

After what happened during the war, Luna, Sage, and her girls moved in with Ansem and his family. Being in the castle was too much for Luna. Everywhere she went, it reminded her of Xigbar. As she was getting ready to put Sage to bed, she spotted an envelope her coat pocket. How come she didn’t see it there before? She set Sage down in his crib and went over to open the envelope. Inside it, was a blueprint to what looked like a house. Luna began to sob and she fell to her knees, her magic going haywire and spreading all over the world, as if it was creating an alternate universe. When she had finally calmed down, she saw what looked like Xigbar holding Sage. 

“You look tired, babe. Don’t worry, I got the little stinker. You get some rest, alright?” he said. Luna smiled softly and then headed off to bed, unaware of what she had created. 

[joshy-tomato]

You know what, fuck this.

Kh x Dsmp crossover, but is Bench trio centric.

The smp falls to darkness a little before Destiny Islands on the first game.

Ranboo and Michael ended on Traverse Town. Tubbo ended on some other world and eventually found and recruited by Maleficent (however he's planning on ditch her as soon as he has the chance). Tommy got turned on a nobody and was recruited by the Organization (probably as backup).

When Sora arrived to Traverse Town joined forces with Ranboo because conveniently they shared the objetive of find two friends (lol). Ranboo speedruns his backbone arc and says "Fuck Donald, I need to find Tubbo and Tommy".

Maleficent makes Tubbo and Riku work together, they both hate every second of it.

Tommy befriends Roxas and Xion in the Organization, of course angst ensues.

[mihai-florescu]

enstars or idolish7

Yee idolish7:

The first character I first fell in love with: yukiii<3

The character I never expected to love as much as I do now: i fully expected to dislike nagi and he's in my top 3 idolish7 members now

The character everyone else loves that I don’t: in no way do i hate him, but i like ryuu less than any of the other main characters

The character I love that everyone else hates: i dont think there are people who hate yamato right? But maybe during his angst arc in season 3 when he almost killed yuki, i still liked him😔✊

The character I used to love but don’t any longer: i find myself not caring much about riku im sorry

The character I would totally smooch: yuki but realistically it would be very awkward for both of us

The character I’d want to be like: maybe nagi? Oh no wait. Banri.

The character I’d slap: kujo maybe?

A pairing that I love: i didnt know love until momoyuki

A pairing that I despise: just dont ship the twins pls

Enstars:

The first character I first fell in love with: tsumugi! I saw a bunch of amvs with him and natsume and i had to find out more.

The character I never expected to love as much as I do now: remember when i first realised im an eichiP...

The character everyone else loves that I don’t: i dont care much for trickstar. Any of them. Maybe mao a bit, and i want to see subaru go wild, but yeah i dont find myself looking for stories with them.

The character I love that everyone else hates: yall dont actually hate eichi right?

The character I used to love but don’t any longer: oh um when i first watched the show i thought id like mao bc the anime pushed trickstar as the protagonists

The character I would totally smooch: fuck it. Anzu, babygirl, im taking u on a full on date, she deserves a break

The character I’d want to be like: sigh. Once again, eichi...

The character I’d slap: gatekeeper??

A pairing that I love: wataei,,

A pairing that I despise: again, just dont ship the brothers. Any of them.

[violethowler]

Mixed Signals

As we near the end of this series of essays, I’d like to take the time to talk about something that I’ve been wanting to discuss in relation to the Kingdom Hearts series for a while. I briefly mentioned it in my previous essays but never went into detail because I figured some corners of the fandom would be unreceptive to discussion if I brought it up. But given how many times I have seen Kingdom Hearts fans praise this series for its lack of negative male stereotypes, I think it worthwhile to explore how the series handles gender norms in relation to the Heroine’s Journey. 

Maureen Murdock developed her template while working as a therapist with women in their 30s who had pursued careers in heavily male-dominated fields only to find themselves feeling burnt out and unfulfilled once they achieved their goals. A significant part of her inspiration for the Heroine’s Journey came from her patients describing how they had set out trying to achieve success in these environments by emulating the men in their life such as their fathers, while pushing away the influence of their mothers[1]. As such, deep down the themes of the Heroine’s Journey reflect on the struggles of someone who doesn’t meet the ideals of what society tells them a person of their gender is supposed to be and critique those gender norms. 

On a meta level, Kingdom Hearts represents a fusion of cultures, made from a collaboration between an American and a Japanese company. While there are a few places where the two cultures overlap in terms of gender norms, it isn’t a 1:1 comparison. Therefore, the gender norms of both cultures should be taken into account when analyzing how the portrayal of the two leads in Kingdom Hearts aligns with the critique of gender roles presented by the Heroine’s Journey. 

In terms of Japanese cultural norms, Sora’s emotional openness, compassion, optimism, and ability to easily form connections with others are fairly standard for male protagonists in Shonen stories[2]. However, following the first game in the series, the narrative begins to deconstruct this archetype over the course of Sora’s character arc. From KH2 onward we see him use his cheerfulness and optimism to hide his own insecurities and self-doubt. Our first introduction to his life on Destiny Islands depicts him competing with Riku in physical challenges, while the other kids talk about how much stronger than him Riku is, setting him up for a disproportionate focus on physical ability over emotional. This leads him to believe that he has no strength on his own and must rely on the power of his friends in order to be worthy of recognition and praise. 

Related to Sora’s insecurities about his own strength, one archetype found in both Japanese and American culture is that of the masculine protector. The idea that a man must be ready and able to physically defend the people he cares about from harm, often to the point of self-sacrifice. In fiction, this trope is most frequently employed with a character’s friends, siblings, or romantic partner. The gender of the protectee can vary depending on the story and their relation to the protagonist, but male heroes protecting female love interests is one of the most common ways I’ve seen this trope be expressed. 

Failure to uphold this ideal is commonly used as a source of angst for the male protagonist. Heroes who fit this mould are known to brood heavily if harm comes to their loved ones that they are unable to protect them from, and in some stories may be ridiculed or shamed by others around them. There are also variations where the hero’s inability to protect them is used as a source of angst for the protectee in addition to the main character. Common in stories where the one being protected is a friend, sibling, or love interest, some narratives will have the protectee react to the hero’s inability to protect them by deciding to “toughen up” so that they don’t need protection. 

As mentioned in my first essay, the protagonist of a Heroine’s Journey and their Animus are frequently depicted as two sides of the same coin, with shared core character traits that manifest in contrasting ways because of their different circumstances. At the start of the Kingdom Hearts series, both Sora and Riku have built their sense of self-worth around their ability to live up to this idealized protector archetype. Their insecurities stem from their perceived failure to adhere to that role, with each of them coming at it from a different direction. 

Being the older of the two, Riku is presented as physically stronger than Sora, something which the other kids on Destiny Islands make note of in the first game. Tidus talking about how, despite getting stronger, Sora is “still no match for Riku[3]” and that Kairi “can always count on him(Riku)[3]” frames Sora’s insecurity about wanting to be on equal footing with his Animus as being rooted in his perceived inability to fulfill social expectations.  

When they meet again in Traverse Town, Riku’s first on-screen reaction to how Sora has changed since they last saw each other is surprise and confusion at Sora being able to defeat threats like the Heartless on his own, indicating that the root of Riku’s insecurities - which Maleficent of course exploits - is his belief that the value Sora places on their bond is conditional on Riku being needed as a protector. If Sora can fill that role himself, then what purpose does Riku have? 

In keeping with how protagonists are usually depicted fulfilling this role to the point of self-sacrifice, Sora and Riku have both shown a tendency towards throwing themselves in front of an enemy attack to protect someone they care about, such as when Riku leaps in front of Xemnas’s aerial blade to defend Sora in the final boss fight of Kingdom Hearts II, or when Sora puts himself between Kairi and Terranort. Xigbar even comments on this tendency when he talks about how he doesn’t admire “one guy leaping into danger if it means someone else might have to jump in to save him.[4]” 

From the western perspective, one of the things that many English-speaking fans have praised the series for is its avoidance of negative stereotypes in the writing of its male characters. A common cultural attitude in the United States holds that a man must always be stoic and aloof with everyone but his romantic partner. That a man who is open with his emotions, especially if it involves crying, is weak and unmanly. That engaging in activities that society associates with women and femininity makes one less of a man. 

But Kingdom Hearts, from the point of view of western fans, rejects all of that. The writing of the series allows its male characters to express the full range and depth of their emotions and not once does the narrative ever frame them as weak or pathetic for it. None of the male leads are ever made fun of for crying or expressing vulnerability, and they never reject doing something simply for being “girly”. Not only that, but the arc being set up for Sora to learn to acknowledge and work through his insecurities and self doubts instead of hiding them as an allegory works as a direct rebuke of the idea that showing emotional vulnerability is somehow unmanly. 

On another layer, Sora’s arc can also be seen as a critique of the Japanese concept of Honne and tatemae. Tatemae (literal meaning: “built in front” or “facade”) is the behavior and attitude one presents to the public that conforms to the expectations of society in addition to the individual’s station and circumstances, while Honne (literal meaning: “true sound”) represents a person’s true opinions, which are kept hidden except from close friends and may or may not match their tatemae[5]. This can sometimes be used on a more interpersonal level to evade confrontation and avoid hurting others’ feelings, such as when someone says “we should hang out sometime” with no intention of doing but not wanting to hurt the other person’s feelings by admitting that they aren’t interested. 

The idea of keeping one’s true feelings separate from what one says in public fits with how characters in the Kingdom Hearts universe have been shown to hide their own inner darkness and in some cases deny that it’s there, which Xehanort took note of in his conversation with the Master of Masters in Re:Mind. We also have Donald and Goofy’s talk in the beginning about how the Gummi Ship “runs on happy faces[3]” instilling in Sora - despite their good intentions - the idea that his negative feelings about the destruction of his home are a burden to the trio’s ability to complete their mission. As a result, Sora continues to downplay his own sadness and other similar emotions across subsequent games. As a contrast to this, Esmeralda tells Riku in Dream Drop Distance that everyone keeps things locked inside sometimes and that it’s okay to keep some things separate from the world at large until they’ve had time to figure out their feelings for themselves. In this context, the version of tatemae that Donald and Goofy present ultimately causes more damage in the long run, while Esmeralda offers a healthier model of the concept. 

So from a Japanese perspective, the Kingdom Hearts story is deconstructing two common archetypes found in coming of age narratives aimed at pre-teen and teenage boys and at the same time offering a critique of a common cultural attitude about individual expression. Meanwhile from a western perspective, the series defies conventional norms of masculinity and male characters in fiction while also critiquing elements of those views at the same time. 

Both of these are perfectly in tune with how the Heroine’s Journey structure provides social commentary on gender and cultural norms.

The fact that the series challenges the audience's perception of gendered narrative archetypes and social norms from multiple perspectives is also reflected in how it mixes the symbolism associated with its two lead characters. For example, the series repeatedly presents canon Disney Princess romances as parallels to Sora and Riku, but which of the two corresponds to the Disney Prince and which one is the Princess varies from one game to the next: 

Sora acknowledges in the first game that like Ariel, he wants to explore the outside world. The same game also presents Ursula tricking Ariel into helping her as a parallel to Maleficent’s manipulation of Riku. 

Kingdom Hearts I presents the Beast as a parallel to Sora through their shared refusal to give up after being laid low by Riku upon their arrival at Hollow Bastion. Meanwhile in Kingdom Hearts II, the Beast is presented as a parallel to Riku, as mentioned in my previous essay. 

The first game parallels Sora to Aladdin through similar shots of the two calling out for Riku and Jasmine respectively as they are forced to flee the location of a boss fight (the Cave of Wonders for Aladdin, Monstro’s stomach for Sora). Kingdom Hearts II uses Aladdin avoiding Jasmine at the start of Sora’s first visit to Agrabah to parallel Riku avoiding Sora throughout KH2 as a whole. 

While not considered an *official* Disney Prince (he’s still unofficially marketed as one), Kingdom Hearts III connects Hercules diving into the River Styx to save Megara’s soul with Riku’s sacrifice for Sora at the Keyblade Graveyard. Meanwhile in KH2, Hercules’s attempts to hide how exhausted he is trying to meet everyone’s expectations greatly resembles Sora hiding his doubts and insecurities. 

The fluidity of which one corresponds to the Disney Prince and which one is the Princess in these parallels also carries over to other narrative symbols. In visual mediums, the protagonist and Animus of a Heroine’s Journey are frequently depicted with a Yin and Yang motif - light and dark in balance with each other. In visual depictions of the concept of Yin and Yang, Yin is the black side - representing darkness and associated with femininity - while Yang is the white side - representing light and associated with masculinity[6]. Visual depictions of Yin and Yang use the Moon to symbolize Yin and the sun to represent Yang. Many visuals include an opposite color dot in the middle of each side, representing how the two forces balance each other out - there is darkness within light and light within darkness, so to speak. 

The depiction of Yin as darkness with an inner light aligns with Riku’s character arc over the course of the series, but Sora is the one associated with moon imagery. Meanwhile, Yang being the light with a bit of darkness inside matches how Sora is on the path toward learning to acknowledge the darkness in his own heart, but Riku, who walks the “Road to Dawn[7].” is the one visually connected to the sun. Even in other pairs that have narrative parallels to Sora and Riku, the Yin-Yang motif differs from conventional depictions. Instead of the typical male Yang and female Yin, Yozora and Nameless star’s Yin-Yang motif has the gendered colors reversed. Nameless star is dressed all in white with dark hair, while Yozora wears dark clothes and has lighter hair. 

This kind of fluidity in terms of symbolism and narrative parallels is perfect for a Heroine’s Journey. Many stories that follow the formula symbolically associate the male love interest with the archetypal damsel in distress, with the female protagonist being cast as the knight in shining armor heroically storming the castle in order to free them. But in the context of a Heroine’s Journey that is setting up a same-gender romance with two male leads, it adds an additional layer of meaning: 

A well known stereotype involving same-sex couples is that their roles in the relationship will be exactly the same as the roles that society associates with an opposite-sex pair, with one always corresponding to the “female” role and the other to the “male” one. The Uke/Seme trope common in fanfiction from the early 2000s is a notable example of this. By presenting a romantic relationship between two male leads where the symbolism and narrative parallels are framed in a way that depicts the implied gender roles as constantly being in flux, the narrative sends a message that people are too complicated and flexible for every romantic relationship to fit into the same rigidly defined roles.

In conclusion, the depiction of Sora and Riku both as individuals and as a developing romantic relationship is consistent with how the Heroine’s Journey challenges gender and cultural norms from the perspective of two different cultures. By following this narrative framework, the Kingdom Hearts series deconstructs gendered narrative archetypes from both Japan and the United States, reflecting its origins as a crossover between franchises popular in each country. 

Sources:

[1] The Heroine’s Journey; Maureen Murdock; 1990. 

[2] TV Tropes; Stock Shonen Hero; https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StockShonenHero

[3] Kingdom Hearts; Square Enix; 2002. 

[4] Kingdom Hearts III; Square Enix; 2019. 

[5] Wikipedia - Honne and tatemae https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honne_and_tatemae

[6] Wikipedia; Yin and Yang https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang

[7] Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories; Square Enix; 2004. 

[themadauthorshatter]

KH CONFESSIONS!

My brother's replaying the first kh game with the challenge being he has to complete the game in under 15 hours, not level up, AND NOT DOE ONCE IN THE ENTIRE GAME!!! I hope he completes the challenge, all the same I think he's a lunatic for trying it. Idk, I don't really play the games, I just watch them(PLEAS DON'T BE MAD!!!!😩😩😩)

If I don't see Sora completley lose it in future games, I sure as hell am.

I don't know whether I like Kh2 or Kh3 better. Idk, I guess Kh2 just seems darker than 3.

KH3 was not dark enough. If it was a knife, it wouldn't even through butter. I'm sorry, I just want a darker and more mature game.

I want to see more of Joshua talking to Sora

... I want Vanitas back😢

If the MoM is just an insane, future, alternate Sora, I would LOVE to see Sora's reaction when he learns that HE is the cause for everything that happens

I want to see a fight between Sora and Riku. Not a boss fight or anything like that, but a cutscene of the two blaming each other and saying the worst things they can, punching and kicking each other, Kairi yelling for them to stop, until one of them shouts the unthinkable to the other, which stops the fight and makes the other back away. The one realizes he fucked up big time, but doesn't get a chance to apologize as the other leaves in a shocked, broken silence.

I want to see Ven remember his KHUX days.

I want to see a descendant of Eraqus, and not just the wayfinder trio. Like, someone who can be a secret weapon.

I want more badass Roxas. That's all.

I don't know if I'm just a sadist or just in an angst mood again, but I want to see Sora going crazy in his time alone, like he starts hallucinating about himself talking to him, along with Roxas, Kairi, Riku, and the rest of his friends, and his insecurities just catch up to him in the worst way imaginable.

(Through megaphone) Redemption arc for Isa! Redemption arc for Isa! Isa has to get a redemption arc now that he's in the team!!

I want an androgynous character in the future. Don't ask me why, I just do. Like, just a boy-girl that doesn't have a discriminate gender, but no one questions it because it both doesn't matter, and because it's not the right time or place.

I want to see characters dealing with their inner demons/problems. Or to have those demons haunt them and break them down before them get back up.

I want a character to die and stay dead. Up the ante on the angst.

WHAT IS THAT WILD CARD!?

I want to see what else Naminé can do in terms of her power.

And that sums up my Kingdom Hearts confession list!!! These aren't meant to be negative in any way shape or form. There just opinions I have and wanted to get off my chest.

I also haven't postedvanything legitimately kingdom hearts in a long time, either, so here's a KH post😅

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed!!!